w h o a r . c o . n z

“…Please say sorry for your reckless lending decisions and for hiring the poor management that allowed the institution you built to go on a lending spree funded by government guaranteed money through late 2008 and early 2009.

Please take responsibility for the poor credit assessment and record keeping you passed on to Chief Executive Sandy Maier when he assumed control of the company in late December 2009.

Please explain why you failed to declare publicly, except in the bowels of your annual report, that your bank BNZ had summarily pulled its funding line in mid 2009.

Please explain why you used a local accounting firm Woodnorth Myers & Co as your auditor for so many years instead of bringing in an outside firm to provide some oversight.

Please explain why Ernst and Young found you had overvalued your assets by at least NZ$43.7 million in the initial accounts you prepared for 2008/09.

Please explain why you chose to repeatedly lend to related parties of other companies and interests that you either personally owned or controlled.

Please explain why you represented an equity injection in 2009 as a real injection of fresh money when it was nothing more than a merry-go-round of assets for shares.

Please explain why you refused to be interviewed or engage with the financial press in any meaningful way for years.

Please explain why you thought making interest free loans to young farmers to buy overpriced land was a prudent way to run a business.

Please explain why you chose to run so many businesses yourself without any outside scrutiny.

A search of Companies Office records show you were or are a director and/or shareholder in 552 companies.

There are 1,690 companies registered from your offices at 39 George St, Timaru…” (cont..)

go to source/story>>>Bernard Hickey: Dear Allan Hubbard - Please say sorry and thanks - Business - NZ Herald News

“…His philosophy inspired a generation, then drifted out of fashion.

Now, 100 years after his birth, the life and work of Jean-Paul Sartre are once again highly relevant - and bitterly controversial.

Jean-Paul Sartre’s grave is a modest affair, befitting a man who (so he claimed) hated monuments and cared nothing for his own legacy.

Beside the plain, white marble tombstone in the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris this week, well-wishers had left a vase of plastic flowers, a pot of geraniums, five roses, a pigeon feather, scores of pebbles and five unused Métro tickets.

On the grave - also the last resting place of Sartre’s lifelong “companion” Simone de Beauvoir - there was an anonymous, scribbled note: …

…”To JPS and SB, for your sincere writing and for the meaning you gave to life.

Thank you for leaving your mark on history.”

What the Métro tickets were for is unclear. Perhaps Le Petit Homme (the little man) and Castor (the beaver) might like to return to the Café de Flore to drink coffee, smoke Gauloises, discuss their many infidelities, mock their friends …

… and ponder, from a new perspective, the difference between “being and nothingness”.

Jean-Paul Sartre - philosopher, novelist, playwright, polemicist, political activist … the secular messiah of existentialism …

… the prototype of the “engaged” French intellectual - died 25 years ago this year.

He was born 100 years ago next Tuesday.

His funeral in April 1980 provoked an outpouring of grief more usually associated with actors than with ugly, chain-smoking, foul-smelling, squint-eyed philosophers.

More than 30,000 people took to the streets of Paris to follow his coffin …

…and - in the phrase of one fan at the time - to “demonstrate against Sartre’s death”….”

go to source/story>>>The Second Coming Of Sartre - Features, Books - The Independent

“…An exhibition of paintings by Bob Dylan opens at the National Gallery of Denmark this week.

Around 50 previously unseen acrylic paintings, called the Brazil Series, will be available to the public in Copenhagen from Saturday until early next year.

Dylan told the gallery that his paintings fulfil the shortcomings of expression he finds in music.

He said: “If I could have expressed the same [things] in a song, I would have written a song instead.” …”

go to source/story>>>Bob Dylan paintings at Danish National Gallery - News, Art - The Independent

“…Forty years ago, Charles and Maurice Saatchi founded the advertising agency that was to become one of the most glamorous and influential forces in the land.

But for Saatchi & Saatchi, the London advertising agency founded 40 years ago next week … you mightn’t be reading this page.

Indeed, there just mightn’t have been an Independent at all – something in the time-space continuum could’ve gone slip-sliding away.

That’s the way The Independent’s original 1980s’ founding Gang of Three – Andreas Whittam Smith, Matthew Symonds and Stephen Glover – tell it, anyway.

When they originally conceived the paper, Maurice (now Lord) Saatchi was one of just two people Whittam Smith rang in 1985 for a sanity check.

(The other was a banker, of course.)

Maurice put him on to John Perriss, Saatchi’s media director (later to head the Saatchi Group’s new media-buying agency Zenith).

