2 Dec 2005  

Gentlemen don't win wars

 

If you want to join the army - expect to be moulded into a psychotic killer - as a gentleman you are no use to the army.  Oh - and if you're good at pressing a button to unleash a full scale nuclear holocaust then that would be useful too!  You'll really go places then!

They hanged that poor kid.. What a waste.

 

A lot of people have thought long and hard on this one

 

My conclusion is:  "wake up and smell the stench of death that's right at our doorstep"  We are human beings, and though we want to pride ourselves with our "humanity" and "civilisation", "grace" etc we have to face up to the fact that we "descended" from animals (with emphasis on the word "Descended" I might add)

 

We are limited animals with limited ability to reason, either due to a real deficit in brain power or just plain laziness.  I would have thought that first time offenders might get a more lenient sentence, but then that would be just wishful thinking

 

The thing that is really going to get up a lot of peoples noses is that it's quite likely his death will be one of the last.. But that because of Singalorean "face", can't turn around on that "policy" until there's no one in the firing (hanging) line.

 

I wonder if he hadn't been so cute whether he'd have had the same coverage.

 

Which brings me to another point:  Much has been made of his serene attitude to all this and I suspect that he may have felt he was in a win-win situation.  For whatever reason he may have wanted to end his own life, but not wanting to do it at his own hand and thus cause his family endless self blame along with the grief that they will suffer anyway, he chose to take the gamble.  If he failed to get caught then his brother can get out of debt.

 

We have to excuse the Singaloreans as they, like the Shaghainese, though they pride themselves in their modern cities with endless new phallic skyscrapers, their actual societies are very old fashioned and so they find it easy to justify capital punishment as they are still in the frame of mind of people's 20 and 30 years ago. 

 

I would go so far as to say another quite insular society would have similar views - the southern states of the USA are still pretty tied up with their conservative Christian ideals

 

One would hope that the human race would strive to develop societies that are humane and decent, no longer needful of the buzz or escape provided them by drug taking, able to accept difference as dictated by every individual's unique genetic makeup, but it seems we are taking a lot of wrong turns on the way

 

It strikes me as odd that Christians, though they pride them-selves as "being above animals," they can still justify the use of incredibly primeval methods to hand out justice! 

 

Again I have to say "Face up to it Andrew - the human race is going nowhere pretty fast - you might as well get used to it!"

 

We still have a long way to go before we can attain the lofty ideals of human behaviour as set out in the Bible (and Koran too I guess).. Or is that the root of our problems?

 

Here's a thought: If you were delegated to represent the people of this world (human race) in an interstellar meeting of this galaxy, would you feel proud?

 

I guess it would stand to reason that any other planet would have its own crop of Darwinistically induced problems - yeah its not just survival of the fittest, healthiest and most beautiful but also the meanest, nastiest, most cunning, and diabolical that help contribute to our lot today

 

Have a nice day  J

June 2005 Latest News!

Professionals Office of Boyd Real Estate is merging with Phoenix Harcourts Riccarton Office.  Both owners are opening a third office called Harcourts Clarence on Clarence Street.  I'll be based at Phoenix office tel: 348 0923  or my new cellphone number for work: 021 99 7798

On "Managing China" Food for thought....

23 January 2005 - A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a  glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?" A variety of answers were called out. The lecturer replied: "The absolute weight doesn't matter".

 

It depends on  how long you try to hold it.

 

"If I hold it for a minute, that's not a  problem.  If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."
 
"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden. So, before you return home each night this week, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!"

10 December - Why anyone would base their entire lives on a book written over 2000 years ago?  Look at the way their descendents are carrying on now!!  Disagree?  OK then sell me your daughter - I need a slave!

Civil Unions - Contracts are for business  - a "Marriage" between two individuals should be based on mutual love, respect, trust and self confidence, if those aren't present, then perhaps those two people shouldn't be together.  I don't believe that they are connected to a document!  PS... I have since been reminded that "That's all very well till one or both of you dies... then there's the issue of a will"  .... good point.....

29 November - Anal rentention at New World Supermarket, Stanmore Road, Christchurch.   It was approx 6 pm - end of a long day, not in the mood for any bullshit, I approached the empty '12 items or less' check out with my trolley load of: loaf of bread, Olive oil margarine stuff, litre of milk, and 2 litres of soy milk.  The young lady behind the counter watched me empty it out then said, just as I emptied the last thing onto the counter, "Excuse me you're not allowed trolleys at this checkout!!" 

"I'm sorry - I didn't read that particular rule book" I said looking around for any sign as such.  Another checkout lady with nothing to do, then grabbed the "12 items or less" sign and whirled it around for me to see, and there it was in letters of black on a yellow back ground, under the "12 items or less" : "NO TROLLEYS"

"Well if you don't want to sell it, I don't care!"  she just looked at me so I just walked out and left them to it.

