General Debate 5 November 2010

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DavidR

Woot!
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November 5, 2010 8:03am
Murray

Sad really.
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November 5, 2010 8:05am
Guy Fawkes

Were there any snipers mentioned in the reports from Hilary Clintons tour so far?
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November 5, 2010 8:33am
Inventory2

Just what we need; another politician who is economical with the truth …

http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/2010/11/advice-to-kris.html
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November 5, 2010 8:46am
Murray

There will be when she tells the story when shes running for the Dems nomination in 2012 Guy.

BTW good luck today.
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November 5, 2010 8:53am
Manolo

Meanwhile the Labour-lite government, propped by the racist Maori Party, continues its campaign against freedom: http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/4308935/Tougher-tobacco-rules-eyed
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November 5, 2010 8:57am
Murray

They’re not propped up by the Maori Party Manolo, they don’t need them at all. Which makes their pandering to a racist agenda all the more disgracful.

If Maori have a problem with bering victims of smoking then ban the sale of tobacco to Maori. They can feel all special about that.
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November 5, 2010 9:04am
Brian Smaller

I hate smoking with a passion. But nobody forces anyone to smoke, it is a decision they make for themselves. Also, most smokers have the good graces to die before they cost us a fortune in pensions and so forth. Leave the poor bastards alone you fucking wowsers. What next? Banning happy meals?
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November 5, 2010 9:07am
peterwn

Licence disqualification and Firearms Offences

I had a look at the relevant Acts yesterday.

With respect to driving disqualification, There is 6 -12 months mandatory disqualification for drink-drive, careless driving causing injury/death and reckless driving. The judge MUST impose disqualification and a limited licence CANNOT be granted in such cases. This means in general that a limited licence can only be granted where the disqualification was for careless driving (no injury/death) or 100+ demerits. Applying for such a limited licence at time of sentencing is quite valid and anyway it seems that disqualification is generally not applied for careless driving ubless there were aggravating circumatances.

If a person obtains a Social Welfare repayable advance to obtain legal assistance in such cases, I would far rather see a person granted a limited licence with respect to these ‘lesser’ offences than lose his/her job and go on the dole.

I also checked firearms legislation with respect to the recent ‘accidential’ shooting of this unfortunate woman. The police has two options – a ‘careless use of firearm’ charge or a manslaghter charge (which requires the level of carelessness to be out of the ordinary). The Crown may shy off laying a manslaughter charge if there is reasonable doubt that a jury would convict. Unfortunately the ‘careless use of firearm’ offence and penalty is a ‘one size fits all’. This is compared with the series of offences and penalties for careless/reckless driving with or without injury/death.

The needs of ‘denunciation’ would be better met in my opinion if the the present firearms offence was similarly subdivided, with ‘ordinary’ carelessness deing limited to 3 months jail (summary offence only) and ‘serious’ jail time for death/ serious injury.
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November 5, 2010 9:07am
CharlieBrown

What the government is doing regarding tobacco is immoral. They have no moral right to tell people what they can and can’t do if it doesn’t directly affect others. Just proves that Nanny McKey has a politically correct, left wing, socialist agenda.

The national party really are a bunch of spineless, unprincipled rats.
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November 5, 2010 9:11am
Murray

Happy meals are the tool of the devil.
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November 5, 2010 9:15am
Brian Smaller

Murray – I saw a great line in an article about San Francisco banning happy meals and the writer suggested that perhaps Maccas should put out a Happy Meal with a toy promoting gay marriage. The SF politco’s heads will explode from not knowing whether to support or oppose it.
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November 5, 2010 9:18am
Komata

CB

‘….. if it doesn’t directly affect others’

The problem is theat smoking DOES affect others – and not just in the obvious qway of inhaling secondary smoke. Presumably you are a tax-payer, so no doubt you would like a say in where your taxes are spent, and are quite happy that a substantial portion should go towards Health – especially YOUR health – either now, or in the future.

Would you be equally happy to learn that a lot of your ‘Health’ taxes go to pay for the damage done by smokers to themselves – as a direct result of their self-centred and selfish actions? (Think lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Tongue Cancer etc, etc), and that the amount available that can be used on YOU is consequently diminished as a direct result?

