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Recent Posts Tagged With 'society'
The young baby screamed
The young baby screamed; his small face screwed up into a crinkled little ball. The high-pitched protest bounced off the walls, echoing. Between screeches, he took laboured breaths, his little body shuddering with the effort. Vibrations rattled t...
What maketh the man?
I was a scrawny, nervous young lad when I got to high school. For those from overseas, high school is around your 8th year of school through to when you leave school at around 17/18 in NZ. Anyway, I had a hard time. The nickname for my school was Pen...
New Zealand – Economic Capital of The World (1/12)
New Zealand’s days as a manufacturer of goods and dairy are well and truly numbered. The high cost and low margins are simply not sustainable. This is a twelve part series exploring what New Zealand might be able to do with strong leadership an...
RE: Why You Can’t Find Better Employees
The following is from Seth Simonds’ Blog. The article “Why You Can’t Find Better Employees” spoke volumes and demanded a comment. Here is the opening: Here’s a phrase you have probably used before: “It’s impossible to fin...
‘I’m forever damaged’
I truly do feel for 29 year old Matt Manion of Foxton Beach. A lapse of judgement left him paralysed from the waist down. His job as a mechanic most likely over, and his time spent running and jumping with his 5 year old son a distant memory. Of cour...
Racist New Zealand
“Reserved places for Maori have proven the ability of Maori students to rise to the challenge if they are given the opportunity.” - Dr. Pita Sharples Hogwash. Maori who have been given an automatic place have preformed 4% less than their ...
NZ Budget 2009
The major points and funding allocations from the 2009 Budget delivered today follow: THE UNWASHED * Super Fund contributions suspended: The Government will suspend automatic contributions to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. A contribution of $2...
Statutory Minimum Redundancy Entitlements
Labour’s Darien Fenton wants employers to provide the following in the event of redundancy: four weeks pay for first twelve month’s service two weeks for every additional year up two a maximum of twenty six weeks four weeks notice There...
Road deaths have dropped by 52%
“Since 1990 the number of vehicles on the road has increased by 51% while Police reported injuries have dropped by 8%, road deaths have dropped by 52% and the number of days spent in hospital as a result of road crashes has dropped by 48%.̶...
Fiddle with a kid and get paid for it.
“UN says NZ breached rights of child sex offender” Ok, 13 convictions later and the guy, Allan Dean, is sent away for preventative detention. Apparently 13 offences were insufficient to convince the UN that this individual was a danger to...
Alcohol danger for teens
Yes, of course it is. Obviously any teenager who drinks alcohol is going to be a bad person and an alcoholic. Just look at the statistics and research. http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/2331496/Alcohol-danger-for-teen Now, the issue I have with this ...
10 years jail for a blog post
I really feel for Suwicha Thakhor. He made a comment about the monarch of Thailand, and now has ten long years in a Thai jail to look forward to. As I actually intend to visit Thailand one day, I guess I am going to have to be a little bit careful as...
5 on Monday
Missed 5 on Monday last week - working a 30+ hour session does that to me I’m afraid. So, what was notable last week: sleep deprivation and driving don’t mix a weekend away does wonders for stress relief Interop between C# and VB6 is eno...
Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho is a plonker
“The law of God is higher than any human laws,” he said. “When a human law — that is, a law enacted by human legislators — is against the law of God, that law has no value. The adults who approved, who carried out this abortion ...
5 on Monday
Welcome to this week’s 5 on Monday. February is nearly over, and there is only a few weeks left of day light savings. So, what was notable last week: not having a Tax debt is a wonderful feeling after so long section 92a brought people to fight fo...
The Three Tales of Abraham
I’m not a religious person. I have faith, but not in any spiritual or superior being. And that faith is based on my firm belief that we as individuals make our own destiny, our own choices. Sometimes events or people have made choices that im...
5 On Monday
Welcome to this week’s 5 on Monday. Another week has flown by, and the year is already 10% done. So, what was notable last week: family is precious, especially in the wake of events in Australia deadlines make me work more effectively I think I dr...
The Road Toll and Drink Driving
The NZ Police are calling for a reduction in the legal alcohol limit. It’s currently 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. They want it reduced to 50 milligrams.They insist this will reduce the road toll by 14 per year and sa...
Moving to Spain Update
Having basically set a year for the big move to Spain, it seems to be approaching ever so quickly. At one point, 2011 seemed ages away, but not now. Resolving final issues with IRD, saving sufficient money to ensure Diane and I can be “autonomo...
Minimum Wage
New Zealand’s government has decided to increase the minimum wage to $12.50 per hour from 1 April 2009. Good on them, that’s 1% higher than inflation. For an annual income of $26,000 for a 40 hour week. Not very much, granted, but it...
Self-Employed Vs Employed
I remember reading a piece by Jim Rohn many years ago about money, employment and the likes. Although I can’t find the article, it did have a life-changing affect on me. The bottom line, in Jim Rohn’s opinion is that everyone is self-empl...
Legal Downloads Increase By 25%
EARLIER this month I wrote a piece on the music industry (Is The Music Industry Dead?) Today, I heard a soundbite on the radio that last year, 95% of all music downloaded was done so illegally. This was a scarey number! Then a few more “minor&#...
Kill Your Debt
In the early 2000s I came so close to bankruptcy that it was almost inevitable. However, through some very persuasive discussions, mistakes by some of the parties involved and sheer luck I ended up avoiding it. I even managed to keep a pretty clean...
Warning over kids’ holiday photos on internet
Experts are suggesting people keep photos of children private because of the few sexual predators out there. The internet is an amazing place, where friends and family can share with each other quickly and easily. For people to have to watch what t...
Recession? What Recession?
I have been 48 hours from bankruptcy twice in my life, once in 2003 and once in 1993. In 1993, it was a mear $300 cash that saved me. It is interesting that there are ten years between the two incidents. I also find it interesting that my credit ...