In no time, the three had a Saatchi team of 16 –

- the agency had just lost a big newspaper account and, according to Symonds, wanted to have a high-profile new one – and a deal.

The deal was basically that S&S would help them to raise the money they needed from investors on a “no win, no fee” basis …

… (if it worked, they could start spending on advertising).

Saatchi would do research among potential readers and advertisers to help develop their pitch …

… and they’d rehearse and sharpen the presentation.

They also said, crucially: “We’ll come with you, if you like.”

“We walked in,” recalls Whittam Smith, “with the glamour of Saatchi beside us; it really helped.”…”

go to source/story>>>How to get ahead in advertising - Advertising, Media - The Independent

“…3D television has dominated the early agenda at IFA, Europe’s largest consumer electronics show …

… with Panasonic and Sony both announcing flurries of new products and initiatives.

Panasonic showed off what it claimed was the first genuine 3D consumer video camera, the HDC-SDT750.

This will allow users to shoot their own footage in 3D.

Makoto Nagura, director of Panasonic’s video camera business unit … said this would put 3D firmly into the hands of consumers.

“There is still one thing missing [today]…That is to keep your precious moments in 3D,” Nagura said.

The SDT750 will go on sale in October.

UK pricing was not available but it is expected to be priced at $1,399 (£908) in the US.

Most of Panasonic’s press conference in Berlin was devoted to 3D – one indication of how keen the electronics industry is to persuade consumers that they should embrace the new technology …

… and spend considerable sums of money upgrading their home electronics set-up.

Alongside new 3D televisons and Blu-ray players, Panasonic also announced a new service to deliver 3D movies and films directly to users’ living rooms.

This could fix one of factors that is holding back 3D – a lack of content.

Panasonic said that around 2,000 films would be available to be downloaded over a broadband connection to one of its TVs or Blu-ray players.

News, sport and music channels would also be supported…”

go to source/story>>>3D TV dominates IFA consumer electronics show | Technology | guardian.co.uk

“…With one band Nick Cave has a carefully built musical legacy.

With his other, he can visit his ‘lower self’ and make chaotic noise.

Alexis Petridis meets Grinderman…”

go to source/story>>>‘It’s OK to embarrass yourself’ – Nick Cave and the return of Grinderman | Music | The Guardian

“…Ray Winstone plays troubled hardmen with such conviction … it’s easy to believe he’s not acting.

He talks about his violent past … happy-go-lucky nature … and love of westerns…”

go to source/story>>>Ray Winstone: ‘I used to be a raving lunatic’ | Film | The Guardian

“…The trailer for Charles Ferguson’s new documentary “Inside Job” has been making its way around the web…

… (hat tip to Nouriel Roubini’s Twitter feed).

The film has been getting serious love from critics, including winning the top award at Cannes this year.

Roger Ebert called the the film “devastating” summed it up this way in May:

“From Roosevelt until Reagan, the American economy enjoyed 40 years of stability, prosperity and growth.

Beginning with Reagan’s moves against financial regulation … that sound base has been progressively eroded.

The crucial federal error … (in administrations of both parties) … was to allow financial institutions to trade on their own behalf.

Today many large trading banks are betting against their own customers.”

“Inside Job” is due out in October. Watch the trailer:…”

go to source/story>>>‘Inside Job’ Trailer: New Documentary Investigates The Financial Crisis (VIDEO)

“…Much has been made of the Vanity Fair 100, a list of “the 100 most influential people of the Information Age.”

But this list looks backward, highlighting well-known names like Zuckerberg, Jobs, Page, and Brin.

Another just-released ranking is all about the future–and the new innovators who will define it.

The World Economic Forum has chosen 31 innovative start-ups to honor as the Technology Pioneers of 2011.

Selected from over 330 nominations from more than a dozen countries, the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers “represent the cutting edge in innovation …

… and are poised to have a critical impact on the future of business, industry and society.”

Kevin Comolli, Managing General Partner at Accel Partners, called this year’s selection process “one of the most difficult to date.”

See the 31 innovative and visionary Technology Pioneers in the slideshow below…”

go to source/story>>>World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers Of 2011: See The 31 Most Innovative Start-Ups

“…Few people get rich from PBS’s highly-rated Antiques Roadshow, but that doesn’t stop thousands of people from scouring their grandma’s attic for that one shot at finding a hidden treasure among the mothballs.

In fact, more often than not, the old paintings, family Bibles and china tea cups — the most common items brought to the Antiques Roadshow events — are not worth much.