So who was being anal retentive them or me?  Plenty of other supermarkets out there... I ain't in no hurry to go back to THAT one thats for sure!

 

24 November - Dolphins saved a family swimming at Whangarei - nice story worth a look!

24 November - New Zealand now prides itself in having its Universities entrance English requirement all at the same high standard (approx. equal to IELTS level 8) as for Oxford University in England - oh Bravo!!  This means that, as usual the NZ Gov't has shifted the goal posts for any international students who might have been unlucky enough to be seduced into studying at high school here.  The irony being that if they had studied at high school elsewhere and then applied for entrance to any university here they would only require an IELTS 6 entrance level - as they had been promised was required when they applied for high schools here in the first place... D'oh!

15 November 2004 - Memorial white crosses at the side of the motorway have been deemed by Transit New Zealand (formerly known as the Ministry of Transport) to be distracting to motorists and should be removed.   Funny - I find the sight of a police squad car at the side of the road 100 times more distracting and disturbing than a little white cross!  Perhaps those squad cars should be removed as well?  Now there's a thought!   J                                                             There's a lot of feeling that the US elections may not quite have been what they seem...  Have a look at what some are saying. Elections         T H E   P R E S S   S T O R Y                  Govt rethink on migrants 28 October 2004 By COLIN ESPINER in WELLINGTON

V V V V

The controversial English-language test for new migrants may be scrapped as the Government continues to back-pedal on immigration policy.

Immigration Minister Paul Swain yesterday boosted the number of points awarded to some migrants in an attempt to arrest a continuing decline in migrant numbers.

Swain announced that from December 1 the Government would expand the definition of skilled employment to enable those with a wider range of skills to claim residency. Rules for gaining permanent residency would be relaxed and points would be handed out for having close family in New Zealand.

The continued easing of the tough points criteria for New Zealand residency follows months of slashing points requirements for entry to the Immigration Service's selection pool.

When the system began a year ago, 195 points were required to complete the first stage of a residency application. Last month the level stood at 100 - the minimum allowed under the scheme.

The number of skilled migrants seeking to work and live in New Zealand has fallen dramatically since new rules were introduced requiring all applicants to submit expressions of interest for residency. The Immigration Service then decides who will be accepted.

One of the greatest causes of the drop in the number of applicants for residency from Asia has been an English-language test set at the basic minimum for a first-year university student.

The law change was challenged unsuccessfully in the courts by migrants' groups, which said it was discriminatory.

Swain said the English test was under review, and while no decisions had been made an announcement on its fate was due soon.

He said immigration numbers had almost halved over the past year and it was clear that more flexibility was needed to boost migration and address a growing skills gap.

New Zealand had one of the highest job growth rates and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the OECD, together with strong economic growth.

"Labour market policy is now a critical government focus. If the economic growth is to be sustainable, we mustn't allow labour and skills issues to strangle the growth we are enjoying," Swain told the New Zealand Immigration Institute and the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment in Auckland yesterday.

Under the changes, workers with skills in the "absolute priority" list, such as mechanics, radiologists, electricians and speech therapists, will receive an extra five points.

The Government is also wooing police and corrections officers, placing the occupations on the critical-shortages list for the first time.

Even those without jobs will be welcome.

"Operational policy will be amended to make it clearer that skilled applicants without a job offer can, if they are assessed as being highly employable, be granted permanent residence without a job offer," Swain said.

National immigration spokesman Tony Ryall said the changes were a further admission that the Government's handling of immigration had left New Zealand stranded without enough skilled migrants.

"The chaotic introduction of the new points scheme saw New Zealand lose substantial credibility overseas," he said.

Ryall said applications by skilled applicants must be processed faster.

"Bizarrely, under Minister Paul Swain it is easier to get an unskilled relative into New Zealand than it is a skilled migrant with a job."

New Zealand First associate immigration spokesman Dail Jones said the policy seemed designed to allow large numbers of migrants into the country to stoke up the economy in election year.

---

November 2004

 

You've probably heard that I'm now in the real estate game, have been since January this year.  However there are still four students around the Canterbury area who call me their guardian too! 

I'm enjoying it and have had a few sales.  

If you are thinking of selling please let me know - I'd love to help you market your property!

The selling part is really easy for me, getting places to sell is not so easy, I guess that means two things: lots of buyers around and lots of sales people too!  But thats the real estate market for you, continually moving from a state of too many houses, not enough buyers to too few houses and too many buyers!

My manager, Dougal Boyd (yes he's my brother) is a registered valuer.  He can come into fine tune the price to make certain you are getting the best possible price with the least conditions in the shortest time..

I'd love to hear from you!

Kind regards  Andrew Boyd