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Today, to much fanfare, the administration released its ridiculous $3+ trillion budget (we say + because at that size the one thing certain is that the budget will certainly never hit the target and while we wish it would be lower, we are certain it will end up materially higher), which consists of a "short" 192-page summary section and a 1420 page appendix. We are confident that not one politician will read the whole thing from cover to cover. We won't either. Not because we don't care about what's in it, but because we are much more concerned with what is not included, namely $2.8 Trillion and $1.9 Trillion of MBS guaranteed portfolios at Fannie and Freddie, and an additional $782 billion and $809 billion in company debt outstanding for the two GSEs, respectively. This amounts to a total of $6.3 trillion in liabilities which should be counted toward the budget. And yet, oddly, the error-checker somehow made this rather justifiable omission: after all if we were to look at a number which written out looks as follows $6,264,000,000,000.00, we would also probably just avoid it - it is somewhat difficult to hide a number that big even in the 1,420 pages of the budget's appendix. That's ok, we are here to remind them about the omission, and also to remind Mr. Orszag, who himself, in that long ago 2008, espoused that these companies should be put on the Federal Budget. Isn't it strange what one and a half years worth of realizations just how broken beyond repair the system is, will do to one's convictions?
Let's remind our readers of what then-CBO director Peter Orszag said on September 8, 2008, at the press conference announcing the conservatorship of the bankrupt mortgage titans. Below we transcribe the relevant Q&A:
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) completely incorporated into the federal budget?
ORSZAG: What I— what I said was it is our view that at this point they should be incorporated into the federal budget, that we intend to do that in our January baseline and that with regard to the budget of the United States, which is put together by the administration's Office of Management and Budget, that—the treatment therein will obviously be up to OMB, but it is our hope that working with the budget committees and OMB we can have a consistent treatment between our baseline and their budget.
QUESTION: This may be a little repetitive, but can you give—and if—if you do what you just said you would do, incorporating the mortgage companies into the federal budget directly, can you estimate at all the impact on federal receipts and federal outlays?
ORSZAG: I don't—I could but I don't want to. And the reason is that—is that again that can depend very sensitively—there is a lot of mortgage-backed security activity, and it can depend a lot on how this tension between whether if you buy a hundred-dollar's worth of mortgage-backed securities that is scored as a hundred dollars in spending or whether that's evaluated at its subsidy value, the numbers can be dramatically different. So I'm—until we reach judgment on, in particular, that issue but a few others, it's premature for me to give you the raw (ph) numbers.
Christian (ph) and then (inaudible).
QUESTION: Sure, but just in a conceptual sense, though, you are ruling that—that Fannie and Freddie are now part of the public sector. They're now part of the government. They are in effect nationalized.
ORSZAG: We are saying that the degree of control exercised by the federal government over these entities is so strong that the best treatment is to incorporate them into the federal budget.
Alas now-White House budget director is singing a radically different tune. According to a statement from the administration: "The administration continues to monitor the situation of the GSEs closely and will continue to provide updates on considerations for longer-term reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as appropriate." We hope this update will come at least a few days before America files for bankruptcy. Oh, and what is this difference in MBS scoring between "spending" and "subsidy value." Could we maybe please got some color on which of these two concepts applied to the nearly $100 billion in MBS sales initiatied by Bill Gross, with the US taxpayer as an unwitting buyer.
As there may have been some confusion as to the magnitude of the numbers we are discussing here, we are providing a break down of total GSE debt introduced just a few days ago by Neil Barofsky.
As readers can see, we are not talking about just any paltry amount: the most recent US total debt balance was $12.222 trillion. It would seem a little presumptuous that an amount representing more than half of the total US sovereign debt is conveniently swept under the rug.
And with the omission from the Federal Budget, America's population once again has absolutely no visibility into the real fiscal costs associated with the government's support for the Debtor Nation Sponsored Entities (aka DeNSEs). Not only that, but at some point we really should have a discussion over just what the delicate transition from the existing "conserved" [sic] status to a full nationalization and permanent US debt onboarding. Because otherwise the ignorant morts may think that the Federal Reserve was responsible for purchasing just $300 billion worth of US debt, when in reality, courtesy of what should have been a Budget liability, the Bernanke policy will have been responsible for purchasing essentially $1.7 trillion worth of US securities. And the whole MBS-UST rotation by China, PIMCO and everyone else who was clever enough to hold the worst possible security around, would just have been a little more formalized than assorted discussions in the fringe media.
Luckily for the administration, today's budget provided absolutely no color, and further confirmed that Orzsag is nothing but a pure-blood hypocrite who says whether is suitable for the occasion. Seeing how the Volcker plan is about to be retracted, we reserve judgment for the President until such time as he formally announces his prop trading ban was simply the result of an HFT algorithm gone amok in his telepromter. But we digress. As for the whole "GSE-reform" thing, the administration will do it soon. Not today... But soon. After all: what is 40% of GDP? Bernanke can print that in like 2 days.
What we do know, is that recently the Treasury formally gave itself unlimited bailout capacity as pertains to the GSEs, once again making the case that in the grand scheme of things Treasury and GSEs liabilities are essentially the same concept. Of course, the public's, media's, and assorted CDS traders' reactions, were they to suddenly uncover that the US debt-to-GDP is actually more like 130% than 90%, would be quite amusing. We also know that by this action the administration has avoided the recognition of about $100 billion in cash outlays compared to the prior CBO estimate. Oh yes, we almost forgot how self-congratulatory the Treasury was when it announced that its January-March and March-June quarter borrowing needs would be lower than expected.
What we definitely know is that we now live in a system where delusion is the norm: we have an administration that willfully and consistently deludes its population from representing just how bad our economic debacle really is, and we have a population, that willfully and consistently is happy to accept lies and delusions from every media and administrative outlet, and in turn deludes the administration that it will pays it taxes, or not walk away from yet another underwater mortgage. Rinse. Repeat.
What we are positive, is that this arrangement of mutual delusion will persist will spectacular success. Until it doesn't.


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Geographical indication
|Intellectual property law and Intellectual rights
|Primary rights
|Sui generis rights
|Related topics
A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g. a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication may act as a certification that the product possesses certain qualities, is made according to traditional methods, or enjoys a certain reputation, due to its geographical origin.
- 1 History
- 2 Legal effect
- 3 Rural development effects of geographical Indications
- 4 International issues
- 5 Differences in philosophy
- 6 Geographical Handicrafts product
- 7 Geographical Agriculture product
- 8 See also
- 9 Notes and references
- 10 External links
Governments have been protecting trade names and trademarks used in relation to food products identified with a particular region since at least the end of the nineteenth century, using laws against false trade descriptions or passing off, which generally protect against suggestions that a product has a certain origin, quality or association when it does not. In such cases, the limitation on competitive freedoms which results from the grant of a monopoly of use over a geographical indication is justified by governments either by consumer protection benefits or by producer protection benefits.
One of the first GI systems is the one used in France from the early part of the twentieth century known as appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC). Items that meet geographical origin and quality standards may be endorsed with a government-issued stamp which acts as official certification of the origins and standards of the product to the consumer. Examples of products that have such 'appellations of origin' include Gruyère cheese (from Switzerland) and many French wines.
Geographical indications have long been associated with the concept of terroir and with Europe as an entity, where there is a tradition of associating certain food products with particular regions. Under European Union Law, the protected designation of origin framework which came into effect in 1992 regulates the following systems of geographical indications: Protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI) and Traditional Specialities Guaranteed (TSG).[1]
Legal effect
In many countries the protection afforded to geographical indications by law is similar to the protection afforded to trademarks, and in particular, certification marks. Geographical indications law restricts the use of the GIs for the purpose of identifying a particular type of product, unless the product and/or its constituent materials and/or its fabrication method originate from a particular area and/or meet certain standards. Sometimes these laws also stipulate that the product must meet certain quality tests that are administered by an association that owns the exclusive right to licence or allow the use of the indication. Although a GI is not strictly a type of trademark as it does not serve to exclusively identify a specific commercial enterprise, there are usually prohibitions against registration of a trademark which constitutes a geographical indication. In countries that do not specifically recognize GIs, regional trade associations may implement them in terms of certification marks.
The consumer-benefit purpose of the monopoly rights granted to the owner of a GI also applies to the trademark monopoly right. Geographical indications have other similarities with trademarks. For example, they must be registered in order to qualify for protection, and they must meet certain conditions in order to qualify for registration. One of the most important conditions that most governments have required before registering a name as a GI is that the name must not already be in widespread use as the generic name for a similar product. Of course, what is considered a very specific term for a well-known local specialty in one country may constitute a generic term or genericized trademark for that type of product. For example, parmigiano cheese in Italy is generically known as Parmesan cheese in Australia and the United States.
Rural development effects of geographical Indications
Geographical indications are generally traditional products, produced by rural communities over generations, that have gained a reputation on the markets for their specific qualities.
The recognition and protection on the markets of the names of these products allows the community of producers to invest in maintaining the specific qualities of the product on which the reputation is built. It may also allow them to invest together in promoting the reputation of the product.
Observed[by whom?] rural development impacts of geographical indications are: - a structuring of the supply chain around a common product reputation, - increased and stabilised prices for the GI product, - added value distributed through all the levels of the supply chain, - preservation of the natural resources on which the product is based, - preservation of traditions and traditional know-how, - linkages to tourism.