“Most objects we see are worth only about $100,” says Judy Matthews, the show’s senior publicist.

Antiques Roadshow, which got its start in the U.K. in 1979, debuted in the U.S. 14 years ago.

The premise of the show is simple: owners bring in their stuff hoping that an appraiser says its worth big bucks.

Appraisers usually start by explaining the object’s historical significance — or lack thereof —

– and bring the segment to a climax by assessing just how much that object is or isn’t worth.

That payoff moment is the part that every participant and viewer waits breathlessly for and, on the odd occasion, the appraisal is indeed pretty breathtaking.

Take, for example, the collection of jade from China that one woman brought to the show’s taping in Raleigh, N.C. in 2009.

It turned out that the collection, which her father brought home from China during the 1930s and 1940s, was valued at as much as $1.07 million —

– making it the first million-dollar appraisal on the American show…”

go to source/story>>>The Antiques Roadshow’s Five Most Valuable Finds - DailyFinance

“…With the recovery faltering less than two months before the November congressional elections …

… President Obama’s economic team is considering another big dose of stimulus in the form of tax breaks for businesses -

- potentially worth hundreds of billions of dollars … according to two people familiar with the talks…”

go to source/story>>>White House considering major tax breaks for businesses, sources say

“…Healthful cooking doesn’t have to be expensive cooking.

In this week’s Recipes for Health series, Martha Rose Shulman provides five nutritious meals that won’t break the bank.

To create these inexpensive meals, Ms. Shulman relies on pantry staples like pasta and rice … adding beans and peas for extra nutritional value.

Vegetables like onions, cabbage and carrots are also great for those on a budget, are easy to find and can stay fresh in the refrigerator for an extended period, she explains.

Here are five cost-conscious ways to eat healthfully…”

go to source/story>>>Healthful eating on a dime (all-vegan recipes from the NY Times) - Vegsource.com

“…Got milk?

Plenty of people think its perfectly healthy to drink … and advertisements would have you eating dairy all the time.

But it may not be as healthy as you think.

In this weeks UltraWellness blog Dr. Mark Hyman gives six reasons you should avoid milk and explains why it may be at the very root of your health problems.

Dr. Hyman is a smart guy, though we don’t agree 100% with his recommendations …

…(e.g., we don’t recommend any seafoods or other animal products as a source of calcium…

… or anything else)…”

go to source/story>>>Six Reasons You Should Avoid Dairy at all Costs (VIDEO) - Vegsource.com

“…Books like Diet For A New America, Skinny Bitch and the film Earthlings had a profound effect on Ellen’s decision to avoid animal products…”

(recommended-watch..)

go to source/story>>>Ellen DeGeneres on why she went vegan - Vegsource.com

“…factoids, how to win an argument with a meat-eater,…”

* The Hunger Argument

* The Environmental Argument

* The Cancer Argument

* The Cholesterol Argument

* The Natural Resources Argument

* The Antibiotic Argument

* The Pesticide Argument

* The Ethical Argument

* The Survival Argument…”

(recommended-read..)

go to source/story>>>How to Win An Argument With a Meat-Eater - Vegsource.com

“…Contrary to largely gloomy cultural perceptions … growing old brings some benefits … notably emotional and cognitive stability.

Laura Carstensen, a Stanford social psychologist calls this the “well-being paradox.”

Although adults older than 65 face challenges to body and brain …

… the 70s and 80s also bring an abundance of social and emotional knowledge … qualities scientists are beginning to define as wisdom.

As Carstensen and another social psychologist, Fredda Blanchard-Fields of the Georgia Institute of Technology, have shown …

… adults gain a toolbox of social and emotional instincts as they age.

According to Blanchard-Fields, seniors acquire a feel … an enhanced sense of knowing right from wrong …

… and therefore a way to make sound life decisions.

That may help explain the finding that old age correlates with happiness.

A study published this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science found a U-shaped relationship between happiness and age: …

… Adults were happiest in youth and again in their 70s and early 80s …

… and least happy in middle age…”

go to source/story>>>Researchers find that wisdom and happiness increase as people grow older - Vegsource.com

um..!..wd it be out of order to ask for a bit of transperancy around this $1.75 billion ’soaking’ we have just taken…?

namely…did any of those who granted this mountain of money….

did any of them have any conflict of interests running here..?

as in..were any in national taking advantage of that hubbard-potion of high interest rates..

..and a gold-plated gummint-guarantee…?

