Saturday, December 29, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
Democracy
"The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment."
Robert Maynard Hutchins
Robert Maynard Hutchins
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
A Short Economic History of New Zealand
Listener 1 August 1998. by Brian Easton
The Governor of the Reserve Bank finished a recent speech with “the sharp downturn in may of our export markets may well turn out to be the most serious shock to it the New Zealand economy since the oil shock of the seventies.” Here is a summary of the main shocks and recessions over our economic history.
The traditional Maori economy did not suffer recessions, because it was a barter economy isolated from the world. There were harvest booms and slumps because of supply changes, but not demand driven fluctuations. European contact brought a monetary economy and international trade, which affected the barter economy. The Maori planted crops to provision visiting whaling and sealing ships. In some years Northern Hemisphere monetary tumult meant the shipowners could not afford to send them, and the commercial crops wasted.
Perhaps New Zealand was born in depression for Australia, from whence it was first governed, was depressed in the 1840s. Most early settlements initially struggled, although Canterbury was fortunate because of the 1850s Victorian gold rush. Local gold rushes and the land wars gave prosperity in the early 1860s, but by the end of the 1860s the national economy was in recession. The 25 year “Long Depression” lasted until the early 1890s. There was a speculative boom in the 1870s from Vogel’s borrowing, which ended following the collapse of the Bank of Glasgow in 1878, when the London market withdrew its colonial investments. There were, as there are today, regional differences. Auckland was hooked into to the Sydney economy and struggled along a bit longer, but by the late 1880s New Zealand was thoroughly depressed.
Prosperity returned in the 1890s as overseas prices recovered, and frozen meat (and later dairy products) exports developed. The expansion phase of the boom lasted to the mid 1900s, and then slowed down, resulting in industrial strife such as at Blackball in 1908 and Waihi in 1913. Growth continued through the First World War but it was with world induced inflation.
Immediately after, import prices rose sharply, triggering a sharp (but mercifully short) contraction in 1921. The 1920s were a period of sluggish growth because of poor export prices. They crashed at the end of the decade precipitating the “Great Depression”. The downturn was not as deep as in 1921. But was longer and after a period of stagnation, so the earlier pain is largely forgotten.
Thereafter New Zealand had its greatest period of sustained growth: a strong expansion phase in the decade from 1934 when volume GDP grew at 7 percent p.a. (comparable to 1980s East Asian growth rates), followed by 20 years averaging over 4 percent p.a., (with cyclical ups and downs).
A major factor in sustaining this high growth rate was good prices for New Zealand exports. The 32 year boom ended in late 1966, with the collapse of wool prices. New Zealand then went through an 11 year transition phase of slow growth and rising unemployment, obscured by the world commodity boom of 1972 which burst in the 1973 oil price shock. Financial markets collapsed (as they do about once a decade) but not as noticeably as in 1987.
The world economy grew slowly from the mid 1970s, and by 1978 New Zealand was growing faster, continuing to do so when the world economy expanded in the early 1980s. The New Zealand boom ended in 1985, as the real exchange rate rose, cutting off export expansion. Fortunately the world continued to grow, so what could have been another long local depression was only a recession. The new National governments spending cuts in 1991 generated the sharpest contraction in the postwar era. But in 1992 New Zealand at last hooked into a world growth boom. It lasted about 5 years, the third longest post war boom. It ended in early 1997, and the economy has been struggling since, with some sectors and regions doing well, others in difficulties.
Read more here
The Governor of the Reserve Bank finished a recent speech with “the sharp downturn in may of our export markets may well turn out to be the most serious shock to it the New Zealand economy since the oil shock of the seventies.” Here is a summary of the main shocks and recessions over our economic history.
The traditional Maori economy did not suffer recessions, because it was a barter economy isolated from the world. There were harvest booms and slumps because of supply changes, but not demand driven fluctuations. European contact brought a monetary economy and international trade, which affected the barter economy. The Maori planted crops to provision visiting whaling and sealing ships. In some years Northern Hemisphere monetary tumult meant the shipowners could not afford to send them, and the commercial crops wasted.
Perhaps New Zealand was born in depression for Australia, from whence it was first governed, was depressed in the 1840s. Most early settlements initially struggled, although Canterbury was fortunate because of the 1850s Victorian gold rush. Local gold rushes and the land wars gave prosperity in the early 1860s, but by the end of the 1860s the national economy was in recession. The 25 year “Long Depression” lasted until the early 1890s. There was a speculative boom in the 1870s from Vogel’s borrowing, which ended following the collapse of the Bank of Glasgow in 1878, when the London market withdrew its colonial investments. There were, as there are today, regional differences. Auckland was hooked into to the Sydney economy and struggled along a bit longer, but by the late 1880s New Zealand was thoroughly depressed.
