Gender Bias

On RN's "Australia Talks" yesterday, the discussion was on domestic violence but what seemed to bubble to the surface was gender bias. The same is true for raising children and things like maternity leave - i.e. this is an issue for females.

Bollocks. If anything's clear from the discussion, its that there we shouldn't stereotype these issues and every case is different. Let me give an example. Say a mother wants to actively pursue her career and has a supporting husband who would be happy to play caregiver. Why aren't we arguing equally for his right to be paid to stay at home? Similarly, women are just as good at domestic violence - not so much physically, but mental abuse.

The point is, there are problems and they need to be addressed. By giving them a gender bias, you tend to alienate the other side (particularly those with a conservative bias - poor bastards) which then turns the issue into a hot potato. The resultant affect of that - nothing gets done.

So please, take out the emotive gender language and focus on the problem. Violence against partners be they male, female, same sex, etc. Providing care for our children be it home care from a parent or family member, a home care "mum", child care, etc. We should value the decision of others and ensure their interests are looked after.

Prediction - Return to Social Politics

Here's my boldest prediction for a while.

We're about to implode! All Western economies are about to have a MASSIVE crash (driven by god know how many potential bombs - Housing Deflation, CDO's, Sub-Prime Markets, Chinese "Recession", Resources Bust) - whatever the trigger, the knock on consequence to most western societies will be massive.

• Thousands will loose their homes
• Unemployment will skyrocket
• Housing prices will plummet

I think you can see where this is heading - who's going to suffer the pain? You and me.

Thus the prediction AWAY from selfish politics and individualism. There will be a massive loss of confidence in business and people will wake up to the realisation of socialism.

My only concern - we go too far left. We've already swung too far to the right and see where it's taken us - so lets hope the backlash isn't as severe.

So, when will it happen? Well, lets offer some suggestions/triggers:

• Nov/Dec 2007 - Sub-prime Crisis in US extends it's TRUE reach
• Aug 2008 - China shuts down spending after "best ever Olympics"
• Oct 2008 - US Invades Iran to prop up US republicans

It's coming folks - batten down the hatches...

Thoughts - Housing Affordability

I've had this in my mind for a while, but a recent article on the ABC website finally pushed me to write something.

So, why are houses so unaffordable?

I think there are some obvious reasons:

• Greed (those who can borrow are buying up big time) - which means,
• Negative Gearing is part of the problem
• Personal Expectation - we all want McMansion's and not happy with something smaller
• (Historically) Low interest rates
• Greed(=Debt) is Good

It's these last two that I suspect are our biggest concerns. Why? Well, when interest rates go up (and they will eventually), the debt load currently in place will prove to be unsustainable and the resultant collapse will be horrific.

So, is there a solution? Well, perhaps Negative Gearing has had it's day? Problem with this is that there still appears to be a supply problem (i.e. there are still plenty of people wanting to rent) - so killing off one problem would probably just create another. Oh, and the impact it would have on house prices would be a precipitous as higher interest rates.

So what else? The article mentioned "Densification" and the pushback against it from the likes of "Save Our Suburbs". The solution they say is to allow growth on the urban fringe (where it will eventually be uninhabitably thanks to rising fuel prices) - but what gets me is this is classic Nimbyism. I've got my nirvana - go make a mess somewhere else.

We're experiencing a degree of inner city development in Townsville, but NONE of it has been affordable - but why? What's driving these developments into ridiculous dollars? Maybe we need more of it (and increase supply) - there's certainly plenty of demand. Another problem, I'll suggest, is design. Many of the unit designs are shockers (make poor use of the land), 6-packs are part of that problem (historically), but even half-decent developments are problematic because the block next door can look completely different. Why's this a problem? Well, after a while it looks like a dogs breakfast. Take a look at some of the industrial developments in Townsville (e.g. Garbutt). Every building is different and if an epileptic drove through there, they'd have a fit.

Compare that to European cities where ENTIRE blocks are moulded out of the same design. Yes, I know that can be stifling, but any measure of higher-density must surely meet this criteria.

So, what I'd like to see is more of a "suburban block based vision" established where density is completely redesigned across a larger area.

Okay, I'm starting to ramble on this one. More ideas later...

Thoughts - Pre-emptive (Heart) Attack

You know, I used to get bemused by the Heart Foundations flood advertising it started a couple of years ago claiming that "their tick was not for sale". It all seemed rather pointless with so few products (particularly mainstream ones) using the tick.

Then it suddenly became obvious ... when McDonald's and McCain's Pizza all started announcing their "heart foundation tick of approvals".

Was this a pre-emptive campaign to garner credibility for a label ahead of selling out to the highest bidder?

Thoughts: Pell & Hell

I think we were all shocked to see Cardinal Pell's intervention in the NSW vote for Stem Cell research. Questions have been raised whether or not he should be charged with making a threat against a sitting member so as to influence their vote - an offence in all states in OZ.

So here's my two bob's worth on the issue:

• If it was a threat, then he should be charged.
• Mr Pell seems to think that the MPs are voting for themselves and ignoring the fact that they are in fact voting as proxy for the citizens in their electorate. I for one would be aghast that my MP was putting his personal beliefs ahead of the wishes of the electorate.
• If this sort of thing is to continue, then perhaps we need to take these decisions out of the hands of the MPs and return it to the people by way of referendum. I'd like to see him work his smarmy ways on a bunch of anonymous voters...
  

Suggestion - It's Just Not Cricket...

There's been a lot of bluster RE: the looming tour of Australia to Zimbabwe. Apart from the fact that the tour shouldn't be going ahead, what peeves me about this is how the Australian Government seems to want to defer blame onto Cricket Australia than wear any criticism themselves.

If I'm reading the tea leaves correctly, the argument goes like this. The Government is trying to convince Cricket Australia to withdraw from the tour (ABC News Article) however, but pulling out unilaterally, CA is likely to incur a $2m fine, possible sanction from other cricket countries (affecting future income) and likely lawsuits for losses. In response, the government has said it will pay the $2m fine.

However, if I'm reading what CA are saying, if they are unable to tour because of the actions taken by a third party (i.e. if the Australian Government imposes sanctions and stops them from going), then they'll be liable for NOTHING! Jack squat! Nix!

So, what we're seeing here is the government trying to play politics through a sporting organisation because it itself is too weak wristed to take action!!!

In my mind, it's easy to work out who the bad guys are here...

EDIT (4/6): And as we've now worked it, this is exactly what the ACB was eluding to and, to their credit, Howard's lot have seen fit to intervene and ban the Aussie team from touring.

How About: Fair Pay?

With much of Howard's "fair pay" rehetoric ringing foul in many's ears, how about we follow the Norwegian model of publishing everyone's taxable income each year (see BBC Article)?

This would allow workers to compare income with their colleagues and to stop the mushroom syndrome from being applied to the wage bargaining process. What a way to stop driving income to the bottom. Make it public information!!!

Edit (4/6): And we see it again in today's article RE: Women being affected by AWA's (story on Radio National's "Life Matter's" this morning). Folks, let just make it all be public (the AWA's) and all this will go away!!!

Equality?

I sometimes wonder whether the Feminism movement would be better to strive for "Equality" as much as they do for "women only" rights. From my perspective, much of what they're asking for are equally valid goals for many men (okay, some of us) as it is women.

I crave an environment where, as parents, we can access affordable childcare or, if we so wish, offer "parental" leave so EITHER parent can choose to stay at home for a period. Surely it comes to the circumstances of the individual? In our case, I'm firmly entrenched in a career - so if I opt out for a period, the impact is unlikely to be severe. However, my wife is breaking into a new career where every foothold is important. So why can't I take "paternity leave" and care for the children so my wife can continue to bolster her career? Taking a one-side only view on things is going to alienate many men - because they feel like they're being left out.

The same now applies to wages. I'd like to see more transparency to wages generally as, in this day and age, we're all equally screwed. In fact, I'd LOVE to see the Norwegian (or was it some other scandinavian country?) system brought in whereby ALL incomes are made public available. That way you can check what your colleague is getting and thus you have a leg to stand on asking for more.

Economic Rationalism & Competition Policy vs Reality

I've long argued against some of the idiocy that arose from Howard's "Competition Policy" - a lot of it stank of economic rationalism for the sake of idology - the market knows best.

Classic case in point was the Dairy Industry. Now deregulated, many once prosperous dairy regions (Malanda, Mackay, Sunshine Coast, etc) were left at the mercy of supposedly "efficient" Victorian farmers. So we now are flooded by cheap Victorian milk whilst the local suppliers struggle to survive.

Yet this decision alone smacked of hypocracy. The so called "efficiency" these farmers gain have come from MASSIVE water subsidies whereby incredibly cheap water is supplied into regions where previously dairy was not viable.

However, my biggest concern was one of staking too much in one hand. Whilst it may be great we can get cheap milk from one region to supply Australia, it also means that one major disaster has the power to throw milk supplies into jeopardy. The obvious one would be an outbreak of a disease like Foot & Mouth. With thousands of head of Cattle having to be destroyed, the milk market would go into meltdown. An unlikely scenario, but with similar outbreaks in the UK, it seemed like it could happen.

Well, we've now apparently got armageddon looming. We've been told that, unless there is significant rain in the catchments of the Murray Darling basin within 6-8 weeks, the draw of water for irrigation will stop. That means all that lovely cheap milk production will likely come to an end.

Let's hope that Malanda haven't been savaged too badly by Howard's disasterous policies!!!

Prediction - YouTube = Google's Demise

I've been meaning to post this one for a while...

I have to say that I was stunned by Google's idiocy buying YouTube for an astronomical amount of money (what was it? $2b?). Is this a sign that the money hungry been counters are now in charge?