..should it all turn to custard..?

(i mean..why wouldn’t they..?..eh…?)

in effect…i am asking if any of them lobbied for/voted for..

..a bailout for themselves..?…

..eh..?

(hidden away in ‘trusts’/w.h.y…?..)

(i’m just asking..!..)

“… The children most likely to die from neglect and abuse are falling under the radar of the government agencies that should be protecting them, research shows.

A study of Masterton families that rely on social services found support was failing to reach those most at risk.

The research, commissioned by Social Development Minister Paula Bennett, showed most families were resilient and used social services to make themselves stronger.

The Families Commission study focused on Masterton and looked at 400 families and 33 social service agencies.

High-risk, dysfunctional families were among those interviewed.

But the most severe cases – families in which children had died – avoided contact with social services and fell under the radar, the report said.

Figures from key agencies show that, on average, 60 babies a year throughout the country are being admitted to hospital because of abuse.

Abuse reported to Child, Youth and Family last year increased 119 per cent in the past five years.

Last year, 110,000 cases were reported to CYF and, by the end of this year, the figure is expected to be about 125,000…”

go to source/story>>>Children most at risk of harm ‘fall under radar’ | Stuff.co.nz

“… As the evil Mr Burns would say: Excellent …

The creators of The Simpsons have finally revealed what Wellington duo Flight of the Conchords will look like when they guest star in the long-running show in the United States this month.

The cartoon of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, signed by Simpson’s creator Matt Groening, is a Simpsons-style makeover that includes yellow skin and one fewer finger on each hand.

The pair guest star in the first episode of the new season, Elementary School Musical, to be broadcast in the US on September 26.

In it, Lisa enrols at a special band camp where she runs into talented singers, including Lea Michele, Corey Monteith, and Amber Riley from television show Glee.

Flight of the Conchords play two free-spirited, artsy camp counsellors.

A TV3 spokeswoman said the episode would probably air in New Zealand next year…”

go to source/story>>>Bret and Jemaine’s guest turn | Stuff.co.nz

“… A woman who claims that her personalised licence plate “ARYAN1″ is the initial and surname of a former boyfriend …

… has links to white supremacist groups … and is backed by the National Front.

Upper Hutt mother Lisa Marie Thompson – who has references to neo-Nazi white-power organisation Blood & Honour on a personal webpage – has denied being racist.

She said she had no idea what “Aryan” meant and the apparent nod to Adolf Hitler’s “master” race actually referred to her former boyfriend – Andrew Ryan.

However, Ms Thompson, 32 – whose licence plate sparked a complaint to roading authorities – has links to white supremacist groups which appear active in Wellington.

The Facebook page of the body piercer, seamstress and mother of three includes “friends” posing before swastika flags …

… and claiming allegiance to “white nationalist” skinhead groups such as Crew 38 and Hammerskin Nation.

The New Zealand National Front party threw its support behind Ms Thompson this week…”

go to source/story>>>‘Aryan1′ owner’s white supremacy links - national | Stuff.co.nz

“…Unfair, unaffordable and unlikely to happen.

That just about sums up Peter Dunne’s bill to allow income splitting for tax purposes for couples with dependent children.

Its avowed objectives sound fair enough: “To give parents greater choice in their work and caring roles, to give families with children additional financial support, and to acknowledge the contributions of those who forgo income to care for children.”

But that is specious.

It should read, “To give some parents greater choice”, “to give the right kinds of families additional support”…

… and “to acknowledge the contributions of those who can afford to forgo income to care for children”.

By definition it does nothing for sole parents … yet theirs are the families among whom child poverty is most prevalent…”

go to source/story>>>Brian Fallow : Income splitting hardest on poor - Opinion - NZ Herald News

“…Questions need to be asked of the former management of failed company South Canterbury Finance, says the Shareholders Association.

Des Hunt, Shareholders Association corporate liaison director, said there was concern with activities in expanding the business and investing in areas known to be risky.

“The questions would be why were they still investing heavily in real estate -

- if that’s true then one would want to question the governance and what were the directors and management doing,” Hunt said.

“I can’t imagine he [Allan Hubbard] was the one who was out there looking for all these various investments.”

Sandy Maier, who in December was appointed as South Canterbury chief executive…

… this week said the company had ramped up its risky real estate loans …

… after it signed up to the Government scheme that protected investors’ money…”

go to source/story>>>‘What were bosses thinking’ - Business - NZ Herald News

“…Super City mayoral contender John Banks is facing heat over his liquor policy on top of revelations that his son Alex was among those who “egged on” a schoolmate who died after binge-drinking.

