Today is the eighth anniversary of the destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and other terror attacks in the US.
Maybe while the western world is in the midst of a global economic meltdown, it’s a good time to reflect on the real human tragedy that hit the US business world in 2001. Business is about people, and fancy suits and million dollar bonuses are all so much pap when you’re on the 28th floor and the building is burning beneath you.
There were heroes that day – the firefighters who tried to rescue as many as possible, and lost their own lives, the individual who did not run but stayed to help. The US reeled in the face of this assault within the hallowed shores that have so often kept them safe. But no more. The world is getting smaller, and when war is waged with small armies, especially those who are willing to sacrifice themselves, defence is all the harder.
The attack was all the more brutal for its unexpectedness, the sheer chutspah of its scale and daring, against a population who felt remote and protected from this kind of atrocity, which no doubt its perpetrators experienced in their homelands daily (if on a much smaller scale). The West was outraged at this infiltration, and afraid that such an effect could have been wrought on its people.
But where was the public outrage that rippled through the world at the bombings in Beirut? Where were the calls for a war against terror when a young woman lay dying in a Tehran street, recorded on YouTube for all to see? Where were the politicians demanding action when a woman and her eight children had to flee out of Kabul on foot in pre-election attacks? Because mini-9/11s happen all the time in those war-torn places of the world where the Israeli Governnent want to secure more land for its people, where the war against terror is waged by the US and its allies, where corrupt politicians use armies to secure more power for themselves, regardless of the cost to the people they are in power to protect.
The world must remember 9/11, as it must remember all ruling party- and Government-sanctioned acts of violence. Because one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter.
Tags: 9/11 remembrance
One year on from the US’s biggest bankruptcy the BBC has released a radio dramatisation of the last three days of Lehman Brothers.
A dry subject, you might imagine, but I listened to The Day That Lehman Died last night, and found it strangely compelling. The overriding question that remained was, why Lehman, or more specifically, when Merrill Lynch and AIG were bailed, why NOT Lehman. The impression I got was that Lehman was seen as having overreached itself, having broken some unspoken, unwritten rule about taking on toxic debt (in the sub-prime market). When it came down to it, the decision by the Federal Reserve sounded personal.
The only criticism I would have of the drama was that the actors sounded like actors. Senior executives of banks probably don’t generally sound like BBC radio announcers.
Still, it’s worth a listen and gives a good understanding of the shenanigans that went on in these massive financial institutions, which took money off thousands of individuals and then tried to wring every last cent out of it in profit, ending up losing a good deal of it because they lent it to people who couldn’t afford to pay it back. One thing about this whole financial mess which still seriously irks me is that these ridiculously rich individuals insist on paying themselves and their colleagues multi-million dollar bonuses, even when they have quite obviously not succeeded in the running of their business. That would be like the head of a hospital receiving a commendation after poor practice in the hospital let most of the patients die.
Tags: anniversary of Lehman bankruptcy, The Day That Lehman Died
The whole movement of ethical living is fascinating. It seems it can be anything from the simple personal choice of recycling, to a complete lifestyle change involving burying your biological waste and not washing much.
As with all such movements, there are zealots who implore others to set aside their wicked ways and follow in the light. Corporates or “big business” is a particular target, unsurprisingly given how much waste is thus produced.
If you want to live in an ethical home, there are many books and websites that can give you ideas. There is a whole range of things that individuals can do. It’s all very well to say that this effort is insignificant in the global scheme of things, but I think every little bit helps, and you’ve got to start somewhere.
It’s hard to change an existing home, but it is possible. You can start with simple practices in the home – recycling, composting, installing a low flow shower head, turning off lights when not in a room, turning off appliances at the wall when you go away, or even just overnight.
Existing homes can be fitted with renewable energy capture equipment, such as solar panels or small wind turbines, but of course, it’s much easier to do (and more effective) if you build from scratch. Which can be difficult if you already own a home, but you can maybe get cash for home if you sell to one of those quick sale places, and then buy some land and start from scratch.