Google has always inspired because of it's ability to create wonderful web applications out of nothing: Gmail, Google Earth, Writely, etc. Yet it went out to market and purchased YouTube - why the sudden change of direction? Worse, it's hardly a unique idea - proven by the vast number of competitors in the market - and worse, it's vapourware. YouTube is only fashionable - it's not going to be a long-term product. What happens when the next YouTube hits the market? Google will be left with a $2b dead duck around its neck.

Worse, it now appears to have become a target because now there's someone to blame. Previously, valuing YouTube was difficult so there was really no-one to sue. Now Viacom et al have an easy target - one of the biggest tech stocks in the market!!!

So, will this really bring Google to its knees? Time will tell I suppose...

What The? Same Survey - Two Interpretations?

I'm a little staggered to work out how this happened:

BBC - Pessimism 'growing among Iraqis' vs The OZ: It's better than Saddam, say hopeful Iraqis

How can the same survey be seen in completely different ways? "Lies, damned lies and statistics" I suppose?

Double Speak - Telstra's "NowWeAreTalking.com.au"

Ah, the nerve of the biggest monopoly in the country!

We received a brochure from Telstra today regarding their propaganda site www.nowwearetalking.com.au which is arguing for regulation to be removed so Telstra can provide proper Broadband for "Australian's".

And how does it propose that Telstra should be "unshackled"? By regulating the price of ULL so they can fuck off all the leaches stealing their cream in the capitals. What a load of old shit!

Don't you love it? It's called competition Telstra - you guys bought into this shit, now wear it. They use language like "our competitors like cherry picking" and "they make good profits from the city customers" and then argue this is reducing their ability to meet the obligations of the Universal Service Obligation.

They even have a whole section arguing that Telstra shareholders are subsiding 90% of the USO! Fuck you idiots - it was hardly a fucking secret when you took this on!

They also complain of having to "hand over" the ULL to their competitors. Look you idiots, the network is a national monopoly - if you don't like this responsibility, then sell the network back to the government and let them run it. You can stay in shitty services because that's about all your good for.

God they pricks have some gaul!!! Made worse by all these "notable Australian's" (all of whom have significant stakeholdings in Telstra) arguing the case for reduced regulation.

So, here's my spin on what will happen. If Howard is returned, the regulation will evaporate. We're already seeing an outright, government sanctioned attack on ISPs so stripping back the regs will be next. Once Telstra have anchored themselves and won back their monopoly, just watch how quickly they stick out their hands for regional/rural service provision. "Oh, it costs shareholders too much still" or "if you want national coverage, it should be paid for by the nation".

Oh, and I'm still waiting for Countrywide to be shutdown - my guess it will come once the regs are removed...

Suggestion - Parity Pricing Road vs Rail

Why is it that the Rail industry is only group seemingly forced to pay for "Externalities"?

• For example, the UK govt agrees to push up Lorry Tares to 40tonnes. The knock on, every bridge in the UK needs to be strengthened. Who pays? The trucking industry? No, the Rail industry!
• In Qld, a ruling is made that QR must fence railway lines to "protect children" (or some rot). As a consequence, QR has outlaid MILLIONS on fencing throughout the state. Yet these same fences often run along side busy roadways - you guessed it - that are UNFENCED!

We see this sort of bullshit time and time again and then there's the right wing mantra - full cost recovery - viz, the railway must pay its own way. Yeah, like the truck industry "pays its own way" - the whole lot is massively subsidised.

But I have a solution. Whilst road users continue to enjoy toll free roads, the rail users should enjoy the same privileges. What I suggest is a simple flat "vehicle" registration charge so that the more a "vehicle" is used, the more profitable it is - which is exactly the same logic that sees trucks plying our roads everyday. If EVERY truck journey incurred the same horrendous costs that rail users are levied, watch them clear the roads faster than you can imagine.

So, lets stop the imbalance and lets:

• Open Rail to FULL Competition (operators)
• The only charge on rails should be a per vehicle charge
• Make the State fund the contruction, maintenance and care of the railway network (rails and signals) but get out of operations (i.e. sell off the bit of QR that drives and operates trains).

And then sit back, watch rail prosper and watch the trucks leave the roads in the thousands!!!

What The: Australia Post Advertising?

Okay, what's going on here?

Over the last week, we've had a barrage of ads for Australia Post - a different ad for every day of the week. They're pretty good ads (as far as ads go) but what the bloody hell are they for?

Aussie Post have a monopoly (well, they currently do), so why the need to advertise? My guess is as follows:

a) Howard is about to strip Aussie Post of its monopoly and "deregulate" the postal system in OZ. Tony (Blair) did it in Blighty, so it must be good for us.
b) Howard is about to sell off Aussie Post.
c) Both the above is going to happen.

Is this going to slip in undetected? Time will tell...

EDIT (4/6): Oh, why am I not surprised to see this ...???

Why: Airports don't have clocks?

Why is it that anywhere you really need a clock, none can be found?

Case in point - Airports. You regularly hear reports of folks not arriving at a depature gate "in time" for a flight. Yet, have you ever tried to determine the time in an Airport? I cannot find a normal clock ANYWHERE in ANY airport that I've ever visited. Sure, there are clocks, but only if you are standing in front of the departures or arrivals screens.

But who does that? Most folk are sitting down watching the world go by - and where there is never a clock in sight.

Idea - Ministry vs Department

It's long bothered me how, at every invokation of government or cabinet reshuffle, the powers that be see fit to rebrand every department - DEVETIR becomes DITR becomes DETIR becomes DEVTR becomes ... as the mix of Departments keeps changing.

But why? Why do we waste thousands on new logo's, new letter head, new everything just to reflect a new political expediency?

My suggestion - why not leave the departments unchanged unless there really is going to be a true amalgumation. So leave them at their bear minimums. The Department of:

• Employment
• Training
• Education
• Main Roads
• Police
• etc

And then simply create political ministries that link them together:

• Ministry of Employment, Training & Industrial Relations
• Ministry of Police & Corrective Services

That way only the politicial paperwork changes but the Departmental stuff doesn't have to. From a business or citizen perspective, we don't care if the government of the day sees fit to amalgumate functions, we still want to deal with the Department.

Yes, it may not always be the case and there may be good reason for joining functions - but if that's the case then perhaps the belong together - but I think it could save us a small fortune in renaming costs.

Prediction - The Disguise of the 99-Year Lease

A quick one - these 99-year leases the libs are touting as the solution to all of Aboriginal Australia's problems.

The argument goes that by allowing 99-year leases, suddenly banks will borrow money to people living on the Dole so they can build a house.

Who are they kidding?

My guess - it's all about land rights and tenure to the land. I reckon they've had legal opinion that if the traditional owners relinguish the land via a lease, then they'll end up loosing their land rights.

Just my prediction anyhow...

Thoughts - Work "Choices"

I'm really amazed at the stupidity of people who are throwing away allowances for short-term gain. You know the deal, drop penalty rates, over-time, etc for a sizeable increase in salary.

It looks really nice upfront - until you get burnt.

I know of a recent example where exactly this occurred in a MAJOR (ASX100) employer. A bunch of IT support staff accepted a $4000 increase in salary in leui of overtime, penalty rates and on-call allowances to provide 24x7 IT support. Up front it looked fantastic.

Problem was, they received no further increases in Salary for nearly 5 years!

See the problem? That $4000 is now a $0 increase thanks to inflation - and they no longer have any penalties, overtime or on-call provisions.

People - OPEN YOUR EYES - stop looking at the short term and think long term. What appears good on paper today could well bite you in the arse in a few years time!

Howard must be laughing all the way to the polls!!!!

Suggestion - Abrams M1A1 in Queensland...

I was interested to read a letter to the editor today from Major General Ian Gordon, Deputy Chief of Army, arguing that the Abrams M1A1 was the right choice of replacement tank for the army (the fact they're second hand, too heavy and too wide).

One of his arguments is that they can be transported by rail from Darwin to other parts of the country. But lets see what that means in Queensland:

Let's compare the two beasts:

M1A1	w3.64 m	l 7.92 m	h 2.43 m	63.0 tonnes
Leopard	w3.37 m	l 9.54 m	h 2.62 m	42.5 tonnes

The concern here is the additional width (nearly 30cm) and weight (nearly 20 tonnes). In Queensland, the Leopard tanks can be moved by rail around the country - seeing a stand of flatbeds outside of the area north of Rocky is not uncommon - but with an additional 30cm to cater for, I suspect this will be too big for our loading gauge.

Which means they'll need to be moved by road - which will mean significant inconvenience on our lovely narrow highways - let alone the damage caused by the additional 20 tonnes rolling overhead.

Good idea? Not in Queensland I suspect.

Suggestion - Why's the Military on the Nose...

Much has been made recently of Mr Howard's greasy attempt to lure folk into military service. His new "gap year", "try before you buy" is nothing more than a half arsed attempt to bring National Service back in. You can see the approach - start by making it voluntary - of course, no one will sign up - then, following an electoral win, they'll tie it to the Dole, then it'll be compulsary for anyone 18-20 on a "random" selection.

Yet, I'm staggered the government is unable to see the obvious reason why military service is on the nose - namely, the politicisation of the ADF. It's been going on for a while now - firstly Tampa, then Children Overboard - both used by an encumbent government to retain power and knowingly corrupted the ADF to its end by distorting the facts and forcing them to stay quiet.

Now of course we have the Iraq debacle - sent into a completely partisan fight to suck up to Bush on a campaign clearly NOTHING to sdo with the watr on terror - resulting of course in taking the eyes of Afghanistan which is another looming basket case. Had they held their will against Bush and sent our troops into campaigns with a TRUE moral agenda, then perhaps it wouldn't be so "on the nose".

Aussie troops have long prided themselves on their humanitarian position, by befriending the locals which in turn helps to defeat the enemy combatitans. Without that, who are your friends?