Last week, Mr Banks flip-flopped over his support for 24-hour drinking at central city bars, and now supports 4am closing.

Yesterday, the Auckland City Mayor was accused of failing to show leadership to close bottle stores at 10pm and give communities a say on liquor outlets.

Last October, Mr Banks and his Citizens & Ratepayers allies abandoned liquor licensing changes following a hostile reaction from the hospitality industry to plans to close suburban bars at midnight.

Attempts at the time by City Vision councillors to continue public consultation of the opening hours and location of off-licence alcohol outlets were also knocked back by Mr Banks and C&R…”

go to source/story>>>Banks in firing line for policy on alcohol - National - NZ Herald News

“…TVNZ workers’ days of splurging on company plastic have ended …

… as the state broadcaster cuts up hundreds of credit cards to avoid “misleading” publicity.

Nearly everyone from celebrity presenters to senior executives will be affected.

Chief executive Rick Ellis has told staff that following a review of company practices, they will have their cards taken away.

TVNZ has hit the headlines in recent years for credit card spending.

More than 470 of its 900 or so staff have had cards, and in the six months to January this year - a time of cost cutting -

- they spent $3.18 million.

Almost 100 of the cards had a monthly cap of at least $10,000.

Mr Ellis racked up more than $140,000 on his own company plastic in two years - including $32,000 entertaining.

He and senior executives will be among those losing their cards … and soon there will be as few as 50 left at TVNZ…”

go to source/story>>>TVNZ staff lose credit card perk - National - NZ Herald News

“…What is the link between alcohol and throat cancer?

Eighty-five percent of all head and neck cancers are related to smoking … but alcohol has also been linked to throat cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society … drinkers are six times more likely to get these cancers.

Some reports have found that people who smoke and drink are as much as 100 times more likely to get mouth and throat cancer than people with neither habit.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, consuming 50 grams of alcohol a day, the equivalent of four drinks …

… doubles or triples the risk for getting mouth, voice box and throat cancer….”

go to source/story>>>Michael Douglas’ Throat Cancer Diagnosis Have You Scared? Here’s What You Need to Know About Throat Cancer - ABC News

“… An article published today in New Scientist says scientific evidence is building that junk food with high fat, sugar or salt content triggers the same biological mechanisms as those in drug addicts.

Over the past decade, researchers have carried out studies on rats to determine what effects junk food has on the rodents’ brain chemistry.

Their findings have been backed up by more recent studies on humans.

A 2001 study showed that rats fed a high-sugar diet exhibited withdrawal symptoms when their access to sugar was denied.

A later study found that rats who were allowed to binge on bacon, sausage, chocolate and icing went on a hunger strike for two weeks after their access to those foods was cut off.

In both studies, dopamine – a neurotransmitter that is a key part of the brain’s reward system – played an important role.

The rats in the first study experienced a rush of dopamine each time they ate sugar …

… while the rats in the second study had to eat more and more of the junk food to experience the same dopamine rush.

Both effects are factors in drug addiction.

A human study found sugar “addicts” shown their favourite foods experienced a rush of dopamine to the orbital frontal cortex –

- the same part of the brain that responds when a cocaine addict is shown a bag of white powder…”

go to source/story>>>Addicted to junk food? It’s no joke | Stuff.co.nz

“…A British paedophile confessed on his deathbed that he knew what happened to missing girl Madeleine McCann, according to a newspaper.

Madeleine disappeared from a Portuguese resort in May 2007, days before her fourth birthday …

… sparking one of the most publicised missing persons cases the world has ever seen.

British newspaper The Sun yesterday published an interview with the son of Raymond Hewlett, a convicted paedophile and suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance, claiming Hewlett wrote in a letter that he knew who had taken Madeleine.

In a letter to his estranged son Wayne written on his deathbed, 62-year-old Hewlett denied he had anything to do with Madeleine’s disappearance …

… but said he knew she had been stolen by a gypsy gang.

Hewlett was a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance because he was living in Portugal when she vanished from the McCanns’ family holiday apartment…

… and had a history of convictions for sex crimes against children.

Hewlett, who had repeatedly refused to meet with detectives investigating the case, died of throat cancer in April.

A week after his death, Hewlett’s son Wayne was delivered a letter by a “mystery man”, he told The Sun.

Most of it was an apology for his crimes but he also wrote about Madeleine.

