}

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

AmeriNZ 75 – Big Bucks


Episode 75 is now available, and it's free no matter where you get it from. You can listen to it or download it through the player at the bottom of the post here, or subscribe for free through iTunes here (you must have the free iTunes player installed). You can also listen to it for free through the player on my MySpace page.

On today’s episode, we have big money in New Zealand. That’s up first. Then, a German backpacker got in trouble and had to clean up. Another backpacker cleaned-up financially. Apple’s iPhone maybe illegal in Australia. It was the NZ Prime Minister’s birthday yesterday. The NZ election draws near, and that means some political talk, both about NZ and the US. Comments round out this episode.

Don’t forget to listen to or download my older episodes! My first anniversary of podcasting is at the end of March.

The New Zealand dollar today hit a new 23-year high against the US dollar. Experts are now predicting that the Kiwi dollar will hit 85 US cents, or higher.

Jan Philip Scharbert, a 28-year-old German backpacker from Munich was caught after he tagged (sprayed graffiti) a rock wall and the ice of Franz Josef Glacier in the South Island. They made him clean off his graffiti.

But another backpacker, probably from Australia, won $1 million in the NZ lottery on his second day in New Zealand. He bought the ticket on impulse, and now won’t be picking fruit to earn some money, as he’d planned.

Speaking of Australia, the Apple iPhone may be illegal in Australia. The problem is that it would normally be illegal to tie purchasers of the iPhone to only one service provider, as the company has done in other countries.

Yesterday was the birthday of Helen Clark, the Prime Minister of New Zealand. She turned 58. The government she leads is now in its third term and faces an election later this year, probably October. The NZ Labour Party, which she leads, is currently trailing the conservative National Party in the polls, but it’s too early to count Labour out. Another lesbian is entering Parliament as an MP.

I don’t like Ralph Nader. I think that John McCain has credibility problems. Both give me a chance for a mini-rant.

Leave a comment. Or, you can email a comment to comment(at]amerinz.com, or send a personal email to me (won’t be read on the podcast) to arthur{at)amerinz.com. You can also still use my other address, amerinz[at) yahoo.com or ring my US listener line on 206-339-8413.

Links for this episode

Big Fatty Online

“I’m Sorry” by Roger Green


Blue Savannah by Erasure iTunes USA Store or iTunes NZ Store. You can also buy Blue Savannah through Amazon.com.


Get AmeriNZ Podcast for free on iTunes

6 comments:

Nik said...

I recall when I first visited NZ in 2000 it was about 39c to the US dollar, and I thought that was fan-freakin-tastic for us and that was around the rate it usually is... 8 years later, egad, 85c! Good for some, but not great for any Americans visiting here, that's for sure

Rebel Yankee said...

Could NOT agree with you more re: Nader's egomania. OF course, I don't think any politician is wholly altruistic at that level; you need a certain amount of ego to think you're deserving of running a country after all, right?
That's probably my major problem (among many) with Obama: this idea that he's somehow not a politican is hysterical when it's very clearly a moment in time that was planned and steps were taken specifically for the purpose of running for President.

Rebel Yankee said...

Oh. Re: the feed. I actually grew by about, well, several hundred subscribers when I left PodOmatic. I don't know if that was related to Libsyn or the luck of the changeover. You could also do some further research and figure out whether or not it IS possible to redirect your feed out of Podomatic. Then you won't lose your itunes subscribers.

Anonymous said...

I talked about the same political items on my podcast recently. We seem to agree on everything. Surprise, surprise. :)

I will admit that his podcast did seem rushed. I can understand why and hope your storage issues are resolved soon.

Kalv1n said...

I don't really have the same opinion of Nader. Honestly, there are some things that are just simply not predictable. Although wouldn't it be wonderful if Huckabee would run even if McCain were the Republican nominee? A little whore like me can dream, no? Sex worker rights, NOW! I wish the iPhone were illegal here too. I'm so sick of people showing me picture after picture on that piece of excrement or coming up with any excuse to use it.

Arthur Schenck said...

Nik: When I first came to NZ the NZ dollar was higher than that, but nowhere near where it is now. When we visited the US in 1997, it was around 70 US cents, and we thought that was fantastic; it was higher than that when I was there around New Years. American immigrants to NZ should just keep as much money as they can in US banks for now.

Eric: Yeah, all politicians have a problem with ego, but I'm beginning to think that we ordinary citizens are starting to get a problem with cynicism. Mind you, that's what the past seven years have trained us for.

There are some features on Libsyn I really like (like delayed posting). Unlike you and others, I've never had a problem with Podomatic, but their storage limitations are a bit nuts. That's why I hesitate to change.

Archerr: Well, I notice that we often end up called "Two Peas in a Pod" on those silly Facebook "likeness" tests. I'll go more slowly in my next episode.

Kalvin: Welcome back! Obviously there are plenty of people who disagree with me about Nader. I just hope they're not all dumb enough to vote for him... ;-) I really hope that Huckabee or some other of his ilk runs as a third party candidate. I'm not sorry that the iPhone isn't available here, because I don't want one. But the iPod Touch--now that's different. I really like that!