Kia Ora,
First thanks to Neil Smith for his link to a tourists video of the quake hitting. Unfortunately with our internet haven't been able to view it all. The part I did see at start it appears the camera person is standing in the entrance into the Cathedral when it hit. Its the view we had virtually once we got the people out & dust had settled some. It then appears they may of been struck by masonary, many were & before we started keeping people away from the Cathedral had a quick look at the injuries lined up by police Kiosk. Everyone had a head injury including a baby. A St Johns team were soon on the scene.
After an ex army mate wound me up(yeah you got me but I will get you back) about doing anti looting patrols was not really helping I thought I would give a more detailed account of what it is like actually living here.
To do that I need to go back to September the 4th 2010.
First it is the immense sense of power when the big one hits. Like many New Zealanders(except ironically many in Christchurch) I have had to live with earthquakes for at least part of my life. But nothing like the power in the destructive ones. Quakes that would of had me heading for a safe place in the past you now just look, listen & nah its a tiddler. But you know when it is powerful now. Might be unfit & bit overweight these days but boy I can still run fast when the mood takes me. Boy did it take me on Tuesday.
But there were a few problems which I have alluded to in previous posts. Structural engineers were letting it be known privately that the whole truth was not been told & to ensure as best you can to get all properties checked thoroughly. Two & the Mayor were even in the "Press" saying the building code is only there to save lives. Which to me means everything must be either replaced(as I type this they are saying at least a third of the CBD must be demolished) or an extremely good check take place as now they have had their one big quake there is no guarantee they will survive another of similar or greater power.
So it has proved.
Then there has been Ken Rings quite accurate predictions of possibility of shakes on or around certain dates & the upcoming possible large one on or around the 20th March 2011. The experts keep contradicting themselves & each other, so lends him much more creditability even though he says it is not a precise process.
So a lot of people were & are edgy but now it has changed.
Unless you have experienced the power of these earthquakes it is hard to describe. Unlike other types of disasters(apart from suicide bombers) they just keep coming making everything associated with it more dangerous & for many nerve racking.
Last nights anti looting patrol was probably a good example of what we are looking at.
Quite a lot of what appear to be groups of teens still roaming or on pushbikes without lights up & down streets. Quite a few vehicles acting suspiciously. We saw two persons come out of house that is badly damaged who took a keen interest in what we were doing. So we stopped to offer them water & rice(given to us by Hornby Takeaways to hand out in the damaged areas) to find our driver knew one of them.
Their story is becoming the norm. A lot of suspicious people hanging around, looting taking place right in front of people. The person Bernie knew it was his house they came out off. The three neighbouring houses the people had left town. Person with him was his brother in law who lived about 7 houses down the road so they were doing their own little anti looting patrols in the street.
Then we moved on. In areas where there was power you noticed how many at 8.30-9.00pm were without lights & how empty & quiet it was. Where there was no power you noticed those with their own generators or candles. It is so noticeable as to what properties where empty.
At one part we helped a home owner get a house bus into his drive. House was munted but he was worried about looters & there appeared to be no neighbours in the street.
Now police have said they will swamp badly hit areas & we know they are trying but it took us ages to actually see a police patrol. When we did they were so appreciative of what we were doing with more eyes & ears on the ground. We asked what a certain area was like. Their response "mate been trying to get there all night but everytime we start to head that way we get called away".
We were starting to find more areas closed off & more cordons up with New Zealand & Australian Police combined with New Zealand & Singaporean soldiers on a cordon.
But still it is hard for the police to be everywhere & they don't have enough 4WD's to get into some areas. It is entirely possible that martial law could be imposed if people keep leaving to effect control over the city. Even in the not so badly hit areas like where I live people are just up & leaving. In just the last few days school roles outside Christchurch are jumping due to people just moving to be with relations or to their holiday home, bach or crib to live. Return time to be confirmed.
For many probably never.
I know many will not go back into multi story buildings because of the failure of the like of emergency exit stairs & been stuck up there for up to five hours awaiting rescue.
It is very quiet today & as the Mayor just said "its a weekend but its not" until he said that I didn't even realize it was Saturday. Days mean nothing right now.
It is the way some people are leaving though that show that many are in panic or terror as shocks continue. Just walking down the road when a vehicle obviously packed to leave town went down the road overtook a truck dangerously continued on the wrong side of the road & round a blind corner. Have seen that so many times of late where people are in such a hurry to get out that they are taking extreme risks on the road not thinking that they might kill themselves in the rush. The on going shocks are just spooking people so much. Soon it will be only those who are working trying to help or the Scum left at this rate.
Walking back see what is obviously someones business trailer just packed with all their worldly possessions heading south. Another common sight.
One good thing about it all is the people trying to help in which ever way they can. We stopped to talk to a check point on a cordon. In about five minutes they had four vehicles stop to offer them food or drinks, then a local group walked up with soup. Police officer said "going to get fat at this rate".
But with so many on edge it will only take another good shake to clear many more from the city. As someone said the media are underplaying it. Well they are not but it is really hard to convey not just the damage but the feeling of nerves waiting for the next 'big' shake. The only place I have ever been that has had a feeling like it is Baghdad & I think that is heightened by the fact New Zealanders were just not prepared for something like this.
One neighbour said they were about to leave here when it hit & said to the other neighbour "that was a good shake" then went off to work. It was near her work she said it was her 9/11 moment with 12 vehicles on the road but hundreds of peole walking. The other neighbour said "yeah real good shake but thought nothing of it went off to work to find the whole road grid locked. Thought what is going on here?"
So even within the city itself because of how the power was channelled not everyone was aware of how bad it was.
But as a police officer said last night it is probably the demise of the Cathedral that has hit hardest. As I said on the cordon on the day it hit a guy came up & when he saw it just burst into tears & couldn't stop. The heart of the city has gone.
I did find last night my vehicle is probably alright as that building appears to be undamaged. But the cordon is going to be in place for months it would appear & so now having to look at other options.
Now some of my mates have not liked my postings in the past regard to been able to increase my cash flow, business & generally have cash on hand to get things done.
Right now I think proves my point. Yes lives are important but that is actually why I have looked at what I have done for business. Both my security concept & sustainable communities designed with the effects of a large earthquake &/or a Tsaunami in mind to also provide redundant systems so that no part is ever completely shut down. Also to provide jobs therefore cash flow to allow people to feed their families which with an estimated 40,000 in the CBD alone with no work is going to be a priority.
Been out & about you feel you are contributing, but with one vehicle you can only do so much. It is really frustrating that had you been able to get things going as you wanted it would right now be making a real difference to peoples lives.
Money, as people say, might not be everything but it sure as hell helps you make a real difference when you have it & are able to use it in a way that allows that difference to be sustainable.
There have been moments of laughter though.
For those that are not aware New Zealand is hosting the Rugby World Cup 2011 & much of the work going on post September the 4th 2010 here on roads etc was not repairing earthquake damage but upgrading towards the World Cup. As we drove down Fitzgerald Avenue on the outskirts of the CBD we came across this sign which was obviously connected with the upgrade. Unable to remember the exact words but it went along these lines.
Due to requirement to upgrade the roads there will be some disruption & change in configuration of roading design.
The laughter went on for a while. They certainly got their change in configuration.
I think most of all it is the feeling of despair you get from people. As I say to me it is just like another day in paradise(Baghdad) in many ways. For many it is that shattered mindset that all those aweful things just don't happen in New Zealand & they are not handling it well.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Showing posts with label Australian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australian. Show all posts
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Efficiency doesn't necessarily mean downsizing!
Kia Ora,
Well in line with the world trend the New Zealand government has signalled austerity measures in particular in line with the cutting of public service jobs.
Now I have been very critical of the inefficient & corrupt manner of our government departments & entities. But in the first instance whilst getting the departments & entities efficient the extra staff are required.
Then if they have too let the numbers drop through natural attrition. Problem the government has with this & with trying to take people off benefits there are not the jobs out there for them.
Those coming off the benefits will actually cope better mentally because they have always had to struggle or will just increase their crime.
It is those government bureaucrats like anyone else coming off a high paying job that will struggle with the mental side unless they have ben their before.
Here is where the violence will increase. The mental stress of going from a high paying job to maybe been on the street will be hard for people to take. Suddenly some of them will be subjected to the same inefficient corrupt & arrogant behaviour they have been dishing out.
Many of them will be in large debt usually in mortgage on their houses & that will cause major issues within any relationships. More stress, more likely violence.
The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time
Though the opposition is playing politics with its comments as it completely got things wrong when it was government, it is right in its statement there just aren't the jobs available & there aren't any been created.
There is a myth that government is always more inefficient that private enterprise. New Zealand government departments were at one time extremely efficient if a little bloated in numbers. Privatization hasn't made things any better here, like the US & Australia infrastructure has suffered from lack of investment. It is now coming back to haunt each country.
What all that means is it will be harder for businesses or the economies to recover. Less jobs more unemployed more crime.
The Zen of Social Media Marketing: An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz, and Increase Revenue
But there has been another twist noticed in Europe & the Arab world with the riots & protests. It is the amount of young people out of work with little incentive to work. Potentially in the West it could be a lot worse.
We have spent years telling people they can be anything they want but forgot to tell them sometimes they have to fail. Many of them have the attitude is they have the right to do or take anything & you have no right to stop them.
When they look at the wages offered & what they can get either on the unemployment benefit or just by taking things is it no wonder they forgo a job.
Social Media has meant that parties & revolutions can be organized very quickly with governments not able to have control(unless they try like Egypt to just cut all access, but once it started it was too late).
The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Blogs, News Releases, Online Video, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly, 2nd Edition
So now we are going to have more people out of work, less jobs been created more people using social media who think they have the rights to anything & see the 'fun' people their age are having around the world.
As conditions get worse sounds like great ingredients for more civil unrest.
Is this another manipulation for greater transfer of wealth & power?
Or that was the intention but this thing, thanks to Social media, has gotten bigger than anyone was prepared for in the manner of a Tsaunami?
One way to mitigate that is make the public services more efficient so people can actually see a future. Because if they can't then what is to stop them making a new one of their design?
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Well in line with the world trend the New Zealand government has signalled austerity measures in particular in line with the cutting of public service jobs.
Now I have been very critical of the inefficient & corrupt manner of our government departments & entities. But in the first instance whilst getting the departments & entities efficient the extra staff are required.
Then if they have too let the numbers drop through natural attrition. Problem the government has with this & with trying to take people off benefits there are not the jobs out there for them.
Those coming off the benefits will actually cope better mentally because they have always had to struggle or will just increase their crime.
It is those government bureaucrats like anyone else coming off a high paying job that will struggle with the mental side unless they have ben their before.
Here is where the violence will increase. The mental stress of going from a high paying job to maybe been on the street will be hard for people to take. Suddenly some of them will be subjected to the same inefficient corrupt & arrogant behaviour they have been dishing out.
Many of them will be in large debt usually in mortgage on their houses & that will cause major issues within any relationships. More stress, more likely violence.
The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time
Though the opposition is playing politics with its comments as it completely got things wrong when it was government, it is right in its statement there just aren't the jobs available & there aren't any been created.
There is a myth that government is always more inefficient that private enterprise. New Zealand government departments were at one time extremely efficient if a little bloated in numbers. Privatization hasn't made things any better here, like the US & Australia infrastructure has suffered from lack of investment. It is now coming back to haunt each country.
What all that means is it will be harder for businesses or the economies to recover. Less jobs more unemployed more crime.
The Zen of Social Media Marketing: An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz, and Increase Revenue
But there has been another twist noticed in Europe & the Arab world with the riots & protests. It is the amount of young people out of work with little incentive to work. Potentially in the West it could be a lot worse.
We have spent years telling people they can be anything they want but forgot to tell them sometimes they have to fail. Many of them have the attitude is they have the right to do or take anything & you have no right to stop them.
When they look at the wages offered & what they can get either on the unemployment benefit or just by taking things is it no wonder they forgo a job.
Social Media has meant that parties & revolutions can be organized very quickly with governments not able to have control(unless they try like Egypt to just cut all access, but once it started it was too late).
The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Blogs, News Releases, Online Video, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly, 2nd Edition
So now we are going to have more people out of work, less jobs been created more people using social media who think they have the rights to anything & see the 'fun' people their age are having around the world.
As conditions get worse sounds like great ingredients for more civil unrest.
Is this another manipulation for greater transfer of wealth & power?
Or that was the intention but this thing, thanks to Social media, has gotten bigger than anyone was prepared for in the manner of a Tsaunami?
One way to mitigate that is make the public services more efficient so people can actually see a future. Because if they can't then what is to stop them making a new one of their design?
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Sunday, February 13, 2011
How can being a Role Model backfire?
Kia Ora,
Now this is not an attack on Islam, Sonny Bill Williams(SBW), Anthony Mundine or their agent Mr Knosser.
What it is, is the pointing out how good role models can end up leading people down another path.
Now Anthony Mundine & SBW have become good role models over the last few years from their earlier wild ways. In the last few days SBW has come out & officialy acknowleged he has converted to Islam which since both Mr Knosser & Mundine were or had converted it was always likely he had also.
