Desperate or Insane?

A man executes his family because both he and his wife lost their jobs.

Does this tragedy represent how the rest of us may feel about our work and place in life, or is this a very isolated case of extreme psychosis?

More

Why the Financial Crisis?

In case you have forgot what is causing the “financial crisis” gripping the world in static non-investment, read this NY Times article by Alan Blinder - Six Errors on the Path to the Financial Crisis.

When considered retrospectively, it certainly seems like another one of those things “they should have warned us about”. The role of Government is oversight; but the role of the monetarist post third-way committee of inspired insanity we have been calling Government has been to submit us to ten years of extreme capitalism to prepare the world for some utopia. Trouble is the electorate became greedy as their mortgages became insignificant and their property values escalated things seemed dandy.

more...

Helen Clark voted Greatest Living Kiwi

Helen Clark has been voted "Greatest Living New Zealander" - a sort of inherited mantle of public opinion - by The New Zealand Herald.

More...

On the Brink of Economic Disaster

The last great empire builders - the UK and the USA appear to be on the brink disaster due to the collapse of debt financing.

Due to the mountain of debt compared to productivity mainly in the private sector, the banking crisis looks like it inevitably will move to the next stage despite the extraordinary generousity by Governments of tax payer reserves into the banking sector.

It seems that our addiction to capital is an addiction to “productivity free” capital - in other words the acceleration of capital growth over the past thirty years has been a belief system based on attributed value rather than real value. Notice how your house got more and more valueable?

Continued in End of Empire on DisturbingTrends: predicting future politics

Welcome Mr Obama, President

The rise of Barack Obama to the US presidency marks an historic change in the temperature of the world, it's politics and the way The United States of America exists in the world. Not as a bully or victim but as a cohesive society that strides into the future with hope and a confidence for real change.

Welcome, Mr President Obama.

Letter to Obama

Letters from school children to Mr Obama published in the NY Times included this:

Dear President Obama,

I am small, quiet, smart. I love to swim and play basketball. My mom and dad are from the Dominican Republic. I am going to the Dominican Republic next year. I think you should try to change the world by building shelters for the people who live in the streets. It’s the beginning of January, and it’s cold. Good luck being the president.
— Pamela Mejia, age 11, Boston

Something tells me President Obama will read this letter. Something tells me it is a very good idea. People keep saying “clean up the streets”. This 11 year old smart girl is pointing out that the homeless are people.

More...

NZ Copyright Law changes

A New Zealand law being introduced in February makes ISPs responsible to 3 strikes and you are disconnected from the net disciplinary action against people who download copyrighted content from the net. This new law may put pressure on ISPs to create take down lists for IPs broadcasting copyright violations; of which, there are many. It is retrograde to attack the audience rather than the criminals. Our position is that copyright law should be cheaply enforceable.

More...

The Past and the President

Barack Obama hints that he does not really care to upearth the Bush presidency. He is justified, his entire stance is that of a break with "The Past".

There is nothing to learn from the Bush era.

More

Money to the rescue

Economic stimulation is a 180 degree reversal from the cold logic of monetary policy. Continued market speculation inflated expectations but the average person could only see property as a path to financial wealth and independence. It would have been but for two immutable facts:

More/...

Let them fail

Disturbing Trends may have unfortunately been spot on in predicting that the bail out was essentially "more of the same" as now we have Paulson leveraging bets with billions trying to put things right.

More

Support the homeless

Credit Crunch

The Credit Crunch has been in the news for over a year and many have not noticed anything except the news being reported. But for some it has been horrible and life changing. Houses bought on zero or little equity have turned into negative equity and being forced to sell in those conditions is locking that loss into reality.

More/...