Still happy as a result of learning that? I suspect not. You sir, are one of the ‘Others’ in your statement, and as I have tried to show, smoking does affect YOU personally and directly – and where it hurts most – in the pocket book.

Perhaps that fact may cause you to consider changing your statement?

Just a thought.
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November 5, 2010 9:27am
cabbage

* prohibiting any visible display of tobacco products for sale;

I see what they are doing here – Starting the wheels turning for driving tobacco underground for the eventuality of complete prohibition. While quite a large part of me would love to see tobacco become criminalised due to my own battle with the weed, I am conflicted due to my belief in personal choice and that prohibiting consumption of anything is an impingement on my rights as a human being.

Its a worrying path to be going down, even though i see some value of tobacco being an ‘under the counter’ product.
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November 5, 2010 9:40am
kaya

This is one of those debates that can keep going like aan ever ready bunny. I smoked for 30 years,quit about 5 years ago. I have friends who smoke which is their choice. I even lat them smoke in my vehicle as long as they are by a window and it is wide open.

Ask a hypothetical question. If tobacco was a brand new product being introduced to the country by an importer, with the knowledge we have now, would it be allowed to be sold?

“Excuse me, we have a product which contains many poisons and which is guaranteed to maim and kill many of those who choose to use it. It is addicitve and most of the people who try it will struggle for years to give it up, can we get permission to sell it in NZ?”

To copy a famous beer maker, “Yeah right”.

Now that is talking about tobacco, if you keep going with the logical theme then alcohol is a step up again.

The nature of politics prevents politicians from doing the right thing.
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November 5, 2010 9:41am
Christopher Thomson

No doubt someone will be able to supply the numbers but my understanding is that smokers represent a net gain with regard to tax as they use less of it by dying earlier. So a little bit more for health is recompensed by a lot less for pension.
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November 5, 2010 9:42am
kaya

Cabbage – “I am conflicted due to my belief in personal choice and that prohibiting consumption of anything is an impingement on my rights as a human being.”

That argument means that all drugs should be legal. P, cocaine, heroin, acid, speed etc etc. I don’t disagree with that idea, but it would mean a totally libertatian society.
It’s hypocritical for politicians to say some dangerous drugs are legal (alcohol and tobacco being the obvious ones) while others are not. It all goes back to “cui bono”.
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November 5, 2010 9:48am
Manolo

Yes, 3,000 pople and USD $200 million a day! The false Messiah spending as if there is no tomorrow:

“A top official of the Maharashtra Government privy to the arrangements for the high-profile visit has reckoned that a whopping $ 200 million (Rs 900 crore approx) per day would be spent by various teams coming from the US in connection with Obama’s two-day stay in the city.

“A huge amount of around $ 200 million would be spent on security, stay and other aspects of the Presidential visit,” the official said in Mumbai.

About 3,000 people including Secret Service agents, US government officials and journalists would accompany the President. Several officials from the White House and US security agencies are already in Mumbai for the past one week with helicopters, a ship and high-end security instruments.

Unprecedented security has been put in place both in Mumbai and New Delhi.”
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November 5, 2010 10:00am
Scorpio

The evidence that the lifetime cost to taxpayers of smokers is greater than non-smokers is poor. Half die early, saving retirement costs, and half seem to trundle along until a normal old age.

It is a personal choice – not one I’ve ever made, but I guess never starting means you never have to give up.

Ex-smokers I know say giving up was easy – once they decided to. No amount of preaching changed their minds, but usually a personal life event did the trick – even something a small as a niece saying to her uncle that he really stunk – or sometimes as big as a heart attack.

If you are really worried about the cost of healthcare to taxpayers, then how about the cost of people who injure themselves in other ways – for example joggers who need hip or knee replacements.
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November 5, 2010 10:03am
3-coil

Why didn’t Hone and co recommend all the cigarette packet health warnings to be in Te Reo?
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November 5, 2010 10:04am
Murray

Because no one speaks that useless stone age lanugage unless they’re in court and want to pretend they don’t speak english 3-coil.
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November 5, 2010 10:08am
abigailwendy

On a different topic… Lady June is a mean spirited B!@#H
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November 5, 2010 10:11am
MT_Tinman

Komata (385) Says:
November 5th, 2010 at 9:27 am

Still happy as a result of learning that? I suspect not. You sir, are one of the ‘Others’ in your statement, and as I have tried to show, smoking does affect YOU personally and directly – and where it hurts most – in the pocket book.