Most moderate Muslims I have met around the world have been very open & accepting. That is how these role models appear too.
The issue becomes when others decide to follow with maybe not the guidance of more moderate minds.
I have a relation who is climbing nicely up the ranks in Rugby League in Australia. Always have given him a hard time that he should play for the Warriors(New Zealands team in the NRL competition)or a real game in rugby(been a rugby person myself). He has always idolized SBW to such an extent that he showed up to a meeting with a feeder club to another NRL club wearing a Canterbury Bulldogs jersey.
What SBW does he wants to do or did last time I spoke to him. Since then SBW has been on a journey of his own discovery. Changing to Rugby first in France then back here in New Zealand to make the All Blacks(National Rugby team).
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam, 2nd Edition
So if he still idolizes SBW what are his next moves?
Well if he converts to Islam it will be an interesting flat as his cousin comes from a conservative born again Christian background.
Without the guidance to look at Islam from a moderate view there is a chance like many youngsters this person could find themselves looking at the Koran in a radical fashion or radical elements taking them into their circle.
With both Anthony Mundine & SBW having such a huge following amongst young people there is always that chance. The same way that a good conservative Christian with a similar following could result in youngsters following a radical Christian path.
The Koran For Dummies
Since converting to Islam you have seen both Anthony Mundine & SBW presenting a different more accepting side. Even to the extent that SBW when he made a mistake went to a school to apologise then talk to the kids about lifes lessons of living up to your word & fixing your mistakes.
Here though is another connection to the financial crisis where good deeds like those from SBW may result in a few young ones converting to Islam. As the financial crisis worsens history shows that people tend to retreat into their religions or the like. The worse the situation the more likely people in particular young ones will follow the more radical paths.
The more I see & hear of the work of Mr Knosser, Mundine & Williams the more impressed I am. It would be a shame to see that undermined by poor guidance of those following them into the path of radicalism. Of course if Christian radicalism grows then so does Islamic radicalism or vice versa.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Now this is not an attack on Islam, Sonny Bill Williams(SBW), Anthony Mundine or their agent Mr Knosser.
What it is, is the pointing out how good role models can end up leading people down another path.
Now Anthony Mundine & SBW have become good role models over the last few years from their earlier wild ways. In the last few days SBW has come out & officialy acknowleged he has converted to Islam which since both Mr Knosser & Mundine were or had converted it was always likely he had also.
Most moderate Muslims I have met around the world have been very open & accepting. That is how these role models appear too.
The issue becomes when others decide to follow with maybe not the guidance of more moderate minds.
I have a relation who is climbing nicely up the ranks in Rugby League in Australia. Always have given him a hard time that he should play for the Warriors(New Zealands team in the NRL competition)or a real game in rugby(been a rugby person myself). He has always idolized SBW to such an extent that he showed up to a meeting with a feeder club to another NRL club wearing a Canterbury Bulldogs jersey.
What SBW does he wants to do or did last time I spoke to him. Since then SBW has been on a journey of his own discovery. Changing to Rugby first in France then back here in New Zealand to make the All Blacks(National Rugby team).
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam, 2nd Edition
So if he still idolizes SBW what are his next moves?
Well if he converts to Islam it will be an interesting flat as his cousin comes from a conservative born again Christian background.
Without the guidance to look at Islam from a moderate view there is a chance like many youngsters this person could find themselves looking at the Koran in a radical fashion or radical elements taking them into their circle.
With both Anthony Mundine & SBW having such a huge following amongst young people there is always that chance. The same way that a good conservative Christian with a similar following could result in youngsters following a radical Christian path.
The Koran For Dummies
Since converting to Islam you have seen both Anthony Mundine & SBW presenting a different more accepting side. Even to the extent that SBW when he made a mistake went to a school to apologise then talk to the kids about lifes lessons of living up to your word & fixing your mistakes.
Here though is another connection to the financial crisis where good deeds like those from SBW may result in a few young ones converting to Islam. As the financial crisis worsens history shows that people tend to retreat into their religions or the like. The worse the situation the more likely people in particular young ones will follow the more radical paths.
The more I see & hear of the work of Mr Knosser, Mundine & Williams the more impressed I am. It would be a shame to see that undermined by poor guidance of those following them into the path of radicalism. Of course if Christian radicalism grows then so does Islamic radicalism or vice versa.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Financial Terrorism!
Kia Ora,
Had to chuckle at headlines recently getting reported around the world as the US warns of the threat of Financial Terrorism!
Really it looks like another false flag operation.
Yes it could happen but why would it want too when the financial crisis goes from one emergency to the next. Also the fact that it is the US Federal REserve that is actually causing most of the damage.
There is a suggestion in the document commissioned by the US Department of Defence that the 2008 meltdown may not of been due to poor regulation & bad risk assessment.
Pull the other one.
In the book 'Rich Dad Prophecy' Robert Kiyosaki points out his 'Rich Dad' basically forecast what was going to happen.
How?
Unlike a fomer New Zealand Minister of Finance with a doctorate in history he looked at financial history, he then looked at Nixon taking the US(therefore the world)off the Bretton Woods standard(semi gold standard) in 1971 & a flaw in the 1974 US act in relation to retirement funds that created the 401K. That last part hasn't even hit yet.
Other reports have indicated that the large drops on the share market have been the result of possible financial terrorism not a mistake by a trader. Actually at the time many financial commentators who had been predicting a possible drop put the blip down to another reason. There is an overwatch group that is there to manipulate the markets so that things like this don't happen. For a moment in time they are overwhelmed before they can correct.
It is expected in the not too distant future there will come a time when they are overwhelmed to such an extent they will not be able to control the markets. Commodities will sky rocket & the market is likely to crash(although with inflation/hyper inflation there is the possibilty the market will go up in price but not in value, which of course will be presented as sign of a recovery whilst people starve in the streets).
Most people will say "the government will sort it or will look after us" & if you believe that then you believe in flying pigs. S..t I just saw one so you might be alright!
One quote I like is the scariest thing to hear is "we are from the government we are here to help" but I can't remember right now who said it.
As the people here in Canterbury & in particular Christchurch are finding post the earthquake government help is the Clayton's help. The help you get when you are not really getting help.
Rich Dad's Advisors: Guide to Investing In Gold and Silver: Protect Your Financial Future
Whilst they play these games of words to convince people they know what they are doing it is the people who are suffering & as a result crime is rising. People need to live! They need to feed their families!
One recent interview I saw via the internet showed that the US is in much worse position than Tunisia or Egypt but the difference was for now the percentage of weekly pay required for food is much less in the US. Once it rises then the US will almost certainly follow the rest of the world in at least food riots.
New Zealand needs to be weary as our food prices are now starting to take a large part of take home pay. I know as a single person having to buy my own groceries, the amount I used to buy five bags of groceries with a year ago now only gets me two bags. But there is no inflation we are told. Yeah Right!
The Dollar Crisis: Causes, Consequences, Cures , Revised and Updated
In Egypt since the crisis there began banks have been closed meaning as they re opened there has almost been a run on banks as people que to get their cash out.
I undertand after 9/11 the same happened in the US & only those with gold or silver were able to purchase goods as cash held ran out.
There is another interesting part of the report on Financial Terrorism. It says "forces could mount a 'focused effort to collapse the dollar by dumping Treasury bonds'".
Now that would of been written at the time China held the most US bonds in the world just ahead of Japan. A Chinese General instead of wanting to go to war over Taiwan had wanted, in response to US support for Taiwan, to dump the bonds on the markets to destroy the US economy.
The Day After the Dollar Crashes: A Survival Guide for the Rise of the New World Order
But the Chinese have taken a more pragmatic view. Slowly lessening their exposure to US debt(whilst also using it to buy guarranteed access to or the actual commodities), raising the Yuan slowly so as not to impact on their own people in a devasting fashion. Right now they are taking action to cool inflation which could seriously impact on countries such as Australia.
Recently the Federal Reserve has become the biggest holder of US government bonds as it buys them to give the impression all is OK.
So who are these forces?
Good excuse to go to war with China! But the Chinese would not see it in their interests yet to just dump the bonds they do possess as it would harm its own people.
The Corruption of Capitalism: A strategy to rebalance the global economy and restore sustainable growth
So as China & Japan I would expect lessen their exposure to US debt that just leaves the Federal Reserve. The private central bank formed in the interests of the bankers. Now it would be in their interest at some stage to collect on these debts transferring more wealth & power to their principals which do not include the US government.
Meanwhile they just create more currency to buy more bonds meaning not only now do they continue to export inflation but by monetizing the debt cause inflation in the US. It also increases the interest bill the US government owes Federal Reserve which is or about to be greater than the whole tax take in the US.
Seems to me the only Financial Terrorists likely to hit the US or anywhere else are the Central banks that 'are working to help us'. Yeah Right!
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Had to chuckle at headlines recently getting reported around the world as the US warns of the threat of Financial Terrorism!
Really it looks like another false flag operation.
Yes it could happen but why would it want too when the financial crisis goes from one emergency to the next. Also the fact that it is the US Federal REserve that is actually causing most of the damage.
There is a suggestion in the document commissioned by the US Department of Defence that the 2008 meltdown may not of been due to poor regulation & bad risk assessment.
Pull the other one.
In the book 'Rich Dad Prophecy' Robert Kiyosaki points out his 'Rich Dad' basically forecast what was going to happen.
How?
Unlike a fomer New Zealand Minister of Finance with a doctorate in history he looked at financial history, he then looked at Nixon taking the US(therefore the world)off the Bretton Woods standard(semi gold standard) in 1971 & a flaw in the 1974 US act in relation to retirement funds that created the 401K. That last part hasn't even hit yet.
Other reports have indicated that the large drops on the share market have been the result of possible financial terrorism not a mistake by a trader. Actually at the time many financial commentators who had been predicting a possible drop put the blip down to another reason. There is an overwatch group that is there to manipulate the markets so that things like this don't happen. For a moment in time they are overwhelmed before they can correct.
It is expected in the not too distant future there will come a time when they are overwhelmed to such an extent they will not be able to control the markets. Commodities will sky rocket & the market is likely to crash(although with inflation/hyper inflation there is the possibilty the market will go up in price but not in value, which of course will be presented as sign of a recovery whilst people starve in the streets).
Most people will say "the government will sort it or will look after us" & if you believe that then you believe in flying pigs. S..t I just saw one so you might be alright!
One quote I like is the scariest thing to hear is "we are from the government we are here to help" but I can't remember right now who said it.
As the people here in Canterbury & in particular Christchurch are finding post the earthquake government help is the Clayton's help. The help you get when you are not really getting help.
Rich Dad's Advisors: Guide to Investing In Gold and Silver: Protect Your Financial Future
Whilst they play these games of words to convince people they know what they are doing it is the people who are suffering & as a result crime is rising. People need to live! They need to feed their families!
One recent interview I saw via the internet showed that the US is in much worse position than Tunisia or Egypt but the difference was for now the percentage of weekly pay required for food is much less in the US. Once it rises then the US will almost certainly follow the rest of the world in at least food riots.
New Zealand needs to be weary as our food prices are now starting to take a large part of take home pay. I know as a single person having to buy my own groceries, the amount I used to buy five bags of groceries with a year ago now only gets me two bags. But there is no inflation we are told. Yeah Right!
The Dollar Crisis: Causes, Consequences, Cures , Revised and Updated
In Egypt since the crisis there began banks have been closed meaning as they re opened there has almost been a run on banks as people que to get their cash out.
I undertand after 9/11 the same happened in the US & only those with gold or silver were able to purchase goods as cash held ran out.
There is another interesting part of the report on Financial Terrorism. It says "forces could mount a 'focused effort to collapse the dollar by dumping Treasury bonds'".
Now that would of been written at the time China held the most US bonds in the world just ahead of Japan. A Chinese General instead of wanting to go to war over Taiwan had wanted, in response to US support for Taiwan, to dump the bonds on the markets to destroy the US economy.
The Day After the Dollar Crashes: A Survival Guide for the Rise of the New World Order
But the Chinese have taken a more pragmatic view. Slowly lessening their exposure to US debt(whilst also using it to buy guarranteed access to or the actual commodities), raising the Yuan slowly so as not to impact on their own people in a devasting fashion. Right now they are taking action to cool inflation which could seriously impact on countries such as Australia.
Recently the Federal Reserve has become the biggest holder of US government bonds as it buys them to give the impression all is OK.
So who are these forces?
Good excuse to go to war with China! But the Chinese would not see it in their interests yet to just dump the bonds they do possess as it would harm its own people.
The Corruption of Capitalism: A strategy to rebalance the global economy and restore sustainable growth
So as China & Japan I would expect lessen their exposure to US debt that just leaves the Federal Reserve. The private central bank formed in the interests of the bankers. Now it would be in their interest at some stage to collect on these debts transferring more wealth & power to their principals which do not include the US government.
Meanwhile they just create more currency to buy more bonds meaning not only now do they continue to export inflation but by monetizing the debt cause inflation in the US. It also increases the interest bill the US government owes Federal Reserve which is or about to be greater than the whole tax take in the US.