None of these impacts are guaranteed and they depend on numerous factors, including the process of developing the geographical indications, the rules for using the GI (or Code of Practice), the inclusiveness and quality of decision making of the GI producers association and quality of the marketing efforts undertaken.[citation needed]
International issues
Like trademarks, geographical indications are regulated locally by each country because conditions of registration such as differences in the generic use of terms vary from country to country. This is especially true of food and beverage names which frequently use geographical terms, but it may also be true of other products such as carpets (e.g. 'Shiraz'), handicrafts, flowers and perfumes.
When products with GIs acquire a reputation of international magnitude, some other products may try to pass themselves off as the authentic GI products. This kind of competition is often seen as unfair, as it may discourage traditional producers as well as mislead consumers. Thus the European Union has pursued efforts to improve the protection of GI internationally. Inter alia, the European Union has established distinct legislation to protect geographical names in the fields of wines, spirits, agricultural products including beer. A register for protected geographical indications and denominations of origin relating to products in the field of agriculture including beer, but excluding mineral water, was established (DOOR). Another register was set up for wine region names, namely the E-Bacchus register. A register of the geographical indications for spirits and for any other products is still missing in the European Union and most other countries in the world. A private database project (GEOPRODUCT directory) intends to close this gap. Accusations of 'unfair' competition should although be levelled with caution since the use of GIs sometimes comes from European immigrants who brought their traditional methods and skills with them.[2]
Paris convention and Lisbon agreement
International trade made it important to try to harmonize the different approaches and standards that governments used to register GIs. The first attempts to do so were found in the Paris Convention on trademarks (1883, still in force, 176 members), followed by a much more elaborate provision in the 1958 Lisbon Agreement on the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their Registration. 28 countries are parties to the Lisbon agreement: Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, North Korea, France, Gabon, Georgia, Haiti, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Italy, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Togo and Tunisia. About 9000 geographical indications were registered by Lisbon Agreement members.
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ("TRIPS") defines "geographical indications" as indications that identify a good as "originating in the territory of a Member, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographic origin."[3]
In 1994, when negotiations on the WTO TRIPS were concluded, governments of all WTO member countries (155 countries, as of 10 May 2012) had agreed to set certain basic standards for the protection of GIs in all member countries. There are, in effect, two basic obligations on WTO member governments relating to GIs in the TRIPS agreement:
- Article 22 of the TRIPS Agreement says that all governments must provide legal opportunities in their own laws for the owner of a GI registered in that country to prevent the use of marks that mislead the public as to the geographical origin of the good. This includes prevention of use of a geographical name which although literally true "falsely represents" that the product comes from somewhere else.[4]
- Article 23 of the TRIPS Agreement says that all governments must provide the owners of GI the right, under their laws, to prevent the use of a geographical indication identifying wines not originating in the place indicated by the geographical indication. This applies even where the public is not being misled, where there is no unfair competition and where the true origin of the good is indicated or the geographical indication is accompanied by expressions such as "kind", "type", "style", "imitation" or the like. Similar protection must be given to geographical indications identifying spirits.[5]
Article 22 of TRIPS also says that governments may refuse to register a trademark or may invalidate an existing trademark (if their legislation permits or at the request of another government) if it misleads the public as to the true origin of a good. Article 23 says governments may refuse to register or may invalidate a trademark that conflicts with a wine or spirits GI whether the trademark misleads or not.
Article 24 of TRIPS provides a number of exceptions to the protection of geographical indications that are particularly relevant for geographical indications for wines and spirits (Article 23). For example, Members are not obliged to bring a geographical indication under protection where it has become a generic term for describing the product in question. Measures to implement these provisions should not prejudice prior trademark rights that have been acquired in good faith; and, under certain circumstances — including long-established use — continued use of a geographical indication for wines or spirits may be allowed on a scale and nature as before.[6]
In the Doha Development Round of WTO negotiations, launched in December 2001, WTO member governments are negotiating on the creation of a 'multilateral register' of geographical indications. Some countries, including the EU, are pushing for a register with legal effect, while other countries, including the United States, are pushing for a non-binding system under which the WTO would simply be notified of the members' respective geographical indications.
Some governments participating in the negotiations (especially the European Communities) wish to go further and negotiate the inclusion of GIs on products other than wines and spirits under Article 23 of TRIPS. These governments argue that extending Article 23 will increase the protection of these marks in international trade. This is a controversial proposal, however, that is opposed by other governments including the United States who question the need to extend the stronger protection of Article 23 to other products. They are concerned that Article 23 protection is greater than required, in most cases, to deliver the consumer benefit that is the fundamental objective of GIs laws.
Differences in philosophy
One reason for the conflicts that occur between the European and United States governments is a difference in philosophy as to what constitutes a "genuine" product. In Europe, the reigning theory is that of terroir, that there is a specific property of a geographical area, and that dictates a strict usage of geographical designations. Thus, anyone with sheep of the right breeds can make Roquefort cheese, if they are located in the part of France where that cheese is made, but nobody can make a blue sheep's milk cheese and call it Roquefort, even if they make it in such a way as to completely duplicate the process described in the definition of Roquefort.
By contrast, in the United States, the naming is generally considered to be a matter of intellectual property. Thus, the name "Grayson" belongs to Meadowcreek Farms, and they have to a right to use it as a trademark. Nobody, even in Grayson County, Virginia, can call their cheese Grayson, while Meadowcreek Farms, if they bought up another farm elsewhere in the United States, even if nowhere near Grayson County, could use that name. It is considered that their need to preserve their reputation as a company is the quality guarantee.
This difference causes most of the conflict between the United States and Europe in their attitudes toward geographical names.
However, there is some overlap, particularly with American products adopting a European way of viewing the matter. The most notable of these are crops: Vidalia onions, Florida oranges, and Idaho potatoes. In each of these cases, the state governments of Georgia, Florida, and Idaho registered trademarks, and then allowed their growers—or in the case of the Vidalia onion, only those in a certain, well-defined geographical area within the state—to use the term, while denying its use to others. The European conception is increasingly gaining acceptance in American viticulture, as well, as vintners in the various American Viticultural Areas are attempting to form well-developed and unique identities as New World wine gains acceptance in the wine community. Finally, the United States has a long tradition of placing relatively strict limitations on its native forms of whiskey; particularly notable are the requirements for labeling a product "straight whiskey" and the requirement, enforced by federal law and several international agreements (NAFTA among them) that a product labeled Tennessee whiskey be a straight Bourbon whiskey produced in the state of Tennessee.
Inversely, some European products have adopted a more American system: a prime example is the Newcastle Brown Ale, which received an EU protected geographical status in 2000. When the brewery moved from Tyneside to Tadcaster in North Yorkshire (approximately 150 km away) in 2007 for economic reasons, the status had to be revoked.
Geographical Handicrafts product
- Bagh Prints Traditional Hand Block printing Madhya Pradesh
Geographical Agriculture product
See also
- Appellation (wine)
- Appellation d'origine contrôlée (French system)
- Appellation d'origine protégée (Switzerland)
- Country of origin
- Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999
- Protected Geographical Status (European Union))
- Terroir
Notes and references
- ↑ Tosato, Andrea. "The Protection of Traditional Foods in the EU: Traditional Specialities Guaranteed". European Law Journal. 19 (4): 545–576. doi:10.1111/eulj.12040. Retrieved 22 May 2013.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Geographical Indications and the challenges for ACP countries, by O'Connor and Company
- ↑ TRIPS Article 22
- ↑ TRIPS Article 22
- ↑ TRIPS Article 23
- ↑ TRIPS Article 24
- ↑ Nagpur orange
External links
- the FAO practical guide Linking people, places and products, of 2009
- The Organization for an International Geographical Indications Network
- WIPO page on GIs
- InterGI a training programme on Geographical Indications
- Geographic Indications Resource Website
- Caslon Analytics Resources Webpages
- Wines and mangoes as geographical Indications
- TIME magazine article from August 31, 2003 on geographical indications
- GEOPRODUCT directory - First worldwide database of geographical indications and designations of origin
- A research project on geographical indications
- GI Introduction
- Indication - Australian Wine zone

subset: commoncrawl


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A fresh paint job might be all that's needed to prevent a giant asteroid from raining destruction upon our planet.
Though strange-sounding, the strategy would make use of a real-world phenomenon known as the Yarkovsky effect, named for the Russian engineer who discovered it in 1902. The effect results from the fact that asteroids heat up as they bask in the sun's light.
"The coat of paint would be a very thin, almost like a Saran Wrap layer," said aerospace engineer David Hyland of Texas A&M, who leads a team that has been studying this method for several years. "If we push it in the right direction, we can get the asteroid to cease crossing Earth's orbit and completely eliminate the threat."
Asteroids make fairly frequent flybys of our planet, with one of the latest Earth-grazers being 2012 DA14, which on Feb. 15 will pass closer to our world than some satellites orbit. Though small objects enter the atmosphere all the time, the odds of a large asteroid hitting the planet are thankfully small. There was some concern that 325-meter-long asteroid Apophis could impact in 2036 but recent observations have put the probability of this potentially catastrophic event at less than one in 10 million.
Still, the thought of an ecosystem-annihilating rock from space, like the one that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, is unnerving. Scientists have long thought about ways to mitigate the hazard of a civilization-destroying asteroid and developed many different techniques to deflect any killer rocks, including shooting it with lasers, ramming it with a spacecraft, or blowing up a nuclear bomb on its surface. Now a team of researchers wants to launch a mission to test the effects of painting an asteroid in order to repel it.