“It was a bolt from the blue and I shook when I read it,” Wayne told The Sun.

He stated he didn’t want to go to his grave with us thinking he had done such a horrible thing.

“He said he had had nothing to do with taking Maddie but did know who had.

He said a very good gypsy friend he knew in Portugal had got drunk and ‘let it out’ that he had stolen Maddie to order as part of a gang.

“My dad said this gang had been operating for a long time and had snatched children before for couples who couldn’t have children of their own.

“Maddie had been targeted.

They took photos of children and sent them to the people they were acting for. And they said ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

Dad said the man told him it was nothing to do with snatching children for a paedophile gang … or for a sexual reason.

“He said there were huge sums of money involved.

And he totally believed what this man was saying.”

Wayne, who had no contact with Hewlett for nearly 20 years, told The Sun his father’s letter seemed “very genuine”…”

go to source/story>>>Deathbed confession: Paedophile reveals who took Madeleine McCann - World - NZ Herald News

(this has been posted by a commenter at kiwiblog…)

“…From page 487 GCHQ-The Uncensored story of Britain’s most secret Intelligence Agency – Richard J Aldrich Harper Press 2010

“..a team from GCHQ were assisting with the investigation into blackouts of the national power grid that had struck Auckland in New Zealand.

They proved to be the result of electronic attacks on the country’s electricity distribution network, launched over the internet……

..The culprits were a group of hackers called the ” Anti Christ Doom Squad…………

…Once they gained access to the computers controlling New Zealand’s power supply, they focused on the distribution systems …

… picking a point where all five main power lines converged before coming into Auckland.

By changing the temperature with in the sensitive cables they quickly put them out of action.

Remarkably the whole attack was run from a laptop in a drug cafe in the back streets of Amsterdam.”

(whoar…!…eh…?…)

“…The new documentary “Psywar,” featuring CMD founder John Stauber, explores corporate and government use of propaganda and public relations to manipulate American people.

The movie explores how the U.S. government staged events to manipulate public opinion about the Iraq war …

… like the rescue of Private Jessica Lynch …

… the supposedly spontaneous mob that pulled over the larger-than-life statue of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

It also discusses the Pentagon pundit scandal … and the hidden activities of the Rendon Group … a PR firm specializing in spinning war.

The film exposes government and corporate activities to blur the lines between real news and fake news …

… as well as the development over time of public relations misinformation campaigns …

… strategic corporate campaigns to generate goodwill … and the perception of good works …

… the use of staged photo-ops …

… and other manipulative PR tools that have turned the land of the free and the home of the brave into a place where citizens are now manipulated with great efficiency …

… and on a massive scale…”

(Watch the entire film for free online..in link..)

go to source/story>>>Psywar Film Reveals The Hidden Battle for Your Mind | Center for Media and Democracy

“…The continuing woes of the book industry were underscored today when the US retail chain Borders, which pulled out of Britain last year …

… said its losses had increased amid sharply falling revenues.

American book retailers, who have been struggling to compete with online rivals and supermarkets, now face the threat of digital books …

… which have begun to appeal to a wider audience.

In Britain the picture is little better, and investors have begun to put pressure on HMV to rid itself of Waterstone’s …

… the only remaining large high street book chain.

Borders said like-for-like sales at stores open for more than a year had dropped 6.8% in the second quarter.

It made losses of $46.7m (£30.2m), compared with the $45.6m loss recorded in the same quarter last year.

Revenue fell 12% to $526m.

US rival Barnes & Noble is also deep in the red … and reported losses of $62.5m for its fiscal first quarter, ending in July.

Borders arrived in Britain in 1998, promising to revolutionise book-buying … and opened a chain of 45 stores.

But by 2007 … the company admitted it was considering a sale of the UK division…”

go to source/story>>>Borders sees sharp fall in revenue | Business | The Guardian

“…Ferrari recalled more than 400 luxury Italia cars today … after reports that a design fault could cause them to catch fire.

The first incident occurred in July, when the driver noticed the rear panel of his 458 Italia was on fire while he was driving in Paris.

A passerby used a fire extinguisher to douse the flames.

A few days later the engine of an Italia driving up a mountain pass in Switzerland caught fire.

Last month a 458 in China and one in the US burst into flames…”

go to source/story>>>Ferrari recalls 458 Italias after a spate of fires | World news | The Guardian

“…I wanted this book to be different from the traditional political memoir.

Most, I have found, are rather easy to put down.

So what you will read here is not a conventional account of whom I met.