So, Mr Howard, pull us out of Iraq, reaffirm our commitment in Afghanistan and pledge to commit to a fight where we have a moral position, and perhaps the ADF will have a future.

Question - The Rush to Conflict?

I'm amazed at the astounding certainty that our political leaders have regarding North Korea's recent "alledged" nuclear tests. There's been suggestion for days that it wasn't a nuclear bomb, yet from the rhetoric surrounding the event, you'd never know.

Yet, we have conflicting comments like this from the BBC which claims that "US scientists found that there were traces of radioactive gas in the air near the site of last Monday's alleged nuclear test." So, here we have the most secretative country in the world, where we're repeatedly told that no-one can get inside the country to find out what's going on, yet we can sample the air near the bomb site!

I'm not trying to argue that the event didn't occur - in fact, I'd be surprised if it didn't - but I worry at the "call to arms" that the media has jumped on a la "WMD in Iraq" or "Children Overboard". No questioning, no doubts, all certainty. When will we learn from our mistakes?

Thoughts - Who's Cashing In???

In the rash of reports (here and here) of people "cashing in" on Steve Irwin's death, and particularly on his rememberance service, I'm staggered that no-one has yet pointed to the fairly blatant "cashing in" that the Irwin empire is staging.

Despite original plans to have the service at Lang Park (or Suncorp Stadium) where it could easily accommodate the "greiving masses", it was decided (apparently at Terri's request) to hold it at Australia Zoo. Why is this "cashing in"? Well, if there were to sell memorabilia or merchandising at Lang Park it would have been "tacky" and most likely have been an outcry. Whereas, if they sell truckloads of shit at Australia Zoo, it can be done under the guise of "running a business".

I wonder if anyone will have the guts in the media to say it???

Prediction - Energy Efficiency & Sustainable Products in Housing

I recently went to an investment seminar and subsequent followup meetings. In this I was told that I should built a stock "executive, 4 bedroom" house and make a killing.

This really bugged me because I'm so tired of seeing these crap buildings (especially in our climate) because it's the current fashion in Melbourne or Sydney.

I object to this on two counts:

1. It's foul for our climate - shit, we're building low ceiling, besser block houses with no eaves and black roofs - this in a climate where Summer temps typically exceed 32 degrees! Who's the idiots building this shit?

2. It's going to be economic suicide - with the price of energy expect to rise sharply in coming years (Peak Oil, Climate Change, Carbon Taxes, etc), then it seems idiocy to be building a "stock" house made for current fashions.

On #2 alone, it would make much more sense economically to be building low impact, sustainable and energy efficient houses NOW so you can cash in when the prices start to rise. Think how much easier it will be to rent a property when you can offer a tenant SIGNIFICANT savings on expenses!

Confirmed: Israel Bombed First...

As confirmed on Democracy Now (July 14 interview with Noam Chomsky), my recollection WAS correct. Following the kidnap of the Israeli soldiers by Hezbolla, Israel conducted massive bombing in retaliation resulting in the death of some 60 people. At this point, Hezbolla retaliated - yet they are copping the blame.

Shame on us, shame on Israel, shame on the media for allowing the reverse to be peddled as truth every day...

Observation - Expensive Training = Lower Aussie Wages

We're seeing an increasing trend at the moment.

The right are pushing to fuck up the national training strategy (e.g. high Uni fees, stuff up TAFE, etc) and then pay scant regard to providing future trained resources. This is happening now.

The downstream impact of this is that we have a huge skills crisis in this country. So how are we fixing this? Are we providing more training? Are we subsidising areas requiring skills development? No (well, except for Doctors but that's thanks to radical Unionism (AMA)), instead we bring in skilled resources from overseas.

Why - obviously this is a planned strategy to force down wages across the board.

On ya Johhny - fuck the unions, fuck up Uni's and then start fucking with us ... you bastards!

Why - Ceasefire Is Not Offered?

Okay, I can understand why Israel doesn't want a ceasefire until they've sorted out Hezbollah.

But why on earth can't our leaders ask for a temporary ceasefire - perhaps a couple of days - to allow innocents to flee the area? Once it was over then Israel could bomb the crap out of the place knowing, with some legitimacy, that they'd offered people the chance to leave safely?

Who's On First?

I'd love to relive history so I can work out if Israel is telling a huge nasty. They are arguing that Israel is defending itself after Hezbollah "invaded" Israel, killed and kidnapped soldiers and started raining Katyusha rockets down on Northern Israel.

Except, my recollection (which may be wrong) is different. There's no problem with the bit about Hezbollah killing and kidnapping, but I do wonder about the rockets. I could've sworn that Israel started that by bombing the crap out of Southern Lebanon - to which Hezbollah retaliated.

I could be wrong (perhaps it just wasn't reported that way), but it would seem that they are responding to Israel's agression. Why couldn't Israel simply send in a targetted group to rescue it's soldiers?

DEBUNKED - Prediction - Terrorist In Canberra

Well, what a day.

Yesterday we had former defence minister Ian McDonald make the claim of an "agreement" between Howard and Costello prior to the 1994 spill of Downer effectively saying that Howard only wanted two (2) terms before standing aside for Costello.

By morning, Howard had blankly ruled out that a deal was ever done - end of story, or so we thought. Later in the day, Costello dropped the bomb - in his opinion there had been an agreement - and frankly, he's fucked all of them.

Why? Well, Howard's credibility is shot (honest John ain't so honest after all) and, should Howard push on, Costello has just provided Labor with it's campaign slogan - "how can you trust Howard if he lies to the closest people in his own party?". But Costello is equally stuffed because he lacks the numbers to overthrow Howard and by now openly coming out and effectively calling Howard a liar, he's not likely to gain friends quickly. So, in one swift move, Costello has killed both of their future aspirations - possibly the greatest political suicide of our generation.

My guess is that (yet another) deadline for Howard to quit has passed and so Costello has realised that if it didn't happen now, it would never happen. If Howard went to another election, by then Costello would be nearing retirement so why bother? So, he's thrown the incendery in instead, deciding to take Howard out with him...

Tonite Bishop tried arguing there was never an agreement because, as it was before they'd even reached power, there was effectively nothing to offer. What a load of shite! Clearly Costello put his own future as leader ON HOLD so Howard would go up to the party room unopposed. If a deal WASN'T done, he wouldn't have held back his nomination. Clearly this means that a deal had been struck.

We've also had some comment that Costello's credibility is shot because he's repeatedly denied rumours of a deal. But clearly Costello has denied the allegation till now as part of loyality - going far beyond and putting the party's interests ahead of his own - he put the party first for 2 elections or 5 years (I'm amazed he lasted this long).

No, this is not an attempt to yeild office from Howard - it is instead an deliberate attempt to unseat Howard ... at his own demise. Who would have thought that Australia's first suicide bomber would come from the Liberal Party?

Edit (8/5/07): Well, Howard continues to amaze as does his resilience. Currently down in the pools, I still think he's a good chance for another win (question this is, who will be PM?).

DEBUNKED - Prediction - GBRMPA's Demise...

Well, it looks like the right may have had a win over GBRMPA. After months of threats pre-election to close them down for bad decisions RE: the rezoning (which, admitted was pretty poor) comes a rumour that GBRMPA is about to be shutdown (or scaled down at least).

The following item on the ABC site was most concerning for the lack of support from Ian McDonald arguing that a "presence" would be maintained in Townsville and other coastal areas.

Presence - sounds like they're going to put shop fronts in and move the lot back to Canberra (where they can reign in all those rampant marxist scientists). But be warned, these sort of rumours have circulated before and some think that a report (as yet to be released) RE: the rezoning process is going to be scathing and will result in a massive overhaul.

Edit (8/5/07): Well, it's nearly been 12 months and GBRMPA is still going strong. Looks like I called this one incorrectly!

Prediction - QNI B-Double Drama's

For some reason, everyone seemed to miss the "50 b-doubles per day, 6 days a week" going out to QNI from the Port as a result of the latest expansion plans. No rail movement, it's all by truck.

I wonder if someone will wake up before they start? My guess it'll be a non-issue till people realise what 100 truck movements per days means to their roads....

Question - East Timor's Troubles...???

I'm still having trouble trying to work out the situation in East Timor. We're led to believe there is this huge political division between East and West - but surely this doesn't come from nowhere - there has to have been a history of it to be this bloody now - but why have we never heard about it before.

We've also heard about possible peturbations from Indonesia - trying to unsettle the country. But what about Australia? I recall hearing at one point that Alkatiri was considering a socialist state which would have pissed off our incumbent government no end - particularly after all the hand waving RE: the oil and gas rights in the Timor Sea.

So, it has me wondering - who has the most to gain out of this? Indonesia - yes, as an unsettled country makes it a target for "resettlement" so that law and order can be reimposed. But I think Australia has more to gain. If it can swing in a more sympathetic government, it could:

• Water down the Timor Sea treaty
• Knock any idea of becoming a socialist state into touch - nothing could be worse than having a marxist government on your doorstep (akin to Venezuela) who wants to look after their citizens before it looks after the interests of capital.

Which makes this article all the more interesting. Make you wonder ....

What If: We're Right about Everything...

I've often wondered if the sceptics RE: Global Warming and Peak Oil (typically the NeoCons, the religious conservatives and the generally ignorant) have ever thought "hey, what if these nutcases are right?".

It's an argument I've thought of taking with the "head in the sands" types I meet regularly and ask them - "what if I'm right? If I'm wrong, then at worse, I'm going to look like a fool. But if I'm right, then are you really willing to ignore the possible consequences?"

Just a thought...

Why - Are We All Skitso?

I've come to the conclusion that we're all a bunch of hypocritical, do one thing say the other, one minute left but thiuking right (and visa versa) bunch of fools.

