Monday, December 24, 2007

Christmas, Good News and Chikungunya

For those of us who are not EU citizens, and who have travelled through Europe in the past, the recent extension of the Schengen agreement is a god-send.

From Friday 21st of December 2007 the EU's Schengen agreement allowing passport-free travel for non-EU citizens has been expanded to include nine more countries.
Twenty-four of the EU's 27 member states are now participants in the agreement after the new entrants, mainly Baltic and eastern European countries, lifted travel restrictions.

After sawing through a barrier on Slovakia's border with Austria, Slovak prime minister Robert Fico said: "From midnight tonight you can travel 4,000km from Tallinn in Estonia to Lisbon in Portugal without any border controls."
No more need to worry about applications to a consulate or an embassy for a visa MONTHS before leaving home, no more customs and passport controls at each border, no more queues when crossing borders by car or camper van and no more interruptions to one's sleep when travelling by train as customs and passport control officers wake you and demand that you show them your visa, your passport and of course if required open your bags.

Of course for every good thing there is a down side and I am afraid that it has been left to Elisabeth Rosenthal of The New York Times to write a story that is less than "Good News" especially on Christmas eve:
Castiglione di Cervia, Italy - Panic was spreading this August through this tidy village of 2,000 as one person after another fell ill with weeks of high fever, exhaustion and excruciating bone pain, just as most of Italy was enjoying Ferragosto, its most important summer holiday.

Aided by global warming and globalization, Castiglione di Cervia has the dubious distinction of playing host to the first outbreak in modern Europe of a disease that had previously been seen only in the tropics.

The epidemic proved that tropical viruses are now able to spread in new areas, far north of their previous range. The tiger mosquito, which first arrived in Ravenna three years ago, is thriving across southern Europe and even in France and Switzerland.

Now it is winter in Castiglione di Cervia, near freezing as the sun went down on a recent evening and Christmas lights glowed across the piazza.

There are no mosquitoes now. But dozens of residents still suffer from arthritis, a known complication of chikungunya.

But the biggest mystery is whether chikungunya will emerge here next summer. In the tropics, it is a year-round disease, since the mosquitoes breed continually.

But the virus can winter over in mosquito eggs, too, and no one knows if there are reservoirs of sleeping eggs in some pool of water in Italy.

With climate change at hand, Dr. Bertollini said, chikungunya will surely be back somewhere in Europe again."
Never one to consider national borders, bacteria and insects have always been the bane of of those people whose responsibility it is to control the spread of disease.

Quarantine and health authorities are likely to have their jobs made even more difficult by the decision to remove all travel restrictions among EU member countries by non Eu citizens.

Recently in Australia there was an outbreak of Equine Influenza which devastated many of the industries that depend on horses. Millions of dollars were lost and lives ruined.

What has been happening in Italy is, I sadly predict, just a foretaste of things to come.

Does this mean that we should be concerned and take out 'insurance' in the form of immunization where possible? Absolutely unless the risks from the immunization outweigh the risk of catching a deadly disease.

Does it mean we should not travel?

Hardly, - what it does mean is that we should now start to think about taking the precautions in Europe that we would previously have reserved for more tropical climates. Above all to ensure that we take with us copious quantities of insect repellent that is guaranteed to be effective in tropical climates.

Europe simply is not what it used to be!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

I wonder if it is just me or . . . .

I don't know about anyone else, but reading the news lately, I have been struck by the speed with which there are news stories that are starting to abound that worry the hell out of me.

Let me give you a few instances:

US missile shield 'could spark Russian missile strike'
"The Russian army's chief of staff has accused the West of playing politics with European arms control and warned that the launch of US interceptor missiles could trigger a Russian missile strike.

"Western states have deliberately turned an agreement on European arms control into an instrument to achieve political aims" against Russia, Yuri Baluyevksy said at a press conference broadcast on state television.

Russia on December 12 walked away from the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, a key Cold War agreement that limits the stationing of troops and heavy weapons from the Atlantic coast to Russia's Ural mountains.

General Baluyevsky criticised the NATO alliance's eastward expansion to the Russian border but said Russia had "no plans for massing troops", despite now having the freedom to do so after suspending its adherence to the treaty.

Russia said it pulled out of the CFE because of the failure of 26 NATO members to ratify the revised 1999 version of the treaty."

Then of course there is:

Japan shoots down missile in milestone test

"The shoot-down marked a success for a shipboard detection and tracking tool called Aegis built by Lockheed Martin Corporation and the Standard Missile-3 interceptor, produced by Raytheon Corporation.

The interceptor was fired by JS Kongo, the first of four Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force destroyers due to be outfitted to counter missiles that could carry chemical, biological or nuclear warheads.

The medium-range target missile was launched from a US range on Kauai.

The Pentagon's Missile Defence Agency (MDA) said Japan paid entirely for the $US55 million ($64 million) test.

US-Japanese missile-defence cooperation has grown greatly since North Korea fired a three-stage Taepo Dong 1 missile over Japan on August 31, 1998.

The Kongo will now return to Japan with its load of SM-3 interceptors to start defending against ballistic missile attacks."

US warns Iran after fuel shipment

"Washington says Iran has no need to continue its own nuclear programme now that Russia has started delivering fuel to the Bushehr power plant.

But Tehran says it will not stop the uranium enrichment process despite the threat of further UN sanctions.

It is the first time Iran has received a fuel delivery from Russia, which is building the Bushehr plant."

Iran could have nukes by 2010: Olmert

"Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert believes Iran will have the resources to create a nuclear weapon by 2010, despite a US intelligence report that it was not building an atomic bomb.

Mr Olmert has told his Cabinet that Iran was continuing to enrich uranium and develop ballistic missiles and that Israel would press the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to "expose Iran's nuclear weapons activity".

The US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), published last Monday, said Iran's nuclear weapons program was frozen in 2003 and remained on hold, contradicting an earlier report that the Islamic Republic was bent on building the bomb."

Now I don't know what you all make of this, but let me give you a version of reality that appeals to my twisted logic.

Japan is afraid of China and it's expanded economic and military prowess and of course is even more concerned about North Korea ever since it demonstrated that it had the bomb and the missile technology to carry them to Japan and elsewhere including Russia and China of course who are both within range.

So given that the Russians have issued a very simple comment that they would regard a missile defence shield in Europe as a threat to themselves the US and Japan have been testing all this stuff in the Pacific a place less likely to cause the Russian's the same degree of Angst. What it does for North Korea and China is a different story. What it does for China the USA and Taiwan is different again!

Meanwhile we have the Russians building a nuclear plant in Iran and the Iranians having the technology and missiles that are now capable of sending all sorts of mayhem across to Israel and of course their neighbours in the Arab states.

We have the Israelis who were attacked by Iraq when the Gulf War was happening and who just happened to get the first of the missile interceptors that were then available when the equivalent of the WW2 V2 rockets which contained Iraq's warheads slammed into Israel. Now that the USA has - through its proxy in Japan managed to successfully test another interception system for more sophisticated ballistic missiles than the Iraqis ever had, it is not surprising that both China and Russia are worried about what this will mean in their near neighbourhoods.

I would NOT be at all surprised if the Israelis would actually ask for some of the Aegis detection and tracking tools built by Lockheed Martin and the Standard Missile-3 interceptors, produced by Raytheon Corporation. What they are then likely to do is to somehow invest heavily to convert the technology of the Aegis system into something that can be used from a land based situation and or ask for Aegis equipped ships that they can base in both the Mediterranean or the Gulf from bases in or near Eilat. Here is unfortunately where the problems becomes greater.

