Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Holiday Open Thread 2: Chewing over the News

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  • Islander,

    A sort of aside: my royalties are paid into my cheque account.
    Sometimes, when the ANZ dollar is a bit volatile, I find that my bank
    seems to urm, wait until the volatility tips their way...

    Any other overseas earner noticed this?

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    Any other overseas earner noticed this?

    I'm damned sure they're using the money for something, anyway. Could just be for the interest. There's no good reason for wire transfers of money to take any time at all. I guess overnight would be justifiable - but not the 15 days I sometimes have to wait. Actual physical money could have circumnavigated the globe many times in that period. What are they doing? Sending it in a ship or something?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz, in reply to Islander,

    AFAIR, an incoming SWIFT(1) is supposed to be processed to a schedule. It's up to the bank what rate they give you on receipt (assuming the payment is in a foreign currency) but they may have T's & C's mandating the rate at COB on the date of clearance, or something.

    If you wan't more control over this, you might want to open overseas accounts for your FX royalties and then do the transfers when you feel the rate is good. That way, the rate (as well as all the fees) are known in advance.

    Also, I think a reasonable SWIFT timeframe is 2-3 days - it's a fast automated process. Any more is fluffing at one end or the other. It's worth asking around a few banks, and also investigating independent FX traders, of which there are a few in NZ that deal with retail customers (as opposed to Air NZ buying a 777).

    1. Society For Worldwide Interbank Funds Transfer - the organisiation that arranges the process to send money between banks.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Islander,

    Thanks Ben W and Rich of O for the feedback – I’ve noticed over thepast 8 years that anything up to
    10-14 days for UK/European transfers seems to be the norm . USA is slightly better
    (5/6 is usual). I had, in the past, just sat on cheques until the rates turned more in my favour – but even then there would be this strange lag…in the bank’s favour.
    I will ask around re other banks Rich, & FX independent traders: that’s sound advice-

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia, in reply to Lucy Stewart,

    Which said, the getting rid of it is still of dubious use - you lose half of what the book can teach you - but it's not censorship, either; it's a stupid editing decision. Censorship implies a governmental/official action which isn't present here. It's one edition. There'll be plenty of unchanged ones available.

    Nope, Lucy, "censorship" implies no such thing. What really started my irony gland twitching is that "stupid editorial decision" came from a publisher that describes itself as follows:

    Williams and La Rosa view their publishing program as mission-based. In an article about NewSouth which appeared in January 2008, the Louisville Courier-Journal observes that NewSouth is a risk-taking, socially conscious publisher. “We gravitate to material which enhances our undertanding of who we are and which asks us to stretch in our understanding of others,” says La Rosa. “Our publishing program is defined by its strong cultural component.” Williams adds that the house’s titles are not exclusively Southern, but that its program specializes in books on Southern history and culture, “especially those which examine the role of individuals in creating or contending with the change and conflict which came to the region in the post-World War II era. We believe strongly in the transformative power of information and knowledge, and we hope that the books we publish offer collective insight that helps the region grow toward ‘the beloved community’ and the fulfillment of the democratic promise.”

    Well, I don't know if Suzanne La Rosa has been paying attention for the last couple of centuries, but the toxic legacy of slavery and profound racism -- which Twain laid bare with a brutally frank eye -- is a major part of Southern history and culture. The transformative power of information and knowledge is having the courage to look hard and ugly truths in the eye; to use art and literature as a tool for developing the empathy and moral intelligence to understand experience different from your own -- which may make your stomach churn and your blood boil.

    Yes, "nigger" is a damn ugly word but it wasn't one Twain used for Eminem-style shock value. And it is intellectually and culturally irresponsible to sanitise the past because (to be utterly cynical) it might help your sales in the textbook market.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Parks, in reply to BenWilson,

    15 days!! I used to work at a bank, and as I recall we never advised a Telegraphic Transfer would take 15 days to process, even to a credit card account (which added a day). I think 3 to 5 business days was the norm.
    [Edit: reading Rich’s comment again I notice he mentions 2-3 days, which sounds about right as my work was usually involving credit cards, which as I say adds a day.)

    Wellington • Since May 2007 • 1165 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Parks, in reply to Craig Ranapia,

    Nope, Lucy, “censorship” implies no such thing.

    I think the word “censorship” does imply such a thing, while not actually being limited to that by definition. I’m weary of terms like ‘self-censorship’; that really isn’t censorship – that’s just human interaction. I don’t use certain swear words in front of some people that I would otherwise use in a similar situation, for example. So I think censorship does imply some kind of outside authority imposing restrictions. A publisher choosing to edit their edition of a book, however misguided, isn’t really censorship in that sense.

    Wellington • Since May 2007 • 1165 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    And throwing some Russell-bait into the mix: Andrew Wakefield defends discredited autism-vaccine link study described as an "elaborate fraud" by the British Medical Journal.

    I will, of course, not hold my breath waiting for full retractions and apologies from every media outlet in New Zealand that didn't do due diligence -- or basic journalistic quality control -- on Wakefield's study before trying to scare the shit out of their readers/viewers.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    BTW, the full text of the editorial in the British Journal of Medicine is here -- co-signed by editor-in-chief Fiona Godlee, deputy editor Jane Smith and associate editor Harvey Marcovitch.