Look at the things that piss us off - particularly when it involves government involvement.

We all complain about pedaphiles and want our kids protected ... but when a school bans cameras at a swim meet, we tear the organisers to pieces.

We all want affordable healthcare ... but if anyone thinks about increasing the medicare levy then look out.

We think the world is too violent ... but are aggreived that we can't carry an automatic weapon around with us (or worse, have to apply for a licence to have one!).

We think the government is too leniant with criminals ... but no-one stops at Stop signs anymore and are aghast when we're caught speeding, making all sorts of excuses why we should be excused that one time.

We become a bunch of neurotic whingers that want everything controlled and stopped ... as long as it doesn't impact on me. Yet another sign we are becoming self obsessed...

Fox News' Obsession with (Bad News) Iraq

I was stuck by a comment made by the likes of Bill O'Reilly once in the media about the "liberal" media's obsession with the bad news stories coming out of Iraq and not allowing coverage of any of the positives.

Well, recently we signed up for cable and my regular channel surfings takes my via Fox News - and all I EVER see is ... bad news Iraq stories. Coverage of bombings, terrorism, attacks, american deaths - even the positives are wrapped up in dour, depressing coverage. Yet, when I compare this to Sky, CNN or BBC - nothing. Iraq doesn't rate a mention unless something significant is happening - but on Fox, it's EVERY news break has an Iraq story.

So, is this yet another case of the wolf crying fowl?

Urban Design - Why do we get it sooooo wrong???

Brisbane and the South East corner of Queensland is slowly dying. It thinks it is a young, vibrant city - and indeed, the city of Brisbane certainly is a stunner - just a pity it has come at the cost of the urban fringe which is ensuring that it slowly squeezes the life out of the South East corner.

But why has this had to happen. Many have argued for years that this was coming - that without a suitable hand on the tiller and with careful and planned development, that Brisbane would soon become this horrible urban smear stretching from Noosa in the north to Coolongatta in the South. And, unsurprising, this horrible vision has come true - and look at the consequences:

• Core public services (water, hospitals, public transport, roads) all straining under the load
• Water at a premium
• Land at a premium

And at what cost? What of:

• The health of its citizens?
• The health of the environment?
• The viability of the entire region?

And yet, it could have all been avoided.

Brisbane faced the crossroads in the late eighties when the first signs of burgeoning growth were evident. The city was faced with two options:

1. Allow the city to continue to burst at the seams - a development at all costs approach OR
2. Encourage satellite cities to nurture the entire region.

Our proposal was simple.

1. Put a physical boundary on the growth of ALL centre's in the South East - Brisbane, Logan, Caboolture, Ispwich, Toowoomba, Esk, Beaudesert, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast
2. Establish HIGH SPEED traffic corridors between these centres (this was to mean both road AND rail - but with a particular emphasis on rail as they can be used to encourage development hotspots (its useless having a subdivision if it's not serviced by rail whereas as long as the road goes past the front door...))
3. Force each "satellite" to population limits based on resources available (water, available land, etc).
   
4. Let each centre develop and compete for development.

It seems so simple now - yet they stuffed it and look at the consequences.

Question is, how do we convince Townsville/Thuringowa to avoid going down the same path?

Thoughts - Capitalism = Democracy?

I've long riled at the suggestion made by supporter of the Capitalist system that it somehow is a mirror to democracy. The corporation does what it's shareholders want it to do and they get to vote on it like a real democracy.

BULLSHIT!!!

How can it be a democracy where individuals or individual companies can hold such large share holdings that only their interest carry? It's like saying that your votes in a democracy should be based on your weight - so Big Wal just lost out.

I really grow tired of this constant comparison like it's some panacea to our woes. If anything, a corporation is more like a dictatorship. Look at News Corp - Rupert is doing all he can to ensure he maintains majority ownership and can't be toppled from the top. Why? Because he doesn't want it to be a democracy. He doesn't want to loose all that power and influence he has.

So if I hear another right wing wanker pull that one out of their arse, god help me!!!

Prediction - Peak Oil is Here (but they're not telling)

There's been a rush on Nuclear Power generation in recent weeks. Most notably in OZ where Howard has decided to make a debate out of the issue (with preordained results, etc). I don't know what's going on in the US, but I noticed this article today on BBC News.

There seems to be a lot of jockeying going on at the moment, as as countries like OZ have the upper hand (we have lots of the stuff) are their machinations going on to take control of the new (looming) cartels?

I suspect so. But why? My prediction is that Peak Oil has finally hit the political reality and the power brokers are making their play. Of course, don't expect them to tell us it's happening - that would be probably bring about the collapse of the Western world!!

Prediction - Peak Oil is Here (but they're not telling)

There's been a rush on Nuclear Power generation in recent weeks. Most notably in OZ where Howard has decided to make a debate out of the issue (with preordained results, etc). I don't know what's going on in the US, but I noticed this article today on BBC News.

There seems to be a lot of jockeying going on at the moment, as as countries like OZ have the upper hand (we have lots of the stuff) are their machinations going on to take control of the new (looming) cartels?

I suspect so. But why? My prediction is that Peak Oil has finally hit the political reality and the power brokers are making their play. Of course, don't expect them to tell us it's happening - that would be probably bring about the collapse of the Western world!!

Theory - Dinosaur Extinction vs Gravity

I've long had a thought about the extinction of the great dinosaurs that seems in complete contrast to current theories. I suspect it's because mine is full of flaws (like that the period of extinction spans thousands of years perhaps) but it's always made me wonder.

So, here it is:

Dinosaur Extinction Theory
Forget notion about some catistrophic event (e.g. Meteor strike) or climate change - both of which have merit. My theory is that it was Gravity. How so I hear you ask?

Well, lets look at our current biology. The largest terrestrial animal is the elephant - nothing bigger, yet bigger is supposedly good. What about Giraffe? Their necks are so long, that if they fall to the ground and are unable to right themselves quickly, the blood flow rushing to their heads will kill them. Then consider the largest animal - whales. They can exist in their watery environment, but beach themselves and they are suffocated by their body mass. And lastly, consider man. The tallest a man can get is something under 7 feet. When this has been exceeded, the individuals have died young because of organ failure - they're simply unable to cope with the size of the individual.

Yet, we're meant to accept that terrestrial animals perhaps 5-10 times larger than the largest terrestrial being currently in existance lived for Eon's on the planent! Please...

Something drastic has had to have changed - and surely all this can be is the effect of gravity. The cause? Massive meteorite strike? Perhaps an abundance of meteorite strikes over a prolonged period causing a gradual build up in the mass of the earth (yes, yes, I know, a grain of sand added to huge boulder isn't going to make an significant difference - but hey, it's my theory and I'm allowed to make this up as I go along). Could it be that the subterranian magma effects have changed over time (increased cooling has lead to increased mass)?

Who knows? All I know is that the paradox between what we know today vs what we're told to accept from prehistoric times worries me - and this presents a possible explaination.

I actually found someone (who I must admit coined the theory before I had, but I'd long thought about it myself but had never put it in writing) who also pushed this theory. He was an Iraqi scientist but as this was just before the Iraq war, I felt uncomfortable talking about such trivialities with him and thus never sought out his opinion. Pity, I don't even know if he's still alive...

Prediction - Nat/Lib "Merger" is a Scam!

For someone who only discovered a week ago that his party is about to become defunct, Laurence Springborg looks remarkably at ease with his predicament. So, it has me wondering if Mr Springborg knew earlier than he is willing to admit (which would make Mr Vaille's position even less tenable) or (more likely) could it be that other externalities make this deal SO attractive that it can't be dismissed?

So what's the deal? My money's on a temporary or bogus union - 5 mins after the election (assuming they win), the Nat's will be allowed to reform and the faithful allowed to "demerge" from the Liberals - thus returning us to the status quo.

So why all this skullduggery? Well, for one, the current voting system in Queensland doesn't really support "aligned" parties - thanks to optional preferential voting. It has decimated the coalition's ability to win electorates, particularly when they can't help themselves by running two candidates. Equally, Labor faces the same problems when/if the Green vote is mobilised.

Of course, this simply underscores the differences between the two parties as it highlights that liberal voters don't want to preference the Nat's and visa versa (after all, optional means that it's the voters choice (not some party room deal)) - so I can imagine that living with the truth is hard.

However, I think the biggest driver for this "merger" was the announcement a couple of weeks ago that Family First would contest EVERY seat in the coming state election. "Oh dear, it's One Nation all over again!" Combine this with Optional Preferential Voting and the conservative vote will be decimated leaving the coalition in the political wilderness for another 3 years.

So, my guess at their strategy is as follows:

1. Regain power at whatever cost (in the short term - particularly federally).
2. Reform the National Party and "demerger"
3. Repeal the Optional Preferential Voting legislation
4. Stay in power forever...
   

The bottom line - they're running scared of Family First and the power that's been granted to voters by Optional Preferential Voting. Question is, will it work or will this "slight of hand" be seen for what it is ... political suicide for the Nat's!!!

Regards, Mark B

Prediction - AV Convergence - Next Big Thing

So what happens when the run on flat screen TVs runs it's course? Well, the next "big thing" IMHO will be the turn of AV Convergence. Say what?

Basically I mean the turn of HTPC. Except, more than that. I think this market will take off once:

• The equipment looks more like stereo components.
• You can drive nearly everything via dials and knobs on the front of the unit.
• Includes the following:
• Digital TV & PVR
• Timeshifting
• Digital Radio (free to air and Internet)
• DVD/CD Player/Recorder
• Image Library
• Front side controls (volume, input selector, tuner, power off, CD/DVD controls)
• Front side AV inputs (accepting Digital AND Analogue)
• And most importantly, is affordable.

They should've been more invasive except manufacturers have made them look and act like PCs instead of stereo components. Once they wake up to that mistake, watch them take off.