The Yarkovsky effect works by changing the amount of light an asteroid gives off. As an asteroid rotates, the surface that has been heated by the sun moves away to face space and radiates infrared photons. Though massless, these photons carry away small bits of momentum from the asteroid, essentially generating a tiny rocket thrust in one direction. The effect is very slight but over time can noticeably change an asteroid's orbit. By making an asteroid lighter or darker, and therefore changing the amount of radiation it absorbs, we could turn up or down this miniscule rocket thrust. It's a long haul-technique, requiring years, decades, or even centuries of advanced notice to alter an asteroid's trajectory.
Researchers have considered using the Yarkovsky effect to drive off dangerous asteroids for several decades, though Hyland and his collaborator's proposal is among the most detailed investigations. Last year, a graduate student at MIT suggested using paintballs to deflect an asteroid but Hyland said that ordinary water- or oil-based paints wouldn't work in space. When exposed to a vacuum, these substances would vaporize, "basically exploding," he said. Paintballs would have to be tough enough to not explosively decompress yet weak enough to splatter on the asteroid's surface instead of merely leaving hundreds of tiny craters.
Instead, Hyland suggested using a dry powder with an electrical charge. The solar wind – a river of charged particles constantly flowing out from the sun – bathes everything in the solar system and should give an asteroid a small positive charge. A satellite could come up to the asteroid and shoot paint through a tribocharging gun. No, that's not some misspelling of turbocharging but rather what happens when you force particles through a narrow tube where they rub against the walls and pick up extra electrons, becoming negatively charged. Once bathed in ultraviolet light from the sun, the paint particles would melt together to cover the asteroid with a new color.
Hyland and his collaborators are hoping to get funding for a mission that could launch in 2021 to rendezvous with the formerly worrisome asteroid Apophis to test their spray-paint method. The researchers have collaborated with NASA and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology(KACST), which runs Saudi Arabia's space research institute, to design a satellite. Hyland is currently working to secure a launch date for their first hardware tests either on the International Space Station or in low-Earth orbit in late 2014 or 2015.
The proposal is interesting and worth investigating but "it needs a demonstration to show that it actually works," said geologist Jay Melosh of Purdue University.
Melosh noted that while asteroid surfaces should be positively charged in principle, scientists don't actually know the electric field in the vicinity of such objects because no asteroid-encountering spacecraft has ever carried instruments to study this. Researchers would also need to gather detailed information about the axis on which an asteroid spins before attempting to move one with paint.
Melosh is a co-author on a 2010 study called "Defending Planet Earth" that looked at different asteroid deflection techniques. Because it could only be used on fairly small asteroids whose potential for destruction is known well ahead of time, the report ranked slow-push methods, like using the Yarkovsky force, below other techniques like exploding a nuclear warhead on an asteroid or ramming it with a giant impactor.
The spray-painting method doesn't allow for detailed fine-tuning and would probably only work with a few specific asteroids, such as Apophis, said former astronaut Rusty Schweickart, co-founder of the B612 Foundation, which aims to protect Earth against deadly impacts. "The problem is that Apophis is not that typical and what you'll need for most deflections is a precise orbital change," he said. A gravity tractor that pulls an asteroid into a specific orbit would be more useful for the majority of cases.
Hyland understands the limitations of his proposed method. "This is not going to be the sole method of asteroid deflection," he said. "And I think we need as many tools in our tool box as we can get."
One advantage of the method is the risk of screwing things up catastrophically is relatively low. Because it works so slowly, it would give scientists plenty of time to rejigger their calculations and try again. Unlike the nuclear or ramming options, moving an asteroid snail's pace also means that it can't fall into the wrong hands and be used as a weapon of mass destruction – you've got ample time to deflect a bullet that takes years to hit you.
Instead of work on something that could be weaponized, Hyland said "it's nice to collaborate on a project that, who knows, might one day save the Earth."


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Buying property in Italy
Part 1 Under the Tuscan Sun This is the first of a series of posts dealing with the purchase by North Americans of property in Italy. Italy has always been a very popular vacation destination for North Americans. Today, as … Continue reading


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How Michelle Obama Learned to Negotiate on Work-Life Balance
First Lady Michelle Obama said she learned hard lessons in her legal career about how working women need to negotiate with employers, as she recalled how she tried to juggle work and family ambitions.
In an interview with Parade magazine published online Friday, Ms. Obama said she never thought about negotiating on salary when she was hired into her first job after law school, saying one of the challenges women face is "we don't think about salary enough."
And she says she felt burned by her initial effort to balance work and kids, when her first daughter, Malia, was born. She asked her boss to be moved to part-time work, she says, but ended up essentially doing the same job with less pay. "That was the first time I realized I would never again work part time, because that's not a good deal for women."
Later, after younger daughter Sasha was born, Ms. Obama tells Parade she was stretched very thin as husband Barack embarked on his campaign for U.S. Senate. Mr. Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic convention and subsequent win in the Senate race solidified his standing as a Democratic star.
In her next negotiation, lesson learned, she tried a different tack:
I told my boss, "This is what I have: two small kids. My husband is running for the U.S. Senate. I will not work part time. I need flexibility. I need a good salary. I need to be able to afford babysitting. And if you can do all that, and you're willing to be flexible with me because I will get the job done, I can work hard on a flexible schedule." I was very clear. And he said yes to everything.
When the Parade interviewer tells her she would be a good agent for other women, she replied: "That's how I advise young women: Negotiate hard and know your worth." She noted, however, that the flexibility she gained only exists within a narrow realm of employment, and often isn't available to minimum wage and other hourly workers -- a group of workers the administration is focusing on.
Ms. Obama's comments came in a Parade interview that focused on Mr. Obama's working families initiative, and how the pair juggle their responsibilities as partners and parents.
Much of this narrative is familiar: before the pair headed off to their respective ivy-league colleges, they each worked jobs that paid close to the minimum wage. Mr. Obama scooped ice cream at Baskin Robins, while Ms. Obama bound books. Ms. Obama, in particular, highlighted how working beside adults as a 16-year-old helped her realize how hard it was for people to support themselves on a minimum-wage salary.
They also talk about working to save money after school, and how they split the chores. Mr. Obama took care of the bills, the groceries and the dishes while Ms. Obama cleaned the bathroom, he said, "just because she didn't think I did a good enough job." He also noted, as he has previously, that Ms. Obama took on most of the childcare duties.


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Announcing The Bearding Ladies Quilt Group!
Hey all, Christine reporting here! We are SO excited to announce that we are starting a monthly quilt meet up at Sew L.A.!!! We will gather the third Monday of each month from 6:30-9:30pm and talk quilts! It's a place to bring finished projects to show and tell, share your favorite quilting tips, trade ideas and techniques, learn new skills, and get input on your work in progress. The Bearding Ladies quilt group meetings are free and open to everyone! Please join us!
So, you might be wondering, how did a quilt group get started at Sew L.A., the land of the garment seamstresses? Well, here's how it went down.
First we had Rebecca Prange, our lone quilter in the bunch. Then came Devon Iott, another quilter in the teacher line up. Next thing you knew, Shaerie, Haley, Hollye, and myself were all quilting! I'm not sure what happened! I know I'm enjoying a completely different style of sewing from my usual garment construction, and perhaps that's true for all of the other new quilters in the house too. No matter what got us going, we are now all quilters. It's a slippery slope!
We offer multiple quilting classes each semester and between all of the new quilters in the house and all of our quilting students, we thought it was time to form a real quilting group. But to be honest, we're a little punk rock for anything too formal, so we decided on a few things up front. First, we have mad respect for the LA Modern Quilt Group and its founder, Alissa Haight Carlton. So first things first, I chatted with her to make sure there was no stepping on turf, and like a real quilter, she was excited that we were all bitten by the quilting bug and gave us her blessing. (This is so West Side Story – we'll have to snap and dance around our quilts!)
Next, we had to think up a name. Devon and Haley started looking up quilting terms and after some back and forth, we all loved the word bearding. What is bearding? Bearding is a term for when the batting comes through to the right side of your quilt. It's not a good thing, and it suited the bad-girl vibe we were after for our posse. Pair bearding with the word ladies, and well, it goes from a bad-girl vibe to something even worse. We were smitten.
Of course, every group needs a good logo and mascot, so we called upon Hollye, our resident graphic designer and she developed our bearded lady, complete with beard (of course) and since we're ladies, her beard is topped off with a delicate bow. Again, we were in love. So with our name, logo, and times set, it's now time to get these going!
Please join us for the first of what will hopefully be many quilt meetings, Monday January 21 from 6:30-9:30pm. We hope you come, bring ideas of what you'd like this group to be, and of course, bring quilts, tips, works in progress, and anything else you'd like! See you there!


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It was a great feeling to see that people in a country, who's government in the madness of being a so called super power is killing women and children all over the world, are fighting for the cause of freedom and justice in Chicago. We salute the protestors from America and all other nations who are taking part in these historic protests. May Allah help you in the noble cause of peace and justice.
As expected, American establishment and government have started to use Nazi-like tactics against the protestors and doing whatever they can to push these protestors back. On one hand American government claims to be the champion of democracy and human rights and on the other hand they are not following these norms when it comes to dealing with these peaceful protestors.
In the video above it was nice to see a Palestinian flag in the protest. humanity is not dead. These Americans and other nationalities with whatever religious,racial or linguistic backgrounds are much better than those fake liberals (scum of Pakistan) who support drones, bombings on civilian population and illegal abduction of people. Great job justice loving people.