    By the standards of the BMJ, it's Glenn Beck on a crying jag stuff.

    ETA: And in the pages of the same journal, here's an actual investigative journalist committing journalism in a public place as opposed to the half-baked disease porn we usually get.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    I get paid in US $$ - I have a US$ account at the National Bank - Swift transfers occur overnight to there (I understand it's really 'in' NY as much as an electronic ledger full of bits can be anywhere) - actual currency changes occur when I move that money to my chequing account, takes 10 minutes. There are fees and stuff, exchange rates are probably not the best

    Past experience has told me that waiting for opportune exchange rates is a largely waste of time requiring a magical ability to sense the future

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Nick Shand,

    Russel-baiting isn't very sporting Craig. It is sadly logical that any individual spurious enough to advance themselves by claiming to find explosive scientific proof of causation with invented results will also not be leaving the adoring media spotlight anytime soon.

    auck • Since Aug 2008 • 79 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson, in reply to Steve Parks,

    Admittedly it's only the US transfers that take so long. To Australia it's a lot faster, usually within a week.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    And the most-read article on Stuff just now is this one. Yes, that's right, an article on whether dead birds are a sign of an approaching apocalypse.

    And it concludes: "However, GodDiscussion said dead birds and fish were not among the signs. More commonly, the signs were interpreted as events such as seas turning to blood, sores on people's bodies, plagues, infertility, world wars and earthquakes."

    So, probably not the apocalypse this time, then. But keep a look out for any seas turning to blood.

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart, in reply to Lilith __,

    So, probably not the apocalypse this time, then. But keep a look out for any seas turning to blood.

    Relax, Kirk Cameron says it's definitely not the apocalypse.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Lilith __,

    So, probably not the apocalypse this time, then. But keep a look out for any seas turning to blood.

    It sounds so heavy metal.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __, in reply to Lucy Stewart,

    Kirk Cameron says it’s definitely not the apocalypse

    Does he have any special knowledge vis-a-vis Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy?

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    I think the Apocalypse is suffering from scope creep. In the old days, just flooding some small region was good enough, now we won't settle for anything short of complete planetary destruction, with the associated difficulty of keeping the righteous alive somehow. Also, it's not really the Apocalypse if there's no warning. Sales, marketing, and development really haven't been working together on this one. It needs a decent project manager. A beast of a job.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __, in reply to Russell Brown,

    So, probably not the apocalypse this time, then. But keep a look out for any seas turning to blood.

    It sounds so heavy metal.

    I'm sure the apocalypse comes with thrashy music with lots of distortion and the reverb turned way up. How could it not?

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Grigg, in reply to Steve Parks,

    I used to work at a bank, and as I recall we never advised a Telegraphic Transfer would take 15 days to process, even to a credit card account (which added a day).

    It really seems to depend on the country. I do a lot of TTs using the NBNZ's DirectLink system - sometimes 10 a day on a busy day. From NZ to, say, Indonesia, can take a week because their systems are so inefficient and I think banking efficiency and systems play a big part wherever you send it or it's sent from. The USA is about always 1-2 days. From the US back to NZ is sometimes longer because, I think, they need to clear via third party banks (NBNZ uses Chase in NY) but it's mostly as Paul says overnight too.

    Europe is always 24 hrs either way.

    On the other hand NZ to Thailand is, if I catch the morning, same day cleared here. Thailand to NZ is however 2 days. Not sure exactly why, once again perhaps its routing. Singapore is the same.

    Mostly when people tell you it's gone and you don't receive it in a day or three, it's because they haven't actually sent it in my experience.

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming, in reply to Lilith __,

    And the most-read article on Stuff just now is this one.

    I lurve comment #138
    "Does anyone know a website in New Zealand where I can actually read the news?"

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming, in reply to BenWilson,

    A beast of a job.

    But the numbers are good...

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    Also on Stuff, this perplexing headline: Heightened UK terror fear

    They have nothing to fear but fear itself?

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Andrew, in reply to Lilith __,

    I'm sure the apocalypse comes with thrashy music with lots of distortion and the reverb turned way up. How could it not?

    Then you'll be looking for a bit of Enter Telephone for the soundtrack then...

    Hamiltron - City of the F… • Since Nov 2006 • 900 posts Report Reply

  • ScottY,

    Bloody typical, isn't it? We finally have the chance to win the Rugby World Cup on our home turf after decades of pain, and then the End Of Days comes along and ruins everything.

    This is 1995 and Suzie all over again.

    Am I even insured for the Apocalypse?

    West • Since Feb 2009 • 794 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __, in reply to Jeremy Andrew,

    I’m sure the apocalypse comes with thrashy music with lots of distortion and the reverb turned way up. How could it not?

    Then you’ll be looking for a bit of Enter Telephone for the soundtrack then…

    I'm finding it hard to imagine that Doom comes with the sound of ringing telephones, but if it did, that would definitely be the soundtrack.

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

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