Thoughts - Barnarby's True Mind - Stuffed!

Well, we learnt today the true mind of Barnarby Joyce following his announcement that we should pillage Antartica. Why? Well, in the eyes of Barnarby, if we don't, someone else will - so we might as well get in there and rape the resouces before someone else gets a clue before hand.

So Barnarby, in 1939, rather than objecting to Hitler invading Poland, should we have gone in first? Does this also mean you back Iran's plan to gain the nuclear bomb? Because, if their neighbours are planning to do it, we might as well get in first?

Where's the morality in your argument Barnaby? Why not take a stand in the face of anyone daring to move into Antartica and exploit its resources? Why aren't we screaming blue murder at the Japanese for the massacre of Whales? Why aren't we screaming at Bush and Howard about the perils of global warming and that this nonsense has to stop?

What The? US FTA Means Blood Processing Offshore?

RE: this article on the ABC today reporting that the Red Cross is worried out blood MUST be sent O/S for processing as part of the US Free Trade Agreement.

What The?

I don't mean to sound absurd but you've got to be fucking joking!!!

I think we'll have to keep an eye on this one...

Prediction - Pardon for Enron Exec's

The Enron trial is being dragged out for as long as it possibly can go. We may well get a ruling in the next 12 months, then it'll go into appeals.

I suspect the only likely outcome here is that Bush will give them all pardon's on his way out of office - so the longer it's drawn out, the less likely they'll ever see the back of a cell...

Thoughts - Who Enforces the Unenforceable?

So, we've signed a deal with the Chinese to sell Uranium. Whilst I'm still not 100% about nuclear energy fullstop, if it's going to be sold, I'm much happier it's sold and processed with the oversight of the international watchdogs.

However, in stunning double speak, the Howard government have signed a deal with China that , they argue, guarantees it won't be used for miltary uses with Howard arguing that "the safeguards will be rigorous".

How the fuck will that happen Johnny?

• Who will oversee what is happening if the IAEA isn't involved?
  
• When (how the yell we'd find out to start with is a mystery) we do find out that it's been misused, what recourse do we have (apart from them threatening to block our trade)?

You idiot Johnny - we need them more then they need us! If they fuck off with our shit, what are we going to do? Dob them into the UN?

Surely the only viable body to monitor this is the IAEA and through acceptance of the the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. So you know what's coming next don't you - an identical agreement with India - with the same cruddy safeguards.

We're being dog fucked and everyone thinks it's sweet.Boy, are we're going to hell in a handbasket or what?

Thoughts - IT & Design

I don't know if it's deliberate or what, but when will the IT industry realise that if you want people to buy a product, stop making it look like a computer.

Case in point - when digital camera's first appeared, none of them looked like a camera - and surprise, surprise - hardly any sold.

Fast forward to today and the advance of HTPCs. Locally, Harvey Norman made a move into them 18 months ago and failed. Why? Because they were selling them as HP towers!!! You've got to be joking aren't you. WAKE UP EVERYBODY. If you want people to use a computer as a consumer electronics device, make them look like one (so it integrates into your AV equipment).

Imagine spending truckloads on Receivers, Tuners, etc and then be forced to wack a ruddy ugly PC tower on the floor. When will we learn??? We have to take the technology fear away from what people are experiencing. Make it easy, make it familiar - and you'll see them in droves...

Thoughts - IT's Obsession With Reinvention

I'm a strong believer in Open Software - it is clearly leading the path in innovation in IT. Yet, when will the industry wake up to making things simple.

I was considering MythTV recently (rather than waiting for the Packer's and Murdock's to stop trying to bury Digital TV and allow a decent PVR/DVR recorder into the country) but got no further than the Hardware heading in the doco. What a load of shite. There are thousands and thousands of entries, comments, forums and doco regarding the topic, but do you think I can find an idiot sheet I can use to minimise the pain? Nup.

Instead, I'm expected to reinvent a process that (probably) hundreds have tried and struggled with (many talk of 33 hours installation dramas). Yet, given a specific specification, I dare say it would almost take no more than 1-2 hours in reality.

And we see this everywhere - Wiki's, CMS, etc - truckloads of documentation but none of it useful if you just want to get in and install it.

Wake Up People - We'd have SOOO much more leverage if we simplified these installs for mug punters...

Pixie Garden - Tax Reform Enquiry

We've had plenty of tax inquiries over the years - they usually run for months and still fail to achieve anything.

Yet, we're to believe, that we can review and compare the tax systems in other major economies in just 5 weeks?

Yep, the Pixies are alive and have green thumbs this week...

Wots On? - PM Barracking for Hanson Voters?

Okay, what's the deal? Today we've had Howard proclaiming that "Hanson's supporters weren't racist" - you'd think we were heading into an election. So why is he sucking back up to the Hansonite's? Is he weary of the conservative vote splitting (which is why he plundered their policies in 1999/2000). Does he feel under threat again?

I wonder, after the RU486 vote, if Family First aren't digging in the screws (for being screwed - they did, after all, hand the VSU vote to him on a platter). It was interesting to hear that Family First would be entering candidates in ALL 78 seats in the coming Queensland Election. Yep, it's Hanson all over again.

Thoughts - What's Going on in Iraq?

Robert Risk, on Lateline tonite, made an interesting observation about the looming civil strife in Iraq. He argued that the we need to "question the narrative" currently coming out of Iraq and question "is it real?" or at least, to think about things more broadly.

So who is pulling the strings? Robert seemed to be arguing that the Coalition Forces are driving the insurgency. That it is they who are paying the death squads in an effort to encourage a Civil War. But why? Then it dawned on me - pull out.

If Iraq was to fall into civil conflict, it may infact give the Americans a reason to leave. Why stay and stand in the way?

Prediction - Nuclear Weapons in OZ (Followup)

Out of the blue, we're suddenly talking about Nuclear Power again in this country with this recent comment by Little Johnny. In it, Howard argues "I am of the view that we certainly should not turn our face against it as Mr Beazley has done. I can't understand why he did that".

Well sorry John, but we have a swaythe of free, non-polluting energy sources waiting/demanding to be tapped. Wind, Wave, Solar, Themal - you name it we got truckloads of it - but you just don't seem interested.

Why? Well, I still think it's because we're gunning to be a world player - Little Johnny (and the Liberals) want us hitting above our weight.

Of course, that can only take us in one direction - by becoming a Nuclear Power and if we have our own generating capacity, then we can enrich the output to make our own weapons.

Would you trust them to set up JUST a domestic power use nuclear facility? Not bloody likely mate...

Prediction - Nuclear Weapons in OZ (Followup)

Out of the blue, we're suddenly talking about Nuclear Power again in this country with this recent comment by Little Johnny. In it, Howard argues "I am of the view that we certainly should not turn our face against it as Mr Beazley has done. I can't understand why he did that".

Well sorry John, but we have a swaythe of free, non-polluting energy sources waiting/demanding to be tapped. Wind, Wave, Solar, Themal - you name it we got truckloads of it - but you just don't seem interested.

Why? Well, I still think it's because we're gunning to be a world player - Little Johnny (and the Liberals) want us hitting above our weight.

Of course, that can only take us in one direction - by becoming a Nuclear Power and if we have our own generating capacity, then we can enrich the output to make our own weapons.

Would you trust them to set up JUST a domestic power use nuclear facility? Not bloody likely mate...

Thoughts - The Most Powerful (and Dangerous) Union in OZ

...is clearly the AMA.

Just think what power this beast has:

1. Ability to limit supply of doctors to ensure the demand cycle is never met, thus ensuring spiralling health care costs.
2. Ability to dampen training doctor numbers for the same reason.
3. They battle ANY attempt to remove their power in making clinical decisions (that nurses make (usually better) every day).
4. They've actively pushed/encouraged the extension of the standard Medicine degree to become a pre-med + Medicine approach - thus increasing the time lag in producing doctors and then ensuring they want to be paid heaps to cover their HECS debt.
5. They lambasted the State Govt when it proposed a swag of bonded placed for Qld doctors - they'd have no debt but would be compelled to practice in Qld for 4 years. What a dreadful suggestion???
6. Happily turn a blind eye to the pharmaceutic company kick backs they receive DAILY.
   

This control over the supply of doctors has to end - so come on Johnny, lets see you union bust the worst union in the country - the AMA.

Thoughts - Why the Cruiseship Terminal IS Vapourware...

To me it's becoming clearer that this whole thing is a crock of shite. Why? Well, I think it comes down to some simple arguments:

1. Katrina

With 1200+ units/houses to be constructed, that's a damned lot of permanent residents to stick out in a disaster waiting to happen. Not that it will necessarily stop councils desire to make it happen, but the reality of Hurricane Katrina will surely put a bite in the tail for any poor sod who wants to take out insurance.


2. Infrastructure & Population

So, just imagine 1200+ cars and perhaps 2400+ residents all rushing down Sir Leslie Thiess Drive to go about their business. Then add to that a night at the Crocs. Sorry, but it ain't gonna happen! There just isn't a significant enough of a drain out of this area to warrant the population. I do, however, think it might be a way of pressuring higher governments to fund the Port Access Road, thus freeing up the existing rail corridor and a new bridge across Ross Creek (at the end of the Strand) - in 10-15 years time!!! None of this will happen overnite, and at the rate state and federal goverment fund anything in regional Australia, it will probaly take longer.

3. Security

Presumably we want to park American warships in the new berth. Two problems (as pointed out recently by a letter to the editor). Firstly, imagine the outcry from residents when they have to live up next to a (potentially as they never tell us) Nuclear Reactor? Secondly, can you imagine the security cordon placed around the Amercians in the current climate. Surely residents movement MUST be hampered with blockades, etc in place for the duration of the visit...???

