Dunne the sports socialist

Peter Dunne is bemoaning claims by Trevor Mallard that sports that didn't do as well as predicted in the Commonwealth Games would have funds cut from the state for the Beijing Olympics.

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Well tough Peter - it is not the role of the state to fund athletes. They ought to fund themselves or seek it from sponsorship. This is not east germany or some other old fashioned Cold War battle - it is about people choosing to commit to being their best, and the public shouldn't be force to pay for a particular career in athletics.

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The best way to encourage athletes would be a cut in tax - then there would be more of what they earn, and what their supporters earn to help them on their way.

Sue Bradford hates Chinese workers

Sue Bradford slams Air New Zealand for buying - horror of horrors - foreign uniforms for its cabin crew (made with New Zealand wool). See it is ok for jobs to be created, just not those foreign people who don't look like us - who are more grateful for the work and charge far less for it. She says they are made in China, then says that most of them are being made overseas.

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Well Sue, get ready - so is the fuel, so are the planes, so are the seats on the planes, most of the entertainment on the planes - and half the passengers too. Presumably you'd prefer them all to be locally made.

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Outrageous - Air NZ should buy NZ made planes, using NZ made fuel, seats and only show NZ movies and TV shows and only carry NZ passengers - it can then aspire to be just like Air Koryo.

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More seriously - if locally sourced uniforms were bought, it would cost more - less money for dividends (which go mostly to the government) and fares may increase - but then again, socialists have never cared much for running businesses efficiently.

Commonwealth Games

Good on Melbourne for hosting an exceptionally well run games.

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One question though (I know the answer and it's childish) - why does the United Kingdom get to send seven teams, whereas every other Commonwealth country sends one?

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I've had this argument with Brits - the United Kingdom is ONE country, the capital is London, only the UK can sign treaties with other countries, have diplomatic and trade relations, and sit in the UN and the EU. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (and the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey) are all regions - with substantial autonomy, but still regions. No different in essence from Tasmania or Quebec.

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It's all very quaint for the English, Scots, Welsh, Ulsterites and the rest to feel some historic nationalism - but Wales hasn't been even nominally independent since 1284, Scotland since 1707 and Northern Ireland since 1800.

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Of course, if the other Commonwealth countries don't mind it, then fine. Korea can send a united team to the Olympics, and it comes from two states which are more different than any of the British nationalities - why can't Britain? Unless it is a privilege of Empire.

BBC public service parties

The BBC spent £238 a head on a party at the Criterion in Piccadilly according to the Daily Telegraph.

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Given the TV licence fee is half that, this is utterly outrageous. I emailed the BBC last week with a question for the head of the BBC as to whether it should be subscription only - with people paying the subscription getting a digital box with a card to watch BBC channels, and if you don't want it - you only get commercial channels. Then a socialist programme director rang me up asking me to clarify my question and argued with me - HELLO I pay your wages you arrogant toad. I'm forced to. I get inane questions like "what about the documentaries people wouldn't pay for" - um yes exactly my point - you make programmes people don't want. Besides commercial TV often produces the same quality or better.

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I like a lot the BBC does - I would pay for it - but I object being forced to pay.

New Zealand and North Korea

Well there you go, the Korean Central News Agency (that's north) has reported that:

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"A friendly meeting took place at the Korea-New Zealand Friendship Haksan Co-operative Farm in Hyongjesan District, Pyongyang, on March 22 on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the DPRK and New Zealand. Present on invitation were members of the visiting New Zealand-DPRK Association. On hand were members of the Korea-New Zealand Friendship Association and officials of the farm. The guests helped farmers in carrying compost. They appreciated an art performance given by farmers and talked with them about the need to boost the relations between the two countries, deepening the friendship. They handed aid materials to the farm. "

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You will hear this on Voice of Korea radio in English on shortwave today only in the news (no there is no way to listen online). Presumably the NZ-DPRK Association didn't ask about the children of political dissidents being kept in gulags, they prefer to carry compost - which wouldn't be hard to find, given that virtually everything ever published in the country is worth less than that. It would have been more helpful had they been able to hand radios to the farmers so they could find out how much they are lied to by their government.

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Still, these are private individuals, not government and it is not for me to ask why they provide propaganda for a regime that is the antithesis of reason and life itself.