One of the big areas where we can be “greener” is the bathroom, in terms of creating a relaxing, safe and clean environment. The standard bathroom suite is not necessarily the best for this sort of bathroom. Large baths are a luxury and use a lot of water. But every now and then we deserve this sort of pampering. So we need both a luxurious, deep bath and an energy-efficient shower. Ideally, it would be possible to create a smaller bath within our large bath – that might be an idea for bathroom specialists. A bit like an adult-sized baby bath.
Our bathroom furniture can help with the atmosphere – I prefer natural woods, properly protected for the damp air, over too much chrome and porcelain. A wooden floor is warmer than tiles, and so mitigates the need for under-floor heating.
Tags: bathrooms, ethical, home improvements
I went to see Inglourious Basterds and I was surprised to have very much enjoyed it.
Not for the squeamish, but the whole feel of the movie is so over the top that the violence, for once, didn’t bother me. Probably because I didn’t engage with any of the characters. Couldn’t care less if they lived or died. But that’s not to say I wasn’t interested in what happened to them.
It was a complex, interwoven little plot sequence. It wasn’t really about the Basterds, a crack squad of Americans operating in France with the sole aim of putting terror into the hearts of the Nazis. It certainly wasn’t about the bungling British, though the scene with Churchill and Mike Meyers as a nancy British high commanding officer was surreal and quite one of the most memorable pieces of the film. It was, to an extent, about the Jewish girl who escaped from the Nazis early on, and plotted her revenge later. It wasn’t about the young German soldier who rather fancied her, but who turned out to be a prat, like all the rest.
For me it was mostly about the marvellous German Jew Hunter, a clever, clever detective who did some clever, clever detectoring that lead to a satisfying conclusion.
The characters were two dimensional to the point of being parodies (particularly the British, but then, Brad Pitt as the leader of the Basterds was pretty ridiculous too – he’s turning into another Johnny Depp, I haven’t seen him play a character with any, well, character, for ages, if ever, but he plays the larger than life and twice as silly ones with aplomb). The staging, the lighting, the costumes and the makeup were perfect, as you’d expect from Tarantino. You can even forgive him writing over the scene and using arrows to point out notable people in the German high command (Goerring, Borman etc). And the somewhat affected spelling of the film title. Heck, he’s Quentin Tarantino, he can do what he likes.
As a native German speaker I enjoyed the authentically spoken German. There is a lot of German and French (and even a little Italian) spoken in the movie and subtitles are used extensively. I enjoy hearing other languages spoken and so this was a plus for me.
I’m probably not selling this well, but for the movie to work, I believe it had to be somewhat unbelievable. This could have been just another grim, gut wrenching war movie, but it wasn’t. It really was about a whole bunch of pretty unpleasant people who, by and large, got what they deserved. Go and see it!
Last week just flew by. Hope you didn’t miss me too much!
I seemed to spend most of the week getting ready for the weekend. The man, the kids and I took off for a day’s skiing on one of New Zealand’s active volcanoes. Mt Ruapehu is host to two commercial and one club ski field, and serves the whole of the North Island, so is very popular.
hand basin and shower head
We stayed at the Ohakune Top 10 Holiday Park, very nice and with an amazing bathroom (the kids loved the hand basin, which consisted of concave glass plate from which water spilled in a waterfall down into the one piece glass basin), and the square, flat shower head which rained down on them.
Snow blows off tops of Mt Ruapehu, Turoa ski field
Ohakune is just at the bottom of the access road to Turoa, the field we wanted to ski at, but unfortunately high winds spoiled our chances there. We drove up for a look on Saturday, but left again as most of the field was closed.
Pottering about at Whakapapa ski field, Mt Ruapehu
The weather report on Sunday morning was for more of the same, so we packed up at great speed and took off around the mountain to Whakapapa, which is almost directly opposite Turoa. As expected, it was sheltered and we had the most glorious day pottering about on the slopes.