Seems to me the only Financial Terrorists likely to hit the US or anywhere else are the Central banks that 'are working to help us'. Yeah Right!
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Saturday, February 5, 2011
No Leadership! Tell us something we don't know!
Kia Ora,
Well big drive by the Christchurch 'Press' to try to pin down where the earthquake recovery is going. The fact it seems leaderless.
It is this passing the buck, lack of action that is frustrating people & causing anger to rise.
I see also that EQC are going to review the assessments of chattels as private insurance has been giving small payments saying the house is going to be demolished from what they can see yet EQC are saying it can be fixed(from descriptions I have had Mickey Mouse style). Results in huge difference in assessments, more frustration & anger.
Normally you would say it was private insurance trying to pay as little as possible, but having been in some properties where EQC has said they can be fixed I think not. Slapping some concrete out of a bucket with a paint brush to even out the bumps in the floor I have seen done in Asia & might be acceptable in Australia(as it was recommened by an Australian I take it, it is)but it is not here & not when more large earthquakes are overdue.
Even the Mayor of Christchurch has lost his zip & fallen into line with the status quo saying different leaders are needed for different areas. But there is a need for an overall leader. Not a new one but an existing one to step up.
Now the Mayor of Christchurch & two structural engineers said quite early on in interviews that the building code had done its job & saved lives it was not there to save a building.
Straight away to me that implies like any saftey equipment such as body armour, cycle or motorcycle helmets that once used for the purpose for which they were designed they have to be replaced. So this is a rebuild not a recovery.
Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Handbook
Instead of like Auckland or Wellington where recently Heritage buildings have been ordered demolished in hours when required Christchurch is still arguing over their merits five months later. Probably why someone asking for suggestions to get CBD going again didn't like my suggestion of bulldozing the whole lot & starting again.
By having so many 'leaders' who are as far as anyone can see showing no leadership nothing is getting done. With expected shocks to continue & even the predicted potential big shake around the 20th March 2011 (not to mention the earlier shake up around the 19th February 2011 based on the moon in Perigee) damage is worsening & showing how poor assessments are that have been done.
When green stickered(All OK) builidings have walls collapse it just tells people good shake from different direction or location can wreck anything or the initial assessments were not good enough.
Earthquake Engineering for Structural Design
All the theory in the world is great but it is the actual effect on the ground that matters.
The Minister for Earthquake Recovery is no better. He might officially live here, though for some reason wasn't here at time of the wee shake & never seems to be here except for visits as far as anyone can tell. People in his electorate are not happy. His efforts have been pitiful.
Now the Mayor of Christchurch in the aftermath of the earthquake & led up to the local body elections made a statement "I'm over democracy" or words to that effect. I would of though the current situation was right up his alley to prove his point.
Earthquake Engineering
When immediately after the main quake he had special powers & was able to get things done, but now it is committee after committee or commission & the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Commission(CERC)has no power it just recommends.
Of course a Camel is a horse designed by a committee or as one businessman I think it was said "a commitee is a place where good ideas go to die" or words to that effect.
We don't need committee's or commissions we need action.
It has got so ridiculous that one business contracted into assist with the recovery went to set up in the location recommended by the council but is now waiting on resource consent from the council to set up. The earthquake recovery act was supposed to deal with issues like that quickly, efficiently as was the minister. Both have failed!
Earthquake Damage: Inspection, Evaluation and Repair
The media are only scratching the surface of what is been passed on by concerned structural engineers as to information that is been hidden from people. It gives the impression that they are been hard on those who represent us but in reality it appears to be "you scratch my back & I will scratch your back".
So say this predicted potential big quake does hit around 20th March 2011 & this time people are killed. What then to these bureaucrats & politicians who do nothing?
I would say the anger & frustration will definitely boil over. About that time to add to the stress people's payments to cover rent(for temporary accomodation) from insurance companies is due to run out. With no word on what these people, who are paying both mortgage & rent, will get to cover this shortfall as yet many are moving back into their condemmed houses. The worsening financial crisis is making things just more difficult.
Advances in Earthquake Engineering for Urban Risk Reduction
I have said it before New Zealand has become a Risk Adverse country.
People would say to me but you are always on about Health & Saftey & Risk Assessment.
There is a difference.
In a very early blog someone criticized me for not naming the system of Risk Assessment I use. Those systems are designed to give people an excuse not to do anything.
Where as the other day I saw an editors comment about how the person whom the movie 127 hours is about is one of those persons who just ignores the risks or words to that effect.
Earthquake-resistant Concrete Structures
Actually that is the New Zealand perception been wrong again.
In business, life, the military & working in places like Iraq. It is not about ignoring the risk, it is about assessing it, mitgating it whilst still carrying on & I suspect without seeing the movie that is what this person has done. New Zealand used to be like that but not anymore. It just seems risky because people lack the knowledge or haven't weighed up the Risks.
Actually as I was typing that it reminded me of Charles Upham VC & Bar when standing on top of a truck to direct fire duirng the battle of Minqar Qaim. It looked dangerous & foolhardy to those around him, but his assessment was all the German shots were going low, so he was safer up high.
That is why people don't like my risk assessments as they see them as it will be used as a reason not to do something.
In fact I am looking at it the other way. Here is the risk, mitigate it so we can have a good event or safe society. But people here do not want to know & even when something does happen, within hours people are acting like it never happened. If you asked many of those people they would tell you it never happens in New Zealand or where they are.
I know it happened the other day within 24 hours of an armed robbery where people allowed others to enter in a manner that could very well be another armed robbery at the same location. A non New Zealand citizen did their nut at the staff for allowing it.
Risk Assessment Methods: Approaches for Assessing Health and Environmental Risks
New Zealand has become like the US Military when I first went to Iraq to work. Hint of issues or a suicide bomber they would lock down the Green Zone for sometimes days which gave the initiative back to the terrorists & insurgents(I well remember one Irishman during such a time saying he was going to pushbike to the Baghdad airport to get his plane out).
Compare that to the British reaction(& the Iraqis did) which was to flood an area after a shooting or bombing with troops on foot asking questions "What did we do wrong? Who was it?" etc. Then play a game of soccer with the kids.
Risks of been shot or blown up hadn't changed but their reaction was to try to get things moving. The British themselves observed in the end they stayed too long & lost that goodwill.
Earthquake Risk Reduction
Seems to me we are retreating inside our fortress, doing a lot of talking but nothing is getting done. New Zealanders tend not to say a lot even when things are wrong as they don't want to stand out. So if a lot of people are now talking it is time to take note & take action. Get things done!
As former Mayor Gary Moore said when questioned in one of the articles "Do I still have a sense of hope? No" & I would say that is a sentiment shared by many in Christchurch at present because there is no action & there is no leadership.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Well big drive by the Christchurch 'Press' to try to pin down where the earthquake recovery is going. The fact it seems leaderless.
It is this passing the buck, lack of action that is frustrating people & causing anger to rise.
I see also that EQC are going to review the assessments of chattels as private insurance has been giving small payments saying the house is going to be demolished from what they can see yet EQC are saying it can be fixed(from descriptions I have had Mickey Mouse style). Results in huge difference in assessments, more frustration & anger.
Normally you would say it was private insurance trying to pay as little as possible, but having been in some properties where EQC has said they can be fixed I think not. Slapping some concrete out of a bucket with a paint brush to even out the bumps in the floor I have seen done in Asia & might be acceptable in Australia(as it was recommened by an Australian I take it, it is)but it is not here & not when more large earthquakes are overdue.
Even the Mayor of Christchurch has lost his zip & fallen into line with the status quo saying different leaders are needed for different areas. But there is a need for an overall leader. Not a new one but an existing one to step up.
Now the Mayor of Christchurch & two structural engineers said quite early on in interviews that the building code had done its job & saved lives it was not there to save a building.
Straight away to me that implies like any saftey equipment such as body armour, cycle or motorcycle helmets that once used for the purpose for which they were designed they have to be replaced. So this is a rebuild not a recovery.
Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Handbook
Instead of like Auckland or Wellington where recently Heritage buildings have been ordered demolished in hours when required Christchurch is still arguing over their merits five months later. Probably why someone asking for suggestions to get CBD going again didn't like my suggestion of bulldozing the whole lot & starting again.
By having so many 'leaders' who are as far as anyone can see showing no leadership nothing is getting done. With expected shocks to continue & even the predicted potential big shake around the 20th March 2011 (not to mention the earlier shake up around the 19th February 2011 based on the moon in Perigee) damage is worsening & showing how poor assessments are that have been done.
When green stickered(All OK) builidings have walls collapse it just tells people good shake from different direction or location can wreck anything or the initial assessments were not good enough.
Earthquake Engineering for Structural Design
All the theory in the world is great but it is the actual effect on the ground that matters.
The Minister for Earthquake Recovery is no better. He might officially live here, though for some reason wasn't here at time of the wee shake & never seems to be here except for visits as far as anyone can tell. People in his electorate are not happy. His efforts have been pitiful.
Now the Mayor of Christchurch in the aftermath of the earthquake & led up to the local body elections made a statement "I'm over democracy" or words to that effect. I would of though the current situation was right up his alley to prove his point.
Earthquake Engineering
When immediately after the main quake he had special powers & was able to get things done, but now it is committee after committee or commission & the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Commission(CERC)has no power it just recommends.
Of course a Camel is a horse designed by a committee or as one businessman I think it was said "a commitee is a place where good ideas go to die" or words to that effect.
We don't need committee's or commissions we need action.
It has got so ridiculous that one business contracted into assist with the recovery went to set up in the location recommended by the council but is now waiting on resource consent from the council to set up. The earthquake recovery act was supposed to deal with issues like that quickly, efficiently as was the minister. Both have failed!
Earthquake Damage: Inspection, Evaluation and Repair
The media are only scratching the surface of what is been passed on by concerned structural engineers as to information that is been hidden from people. It gives the impression that they are been hard on those who represent us but in reality it appears to be "you scratch my back & I will scratch your back".
So say this predicted potential big quake does hit around 20th March 2011 & this time people are killed. What then to these bureaucrats & politicians who do nothing?
I would say the anger & frustration will definitely boil over. About that time to add to the stress people's payments to cover rent(for temporary accomodation) from insurance companies is due to run out. With no word on what these people, who are paying both mortgage & rent, will get to cover this shortfall as yet many are moving back into their condemmed houses. The worsening financial crisis is making things just more difficult.
Advances in Earthquake Engineering for Urban Risk Reduction
I have said it before New Zealand has become a Risk Adverse country.
People would say to me but you are always on about Health & Saftey & Risk Assessment.
There is a difference.
In a very early blog someone criticized me for not naming the system of Risk Assessment I use. Those systems are designed to give people an excuse not to do anything.
Where as the other day I saw an editors comment about how the person whom the movie 127 hours is about is one of those persons who just ignores the risks or words to that effect.
Earthquake-resistant Concrete Structures
Actually that is the New Zealand perception been wrong again.
In business, life, the military & working in places like Iraq. It is not about ignoring the risk, it is about assessing it, mitgating it whilst still carrying on & I suspect without seeing the movie that is what this person has done. New Zealand used to be like that but not anymore. It just seems risky because people lack the knowledge or haven't weighed up the Risks.
Actually as I was typing that it reminded me of Charles Upham VC & Bar when standing on top of a truck to direct fire duirng the battle of Minqar Qaim. It looked dangerous & foolhardy to those around him, but his assessment was all the German shots were going low, so he was safer up high.
That is why people don't like my risk assessments as they see them as it will be used as a reason not to do something.
In fact I am looking at it the other way. Here is the risk, mitigate it so we can have a good event or safe society. But people here do not want to know & even when something does happen, within hours people are acting like it never happened. If you asked many of those people they would tell you it never happens in New Zealand or where they are.
I know it happened the other day within 24 hours of an armed robbery where people allowed others to enter in a manner that could very well be another armed robbery at the same location. A non New Zealand citizen did their nut at the staff for allowing it.
Risk Assessment Methods: Approaches for Assessing Health and Environmental Risks
New Zealand has become like the US Military when I first went to Iraq to work. Hint of issues or a suicide bomber they would lock down the Green Zone for sometimes days which gave the initiative back to the terrorists & insurgents(I well remember one Irishman during such a time saying he was going to pushbike to the Baghdad airport to get his plane out).
Compare that to the British reaction(& the Iraqis did) which was to flood an area after a shooting or bombing with troops on foot asking questions "What did we do wrong? Who was it?" etc. Then play a game of soccer with the kids.
Risks of been shot or blown up hadn't changed but their reaction was to try to get things moving. The British themselves observed in the end they stayed too long & lost that goodwill.
Earthquake Risk Reduction
Seems to me we are retreating inside our fortress, doing a lot of talking but nothing is getting done. New Zealanders tend not to say a lot even when things are wrong as they don't want to stand out. So if a lot of people are now talking it is time to take note & take action. Get things done!
As former Mayor Gary Moore said when questioned in one of the articles "Do I still have a sense of hope? No" & I would say that is a sentiment shared by many in Christchurch at present because there is no action & there is no leadership.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Friday, February 4, 2011
How Racist are we?