Once you have systems like these land based or in the Mediterranean or the Gulf you have the possibility of a successful missile defence shield which they makes first strikes all the more possible as retaliation is no longer something that needs necessarily to be feared and MAD or Mutually Assured Destruction is no longer necessarily the scenario that it has been since the time when the cold war first started.

Before President Bush leaves office I am dreadfully fearful that he will be able to learn to pronounce "nuclear" as it should be pronounced and what's worse he may in fact increase the level of danger that faces us all at least several notches in intensity.

For those of us currently complaining about global warming let's also have a look at this range of activities by the US and their allies and ask some questions about whether these people really are serious about protecting us or actually setting into motion the bases for the next major outbreak of hostilities that will make global warming positively desirable in comparison with a likely nuclear wasteland.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Bosses and Estimates - sometimes they are the problem!

I was reminded the other day about the vagaries of project management by some people I met in a restaurant and I knew I had seen something that could assist them with their planning and developing a road map for the project they were involved with - alas I could not remember where I had seen it until today. I have now located the document I was trying to recall.

Please check out DILBERT and you will realise why YOUR project is doomed so long as you continue to have the same boss!

Saturday, December 08, 2007

"Don't monkey with us!"

The ABC reports that two people in India - engaged in a property dispute have actually called on the Gods to assist them.

The dispute is about a temple dedicated to Ram and Hanuman. It was initially given by the province's king in the 1920s to the family of Manmohan Pathak, who has said he is the temple's rightful owner.

Local worshipper Puran Chandra Halder, successfully petitioned for the temple to be declared public property in 1987.

The dispute has gone on ever since and this time a judge in the eastern state of Jharkhand issued notices to the revered Ram, the most worshipped incarnation of one of the deities in the Hindu trinity, and to the monkey god Hanuman.

Court officers apparently went to the temple at the heart of the property dispute to deliver the summons, but found no one willing to accept the orders on behalf of the gods.

Not surprising really - it's bad enough to get caught up in the middle of a dispute that has been going on since 1987 - you would not want to anger the gods any further by claiming to speak on their behalf.

I wonder whether the Gods are just too busy these days off the Island of Bali trying to shake up the Climate Change conference with a small earthquake to attend to more irksome domestic matters?

Friday, December 07, 2007

Freedom of the Press

Having been motivated by the activities of Medecins Sans Frontieres I wanted to know if there was something similar that had been set up for Journalists and of course there is!

Reporters sans Frontieres

I started to read the documentation and some of the stories from around the world and was actually quite taken by all the campaigns that are happening to ensure that you and I are able to obtain access to news that is not necessarily stifled by regimes that oppose free communications and I was also quite taken by the campaigns that listed the number of journalists who had been thrown in gaol by one government or another.

Then in a fit of curiosity I opened the page relating to Australia. Here is what I found:
Area: 7,741,220 sq. km.
Population: 20,200,000.
Language: English.
Head of government: John Howard.

The John Howard government has continued to beef up its arsenal of anti-terror laws, some of which represent a threat to journalists’ capacity to protect their sources of information and to freedom of expression.

I am afraid it was at this point that I started to doubt - if not the sincerity, then certainly the value of the people who were doing the reporting for this site.

In the first place one of the main values of NEWS is that it is in fact NEWS and not yesterday's headlines in which you usually wrap fish heads!

Australia passed the 21 million mark for its population some time ago and the government changed well over a week ago. As for accuracy - one fact that has been pretty constant for quite a few years is the actual size of the country which is really 7617930km squared

I am amazed that any group that wishes to have some credibility in the world of journalism does not check facts and does not appear to update its site with an appropriate apology for what to me seems at best laziness and at worst careless negligence with the truth!

So the question for me at least is this - given the lack of accuracy about the data that I actually know something about and can easily check with reliable sources what reliance can I place on any of the other material that can be found on the site of these campaigners for press freedom?

I am afraid I have no idea and Yes I have written to them along the following lines:
"Hi,

I started off being impressed with your site and then in a fit of curiosity I explored your web page about the situation in Australia.

If you can't get the size of the country right, can't get the size of the population right and don't actually keep up with the reality that the government changed at least a week ago then I am afraid that reliance on your reporting about other matters tends to lose credibility!

It's a shame really - I was hoping to find a place where I could rely on some unvarnished facts!

Hope you will treat these comments in the way in which journalists should react - by hanging your heads in shame, issuing an apology for the outdated and inaccurate reportage and then correcting the offending page! "
After all one of the freedoms of the press is to be able to write to the editor and tell him/her what you think of the content of the publication!

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Australia to lead the fight on Global Warming?

Well, nothing quite so spectacular really - however the latest headline from the ABC suggests that our native species are among the most ecologically advanced in the world.

Did you know for example that kangaroos do NOT contribute to global warming?

Thanks to special bacteria in their stomachs, kangaroos' flatulence contains no methane and scientists want to transfer that bacteria to cattle and sheep who emit large quantities of the harmful gas.

While the usual image of greenhouse gas pollution is a billowing smokestack pushing out carbon dioxide, livestock passing wind contribute a surprisingly high percentage of total emissions in some countries.

Queensland Government senior research scientist Athol Klieve says 14 per cent of emissions from all sources in Australia are from enteric methane from cattle and sheep.

"If you look at another country such as New Zealand, which has got a much higher agricultural base, they're actually up around 50 per cent," he said.

Researchers say the bacteria also makes the digestive process much more efficient and could potentially save millions of dollars in feed costs for farmers.

"Not only would they not produce the methane, they would actually get something like 10 to 15 per cent more energy out of the feed they are eating," Dr Klieve said.

Not even the farmers are laughing at this one!

Just imagine if Australia could sell Kangaroo bacteria to the world's farmers as a way in which THEY can contribute to lowering global warming? What an export item THIS would be!

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Check it out!

There are numerous sites around the world that people can turn to when they want to find information on the Web.

If there is one message that needs to be heeded by anyone and everyone it is that the Internet presents a yellow light to all traffic. Caution is what is represented by this signal. Caution and careful consideration of the sources and the reliability of the information which is being provided.

If you are asking why on earth I would wish to provide this comment today of all days then I have tell you that it stems from a letter I received this morning from a very well meaning stranger.

Having apparently read my blog contents about Oesophageal cancer and one person's journey with this illness, this person was kind enough to let me know that I appear to have overlooked a whole raft of information relating to non mainstream treatments and modalities. He then went on to provide, what I am certain was well intended assistance, in the form of links to various sites and the titles of books written about a whole host of different remedies for cancer.

Naturally, being well disposed to anyone who may actually read my blogs and get some value from them, not to mention someone who wants to help, I immediately replied to the commentator with my thanks for their concern and with even more thanks for the information.

I then went on to suggest that it was NOT because I was negligent that nothing much about alternative treatment modalities had been published on my sites. The truth of the matter is, I explained, that I have not actually seen any EVIDENCE of the success or otherwise of the various remedies that had been suggested. More to the point not one of the treatments suggested actually dealt with the sort of cancer which interests me!