Well done.

Next you’ll be telling us that 100% of smokers die.

Please supply a breakdown of the cost to the individual of smokers v non-smokers over their lifetimes offset, of course, by the extra tax smokers pay through purchasing their weed of choice.
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November 5, 2010 10:13am
Murray

How much do these bullshit treaty settlements hit us in the pocket?

The victim industry is a shit load more expensive to us than the tobacco industry.
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November 5, 2010 10:16am
CharlieBrown

Komata – I am aware that alot of taxes goes towards smokers – however, dear I say it, most, if not all of that is recouperated by taxes on cigarettes. You have to remember that just about any statistic around smoking is completely misleading. For instance, the lobyists will have you believe that every lung cancer is the result of smoking or second hand smoking, yet that just isn’t the case. Most cases are caused by smoking but not every case.

The fact is that smoking isn’t the lifestyle with the biggest drain on the health dollar. Over eating probably is, then we also have working/lieing int he sun. Then we have things life driving. So are you happy that your tax dollar is spent on other people who overeat, or work in a risky career etc?

AND I will reiterate my point which you haven’t disproved whatsoever, SMOKING DOESN”T DIRECTLY AFFECT OTHER PEOPLE. When a smoker has a fag, it doesn’t hurt me, it doesn’t make me poorer, it doesn’t inhinge on my right to not smoke. Smoking does indirectly hurt other people, eg family members, however that is just a fact of life, and it happens to all the other people’s family that put themselves at risk.

So my other point about National being the party of rats, any party that can make such a fundamental change in philosophy (especially when that change was very popular) just because of a change in leader is just spineless and proves that they will sell their soul to be in government.
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November 5, 2010 10:27am
CharlieBrown

Oh to add to my point that smoking doesn’t directly affect other people. It is discusting how our laws impinge on smokers personal liberty, and on others personal liberty of what they can do within their own properties.
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November 5, 2010 10:32am
joana

It would be good if someone could actually come up with the facts…I thought the health costs greatly exceed the taxes.
Obama’s spending..outrageous.
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November 5, 2010 10:38am
bearhunter

Cost of smoking to the health budget as estimated by Ministry of Health is $1.9 billion.

http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/tobacco-excise

Estimated tax take is ~ $1.2 billion. Add in the savings from early deaths and it’s about neutral.
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November 5, 2010 10:50am
Boloni

If your medical condition is caused by your lifestyle,no public health help.Also no major operations after a certain age.I suggest 75 years of age would be fair. Also immigrants would need to be here a certain time before qualifying.
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November 5, 2010 11:03am
wreck1080

I’m on the Hillary kids side on this one….

Sir Edmund Hillary’s children and his widow are fighting over a collection of Rolex watches owned by the great adventurer and now for sale in an international auction.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10685471

By right such heirlooms should go to the children, not the 2nd wife.

Who knows what Sir Ed would have wanted, but if it were me the children would get the stuff.
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November 5, 2010 11:05am
bearhunter

“Also immigrants would need to be here a certain time before qualifying.”

So they’d be paying a lower rate of tax in that case?
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November 5, 2010 11:05am
CharlieBrown

“Cost of smoking to the health budget as estimated by Ministry of Health is $1.9 billion.”

Lets not forget the propensity of government departments to represent statistics in a way to back their cause. The statistics are very easy to “tinker” with.

I think a better way to manage health spending, is to privatize about 90% of health, make health insurance compulsory, and reduce taxes. This would mean that people can make truly informed decisions knowing the direct consequences of their actions. It would also allow actuaries to assess the real impact of smoking – lets face it, I trust actuaries to do this better than some pen pusher living of other peoples earnings.
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November 5, 2010 11:06am
ummmm

Does David Garrett want the media to respect the privacy of all criminals or just those from the Senseless Sentencing Trust?
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November 5, 2010 11:29am
Rufus

Kaya 9:41 “The nature of politics prevents politicians from doing the right thing.”