Prosperity returned in the 1890s as overseas prices recovered, and frozen meat (and later dairy products) exports developed. The expansion phase of the boom lasted to the mid 1900s, and then slowed down, resulting in industrial strife such as at Blackball in 1908 and Waihi in 1913. Growth continued through the First World War but it was with world induced inflation.
Immediately after, import prices rose sharply, triggering a sharp (but mercifully short) contraction in 1921. The 1920s were a period of sluggish growth because of poor export prices. They crashed at the end of the decade precipitating the “Great Depression”. The downturn was not as deep as in 1921. But was longer and after a period of stagnation, so the earlier pain is largely forgotten.
Thereafter New Zealand had its greatest period of sustained growth: a strong expansion phase in the decade from 1934 when volume GDP grew at 7 percent p.a. (comparable to 1980s East Asian growth rates), followed by 20 years averaging over 4 percent p.a., (with cyclical ups and downs).
A major factor in sustaining this high growth rate was good prices for New Zealand exports. The 32 year boom ended in late 1966, with the collapse of wool prices. New Zealand then went through an 11 year transition phase of slow growth and rising unemployment, obscured by the world commodity boom of 1972 which burst in the 1973 oil price shock. Financial markets collapsed (as they do about once a decade) but not as noticeably as in 1987.
The world economy grew slowly from the mid 1970s, and by 1978 New Zealand was growing faster, continuing to do so when the world economy expanded in the early 1980s. The New Zealand boom ended in 1985, as the real exchange rate rose, cutting off export expansion. Fortunately the world continued to grow, so what could have been another long local depression was only a recession. The new National governments spending cuts in 1991 generated the sharpest contraction in the postwar era. But in 1992 New Zealand at last hooked into a world growth boom. It lasted about 5 years, the third longest post war boom. It ended in early 1997, and the economy has been struggling since, with some sectors and regions doing well, others in difficulties.
Read more here
Monday, December 17, 2012
The worlds' richest 10 nations
2012 Ranking (from richest to poorest) for Gross domestic product based on purchasing-power-parity (PPP) per capita
| 1 | Qatar | $106,283.96 |
| 2 | Luxembourg | $79,649.49 |
| 3 | Singapore | $61,046.96 |
| 4 | Norway | $54,479.06 |
| 5 | Hong Kong SAR | $50,716.14 |
| 6 | Brunei Darussalam | $50,440.03 |
| 7 | United States | $49,601.41 |
| 8 | United Arab Emirates | $48,434.60 |
| 9 | Switzerland | $44,015.97 |
| 10 | Kuwait | $43,773.88 |
Read more here
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Friday, December 14, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Singapore; world rankings
Singapore is a city-state.
- Most livable cities —
- Economist Intelligence Unit: World's Most Livable Cities survey 2011: Singapore is ranked 4th on the Economist Intelligence Unit's Asia Most Livable City survey[1]
- Singapore is ranked 1st in 201 on Gallup's Potential Net Migration Index.[2]
- Singapore is ranked No. 1 for Asian expatriates in 2010 on ECA International’s Location Ratings Survey.[3]
- Singapore is ranked the 15th most liveable city worldwide in the Monocle liveable city index.
- FutureBrand: Country Brand Index 2009, ranked 13 out of 102 brands (ranked 4 in the Asia-Pacific region)[4]
- Best Country Brand – Conferences, ranked 3 out of 102 brands
- Best Country Brand – Easiest to do Business in, ranked 1 out of 102 brands
- Best Country Brand – Ideal for Business, ranked 2 out of 102 brands
- Best Country Brand – Shopping, ranked 1 out of 102 brands
- Most expensive cities —
- Economist Intelligence Unit: Cost of Living Survey 2009, ranked 10 out of 140 cities in the world (ranked 3 in Asia)[5]
- ECA International: Cost of Living Survey (June 2011), ranked 36 out of more than 390 locations in the world (ranked 6th in Asia)[6]
- Mercer: Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2011, ranked 8 out of 143 countries[7]
- Expatistan: Cost of life index for expats, June 2011, ranked 11 out of 137 cities[8]
- Population of urban area: Ranked 63 (2011)
- Singapore ranked Asia’s top City of Opportunity and ninth amongst 26 cities worldwide by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
[edit]Communications
Main article: Media of Singapore
- Singapore is Asia's most "network ready" country.[9]
- Economist Intelligence Unit: e-readiness 2008, ranked 6 out of 70 countries[10]
- Singapore has the 2nd highest internet penetration in Asia-Pacific.[11]
- Household broadband penetration rate as of December 2008: 99.9%[12]
- International Press Institute (IPI): Accessible Government pilot project, ranked 2 out of 12 countries[13]
- VISA: Online shopping survey 2009, ranked 1 in Asia-Pacific region
- read more here
[edit]
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Sunday, December 9, 2012
How well-educated are your immigrants?