I was of course aware of the fact that there were claims that were being made, I was aware of the fact that drug companies and indeed perhaps the entire medical establishment could have such a stake in the current treatments that are available that they actively resist any findings that suggest something new and NOT within their control could possibly work. I was also aware that some drug companies had been accused of actually faking some of their research and that others had hidden information about what they have found in the course of their research to
try and ensure that they sold sufficient quantities of their drugs to at least recoup their investments in research. None of this however has meant that I was totally convinced by any conspiracy theory that everyone involved had no interest in finding something new and more useful.

I was also concerned that my correspondent had not asked one of the more fundamental questions in his letter to me - namely - whether what's good for one cancer will actually work with another and more to the point whether what works for one human being will work the same way for any other.

Being I hope a rational person, I will investigate the links with which I have been provided. I will then consider what the information has to offer and also consider how accurate and reliable the information provided is and then finally whether the information is applicable to my personal situation.

When I have done all that - then I may actually take action on the results.

I guess what I am trying to say to everyone out there is really simple. Even if you have a life threatening illness (and I have) and even if there are offers of certain cures and better ways of doing something - neither rush to believe nor disbelieve.

CHECK IT OUT FIRST!

Monday, December 03, 2007

An now for the "Good News" - Just in time for Xmas

OK Hands up - how many of you voted for the Labor Party and the Greens in the last election? Are you happy with your choice?

You had better be - because the government that just left (exit stage right) knew what it was doing when it lost the elections.

Just look at the news today:
  1. Worst balance of Trade figures in years;
  2. Companies making a loss for the first time in a decade;
  3. Petrol Prices through the roof;
  4. The New PM (Rudd) announces that it looks like we are actually going to have a 1% blow out on the Kyoto Protocol targets which means that we will incur a 30% penalty if Rudd actually signs up to the treaty on behalf of Australia and THAT means that we will have even higher prices on a whole range of things!
  5. The underlying interest rate is beyond the comfort level of the Reserve Bank which means that we can expect another rate rise in February and that means more mortgage foreclosures etc etc;
  6. The public services can expect to have a 2% 'efficiency dividend taken off them which means that they will have to either fire some people, or more likely not take more people on to work for them as they have to pay higher than normal wages - thanks to the AWA deals they have signed up with staff and thanks to the fact that they can't get out of them until they expire. This means that those left in the public services will have to work harder for less.
In essence what we have is a demonstration that the Howard government KNEW that things were going to heck in a hand basket and so did as badly as possible in the polls so that they could BLAME the incoming government for all of the mess that they have left behind!

No doubt this will mean that as we move into another cycle of economic downturn and things get from bad to worse they will be able to sit on the side lines and moan about how inadequate the current group of politicians are AND actually have the gall to tell us all that they warned us - the voters, about electing inexperienced people to the jobs!

Just wait and see and then let me know if all of this unfolds as expected.

Meanwhile of course - those that WERE in charge are all melting away - no doubt to get some high priced and high power jobs elsewhere and minding their Ps and Q's just waiting for the next opportunity to stick their snouts into the trough of public funds while allowing the poor schmucks like the current opposition leader to bear the jibes of the new government before the next bloodbath in which those in power now will be thrown out and new "wunderkinder' found within the rank and file to make everything right again (with emphasis on the "right")

Ah politics what a bloody mess you are!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

More information about the Unit Titles Act and its issues

I have now written several times about the Unit Titles Act 2001 in the Australian Capital Territory. To save everyone the time and the effort that it has taken me to find and collect and collate information I have attempted to put together one small paper that I hope is at present quite a definitive set of links and commentary on this issue.

Have a look at Unit Ownership in the ACT at Pete's Points

If you have comments or concerns or just want to discuss the contents do let me know by leaving a comment.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

More News about the Unit Titles Act 2001

In an earlier post on this subject, see Unit Titles Act 2001

I suggested how annoyed and disappointed I was with the staff employed by ACTPLA the Department that seems to be assigned the task of managing the operations of the Unit Titles Act 2001.

I became even more disappointed when I went to a so called ACT Shop Front service centre and asked my questions there, only to be given advice to call a few phone numbers that actually resulted in my getting nowhere.

Finally, in desperation, I rang one Minister's office and was able to speak with a charming spokesperson who admitted that she did not know the answers to my questions, but would make it her business to find out. I also rang the other Minister's office and once again encountered a spokesperson who was most charming and offered to find out the answers to my questions.

By early this morning I was sent a brief email by one of these spokespersons who also rang to advise that the message was coming through and what it contained. It was a link to a site somewhere within the ACTPLA computer system.

The link was to a Guide to the Unit Titles Act. Very nice. It also explained that I would have to take action in a Magistrate's court to deal with any issues arising from the administration of the Act.

Subsequently I received a call from an ACTPLA officer who expanded on the information from the Minister's office by explaining that the actual link should be to:

http://www.actpla.act.gov.au/topics/programs_projects/change/unit_titles_review


At this link there is a link to the copy of the Act, to the Guide and also to a paper that actually writes up the parameters for a discussion on Consumer Protection under the Unit Titles Act 2001 issues in October 2006 and promising that there would be consultation following an on line survey which was supposed to have been on line until November 24 2006. According to one part of the document:
"The objective is to have a draft Bill available as early as possible in 2007 and a final Bill before the ACT Legislative Assembly in June or July 2007." (see page 5)
OOPS!

It's now a full year later and the consultation has not yet started, nor have the public consultations and of course the latest advice from the Minister's office is that perhaps the changes may happen in the next year.

Meanwhile, if you have a complaint about conduct I am advised that you have to look in Section 54 of the Unit Titles Act and take up your issues privately with a Magistrates Court or if things get ugly with the Supreme Court.

To all of this of course I say - RIDICULOUS!

How can you have a piece of legislation which requires anyone making a complaint to have to take expensive and difficult legal action in a court when the Department concerned should take on the responsibility of administering the impact of the legislation that the government has introduced and given it to manage.

To argue, as appears to be the case at present, that there is no provision for this in the Act is - at least in my view irresponsible, especially as the most likely development of living arrangements in this Territory are increasingly likely to be in dwellings under the provisions of this legislation.

I urge all of my readers who live in the ACT to look at the facts, explore the issues and then send your comments, concerns and complaints to the Minister's office and to the Department concerned.

Let's all get off our collective asses and fix this legislation and the need to have consumers protected and enabled to take appropriate action to enforce their rights and to ensure that the Government enforces breaches of its legislation.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Kevin 07 - The PM Elect

Labor has won a resounding victory!


I am one of many people I guess who has lived long enough to see two out of three Labor governments elected to run this country. It looks like I have also lived long enough to see an incumbent PM actually lose his seat to a TV announcer (ably supported by her partner a Labor Party Strategist) - the second one ever in the history of this country!

It was an emotional evening!

It will also be the last time that the logo above will be seen in this blog.

Well done Labor.

As for Mr Costello the 'leader in waiting' - let's hope that this leader will stay in waiting for quite some time.

Friday, November 23, 2007

The Unit Titles Act 2001 as amended

This may be the most boring topic on earth for most of my readers (except those who actually live in this town).

None the less, I will risk the wrath of my reading public and explore this issue anyway!

At present there is a piece of legislation entitled the Unit Titles Act 2001. In Canberra much of the housing stock seems to comprise of "units" that do not necessarily have to be flats, but can in fact be free standing homes with both a front and a back yard which nevertheless require a form of self government - generally these bodies are called Owners Corporations. This form of self management is in line with the notions under which Torrens Title operates and which in the past people have known as Strata Title. In any event I will not digress to describe the Act or what it contains except to say that included in the wording are quite a few references to the penalties that people face if they do the wrong things. They are called PENALTY POINTS and different offences carry different penalties that are expressed in a multiple of penalty points where if someone from an Owners Corporation commits the offence then they face a fine of $100 per penalty point and if an Agent commits the offence then the cost of the fine is $500 per penalty point.