4. Pollution

Dust has again come under fire from the Port - yet we want to build a massive housing development within the main airflow corridor? Are we mad? Then there's the noise and light pollution that will spill onto the new neighbours.

Sorry folks - but this is a pipe dream. Question is, if this is the distraction, what's the main fare?

Prediction: The Demise of The Nationals

You've got to hand it to Little Johnny Howard. One of his lasting effigies must surely be forever moving Australian politics into the (strictly) 2 party system. Under his tenure, he has surely seen off the likes of:

• The Democrats (thanks to the GST debacle)
• One Nation (by stealing their policies)
• Family First (thanks to VSU & anti-abortion support)

And now, of course, we have his latest victim - The Nationals.

Despite the Nationals facing a perfect opportunity to shore up support in the Bush, they are quickly imploding on themselves as they battle to split the party into two. There's the "wish we were more like the Liberals" Nationals and the "wish we were more like Barnaby" Nationals. It's almost very similar to what happened to the Democrats with a few nutters thinking that they could actually do more than hold the balance of power (I've always thought that Meg et al had been brainwashed by Liberal hacks telling them - come into the mainstream and make a real difference!!!).

Sorry folks, the minute you jumped into bed with the Coalition and backed the GST - this after it was not raised in the general election and had previously been ruled out by Howard ("we will never introduce a GST"). What happened to "keeping the bastards honest"? What, by letting pull the biggest rug over our eyes in history?

And now we're seeing the same with the Nats - Barnaby is trying to maintain the Nationals Agrarian Socialist policies going (AWB single desk, Bush Infrastructure, etc) while the other half is rushing to sign up with the Liberals. Personally I like the notion of an Agraian Socialist policy - I think it's been an important part of our egalatarianism in that no matter where you lived in the country, you could access core essential services - and at the same price as folks in the city. Yet the Libs (and Labour for that matter) have been pulling that notion to pieces to the point where soon, living in rural and regional Australia will be prohibitively expensive (perhaps another prediction for another time).

So good luck to the Nationals as they try to stem the demise of smaller parties in Australia. Their demise will be our loss and it will further entrench the two party system in the country and thus further focus power within the hands of the minority - and as we all now know - you've got a grease a palm to succeed in business and, thanks to Johnny, there'll be fewer palms to grease...

Thoughts - Time for IT Workers to Revolt?

For long as I can recall, folks working in IT have been pressed, cajoled, forced even into dumbing down their science for the poor plebs around us. And for much of this time, I've actively pushed back against the luddites (including those within) who insist we speak in dulcit tones so as to appease the poor gentle working minds of those to whom we work.

Bollocks I say!!!

How many Electricians or Builders "dumb down" their explainations of what needs to be done in their fields? How many anacronisms do accountants, electrical engineers or even teachers use EVERY day without question. But when someone in the IT industry says "you're going to need an 80Gb HDD to do the job" - eyes glaze over and people start with whine about nutty IT people.

I could understand 20 years ago when everything was new - but unless you've been living in a cave since 1980, every day of your live is surrounded by IT - so there is simply no excuse.

So people, lets stop living in the dark ages - either embrace technology (and live with the terminology) or shut the f... up and lets us get on and do our jobs...

Thoughts - Legislating from the Pulpit

It has been interesting watching the recent debate over RU486 and how it highlights how the merger of religion into politics is a bad move.

It also showed an interesting "contradiction" of sorts. For many years, the right has complained of Judges "legislating from the bench" yet in the current Abortion debate, we're seeing "Legislating from the Pulpit" as Tony Abbott used his position as Minister for Health to effectively put a new ban on abortion by blocking access to RU486 (and thus the subsequent uproar and vote overturning his decision in BOTH houses of parliament).

Problem is, Tony's implied rewriting of the laws around Abortion are much more insidious. You see, here we have an individual, backed by right wing evangelicals, making implicit rulings on what we, as individuals can or can't do. There's no legal basis for it (as a judge would do by interpreting the law), Tony just says "nah, I'm sticking to my belief and that means no RU486".

It's akin to Pharmacists denying women access to the pill or contraceptives because it goes against their faith. Look I have no problem with your faith, just stop imposing your beliefs on me.

Thoughts - Religion & Politics

I was rather annoyed this morning to hear Gerard Henderson (from the Sydney Institute) on Radion National's AM program arguing that it was shameful how the RU486 debate had become sectarian - mainly anti-catholic and that, because Abbot was exposuing a religious view he shouldn't be villified.

Well, I'm sorry, but if you're going to bring your religious moral values into a political debate - which is what many were doing by making it a debate about Abortion - then you have to expect to be dealt with in the rumble and tumble of politics.

How you can expect to make personal religious claims on an issue and then expect to be somehow treated with kit gloves because you're expressing a religious view is staggering.

No, if you don't want to wear criticism then don't bring your views into the political arena...

Thoughts - Ethics and Ideology...

It has been stunning to watch the crass double standards our conservative pollies have been expousing in recent weeks. In light of the scandalous AWB payments to Saddam, we've had a barrage of business leaders and conservative politician's arguing that the trade is more important than the ethics of all this. Basically, it's the done thing in the middle-east, so why the bigr hallaballoo?

Well HELLO!!! Didn't we go to war over this? Not just because of Saddam and Iraq (and his devious WMD), but because he wasn't toeing the UN line. And why wasn't he? Because he was all cashed up because we'd been paying him kick backs (so why would he toe the line).

If the business sector had shown any sceric of ethical behaviour and the government backed its rhetoric with enforcement - perhaps the UN would have been more effective and Saddam could've been swept from power without ANY need for substantial violence and death (certainly not 2 years of the stuff).

How can these people not see that they are completely two faced about this is incredulous to me...

Suggestion - Relocate Our Capital Cities

The headline in todays Courier Mail reported something along the line of "20 years of water problems". Why? Well, most would argue it was a lack of planning. I would agree - but not for more dams in the South East - no the REAL problem is overpopulation in the South East and a lack of planning to force/redirect/encourage the mexicans into other parts of the state.

But frankly, this is NEVER going to happen because whilst the capital remains in Brisbane, the vast majority of people will want to move there. So why does the Capital have to be Brisbane? Perhaps the solution is to move it elsewhere in the state.

As much as we harp on about it, North Queensland statehood just isn't going to happen (a) because the majority in Queensland (those in the SE) know it would kill their futures and b) the remaining states don't want to unsettle the balance of power in the Federal Parliament (where NSW and VIC have the seat of power by the balls). So, if that's not possible, why not move the capital?

My suggestion - put it on a 25/50 year rotation. Why? Well, moving the capital will come with some costs and time to plan things - so if it's on a fixed arrangement, then planning becomes simpler. It also means that Brisbane wouldn't loose it forever - you'd get it back eventually. But by that time, it will have had the necessary affect - namely to encourage development and population growth away from the South East.

So, what things do we need to do to plan for moving the capital? How would we plan to "upgrade a city" to accommodate future growth - sustainably? I think it's an excellent challenge.

And my preference for the new State Capital? Charters Towers!!! Why? Well, if we leave it coastal we'd never get anyone to agree (e.g. the usual Townsville vs Cairns rivalary). Charters Towers has historical importance (it was "The World" in a previous life). It has ample room for growth - has plentiful water (Burdekin River) and yet is still close enough to the coast to be accessible.

So what do we need?

• Improved Airport (perhaps even an International Airport one day)
• Improved Rail Services (high speed links to surrounds)
• New Road Networks
• New Subdivisions
• New High Rise Development
• What Else?
  

Just imagine - Macrossan could become the "upmarket" riverside suburb of the new Capital?

Prediction - End of Medicare

As mentioned in a previous post, we're seeing the gradual dismantling of the medicare safety net but the government - yet another case of boiling the frog. If they came out and said "that's it, we're killing off medicare", it wouldn't happen because they'd be toss out quick smart - so they're taking it apart a piece at a time. How's that possible? Well:

1. 80% Coverage Clause

This change that provides 80% coverage (regardless of the scheduled fee) means that, before long, we will have $200 consults. How's that possible? Well, people are "comfortable" paying $40 per consult now. So, if the government will stump up with 80% ($160), then all the poor punter has to cough up is $40. Now, is the government is going to bankroll $160 consults??? Not bloody likely mate. No, well before that happens (lets say $80), the government will say "this is too expensive" and start to roll it all back (and put the cost back onto punters).

2. 30% Private Insurance Rebate

As per the above, this is gouging the health budget because, year after year, the punters are slogged with > than inflation increases (7-8% each year for 3-4 years!).

All of these moves are against the original tenets of medicare - namely to contain cost increases of these essential services. By imposing a scheduled fee, doctors are effectively forced into being competative or else pass on the costs to the punter - which would be political suicide.

So, now they simply bankrupt the system and wait for it to collapse.

How long have we got???

Prediction - FTA - Backdoor Abolition of PBS

In a New Years heart warmer, Mark Vaile has mooted that the government is considering dropping Labor's anti-evergreening clause, which was aimed at protecting access to cheaper generic drugs.

In an astonishing load of BS, the drug companies have argued that removing the cause would not result in increased prices.

I'm sorry, if removing the clause will NOT result in increased prices then surely leaving it in will have no impact either - so please, humour us on this one.

But no, I suspect this is the start of the gradual undermining of the PBS (as predicted by many) - expect it to be "no more" within 5-10 years!!! We're already seeing an undermining of Medicare (thanks to recent Private Medical Insurance rises that will mean our 30% contribution increases) as well as the government's 80% coverage shite (which means doctors will just start charging to the $40 per person limit (+80% paid for by us). Within 2-3 years it will be unsustainable...

Prediction - The Demise of Family First...