The kids tried snowboarding and enjoyed themselves, especially my boy who spent his whole time going up and down the learners’. We are planning a week-long assault on the South Island fields next year!
Tags: away without leave, skiing
No, not soccer, that worldwide obsession played by skinny blokes with lucky legs (lucky they don’t break and go right up their a***s).
I mean indoor netball. Of course, outdoor is a pretty awesome game too, but I don’t like now aggressive its gotten, and I don’t like a sport where its professional representatives are forced to wear a uniform that shows off their underwear (except for wrestling, of course, where they perform in their underwear).
But in terms of a game to play, and to watch at the highest level, especially the mixed and men’s form, indoor netball is the game for me. I play the six-a-side version, with two defenders, two attackers and two links, on a court surrounded by nets, including overhead, with no out of bounds areas. Its fast, furious and heaps of fun when played against teams who know how to play.
Of course, there is a certain amount of danger, especially when you play against ex-basketballers and ex-rugby players who don’t realise it is a non-contact sport. And it really is. The best games are where players in each team take the rules right to the wire, but don’t cheat. I don’t have a problem with leaning up against my opposite number under the hoop when getting in position for the ball, but when I have it, I don’t expect anyone to touch me. And I certainly don’t expect anyone to push, bash or knock me over, stick their hands in my face, or clothes-line me with arms or legs out wide. That’s not part of the game.
But to see some of the young players (that’s not me, sadly) pluck the ball out of the air at impossible heights of the ground, the fast passes up and down the court, the insane intercepts that they couldn’t possibly have tipped, and finally, the ball go ‘swoosh’ through the net to score two points when expertly projected from outside the D – ah, that’s the beautiful game for me.
Tags: indoor netball, indoor sports
Is the end nigh for the numbered Swiss bank account?
Landmark agreements, such as that between UBS, the Swiss government, and the US government, and that between the UK government and Liechtenstein, may spell the end of being able to safely and secretly store away money in an offshore account. Offshore financial services will still be available, but British citizens will be obliged to accurately disclose any earnings for tax purposes.
Perhaps due to the global financial crisis, people’s appetites for tolerance of tax evasion seems to have eroded somewhat. It’s galling enough hearing about the multi-million dollar profits and huge bonuses flowing to the finance sector, but the thought that the cash-strapped governments that bailed out these miscreants are being cheated out of money that can be used to pay for education and health care, and even keep tax rates lower for everyone, may be too much to bear.
There have been a number of studies carried out regarding people’s attitudes to the ethics of tax evasion. It seems there is some tolerance for tax evasion, but only in certain circumstances, such as when governments or officials are seen as corrupt, or the choice is between paying taxes or feeding your family. Most people, however, don’t think that tax evasion is ethical.
So, it’ll still be possible to have the cool, racy offshore account, but it’ll come with a taxable label. Of course, you could deposit your laundered money with one of a myriad willing Nigerians who will happily keep it secret from the government, and from you too, no doubt. The rest of us will just pay our dues.
In today’s world of failing economies, domestic violence and youth offending, this wonderful story caught my eye.
Just before 7am, an Auckland schoolbus had just picked up a large group of school students ranging from primary right up to senior secondary school age. They were probably doing what large groups of children do – talking, laughing and being generally noisy.
A man who also boarded the bus took exception to this and, as the bus moved away from the stop, swore at the children. The bus driver told the man to be quiet, but the man began advancing down the bus, shouting, swearing and making racist remarks at the students.
The driver, a 56-year-old grandfather, grew concerned at the man’s behaviour and, believing he intended to harm the children, stopped the bus and demanded the man get off. Whereupon the man grabbed the driver, dragged him off the bus and onto the street, and began hitting him about the head and face.