I was at an Annual General meeting of an Owners Corporation the other day and the meeting ended with a resolution that all of the owners would constitute the Executive Committee - ie the body that manages the affairs of the Owners Corporation in between meetings. This body can and usually does appoint an 'Agent' who is generally described as a Body Corporate Manager.

There are a whole host of rules and requirements as to how these Agents are appointed and ostensibly controlled by the Executive Committee and there are also loads of requirements that ought to govern their behaviour.

Interestingly, these agents do NOT have to be licensed, they do not have to have any qualifications and indeed do not seem to be accountable to anyone.

Which brings me to my point.

I contacted the Department of the ACT Government that is supposedly responsible the Act ACTPLA and asked whether anyone could actually show me how I could register a complaint about the actions of an Agent or indeed a member of an Executive Committee?

I was told that there was (at least to the knowledge of TWO of the officers in that Department that I talked with) no actual process that they were aware of and they could not identify HOW (if at all) their Department administered the Act or indeed was able to apply its requirements.

They have of course said that they will consult with their superiors and get back to me and if they do and we get no further with this inquiry then I am afraid that the Minister is going to get a call to please advise how the Act for which he is responsible is actually administered and enforced when necessary.

If HE does not know - then I think we seriously need to start a process where the "consumers" who pay a small fortune to Agents to manage properties that are worth in many cases many millions of dollars actually can be held accountable or for that matter owners who make up the so called Executive Committees can be held accountable.

One suggestion from a young public servant was that perhaps I should contact the Strata Managers Institute. I am afraid that I had to point out to this young woman that this Institute had at its head four of the most major principals of the leading companies that actually offer their services to managed properties, that it was only formed last year, barely has a constitution still has no Code of Ethics or processes to self regulate within the industry.

In any event it would be grossly inappropriate to complain to a self regulating body about a breach of legislation.

So watch this space folks because this writer is determined to get to the bottom of this question and find out what DOES exist and if nothing to start the clamour to get something in place that protects the rights of property owners in this Territory.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Let's all hark back to a previous era . . .

"Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." (January 20th 1961 John F Kennedy inaugural address)

Most people who were alive at the time are not likely to forget these sentiments.

It from this perspective that I think many Australians today need to think about viewing the forthcoming elections.

After a generous spending spree that totals billions of dollars of OUR tax money, the mentality of some people still seems to remain Dickensian or more to the point the view expressed by the character of Oliver Twist in the novel by the same name:-
"Please Sir, I want some more."

Yes MORE - well at least that's what the headlines are saying at the ABC
"Democrats candidate for the seat of Reid, Silma Irham, says other issues, like local services, are key concerns at this election.

"We need a lot more services here, particularly for the multicultural migrant community," she said."

Perhaps I am out of line, and some may even consider me insensitive, but enough is enough!

Let's all stop asking for handouts and start doing things for others rather than demanding more from them.

Lest you think I am some privileged native Australian who has no idea what he is talking about - let me first tell you some of my story.

I was a refugee from a country in the turmoil of a civil war, where political opinion was limited to those who had joined and participated in the ONE party system that was permitted and where people were even denied jobs unless they joined "the party". I was one of a religious minority that was not exactly welcome to practise my religion. I was from a family that was working class and finding it difficult to find work without compromising its principles and we were in fear of our lives as men with weapons and tanks invaded our streets!

We did what a lot of people in our situation did we fled across the border and arrived in a refugee camp!

We were finally assigned refugee status and then we had to try and find a country willing to take us in. After a long struggle Australia came to the party and we were finally permitted to come to Australia to settle.


This was at a time when the concept of services to migrants was virtually unknown much less any real services being available, when the levels of unemployment were similar to what they are now, when social welfare was not available and services in state and federal agencies that accommodated different language and cultural needs were simply not in existence.

I don't know about others, but I was grateful for the opportunity to start a new life here and to learn to fit in and to contribute.

The fact that services were not attuned to my cultural needs or my lack of English was not something we felt we could grumble about.

We were free and safe! That was enough!

The fact that we might have to work two jobs AND take in additional work at home was just the way things were.

We learned how to survive and thrive.

The conditions provided the motivation to learn the language, to obtain the skills that were needed and to find work that was better remunerated, so that over time we would only have to work one job and not take on piece work at home.

At a time when there is the lowest unemployment in 33 years and when almost anyone can get a job and one that is well remunerated to boot, when there are services galore in both private and public enterprise, this is not the time to keep demanding more assistance.

To paraphrase JFK:- Ask not what Australia can do for you - ask what you can do for Australia!

That's the lesson this Democrat candidate needs to learn.

I know that if I was in her electorate I would certainly not vote for someone that continually looked for handouts and more services instead of encouraging people in her electorate to think about what they were going to do for themselves as well as others!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Experienced and Seasoned Ministers? Hardly!

The ABC reports:


Federal Nationals leader Mark Vaile has apologised for appearing to question the independence of the Auditor-General.

The Auditor-General last week released a damning report into the Coalition's Regional Partnerships program, and Mr Vaile described the timing as "strange".

The Auditor-General's report found that the Regional Partnerships scheme had failed to meet an acceptable standard of public administration, and ministers had approved projects against departmental advice.

Mr Vaile now says he makes no judgement on the timing of the report's release.

"I regret any inference of that I'd left that might have cast aspersions on his professionalism or independence," he said.

I find it remarkable that no one has taken Mr Vaile's comments and his earlier antics of trying to ride a skateboard with his cap on backwards as examples of the churlish and childish behaviour from one of the most senior members of the government.

While the Howard government tries to paint a picture of the opposition as a bunch of amateurs who have no experience in leadership and in government, the deputy Prime Minister is allowed to get away with comments like the one above with just an apology and a retraction.

What HAS this man learned and taught his colleagues in his 11 years in government?

"Arrogance" would come to mind immediately as one observation. If this is the level of experience and sound judgement that Mr Howard keeps claiming for his colleagues then I suspect that most electors would find his accusations about members of the opposition somewhat tainted.

Of course some of the other more senior Ministers in the government have fared no better in the last few weeks of the campaign. Mr. Abbott the Health Minister has been filmed at a private Party meeting being less than politically sensitive and also been filmed making rude and crude remarks when he thought the cameras had been turned off.

The signs of an experienced and reliable politician that one could trust with the health portfolio or just what he has been described as being in other media outlets - namely a "bully boy."

Whatever the opinions that people may have about Labor and the Trade Unions if they are fair in their assessment of the achievements of the current government then they will have to admit that there is an increasing amount of evidence emerging about the arrogance, childish and churlish behaviour of government ministers as well as evidence of what I would certainly call mismanagement of the taxpayer's money to give their supporters more largess and provide less than a 'fair go' for other Australians who happen to disagree with their political views.

That's what the Auditor General has pointed out and if that is what the members of the Howard government have learned in their 11 years of power then it's more than high time for them to vanish from the political stage - preferably in disgrace!

The Minke Refugee!

An interesting news story today was about a poor Minke (pronounced Minkie) whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) that seems to have ended up some 1600 kilometres from the ocean up a river in the Amazon basin.

