Simon Bridges MP maiden speech

This is a great speech from the recently elected National MP for Tauranga, Simon Bridges. Expect to see more of him in the up and coming years.

Political Buffoons?

You tell me??? If you can name the folks and their party affiliation and country I will be impressed.

ACDC concert Los Angeles

Brilliant... Seats were great, music was LOUD (still deaf)...

10 out of 10.

O J Simpson sentenced

O J goes to jail for at least 5 years for as long as 15 years.

Goodnight Kiwi

It's great to have the goodnight Kiwi back long after a long absence, but aren't Kiwi's nocturnal birds?

Tagged by Heine

I don't really do these things, but I was tagged by Clint Heine to blog 7 things that most people don't know about me, so here goes. The rules are:

1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules
3. Share seven random or weird facts about yourself
4. Tag 7 random people at the end of the post with their links
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. Puntiki is a made up name which was given to me by one very effective Auckland Councilor.
2. I can play the bag pipes ( sort of ), well not very well but I used to be able too.
3. The Rt Hon Jonathan Hunt once lost a bet to me for a bottle of wine and he paid up.
4. Rodney Hide once saved me from getting whacked by an angry rich lister. (Thanks Rodney)
5. I have been in Real Estate for 13 years and was previously a trained BMW parts technician.
6. I cant stand Jagermeister, Black Sambuca, gin or rum.
7. I am a member of the Cathedral Club. ( We need to meet more often )

I Tag.... Mike Stark, Aaron Bhatnagar, Andrew Sanderson, Cactus Kate, Blair Mulholland, Sage NZ and Trevor Loudon.

The future Cabinet?

At a secret location Friday November 14th 2008

Change of Government in NZ

Congratulations to PM elect John Key and the National Party of NZ for such a great result on Saturday 8th of November. Congratulations to Rodney Hide ACT Leader and re-elected MP for Epsom for getting 3.72% of the party vote and 5 MP's into government. It looks very likely that National / ACT and possibly The Maori Party and Peter Dunn will be involved in the next National led government. It is nice to have a change after 9 years of Labour. Helen Clark was a very strong PM and PM Elect Key has some big shoes to stand in. Helen Clark has stood down as Labour Leader and is expected to be replaced by Phil Goff.

Change in USA. Barack Obama President #44

Congratulations to President Elect Obama.

Today, he has been given a mandate from the people to lead us into a new history making era. As Sen McCain said in his honorable concession speech... We must get behind our new President #44 and give him our support, as I will.

I went out to the local after a nice dinner at friends place and there is a BUZZ in the air that I have never seen here before. The people I saw out were very happy about the outcome and it truly is time of change.

One America.....

Lewis Hamilton F1 World Champion 2008

It came down to the last corner. It looked like Massa was about to be World Champion thanks to some brilliant driving by Vettel in the Torro Roso overtaking Hamilton to put him in 6th and out of contention. When all of a sudden on the last corner Timo Glock of Toyota slowed to let Hamilton past and Hamilton won the championship but only just.
I do feel sorry for Massa.... He truly deserved it... Maybe next year.

A special message for you.

Update

Well it is all very exciting this week. The Brazilian F1 is being held tomorrow and either Lewis Hamilton of McLaren or Felipe Massa of Ferrari will be the world champion. It comes down to the wire as this will be the last race of the season and currently Lewis Hamilton is 7 points ahead of Massa. Massa is on pole with Hamilton positioned at #4 for the race. Massa will need to win or come 2nd with Hamilton making a serious mistake to tahe the championship but anything is possible.

The election in USA is tightening up. A lot of folks have voted early and there is 1-2 points in it which is within the margin or error. There is a realistic chance that the election could go to Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain both Senators. This will be my first time voting in USA and I am looking forward to it. I hope that the result is clear cut and we dont need to have a Florida 2000 replay. Tuesday November 4th is the day.

In New Zealand it is looking fairly good for a National / ACT government after the November 8th election. John Key has publicly stated that he will work with ACT and there is a strong chance of ACT leader and MP for Epsom having a cabinet position after the election if National are in the position to govern. A party vote for ACT will enable National to get things done for the people of NZ in a way that is going to make a positive change. ACT is a reliable partner for National and they will work well together. I will be making the trip to NZ in time to watch the results. My mother is running for ACT in Rodney District and has been working very hard indeed. I am looking forward to hearing about the results with my folks and other party supporters on election night. Things are also looking good for National Candidate Simon Bridges in Tauranga, he will make an excellent MP. Winston may be looking for a job after the election.

SO get out and Vote......... The choice is yours.

Screw Labour

I got this from Blair Mulhollands blog..... thanks Blair...

Dear Mr Obama

National to have ACT in cabinet

withI was looking at David Farrar's blog and I noticed that he has a link to this interview with National Party leader John Key.

John Key says that after this election in New Zealand on November 8th that ACT Leader and MP for Epsom Rodney Hide would be in a National led cabinet.

This is only natural as ACT and National will be like competitive cousins when working together on the same team rather than a gang war as it could be under a new Labour led govt.

So bravo to John Key for his candid interview and Party VOTE ACT.

Question is: What Cabinet position will Rodney Hide get?

McCain climbing in the polls...

It seems that the polls are tightening very quickly before the US election on November 4th. The difference between Sen McCain and Obama is now within the margin of error. There is a lot of press out there about Obama enjoying the company of some undesirable characters and most people including "Joe the plumber" is concerned about Obama's true thoughts and intentions??? This election will go down to the wire. Will there be a Tom Bradley effect, will there be a last minute surge for McCain or Obama....This election has broken a few traditions so really anything that happens between now and November 4th could sway the vote.
Vote McCain.

A Dangerous Threesome

Greencard lottery time

It's Green Card lottery time

New Zealanders are eligible for the “Diversity Visa Lottery Program”.

Applications to win a Green Card to live and work in the US are open till 12 noon Eastern time on 1 Dec 2008.

More information at the State Department website which is: Here

If you have a previous drug charge, a DIC / DYI, or a conviction, don't bother applying. There is no payment necessary up front, you only pay to the US consulate if you win as a documentation fee (some people set up fake sites and charge you upon application and rip you off). If you win you will have the option to move to the USA upon being approved ( normally within 1 year of winning) and you will need to be in the USA for 6 months and 1 day of every year (for tax reasons). You will then be elegible to become a citizen after you have been in USA for 5 years (on US soil). This is a fantastic way of moving legally to USA. I encourage you to apply if you'd like the opportunity.

Cheers

Robert

Hydrogen filling station in West Los Angeles

I was getting my haircut at my usual place, which led to taking my car to be cleaned at the usual place and interestingly enough there is a hydrogen fueling pump just across the road on Santa Monica Blvd at the shell station. Upon close inspection it looked to be all hooked up, but alas there were no Hydrogen Bmw 7 series or Honda Hydrogen cars lining up. While the service station my have made the investment and at this time not getting a return, it is a great sign of things to come.

ACT

A message from ACT New Zealand for you to consider before voting in the upcoming election



For a change of government and a government of change: Party VOTE ACT