Kia Ora,
About 30 years ago there was an international prediction that New Zealand could be one of four countries where internal strife or civil war could break out in the South Pacific region. From memory it was Fiji, New Zealand & PNG with strife likely in Western Samoa.
Comment though was that in New Zealand it would not be a racial split, more on ideological grounds. For anyone that has been in the military in particular the NZ army(though I hear it is changing) we were all green. We used to (& still do when we meet) call each other by racist slang in particular around the US military who always had a problem with it. At least until they realized we never actually meant it.
Though as my faux pas in the Presidentail Palace car park in Baghdad shows you just have to be mindful of where you are. On exiting vehicle I was in, spied a large muscular Maori Gentleman(sure that is first time he has been called that) or a mate & yelled "So & so you bl..k c..t" when I was suddenly aware the whole place was frozen as everyone looked then waited for his reaction. He looked up seen me then just reacted like he would of any other time. "Bro ...".
One person is well known for showing up to meetings with a pillow case over their head with eyes cut out & a cross on his shoulder when he was the only pakeha(of European descent) in that unit. As far as I know no one ever took offence at it. It was just our sense of humour that something like that was accepted.
Why talk about this now?
Well it is Waitangi Day again(6th February) to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi & Professor Margaret Mutu has come out saying New Zealand has had racism since Pakeha arrived & that New Zealand will not move forward until that is addressed.
Now racism in Australia is quite open. So much so that Australians don't even realize they are doing it. But in some ways that is healthier.
It is quite openly racist both ways in the US too but it tends to be of the unhealthy kind. Australia though, as many of my mates have pointed out, is racist but if you do your job they just accept you for you & get on with things.
Pacific Migrant Labour, Class and Racism in New Zealand: Fresh Off the Boat (Research in Ethnic Relations)
In New Zealand it is very understated & not talked about or denied. If it is raised it is how racist all things are slanted towards Maori. Some of which can be quite amusing to hear as obviously the people involved have no idea what they are talking about.
Amusing in regards to the likes of the Maori seats in parliament. People often refer to these as been racist. They are & were formed on that basis so Maori could not be in control of the country as they would of been at the time been the majority land holders & in population.
So for now to have control beyond their populaton through entrenched Maori seats been called racist is quite ironic.
The Politics of Nostalgia: Racism and the Extreme Right in New Zealand
Now the Professors comments show an example of the different attitudes. The Australian channel Prime which shows here, had it as its first item. TV One news, the main news in New Zealand never even mentioned it. I am not sure what TV 3 thought of it.
But then it is not that simple either as there is these days obviously racism on both sides. Being of Maori descent but pale I get it from both sides. On the pakeha side because they only regard you as Maori if you are brown not by whakapapa which is the true identifier & so make comments(even after you point out you are Maori) that they would not make if my cousins were there.
Tauiwi: Racism and ethnicity in New Zealand
On the Maori side the comments directed at me because of my skin colour for which they are quickly pulled up & put right. The other area I see which some Maori play on is the perceived slight such as more arrests in the Christchurch CBD a few years back of Maori & Pacific Islanders.
Although I have it realiably from within police ranks about that time it was quite racist in thought(just reflecting the society they work in) in fact that issue had little to do with racism but more to do with wealth & costs.
Those figures changed once the police were ordered to arrest everyone causing issues. Suddenly 82% of those causing the mayhem were rich & white young males. Up to that stage(& I have both been told this by offenders as a security officer & heard the police told this)these same young males would state "I will get off, get dad's lawyer & ask for a jury trial" officers were just told to forget it by superiors as cost was too high. In the end police just stopped doing it as waste of time & paper work. So they just prosecuted the lower income group which tends to be high in proportion of Maori & Pacific Islanders.
Nga take: Ethnic relations and racism in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Not to mention there used to be an attitude amongst the low income groups of "do the crime do the time" & "the crime is getting caught". As any police officer is likely to tell you & it is the same with security you get more trouble with a person in a suit than a gang member in most situations. Many well dressed, well off people think they have the right to commit a crime or the rules don't apply to them & no one can touch them.
Where as a gang member will often once caught just think 'got caught not worth the hassle'.
Racism and Ethnicity (Critical Issues in New Zealand Society)
Racism in New Zealand though is another of those subjects like crime or our 'clean & green image' that are fallacies in this country & that need to be talked about.
But the New Zealand attitude is "this is a great country we don't have any of those problems & we will never have real bad crime or terrorism like overseas" yeah right they are already here.
Some will not like the use of the word Pakeha here as they find it offensive. That is because they are told it means 'white pig'. Actually it doesn't. No one is actually sure what it means anymore but it was once a term of great esteem.
At best it appears to have been a corruption of some Maori words such as those for Pa(fort) of white ghosts, or to do with the smell of the ship & its crew(you actually smell like the food you eat or its combination in the natural state) or the best I have heard is Maori at the time trying to get their tongue around the common expression they would of heard of bugger ya(you) which if you run together & say fast comes out like Pakeha.
Nga Patai : Racism and Ethnic Relations in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Of course on the other side there was the mistunderstanding that Maori was what people referred to themselves as. Maori means ordinary & no one would of identified as Maori but as Ngapuhi, Ngati Porou, Ngai Tahu, Waitaha or what ever Iwi(tribe) you came from. There was no such thing as Maori as a people.
Therein lies another issue the British thought they were signing with the Maori people, but Maori were only signing on behalf of their Iwi or more likely Hapu or whanau. Not all signed & some Iwi never signed at all, but the British attitude was once one person signed it was on behalf of all Maori people.
But then that is no different than the British identifying the language used in the court of the Emperor of China as Mandarin. There was no such dialect back then. What did happen was the officials across China for ease of communication used whatever the dialect of the Emperor at the time was.
The British termed these officials Mandarins so the language they spoke must be Mandarin or the official language. I think it was Jesuits tried to inform them other wise but being Catholics were dismissed as meddlers. From memory same group tried to assist in putting together of treaty here.
Disciplining the Savages
Like anything else the more we suppress them then at somestage they will come up & bite us on the rear. Both sides have to start talking & start listening. I think they will find in many instances they are actually on the same page just not listening or understanding. On others such as the Foreshore & Seabed as stated in a previous blog it might be very well the best option to ensure that area is in Maori hands with a caveat for all New Zealand citizes to use as the best way of protecting it for all.
But the politicians & those in power behind todays financial instituitions don't want us to understand each other. They would rather we are divided & arguing than trying to actually work together.
If a politician is giving you what you want look closely as they are probably doing quite the opposite & trouble will ensue.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
About 30 years ago there was an international prediction that New Zealand could be one of four countries where internal strife or civil war could break out in the South Pacific region. From memory it was Fiji, New Zealand & PNG with strife likely in Western Samoa.
Comment though was that in New Zealand it would not be a racial split, more on ideological grounds. For anyone that has been in the military in particular the NZ army(though I hear it is changing) we were all green. We used to (& still do when we meet) call each other by racist slang in particular around the US military who always had a problem with it. At least until they realized we never actually meant it.
Though as my faux pas in the Presidentail Palace car park in Baghdad shows you just have to be mindful of where you are. On exiting vehicle I was in, spied a large muscular Maori Gentleman(sure that is first time he has been called that) or a mate & yelled "So & so you bl..k c..t" when I was suddenly aware the whole place was frozen as everyone looked then waited for his reaction. He looked up seen me then just reacted like he would of any other time. "Bro ...".
One person is well known for showing up to meetings with a pillow case over their head with eyes cut out & a cross on his shoulder when he was the only pakeha(of European descent) in that unit. As far as I know no one ever took offence at it. It was just our sense of humour that something like that was accepted.
Why talk about this now?
Well it is Waitangi Day again(6th February) to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi & Professor Margaret Mutu has come out saying New Zealand has had racism since Pakeha arrived & that New Zealand will not move forward until that is addressed.
Now racism in Australia is quite open. So much so that Australians don't even realize they are doing it. But in some ways that is healthier.
It is quite openly racist both ways in the US too but it tends to be of the unhealthy kind. Australia though, as many of my mates have pointed out, is racist but if you do your job they just accept you for you & get on with things.
Pacific Migrant Labour, Class and Racism in New Zealand: Fresh Off the Boat (Research in Ethnic Relations)
In New Zealand it is very understated & not talked about or denied. If it is raised it is how racist all things are slanted towards Maori. Some of which can be quite amusing to hear as obviously the people involved have no idea what they are talking about.
Amusing in regards to the likes of the Maori seats in parliament. People often refer to these as been racist. They are & were formed on that basis so Maori could not be in control of the country as they would of been at the time been the majority land holders & in population.
So for now to have control beyond their populaton through entrenched Maori seats been called racist is quite ironic.
The Politics of Nostalgia: Racism and the Extreme Right in New Zealand
Now the Professors comments show an example of the different attitudes. The Australian channel Prime which shows here, had it as its first item. TV One news, the main news in New Zealand never even mentioned it. I am not sure what TV 3 thought of it.
But then it is not that simple either as there is these days obviously racism on both sides. Being of Maori descent but pale I get it from both sides. On the pakeha side because they only regard you as Maori if you are brown not by whakapapa which is the true identifier & so make comments(even after you point out you are Maori) that they would not make if my cousins were there.
Tauiwi: Racism and ethnicity in New Zealand
On the Maori side the comments directed at me because of my skin colour for which they are quickly pulled up & put right. The other area I see which some Maori play on is the perceived slight such as more arrests in the Christchurch CBD a few years back of Maori & Pacific Islanders.
Although I have it realiably from within police ranks about that time it was quite racist in thought(just reflecting the society they work in) in fact that issue had little to do with racism but more to do with wealth & costs.
Those figures changed once the police were ordered to arrest everyone causing issues. Suddenly 82% of those causing the mayhem were rich & white young males. Up to that stage(& I have both been told this by offenders as a security officer & heard the police told this)these same young males would state "I will get off, get dad's lawyer & ask for a jury trial" officers were just told to forget it by superiors as cost was too high. In the end police just stopped doing it as waste of time & paper work. So they just prosecuted the lower income group which tends to be high in proportion of Maori & Pacific Islanders.
Nga take: Ethnic relations and racism in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Not to mention there used to be an attitude amongst the low income groups of "do the crime do the time" & "the crime is getting caught". As any police officer is likely to tell you & it is the same with security you get more trouble with a person in a suit than a gang member in most situations. Many well dressed, well off people think they have the right to commit a crime or the rules don't apply to them & no one can touch them.
Where as a gang member will often once caught just think 'got caught not worth the hassle'.
Racism and Ethnicity (Critical Issues in New Zealand Society)
Racism in New Zealand though is another of those subjects like crime or our 'clean & green image' that are fallacies in this country & that need to be talked about.
But the New Zealand attitude is "this is a great country we don't have any of those problems & we will never have real bad crime or terrorism like overseas" yeah right they are already here.
Some will not like the use of the word Pakeha here as they find it offensive. That is because they are told it means 'white pig'. Actually it doesn't. No one is actually sure what it means anymore but it was once a term of great esteem.
At best it appears to have been a corruption of some Maori words such as those for Pa(fort) of white ghosts, or to do with the smell of the ship & its crew(you actually smell like the food you eat or its combination in the natural state) or the best I have heard is Maori at the time trying to get their tongue around the common expression they would of heard of bugger ya(you) which if you run together & say fast comes out like Pakeha.
Nga Patai : Racism and Ethnic Relations in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Of course on the other side there was the mistunderstanding that Maori was what people referred to themselves as. Maori means ordinary & no one would of identified as Maori but as Ngapuhi, Ngati Porou, Ngai Tahu, Waitaha or what ever Iwi(tribe) you came from. There was no such thing as Maori as a people.
Therein lies another issue the British thought they were signing with the Maori people, but Maori were only signing on behalf of their Iwi or more likely Hapu or whanau. Not all signed & some Iwi never signed at all, but the British attitude was once one person signed it was on behalf of all Maori people.
But then that is no different than the British identifying the language used in the court of the Emperor of China as Mandarin. There was no such dialect back then. What did happen was the officials across China for ease of communication used whatever the dialect of the Emperor at the time was.
The British termed these officials Mandarins so the language they spoke must be Mandarin or the official language. I think it was Jesuits tried to inform them other wise but being Catholics were dismissed as meddlers. From memory same group tried to assist in putting together of treaty here.
Disciplining the Savages
Like anything else the more we suppress them then at somestage they will come up & bite us on the rear. Both sides have to start talking & start listening. I think they will find in many instances they are actually on the same page just not listening or understanding. On others such as the Foreshore & Seabed as stated in a previous blog it might be very well the best option to ensure that area is in Maori hands with a caveat for all New Zealand citizes to use as the best way of protecting it for all.
But the politicians & those in power behind todays financial instituitions don't want us to understand each other. They would rather we are divided & arguing than trying to actually work together.
If a politician is giving you what you want look closely as they are probably doing quite the opposite & trouble will ensue.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Pushing the legalized Theft!
Kia Ora,
Well at present there is a huge push here in New Zealand on the legalized theft road. You have all sorts of financial 'experts' & the government pushing Kiwisaver or our superannuation scheme.