Like Meg Lees and The Democrats before them, Johnny has pulled the rug out from under Mr Fielding and Family First - and the poor fool doesn't even know it. Whilst his actions (which is most likely in support of the Government to pull the rug on RU486) might get backing from the Religous Right, his "Family Impact" strategy will now be bunkem as a weapon against the government as Universities start to slash on-campus facilities in reaction to the new Bill.

Surely we had to see it coming? So well laid up by the government. Putting RU486 up on a media platform - scaring the begeesus out of the anti-abortionist in his party, probably working them into a fever pitch (look at the US problems with this - forget about killing thousands in the Iraqi War (including your own people) - as long as Mr Bush says he'll fight Roe, then we'll back him).

So what a great three card trick? Use RU486 as a rouse to stir up his support base, then land the VSU stuff on his lap - it's either VSU or the unborn kids - take your choice.

So, those "family" folk who originally supported them on their "non-religous footing", Howard has simply outed them on their position on Abortion (thus turning them into a future political basket case), he gets to water down RU486 for a few more years (and don't be mistaken, it'll become legal at some stage - but it'll get Abbott & Costello happy for a bit) and tops it all off with the VSU legislation.

So in just 6 months, Howard has effectively managed to wipe Unions from the Australian political landscape...

Oh, are we in deep poo in this country or what ... ???

PS - Await the announcement over Xmas for Johnnie to retire - he must be like a pig in mud right now.

Reap What You Sow - Racial Violence in Sydney

Following the riots in Sydney this weekend, even Mr Howard is concerned.

Sorry Johnny, but you reap what you sow...

Years of expousing hate and fear by our national leadship and their rampant hype of nationalism has surely had some effect. It all started with Hansonite politics when Howard first came into office - his failure to neuter Hanson opened the door on intolerence in this country and Howard has been cajolling it ever since for his own end (Tampa, Iraq, Terror Laws, etc).

Problem is, where will it all end? Must be a sure bet that the communities targetted by the mob on Sunday will likely react...??? The genie is out of the bottle and it will take something special (like real leadership) to put it back in.

Update 16/12/2005: Even Laurie Oakes is coming around that we've all been duped...

Orwellian Speak - "Outrageous/Outlandish Claims"

In recent months I've notice ruling governments the world over lambasting a rash of "outrageous/outlandish" claims against them (for example):

• Downer refuting allegations of DFAT's involvement in the AWB scandal in Iraqi Wheatgate - "Wheat kickback claims outrageous: Downer"
• Rumsfeld's reaction to claims Bush wanted to dump on Al-Jazeera - "We are not going to dignify something so outlandish with a response," a White House official told CNN.

So, is this a new double-speak? It sounds like a denial yet it completely lacks one! So, it's a great way of defusing an issue by appearing to refute the claim yet does nothing of the sort. Anyone can claim something is outrageous or outlandish, but that doesn't mean it's not true. The language we should be looking for is "we completely refute this claim" or "this claim is not true".

So, all Joe Public hears is the "outrageous/outlandish claim" and a few more soundbites thus crushing any chance for the truth to be told.

Prediction - Howard's About to Resign...

Three reasons why I think we're about to see a leadership transition in the Libs:

1. The huge rush on to push through a raft of legislative changes before Xmas. Why? Because Johnny wants to wear the mantle on these for prosperity (oh, and it also lets Costello/Turnbull argue that they didn't guarantee that "no one would be worse off").
2. Recent turmoil with Costello being sent to the cleaners on the appointment of Robert Gerard to the Reserve Bank highlights leadership tensions within the Libs. This surely was an internal knife in the back - Labor completely missed it for 3 years and it wasn't till the Fin Review published the story that it all come to light. No, my bet is it was either Malcolm Turnbull's supporters or someone else jockeying into position - with the expectation that Howard was about to "walk the plank" so they're getting in early to undermine Costello's chances.
   
3. Yesterday's announcement by Costello that he was going to be working on the Budget and that he would deliver the budget next year (i.e. won't be leader) is such a classic political move I'm amazed that everyone's taken it hook, line and sinker. Ever since it's been an issue, Costello has always been obscure with remarks about the future - now suddenly it's definately not on - yeah, right!!!

No, clearly Howard's clearing the way for Costello (after many years promising it too him, he has to deliver) so I suspect all of this is simply to take the press hounds off Howard so he can make the announcement at his choosing.

Thoughts - Outsourcing Justice (or just Execution's)

The recent controversy surrounding the hanging of Van Nguyen by Singapore has (yet again) exposed the crass underbelly of the Australian psyche and the Howard government is using it to great effect.

A number of things have me worried about the direction (and again, failure in leadership) we, as a nation, are headed and it has me asking the question - "has the Howard Government decided to outsource our Justice (well, execution's at least)?"

Despite a long history of the Liberals voicing their opposition to Capital Punishment, we have seen an almost deliberate watering down of that long held position in recent months. Like "Tampa" before it, they aren't coming straight out and saying they support it, but the comments they are using are enough to tag at the heartstrings of the Hansonite's in our midst, further entrenching the government in the community. It's politics at it's lowest and dangerous to boot as the Libs go about selling out on what they stand for to secure their political future - and that can only lead us into worrying territory.

So, I'm starting to wonder, how can the government back capital punishment (and thus reengage with the Hansonite sympathisers) without appearing to change a long held Liberal policy? Well, I suspect they've taken a leaf out of Bush's policy of outsourcing torture to Eastern Europe which allows the Bush presidency to claim they do not support turture in America.

Similarly, we are seeing the Howard government outsource punishment for drug crimes to our Asian neighbours, without so much as a whimper of complaint. Proof of this?

• Despite Van Ngyen being sentenced in 2002, it has only been in recent months that anyone in government appears to have made any attempt to challenge this. Why weren't attempts made immediately for his transfer to Australia to answer charges here?
• Why dob the Bali 9 into the Indonesian's? If the AFP knew of their movements (and if I recall, even their flights back into OZ), why not simply pick them up off the plane back in OZ? Surely the deliberate act of informing the Indonesian's about their plans was tand amount to signing their death warrants.

Both appear to be deliberate acts to ensure these individuals are sent to their deaths. Now, I don't particularly have a problem with another country enforcing its laws as it sees fit. And we all know you'd be stupid to even consider touching drugs in any Asian country for fear of capital punishment - yet it still happens (so not much of a deterant).

My concern is that, in both of these cases, the most harm was not going to occur to the local population - no, instead these "mules" were returning the drugs to Australia for our population to suffer the consequences. So, why are we not insisting on setting the punishment? Why aren't we dragging them back to OZ to face our justice system? Why? Because many of us (and the this is the bit the government are sucking up to) clearly think this is a suitable punishment so Howard is playing the Hansonite card yet again to sure up his support base.

Other things that concern me about this include:

• The use of language - it's been very Orwellian again - remanicant of Tampa - not admitting they support Capital Punishment but doing everything in their efforts to suggest they actually do,
• The clear lack of leadership (by both sides of politics) to support our long held position against capital punishment. Again, this is reminicent of Hansonite politics - how Howard allowed Hanson to express her view unchallenged in the parliament.
• The move by the Lib/Nats in Queensland to boycott the minute silence as a protest. Again, it sets a tone in the community and offers tacit support to that ugly underbelly.

So where too now? I suspect/worry we're on a slippery slope. The actions we're seeing appears to highlight peoples desire for revenge over than justice. How anyone could believe that death was a suitable punishment for simply carrying the drugs is beyond me. We don't see the masses demanding the gallows for tobacco exec's? Yet their "legal drugs" kill many more Australian's every year (as the argument goes that the drugs they are carrying will kills Australian's after all).

So, given the recent turmoil surrounding Howard's devisive policies (IR, terror, welfare to work, etc) which will clearly work against the government, are we seeing a return to wedge politics to divert attention away from their current failures?

My concern with this is that we're playing with fire. Once we start to encourage the ugly side of the Australian Psyche out into the open, it will be a difficult to put it back into the box - and that scares me no end.

Prediction - Telstra Loss of Core Business

Telstra seems to be doing it's darnest to scare away customers with its outrageous pricing plans for land line rentals. What I can't work out if this is deliberate or accidental - but I'm starting to think it's deliberate.

We've seen recent reports of people dropping Land Lines in favour of Cheap Mobiles and of VoIP using Broadband over Powerlines in TAS - all of which will eat into Telstra's bottom line. Why? Because if people choose Mobile over Land Lines, consumers go from a monopoly market to a very competative market - so many will NOT choose Telstra.

So what's the deal? Perhaps Telstra is trying to buy out of the Land Line market completely? Or at least put so much commercial pressure on it's existance that it forces the governments hand. Either way, I suspect more is at play than lousy business decisions.

Proven - Telstra's Plans...

Unremarkably, Sol Trujillo today announced plans to Axe 12,000 Jobs - well, we said 14,000 and no-one believed us...

Worse is that Barnaby Joyce was shocked by the announcement. Sorry Barnaby - you surely can't be that stupid can you and not know that this would happen? It's going to be a private company you goose - what did you think would happen - they would expand?

So, what does that mean? Well, I'd say Countrywide is pretty well gone. In fact, I was talking to an ex-Telstra employee recently and they seemed to be saying as much. I just hope Barnaby isn't so surprised when it happens - make's him look pretty foolish.

Supporting Commentary - Living Beyond Our Means...

On the Sunday program yesterday, we had the proverial "sky is falling" story, Safe As Houses, about the housing bubble about to burst (with some encouragement from Aussie John Symonds).

It was interesting to hear many of the comment (some from reputable people) that seemed to coincide with the concepts of Affluenza and/or Living Beyond our Means.

But isn't this the global panacea for growth? Complete unfetted, unabashed consumption and debt growth. I'm really keen to see the Right Wing hawks decend upon the show to pull it to pieces (I'm sure it'll be labelled as a left wing rag before too long) as the implied sentiment was that some form of regulation and control is needed.