Spot on.
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November 5, 2010 11:47am
Kris K

Pro Queer Marriage Judges Ousted

An interesting story from Iowa where judges can apparently be voted off the bench if they piss off the citizenry- as they did in this case by finding that a law barring same-sex marriage violated the constitution’s equal-protection rights of gay and lesbian couples who wish to marry. The 2009 ruling stunned the nation, outraged social conservatives and turned Iowa into the first Midwestern state to sanction same-sex marriage.

———————————–

Three Iowa Supreme Court justices lost their seats Tuesday in a historic upset fueled by their 2009 decision that allowed same-sex couples to marry. Vote totals from 96 percent of Iowa’s 1,774 precincts showed Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Justices David Baker and Michael Streit with less than the simple majority needed to stay on the bench. Their removal marked the first time an Iowa Supreme Court justice has not been retained since 1962, when the merit selection and retention system for judges was adopted.

Full story here.

[Hat tip: Redbaiter, Crusader Rabbit.]

Such a shame that New Zealanders don’t do the same in opposition to the homosexual lobbyists who manage to get themselves into public office, the courts system, etc. They’re only there under our sufferance and our allowing them to remain in positions of influence and authority.
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November 5, 2010 11:51am
kowtow

Free speech alert from Europe. Socialist brings charges against church man for his views on homosexuals. European freedom being used to abuse freedom. It’s actually about fear and control by the new left .

http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/news/101102_complaint_Leonard
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November 5, 2010 12:10pm
Pauleastbay

Kris

Brilliant scheme!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Public voted Judges, Jesus weeped.

Recently the public have given us Len Brown and a mayor who bikes to the airport to meet the woman who is 4th in line for the US Presidency.

Can you imagine what would happen here, Just look at the labour Party and see how many of them are Lawyers. the sexuality is not a concern just the concern of handing over the judicary to the same people that gave us Brown et al

Be careful what you wish for.

Or lets just kill all the homos Kris and sympathisers, then who do you get rid of next? The cripples, the old, the off white. FFS for a so called Christian you would sicken me if you weren’t so sad.
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November 5, 2010 12:12pm
Falafulu Fisi

An interesting article from climate scientist Dr. Judith-Curry. Note, the Dr.Curry is tilted towards the warmist camp, but she is the only one from warmist that has credibility to me. I had communicated with her twice via email about her work (yes, I have read 2 of her papers – feedback) since she is one of the leading scientists who are familiar with the application of feedback theory in climate modeling.

I asked her in my first email if she was familiar with State-Space and Feedback Control Theory, she said no. She used linear feedback in the 2 papers of hers that I read, but in reality, climate system is non-linear. Non-linear control is deep engineering & physics and not a climate science topic. I cited some useful books on the subject of Control Theory (both linear & non-linear control) that I had used when I was at varsity, that she may be interested to read.

I also pointed out to her that one of the leading expert on non-linear feedback control is Prof. Lennart Ljung (who’s methods/algorithms are used by academics & engineering industries such as Intel, NASA, etc – for solving non-linear feedback) that she should get in touch, perhaps for research collaboration on the topic in its application to climate system.

Curry’s-Article:
==========
Reversing the direction of the positive feedback loop (hatip – Not PC blog)

An insightful piece.
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November 5, 2010 12:22pm
Fletch

Again, the MSM cannot refute that Obama is spending $200 millions dollars a day for his trip to India. For some reason he needs 3000 people accompanying him and 40 jets, as well as the Obamamobile Cadillac.

“The huge amount of around $200 million would be spent on security, stay and other aspects of the Presidential visit,” a top official of the Maharashtra Government privy to the arrangements for the high-profile visit said.
About 3,000 people including Secret Service agents, US government officials and journalists would accompany the President. Several officials from the White House and US security agencies are already here for the past one week with helicopters, a ship and high-end security instruments.

[…]

Obama’s visit is historic in terms of logistics which is the largest ever for a visiting US president. The presidential entourage will have 40 aircraft, including the Air Force One that will ferry the president. There will be six armoured cars, including the Barack Mobile, a Cadillac.
The Cadillac limousine is equipped with a mini communication centre to enable Obama to be in touch with the White House, US vice president and the US strategic command.

