Posts by Rich of Observationz
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assets of $37 billion against debt of $8 billion
I think most of us would be quite happy with a mortgage of under 25% on our house.
So why is such a loan to provide the community assets that allow us to live in that house suddenly "Oh noes bankruptcy doom and gloom"?
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Hard News: Dotcom: Further news of the unlikely, in reply to Rosemary McDonald,
use their wealth....to make the world a better place for them and their ilk
Can you point to any Internet Party policies that will help rich people get richer?
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Can anyone explain the hatred for Dotcom?
Is it simply his conspicuous wealth (there've surely been others on the left of politics with personal fortunes?)
Or his past convictions (all of which, I think, would by now by suppressed under clean slate provisions if committed in NZ)?
Or that people support a team, and don't like other teams, even when their policies are pretty much congruent (I am yet to see a post by anyone on the left attacking an Internet Party policy on its merits).
Or that people feel that the the US charges have merit, and that the actions of Dotcom's company amounted to *criminal* copyright infringement as opposed to (as many think) something which should be dealt with through a civil suit?
Or that he's foreign. And fat.
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Hard News: Dotcom: Further news of the unlikely, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
Something I thought about Winston Peters:
If the "nothing to see here, move long now" brigade is correct, then all the "political pressure" admitted to today amounts to is a desire to attract more well qualified (however you define that) immigrants into NZ.
Before 2003, we had a system that was relatively transparent and usable. You could for instance, as a person with skills and qualifications, get residence provisionally approved and come to NZ for six months to find a job. (Employers mostly being reluctant to hire people from overseas sight unseen).
As a result of Peters' racist dog-whistling, the Clark government decided to engage in one of it's periodic, misconceived "get-tough schemes" and removed all this. (Introducing a "by-invitation" policy, as if it was some sort of golf club ball).
Having obfuscated the system, immigration not surprisingly fell below targets and hence a range of schemes were introduced with an increasing air of "bung us a few million and we'll overlook the fact that your sole qualification is that basic English certificate you did in in prison."
So Winston's dog-whistling might have landed us up in a place where the NZIS and their were just kinda desperate to meet quota by signing up any "investors" they could drag onshore.
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Hard News: Dotcom: Further news of the unlikely, in reply to Alastair Thompson,
gaining traction in the Socialverse
A lot of money is spent putting sand under the wheels of the right ideas:
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jul/14/gchq-tools-manipulate-online-information-leak -
If you don't like Kim Dotcom or the Internet Party, you aren't obliged to vote for them. It isn't any more manipulation than when someone who was born here decides to spend the fortune they earned in currency speculation on adding "PM of New Zealand" to their bucket list.
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Without going fully tinfoil hat, it's possible that a decision was made not to deny residence because to do so would have tipped Dotcom off as to the FBI's interest in him.
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Hard News: Going solar?, in reply to BenWilson,
Would that work with an instant hot water (all house, rather than shower only) type setup.
It's to be noted that gas is way cheaper than electricity, which changes the (financial) economics if you have a mains gas connection.
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Hard News: Going solar?, in reply to David Haywood,
2nd-hand batteries from electric cars start to enter the market
Isn't there a fairly large conversion loss, especially on a battery that's nearing the end of its days? (Or are you assuming that the cars will suffer other mechanical failure or be totalled before the battery dies? We should maybe increase speed limits.)
I believe there has been work on having plugged in vehicles act as a sink of off-peak power - similar to using an ex-vehicle battery, but you still get to drive the car.
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Hard News: Now win the argument, in reply to Kumara Republic,
If governments can't collect tax effectively on profits earned in one country on tangible sales, how do you expect them to tax intangible transactions that can be conducted anywhere in the world between offshore shell companies.?
I'm fairly convinced that the idea of a financial transaction tax is actually being covertly promoted by mega-rich individuals and corporations in the certain knowledge that they'd never have to pay a penny of one.