Confessions of an Economic Hitman

I recently was directed to look at a lengthy interview of a guy called John Perkins. This interview covers some of what he wrote in his book "Confessions of an Economic Hitman". I recommend you watch this interview as it will give you a new perspective on what some of our "trusted" agencies are up to.

Synopsis: John Perkins was hired by the NSA to work with private consultancies to work deals between resource rich third world countries and the World Bank and other lenders. The idea was to saddle them with debt and then when they inevitably couldn't pay their loans they would be asked for "favours" of whatever kind that was needed at the time (e.g., support a UN resolution, give away resources to a US company). Later he explains the deal between the US and the Saudi Arabian royals to keep oil flowing and prevent further oil shocks.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTbdnNgqfs8
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29GhXsx7-Rs

Fishing

Ian and I went fishing on my boat in the hawksbury near the mouth of the river and caught a couple of Trevely before I had engine problems and we had to cut the trip short.

Tree House

Over the weekend brother Ian, with my assistance as gopher, built this treehouse for the girls.

They love it! Many thanks to Ian.

An Idea

I have another idea about the Haka.

Rather than start a game with the Haka lets END games with the Haka. And only do the Haka if we WIN. We make the Haka a celebration not a challenge. The media still gets what they want and we get to only do the Haka if we win. That adds to the status of the Haka because it is only associated with winning.

Failure

I know that my extensive and informed readership is eagerly awaiting my insightful response to the the complete disgrace of the All Black performance in the quarter finals so I will not disappoint you and shirk this responsibility.

When I was thinking about what to write I thought: I could harp on about the ineptitude of the senior players on the day; I could lament their poor decisions; I could lambaste the newbie referee and yell treasonous insults at his NZ boss Paddy O'Brien; I could laud the French for their defense. commitment and passion and reflect on the lack of all three in the All Blacks; I could speak of the horror of watching the match unfold and feeling the dejavu of 1999 and 2003, and; I could regale you with all of the jibes I have been getting from my Aussie friends and the swiftness with which the All Black choker jokes were coming through (almost as if they had the send button poised to click at the end of the game).

But I won't. Instead I will talk about what needs to change in no particular order:

1. Ditch the Haka. It makes us think we are immortal when clearly we aren't. Stirs up the other team even more viz the frogs and its getting too repetitive. This is very controversial I know but I seriously think that it has detracted from the game and our performance. I know that Adidas will be horrified and there will be an outcry from the media but tough. If it ain't benefiting the team then we don't need it.

2. Cut the budget in half for the team. This will result in less support staff meaning less namby pamby softness and more focus.

3. Change the tri-nations to every two years because we get enough practice playing SA and Australia and not enough playing the northern hemisphere

4. Tour the Northern hemisphere when they can field their #1 team - not have tours which give us a false sense of self-belief by playing second string or end of season/past peak sides.

5. Widen the tri-nations to include Argies and a pacific island team.

6. No more "trust the coach no matter what stiff upper lip crap" any longer. If we think that the coach is screwing it up then lets admit we're making a mistake and intervene.

7. No more strength and reconditioning and no more rotation. Pick a top 15 and only drop players when they are injured of die. An adjunct to this is to play less tests during the season.

8. No more one-dimensional playing. Build a team that can THINK. Last time we had a team that could change their game plan was Sean Fitzy 's in the 90's.

9. Look at the cup draw and make sure there are games that get harder through pool play and if there aren't then schedule an All Blacks A vs B game DURING THE COMPETITION to keep the guys match fit.

10. Less cotton wool treatment of the players. Yes, they will get injured, but hell that's the game; use our depth to our advantage.

11. Prepare no further out that 12 months from the next cup. Don't stress about it, don't think about it. Don't talk about it until 2010.

12. This is the most controversial: Lets forget winning the cup. As New Zealanders lets just say it doesn't matter that much. Our test record is fantastic and we win practically all the time other than at World Cups. Perhaps we need to just not place as much expectation on ourselves next time.

I seriously considered getting into AFL in the days following the debacle but that's a cop out. It is our darkest hour, I know, but I will continue to support the not-so-mighty men in black despite this.

Lets hope they adopt some of my recommendations ha ha ha ha.

France Here We Come

Well now it is off to Cardiff to waste the Frogs and redeem ourselves for the 1999 failure at Twickenham - a very very dark day in NZ rugby history. I remember the day well. My brother Ian - a dedicated MAB fan from way back - and I were sitting in my house (now long gone and all the money from it taken by my ex-wife ...but I digress) watching the semi together in the middle of the night. We were pretty happy with the effort at half time but we weren't confident. And our feeling turned out to be right when the frogs came back and beat us with a classic display of French brilliance.

What is different about that episode and this coming Saturday?

Firstly today's team is much better than 1999. Secondly we've been ambushed by the Frenchies before and we will be going into this quarter final looking no further than this game. Thirdly, this team has a few mongrels in it unlike Hart's team of "good boys" in 1999. If the Frogs start doing the niggle then Hayman, Collins and Robinson will be there to do a bit of enforcement. Fourthly, we have forwards domination. And last but not least their inspirational half Pierre Mignoni is OUT. Yipee.

I note that Bernard Laporte has been talking up his prospects and trying to influence AB game plans in the media. I love the build up cause you see all the gamesmanship. Henry is pretty good at this unlike Mitchell in 2003.

The Romania game had a lot of positives which were well covered in the press. Its is clear now that if the ABs click on the day then they can beat all teams in this final 8 - not doubt about it. I think they are mentally tough enough and have the goods.

Speaking of mentally tough enough. Witness the Welsh on the weekend. They were 53 minutes in to the game and they started to panic cause they were behind. They went for tries instead of taking points on offer from penalty kicks. That was poor choices and the panic was obvious which pushed Fiji to defend defend defend which they did and eventually the decision not to kick was a deciding factor in the game.

My picks:
Australia will defeat England (this is my hardest pick cause something inside me says that England have not played their one good game of the tournament yet and this will be it)

Argentina will defeat Scotland for sure.

NZ will cream the Frogs (this is the game that the all blacks will come together and make hardly any mistakes - or only make them in the first 20 minutes)

South Africa will beat Fiji

This is now the time when the dept will count. Unlike all the other teams the All Blacks have 30 test players all with a lot of experience. In these next two games people will get injured or front the judiciary and get suspended all of which means you need to call on your reserves.

GO THE MIGHTY ALL BLACKS.

PS: Look for the "other" haka Kaponga for the Frogs.