The reason it is legalized theft is the world has changed, these people did well during the boom times but have not realized it & anyone partaking in the scheme will lose out.
Straight away any US readers will be starting to understand this as their 401K's are sinking in value in the main & I understand there is debate over whether the government will stop people taking from these plans to prop up the economy. Thing is that decision was made some time back by the oversight body for those funds 401K's trade in.
The funds have the power to stop paying out in order to bail out the banks was how it was presented by a financial commentator sometime back.
So first you have inflation making the value of any currency you have in your retirement savings worth less each day as the world continues to 'print' fiat currency(currency backed by nothing more than a promise & promises of governments are worth exactly that-nothing) & now they are stealing it legally to prop up those that have ruined the economy.
Australians tell me they were starting to see the same issue of their Superannuation funds falling in value & making lossess. The Australian government got crafty after the complaints & allowed people to control their own funds. I would say they will still be paying fees to the fund managers for allowing them to hold their currency for them. Also how many of those who take up that option actually know how to invest?
I would bet most will have their currency in property because of the view that property always goes up. It doesn't. They need to understand the cycles & trade them to get ahead.
Self Managed Superannuation Funds
Even here in New Zealand after only a few short years Kiwisaver is now making losses.
Yet the big push is on to get as many people signed up as possible.
A mate tells me that in the US right now you can drive into cities & see virtually on every street homeless people including whole families. Recently 60 minutes had a clip on 401K's been near worthless & executives out of work looking for any type of work going.
So crime will be on the rise but will the police respond? Their cars are getting repossessed & gas stations are refusing to refill police cars as local or state governments are not paying the fuel bills.
Superannuation Funds Management in Australia - Industry Market Research Report
There are reported to be 100 cities in the US on the verge of bankruptcy with the state of California(worlds eigth largest economy) about to go the same way as Greece, Ireland & Portugal.
The US then is heading towards the same road as Tunisia, Eygpt, Yemen, Jordan, Bangladesh, India with protests over the likes of rising food prices, corruption & people have just had enough.
Never happen in New Zealand though. Yeah right.
One thing that hit me on leaving the army & moving into the security industry was just how many 'unseen' people there were in this country. In particular those living on the streets many who had mental ilnesses.
Superannuation in the Civil Service: Report of a Special Committee of the National Civil-Service Reform League
In the last week though I have noticed a disturbing trend here in New Zealand. Now I always maintain that most crime is actually not reported. But usually it is not reported to the police. How about the police not reporting it to the media?
I am aware of an armed robbery that took place approximately a week a go that has still not been reported in the media here. More often than not they are though I had noticed a delay in reporting starting to creep in.
Then on driving in to my local mall got this feeling about someone sitting in a vehicle. After a while in security, like the police you get feelings about certain people which are usually right.
After entering the mall I suddenly notice a guy looking similar walk in. Had what appeared to be a walkman/MP3 earphones in but then noticed one side was clipped to his lapel & he was talking into it.
Rewarding Service: A History of the Government Superannuation Fund
Quick check other person was still in vehicle taking a keen interest in area of the banks. Went of to see if I could find mall security, suddenly find second person walking through mall & obviously scanning for something he went straight through & out.
This was all passed onto Mall management.
Few days later see another person scanning the car park & area where shortly after an armoured cash vehicle parked up. Saw this person again yesterday hanging around whilst talking to mall security.
As we were talking realized this person wasn't probably looking to commit a crime though it may come to that. They were homeless or at best on a benefit with no prospects & no cash.
The Birth of a Pension Scheme: A History of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (E. Allison Peers Lectures)
At this time the only people who have noticed this person are those of us in security or the cleaners(great eyes & ears) but as the legalized theft continues you are going to see more & more people living on the streets with no prospects.
People will get desperate as government cuts will mean they have access to less & less help & therefore crime will rise or eventually we get the situation of an Eygpt.
Notice the last couple of books I have put in here are about government or university pension schemes. It now appears that at least in the US if you were a civil servant your pension is paid before the state, city or even government pays its bills.
Which is particularly worrying for the US because all the cash put into social security was 'borrowed' by as I understand it the Clinton administration so is an off book expense that they have to keep paying. That is why some commentators are saying the real debt in the US is US$200 Trillion not US$14.5 Trillion as the official amount is quoted.
So you combine this legalized theft with incompetent corrupt bureaucrats & politicians manipulating the people all you need is a trigger.
In Tunisia it was a black market food seller trying to make ends meet to feed his family. Here is might just be the idiot at NZ Post saying they never lose information when they quite obviously do. The trigger will usually be something minor though but some when people have just had enough. Right now in New Zealand that could be easily on the West Coast over the Pike River Mine disater or here in Christchurch over the extremely poor government response to the earthquake.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Well at present there is a huge push here in New Zealand on the legalized theft road. You have all sorts of financial 'experts' & the government pushing Kiwisaver or our superannuation scheme.
The reason it is legalized theft is the world has changed, these people did well during the boom times but have not realized it & anyone partaking in the scheme will lose out.
Straight away any US readers will be starting to understand this as their 401K's are sinking in value in the main & I understand there is debate over whether the government will stop people taking from these plans to prop up the economy. Thing is that decision was made some time back by the oversight body for those funds 401K's trade in.
The funds have the power to stop paying out in order to bail out the banks was how it was presented by a financial commentator sometime back.
So first you have inflation making the value of any currency you have in your retirement savings worth less each day as the world continues to 'print' fiat currency(currency backed by nothing more than a promise & promises of governments are worth exactly that-nothing) & now they are stealing it legally to prop up those that have ruined the economy.
Australians tell me they were starting to see the same issue of their Superannuation funds falling in value & making lossess. The Australian government got crafty after the complaints & allowed people to control their own funds. I would say they will still be paying fees to the fund managers for allowing them to hold their currency for them. Also how many of those who take up that option actually know how to invest?
I would bet most will have their currency in property because of the view that property always goes up. It doesn't. They need to understand the cycles & trade them to get ahead.
Self Managed Superannuation Funds
Even here in New Zealand after only a few short years Kiwisaver is now making losses.
Yet the big push is on to get as many people signed up as possible.
A mate tells me that in the US right now you can drive into cities & see virtually on every street homeless people including whole families. Recently 60 minutes had a clip on 401K's been near worthless & executives out of work looking for any type of work going.
So crime will be on the rise but will the police respond? Their cars are getting repossessed & gas stations are refusing to refill police cars as local or state governments are not paying the fuel bills.
Superannuation Funds Management in Australia - Industry Market Research Report
There are reported to be 100 cities in the US on the verge of bankruptcy with the state of California(worlds eigth largest economy) about to go the same way as Greece, Ireland & Portugal.
The US then is heading towards the same road as Tunisia, Eygpt, Yemen, Jordan, Bangladesh, India with protests over the likes of rising food prices, corruption & people have just had enough.
Never happen in New Zealand though. Yeah right.
One thing that hit me on leaving the army & moving into the security industry was just how many 'unseen' people there were in this country. In particular those living on the streets many who had mental ilnesses.
Superannuation in the Civil Service: Report of a Special Committee of the National Civil-Service Reform League
In the last week though I have noticed a disturbing trend here in New Zealand. Now I always maintain that most crime is actually not reported. But usually it is not reported to the police. How about the police not reporting it to the media?
I am aware of an armed robbery that took place approximately a week a go that has still not been reported in the media here. More often than not they are though I had noticed a delay in reporting starting to creep in.
Then on driving in to my local mall got this feeling about someone sitting in a vehicle. After a while in security, like the police you get feelings about certain people which are usually right.
After entering the mall I suddenly notice a guy looking similar walk in. Had what appeared to be a walkman/MP3 earphones in but then noticed one side was clipped to his lapel & he was talking into it.
Rewarding Service: A History of the Government Superannuation Fund
Quick check other person was still in vehicle taking a keen interest in area of the banks. Went of to see if I could find mall security, suddenly find second person walking through mall & obviously scanning for something he went straight through & out.
This was all passed onto Mall management.
Few days later see another person scanning the car park & area where shortly after an armoured cash vehicle parked up. Saw this person again yesterday hanging around whilst talking to mall security.
As we were talking realized this person wasn't probably looking to commit a crime though it may come to that. They were homeless or at best on a benefit with no prospects & no cash.
The Birth of a Pension Scheme: A History of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (E. Allison Peers Lectures)
At this time the only people who have noticed this person are those of us in security or the cleaners(great eyes & ears) but as the legalized theft continues you are going to see more & more people living on the streets with no prospects.
People will get desperate as government cuts will mean they have access to less & less help & therefore crime will rise or eventually we get the situation of an Eygpt.
Notice the last couple of books I have put in here are about government or university pension schemes. It now appears that at least in the US if you were a civil servant your pension is paid before the state, city or even government pays its bills.
Which is particularly worrying for the US because all the cash put into social security was 'borrowed' by as I understand it the Clinton administration so is an off book expense that they have to keep paying. That is why some commentators are saying the real debt in the US is US$200 Trillion not US$14.5 Trillion as the official amount is quoted.
So you combine this legalized theft with incompetent corrupt bureaucrats & politicians manipulating the people all you need is a trigger.
In Tunisia it was a black market food seller trying to make ends meet to feed his family. Here is might just be the idiot at NZ Post saying they never lose information when they quite obviously do. The trigger will usually be something minor though but some when people have just had enough. Right now in New Zealand that could be easily on the West Coast over the Pike River Mine disater or here in Christchurch over the extremely poor government response to the earthquake.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Land Rich; Poor in Wealth!
Kia Ora,
In investing there is a situation known as asset rich but cash flow poor.
Well the same could be said of Maori in answer to a question I received on Linkedin.
Many New Zealanders can not understand how there are large payouts for Treaty Settlements & yet most Maori struggle at the poor end of society & that tends to led to a greater proportion been involved in crime.
There are many reasons in particular with regards to what happens with the Treaty Payouts but one reason Maori have tended to inhabit the poor part of our society is Land.
Early on many were deprived of access to land to participate in the new society. Later though many were given land. This land tended to be the worst of any land available.
Now the land was also tied to the early democratic process in New Zealand. Each person who owned land was able to vote until someone realized that meant all Maori could vote(including ghast the females) as everyone had part of the communal ownership. So they did some gerrymandering & created the four Maori seats as otherwise there would of been more Maori voters than settlers. So it is quite funny to hear people today claim the seats are racist & that they should be abolished. They always were but now they hold the balance of power its different.
But that communal ownership has caused more issues. It means that until recently you could not get a loan against the land to develop it & create jobs in the community. Any cash flow from it has to be split amongst all owners some getting a greater share than others since they had a greater percentage of ownership.
Then another issue arose which is becoming more relevant now. Once your percentage has declined to a certain level as it is split over generations, those with a greater percentage of ownership can vote to have those below the thresh hold lose their shares. I am aware of this happening at least once but there was a backlash so they had to re issue shares.
This has led to whanau trusts been formed where it is not diluted, but all payouts go to those of one line of descent that formed that trust which can still be a very meagre amount. Even there some people can be denied access is their is a question over their whakapapa. It is a bit like the education/slavery system set up so only a small percentage of the people to really benefit.
1864 War New Zealand Tauranga Natives Papa Station
This land is placed in a trust usually & a trustee appointed. Many of the trustees are government bureaucrats who use any excuse to not do something & use the language of the poor as they see the wording in the Act as opposed to how an investor might see it. So poor decisions are made. You also have advisory trustees of which I was one & any advice you try to give is ignored as are the locals sometimes with amusing outcomes.
One springs to mind immediately which caused much mirth within our runanga as the issue had been raised & ignored for years.
The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict
In the late 1800's there was still a group who wanted all the land & this led to the situation I alluded too in my previous blog.
A new form of Maori ownership title was created called Maori Freehold. The idea been that if one person or one Whanau could get control of a block of land then it could be converted to Maori Freehold then on sold to an outsider.
But there is another part to this title. If land is converted to Maori Freehold(I believe it still applies) then if beach front title you also gained the foreshore & seabed or beach. If a river is your boundary you gain to the middle of the river.
But this only applies to Maori Freehold land no other land title. Great way to gain a private beach.
Maori And Settler: A Story Of The New Zealand War (1891)
That might seem like excuses but each time Maori have looked to profit the government of the day has changed the rules just like they have with the Foreshore Seabed Act.
Even I can remember a Prime Minister proposing to take all Maori land that wasn't been productively used. Until it was pointed out the reason it wasn't been used was it was unproductive.
For example two of the sections I was advisory trustee for are about four feet deep in swamp at the edge of a rain forest & no amount of draining over the years has made any difference. Then there is the beach we own. It is trust land but the sea has come in, as it does from time to time, & wiped out paddocks of cleared productive land. So technically we own out several hundred metres of seabed which the government wanted to claim as unproductive land. I don't see any cows going out there! Evidence was found where this has happened before so wait a few years we should have our land back as the sea retreats.
Maori and Settler A Story of The New Zealand War
Many Maori in the modern world have shifted to cities, have lost touch or do not even know what Iwi(tribe) they whakapapa too. So they can not access any of the treaty payout benefits or payments from the land they might be entitled too.