These protests are against NATO, war on terror, imperialism, drone attacks in Pakistan/Afghanistan and other terrorist (financial and military) activities by these so called first world countries and their puppet allies. It seems that American administration is again using terrorism fear to control these protests as well. Hopefully this will not work.


text:
One of the recommendations of the special committee convened to study the biblical and confessional doctrine on the issue of justification was that presbyteries, sessions, and pastors be proactive in addressing the NPP (New Perspectives on Paul) and FV (Federal Vision) issues (Recommendation 2, p. 89 of the Committee report). As a member of the congregation, what am I able to do in order to insure this happens in a timely and edifying manner?
Another recommendation was that the OPC denominational magazine, New Horizons, publish popular critiques of NPP and FV (Recommendation 3.b.4, again on p. 89 of the Committee report). What progress has been made on that?
Greetings in the Name of our Lord! Thank you for your pair of questions for us. Let me answer the second one first. The February 2007 issue of New Horizons was in fact dedicated to the doctrine of justification, giving popular critiques of the FV and the NPP. Included in that issue of the magazine (which can be found online here are the following articles:
JUSTIFICATION:"Justification: What the Debate Is All About" by David M. VanDrunen
"Justified Now and Forever" by Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.
JUSTIFICATION AND THE NEW PERSPECTIVE ON PAUL (NPP):"Getting the Gospel Right" by Cornelis P. Venema
THE "FEDERAL VISION" (FV):"Understanding the 'Federal Vision'" by Alan D. Strange
THE NEW PERSPECTIVES ON PAUL (NPP):"A Review Article: Paul for Everyone, by [N.T.] Wright" by J. V. Fesko
David M. VanDrunen, an OP (Orthodox Presbyterian) minister, teaches at Westminster Seminary, California. Richard B. Gaffin, Jr., an OP minister, teaches at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. Cornelis P. Venema teaches theology at (and is president of) Mid-America Reformed Seminary. Alan D. Strange, an OP minister, teaches at Mid-America Reformed Seminary. J.V. Fesko is pastor of Geneva OPC in Woodstock, Georgia.
The justification report is available online in PDF format here. In addition, the Christian Education Committee has published the Assembly's report in pamphlet form. That pamphlet can be ordered online here.
The recommendation to which you refer in your first question stands as such—a recommendation. Though the General Assembly commended the paper to the church for study, it did not (and cannot) mandate such. And, even in churches addressing the issues as recommended, no particular mechanism was specified or suggested.
Some churches may choose to address the issues directly by sermons or by special conferences, others may choose to simply make applications at particular points; in yet other churches, the matter may be ignored. I can only encourage you to speak to your elders and to your pastor asking them to make clear and pointed warnings against the serious errors in these views. You might make greater head-way with them if you, having studied the FV and NPP report, ask them to address particular problems. Specific requests receive specific answers, while general requests receive general ones.
Thank you again for your questions, and for your concern for the Gospel.
"Questions and Answers" is a weekly feature of the OPC website. The answers come from individual ministers in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church expressing their own convictions and do not necessarily represent an "official" position of the Church, especially in areas where the Standards of the Church (the Scriptures and the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms) are silent.
The questions come from individuals like yourself. If you have questions about biblical and theological matters, you are invited to send them by e-mail by using the "Pose a Question" link on the OPC home page or by clicking here.
At least one new question is posted each week, so there should always be something new here for you to read. (For those people who would like to look at previous questions and answers, they will continue to be available as well.)
The purpose of the OPC website's "Questions and Answers" is to respond to biblical and theological questions. Matters of church discipline, disputes, or debates go beyond the scope of our work. We recommend that you present your concerns in these areas to the appropriate judicatory. In most cases this will be to a local pastor, elder, or session. We do not want the website to replace personal involvement in, or commitment to, the local, visible church.
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Chaplains and Military Personnel


text:
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Hes a Norwegian Blue.
I accept that Helun Klark would still register on the consciousness of those struggling to stay current as their mental faculties fail,albeit up there with P G Goff,(what does that tell us), but the Pinstripe Clad Chameleon?
His latest brain fart, withhold welfare from citizens who decline to cooperate with those investigating child abuse.
Now the most significant case where stonwalling the police in a case such as this, the tragic end for the twin babies of Chris Kahui and Macsyna King would have been brought to success, just how exactly Mr Peters. Starve them, dehydrate them, cause them to succumb due to drug withdrawal.
The dopey idiots in the media give it oxygen, when the demented old fool thinks that his BF is a solution.
Ees not dead ees just restin, FFS let him and his Scotch preserved brain RIP
Interesting Stuff
Disregarding the occassional war we've managed to raise our overall standard of living to levels never before seen.
But we have built on the quicksand of paper money.
When we base our "wealth" on a piece of printed paper, then we are truly at the mercy of our collective behaviour.
Some people want to print more of it
Others are very adept at gathering it
Some rely on being given it
Others want to borrow it
Some want to lend it
Others want to decide how it is distributed
Some have received it but produced nothing of value in return
Others want to steal it
Some want to give it away
But what really counts is the only real fact.
Compounding interest.
One day we will awake only to discover that we can no longer produce enough real stuff to cover the mortgage
Now that will be interesting
Saturday, July 30, 2011
A Blokes Dinner
On Thursday SWMBO and a friend took the Bally's Bus to Timaru.
With their iconic CBD store in a bit of trouble following the seismic hiccups of recent times J Ballentyne &Co have been running bus trips to their Timaru store to keep a connection with their army of clients in Christchurch and North Canterbury. Runnning two or sometimes three coaches two and three times a week with a roundtrip ticket at $20, they have been very well supported, booked weeks ahead.
With the inclement weather, SWMBO and a mate went into the city on Wed for Thurs and didn't make Paradise again till Friday night, after what was described as a great day out with Ballys.
Well old Gravedodger who misses the diningroom at the Masterton Club where dining weekly with other boring old farts was a treasured activity, took the absence of the controller of the house as an opportunity to have a dinner with three old mates on Thursday evening.
Starting with oreganum pumkin soup garnished with a bit of parsley and a dash of cream followed by an entree of Crayfish Mornay.
Main was Corned beef with mustard sauce, mash potatoes, sauteed brusselsprouts, carrots julienne and mashed Southland swede.
Dessert, a cheese board with a Whitestone blue, a Kapiti Brie and an aged cheddar with a nice Port or three.
A great 6 hours of yarns, lies, fellowship and food all cleaned up and shipshape by 00 30
Thanks to my Three good mates sorry to the other two couldn't make it.
And a big thankyou to Jim Ballantyne.
That was a Hiding
Man of the match between 3 Hurricanes Jane, Nonu and Hoare.
Williams (Ali) much improved.
Weepu strangely distracted.
Sonny Bill Who?
Wyatt Crocket, keep that up and Woodcock will struggle.
Afoa, was that the briefest AB appearance ever?, bugger.
Was that Maa Nonu's best game in Black?
Was Carter off song or was that very difficult wind? Pity Steyn didn't get a chance to show us.
Do the ABs have the greatest depth in the professional era and we havn't got our top 20 in a rehab camp?
Was Skinstat on the money with his comparison of the AB structured game against two long range tries by the Wallabies a week ago?
Was that one of the better games by a northern hemisphere ref in recent times?
Was that one of the most consistent backline efforts in the face of 3 major reshuffles?
Lancaster Park, Fate or Future?
Fairfax News has asked the question and Inventory2 has posted on what is the future of this, another of our City's venues.
The Queen Elizabeth 2nd complex, including the athletics and the olympic pool built for the 1974 Commonwealth Games at Burwood was "Munted" as was the artificial turf as HQ for Canterbury Hockey, Porritt Park and the Kerr's Reach Rowing venue.
Wilding Park HQ for Tennis at Avonside another casualty and today the rumors are growing that The Grand old Lancaster Park will not survive.
Information on what is now called AMI stadium is sketchy to say the least.
VBase a wholly owned subsidiary of The City Council, the operator of the park along with other venues, was wound up recently and the remaining staff under CEO Bryan Pearson were gagged from commenting on a report not yet released but which I understand has been circulated to some interested parties.
The Crusaders board are apparently making plans to play home games next super season at Timaru's Frazer Park and Nelson at Trafalgar Park.
The word on the street that the L P complex, insured for around $300 million will cost well in excess of that to reinstate and in the Post RWC era a new stadium similar to the Forsyth Barr in Dunedin at around $200 m would be a more realistic option.
In the absence of Facts, rumors are rife, one that surfaced a couple of months ago and gained renewed traction in the current vacuum last week, claims significant problems greater that the visible damage to the three Grandstands. The Hadlee on the Northern end is for demolition and the two main stands, "Deans" to the East and "Paul Kelly" to the West have major foundation failure.
Another doing the rounds from a mate close to the Engineering clique in the City has a cavernous void several Meters under the whole complex.
Iv2 in his post alludes to some of the great sporting moments associated with the ground.
Three stand out in my mind, Peter Snell's great mile run in the 60s following his Rome triumph, the 1956 Springbok games and at the top of the list for one with Red and Black blood in my veins, the defeat of the All Blacks after their Australian Tour by Canterbury and the Late D B Clarke failing with a sideline kick just meters in front of me that could have saved the ABs.
As in any information vacuum, rumors flourish and if there is a report that gives the Crusaders Franchise the message that they need alternative venues for next year why not make it public as the major influence of what the future holds is more than a little relevant going forward for many who are trying to plan and if that stadium is not going to survive then they need to know that.