Personally, I think the poor thing got hopelessly lost and has been unable to find his/her way back to the ocean.

Of course I could be wrong.

Japanese whalers have been working hard to find capture and kill these whales for their 'scientific research program.'

Any sophisticated mammal with a high degree of intelligence facing a devastating form of genocide would most likely be searching for a place to go and claim refugee status.

The question is will any one understand the call for sanctuary?

I have no idea if anyone has actually learned enough whale to act as an interpreter!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Health Care Consumers

I don't know about anyone else, but as someone who is and has been a health care consumer, I have found it useful to get in touch with organisations in my immediate surrounds that represent ME to the various health authorities.

Alone, I suspect that I can do very little to influence the way in which these large and somewhat cumbersome bureaucracies work and yet my experiences, especially when added to the experiences of others like me may actually have an impact on how services are designed and delivered.

To this end, I joined a Health Care Consumer representative organisation and actually managed to go to the next step and get myself trained as a Consumer Representative and then go even one step further and actually represent consumers with the local department of health at an ongoing forum where they were discussing one of the ways that services were to be delivered.

During my stint in this position I was continually wondering how it could be possible to increase the level of communication that I had with my 'constituents' i.e. people who were also consumers of the services so that I could tap into their knowledge and experiences and then be in a position to better represent us all.

My first thought was to turn to some of the people who actually saw and assisted these people - for example psychologists, social workers, doctors etc as they are in a position to see many more people than I could. Of course their points of view would be second hand and possibly tainted with their own "spin" on how their patients or clients could be assisted - a form of spin that might also be tainted with a little personal perspective on how any changes to service delivery was likely to affect their own service provision.

In other words this was not necessarily a useful idea.

The use that our politicians are making of the Internet has provided me with a new wrinkle on communications.

Political candidates are now using this new form of media as a way of reaching groups of people who previously could only be reached through letter drops or pamphlets.

What has become evident is that the need to communicate may well be part of a more global problem and solution that has manifested itself in our society.

Computers and their parts are still relatively expensive - not only to purchase, but also to connect to the Internet, maintain, use and recycle.

Existing in most communities these days are organisations that actually take old and unwanted computers - working or not and spend time and effort recycling them, refurbishing where possible and then making them available to people on low incomes as a way of enabling them to get with the computer revolution and join in on the communications media of the 21st century.

So I have asked myself whether it would be possible to use a site on the web as a way of reaching out to health care consumers and enabling them to communicate with each other and with their representatives so that they can share their stories and so develop some interactive ways of enabling themselves to have a say in how future services are to be delivered.

It's something that needs to be explored and I wonder if any of my readers have any suggestions that they would like to make on how to get this going?

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Unlike the Liberal Party of Australia which seems hell bent on maintaining its scare campaign concerning the inexperience and trade union connections of Labor Party candidates - the opposition has to do nothing else but simply highlight the unfairness of the industrial relations proposals that have been created by the current governments industrial legislation.

For example the ABC has provided the following news item:

"Figures from the Australian Workplace Authority show almost half of all Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) lodged with it since May have been rejected for not complying with the Federal Government's fairness test.

The Workplace Authority's report for October shows more than 25,000 agreements submitted do not meet the minimum standards set out in the fairness test."

Julia Gillard says the Government's IR system is a nightmare for employers and employees. (File photo) (AAP)

So the real question is - will people vote for a party that has created industrial relations laws that encourage employers to try and mistreat their employees and take advantage of them or for a party that has announced that it will repeal these laws and bring back some industrial justice and fairness for Australian workers?

Friday, November 09, 2007

If - Labor is learning then it's more than the Liberals have done over the last 11 years

Have you seen this Advert from the Liberal Party of Australia?

If you have, you will note that it is the reverse side of an advert for the Liberal Party of Australia which features soft pastel blue and yellow colours.

The colours alone of this piece of badly written propaganda are intended to bring home to the reader amessage of "WARNING WARNING"

Red tends to have that impact on most people and the fact that it is coupled with Black would suggest the Anarchist colours alas of course (for the Liberal Party of Australia that is) it also features a bright yellow colour as well.

This emulates the colours of Australia that have been chosen by indigenous peoples in this country to represent the true colours of both Australia and of course of the indigenous peoples themselves.

In one hit the Liberal Party of Australia has brought attention through its fear campaign to its issues with the indigenous people in this country and it's total disrespect and fear of people who have actually worked for a living and risen (in many cases) from poverty through hard work and effort, to a position of importance.

Will this all backfire for them? Let's hope so!

The people represented on this fear campaign advertisement are genuine workers who have had to struggle to get to university to get an education who have actually WORKED for a living and know what it's like to go without and to achieve success through hard work. They are also people who joined a Trade Union to obtain through such membership the solidarity against oppression and exploitation that is no doubt perpetrated by many Liberal Party supporters.

They then went on to give service to others, at first through running for office in their trade unions, then through election to public office.

Not for them the easy life of being supported by rich parents or a dynasty of rich people and assuming that they have a "right to rule"

Yes they will be learners if elected to government in their Ministerial portfolios.

What a wonderful thing this is! At least they are LEARNING something.

If only the people on the other side had spent the last 11 years in office doing the same thing!

It appears that they have done no learning and now expect electors to be fooled into voting for them AGAIN!

Monday, November 05, 2007

Meet the Boss!

When I see headlines like: "Driverless car wins robot challenge"I start to worry!

"A driverless car called Boss has scooped a $2m prize in a Californian race for robotic vehicles."

"Larry Burns, GM's vice-president for research and development and strategic planning, said developing cars that drive themselves is a key objective.

"Imagine being able to talk on the phone, eat your breakfast, handle your emails, and leave the driving to the vehicle," he added.

He believes cars with that level of intelligence could be on the road by 2015."
OK I am imagining! Let's assume that the technology is taken care of and we have one of these robotic monsters on the road.

  1. Who is going to be licensed to drive? - It can't be the fellow eating his breakfast, reading his e-mails etc.
  2. Who will you be able to sue when an accident happens? - This time the slurred story of "But offischer, I really wasn't driving under the affluence of incohol, the "Boss" was driving." will actually be believable.
  3. Who will have to pay the speeding tickets that are incurred - the manufacturer or the passenger? Or do they send the ticket to the "Boss"
These and many other mysteries of life will be interesting to wait for - All I have to do now is to hang around long enough to see what happens!

Friday, November 02, 2007

"Tokyo - Japan's Agriculture Ministry reprimanded six bureaucrats after an internal probe found they spent work hours contributing to Wikipedia on topics unrelated to farm issues — including 260 entries about cartoon robots."

I wonder what we would find if we did a similar check here in Australia?

Considering that we have local, state, territory, and Commonwealth government employees whose combined numbers are probably staggering the total number of person hours that might be devoted to diligent work that has nothing to do with what they are paid for could constitute an interesting statistic.

If it is then possible it would be even more interesting to obtain similar statistics for employees in private companies.

From the statistics obtained it should be possible to provide some answers to the following questions (at least):
  1. If Australian workers currently work extensive hours over and above what they are paid for - could we reduce the time they spend away from their families by stopping them from using their company's facilities and time for their own enjoyment?
  2. If Australian workers spend time 'working' at things that have nothing to do with their jobs, using their company's facilities and time - to what extent could the costs of the products for which they are responsible be reduced by stopping them from 'working' in this way?
I would like to see the Communications Minister in Australia get to work on this preferably BEFORE the elections here - then we might see whether we can get some cost reductions across the board in our cost of living regardless of which political party finally manages to win power for the next few years.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

More buying power or less, depending on who you are!