The bus driver recalls, “He hit me the first time on the side of the head, which stunned me a bit. The second hit, I got an eyeful of blood in my right eye.”
The children on the bus shouted and pleaded with the man to stop, but the man continued to rain blows, hitting the driver another six or seven times.
Continued the driver, “That’s when I saw three to four pairs of feet go past me and I don’t know what [the students] did - yell or push him away - but it did the job. He ran off across the road.”
Other students called the police and an ambulance. A group of 16- and 17-year-old boys were identified as those who came to the aid of the bus driver.
“I didn’t see any of them. I don’t know their names, but they are good kids,” the driver said.
The bus driver’s union made a statement in which it said, “…we’re extremely grateful to the students who assisted [the driver]. It showed courage and most likely has saved this man’s life.” The union was planning a ceremony to acknowledge the students’ actions.
A man had been arrested and is to appear in court on charges of assault.
Here comes the next big thing in television technology – high definition TV, and I’m excited. The thought of getting crystal clear pictures on a big screen in my lounge is really quite attractive.
There have been some huge steps in TV technology in recent years. I’ve been basically ignoring my television since 1996 – too busy, nothing good to watch, etc. But last year I gave in to the kids and bought my first TV in about 16 years. Well, they’ve changed a bit. I remember the hubby and I, back in the early ’90s, were very excited about getting a 21” screen, and the thing was like a small freezer. It had to have its own corner unit.
By contrast, the 42”, flat, glossy black instrument I bought last year sits sleekly in my lounge. I mostly watch sport and movies, and it’s great getting such a huge picture. Make the slo-mo replays of catches in the cricket and tries in the rugby so much better.
High definition television is, of course, just digital TV with higher definition, or more lines. A HDTV will display a high definition signal in high definition. It won’t improve a standard definition signal, of course. I’m still a bit confused about what is a HDTV, and what HDTV-compatible means. I need to read up on the technology news to get the good oil. Hopefully, I won’t need to change my lovely, big, black TV any time soon, though.
If I do, though, I am concerned as to what will happen to it. Because mine is relatively new, I should be able to sell it off (at a bit of a loss, but oh well). But if you have an older set, there’s not much market, especially if it’s an old CRT. And there’s plenty of those still around because they basically don’t wear out. Good on Sony in the UK, who are offering a trade-in discount on your old TV if you buy one of their new Bravias. Hopefully they will dispose of the old telly thoughtfully. I must check out if Sony here in NZ does something similar.
Tags: HDTV, technology news
When I want time off from my hurly burly world of handing out my opinion of the global recession, home insurance and SDSL versus leased lines, I browse creative writing websites.
So I’m pleased to be able to make this unashamed plug for the really cool website of a really cool Kiwi writer. I’ve often enjoyed the sometime acerbic, sometime maudlin, sometime absolutely hilarious writing style of John Irvine. His execution is immaculate, and his work is always a pleasure to read.
It’s a lovely website – a library cum bookshop of his works and works to which he has contributed. It’s well worth a browse, and you can purchase if you want to. There’s even gentle music to put you in the right mood.
Also, there’s a section just about John and his writing mate, Dave Freeman – a dry-witted British non-convict who’s taken up residence in the far western reaches of Australia. How they can be friends is beyond me, but I think it has something to do with their personal distaste of each other. Certainly, based on their exchanges of insults, you’d think they couldn’t stand one another. Obviously, best of mates in that blokey kind of way Anglo-Saxons have.
Links lets you trail around the internet for a good while, sampling interesting tidbits from a rather classy set of John’s writing friends, and some of the more interesting, and less mainstream online writing magazines.
The best bit, of course, is the link to John’s actual, online published work. Some of it takes a bit of finding, but that’s why the ‘Find’ facility is useful. To make it easy, here’s a direct link to one of his gruesome masterpieces, Hark the Herald Angels sing.
Tags: creative writing, Kiwi writer, poetry, speculative fiction