Last Updated: Mar 25th, 2013 - 16:46:15 Newsletters : 2007 Newsletters : 14 September 2007 Thought for the Day Thomas Jefferson: "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." Sep 14, 2007, 15:20 Newsletters : 2007 Newsletters : 14 September 2007 Government Propaganda Michael Cullen has recently made this press release: ***** ***** ***** OECD endorses government leadership on skills An OECD report shows New Zealand has made considerable progress in integrating skills and economic development policies at the regional and national level since the election of the Labour-led government in 1999. --------------------------------- An OECD report shows New Zealand has made considerable progress in integrating skills and economic development policies at the regional and national level since the election of the Labour-led government in 1999, and there are now opportunities to take that work even further, Tertiary Education Minister Michael Cullen said today. The Integrating Employment, Skills and Economic Development report finds there was little central government attention paid to regional economic development prior to 1999, but there has since been a great deal of work to integrate labour market and vocational training policies. Michael Cullen said the report is welcome, particularly as it comes at a time when the government is working with trade unions, business leaders and industry training organisations to develop a new, unified skills strategy. "Since 1999, New Zealand has seen more people in work than ever before, more people in industry training, more young people getting skills through apprenticeships, and record levels of participation in tertiary education," Michael Cullen said. "The OECD report finds that the government's work with councils, businesses, unions and the training sector has been a major driver of this success. But the OECD is correct in its call for further action. "One of the consequences of our record-low unemployment rate has been persisting skills shortages. While we continue to see more and more New Zealanders enter the workforce and more gaining qualifications, we need to grow those numbers and ensure people have the right skills to meet industry demands. "I am working with my colleagues Acting Social Development and Employment Minister Steve Maharey and Labour Minister Ruth Dyson through the Skills New Zealand Forum on a new skills strategy that will unify actions across government to ensure that New Zealanders are able to develop and use the skills needed in the future." Michael Cullen said he expected to make further announcements on a strategy before the end of the year. ***** ***** ***** From this we are led to believe that the OECD has made an assessment of NZ and come to some favourable conclusions about our Labour government. BUT who is the OECD. You might have thought that it is an independent body in Europe who make careful analyses to determine the truth about particular topics - and well they might be. However the report that Dr. Cullen refers to is one written by Professor Paul Dalzeil from Christchurch. http://www.dol.govt.nz/publications/general/iesed/summary.asp ***** ***** ***** So I decided to see what else Professor Dalzeil has to say: I found this paper from the learned professor. It is titled: New Zealand’s Economic Reform Programme Was A Failure. By Dr Paul Dalziel Department of Economics, University of Canterbury And if you wish to read a biased account of economic events over the past 40 years then it may be found here: http://www.casi.org.nz/politicaleconomy/dalziel99.htm ***** ***** ***** ***** Dr. Cullen issues a press statement which purports to be from an independent international body - the OECD - and we find it is a local paper written by one of his sympathisers. ALL THIS WHILE THE LABOUR GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO STOP FREE SPEECH DURING ELECTION YEAR. GOEBBELS WOULD BE ENVIOUS. Sep 13, 2007, 15:04 Newsletters : 2007 Newsletters : 14 September 2007 Requiem for an Economist Paul Volker once remarked that the challenge of modern central bankers “is to prove Kurt Richebächer wrong.” Instead, they are proving him right. Paul Adolph Volcker (born September 5, 1927 in Cape May, New Jersey), is best-known as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve ("The Fed") under United States Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan (from August 1979 to August 1987). As Chairmen of the Federal reserve he is credited with stopping the high inflation of the 1970s and early 1980s. He obviously knows a thing or two. Kurt Richebächer died two weeks ago at his home in Cannes, France, at 88 years old. Sep 13, 2007, 13:37 Newsletters : 2007 Newsletters : 14 September 2007 A Secret Time Bomb Made of Gold THE VOLATILITY SEEN THIS QUARTER IN the stock and credit markets may be new to younger investors. But there is something lurking out there that can make things really dicey. A little-known fountain of free money called the "gold carry trade" is in danger of drying up. And if it does, then markets from gold to bonds and even stocks can be in for a wild ride. Sep 12, 2007, 14:30 Newsletters : 2007 Newsletters : 14 September 2007 The Gold Carry Trade Dear Friend of GATA and Gold: Agora Financial's free daily letter, Whiskey and Gunpowder, yesterday carried an excellent essay by Nick Jones about the manipulation of the gold market, "The Gold Carry Trade." It is appended but needs two corrections. First, Jones writes that the gold carry trade will end when the gold leased from central banks has to be repaid to them. In fact, most central banks do NOT want their leased gold back, since calling it back would create a short squeeze, explode the gold market, and destroy the financial houses that were encouraged by the central banks to short gold on the understanding that the central banks would cover for them if necessary. That's what the constant Western central bank gold "sales" are about -- the writing off of leased gold at current prices. This is no mere speculation; it has been confirmed by the biggest gold shorter among the mining companies, Barrick Gold, which admitted in U.S. District Court in New Orleans in 2003 that it was the agent of the central banks in the gold market -- http://www.lemetropolecafe.com/img2003/memoformotiontodis.pdf -- and which proclaimed that its gold leases had 15-year terms and were "evergreen," always allowed to be extended for another year so that they might never have to be repaid. So the gold carry trade will end not when central banks call their leased gold back but simply when they decide to stop dishoarding their diminishing reserves, or when they simply exhaust those reserves. Secondly, Jones writes that Barrick's bullion bank, JPMorgan Chase, has admitted to manipulating the gold market along with Barrick. Morgan Chase has admitted nothing in this respect; the only admission about manipulation was Barrick's as cited above. But of course Morgan Chase cannot be ignorant of what's going on; like the other Wall Street financial houses that serve as U.S. government agents in the markets, Morgan Chase is well-rewarded with inside information on government policy that will move the markets. Nevertheless, Jones has provided a good outline of the gold-price suppression scheme and its purposes. Click our link above. CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc. Jul 26, 2007, 11:53