Otherwise reported as "Aussie dollar hits 23-year high"

While this means that any Australian, under 23 years of age AND going overseas AND buying their currency today, is likely to be told "You never had it so good," it is a different story for some people who are going to be tourists here in Australia.

Tourists already in Australia are likely to be having a harder time than usual IF they did not purchase Aussie dollars when it was low and have been using ATMs to withdraw money from their accounts at home. The decrease of the purchasing power of their home currency is likely to either cause some comments about "how expensive" Australia is.

What of course THEY do not consider is that WE have had to pay heavy expenses in their countries when their currency was more valuable. I reckon turn around is fair play - let the US and UK visitors finally see what it has been like for us when we were over there.

Meanwhile for those purchasing O/S currencies now for use in their travels in the future think in French and silently say to yourselves "Vive la difference"

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Hungry Hungarians

Today is one of those lazy days when my thoughts turn to FOOD and with food to my friend in Texas - George!

It's easy enough to visit a restaurant and order up something that you like from a menu. The risk is that the chef (or cook as the case may be) who is going to prepare your food MAY not make it the way you like.

So when you want to avoid the risk of disappointment its only fair that you get what you want.

Alas it is a lot harder than it looks unless you have to hand some recipes that you feel confident about and then purchase, prepare and then produce products for your peculiar palate!

If you are confident about your abilities in the kitchen then you can simply use what you know and get on with it - however if you are less than confident then there are a few sites where you can at least get some inspiration.

If you are looking for an interesting way to combine the hot Hungarian cooking so dramatically unsuitable for people with oesophageal illnesses and what has been described elsewhere as TexMex cooking then you could do worse than checking out one site is concerned with Hungarian and Other Recipes

Then again there is June Meyer's site which has Authentic Hungarian Heirloom Recipes

Political comment with a difference

It is not often that I give a free plug to anything that is supporting the Packer media empire, however, this is going to be one exception.

I am not sure how many people are familiar with Cook's Cartoons in the Bulletin magazine.

If you are not familiar with them, then may I recommend that you consider a visit to his material - if only once a week.

They will enable you get a perspective on life that you may otherwise actually have to pay for.

Personally I think they are (for the most part) fabulous!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

If we get elected . . . or ???

Just in:- Kevin07 has announced a mandatory renewable energy target.


It is interesting to speculate on different captions for the picture associated with the story on the ABC






Perhaps alternate captions could be:
1. What have it got myself into NOW?
2. Why can't I keep my big mouth shut?
3. I wonder if we get elected and then get booted out after a few years whether someone will dredge up this promise?
4. Kevin being given his marching orders by union bosses.

The value and distribution of "Pork"

I wonder whether any of the media have managed to records and add up all of the "pork" that has been promised for distribution over the last few weeks?

If not this could be a very worthwhile exercise.

I for one would like to know:
  1. how much are we being offered for our vote by each of the parties concerned
  2. how much the voters in marginal electorates are being offered for their vote vs safe seats
  3. how much is being offered to special interest groups by name
My reasons for wanting to know are simple:-
  • answers would assist in analysis of voter behaviour
  • answers would be able to determine more accurately who can be bought and also for how much
For people who currently live in 'safe seats' it's really not important on THIS occasion.

However, once people know how much is on offer in marginal seats - if they live in non marginal seats today, maybe they can use the information judiciously to create a situation over the next few years where they too will be able to benefit from the generous offerings that seem to come around at election time for the lucky few who live in marginal areas!

Alternately of course people in safe seats could always go on the Internet and offer their votes for sale - it could help the major parties in distributing their largesse.

PS. OF COURSE I AM KIDDING about offering to sell your vote!
Democracy is precious!

(oh crap - that comment will elicit even MORE emails!)

I may have made an error!

    • Egypt is to resume its nuclear power program.
    • Israel rejects criticism of its decision to provide fuel to Gaza.
    • Iran expanding its nuclear program.
    • Australia wants to start a nuclear power program according to recent announcements by the government and
    • it also wants to sell uranium to whoever wants to buy it including countries that have not signed any nuclear proliferation treaties.

I may have made an error the other day when I suggested that this picture was all that was left just after mining. It seems as though it could be a picture of what's left after we manage to use what we have mined!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Offence is the best form of defence!

Fascinating! Even the ABC can't seem to get it's facts right these days - has anyone else besides me noticed the spelling of the name of the Maningrida elder in the stories below? It seems to change with the times.

In just a few months we have gone from this

"Members of the Commonwealth task force on child abuse arrive in the Northern Territory community of Maningrida today.

Task force chair Sue Gordon and Major General Dave Chalmers will spend two days in the coastal Arnhem Land community.

An Aboriginal traditional owner in the area, Reggie Wadarjil, will meet with the task force.

He says he is looking forward to the meeting."

To this

"An Aboriginal community in Arnhem Land is taking legal action in the High Court to challenge the Federal Government's intervention in the Northern Territory.

Residents in and around Maningrida want to overturn Commonwealth laws that compulsorily acquire the community township for five years and abolish the land permit system.

If successful, the case would set a precedent for other affected communities."

"Mr Frawley, a barrister at Holding Redlich in Melbourne, is acting on behalf of a Maningrida elder Reggie Wurridjal and the local Bawinanga corporation that represents about 800 people, mostly from outstations."

What's the government's response?
"Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough has revealed that one of the Darwin lawyers acting for Maningrida is David Dalrymple, husband of NT Minister Marion Scrymgour, who lashed out at the intervention earlier this week."
So is this a case of "offence is the best form of defence" or what?

Sleight of hand, misdirection, misinformation, smear campaigns, denial of any culpability, denial of any accountability and deliberate lies seem to form a substantial part of the current government's rhetoric.

Government behaviour these days seems to be governed by one rule for "us" and a different rule for "others"

Let's see what voters think about things in less than a month from now!

I know what I thought of this intervention months ago.

Stairway to Heaven

News Just In:

Vatican beatifies 498 Spanish civil war victims
  1. "Beatification is a first step on the road to sainthood."
  2. "Most were killed in at the start of the war in 1936 by anti-fascist republican forces."
  3. The pope has paid tribute to the "martyrs" of the war, saying they "paid in blood for their faith in Christ and his Church".
  4. "Since the Vatican considers the 498 victims - including two bishops, 24 priests, 462 nuns and monks, three deacons or seminarians and seven lay people - to be martyrs, the requirement of evidence of having performed a miracle was waived."
I suppose it's enough of a miracle that they have made it this far on the stairway to heaven.

I wonder what Ernest Hemmingway would have written about this story?

Dickens would LOVE this!

Generation Y and their "Great Expectations"!
Employers recruiting workers aged under 30 complain they don't take orders well, expect to be paid more, will often demand to be promoted within a year of joining and expect to be allowed to work flexibly.

A survey of more than 2,500 employers and managers by recruitment website CareerBuilder.com has identified stark generational differences between Generation Y and their managers, differences that it argues could be storing up real problems for the future.

I hate to be the one to mention this - but just for once people need to get a grip on reality - the "problems for the future" referred to have already arrived and are altering our world as we speak!

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Honest John? Hardly!

I really have no problem with people who make mistakes. "To err is human" as someone once said and I for one would like to be considered divine by being able to forgive such a slip.