The guy is spending money like it’s water…
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November 5, 2010 12:35pm
kowtow

“The guy is spending money like it’s water…”

Well of course he is. Why wouldn’t he? He’s the guy who was goin’ to change the way things were done. No ,wait a moment…..

How’s that hopey changey thing workin’for ya?
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November 5, 2010 12:44pm
eszett

Fletch, oh dear, they feed you bullshit and you just gobble it down without question.
Seriously, how gullible can you be?

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/11/04/fuzzy-math-dogs-obamas-asia-trip/

Snopes.com, a website devoted to myth busting, noted that even if the Indian press has correctly reported the size of the president’s entourage – 3,000 – the cost would work out to $66,000 per person per day, “a figure that stretches credulity to the breaking point.” Factcheck.org noted that the entire war in Afghanistan costs $190 million a day.

But the report is demonstrably incorrect. It says the White House had blocked off the entire Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai – it hasn’t – and that the press traveling with Mr. Obama will be staying there. We won’t. Besides, the press pays its own way at considerable cost to the media outlets, not the U.S. taxpayer.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20021841-503544.html

“Due to security concerns, we are unable to outline details associated with security procedures and costs, but it’s safe to say these numbers are wildly inflated,” the official said.

At his press briefing today, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that while he would not get into the costs of protecting President Obama, they are “comparable” to what they have been for past presidents in similar circumstances.

As FactCheck.org notes, there is no evidence to support the $200 million figure (other than the anonymous quote), and it seems like a serious stretch in light of the fact that the entire war in Afghanistan costs less on a daily basis.
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November 5, 2010 12:49pm
JiveKitty

Pollywog, if you’re about, I noticed you asked me this a few days ago: “What’s your take on the national anthem ‘God defend New Zealand’ or how about them crosses on the unionjack, tucked away on the flag ?”

Here’s a response for you: The national anthem is weak and insipid and for those reasons alone should be changed, but yes, the utter religiosness rankles. As for the Union Jack, I understand why it is there (and it’s the Union Jack that is the important aspect rather than the crosses), but what the flag with the Union Jack says about New Zealand as a nation doesn’t impress me. (I realise any idea of the nation is a construct but I’d prefer that which contributes to the construct to signify strength rather than weakness.) As to whether they rankle enough for me to care much at present, the answer is “No, not really.”. It’s a matter of priorities and where the issue is in my consciousness at a given time.
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November 5, 2010 1:00pm
Fletch

eszett, they still haven’t denied it, and they can’t. See my link. Media Matters just swallowed the line you gave and didn’t ask exactly how much he *is* spending. The White House won’t say, because they know damn well people will be upset by it. Plus, why would different newspapers in India make up the amount? For what reason?

Factcheck and Politifact have proved both to less than unbiased when it comes to Obama – in fact they are left-wing. I wouldn’t believe what they say without some independent checking.

Shoot, no one needs 3000 people and 40 jets accompanying him. Even U2 don’t have that many jets to carry their stage show. And Obama ain’t U2 9although he probably thinks as highly of himself).
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November 5, 2010 1:04pm
JiveKitty

Komata: Read here: http://offsettingbehaviour.blogspot.com/2010/11/health-costs-of-tobacco.html There’s more if you care to read it: http://offsettingbehaviour.blogspot.com/search/label/tobacco. You may have to sift a little.
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November 5, 2010 1:08pm
eszett

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20021841-503544.html

CBS News asked the White House about the story yesterday, and the White House said in an email that “The numbers reported in this article have no basis in reality.”

“Due to security concerns, we are unable to outline details associated with security procedures and costs, but it’s safe to say these numbers are wildly inflated,” the official said.

How much denial do you require, Fletch?
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November 5, 2010 1:15pm
Fletch

eszett, come on, man. What do you expect the White House to day? Really? “Yes the figures are correct”?
They have to say this to prevent an outcry. Maybe it’s not $200 million a day. If it was $198 million, they can still say the media was wrong because they were slightly off. It’s politics. It’s their job to obfuscate.
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November 5, 2010 1:22pm
Fletch

From my previous link –

So what is the price tag of the President’s Mumbai trip if Indian officials are “wildly” wrong about the reports? The White House never said, but it is telling how they also never refuted that 3,000 people were accompanying the President on his trip. If they are unwilling to give any numbers to refute those put out by the Indian press and reported on by the conservative blogosphere, then how can they claim that they are “wildly exaggerated?”
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November 5, 2010 1:27pm
eszett

You are a piece of work, Fletch. First you say they did not deny it, when in fact they did. And then you don’t believe their denial.

