And on the third day--there was ---'floor.'

Yes, that's a floor in the picture; almost finished and lined underneath with insulation, so my not so tiny office that is bigger than my one at work, will be as snug as a bug in a rug, only I won't have any bugs.
My neighbour is so good at his work and apparently even Perdy was amazed. She sat on the bed inside the house and watched John as he worked. She is obviously impressed by his excellent work or maybe she is planning the opening, wondering who she will invite---OMG---all those dogs!

The floor, the floor! 

The Mana Party and Internet Party merge---Sue Bradford takes a stand!~

Is it a comical or satirical statement or just a bit of political convenience; a marriage that is doomed to failure because the participant probably don’t like one another. One of the bridesmaids, Sue Bradford, ran from the alter, rather than go through such an obvious charade. Perhaps she is the only honest member of the ‘proposal.’ I wonder what John Mino is feeling as he muses upon the direction of this new ‘Party.’

Politics does throw up strange alliances; just look at the National party/Maori Party ‘arrangement;’ ‘one that will possibly doom the latter to political oblivion. Does integrity always have to be sacrificed in the name of political expediency? I am sure that Sue can hold her head up high as she looks back at the destruction of a party she once held high in her thoughts.

How can a party be managed in parliament by a puppet master from the outside. OK, some would say that the National Party and Labour have their masters too, but things are not so simple these days. Kim Dotcom will cast a shadow across the caucus room, if the unification of ‘unalike’ get to place their feet under the desks of that sanctified establishment we call Parliament. He may even have to achieve that feat from afar, if the USA gets its way re the pending moves to have him removed from his new kingdom. What a fiasco. It leaves Alice in Wonderland looking like a true history of the funny creatures who inhabit its pages. Oh well. I guess it also brings a whole new meaning to our claim to be ‘Middle- Earth.’ I leave you to designate who the various players in the new party most resemble. Election 2014 is shaping up to be a most memorable one!

China is closing in on Germany!

Yes it’s true---China now has 386 hit on my blog and Germany, 437, but each day the gap is narrowing. It won’t be long before China overtakes Germany and heads up the readership board to close on the UK! I do not know why this is happening but I am very pleased. What I would like to know is---are you downloading my book, ROSKILL, China? Just click on the link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/047325655X

That will take you straight the Amazon bookshop and to my book. You can also do the same by hitting my website:

www.authorneilcoleman.com   ROSKILL comes in hard copy and in EBook format. If you buy the hard copy you get the EBook version free!

Happy reading---- and please do a review of my book.

The housing 'crisis and foreign buyers.

Without a doubt, ‘housing and access to it is going to be a major election issue. That John Key is even entertaining the possibility of putting it on the agenda speak loudly and clearly that he has ‘heard.’ But---the debate must be ‘informed.’ We are hearing all sorts of anecdotal figures for just how many houses are being sold to ‘rich foreigners and it is the ‘Asians who are copping the flack. Everyone seems to have a story from a ‘good source,’ and it this ‘information that is most suspect when it comes to having a real debate.

Before we change laws and spout platitudes, please let us find out what is actually happening out there in ‘hosing land’ at the auctions and mainly in Auckland. Without that information we are at risk of a knee jerk reaction; one that will only taint NZ’s good reputation.

OK, having said that, there is no denying that housing, particularly in Auckland and some other areas of NZ is fast receding as a possibility for most NZers. That one needs at least NZ$600,000 of r a very average house is just crazy and my figure is on the low side. Even a hard –working couple on more than the average wage cannot do any more than dream of getting onto the housing ladder.

Even without actual figures for those guying our houses, there still needs to be some protection from racketeers and investors form overseas who have no intention of living in NZ or becoming residents, from buying up our precious homes, thereby possibly forcing out domicile NZ citizens and residents who just cannot compete on that very ‘unlevel’ playing filed.

Now that several opposition parties have jumped on the bandwagon, probably only because they see votes in such positioning; fine---it means that we can get to the bottom of all the lies and half-truths. Once we know the figures, ones that many real estate agents are not necessarily happy to give, because they may see less money in their pockets by doing so. The figures must somehow come from trusted sources.

At that point, we can discuss how we can safeguard NZ homes and land for NZ citizens and residents. We must close the loopholes that have appeared on other countries who have gone down a similar pathway. Whatever we find—we must act, because as NZers, we must look after ‘us’ first. Too bad, if a foreign greedy speculators get their knockers in a twist. Yes, debate with facts and then make fair policy.

Chocolate Baron wins Ukraine's top job

It seems that billionaires rule in Eastern or ‘Slavic’ Europe. Now that Ukraine all but has a new president, a chocolate billionaire, there seems to be commonality between him and his nemesis in Russia. If Putin wasn’t a billionaire before he came to power, he most certainly is now, so I guess it’s just a question of when the two gained their wealth.

I am not totally knocking the right  of such rich men becoming leaders, and let’s face it, many of the world’s top leaders are in that category or soon become so once they can manipulate ‘conditions’ in their countries so that wealth accumulates in their manes. Every continent has such examples.

The new president elect of Ukraine probably has more in common with his rival in Russia than he cares to admit. Time will tell as he tries to stamp his mark as a leader. His first task is to unite his strife-torn country and to find ways to stop the fragmentation of Ukraine. He has made it clear where his stance is re those regions who dare to take themselves back to ‘Mother Russia.’

If Ukraine is allowed to work out its ‘issues,’ without the influence of Russia on one side and the USA/EU alliance on the other, then perhaps there is hope, but even that pathway is not without dangers. There is a huge number of Ukrainians who have ‘hit the streets, perhaps the large majority, who just want to get on with their lives, going about looking after their families and wishing for the very same things that the rest of the world wants—peace and prosperity. It is the ‘other players,’ both within Ukraine and outside who are the main impediment to this goal. Let us hope that the newly elected president can achieve that precious state of ‘peace’ for his country. SO—back off ‘big boys—on both sides of Ukraine’s borders.

Steal it, we will 'get it' and then use it to get ya!

It seems that the New Zealand police are using the proceeds of crime to turn the tables on the crooks who make our lives miserable. Whenever they take the ‘winnings’ of criminals away, often from the dealings around the drug trade, the police use that to go after the same criminals and their associates to further dent their ‘activities.’ They should also use that money, and it is a lot, to help those who have been hurt by criminal activity, even helping those miscreants to return to the real world and away from the ‘twilight one.’

What better use of the money returned to the taxpayer than stopping the criminals and to help victims, especially those who have been the ‘prey’ of drug lords? This should keep happening and --- so that the message gets out there that the ‘long arm of the law’ is also one that takes back what you have stolen and then turns that ‘resource against your insidious activities.

Restorative Justice is a good concept, but this practical version of it, one that is not ‘voluntary,’ may well be more effective. So NZ Police, play that Robin Hood game with a twist, if it helps to restore some balance to our world. Don’t tell john Key though, or he will insist you make a profit!

www.authorneilcoleman.com