I do however have a major problem with people who make a mistake and then lie about it! I have an even bigger problem when it is the Prime Minister who utters such self serving lies.

John Howard has denied that he ever uttered the words that have haunted him for the last few weeks - that he promised to keep interest rates at record lows. At first he denied it completely, then he suggested it was just part of an advert that only ran for two days and finally today he had no choice but to come clean when the words were firmly shown to have been uttered by him.

Any politician who lies once is likely to lie again.

With Mr Howard I may have been able to excuse his blatant lies about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as simply something he was misinformed about by his intelligence services, I was prepared to excuse him when he misrepresented the "children overboard affair" as another instance of being misinformed.

However on this occasion he has gone too far. I am afraid that I now am no longer able to make excuses for his behaviour or his lack of morals.

If he was a mere public servant employed in a government department he would have been given an option of resigning before being dismissed. He IS a servant of the public and since he has not resigned in embarrassment we, as the people who have given him our trust should now ensure that he is dismissed from office.

The fact that he continues to harp on about the Labor Party having lots of candidates who have been in the union movement is another case in point. I would rather ask Mr Howard whether his ethics and his skills in lying bald faced to the Australian public mirrors the code of conduct he has set for his Ministers as most of them are lawyers who practice truth bending for a living!

A picture of the future?


A Hungarian Blogger seems to have posted this remarkable picture.

(I have no idea what it was originally meant to represent.)

The picture struck me as a really neat representation of what will be left of the world following our current obsession to mine and otherwise use up the resources of this planet at a rate that is unsustainable.

What do YOU think?

Saturday, October 27, 2007

PANDORA

I wonder how many of my readers are familiar with the story of Pandora?

The Wikipedia version is probably as good as they come:

"In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman. Each god helped create her by giving her unique gifts. Zeus ordered her creation as a punishment for mankind, in retaliation for Prometheus' having stolen fire and then giving it to humans for their use. She is most famous for carrying a jar (pithos) (or box) containing all the world's evils. She releases these evils, but closes the lid before Hope can escape."

Sexist? Well you be the judge!

There is a modern Pandora right here in Australia.

PANDORA is actually an acronym for "Preserving and Accessing Networked Documentary Resources of Australia."

PANDORA, Australia's Web Archive, is a growing collection of Australian online publications, established initially by the National Library of Australia in 1996, and now built in collaboration with nine other Australian libraries and cultural collecting organisations.

How wonderful that someone at the National Library not only had the wit to create this acronym, but also to approve it's use.

The joy does not stop here though. Associated with this archive system is something called PANDAS and acronym for "The PANDORA Digital Archiving System"

How absolutely wonderful to know that one of the cutest, but most endangered species of animal on the face of the planet is now associated with this repository.

As governments in this and other countries have moved from paper based to electronic records there have been increased risks associated with a loss of accountability as physical documents can no longer be guaranteed to remain behind as evidence of what actually happened at key points in the decision making processes of government.

I applaud the work of all those people who are still trying to ensure that public servants, governments of whatever hue are kept accountable by leaving behind some trail of their communications. Their work represents the hope for the future and like Pandora's box the contents of their repositories may well be the only hope that future generations have for being able to delve into history and so to facilitate the capacity to learn from such history.

Alas, without such work and/or without paper records - evil may well have been released into the world - just like Pandora's story.

It is moot whether government decisions are recorded accurately and then stored so that they are not capable of being the subject of retrospective revisions.

It is also moot whether there is capacity for anyone to access records that the government of the day does not wish to release - witness the recent attempts by Peter Garrett to try and access records about the decision making process concerning the Tasmanian "Gunns" decision.

Without the work of all those involved in the PANDORA and PANDAS projects I suspect that like the Panda, truth and accountability of government and of public servants are on the endangered list.

Friday, October 26, 2007

What has happened to the staff at Centrelink?

A story published by the ABC contains some of the following elements:
  • a woman's welfare payment was cancelled because she did not attend an interview, even though it was because she was having chemotherapy for leukaemia and had recently had surgery,
  • a man with severe epilepsy was waiting in line at Centrelink when he suffered a seizure. Paramedics were treating him when his name was called and explained his case, but when the man returned from hospital he had a letter from Centrelink saying his payment had been suspended because he failed to attend an interview.
The Commonwealth Ombudsman, Mr Mcmillan, says these cases point to systemic issues that need investigation.
What a nice time to ask these questions in the press! Just before an election and when the organisation is in caretaker mode!

I for one would like to suggest some additional and/or (perhaps) different questions.
  • Does Centrelink have enough experienced, trained staff at present and the funds to pay them, to meet its obligations to provide a sensitive and sound service?
  • How many of the staff serving 'customers' are new?
  • How many of the new staff are adequately trained and supported by experienced supervisors?
  • How useful are the computerised tool suites that are provided to staff at the front line in dealing with issues such as those described in the article?
  • How many of the "rules" keep changing and how frequently?
  • What are the mechanisms by means of which staff are kept up to date on what to do with 'customers' who do not fit the standard mould (referred to internally as 'clean skins')
  • What is the current "throughput" of "customers" ie how many people are needing to be seen and attended to and how much time is 'allocated' to each?
When any organisation's culture dealing with sensitive personal issues is forced to take on the commercial constraints of the "time is money" philosophy something is likely to suffer - be it 'customers' or staff who are overworked and overstretched!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

The BEE all and end all of Urinals!

Andrew Liszewski reports at http://www.ohgizmo.com that "these urinals created by Clark Sorenson are definitely a work of art, but I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable ‘relieving myself’ on a gigantic flower. "

Like bees to honey would be my comment - after all - when you gotta go, you simply gotta go and never mind the flowers!

Fires In California

For those of us here in the National Capital of Australia it is a sense of deja vu that accompanies the stories we hear from California.

Only a few years ago our town was also surrounded by fires and we all learned to do our best to protect our homes and our families.

I am not sure if this is what makes me very sympathetic to what is going on over there or the fact that I actually have some distant relations who are impacted by this tragic event.

The size differential is staggering!

500,000 people were evacuated from their homes in California.

THAT is like ALL of Canberra and quite a few of the people in the surrounding districts for many miles around!

I wish all the families that are even remotely affected by the fires in California well - let's just hope that it rains there as well as here.

We could all do with some more moisture at this point and I do NOT mean sweat!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Finally!

Finally, John Howard has started off the process I called for on Monday.

There is now an offering for the Baby Boomers who have reached retirement age - especially those who are not really able to look after themselves all that well thanks to illness.

It's a beginning. It's not much - but it's a beginning.

See http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/23/2067711.htm
Prime Minister John Howard has revealed a $4 billion package for pensioners, carers, self-funded retirees and people with disabilities.

Mr Howard used a visit to the key Liberal marginal seat of Kingston in Adelaide to unveil the package which will see pensioners utility allowances jump from about $107 a year to $500.

Mr Howard says all up the move will benefit more than 2.8 million people. There is also a bonus for self-funded retirees with seniors' concession allowances to more than double.
Let's let the Kevin07 camp read the promises of the current government and let's hear what they have to offer as part of their ME TOO function in this election.

The Greens agree with me that this is really NOT much more than a beginning. Maybe they can push for more largess for those who have given their all for this country and now want to sit back and reap the benefits of their labour (and that was NOT meant as a political pun):

Greens leader Bob Brown says John Howard's commitment is a reach for the grey vote and is only a fraction of the funding needed.