The land Iv2 alludes to near the Airport that The CHCH airport Company is withholding permission for residential development may well be a good option with good access and several Hotels nearby.
I accept that incomplete information can be unhelpful, as many of those awaiting definitive status on the land under their munted, repairable and in rare cases untouched homes are enduring, but it seems rather frustrating that some information release to affected parties is possible, why not publish it for all.
So Boring It No Longer Makes The Front Page
The headline gives the strongest indicator yet that Labour might roll Goff.
Voters prefer Labour policy but not party:
However, it is the small fry which bring much more interest this morning from Herald-Digipol.
ACT down to just 1.4% party vote. Hellooooooo Dr Brash. Where aaaaaaare you? Yooohooooo! Show us your polling. Show us your polling.
Maori Party up slightly with 2.0% party vote.
Capital Gains Tax - despite The Herald's misleading sub heading indicating broad approval, the highest score was 'no opinion/don't know..' at 24.6%
Asset Renewal - National had better get off its collective arse and sell this concept which Labour has hijacked, misrepresented and cemented into the public mind as 'evil asset sales.'
Repayment of National Debt - a huge forty-three percent of New Zealand's population are dead shit dumbarses who think a capital gains tax which raises nothing in it's first seven years is the best way to pay down the national debt.
Don't come round 'ere with yer facts and evidence
For those unfamiliar with Cochrane reviews, they get researchers to look at what the evidence actually is for particular medical interventions. The researchers find all the studies they can that provide evidence one way or the other on the subject, then they strip out the poor-quality studies until they only have indisputably high-quality studies left, then they go through them with a fine-tooth comb to figure out exactly what the study really does provide evidence for. They're respected around the world for the quality of their work. Their latest effort, on reducing salt in your diet, is here: Reduced dietary salt for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Their plain language summary:
Cutting down on the amount of salt has no clear benefits in terms of likelihood of dying or experiencing cardiovascular diseaseGood news, huh? Apparently not. Experts reject the findings. Reuters has this to say:
Most experts are agreed that consuming too much salt is not good for you and that cutting salt intake can reduce hypertension in people with normal and high blood pressure.Well, yes. But the question is, what evidence is that consensus based on? Apparently the answer is "Nothing reliable."
But you can always rely on nutritionists not to let inconvenient facts stand in the way of dogma. A Heart Foundation nutritionist is quoted on the Science Media blog:
Other types of research have conclusively linked moderate salt reduction with reduced risk. The Heart Foundation maintains its position of advocating salt reduction for all New Zealanders...
"Other types of research?" "Conclusively?" Seems that the Cochrane group could have saved themselves the effort of studying the evidence for themselves - all they needed to do was contact the Heart Foundation and ask a nutritionist. How silly of them.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Democracy demands Honesty.
Yes Sanity, even Hatfield and his advisors used the theory of vote splitting when they Promoted a vote for the thug got them both him and Kelvin Davis.
As the strategy of getting Banks as the electorate MP to secure the ACT votes, Peters must have been very upset in 2008 when his 4% was worth nothing while ACTs 4% earned 5 MPs, and the honest tactic of supporting Dunny in Ohariu are being revealed, it is just sanity being employed.
Likewise the "Would be if He could be" Emperor of the Labour Party who was palpably upset when his seemingly stupid effort to create an electorate seat power base seemed to be seriously undermined in New Plymouth, should just accept he may just have indulged in the biggest kirkup since Dunfuck.
Lately I have read an increasing number of comments where Labour Voters, (their description, and with the proclivity of socialists to lie, grain of salt territory), who are claiming they will put a peg on their nose and vote Labour again. Their justification, "they don't want National to win big".
Bollocks, they know their tribal seat warmers are rubbish being led to the cliff by the ranking Lemming and instead of telling the braindead that they should just bugger off and let renewal take root, they will soften the blow and risk making the disaster bigger and more debilitating.
Whatever system is used, however gerrymandered the electorates are, however incompetent the candidates presented by the party are and whatever the issues might be DEMOCRACY demands complete honesty when the VOTE is marked.
If the current system promotes a better outcome for ones vote by splitting then thats the game, so stop crying foul when a stupid system is used to frustrate your dreams.
A little bit of money
"If it costs a little bit of money to ensure people are well informed about the thing that is most critical to them, and that's their rates, then I suspect it is a cost well spent," he said.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Election Result - November 2011 - Update
Seats allocated according to latest Roy Morgan poll.
- Look how close the Maori Party is to winning list seats.
- Where is Dr Brash's mysterious private polling?
|Party name
|Party Votes won
|Party seat entitlement
|No. of electorate seats won
|No. of list MPs
|Total MPs
|% of MPs
|Act New Zealand
|The Greens
|Māori Party
|New Zealand Labour Party
|New Zealand National Party
Here's the Adolfian prediction for November 2011. It will be bumped and shown alongside each respective Roy Morgan poll between now and election date. Should Phil Goff be replaced as Labour leader, Adolf will revise his prediction.
- Phil Goff remains Labour leader
- Dunne loses
- Dr Brash is prevented from further alienating sectors of the electorate.
- Labour wins Te Tai Tokerau
|Party name
|Party Votes won
|Party seat entitlement
|No. of electorate seats won
|No. of list MPs
|Total MPs
|% of MPs
|Act New Zealand
|The Greens
|Māori Party
|New Zealand Labour Party
|New Zealand National Party
Polls and Turkeys
They successfully scared their client voters into returning them 3 times based on lies about how national would eat their babies and starve them to death.
Labour are strugling to hit 30% in the polls.
Think about that for a moment. Half the country rely on the state but 40% of them are saying they will not vote for the spend and tax party which just goes to show that when times are tough you can find some turkeys who will vote for an early Xmas.
Money / Church Again?
Jonathon Kirkpatrick ex vicar of St Micheals in CHCH, ex dean of Otago's St Pauls Cathedral under the first female Bishop Penny Jamieson, ex lover and long term partner of retired Labour MP Tim Barnett, has until recent days been director of an AUT business development unit.
During this week a few things have happened, AUT have successfully frozen J K's bank accounts and have gagged staff at AUT from speaking to the media, the Anglican Church have distanced themselves from him, He is not sayin nuttin after resigning his position as CEO of the AUT business innovation unit. Possibly been a bit too innovative ?
All the while some $500 000 is missing
What is the sad litany of those who would bang on as to how the peasants should lead their lives, are so often revealed with feet of clay. Perhaps good ole Christ J should have kept going when he turfed the money changers out of the temple, too many of his followers seem to have needed similar treatment.
I know nothing is proved , YET. Someone might have just borrowed it and missed paying it back
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Labour abuse
"Where you start to make the change is in the first five years of a child's life, and you support all children and their family through those early years."
It Used To Be Blacks........
Australia has come of age since then.
Deputy Nationals leader Nigel Scullion won the celebrity cake-making challenge with a cake showing Prime Minister Julia Gillard seemingly being eaten by a crocodile. His victory speech was all about politics.
Senator Scullion said the cake wasn't chauvinistic."I matched her emerald shoes with her lime tunic and got her hair just right. Everybody thought it was very tasteful."
And it just keeps getting better. About six weeks ago Adolf, with tongue firmly in cheek, suggested Labor could find a superb leader in Malcolm Turnbull. Now, some commentators are seriously floating the idea.
Be Sure The Seals Are Intact Phil
Be vigilent when they medicate you Phil, all pills to be in the foil, all the remedies in a sealed bottle, remember the "Rs"
Right Patient
Right medication
Right dose
Right route
Right Timing,
Then there are the "Cs"
Clear, correct dose, current date, correct med.
An old Labour leader was dying and his colleagues were gathered.
One, a David, was very cut up and with tears streaming down his face said to Phil "don't worry you have led a very long and loyal life in the Party, you have earned the right to rest easy".
Phil was not comforted and he tried to rise, started to mouth words. David reassured him but Phil mumbled "I must confess".
"No just rest dear leader",
"No I must admit the truth, I didn't really think the CGT idea was that great.
"Hush" said David "we knew that, thats why we gave you the Poison, just let it go and rest easy"
We Were Only *******, Milord!
It seems clear her companion was not a missionary.
......as a public servant argues for compensation after being injured during a night of passion.
The federal government employee, who cannot be identified, was injured when a glass light fitting came away from the wall above the bed as she was having sex with a man in 2007.
She wants compensation because her injuries were caused "during the course of her employment", as she had been sent to a country town to stay the night ahead of a meeting the next day.
Adolf has spent more nights than he cares to remember in Australian country motels and not only did he miss out on even one 'night of passion,' he can't recall even one opportunity.
One wonders how long it will be before the public service unions demand members on overnight missions be provided with call girls and or rent boys.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
It Is Always About the Money!
With her successful challenge in the High Court that her exclusion from the ballot was unlawful, more facts are emerging.
As the Whale would say, some interesting names have appeared among the membership.
To be able to cast a vote a branch must have 10 members.
With 90 members the branch can exercise 5 votes.
If they can rustle up one more member it gets 10 votes.
Lo and behold, some 10 NEW branches were formed and guess what? They had between 91 and 93 members.
Now some are asking if there was there any connection between Destiny Church, Hannah Tamaki, the new branches, the way the subscriptions were paid and their timing.
I suggested there was an attractive amount of money sloshing around and the M W W L would be a base to gain traction in the contesting of some of that money.
Entities such as Whanau Ora have some admirable traits among their objectives and may have some solutions to intractable problems facing this country but when any "church", and Destiny in particular, start making such obvious moves towards the treasure chests that Whanau Ora and similar have, I get more than a little interested.