MIGRANTS to rich countries have generally spent longer in education than their native-born peers, according to a new report by the OECD. Since 2000 the proportion of recent migrants to OECD countries who have graduated from university has risen five percentage points to 31%; among the native-born population the proportion has risen four percentage points to 29%. Over 50% of immigrants to Canada and 47% of those to Britain have completed tertiary education, the highest levels among rich countries. By contrast, only 11% of immigrants to Italy and 13% to Greece have a degree. Countries that have succeeded in attracting a higher number of university-educated immigrants have generally implemented immigration policies that actively encourage skilled labour. Australia has streamlined its student-visa assessments and included post-study work rights for graduates to keep hold of the talent it nurtures. Canada and Denmark have also been particularly good in this respect. These lands of opportunity have fared far better than those with less attractive labour markets. Ireland, Portugal, Italy and Greece have seen a sharp decline in the number of well-educated migrants heading their way.
Read more here
Read more here
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Secession Fever Hits Texas
HOUSTON — In the weeks since President Obama’s re-election, Republicans
around the country have been wondering how to proceed. Some
conservatives in Texas have been asking a far more pointed question: how
to secede.
Larry Scott Kilgore announced that he was running for
governor in 2014 and would legally change his name to Larry Secede
Kilgore, with Secede in capital letters.
Secession fever has struck parts of Texas, which Mitt Romney won by nearly 1.3 million votes.
Sales of bumper stickers reading “Secede” — one for $2, or three for $5 — have increased at TexasSecede.com.
In East Texas, a Republican official sent out an e-mail newsletter
saying it was time for Texas and Vermont to each “go her own way in
peace” and sign a free-trade agreement among the states.
Read more here
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
EU to Switzerland: 'Where are we going with this relationship?
BRUSSELS - European Union foreign ministers have issued a tough-worded warning to Switzerland that its relationship with the bloc is dysfunctional and must be radically changed.
There is no overarching framework for the relationship between the EU and the mountainous republic situated in the middle of the bloc but unbendingly outside its strictures. Instead, the two have a series of some 120 sector-by-sector agreements, a situation the EU foreign ministers on Tuesday described as "unwieldy", "inconsistent" and "incoherent.
Read more here
Friday, November 16, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Friday, October 19, 2012
Secessionism in crisis-hit Europe
Belgian separatists advancing to independence
Separatists in Belgium are looking to gain control of the wealthy port of Antwerp as early results suggest a Flemish nationalist leader is the city’s new mayor. It comes amid an intensifying trend of secessionism in crisis-hit Europe.
With almost all the votes counted, Flemish Nationalist Party leader Bart De Wever is way ahead of his rival, Socialist Mayor Patrick Janssens.
“We want to give Flemings the government they want at all levels,” De Wever said as his advantage became evident.
De Wever called on Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and the country’s francophone politicians to “take up their responsibility” and give more rights of self-rule to Flanders.
Read more here
Separatists in Belgium are looking to gain control of the wealthy port of Antwerp as early results suggest a Flemish nationalist leader is the city’s new mayor. It comes amid an intensifying trend of secessionism in crisis-hit Europe.
With almost all the votes counted, Flemish Nationalist Party leader Bart De Wever is way ahead of his rival, Socialist Mayor Patrick Janssens.
“We want to give Flemings the government they want at all levels,” De Wever said as his advantage became evident.
De Wever called on Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and the country’s francophone politicians to “take up their responsibility” and give more rights of self-rule to Flanders.
Read more here
Sunday, September 30, 2012
The Plan!
Robin Williams, was wearing a T ~ shirt that says 'I love New York ' in Arabic.
You gotta love Robin Williams........Even if he's nuts! Leave it to Robin Williams to come up with the perfect plan. What we need now is for our UN Ambassador to stand up and repeat this message.