There are events and politicians who are absent … not because they don’t matter ….

…. but because they are part of a different story to the self-serving one I want to tell!

No, seriously guys, this is going to be well different.

How many other world leaders use so many exclamation marks!

And it is as a world leader that I’m writing for you about my journey.

And what a journey!

When I started in politics I was just an ordinary kind of guy.

And you know what? I’m still an ordinary kind of guy – albeit one who has become a multi-millionaire and completely destabilised the Middle East!

You know, I had a tear in my eye when I entered No10 for the first time in 1997, though it wasn’t, as the Daily Mail tried to claim, because I was choked with emotion at how far I had come since I was a young, ordinary boy standing on the terraces of St James’ Park, watching Jackie Milburn play for Newcastle.

It was because Gordon had hit me.

Ah, Gordon!

He meant well, I suppose … in his funny little emotionally inarticulate way.

I guess some of you will find it hard to believe … but I never really wanted to be a politician.

But sometimes courage is about taking the difficult decisions and when Cherie said, “God is calling you to fulfil your destiny”, I knew I had to listen.

So it was with a heavy heart that I outmanoeuvred Gordon over the leadership of the party after John’s death –

- and whatever Gordo says there was never a deal struck at Granita where he could take definitely take over after my second term.

Because I had my fingers crossed!…” (cont..)

go to source/story>>>Digested read: Tony Blair A Journey | Politics | The Guardian

“…Arianna has griped about its misuse before and, frankly, the number of misplaced apostrophe’s — oops, we mean apostrophes — out there has become downright frightening.

Thankfully, the people over at CoolRules.com have made light of the situation by recording “The Apostrophe Song.”

A sort of “Schoolhouse Rock!” for the internet age, “The Apostrophe Song” comes in four different flavors:…

… “Hip Hop,” “Pop/Dance,” “Rock” and “Acoustic,” available at the Cool Rules website.

Only one, so far as we can tell … comes with its own outstanding video…”

go to source/story>>>Can New ‘Apostrophe Song’ Cure The Apostrophe Crisis? (VIDEO)

“…Tony Blair regrets banning fox hunting … but not invading Iraq.

He was captivated by Princess Diana … intimidated by Queen Elizabeth II.

He heaps praise on President George W. Bush … but calls his close colleague Gordon Brown a man of “zero” emotional intelligence.

He acknowledges that some find him delusional … and says he possibly drank a bit too much.

Blair’s long-awaited memoir hit bookstores Wednesday …

… and the revealing, self-justifying 700-page volume provides plenty of fodder for the former British leader’s supporters – and detractors…”

go to source/story>>>Tony Blair: Gordon Brown Has ‘Zero’ Emotional Intelligence

“…The sixteenth-century French writer Michel de Montaigne, inventor of the modern essay, once remarked that “there are more books upon books than upon all other subjects.”

It’s still true, judging from the hundreds of titles published every year on the art of writing.

Most can be divided into two categories: “inside-out” — spiritual, philosophical, emotional, psychological, or “outside-in” — grammar, punctuation, style, technique.

The best of them instruct, inspire, and encourage. (Writers need lots of encouragement.)

Fortunately, writing is one skill you actually learn from books.

Here are some of my favorites:..”

go to source/story>>>Jon Winokur: Advice To Writers: The Best Books On Writing Books (Writer Wednesday)

“…Richard Heene is one of hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of people who adhere to an overlapping series of modern-day conspiracy theories sharing a central thesis:….

… Lizard-like aliens from outer space inhabit human bodies … and control the human race…”

go to source/story>>>Inside the Great Reptilian Conspiracy: From Queen Elizabeth to Barack Obama — They Live! | | AlterNet

“…The hot question in green circles these days is, “what next?”

For the last decade, strategy has been built around getting a federal climate bill that would place a cap on carbon emissions.

That attempt was supposed to culminate in success this year, but it didn’t, so … what next?

There will be much to say along those lines in coming months.

I hope to share words of inspiration and uplift, to stir minds with insight and hearts with passion.

To tell great tales of green pastures to come … and the heroes who will sail the fleet of righteousness to the golden shores of, uh, the pastures.

Just real quick, though …

… I need to be depressed as hell for a minute…”

go to source/story>>>How bad are the next few years going to suck? | Grist

“…This has been a pretty weird political cycle … and I’m starting to wonder whether it is the strangest ever.

There have certainly been cycles that have been more dramatic- such as the 1968 cycle of assassinations and a powerful incumbent being taken out by a quirky intellectual troubadour- but in terms of pure weirdness, this could be the tops.