My real concern here is the fear Destiny Church may not be structurally and financially separated from its charity work in the same way mainlainers like Prezzies and Methos are. Makes it veeeeery easy to slide some of the Whanau Ora money across to prop up the lifestyle of the good Bishop and his whanau.
Lets just make damned sure all such funds are competitively and openly tendered and veeeeeery carefully audited. None of this Bros looking after Bros, eh?
Matt McCarten is ripping YOU off
Pay your bills you scumbag.
And get your mate Bomber Bradbury to start facing his responsibilities as well.
You don't get to rant like some holier than thou, butter wouldn't melt do gooder when you are ripping kiwis off.
Apologies, It Did Look Bad.
Just prior to leaving on Sunday I posted on Sweden and my opening para suggested Confusion between that Nation and Norway.
The point of the post that I published without Proofreading, was the Link to an excellent post on her Blog by Lindsay Mitchell who was inexplicably to me, given an un-winnable position on the ACT list but is a gem when discussion is raised on Welfare in NZ and she is always a good read on Politics in General.
I fell into a similar hole when under time constraint days earlier I posted a link to an item at Homepaddock, on that occasion I was chastised for a really horrible sentence construct.
Surprisingly on both occasions my main critics were members of the clearly very numerous Anonymous family. The sloppy posts were poor form and would have detracted from the importance of the posts I was linking to, so for that sloppy work I apologise.
Following a heads up from a fellow member of our team which I only received on regaining access to the net, I agree my post did portray a clear confusion between Norway and Sweden. My lack of clarity referred to the kinship of two neighbouring countries who share a border of some
1500 Kms. The careless linkage was no more the feelings of kinship I felt with the shootings in Tasmania that is still quite raw in my Psyche.
I sincerely hope my careless writing and poor form did not stop anyone from taking the trip to L M"s thought provoking blogsite.
My apologies to my fellow bloggers at No Minister for my lapse in standards.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Greece A Basket Case? No
It is very long but well worth the time it takes to read the whole thing.
The worlds smartest, most highly paid, financial experts forgot the third most important tenet of good lending, as they poured billions of dollars into a sunny, indolent black hole. They possibly forgot the second as well. These tenets are very simple.
- Are the assets being offered for security genuinely valuable?
- Can the lender really afford pay the interest and repay the principal?
- Does the lender have an above average personal factor? (Can he or she be trusted?)
Adolf's favorite quote:
On he went, describing a system that was, in its way, a thing of beauty. It mimicked the tax-collecting systems of an advanced economy—and employed a huge number of tax collectors—while it was in fact rigged to enable an entire society to cheat on their taxes. As he rose to leave, he pointed out that the waitress at the swanky tourist hotel failed to provide us with a receipt for our coffees. "There's a reason for that," he said. "Even this hotel doesn't pay the sales tax it owes."
And there is one underlying lesson. Never go to confession.
There is only one conclusion. Let them rot in their own putrid cauldron of stewing dishonesty and avarice.
One is drawn to conclude from this account that Greece is not a basket case.
A basket, unlike Greece, has some value.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Retaliatory Amish Raids Not Expected
I must say I was surprised at the speed with which the world's Antique Media fell over themselves to shout out that the Norwgian madman killer is a Christian. Somehow their previous sensitivity about the religious convictions, political proclivities or nationalities of Terrorists seem to have abated - suddenly.
Here's the ever reliable and unbiased ABC.
Norway attacks suspect admits responsibility
Updated July 24, 2011 09:13:55....Police say they are questioning the right-wing Christian over the massacre - a killing spree that Norway's prime minister Jens Stoltenburg said had turned an island paradise into "hell on Earth"…
......The suspect in twin attacks in and near Oslo that killed at least 92 people, Anders Behring Breivik, has admitted responsibility, his lawyer said......
Key details:
§ 92 dead, may rise to 98
§ Ring-wing Christian extremist charged
§ His farm searched for explosives
§ Possibility of a second gunman .................Police spokesman Roger Andersen described the suspect as a "Christian fundamentalist", adding that his political opinions leaned "to the right".
But don't worry. They won't do it the next time a crazed murderer shouts 'Allahu Akbar' as he machine guns a few dozen people in a down town Sydney or Auckland street market.
The media continues to live up to my expectations. Clearly they live and die by their motto of 'Never letting the facts get in the way of a good story'.
The latest case at point. Recently we were invited to be disgusted at the way the Government treats our war veterans. The media seized upon the fact that a number of our Crete veterans had to pay their way over to the 70th anniversary of the German landings on the Island. No matter that the veterans were part of a private tour party on an extended trip. No matter that their trip was subsidised by the Crown. The story was designed that we should be outraged that a cruel Government did not pick up the whole tab and shocked that the Minister of Defence, representing the Government and the people of New Zealand, was there and had his travel costs picked up by the taxpayer.
But what you weren't told about is the extraordinary generous policy that provides a one-off, no questions asked, grant of $2,000 to any and all veterans with qualifying operational service to allow him/her to visit the country they fought in. Could be North Africa, Greece, Crete, Italy or the Pacific or anywhere else New Zealanders fought during WW2 along with Korea, Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam and through to Afghanistan (although perhaps it might be a little while before anyone wants to go back there). The grant can be accessed at any time and is not tied to any particular anniversary.
The best information available to me suggests there are approximately 70,000 veterans eligible for this grant. Some will have taken it already but if we stick with the 70,000 figure the policy creates a contingent liability for Government of something in the order of $140 million. Chickenfeed not.
I am not aware of any other Commonwealth country that has such as policy in place. I know that both the Australian and American veteran communities are consumed with envy when they are appraised of this entitlement. They have nothing remotely similar.
So, back to where I started. The Kerry Woodhams of this world should stop interviewing their typewriters and coming up with shock horror stories that just don't stack up against the facts. Yes, Government can always do better when it comes to honouring our veterans and we await with anticipation their response to the Law Commission Report on the rewrite of the War Pensions Act 1954. But insofar as allowing veterans to return to the battlefield they fought over there is a silver plated scheme in place, paid for by Mr & Mrs Taxpayer, which is the envy of veteran organisations around the world.
Sweden Is Not What Many Think
Take a trip to Lindsay Mitchell's Place and read all about it.
Just as Dame Margaret Thatcher predicted, "socialism will only last so long as people exist to fund it" the threat of insolvency came to visit Sweden in the last decade of the 20th century and Lindsay posts on what happened next.
Compulsory reading for any New Zealander with the utopia driven view of tax and welfare to make a fair productive egalitarian society.
Just take 10 minutes and pay her a visit, please, all of you.
A big Tick for the Forsyth Barr Stadium.
He goes on to relate that to the as yet uncertain future of ChCh's AMI or Lancaster Park as it was known.
If that venue is rooted as the rumours suggest, then I agree with Wynne's assessment.
While I have no idea of the dimensions of the plot of land, there is a block on the SE cnr of the Memorial Av Russley Rd Roundabout that would be worth an investigation. At present CHCH Airport Company is denying residential development consent for obvious reasons but with its access, North, South and West plus the Airport and the City, allied to its geological stability it would be worth a look.
Rubbish in- Rubbish out.
However a guts ache free Sunday morning was rendered impossible after reading this rubbish.
Yes, all flavours abuse their kids, not questioning that truth. But read the words this idiot uses.
"Her master's thesis at the Eastern Institute of Technology found about half of the children killed in New Zealand died at the hands of a Pakeha abuser."
So..... 80% of the population account for "about" half the child abuse cases.
Stop trying to minimise the disgrace that is Maori child abuse by using the "they do it too" excuse.
Master thesis without maths. Nice.
Poverty does not make you kill your kids.
Gobshite apologists for scum make my guts ache.
In Politics, Where Does the Party End?
To Wit Crosbie Textor to National, John Ansell to ACT et al.
Cameron Slater at Gotcha has published three posts giving some in depth analysis of Mike Hutcheson who is currently being used as a major input to Labour in the run up to the election.
Now this chap is somewhat radically to the right of Labour as signified by what they would want the electorate to see as their niche. His publicly uttered positions on women in business, education and climate change would, if he was on the National Team, be vociferously exploited as the true position of that party. As it is the temporary leader of the socialist grouping, apparently it is OK, just ask Trev.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
A Stinking, Malevolent Cauldron Of Infectious Diseasee
The original post sounds as though it was written by Trevor Mallard. It has his fingerprints all over it. The PM's statement is edited and mis-stated to completely change it's meaning and context.
But the comments which attach themselves to his carefully contrived but sinister aspersion tell you all you need to know about the left. And that is:-
These are the last people on earth you would ever again trust with the reins of government in new Zealand.
They are toxically insane.
Better Start Checking
Public broadcaster NRK and several other Norwegian media identified the suspected attacker as Anders Behring Breivik, a blond and blue-eyed Norwegian who expressed right-wing and anti-Muslim views on the internet.
Norwegian news agency NTB said Breivik legally owned several firearms and belonged to a gun club. He ran an agricultural firm growing vegetables, an enterprise that could have helped him secure large amounts of fertilizer, a potential ingredient in bombs.
We have quite a few clones of this fellow in New Zealand. I hope they are all rounded up well before the RWC begins.
Those Maori Seats
Who would have thought ten or fifteen years ago that there would have been a race based political party in the NZ Parliament? Of those crazy enough to voice such heresy, only the demented could have imagined such a party working in close and successful harmony with National and ACT and achieving a number of major legislative victories – the repeal of FSSB and the introduction of Whanau Ora to name a couple.