They tend to end up in the low paying jobs & some turn to crime.
There are of course other reasons that can be involved such as the education/slavery system & each Iwi has its own set of issues.
Some even say it is not a Maori thing to go after money, but in todays world everyone needs it if they want to be part of that world. As one financial commentator says "Ask anybody who says they are not worried about money to go without it for a week & see them cry & come out with all the excuses why they need some."
The colonial New Zealand wars
Hopefully that little bit will help people understand why they see poor Maori & so many Maori involved in crime, when there are millions going into Treaty Settlements.
We can only hope those settlements can be used properly by the Iwi to build assets to a point where they can make a difference in young Maori lives & to New Zealand in general.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
In investing there is a situation known as asset rich but cash flow poor.
Well the same could be said of Maori in answer to a question I received on Linkedin.
Many New Zealanders can not understand how there are large payouts for Treaty Settlements & yet most Maori struggle at the poor end of society & that tends to led to a greater proportion been involved in crime.
There are many reasons in particular with regards to what happens with the Treaty Payouts but one reason Maori have tended to inhabit the poor part of our society is Land.
Early on many were deprived of access to land to participate in the new society. Later though many were given land. This land tended to be the worst of any land available.
Now the land was also tied to the early democratic process in New Zealand. Each person who owned land was able to vote until someone realized that meant all Maori could vote(including ghast the females) as everyone had part of the communal ownership. So they did some gerrymandering & created the four Maori seats as otherwise there would of been more Maori voters than settlers. So it is quite funny to hear people today claim the seats are racist & that they should be abolished. They always were but now they hold the balance of power its different.
But that communal ownership has caused more issues. It means that until recently you could not get a loan against the land to develop it & create jobs in the community. Any cash flow from it has to be split amongst all owners some getting a greater share than others since they had a greater percentage of ownership.
Then another issue arose which is becoming more relevant now. Once your percentage has declined to a certain level as it is split over generations, those with a greater percentage of ownership can vote to have those below the thresh hold lose their shares. I am aware of this happening at least once but there was a backlash so they had to re issue shares.
This has led to whanau trusts been formed where it is not diluted, but all payouts go to those of one line of descent that formed that trust which can still be a very meagre amount. Even there some people can be denied access is their is a question over their whakapapa. It is a bit like the education/slavery system set up so only a small percentage of the people to really benefit.
1864 War New Zealand Tauranga Natives Papa Station
This land is placed in a trust usually & a trustee appointed. Many of the trustees are government bureaucrats who use any excuse to not do something & use the language of the poor as they see the wording in the Act as opposed to how an investor might see it. So poor decisions are made. You also have advisory trustees of which I was one & any advice you try to give is ignored as are the locals sometimes with amusing outcomes.
One springs to mind immediately which caused much mirth within our runanga as the issue had been raised & ignored for years.
The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict
In the late 1800's there was still a group who wanted all the land & this led to the situation I alluded too in my previous blog.
A new form of Maori ownership title was created called Maori Freehold. The idea been that if one person or one Whanau could get control of a block of land then it could be converted to Maori Freehold then on sold to an outsider.
But there is another part to this title. If land is converted to Maori Freehold(I believe it still applies) then if beach front title you also gained the foreshore & seabed or beach. If a river is your boundary you gain to the middle of the river.
But this only applies to Maori Freehold land no other land title. Great way to gain a private beach.
Maori And Settler: A Story Of The New Zealand War (1891)
That might seem like excuses but each time Maori have looked to profit the government of the day has changed the rules just like they have with the Foreshore Seabed Act.
Even I can remember a Prime Minister proposing to take all Maori land that wasn't been productively used. Until it was pointed out the reason it wasn't been used was it was unproductive.
For example two of the sections I was advisory trustee for are about four feet deep in swamp at the edge of a rain forest & no amount of draining over the years has made any difference. Then there is the beach we own. It is trust land but the sea has come in, as it does from time to time, & wiped out paddocks of cleared productive land. So technically we own out several hundred metres of seabed which the government wanted to claim as unproductive land. I don't see any cows going out there! Evidence was found where this has happened before so wait a few years we should have our land back as the sea retreats.
Maori and Settler A Story of The New Zealand War
Many Maori in the modern world have shifted to cities, have lost touch or do not even know what Iwi(tribe) they whakapapa too. So they can not access any of the treaty payout benefits or payments from the land they might be entitled too.
They tend to end up in the low paying jobs & some turn to crime.
There are of course other reasons that can be involved such as the education/slavery system & each Iwi has its own set of issues.
Some even say it is not a Maori thing to go after money, but in todays world everyone needs it if they want to be part of that world. As one financial commentator says "Ask anybody who says they are not worried about money to go without it for a week & see them cry & come out with all the excuses why they need some."
The colonial New Zealand wars
Hopefully that little bit will help people understand why they see poor Maori & so many Maori involved in crime, when there are millions going into Treaty Settlements.
We can only hope those settlements can be used properly by the Iwi to build assets to a point where they can make a difference in young Maori lives & to New Zealand in general.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
What sort of actions result in Extremism?
Kia Ora,
That might seem like a silly question, but as has triggered memories even innocent jokes can set off extremism.
Of course the most widely held example is the Islamic worlds reaction to the cartoons featuring the prophet Mohammed & the death threats against the cartoonist.
Over the last few days there have been the reactions in the US to comedian Ricky Gervais quip about God.
Now people will tell me that the reaction is nothing the same. Isn't it?
Ricky will have people stalking him now like Jared Loughner ready to kill.
Just writing this blog might earn me my own hate squad. Christian Extremism is only different in how it is delivered.
If people think that is far from fact then consider this example.
Shortly after leaving the army I assisted in security for a US TV evangalist. They had a team of bodyguards & all us extra security. The reason was death threats. Seems a lesser known evangalist had returned home to find Christian extremists in the US had killed his whole family because they didn't like the manner in which he was delivering the word of God.
Many in Islam consider suicide bombers as the only way they can fight the weapons of the Christians who are trying to destroy them with overwhleming force.
It all comes back to understanding each other. Many Americans in their first real contact with the likes of the British, Australians & New Zealanders in Iraq were taken back by the poor taste jokes about our Prime Ministers, governments & even the Royal family. US citizens(at least those who have not travelled alot) might not like the President but they would never tell bad taste jokes about them or an American disaster the way we do. Another British comedian recently told jokes about the Nuclear bombings of Japan, in NZ we were telling jokes about the plane crash into MT Erubus shortly after even though most people knew of someone who died.
Ours is a decidely black humour as evidenced when one of our US clients came out to hear in Baghdad, one of our British team members saying "into the valley of death rode the four landcruisers. Are you ready to die? We are all doomed!" Suffice to say it took her back & she did not wish to travel with us that day.
But yesterday by way of the Times the news of the scorched earth policy now been used in Afghanistan. It appears to be a version of tactics used in Vietnam but also throughout history.
It again shows the US has not taken time to know the people. Like the Maori of New Zealand we are of those areas,connected through body & spirit. It is Maori custom to bury the placenta in your home area to keep you connected to the land. I am sure the Afghans have similar customs.
The US actions will create more extremists in the same way innocent jokes have provoked outrage both in Islam & the US. It is that not understanding the other.
During some study in the army I once said that it appeared to me that religion was behind 90% of wars, where a mate said "no if you dig deeper religion is behind all wars."
These days I would say religion is used as the tool to get people to fight wars & as an atheist who thinks all religions are con jobs it just doesn't make sense.
But I do understand that that is how each finds their peace. Just don't expect me to support the extremist views it can generate with even the slightest upset.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
That might seem like a silly question, but as has triggered memories even innocent jokes can set off extremism.
Of course the most widely held example is the Islamic worlds reaction to the cartoons featuring the prophet Mohammed & the death threats against the cartoonist.
Over the last few days there have been the reactions in the US to comedian Ricky Gervais quip about God.
Now people will tell me that the reaction is nothing the same. Isn't it?
Ricky will have people stalking him now like Jared Loughner ready to kill.
Just writing this blog might earn me my own hate squad. Christian Extremism is only different in how it is delivered.
If people think that is far from fact then consider this example.
Shortly after leaving the army I assisted in security for a US TV evangalist. They had a team of bodyguards & all us extra security. The reason was death threats. Seems a lesser known evangalist had returned home to find Christian extremists in the US had killed his whole family because they didn't like the manner in which he was delivering the word of God.
Many in Islam consider suicide bombers as the only way they can fight the weapons of the Christians who are trying to destroy them with overwhleming force.
It all comes back to understanding each other. Many Americans in their first real contact with the likes of the British, Australians & New Zealanders in Iraq were taken back by the poor taste jokes about our Prime Ministers, governments & even the Royal family. US citizens(at least those who have not travelled alot) might not like the President but they would never tell bad taste jokes about them or an American disaster the way we do. Another British comedian recently told jokes about the Nuclear bombings of Japan, in NZ we were telling jokes about the plane crash into MT Erubus shortly after even though most people knew of someone who died.
Ours is a decidely black humour as evidenced when one of our US clients came out to hear in Baghdad, one of our British team members saying "into the valley of death rode the four landcruisers. Are you ready to die? We are all doomed!" Suffice to say it took her back & she did not wish to travel with us that day.
But yesterday by way of the Times the news of the scorched earth policy now been used in Afghanistan. It appears to be a version of tactics used in Vietnam but also throughout history.
It again shows the US has not taken time to know the people. Like the Maori of New Zealand we are of those areas,connected through body & spirit. It is Maori custom to bury the placenta in your home area to keep you connected to the land. I am sure the Afghans have similar customs.
The US actions will create more extremists in the same way innocent jokes have provoked outrage both in Islam & the US. It is that not understanding the other.
During some study in the army I once said that it appeared to me that religion was behind 90% of wars, where a mate said "no if you dig deeper religion is behind all wars."
These days I would say religion is used as the tool to get people to fight wars & as an atheist who thinks all religions are con jobs it just doesn't make sense.
But I do understand that that is how each finds their peace. Just don't expect me to support the extremist views it can generate with even the slightest upset.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Media Hiding the Truth!
Kia Ora,
Over the last 24 hours I have read two articles showing how the mainstream media either are hiding the truth or just accepting what 'experts' or governments say without digging into the background.
First there was the article in the Washington Post commenting on how Dictators even those who have raised the countries standard of living as in Tunisia need to look after their people or they get overthrown.
It goes on to say how the Tunisian President took actions to put things right that looked like it was desperation.
What they don't say is his efforts were futile as I said in last post because the US is 'printing' currency which causes inflation. Now this inflation is caused outside the US not in the US until they monetize it by buying debt. Which is what the Bailouts are doing.
Not only that but when the US, since its dollar is the international reserve currency in which most trade is conducted, prints more currency it forces other countries such as China whom are large exporters to do the same therefore exporting inflation as well as goods.
But the Chinese can see this & so are selling US Debt or using it to buy real assets. But at the same time they have used some of their own currency they have been forced to print to buy European debt which confused people. That was until someone looked at it & combined an earlier Chinese statement.
Mises and Austrian Economics: A Personal View
China has said it wants to buy 5000 tons of Gold. It appears despite claims to the contrary the US actually doesn't have any Gold any more(US Treasury claims to have 8000 tons but the Federal Reserve(that private bank) & the IMF claim that same 8000 tons as theirs)as Ronald Reagan allegedly found out when he tried to go back onto the gold standard.
European nations (except Britain because Gordon Brown allegedly sold all theirs) have an estimated 11,000 tons. So If China owns their debt they could ask for repayment in Gold.
So the US are causing inflation now both outside & inside the US. So no matter what measures the President of Tunisian took it was never going to work.
The Washington Post does not ask the question what will happen when the US sees the same issues hit?
Economics of a Pure Gold Standard
But then New Zealand is no different with media outlets parroting the line that food prices have gone up here due to international price rises. No its due to inflation caused by the US printing currency & most of our trade has to be in US dollars(the Chinese have recently taken to doing any trade direct with countries bypassing the use of the US dollar as reserve currency).
Now New Zealand has had a couple of small bailouts by international standard but it would appear at least on the surface(sometimes when you are close to soemthing you can't see what is actually happening) that New Zealand is not carrying out quantitive easing. In fact I have been told that by the Minister of Finance. I gree with him it is not a good idea to carryout quantitive easing but unless the government are prepared to follow the best option & just let everything fail then start again, they will have no choice.
Of course very few governments will follow the course Iceland took because the people asked for it. Painful but less painful in the long run than carrying on the way things are.
Now at some stage as an exporting country we are going to have no choice but to 'print' some currency. The reason is if the New Zealand dollar gets to US85 cents to one New Zealand dollar it is expected businesses will start falling over left right & centre. Result increased crime. protests, riots & maybe the overthrow of a government.
The Gold Standard: Building a World-Class Team (Business Plus)
Already here in Christchurch many businesses are on the edge after the earthquake with many not expected to survive after May 2011. The West Coast many businesses are in a similar situation after the Pike River Mine Disaster.
Then you have the Australian floods expected to impact of food prices not to mention weather related issues with food supplies such as wheat world wide.