And I’m not even talking about Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck.

The weirdness I am referring to is this odd sense I have that both parties are trying so hard to lose.

Obama started out the cycle by appointing one of the main architects of the incredibly unpopular Bush bailout plans- Tim Geithner- to be his chief economic policymaker and spokesman …

… and followed that by re-appointing Bush’s Fed chief Ben Bernanke.

Now that we’re into campaign season, the message group closest to the Democratic establishment (Third Way) is solemnly advising us to avoid being too populist …

… in a year when anger at the banks and other corporate CEOs is as high as it has been since the 1930s …

… and the aforementioned Geithner writes columns bragging about economy recovery when the official unemployment rates remains stalled at close to 10% …

… and the true unemployment rate is several points higher.

While all this goes on policy-wise, the White House political strategy in a year when their base is disheartened seems mainly to be to make their base even more upset.

In the meantime, the Republican Party- faced with an incredible opportunity- nominates one candidate after another that are beyond-the-pale extremists.

Senators with lifetime scores of 95% from the American Conservative Union and protégés of Mitch McConnell and James Watt are not conservative enough for the Republicans: …

… they nominate people who want to repeal civil rights laws, phase out Social Security and Medicare (or declare them unconstitutional), abolish the minimum wage, and secede from the union.

On top of that, with the critically important Hispanic community disheartened by no progress on immigration reform and the weak economy, Republicans have seized on a way to help Democrats turn them out in huge numbers with a big Democratic vote …

… by supporting a fundamental blow to their civil rights in Arizona …

… a powerful symbol that has the Hispanic voting bloc nationwide suddenly more energized.

As a result of all this silliness … both parties’ approval ratings are in the toilet…” (cont..)

go to source/story>>>4 Things Dems Can Do to Head Off Total Disaster in the Midterms « SpeakEasy

“…I’m a vegetable lover.

I eat vegetables at least three times a day: …

… a big garden-fresh salad for lunch and grilled corn and steamed potatoes as side dishes with dinners in the summer.

I don’t have much trouble eating enough vegetables, but I know I’m the exception, not the rule.

One in 4 Americans don’t eat the 5 to 13 servings of vegetables and fruit (the number of servings depends on your calorie intake) that you’re supposed to eat every day for optimal health.

Are you one of those that need a nudge to eat more vegetables?

Here are 3 reasons to fit more in:

* Lose weight: Fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber and recent research shows that consuming more fiber can help you lose weight.

* Reduce your risk of heart disease: You could cut your risk for heart disease by almost 25 percent, suggests one study, simply by adding 3 servings of vegetables (or fruit) to your daily diet.

* Fight cancer and Alzheimer’s disease: Eating vegetables (and fruit) in a variety of colors provides you with a variety of phytochemicals, some of which act as antioxidants that may help prevent heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Probably the excuse I most often hear people give when they say they don’t like vegetables is that they don’t like how vegetables taste.

I think it’s partially because those vegetables were overcooked (and mushy—ew) … or not prepared in the tastiest of ways.

So here are foolproof ways to cook 20 favorite vegetables that bring out their best flavor.

And since it’s summer, and many of these vegetables are at their ripe and delicious best, bursting with nutrients, it’s the perfect time to enjoy them!

For all of these recipes … start with one pound of untrimmed vegetables…”

go to source/story>>>EatingWell: What’s Fresh: How to Cook 20 Vegetables

“…Kiwi taxpayers should be asking why they have had to stump up a $1.77 billion cheque to “bail out” investors in collapsed South Canterbury Finance.

As Government-orchestrated financial bailouts go this is the biggest in New Zealand’s history -

- dwarfing that of the $600 million Bank of New Zealand bailout in 1990.

The difference is that this time it is the investors who get lucky.

The shareholder (Allan Hubbard) loses his shirt.

But the company closes its doors and the Government recoups as much of the $1.77 billion as it can through the receivership process.

Most of the 35,000 New Zealanders who were enticed to put their savings into Hubbard’s former flagship did so because they were attracted by returns which were much higher than those offered by the trading banks.

But unlike the hundreds of thousands of investors - who between them have lost more than $4 billion in the string of finance company collapses -

- they have been spared as a result of the retail depositors’ guarantee scheme that the Labour Government introduced (with National’s connivance) during the November 2008 election…”

go to source/story>>>Fran O’Sullivan : Alarm bells were deafening on SCF woes - Opinion - NZ Herald News