Point being, you will believe anything, and I mean ANYTHING, no matter how obscure, absurd and comically wrong it is as long as it is anti-Obama. He could deliver a cost breakdown personally to you with all the original receipts, you would still not believe it.
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November 5, 2010 1:28pm
JiveKitty

Fletch, Obama’s done a poor enough job in terms of stated goals (at least those of the movement which got him elected and which he claimed to represent), expending political capital well (too busy trying to be liked by everybody) and being a leader (failed to take the political capital he had and use it to achieve much of note) that you don’t even need to come up with silly conspiracies.
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November 5, 2010 1:32pm
grumpyoldhori

First they came for tobacco then they came for my single malt.
Hmm, love the arguments if you use tobacco or alcohol you will die, if you are a boring Mormon you will live the good boring life until you are a 120, fuck that.

If some political party was cynical enough they could start a common sense party that believed in the freedom of people to use tobacco or booze, fuck they could hold the balance of power.

Strange is it not, we have twelve year olds who have type 2 diabetes yet we tax the fuck out of booze and tobacco but do fuck all about junk food which is costing a bomb.
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November 5, 2010 2:34pm
RightNow

grumpy – so what we should do is get kids smoking younger so they don’t have such an appetite 😉

Although to be honest (as a smoker for the last 25 years) I’m completely in favour of just making smoking illegal on a given date. After a month or two nobody would even care.
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November 5, 2010 2:44pm
Manolo

“but do fuck all about junk food which is costing a bomb.”

Who is telling these morons to live on junk-food alone? Don’t they know is unhealthy? Obviously not.
Great example of Darwinism at work.
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November 5, 2010 2:48pm
kaya

grumoyoldhori – I love my alcohol and used to love my baccy too, I’m all for that common sense party you talk about. Of course it would have to be totally common sense. If you turn up at hospital pissed you pay up front for treatment. If you commit a crime, create a nuisance then likewise you pay the actual cost of police/court time.
Private health insurance would be compulsory, if you get sick any contributing factors will be costed into your policy.

If you get type 2 diabetes you pay full cost for your own treatment, no state funded stomach stapling/elastic bands.

It would be a wonderful world if everyone was held fully responsible and where there are true consequences for actions (both good and bad). Sadly we live in a world where nothing is anybody’s fault.
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November 5, 2010 2:52pm
grumpyoldhori

I’m not a smoker(spoils the taste of a good malt ) but I find it pretty bloody sad that one party which is government which rants on about freedoms is not ranting that stopping people from sin in wanker’s eyes is wrong.

Of course what worries me is that booze may be next 🙂
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November 5, 2010 2:58pm
James Stephenson

Hmm, love the arguments if you use tobacco or alcohol you will die, if you are a boring Mormon you will live the good boring life until you are a 120, fuck that.

As I tell the missus when she has an occasional nag – “I don’t want to give up booze, live another ten years and have it feel like f-ing fifty!”
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November 5, 2010 3:03pm
big bruv

According to that noted racist Willie Jackson, Kings College has made Maori compulsory for all third form students.

This is just the start, it will be compulsory across all schools within the next five years.
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November 5, 2010 3:18pm
kaya

It’ll never happen to booze, if it does I’ll be making a still and brewing my own!
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November 5, 2010 3:32pm
Fletch

Kings College has made Maori compulsory for all third form students.

I’m kind of wondering what the point is. Where would they ever use it? In terms of usefulness, it would be better to learn sign language, one of the other “official” languages of New Zealand.
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November 5, 2010 5:37pm
Lucia Maria

I wonder if Maori has usurped compulsory 3rd form Latin? It says nothing on their website that I can see.
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November 5, 2010 5:50pm
Rex Widerstrom

Dr Owen is part of the Medical Research Council’s Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge. With his colleague, Adam Hampshire, he has devised the ultimate intelligence test. Drawing on data from brain scans, his test – featuring a dozen tasks – triggers as much of the brain’s anatomy as possible, combining the fewest tasks to cover the broadest range of cognitive skills.