Failure of the Soviet wheat crop was always seen as a scenario that could trigger a nuclear war during the days of the cold war & was why despite the rhetoric & trade bans the US always supplied Wheat to the USSR.
The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
The Chinese understand this & know that should things get bad they won't have to worry about the US but their own people. It is why they have been on the course they have been including using US debt to buy access to commodities & stockpile other commodities.
Comments from Germans who suffered during the 1923 hyperinflation say that right until the last minute the government told them all was OK. That rising prices were just part of the world system, but when hyperinflation kicked in, it happened so fast that no one was prepared.
Right now opposition politicians are calling for the cutting of GST(Goods & Service Tax) on food(why didn't they do it when they were in government) but that didn't help the President of Tunisia when he allegedly tried a similar tax cut.
Gold: The Once and Future Money
But of course both in the US & here in New Zealand people will be saying "It will never happen here" just because it never has doesn't mean it never will.
Conversly it is the time of opportunity.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Over the last 24 hours I have read two articles showing how the mainstream media either are hiding the truth or just accepting what 'experts' or governments say without digging into the background.
First there was the article in the Washington Post commenting on how Dictators even those who have raised the countries standard of living as in Tunisia need to look after their people or they get overthrown.
It goes on to say how the Tunisian President took actions to put things right that looked like it was desperation.
What they don't say is his efforts were futile as I said in last post because the US is 'printing' currency which causes inflation. Now this inflation is caused outside the US not in the US until they monetize it by buying debt. Which is what the Bailouts are doing.
Not only that but when the US, since its dollar is the international reserve currency in which most trade is conducted, prints more currency it forces other countries such as China whom are large exporters to do the same therefore exporting inflation as well as goods.
But the Chinese can see this & so are selling US Debt or using it to buy real assets. But at the same time they have used some of their own currency they have been forced to print to buy European debt which confused people. That was until someone looked at it & combined an earlier Chinese statement.
Mises and Austrian Economics: A Personal View
China has said it wants to buy 5000 tons of Gold. It appears despite claims to the contrary the US actually doesn't have any Gold any more(US Treasury claims to have 8000 tons but the Federal Reserve(that private bank) & the IMF claim that same 8000 tons as theirs)as Ronald Reagan allegedly found out when he tried to go back onto the gold standard.
European nations (except Britain because Gordon Brown allegedly sold all theirs) have an estimated 11,000 tons. So If China owns their debt they could ask for repayment in Gold.
So the US are causing inflation now both outside & inside the US. So no matter what measures the President of Tunisian took it was never going to work.
The Washington Post does not ask the question what will happen when the US sees the same issues hit?
Economics of a Pure Gold Standard
But then New Zealand is no different with media outlets parroting the line that food prices have gone up here due to international price rises. No its due to inflation caused by the US printing currency & most of our trade has to be in US dollars(the Chinese have recently taken to doing any trade direct with countries bypassing the use of the US dollar as reserve currency).
Now New Zealand has had a couple of small bailouts by international standard but it would appear at least on the surface(sometimes when you are close to soemthing you can't see what is actually happening) that New Zealand is not carrying out quantitive easing. In fact I have been told that by the Minister of Finance. I gree with him it is not a good idea to carryout quantitive easing but unless the government are prepared to follow the best option & just let everything fail then start again, they will have no choice.
Of course very few governments will follow the course Iceland took because the people asked for it. Painful but less painful in the long run than carrying on the way things are.
Now at some stage as an exporting country we are going to have no choice but to 'print' some currency. The reason is if the New Zealand dollar gets to US85 cents to one New Zealand dollar it is expected businesses will start falling over left right & centre. Result increased crime. protests, riots & maybe the overthrow of a government.
The Gold Standard: Building a World-Class Team (Business Plus)
Already here in Christchurch many businesses are on the edge after the earthquake with many not expected to survive after May 2011. The West Coast many businesses are in a similar situation after the Pike River Mine Disaster.
Then you have the Australian floods expected to impact of food prices not to mention weather related issues with food supplies such as wheat world wide.
Failure of the Soviet wheat crop was always seen as a scenario that could trigger a nuclear war during the days of the cold war & was why despite the rhetoric & trade bans the US always supplied Wheat to the USSR.
The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
The Chinese understand this & know that should things get bad they won't have to worry about the US but their own people. It is why they have been on the course they have been including using US debt to buy access to commodities & stockpile other commodities.
Comments from Germans who suffered during the 1923 hyperinflation say that right until the last minute the government told them all was OK. That rising prices were just part of the world system, but when hyperinflation kicked in, it happened so fast that no one was prepared.
Right now opposition politicians are calling for the cutting of GST(Goods & Service Tax) on food(why didn't they do it when they were in government) but that didn't help the President of Tunisia when he allegedly tried a similar tax cut.
Gold: The Once and Future Money
But of course both in the US & here in New Zealand people will be saying "It will never happen here" just because it never has doesn't mean it never will.
Conversly it is the time of opportunity.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Monday, January 17, 2011
Governments cause the problems!
Kia Ora,
If you have been reading my posts you will know I follow some financial commentators. Probably the most interesting is the Australian one Daily Reckoning(DR) because it has multiple contributors who often, even on the same email, contradict each other.
For example recently on gold some are saying it is in a pull back but will shortly go higher, others say the pull back will be big (gold under US$1,000, silver US$15 is what one commentator has said though not on DR) before going much higher. So you have to do your homework to make up your own mind as to what is going to happen & how to benefit.
In the last few days though there have been interesting commentary across all commentators I follow.
First many are starting to say what I have in that economic woes will lead & in fact have now led to the otherthrow of governments, increased violence & crime. The current conditions are those prior to the French revolution & Hitler coming to power. This time though it is a world wide issue.
As governments try to find ways of fixing things they actually make it worse.
Now the DR has commented on Austrian Economics which it describes as having the philosophy "Governments cause, rather than solve problems".
Take Tunisia as an example. By the US government listening to & letting the Federal reserve 'fix' things through quantitive easing it is causing inflation. The Federal Reserve says it isn't because it is not monetising debt. Well actually it is as it is using this to buy debt(government bonds, CDO's etc)it monetises the debt.
In other words debt that has been created out of nothing is purchased by currency created out of nothing meaning there is more currency around lowering the value of the US dollar in this case causing prices to rise(inflation).
An Introduction to Austrian Economics
Since the US dollar is the international reserve currency in which trade is conducted it meant despite the best efforts of the President of Tunisia the price of food kept rising resulting in it triggering his overthrow.
This accounts for what China has been up to lately. First it has been quietly getting rid of its US debt that it has bought. Next it has said it is looking to buy 5000 tonnes of gold(though how they are going to achieve that unless another country such as the US puts gold privately on the market as it does to keep the price down.
More recently China has started to enter into negoiations(successfully) with India then Russia & lately directly with some US businesses. This has the very real potential of collapsing the US Dollar much earlier than was expected.
Then to give it some breathing room I belive China is now buying European debt. This keeps the Yuan down in value meaning it can export more but also prolongs the slide to the collapse of the world financial system whilst China prepares & can buffer the worst effects from its people.
Already in the US things are much worse than are been generally acknowledged. There was talk of a clip on a news programme of a person with two masters degrees who had a good job but now can only get employment sweeping floors.
It is people like this that will struggle as it is predicted the middle class is about to be wiped out.
Those at the very bottom will get by as they always have & they know how to survive. It is those that have had these good jobs who are really going to struggle not just with balancing the budget but the mental side. It is here that you will not only see the increase in crime but violent crime as the stress gets to them.
This will give the governments the excuse to introduce a greater transfer of power which will make things worse. Tunisia is just the tip of the iceberg. There are likely to be many governments overthrown in the coming years, rise in crime, violence & even civil wars.
The Theory of Money and Credit
But any actions taken by a government will worsen the situation especially whilst the central banks, which are privately owned, are the ones 'printing' the currency not the government.
Now Austrian Economics is of the point of view the less government is better. Or as the DR quotes from Jefferson(whom I take to be US President Jefferson)"a little government is a necesary evil".
But there are issues with this.
First the world has implimented social benefits of which people are reluctant to let go as demonstrated by the riots across Europe at Austerity measures.
Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle and Other Essays
Then you have a country like New Zealand where the government needs to play a greater role since we just don't have the population to maintain good economic competition.
In fact the privatization of some government departments or requirement for others to act in a commercial manner(SOE's) have been an abject failure as few if any have had the promised benefits.
Everything has become more inefficient & other issue is change in 'culture' has meant government departments are no better. Any real competition is quickly snuffed out.
Economic Science and the Austrian Method
What is worse is governments are advised by economists who are not even really aware of the Austrian Method. DR asked recently if anyone knew of a teritiary institution who taught or even mentioned the Austrian Method. The replies they got pointed to the fact that only one in Australia did so.
So how can these guys advise when there is another whole way of looking at economics that is never even brought into the equation. That is why they can't see the destruction of the financial system that is coming.
At present governments around the world are looking to cut billions from their budgets. Best way they can do that is make government more efficient. I twould cut billions overnight. Instead their answers tend to be increase government employees to deal with the larger numbers unemployed. So increase the most unproductive part of the economy.
Governments just increase the problems. Right now in New Zealand we have the poor response to the earthquake in particular in Christchurch, the poor response to Pike River mine disaster & rising food prices due to inflation(despite what the manipulated CPI says) whilst earnings drop, all possible triggers for actions such as crime, violence & riots.
An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought (2 Vol. Set)
What the government need to do is take the risk of supporting ideas that will increase employment even if they don't tick all the little boxes. Do that & it decreases crime. Not all will work but they only need a percentage too.
It was what Sir Robert Muldoon was looking to do in the late 70's early 80's with DFC(Development Finance Corporation) the last time the situation was similar to now.
This time it is much worse. Thing is Academics & bureaucrats didn't understand it last time & unless they are kept out of it they would not understand it again. Real progress is only achieved by those who do not stick to the little boxes.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
If you have been reading my posts you will know I follow some financial commentators. Probably the most interesting is the Australian one Daily Reckoning(DR) because it has multiple contributors who often, even on the same email, contradict each other.
For example recently on gold some are saying it is in a pull back but will shortly go higher, others say the pull back will be big (gold under US$1,000, silver US$15 is what one commentator has said though not on DR) before going much higher. So you have to do your homework to make up your own mind as to what is going to happen & how to benefit.
In the last few days though there have been interesting commentary across all commentators I follow.
First many are starting to say what I have in that economic woes will lead & in fact have now led to the otherthrow of governments, increased violence & crime. The current conditions are those prior to the French revolution & Hitler coming to power. This time though it is a world wide issue.
As governments try to find ways of fixing things they actually make it worse.
Now the DR has commented on Austrian Economics which it describes as having the philosophy "Governments cause, rather than solve problems".
Take Tunisia as an example. By the US government listening to & letting the Federal reserve 'fix' things through quantitive easing it is causing inflation. The Federal Reserve says it isn't because it is not monetising debt. Well actually it is as it is using this to buy debt(government bonds, CDO's etc)it monetises the debt.
In other words debt that has been created out of nothing is purchased by currency created out of nothing meaning there is more currency around lowering the value of the US dollar in this case causing prices to rise(inflation).
An Introduction to Austrian Economics
Since the US dollar is the international reserve currency in which trade is conducted it meant despite the best efforts of the President of Tunisia the price of food kept rising resulting in it triggering his overthrow.
This accounts for what China has been up to lately. First it has been quietly getting rid of its US debt that it has bought. Next it has said it is looking to buy 5000 tonnes of gold(though how they are going to achieve that unless another country such as the US puts gold privately on the market as it does to keep the price down.
More recently China has started to enter into negoiations(successfully) with India then Russia & lately directly with some US businesses. This has the very real potential of collapsing the US Dollar much earlier than was expected.
Then to give it some breathing room I belive China is now buying European debt. This keeps the Yuan down in value meaning it can export more but also prolongs the slide to the collapse of the world financial system whilst China prepares & can buffer the worst effects from its people.
Already in the US things are much worse than are been generally acknowledged. There was talk of a clip on a news programme of a person with two masters degrees who had a good job but now can only get employment sweeping floors.
It is people like this that will struggle as it is predicted the middle class is about to be wiped out.
Those at the very bottom will get by as they always have & they know how to survive. It is those that have had these good jobs who are really going to struggle not just with balancing the budget but the mental side. It is here that you will not only see the increase in crime but violent crime as the stress gets to them.
This will give the governments the excuse to introduce a greater transfer of power which will make things worse. Tunisia is just the tip of the iceberg. There are likely to be many governments overthrown in the coming years, rise in crime, violence & even civil wars.
The Theory of Money and Credit
But any actions taken by a government will worsen the situation especially whilst the central banks, which are privately owned, are the ones 'printing' the currency not the government.
Now Austrian Economics is of the point of view the less government is better. Or as the DR quotes from Jefferson(whom I take to be US President Jefferson)"a little government is a necesary evil".
But there are issues with this.
First the world has implimented social benefits of which people are reluctant to let go as demonstrated by the riots across Europe at Austerity measures.
Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle and Other Essays
Then you have a country like New Zealand where the government needs to play a greater role since we just don't have the population to maintain good economic competition.
In fact the privatization of some government departments or requirement for others to act in a commercial manner(SOE's) have been an abject failure as few if any have had the promised benefits.
Everything has become more inefficient & other issue is change in 'culture' has meant government departments are no better. Any real competition is quickly snuffed out.
Economic Science and the Austrian Method
What is worse is governments are advised by economists who are not even really aware of the Austrian Method. DR asked recently if anyone knew of a teritiary institution who taught or even mentioned the Austrian Method. The replies they got pointed to the fact that only one in Australia did so.
So how can these guys advise when there is another whole way of looking at economics that is never even brought into the equation. That is why they can't see the destruction of the financial system that is coming.
At present governments around the world are looking to cut billions from their budgets. Best way they can do that is make government more efficient. I twould cut billions overnight. Instead their answers tend to be increase government employees to deal with the larger numbers unemployed. So increase the most unproductive part of the economy.
Governments just increase the problems. Right now in New Zealand we have the poor response to the earthquake in particular in Christchurch, the poor response to Pike River mine disaster & rising food prices due to inflation(despite what the manipulated CPI says) whilst earnings drop, all possible triggers for actions such as crime, violence & riots.
An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought (2 Vol. Set)
What the government need to do is take the risk of supporting ideas that will increase employment even if they don't tick all the little boxes. Do that & it decreases crime. Not all will work but they only need a percentage too.
It was what Sir Robert Muldoon was looking to do in the late 70's early 80's with DFC(Development Finance Corporation) the last time the situation was similar to now.
This time it is much worse. Thing is Academics & bureaucrats didn't understand it last time & unless they are kept out of it they would not understand it again. Real progress is only achieved by those who do not stick to the little boxes.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Friday, January 14, 2011
Winning through making mistakes!
Kia Ora,
Recently there was an article in the 'Press' about the positive aspects of making mistakes. How it is how we really learn or learn from the mistakes of others.
Now this fits in with the 'Cone of Learning' where we learn most by doing then by simulating & least by reading or sitting in a classroom.
Yet our modern world is shaped by the need to have academic qualifications with little or no practical experience. This follows the Prussian system to allow them to create good soldiers & workers. In 1903 I believe it was in the US a Rockerfeller as the minister of education implimented a similar system. It was said to be the replacement for the Slavery system which ended in 1889. Only about 30% of the population were expected to succeed in this system, therefore providing cheap labour.
Carl Sagan once commented about Ionian society where the likes of Pythagoras grew & flourished as builders & plumbers sons. He points out that at that time all parts that made up society were equals but when 200 years later the academics forgetting the roots of their predecessors & thinking themsleves better it all fell apart. A lesson & mistake from history that people today would do well to take heed of!
The article talks about Thomas Edison & the amount of mistakes he made in inventing the light bulb. Though the article maybe wrong when it says he tried 700 experiments where as someone who knew Edison has said it was 10,000 & Edisons comment was always "I didn't fail, I just found 10,000 ways it wouldn't work".
In New Zealand today we have become so risk adverse that if you make mistakes you are seen as a leper. But it has extended to all areas. In the army I used to claim I learnt more than anyone else as I made more mistakes & it never harmed me, but with the mistakes I have made in business I know have the knowledge to use but no one wants to know you when you acknowledge you have made mistakes.
For example in the US it is accepted that a business person maybe bankrupted several times & in fact they have put in chapter 11 bankruptcy which allows then the chance to trade their way out. To be a bankrupt(though I haven't been as would not be able to work in my chosen line of business) in New Zealand is frowned upon.
The Essentials of Risk Management
Sometime after leaving the Army I applied for a security job with a government department. In the application was a question "what is the best thing to have ever happened to you?" I put down failing a commander's course on the first attempt.
Now in the army saying that would not of harmed you for future promotion. In fact a statement like that would be looked on as a positive. From adveristy, I had looked at myself & where I had to do better or change. But in civvy street I was told I was very brave for putting a failure as a good thing.
The Lucky Boots: A Tale about Learning from Mistakes (Famous Fables)
I also come across this when first working in the security industry. Where as those of us from a military background were always asking ourselves how we could do it better, even after a good outcome, our civvy counterparts would say "don't worry it worked out OK". That attitude on both sides has never changed.
The area of risk assessment also shows this attitude throughout New Zealand society in that we are now so risk adverse we either do nothing or just don't contemplate those possibilities.
It is something that I often get told in security that I look too high in my risk assessments. Actually no. For one under the Health & Safety requirements you must take into account all possibilities you can even if it hasn't happened to you. Though the act then lets people off by saying if you have never experienced it then along the lines you don't have to plan for it or so I understand & that is the line taken in New Zealand.
Watching the Disciples: Learning from Their Mistakes: A Lenten Study for Adults
But it is a catch 22 because if an incident occurs & it is found you should of taken it into account then you could be prosecuted. Which to me is counterproductive where a proper risk assessment culture would actually cut accidents & make people more aware.
Two having either experienced or trained to those levels I now have to have them as part of my assessment as legally required.
The fear is two fold. One that nothing will ever get done as the risk is too hig. Two that someone will get the blame when something goes wrong.
It has resulted in the opposite with a very dangerous work place such as in security where a proper risk assessment today would show all security require body armour, minimum of two people at any task & in many cases to be armed. Instead we have almost all security tasks undermanned usually with one person(so no immediate back up) very few wearing body armour & no one armed.
If I Only Knew Then...: Learning from Our Mistakes
You see the same in the Pike River Mine disaster. I feel for the Police in this as everything is just dumped on their lap & everything they do they get/have had so much criticism these days that they just take the attitude, well slow & methodical.
But as I have been hearing from Whaunaunga(relatives) with whanau(family) in the mine someone needed to get inside straight away. History shows that yes there might be secondary explosions though less likely shortly after the first, but if anyone is alive then it is only in the first few hours.
Those entering the mine would know this but again Risk assessment. They don't have Canaries these days but do have personal monitors, so as in the past you go as far or as long as you can until the indications are things are dangerous.
Learning from Our Mistakes: A Reinterpretation of Twentieth-Century Educational Theory (Contributions to the Study of Education)
Could not others die? Yes! But that has never stopped people doing what they have too. Soldiers, Police, Firefighters, Miners, some people in the last few days in the Queensland floods.
In my clippings I keep as reference is one from 2005/06 from Stars & Stripes where a mine rescue was in progress. The Mine manager was saying he thought it was time to stop going the safe route & just go for it. Like Pike River Mine they were having fluctuating gas levels but they had got 10,000 feet into the mine 12,000 feet deep.
So based on Pike River they could of got into say as far as the oxygen area with blast mat, set up a base then gone again.
The Security Risk Assessment Handbook: A Complete Guide for Performing Security Risk Assessments
Risk assessment is not about not doing dangerous things. It is about doing them & mitigating the risks. If you didn't do that soldiers would never go to war & we would not of left our villa in Baghdad.
It was known as soon as the first explosion happened in the Pike River mine that any chance they had to not only save the miners but at least retrieve their bodies was in the first few hours. But New Zealand is now so risk adverse(or as an Australian setting up business here said Apathetic) that was never going to be an option.
That is the real reason we no longer are able to foot it with Australia or lure our people home. We don't allow mistakes therefore we don't learn therefore we are no longer the dynamic leaders we once were.
Finally thanks to S. O'Neill for his comments. I agree. I have no issue with helping our mates or neighbours but we always seem reluctant in these countries to give our own people the best help we can give.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
Recently there was an article in the 'Press' about the positive aspects of making mistakes. How it is how we really learn or learn from the mistakes of others.
Now this fits in with the 'Cone of Learning' where we learn most by doing then by simulating & least by reading or sitting in a classroom.
Yet our modern world is shaped by the need to have academic qualifications with little or no practical experience. This follows the Prussian system to allow them to create good soldiers & workers. In 1903 I believe it was in the US a Rockerfeller as the minister of education implimented a similar system. It was said to be the replacement for the Slavery system which ended in 1889. Only about 30% of the population were expected to succeed in this system, therefore providing cheap labour.
Carl Sagan once commented about Ionian society where the likes of Pythagoras grew & flourished as builders & plumbers sons. He points out that at that time all parts that made up society were equals but when 200 years later the academics forgetting the roots of their predecessors & thinking themsleves better it all fell apart. A lesson & mistake from history that people today would do well to take heed of!
The article talks about Thomas Edison & the amount of mistakes he made in inventing the light bulb. Though the article maybe wrong when it says he tried 700 experiments where as someone who knew Edison has said it was 10,000 & Edisons comment was always "I didn't fail, I just found 10,000 ways it wouldn't work".
In New Zealand today we have become so risk adverse that if you make mistakes you are seen as a leper. But it has extended to all areas. In the army I used to claim I learnt more than anyone else as I made more mistakes & it never harmed me, but with the mistakes I have made in business I know have the knowledge to use but no one wants to know you when you acknowledge you have made mistakes.
For example in the US it is accepted that a business person maybe bankrupted several times & in fact they have put in chapter 11 bankruptcy which allows then the chance to trade their way out. To be a bankrupt(though I haven't been as would not be able to work in my chosen line of business) in New Zealand is frowned upon.
The Essentials of Risk Management
Sometime after leaving the Army I applied for a security job with a government department. In the application was a question "what is the best thing to have ever happened to you?" I put down failing a commander's course on the first attempt.
Now in the army saying that would not of harmed you for future promotion. In fact a statement like that would be looked on as a positive. From adveristy, I had looked at myself & where I had to do better or change. But in civvy street I was told I was very brave for putting a failure as a good thing.
The Lucky Boots: A Tale about Learning from Mistakes (Famous Fables)
I also come across this when first working in the security industry. Where as those of us from a military background were always asking ourselves how we could do it better, even after a good outcome, our civvy counterparts would say "don't worry it worked out OK". That attitude on both sides has never changed.
The area of risk assessment also shows this attitude throughout New Zealand society in that we are now so risk adverse we either do nothing or just don't contemplate those possibilities.
It is something that I often get told in security that I look too high in my risk assessments. Actually no. For one under the Health & Safety requirements you must take into account all possibilities you can even if it hasn't happened to you. Though the act then lets people off by saying if you have never experienced it then along the lines you don't have to plan for it or so I understand & that is the line taken in New Zealand.
Watching the Disciples: Learning from Their Mistakes: A Lenten Study for Adults
But it is a catch 22 because if an incident occurs & it is found you should of taken it into account then you could be prosecuted. Which to me is counterproductive where a proper risk assessment culture would actually cut accidents & make people more aware.
Two having either experienced or trained to those levels I now have to have them as part of my assessment as legally required.
The fear is two fold. One that nothing will ever get done as the risk is too hig. Two that someone will get the blame when something goes wrong.
It has resulted in the opposite with a very dangerous work place such as in security where a proper risk assessment today would show all security require body armour, minimum of two people at any task & in many cases to be armed. Instead we have almost all security tasks undermanned usually with one person(so no immediate back up) very few wearing body armour & no one armed.
If I Only Knew Then...: Learning from Our Mistakes
You see the same in the Pike River Mine disaster. I feel for the Police in this as everything is just dumped on their lap & everything they do they get/have had so much criticism these days that they just take the attitude, well slow & methodical.
But as I have been hearing from Whaunaunga(relatives) with whanau(family) in the mine someone needed to get inside straight away. History shows that yes there might be secondary explosions though less likely shortly after the first, but if anyone is alive then it is only in the first few hours.
Those entering the mine would know this but again Risk assessment. They don't have Canaries these days but do have personal monitors, so as in the past you go as far or as long as you can until the indications are things are dangerous.
Learning from Our Mistakes: A Reinterpretation of Twentieth-Century Educational Theory (Contributions to the Study of Education)
Could not others die? Yes! But that has never stopped people doing what they have too. Soldiers, Police, Firefighters, Miners, some people in the last few days in the Queensland floods.
In my clippings I keep as reference is one from 2005/06 from Stars & Stripes where a mine rescue was in progress. The Mine manager was saying he thought it was time to stop going the safe route & just go for it. Like Pike River Mine they were having fluctuating gas levels but they had got 10,000 feet into the mine 12,000 feet deep.
So based on Pike River they could of got into say as far as the oxygen area with blast mat, set up a base then gone again.
The Security Risk Assessment Handbook: A Complete Guide for Performing Security Risk Assessments
Risk assessment is not about not doing dangerous things. It is about doing them & mitigating the risks. If you didn't do that soldiers would never go to war & we would not of left our villa in Baghdad.
It was known as soon as the first explosion happened in the Pike River mine that any chance they had to not only save the miners but at least retrieve their bodies was in the first few hours. But New Zealand is now so risk adverse(or as an Australian setting up business here said Apathetic) that was never going to be an option.
That is the real reason we no longer are able to foot it with Australia or lure our people home. We don't allow mistakes therefore we don't learn therefore we are no longer the dynamic leaders we once were.
Finally thanks to S. O'Neill for his comments. I agree. I have no issue with helping our mates or neighbours but we always seem reluctant in these countries to give our own people the best help we can give.
http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz
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