Robin Williams' Plan...(Hard to argue with this logic!) 'I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan for peace. So, here's one plan.' 1) 'The US, UK , CANADA and AUSTRALIA ETC, will apologize to the world for our 'interference' in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo, Noriega, Milosevic, Hussein, and the rest of those 'good 'ole' boys', well we will never 'interfere' again. 2) We will withdraw all our troops from all over the world, starting with Turkey, South Korea , the Middle East, and the Philippines etc. They don't want us there. We would station troops at our borders. So no one allowed sneaking through holes in the fence anymore. 3) All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave. We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of whom or where they are from. They're illegal!!! Africa will welcome them. 4) All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit!!!! No one from a terrorist nation will be allowed in. If you don't like it there, change it yourself and don't come and hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-11 cashiers. 5) No foreign 'students' over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, or they get a 'D' and it's back home baby. 6) The US, UK , CANADA and AUSTRALIA ETC will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include developing non-polluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness The caribou will have to cope for a while. 7) Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't like it, we go someplace else. They can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the wells filling up the storage sites would be enough.) 8) If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not 'interfere..' They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides most of what we give them is stolen or given to the connected.. The people who need it most get very little, if anything at all. 9) Ship the UN Headquarters to an isolated island someplace. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens. 10) All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us 'Ugly Americans' any longer. The Language we speak is ENGLISH...learn it...or LEAVE. Now, isn't that a winner of a plan? The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses..' Now she's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, 'You want a piece of me?' |
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Driving in Switzerland
Make sure you Drive Alive! Drive on the right!
- Be especially careful when setting off from service stations or restaurants on the left side of the road.
- Take care when overtaking - allow more space between you and the car in front so you can see further down the road ahead.
- Switzerland has stricter drink driving laws than the UK, only allowing 0.5 milligrams of alcohol per millilitre of blood (UK 0.8).
- Seat belts front and rear are obligatory everywhere.
- Speed limits, shown below, are implemented rigorously. Radar traps are frequent.
- Remember - Speeding and other traffic offences are subject to on-the-spot fines.
- When approaching a roundabout give way to traffic already on the roundabout, on your left, unless signed otherwise.
- A full UK driving licence is required.
- Below are motoring regulations relating to Switzerland.
| Speed limits | Motorway | Open Road | Town | Alcohol mg/ml |
| Switzerland | 120 km/h | 80 km/h | 50 km/h | 0.5 |
Read more here
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Stokes and Packer: We need to bow to China
Two billionaires with large Chinese business interests, Kerry Stokes and James Packer, have slammed Australia’s conduct of its relationship with China and said Australians seemed ungrateful to their largest trading partner.
“Simplistically, as a layman, China has been a better friend to us than we have been to China,” Mr Packer said at a conference on Friday. “Now I think that if that continues for long periods of time, friendships get damaged.”
Mr Stokes, who is a major donor to the Australian War Memorial, said he was physically repulsed by the presence of US troops on Australian soil not under Australian command and believed the upgrade of the military relationship had upset many ordinary Chinese.
Read more here
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Education in Luxembourg
The education system in Luxembourg: information includes all the stages from creche to pre-primary, primary and secondary education and international schooling...
Newcomers to Luxembourg essentially have two options when it comes to education, either to enrol their child in a state or private school or to enrol them in an international school. The majority of children attend state schools. Only a small number of schools provide a linguistic and/or pedagogical alternative.Education is carried out in the three official languages: Luxembourgish, French and German.
Education is compulsory for all children aged between 4 and 16. Younger children may attend nursery schools. No child can be refused education for reasons of race, sex, language, religion or legal status of the parents.
Read more here
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Timeline to US independence
| 1754-1763 | |
|---|---|
| The French and Indian War | |
| 1754 | |
| The Albany Congress | |
| 1763 | |
| Proclamation of 1763 | |
| 1764 | |
| The Sugar Act | |
| The Currency Act | |
| 1765 | |
| The Stamp Act | |
| The Quartering Act of 1765 | |
| Patrick Henry's "If this be treason, make the most of it!" speech | |
| The Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions | |
| The Stamp Act Congress | |
| 1766 | |
| The Declaratory Act | |
| 1767 | |
| The Townshend Revenue Act | |
| 1768 | |
| Boston Non-Importation Agreement | |
| 1770 | |
| The Boston Massacre | |
| 1772 | |
| The Gaspee Affair | |
| 1773 | |
| The Tea Act | |
| The Boston Tea Party | |
| 1774 | |
| Boston Port Act, one of the "Intolerable Acts" | |
| Administration of Justice Act, one of the "Intolerable Acts" | |
| Massachusetts Government Act, one of the "Intolerable Acts" | |
| Quartering Act of 1774, one of the "Intolerable Acts" | |
| Quebec Act, one of the "Intolerable Acts" | |
| The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia and issues Declaration and Resolves | |
| Battle of Point Pleasant, Virginia (disputed as to whether it was a battle of the American Revolution or the culmination of Lord Dunmore's War) | |
| The Association (prohibition of trade with Great Britain) | |
| Galloway's Plan rejected | |
| 1775 | |
| Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" speech | |
| The Rides of Paul Revere and William Dawes Read more here | |
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