It’s claimed to be the ultimate IQ test, superior to those that generally test just left and right brain abilities, in that it tests “whole brain”. Or, for science geeks:

For example, spot-the-difference puzzles boost activity in a range of areas at the back and bottom of the brain. Similarly, when you navigate your way around an unfamiliar supermarket, you rely on visuospatial working memory, which is linked to activity in the ventrolateral frontal cortex behind the eyes and the parietal lobe at the back and on top of the brain. However, as the questions become more complex, demanding more use of strategies and stored memories, broader regions of the frontal and parietal lobes become active – in particular, the large area behind the temples known as the dorsolateral frontal cortex.

It’s HERE if anyone wants to give it a shot. I will when I have time… be interesting to see whether it rates one higher or lower than the traditional version.

[Note to DPF: You might want to start a thread, so users can take it over time and return to publish their results. Then everyone will have something else with which to denigrate those with whom they disagree 😀 ]
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November 5, 2010 6:02pm
reid

“The guy is spending money like it’s water…”

He’s not spending it the Secret Service is and it has to, because of the terrorist threat from Pakistan to the POTUS while he’s there.

The fact every Pashtuni terrorist looks exactly like everyone else in the crowd and the ISI is not exactly forthcoming re: its alleged Al-Qaida links is not re-assuring, were I responsible for the President’s Security Detail.

“… return to publish their results”

If you have to, in order to take the tests, I imagine there’ll be a few pseudonyms.
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November 5, 2010 6:23pm
reid

“I’m kind of wondering what the point is.”

[Compulsory Maori at Kings]

I don’t actually mind it, as I think all kids should be as multi-lingual as possible, any language develops the mind.

Quite why it should be Maori instead of Mandarin I’m not sure. Maybe Kings could explain.
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November 5, 2010 6:29pm
Lucia Maria

Reid,

I would have hated to have learned Maori as a kid. As it was, we were taught a bit of it and I refused to learn it. Nothing wrong with being multi-lingual, but Latin, Greek and Hebrew beat all other languages hands-down.
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November 5, 2010 6:36pm
reid

I was listening to a Maori woman on Morning Report this morning talk about the Maori language as a precious taonga that needed to return home to be nurtured and treasured and treated like the precious thing it really truly is and I thought to myself: it’s a freaking language, lady. A means of communication.

Then I thought, how would I feel were I decimated to the point of almost losing my own mother tongue and I wept (in my tummy).

But seriously, how would one feel if English had died as a result of the successful Japanese victory in 1943 and street signs, newspapers, TV etc etc.
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November 5, 2010 6:42pm
Fletch

I see that Obama also wants the ‘lame duck’ senate to ram through his Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia, not the new senate that will be formed in January. He knows damn well the new senate won’t go for it.

Hell, it’s not Russia he should be worried about, and reducing the US nuclear arms is not a good idea in this current climate, what with Iran and other countries now in the nuclear club. LINK

He may think it’s a good idea, but he’s further weakening America, and international, security.
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November 5, 2010 6:47pm
Pauleastbay

Lucia

We have Mass spoken in Maori, several times a month at my local, would you refuse to attend?

I think its wonderful that you are fluent in Latin, Greek and Hebrew. I also think it would be wonderful to be at the stage where I have attained enough knowledge that I could refuse to learn anything more.
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November 5, 2010 7:13pm
reid

“…what with Iran and other countries now in the nuclear club.”

Well in my reading I don’t yet know that it is. Yes it would like to be, because of Israel, but why does the thought of parity between Iran and Israel seem to make some people automatically assume that this de facto means Iran will nuke Israel?

MAD always applies, no matter what. Israel has 300+ nukes (364? from one count – look it up where ever you want). Iran may have purchased what do you reckon, from the 1990’s black-market?

Let’s say ten. Let’s say it’s got ten nukes from the 1990’s black market.

Maybe that’s precisely why all the Western Intelligence Agencies seem to be oriented in one direction?

