That old saw about travel broadening is true. Not being able to read in say, Turkish, our editorial diet was the International Herald Tribune, the global edition of the New York Times. One story showed how far ahead some countries are when it comes to reducing carbon emissions. In supermarkets the label on a packet of oats, read: 'Climate declared: .87 CO2 per kg of product'. New labels listing the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the production of foods ranging from whole wheat pasta to fast food burgers, are appearing on grocery items and restaurant menus around the country, the paper reported 'Altering one's diet can be as effective in reducing emissions of climate changing gases as switching cars or doing away with the tumble dryer, according to scientists'. *********** Before the All Whites play Bahrain, some stats: In 2006, Fifa estimated there were 198,757 football players in New Zealand. With more new migrants playing, soccer may yet score at rugby's expense - a win will not only make the All Whites national heroes, it will catapult them into the World Cup finals! *********** And again from the International Herald Tribune, this from Nobel Prize-winning economist on those far right reforms: 'Adjust to reality sooner rather than later. Gone forever, one hopes, are the idiocies of Friedman-Hayek libertarian selfishness….' Can't hear our ruling clique saying anything vaguely like this, but clearly some believe that last year's crash spelt not only the end to the free market fantasy, but to the theories that underpinned it. *********** God bless the nouveau riche. A middle-aged man and his wife climbed into an airport bus the other day and began discussing how much salary a former colleague earned. The conversation ended in a tense stand-off with the wife believing it was higher than the husband's - who resorted to his phone to complete his one-upmanship. "Just checking my balance" he said to his wife in particular and the bus in general. "$4.3". Which raised just one question: why was he riding this commoner's bus to the airport? *********** |