That's what we did have, until Dr Brash and John Ansell fell over each other and destroyed cross party relationships so carefully developed and nurtured by Rodney Hide. To describe Brash as a bull in a china shop ill serves the male bovine.
(It's ironic to note in passing but when one looks past the rhetoric and examines the aspirations of the Maori Party and the ACT Party one finds some remarkable similarities. They both want self determination but each expresses that in a different way. ACT wants freedom from government intrusion, unduly high taxes and welfarism. The Maori Party wants freedom from government intrusion, unduly high taxes and welfare dependence. The Maori Party was prevented from taking this message mainstream for as long as it was saddled with Harawira but now it can go full on.
Next, try and cast your mind forward ten or fifteen years, putting aside your prejudices and try to imagine a New Zealand Parliament where a race based (but not racist) party holds a dozen or more seats, some electoral and some list - with no special racially designated seats in the House.
Then ask yourself the question:-
"How could this ever come about and how could it happen in just fifteen years?"
In a perverse sort of way, it may well happen as a result of unintended consequences. Consequences of ill thought actions being taken today, by politicians of both the left and the right.
1 The first and most important factor has been the forcible ejection of Harawira from the Maori Party and his ensuing formation of the Mana Party, incorporating every black, white or brindle racist or communist ratbag in the country. This, in the same way that GWB attracted all Al Quaeda's ratbags from other parts of the world to Iraq where they could most conveniently be killed, has pigeon holed and isolated for mainstream New Zealand to now see in broad daylight, all that is unhealthy, unsavoury and downright destructive in the so-called radical Maori Independence movement. Most importantly of all, it has signalled to New Zealanders of all political persuasions that the brown ratbags are NOT to be found any more within the Maori Party, the corollary of which in that the Maori Party suddenly can draw votes from a much broader cross section of the community. The party has cleansed itself and strategically is much stronger than it was.
Such was unlikely the intention of Harawira, McCarten, Sykes and Mutu.
2 The Labour Party has mindlessly pursued its highly unimaginative, despicably misleading and ultimately disastrous policy of aggressively opposing what it calls 'asset sales.' In doing so, it is delivering a subliminal message to New Zealanders that a re-elected Labour Party will prevent the country's citizens from enjoying the privilege of personally owning their own shares in some of the country's power generation businesses. Yes, that's the real message from Labour's foolish 'stop asset sales' campaign. While accusing Dr Brash of Maori bashing, Labour is engaged in bashing the whole population, Maori, Pakeha, Chinese, Korean, Indian or Inuit. "We won't let you own power company shares" is the message from Mallard's campaign headquarters.
Such was unlikely the intention of the Kiwi bashers Mallard, Goff, King, Cunliffe and Parker.
3 The many Labour Party supporters who DO want to personally own their own power company shares will look for a home for their votes. Those who can't bring themselves to vote National will find a comfortable home in the new mainstream Maori Party – post Harawira. Definitely not the intention of Mallard, Goff, King, Cunliffe and Parker.
From here one can see the potential genesis of a blossoming Maori Party party vote - and this is the key to the abolition of the Maori seats. It would not surprise me in the slightest if the new 'cleansed' Maori Party achieves that magic figure of 5% PV in the polls well before Dr Brash's carpet bombed ACT Party gets close. (In fact it wouldn't surprise me if the Maori Party cracks 5% in November while ACT trails the field.)
Once the Maori Party starts to win list seats and polls consistently above say 15% party vote, the whole game changes. Then IT will be in a very strong position to commence negotiations for the abolition of the Maori seats. And what a deal it will be able to extract in return!
Such an achievement will indeed drive a dagger through the heart of the Labour Party and will elevate Messrs Turia and Sharples to sit alongside Sir Apirana Ngata in Maori political history.
SO, all you red necked anti-MMP campaigners, look before you leap. You might get more than you bargained for – more unintended consequences. Maori seats locked in FOR EVER - because it you think mainstream NZ will allow their abolition over a bloodbath, you are mistaken. You need MMP if you want to see the end of Maori seats in the NZ parliament.
I Thought Dinosaurs Extinct
He has come up with a theory that high Youth unemployment rates will lead to heightened suicide rates in the young.
Without a complete study that claim is just an opinion.
One fact that is pretty obvious to me on anecdotal evidence is that the current unacceptable levels of youth unemployment rates has a disturbing correlation to the abolition of youth pay rates.
As a past employer it is a complete no brainer that faced with a choice between a person just out of school and a more mature person with a work history I would be very unlikely to give the chance to the youth over the older one.
Of course the silly old bugger would not break ranks with the socialist mantra that all are equal even if some like him, are more equal than others.
I am aware that the dopey old man has had to face the tragedy of his child taking her own life and for that I am sympathetic, however unless he will accept that the current high rates may have its genisis in a false premise such as the artificial attempt to raise the value of labour then I would suggest he goes back to his irrelevance.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Social Disservice
ICC Must Use Horizon Polling
Here's the team, selected by fans using the ICC's website survey.
ICC TEST DREAM XI: Virender Sehwag (IND), Sunil Gavaskar (IND), Donald Bradman (AUS), Sachin Tendulkar (IND), Brian Lara (WIS), Kapil Dev (IND), Adam Gilchrist (AUS), Shane Warne (AUS), Wasim Akram (PAK), Curtly Ambrose (WIS), Glenn McGrath (AUS)
What about names such as Hadlee, Imran, Pollock, Tyson, Botham to name just a few.
So, dear readers, here is your next job. The Dream Teams.
Help Adolf choose a fifteen man all time best squad for each country competing in the forthcoming Test Cricket World Cup which seems likely to conclude with a 'timeless test' as a grand final. We need squads from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, India, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka and England. I think the Zimmers and the Bangers would be best to stay home on this occasion.
Kindly present your teams in comments numbered from 1 to 11, starting with the openers and finishing with the bowlers then include the names of your four replacement players.
I'll give it a go here for Australia, seeing as how I was resident and playing club cricket here during the wonderful era of the Chappels and Dennis Lillee. And by the way, I'm attempting this from memory without reverting to endless hours swotting up on Wisden but you can if you want to.
Australia (Adolf's selection)
1 Matthew Hayden 2 Sir Don Bradman 3 Greg Chappell 4 Adam Gilcrist 5 Ricky Ponting 6 Lindsay Hassett (c) 7 Dennis Lillee 8 Doug Walters 9 Glenn McGrath 10 Shane Warne 11 Brett LeeNew Zealand (IV2' selection)
12 Kieth Stackpole 13 Keith Millar 14 Rodney Marsh 15 Bobby Simpson
1 Glenn Turner 2 John Wright 3 Bert Sutcliffe 4 Martin Crowe 5 Stephen Fleming (Captain) 6 Bevan Congdon 7 Ken Wadsworth 8 Sir Richard Hadlee 9 Bruce Taylor 10 Richard Collinge 11 Hedley Howarth
12 John Bracewell 13 John R Reid 14 Dick Motz 15 Daniel Vettori
England (James Stevenson's selection)
1 Hutton 2 Hobbs 3 Hammond 4 Compton 5 Botham 6 Flintoff 7 Knott 8 Underwood 9 Laker 10 Trueman 11 Larwood
12 Gower 13 Sutcliffe 14 Russell 15 Willis
West Indies (pdm's selection)
1 Greenidge 2 Haynes 3 Headley 4 Weekes 5 Richards 6 Worrell (capt) 7 Sobers 8 Alexander 9 Gibbs 10 Ambrose 11 Holding.
12 Lloyd 13 Walcott 14 Garner 15 Marshall
There you are! Go to it.
Pharmac in perspective?
The Mayo Clinic in the US has assets of nearly ten billion and a turnover of almost seven billion.
Now do the US drug cartels seriously suggest that Our little Pharmac with a turnover of less than seven hundred million is a problem?
Throw in the kudos that supplying the Mayo Clinic implies and that red herring is more likely their FireBlight excuse methinks.
Just another "kerfuffle"
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Divorce is Rarely Nice.
That Williams feels let down is no surprise.
The one edge Woods enjoyed was clearly the way Williams kept the servant master relationship alive for nearly 13 years and particularly during the last few, with the unraveling of the master's personal life
That became a strength for Woods. When that professionalism is backdropped by the close friendship that developed between their wives it mirrored so much of the pain of the everyday matrimonial split.
Just how much of Woods success was attributable to Williams will never be known but my guess is a considerable one and time will tell as long as Woods seriously continues with the struggle. Having jettisoned the Missus, the Coach and now the Caddie he is coming ever closer to having to confront his own demons.
Rarely does the separation come without hurt, betrayal, and recriminations and the way Steve Williams handled himself during Tigers troubles was, to me admirable and his hurt is palpable. I am certain he will give Adam Scott great service. Whether it blossoms into something great is in the future but one thing is for sure it has good possibilities.
How long before That person who did so much to grow the professional game of golf ever approaches anything great again is a guess but I wonder if there is anyone to carry the clubs again as well as Steve Williams did.
Golf is regarded by most as an individuals sport, but here we see that there is much of the team about the modern game and Robbie Deans Mantra about the spelling of the word team is about to be tested.
Dr Glugman, Call Your Office
Who ever would have been silly enough to think the activity of the sun might have significant effect on climate change?
That is NCG, Natural Climate Change which of itself dwarfs any miniscule activity which some day might or might not be attached to the activities of Mankind.