Let’s say also that it really does intend to produce weapons=grade plutonium from its reactor program.

Again, so what? Israel still has lots more and what, precisely, do you think its battle plan and the US’ battle plans are, in the event of a nuclear detonation in downtown Tel-Aviv or anywhere in Israel and are you seriously suggesting that a nation of almost 77 million doesn’t have anyone who isn’t fanatical enough to realise the consequences of embarking against a force of that size?

Russia is interesting also at the moment re: Iran. It recently withdrew from its agreement to dispose of the waste from Iran’s reactor site thus depriving Iran of the ability to explain that it’s not interested in enriching to weapons grade. The theory is the west has offered Russia (a.k.a. Putin) something she couldn’t refuse.

All of which suggests a concerted campaign of deception and lies propagated by useful idiots in the media.
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November 5, 2010 7:18pm
Lucia Maria

Paul,

We have Mass spoken in Maori, several times a month at my local, would you refuse to attend?

If told to, then yes, I would decline. Going to Mass is not a political statement for me.

I think its wonderful that you are fluent in Latin, Greek and Hebrew. I also think it would be wonderful to be at the stage where I have attained enough knowledge that I could refuse to learn anything more.

It would be wonderful if I was, but you are reading far too much into what I said. I was, however, bi-lingual as a child. I could think as well as speak in two languages. I was learning to read and write in my second language on Saturdays; classes organised by like-minded parents. And yes, I would go to Mass in my second language (well, actually my first language). I doubt you would be a happy camper if you had to sit through Masses in Polish regularly.

I certainly hope your local also offers just as many Masses in the universal language of the Church. That would make anyone travelling in from another country, and not understanding English, feel so much more at home. As they should.
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November 5, 2010 8:05pm
Lucia Maria

Reid,

Nothing man-made lasts forever.
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November 5, 2010 8:37pm
Pauleastbay

Lucia

I was getting more at your arrogance as to languages. Perhaps I was too subtle

Why would you have “hated” to have to have learned Maori?.

And if you are not fluent in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, hands down- how are they better than their root languages.?

Actually I was just getting at your arrogance full stop.
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November 5, 2010 9:16pm
kaya

Rex – damn you, I hate IQ tests. They hurt the brain……
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November 5, 2010 9:48pm
Lucia Maria

Paul,

Why would you have “hated” to have to have learned Maori?.

Not interested in it. Wasn’t when I was a child, still am not now. Also, do not see the point.

And if you are not fluent in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, hands down- how are they better than their root languages.?

I’m learning Latin, and teaching my children. Don’t really have time to do the others. Research has been done that shows that students who learn one of those three languages gain the largest advantage in other subjects. Something to do with the nature of those particular languages. Latin in particular helps tremendously with understanding English, as more than 50% of our words come from it, and with learning the other languages based on it (ie French, Italian, Spanish, etc).

Since we are talking about compulsion in languages, surely it is better to do those that are most advantageous?

Actually I was just getting at your arrogance full stop.

And expecting everyone to learn a primitive language isn’t?
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November 5, 2010 10:57pm
Rodders

Tonight’s “Yes Minister” segment on 7 Days was the funniest yet (they had Tim Shadbolt – approx half way through the episode)

http://ondemand.tv3.co.nz/Season-2-Ep-22/tabid/59/articleID/1472/MCat/52/Default.aspx
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November 5, 2010 11:03pm
Luc Hansen

# Lucia Maria (486) Says:
November 5th, 2010 at 8:37 pm

Reid,

Nothing man-made lasts forever.

Lucia, man won’t last forever.
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November 6, 2010 12:57am
RightNow

we are a species of animals that has an instinct to survive and our species will survive above others
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November 6, 2010 1:25am
RightNow

does anyone else find it ironic that while we believe in evolution we strive fervently to upend natural selection by subverting survival of the fittest?
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November 6, 2010 1:28am
joana

Lucia.
Why is someonelses language a primitive language..surely it is just another language.
Why did you and your family come here to look down on other people..I agree with Paul re the extreme arrogance.
What is so crash hot about Poland anyway.??….if it is that great why aren’t you living there??
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November 6, 2010 10:52am

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