Posts by Rich of Observationz
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
all that moral hazard stuff really
Because your average punter looking for an EFTPOS card and somewhere to bank their wages is fully able to understand bank disclosure statements and judge the relative level of risk. I mean, we all know what Tier I capital requirements are, don't we?
-
169-4 at drinks (or as Bryson would put it, Third Snack). If you're interested.
-
I wish the security of our financial systems was a little less nepotistic than that!
All but two OECD nations have deposit insurance for ordinary retail customers. NZ and Australia don't.
-
How about Kiwibank promote itself on the basis that it offers better services and lower fees?
Not a bad idea. But their best USP is that it is almost unimaginable that the NZ government would let a bank it owns fail. (Yes, I know it's not explicitly backed by full faith and credit, but in effect it is).
While it's *likely* that if ANZ/National for instance were to get into trouble, the Australian government (possibly with NZ help) would bail them out, it's vaguely possible that they wouldn't.
-
re: English cricketing conservatism.
Possibly it;'s because the NZ team believe the hype that they're one last push (possibly involving 10 new players) away from being the best cricket team in the world.
Whereas England *know* they're average-to-crap and play a percentage game accordingly.
-
Why don't we put the evil foreign bankers in kinky boots and black leather greatcoats, folks?
I'd be on for that - you wouldn't??
But seriously, yes, it is a problem that it's considered ok to wrap xenophobia up in a Swanndri and a pair of gumboots. The Aussies are worse about it though, not to mention "traditional Kiwi" businesses like Holden (USA) and Speights (Japan, mostly).
-
The Olympics is about power & money before it's about sport.
Absolutely. I'd be very pleased if the Olympics in its present form was scrapped altogether. A smaller event where participants and host were expected to be decent democratic states, and corporate sponsorship was scrapped would be much better. Of course, it wouldn't keep the Olympic ogligarchs in their Swiss chalets
I'm trying to avoid buying the products of the Olympic sponsors:
Coca-Cola (stick to Pepsi, or beer)
GE (watch where that carloan comes from)
Johnson & Johnson (try another baby oil supplier)
Kodak (use Fuji)
Lenovo (loads of alternate printers)
McDonalds (yet another reason not to eat their yukky food)
Omega (horrid watches. Get a Swatch)
Visa (must get a Mastercard and start using it)
Samsung (don't buy that flatscreen telly)
Panasonic (bugger. bugger. They make the SL1200. Still, I have mine, they were made years ago. If you are taking up DJing, get yours on TradeMe) -
New Zealand companies are already involved in sending their knowledge offshore. New Zealand's dairy and cattle expertise and equally importantly, genetic stock, are being exported on a reasonable scale, and hailed as a success. Say goodbye to that competitive advantage (of course, good soil and consistent rainfall cannot yet be exported).
You want us to stay a low wage primary economy?
We need to transition from that to a knowledge-based economy, and exporting our agricultural technology is one way of doing that. Plus, we can't feed the world from NZ. Helping other countries to build an efficient, secure agriculural sector is good for them and good for us.
-
Ethnic Tibetans certainly have a grievance. But so, arguably, do native Fijians, and we'd hardly be comfortable with them wreaking ethnically-targeted havoc on Indian businesses in their towns
I think your comparison might be more valid if the British Empire hadn't decolonised Fiji 38 years ago. The Chinese empire is far from decolonising Tibet and until they do, the blame for any mistreatment of the Han falls on them, not the Tibetans.
Colonialism isn't an answer to anything, whether in Tibet, Iraq or Palestine.
-
Care to guess who currently holds the UK record for saying 'fuck' the most times in a live broadcast?
Fucked if I know. :-)