"This is such a miserly contribution towards pensioners who are having it so tough and it's pretty disgusting that the Prime Minister can't do better," he said.

"He's put $34 billion over three years into tax cuts and he's going to put $4 billion over four years for pensioners, carers and self-funded retirees."

"Kill the Pigs!"

We have been reading about terrorists and the potential biosecurity hazard they pose. Forget them!

We now have a REAL threat to worry about!

"Feral pig movements pose biosecurity hazard: research"

This article is written by: Anna Salleh - A journalist with ABC Science Online, Anna Salleh has a PhD on the role of the media in debates over the risk of new technologies. She also has degrees in science and journalism, and has worked as a researcher on Quantum, The Investigators (ABC TV) and Insight (SBS TV) programs. She has contributed articles to New Scientist and Australasian Science magazines, Medical Observer, The Independent Monthly, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Canberra Times and produced stories for ABC Radio's Health Report. A former policy officer and journalist at the Australian Consumers' Association, she has also worked as a journalism lecturer and has contributed to a number of books.

With such impeccable qualifications her article is not only highly believable, but truly frightening.

It is backed up by more stories on the ABC like:

"Feral pigs devastate QLD crops"

This story was written by Mark Willacy who is very familiar with the issues in the middle east and with terrorism.

If we fear the dangers of terrorists bringing their biosecurity hazards to Australia and we spend a fortune on trying to prevent this from happening then WHY do we not spend some money to get rid of the problems that we have, from what Dr Peter Spencer of Murdoch University in Perth says amounts to "upwards of 20 million of these [feral pigs]"

Let's have a national policy!

"KILL THE PIGS!" could be the slogan that starts off a national hunt to find and bring down the threat of these terrifying feral pigs.

Former soldier Paul Smith runs Boar Busters and it is his job to hunt down the feral pigs. He and his trappers have shot 476 pigs so far this year.

"A feral pig is a survivor, a tough animal," he said.

"It's highly mobile, it's like fighting a clandestine operation almost - they come and they go in the night. You rarely see your adversary, and it's popping up all over the place at different times."

http://www.abc.com.au/news/stories/2007/08/24/2013993.htm

476 pigs out of upward of twenty million? That's not even making a dent in the problem!

Where is the support from those opposed to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan? They could argue that we need special weapons and tactics to find and eliminate the terror in our midst.

Bring home the SAS, they have skills that we need!

All hues of the political spectrum could finally find something they can completely agree on. Even farmers and environmentalists can find common ground - albeit for different reasons.
  • Where is the national resolve and cooperation that we would expect from state and federal governments?
  • Why is this issue not as high on the agenda of politicians in the national debate as horse flu?
  • Why are there not millions of dollars being committed to the extermination of the feral pig population?
  • Why are the people who are so concerned about the environment and our health not more vocally outraged by the continuing presence in our midst of a population of animals that endanger us all and appear to be almost as numerous as human beings on this continent?
Let us have a different kind of 'pork' that is the meat of the political campaign in these elections!

Monday, October 22, 2007

Politicans and the Worm!

It was a triumphant return for the controversial "worm" last night with Channel Nine's coverage of the leaders' debate snaffling the top spot in Melbourne ratings and third for all programs nation-wide.

But the "worm" had to wriggle through a political minefield which included the plug twice being pulled on Nine's direct feed from the debate, forcing it to take emergency measures.

The ensuing media imbroglio of accusation and counter-accusation is likely to be dealt with at a special meeting of the board of the National Press Club, which admitted cutting the direct feed, this afternoon.

So how big was the worm?


[File photo] (Getty Images: ANSTO)

Prime Minister, John Howard, disgusted by the fact that a feed to the Packer Media upstaged his presentation on the ABC - was especially displeased by the use of the "Worm" as an indicator of his success - or otherwise in his debate with Prime Ministerial aspirant Kevin Rudd. He appears to be telling people about how THICK it was!

Peter Costello - the heir apparent, was of course a little bit at odds with the PM's description of the worm, when he congratulated John Howard (2nd-R) standing with his wife Janette (R) and Alexander Downer (C-background) on the occasion of his debate with Australian opposition leader Kevin Rudd at the Great Hall of Parliament House in Canberra, 21 October 2007 in front of hundreds of spectators. That was only to be expected.

Not to be out done, the Environment Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, himself an ambitious politician who has aspirations for the top job was probably also telling the crowd about what he thought of the size of the worm.
(File photo) (AAP: Tracey Nearmy)

Not having watched the Channel 9 coverage my question is did they really see the worm or is this simply more spin?

A Downer for Palestinian Leaders or perhaps more cynicism about the elections

Or more accurately - Australian Foreign Minister - Alexander Downer is due to meet the Palestinian leadership later today as part of a two-day trip to the Middle East.

He is due to announce a $7 million aid package, including $3 million through the UN, to help families in Gaza and refugees in Lebanon.

see http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/06/27/1963031.htm

I wonder if this is yet another campaign to try and win the hearts and minds of voters who have relatives in those countries? After all it could be a way for the politicians here to save money for those of their constituents who have arrived in Australia and would have to provide the support for members of their extended families who are still in refugee camps back in the "home countries".

Kevin Rudd or "How the Worm Turns"

After the great "debate" last night on the ABC and reported by some aficionados of the Packer media empire as "How the worm turns" I think it is time for some real focus on this aspiring leader of Australia.

Wikipedia seems to have something to say among many other sites.

Search for Kevin Rudd 1957 (his birth year)
There is the occasional occult reference as in: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~dymock/instal35.html where there is an article about Kevin Rudd's astrological chart or perhaps more interestingly ttp://www.astrologyoz.com/edtamplin/kevinrudd.htm

Apart from that it's mostly spin or the truth depending on your point of view!

What's in a Name or NOT the PM!

It appears that John Howard the PM of Australia has found out the value of the Internet and so he and his publicists have managed to enter the information revolution and make his name available to prospective voters.

Alas there are others out there who wish to bring THEIR view of the PM to our attention as well, for example: http://www.101usesforajohnhoward.com/

And of course there are misleading references and unrelated sites.

Having seen the charismatic John Howard PM on TV in the latest debate I did manage to recall that there was another actor by the same name.

John Howard featured at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0397397/

To tell the difference between this person and our PM you only have to check out the differences in hair.

Of course there are those that want to cash in on the PM's lack of hair as well - try and look at:
http://www.advancedhair.com.au/2004/johnny.html

(AND DO PUSH THE BUTTONS DEPENDING ON YOUR VOTER PREFERENCE!)

There are other mentions of a John Howard on the web, not the least of which is the "John Howard Society" in Canada. Of course the name used by this group is most likely based on a very different John Howard whose biography can be found at: http://www.johnhoward.ca/bio.htm

When you see the Australian PM on his daily walks to try and get or at least remain fit
y
ou could be misled by being referred to yet other sites:
http://johnhoward.net/training/ or http://www.ultracycling.com/about/hof_howard.html

Last, but by no means least - check out the John Howard Hotel in London - it should suit our PM as a place to stay when in that town if and when he is no longer PM.

It is within walking distance of most of the tourist sights.
That way like some other former PMs (Bob Hawke comes to mind) he can stay in the public spotlight as he jogs his way around Hyde Park or at least is seen as going one way to a lip smacking encounter with an Aussie beer at Earl's Court or perhaps a quick visit to the Tennis or the cricket!