The chief of the world's leading physics lab at CERN in Geneva has prohibited scientists from drawing conclusions from a major experiment. The CLOUD ("Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets") experiment examines the role that energetic particles from deep space play in cloud formation. CLOUD uses CERN's proton synchrotron to examine nucleation.
CERN Director General Rolf-Dieter Heuer told Welt Online that the scientists should refrain from drawing conclusions from the latest experiment.
"I have asked the colleagues to present the results clearly, but not to interpret them," reports veteran science editor Nigel Calder on his blog. Why?
Because, Heuer says, "That would go immediately into the highly political arena of the climate change debate. One has to make clear that cosmic radiation is only one of many parameters."
Looks like the Alarmists didn't get the result they wanted and haven't figured out yet a way to doctor the data.
Keep an eye out for the final publication, if any of the media pick it up, that is.
Methinks Some Protest Too Much
Now hang on Andy, just how hard did Labour campaign against The Troughmaster General in Wigram when he was joined at the Hip to you muppets.
How hard did you go up against Dunny when he was your vote.
Its called playing within the bloody rules, Tosser, that, and how it might be used to make your very carefully planned "long game to lead Labour" succumb to a defeat in New Plymouth is no reason for those who would do everything within those ridiculous rules to give you maximum grief to "play nice and fair".
Could I respectfully suggest you use whatever shred of "fair" in your miserable socialist carcass reemains, to bring a halt to the blatant rorting of Parliamentary Services funding of Labours campaign before the 3 months out date cuts in.
I wont hold my breath though.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
The Coal Face
Ol' Coal Face
Sanctimonious Claptrap
I see the loons from the left are trying to create a storm in a yamaka over the activities of some Israeli travelers who happened to be in Christchurch at the time of the earthquake.
There is particularly hysterical commentary over at Dim Post with a stand out oasis of sanity in the form of Russell Brown.
All I can say is, if I were a citizen of Israel I'd be pretty damned annoyed if my nation's security service did NOT have a team of operatives in New Zealand and every other unfriendly country ALL THE BLOODY TIME.
Maybe the loons have forgotten NZ funded the terrorist organisation Hamas to the tune of half a million smackeroos not so long ago. That paid for quite a few hundred of the rockets which since have been fired into Israel.
Nor does Israel forget the last similar incident where Israelis were deported amidst great public hulabaloo and diplomatic insults while Ayrabs cought out in far more egregious activites were quietly tut tutted and figuratively swept under the carpet.
John Key needs to take a leaf out of Helen Clark's book and say NOTHING EVER about the activities of the SIS or the SAS.
To Be A Socialist
Here are my picks of the bunch
You have to be against capital punishment, but for abortion on demand, in short you support protecting the guilty and killing the innocent.
You have to believe that the same public school teacher who can't teach 4th graders how to read is qualified to teach those same kids about sex.
You have to believe that conservatives are racists, but that black people couldn't make it without your help.
Read them all and laugh at the idiots.
Labour's Death Tax
Will be at every funeral, with their hands outstretched to grab a chunk of your inheritance. They will be using their so-called Capital Gains Tax which turns out instead to be a Death Tax.
If you are one of two or more siblings, upon the death of your last surviving parent, it is likely the executors of his or her estate will sell the assets in order to make a distribution according to the terms of any will. (Adolf has been though this drama in the role of executor and beneficiary.)
It is common practice to sell property and shares, using the cash sale proceeds as a simple and practical means of orderly distribution. From the day Labour is re-elected, God forbid, their rapacious administration will take a skim of 15% before the family starts to get a look in. Goff has conceded this point in recent clumsy interviews.
So we have on our hands a new campaign:-
They should sell the bus and buy a fleet of socialist hearses to take them round the country selling their funereal death taxes.
Adolf can see the leftie shills lining up to scream 'It's not true! You're telling lies! Etc etc'
Well I'm sorry chaps but it IS true. It is a damned sight truer than your strident and malicious attempts to falsely paint National's Asset Renewal plan as 'asset sales' when no assets are being sold.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Comment of the YEAR
There must be some fascinating moments of theater when the swindling Labour faithful gather and start wondering just who is still singing the "Red Flag' and who is waving the white one.Priceless GD, just priceless.
What's In The Entrails?
The first surprise might be found in the possible reasons for Labour's disastrous loss of one fifth of it's vote. The chattering class is going on and on and on about the obvious culprit, Labour's abortion of a Capital Gains Tax but more than half, that is four of those seven points, of its loss went to the Greens who also heavily promote the CGT.
I think there is another more deep seated and less obvious reason
Labour's strident and mendacious campaign against state asset renewal actually has exploded in its face. More of that in another post but suffice it to say Adolf thinks middle NZ, including Maori and Pacific Islanders, don't like being told by Labour they can't have the privilege of personally owning shares in their own power companies.
Labour is treating the whole electorate with the sort of patronizing arrogance which goes down well only in those parts of NZ where the most valuable household asset is the family pack from KFC. National has picked this up and is flogging it hard and successfully as "Labour doesn't trust New Zealanders."
The next surprise is the one fifth increase of its party vote by the Maori Party. Of the 700 basis points lost by Labour, 140 migrated to the Maori Party. Why?
I believe this too, largely might be due to Labour's clear attack on Maori mainstream aspirations to own large chunks of the nation's power utilities via their various IWI companies and trading trusts. The Maori Party has signalled this desire clearly many times during Question Time but Labour has not been listening.
Further, I believe Labour has miscalculated the attitudes of the large sector of Pakeha NZ who have some degree of Maori ancestry and are damned proud of it. Many of these people will have been swinging voters and some will have felt alienated by Labour's capital gains tax and subliminal Kiwi bashing. Their support has moved to what has become a mainstream party rather than a party of radicals. (Don Brash's fatal mistake with his appalling advertisement was the implication that ALL Maori people are radicals.) Since the ejection of Harawira, the Maori Party has become very 'mainstream,' where well educated ambitious and industrious Maori people can feel at home. These are the people who personally will buy shares in SOEs – and hang on to them.
Then there is the meteoric rise of the Greens. This, I think is almost entirely due to the persona of their leader Russel Norman. Make no mistake, Norman is the leader. He is the driving force. Madame Turei is nothing more than an air headed token who couldn't attract a blowfly to vote for a dead sheep.
Norman has spear headed the parliamentary battle over the CGT. He has looked like a leader, sounded like a leader and acted like a leader. I believe the Greens will continue to prosper in the polls over coming weeks and as Whaleoil says, somewhere over at his bear pit, 'Norman is within striking distance of being Leader of the Opposition.'
So, all in all, it will be a more interesting campaign than one might have imagined. I will post later today with my predicted result and will update and bump that post on the release of each respective Roy Morgan poll between now and November.


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178 Garfield
from the bb8 annals of lurking....I was clicking through my bookmarks tonight when I came across the site of, Levenson McDavid Architects their website has a great show of the firms' beautiful work, via their portfolio. I must have looked at it a hundred times before but for some reason, '178 Garfield' jumped out at me tonight.
When I sat down to write this post, and began mentally, blathering on about old bones, and the juxtaposition of modern and antique, organic and industrial, blah, blah, blah, I had a total sense of deja vu.
Love, love the moulding, the fireplace the soft gray walls. the little row of polaroids {?} lined up on the mantel. {those chandies. not a fan. just a personal thing}
the Morraccan rug, the Bertoias with the wood dining table.
Wait, a second. Is it? Go back to the yellow sofa shot.
oh yes. This is that home featured on the cover of one of domino's last issues.
Of course, with domino's website 'expired' I had no way of confirming {although could you forget those parquet floors in the bathroom? }. So with a bit of stellar sleuthing {i.e. looking through a couple of back issues I have stacked on my shelf next to me}I confirmed, it is indeed the home of J. Crew, Creative Director, Jenna Lyons Mazeau. So my apologie if you've seen this a thousand times over. But it's still a completely divine little mixture of all things fabulous with a helping of 'old house lovin'' thrown in for good measure. "A townhouse gut renovation retained the historic 19th Century detail, yet introduced modern conveniences such as high-efficiency central heating/air-conditioning while giving expression to the sensibilities of this fashion designer/sculptor couple and their young son."
Levenson McDavid Architectsto see domino's photos go here


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Spare any change for Levi Johnston's mayoral bid?
The unemployed father of Sarah Palin's grandson has filed necessary paperwork that allows him to raise money and make a run at Palin's old job, Reuters reported.
According to documents filed with the Alaska Public Offices Commission and obtained by TMZ, Johnston, 20, states that he intends to run as a candidate in the "City of Wasilla 2011" election.
U.S. & World
The former hockey hunk does not specify that he's running for Wasilla mayor, wich Sarah Palin used as a springboard to the governor's office and an eventual vice presidential bid.
But Johnston announced earlier this month that he'd partnered with a production crew to begin shooting a new reality show called "Loving Levi: The Road to the Mayor's Office."
"He was going to do this, even if this wasn't a reality show," Johnston's manager Tank Jones told RadarOnline said at the time of the attempt to crash City Hall.
With the Wasilla mayoral election set for Oct. 4, 2011, Johnston "is free to do all things associated with a campaign, including accepting monetary contributions," according to Politico.
News that Johnston is moving forward with his political bid comes a week after he and ex-fiancée Bristol Palin reached a custody agreement over their son, Tripp.
Under the terms of the agreement, Palin reportedly receives primary physical custody over the toddler, with Johnston given visitation twice a week.
The pair broke off their second engagement within weeks of announcing to Us Weekly magazine in July that they were back together.