Pity it'll never happen - so when it bursts, we'll just sti by and say "I told you so"...

Prediction - Paris Riots - Our Turn Next?

For some time I've been pondering the future of the country (or any country) where we actively leave the "underclass" behind. It's evident in OZ today that unless you're skilled you're stuffed - but to get skilled you need money and the proverbial "chicken and egg" problems that result.

We see increasing moves to jail anyone that moves for trivial crime and we're increasingly hiding behind our elite "gated" communities so we can ignore the plight of others.

New Orleans was a classic for this - but it's equally true in Brisbane, Sydney and no doubt within other communities around the country (take Palm Island for example).

At some point, it has to crack - Maquarie Fields in Sydney and now of course, Paris.

So I'm waiting to see everyone claim Paris is just a French problem - please don't be so blind to see that it could (and probably will) happen here. Just let Johnnie get away with his IR changes and it might happen sooner than you think.

Prediction - Cruiseship Terminals - Vapourware?

We've seen a couple of "stunning" announcements in Queensland in recent weeks regarding new Cruiseship terminals for Townsville and the Gold Coast. This after many years of hounding by both municipalities but stunned silence from above.

Now suddenly BOTH are "going to happen"? I somehow doubt it - they seem too nicely packaged as diversionary ploys for the government during a bad news week/month/year as well as a "welcome to leadership" announcement for Anna Bligh.

Why the skepticism? Well, both are $1bn projects - so clearly we're talking about private funding, not government - but what makes it "so attractive" now? But what really put me off was the dodgy "artistic impressions" provided for the projects. Certainly the one in Townsville looked absolutely crap. I recall the original concept drawings made for the CBD Renewal taskforce back in 2001/02 - they looked "thought out" - these ones look like "ah, just throw in a bunch of canal estate homes and see what happens".



You see, the problem stems from location - we're talking about the outer breakwater - yet we have townhouses within metres of the rocks!!! Clearly not well thought out in a cyclone prone city. Yet the original concept kept this area as a buffer, with parkland at the very front and buffer zones for housing. It was actually a smart balance.



So that's why this crazy "impression" is just vapourware - it keep the punters happy (for now). But don't expect anything to happen for years (if ever).

Thoughts - Materialism & Individualism

Thanks to Mark Latham, I now have a reason to rant about these two topics.

Individualism has been growing rampant since the late '80s, but I think particularly so in the '90s when the ALP rolled out the public selloff bandwagon and folks jumped onto Telstra, et al (or was that the Libs?). Which concerns me because isn't this reflective of Latham's "Ladder of Opportunity"?

Anyhow, you see it in so many ways these days:

• Disregard for others (particularly Aboriginal people, boat people, immigrants, etc)
• Lack of empathy - I can remember a time when, if a company said it was going to lay-off a thousand people, there would be a general outcry. Today, people say "well, that should help their share price" and think nothing of it.
• A general unwillingness to engage in the community (volunteering, participation, etc)
• Favouring private schooling funding ahead of public schools.
• Expecting Uni Students to fund their educations "because they're going to earn all this money" - what rot.
• The apparent lack of concern shown about the sell off of Telstra!!!

And surely materialism is driving all of this. Our greed for more and more - a pandemic of affluenza - is driving us into American ideals at a rapid pace. It's all about me and what's in it for me and bugger anyone else who happens to get in my way.

I've mentioned it before (elsewhere), but look at kids today - they're wealthy. How do I know? Well, go into any shopping centre and tell me who the majority of shops are targeting? You, me? Not likely - its teenagers. And they're only doing it because they're cashed up.

So, why is this relevant? Well, because we're starting this cycle of greed at such an early stage in life - and that's a concern for the future because this trend is only going to get worse because these little suck ants are going to be so up themselves and so self-centred it beggars belief. Can you imagine what they are going to be like when they start buying shares? Actually, what am I saying, the probably have them already...

Question is, if we're suffering an affluenza pandemic, what's the cure?

To be honest, I don't think we're likely to see an anti-viral agent - no, I think we're going to see something big drag us all back to earth, like...

• Peak Oil?
• Dual Income Blowout (what happens when 2 earners isn't enough)?
• Property Crash?

History tells us that #3 will happen one day. I really worry about #2 because I think people will kill themselves in work (i.e. >1 jobs, etc) before they realise they're actually killing themselves. And besides, if you want that greed, you need to work harder and harder (don't you?).

But #1 worries me the most because as obvious as it is (to any fool with half a brain), we're so blissfully ignorant of it. Why is this a problem? Well, surely our government's WILL know about it and consider it has some merits (for goodness sakes, just look at Iraq). Only a fool would think we have a bottomless (oil) well so it has to peak someday. And when it does (and maybe it has already), the consequences are too scary for thought:

• Increasing oil wars?
• Living in denial about sustainability?
• Ignoring viable alternatives in favour of evil ones (e.g. Nuclear)?
• A changed society completely?

The only thing in its favour is the comment I heard recently (and I can't remember who) that said "our generation will witness the end of the motor vehicle". That great bastion of individualism, the personal car(s), is about to come to an end. And when that happens, we are going to be forced to communal transport systems (e.g. buses, trains, boats, etc) - any form of mass transit.

Problem is, at what cost? How many wars? How many will die? How much will our societies collapse? Yet, we all know its coming and (like all good pollies) they've buried OUR heads in the sand with OUR arses in the air waiting to be screwed...

Thoughts - Latham's Comments

I've just finished watching Mark Latham's comment on Enough Rope and a few thought's come to mind.

1. He clearly wasn't up to it. A lot of what he discussed was no real surprise, and I would have thought him a little niave to think it would be any different. Which makes the question put by Andrew all the more telling - "why run for leader"? Was he depressive? He certainly had mood swings - big swings. So perhaps he just wasn't leadership material.

2. That said, his closing comments were so empathetic to my own. He said that he really worried as Australian's rushed to be "materialistic and individualistic" and how that is killing the Australia we all love.

And yet, it is this feeling that I think many of us reflect - even the Nat's (perhaps particularly so) and disappoints me that he has nothing to offer in this regard. Are there solutions? Ummm, gee can I think of any? Well, there has to be and that's something I'll be putting my thoughts to in coming weeks.

Meanwhile, have we kissed the next election goodbye? Actually, an interesting thought - could the government rushed out Telstra to get out ahead of this mess? Who has most to gain though? There's no elections looming and it'll all blow over in a month or three. Actually, there may even be a degree of sympathy voting??? I doubt it somehow...

Prediction - Sale of Telstra Outcomes

Well, well, well. Poor old Barnaby couldn't hack it and sold us out. It will be interesting to hear who much the NFF have been paid off - talk about changing their tune very quickly.

Anyhow, as it now a fait a compli, lets consider the downstream effects.

1. Telstra Countrywide - Closed

An easy buy in and previously discussed. It may "continue" but it will be based out of a capital city (perhaps Adelaide to give the feel it still is in the country).

2. Massive Job Losses

I know a figure of 14,000 has been mooted - who knows what it will be but we all know it WILL happen. Again, look at the track record of the banks. Every time the market sneezes, they slash another 1000 jobs. They won't all go at once, but over 4-5 years...

3. "$2b Fund, What $2b Fund?"

The "up to $2b" hint in the initial legistation was the key here. You watch the pollies start backing out of the "promise" over the next 18 months. Remember Keating's L A W law tax cuts? What is it with people? Are they just ignorant?, do they have short-memories?, are they just thinking about their back pockets? But let it be known, if it get anywhere NEAR $2b I'll be amazed.

The other factor here is how much will actually get spent in the bush? You watch it get hung drawn and quartered for every pot-belly excuse for a problem in the future. Perhaps even for water problems et al...

4. $1b Infrastructure Boost

Another area to keep an eye on. It's going to cost the government a pretty penny to push this out as a prospectus - keep an eye on how much of the $1b gets drawn away in pre-Sales charges...

5. What About The Future???

And this to me is the biggest problem. Even if they score the whole $2b for future investment, what happens when the next BIG infrastrucure change happens in telephony? Back in the '80s Telecom funded the entire replacement of exchanges to become digital. What happens if we need to do that again? Will Telstra bankroll the deal? You've got to be joking...

So what does all this mean? Well folks, lets just hope everyone remembers WHICH party backed the sale (Libs) and WHICH party allowed it to happen (Nats) - and lets run 'em out of office ASAP.

What If: Two Aren't Enough

I missed most of a discussion this morning on Radio National but I think it was about families, being "more productive" and dual incomes. The jist of it was that we need to have dual income families to be more productive and provide for our families.

And it suddenly hit me - what happens when two incomes is not enough? Single income families sufficed for many years, now suddenly we can't survive without two. So, like all good capitalist practices where endless growth is the goal, how do we grow into the next phase? Is polygamy the next thing on the government agenda? Will it be lowering the age for children can work or perhaps making schooling only compulsory till primary?

Surely, like all crud policies bases on pure growth that there has to be a point when it's not sustainable. Question is, what happens when it hits?

Prediction - Telstra to Close Countrywide

If Telstra secures it's final sale (as appears to be a fait a compli) and once the last share is pried out of government hands, Telstra will abandon its Countrywide operations quicker than you can say "I thought Barnaby was going to protect all of this?".

Why? Well, why wouldn't it. As a commercial operation, the nearest "equivalence" we have to them in size would be the big banks. And how many big banks have retained a significant presence in regional and particularly rural Australia? So why would/should Telstra be any different.

You don't need to be a complete dill to realise that Countrywide is simply a political device to sure up support for the sale - and as a commercial entity, it has to make absolutely NO sense to operate when everything it does could AS EASILY be run out of Sydney, or Melbourne, or India...

Oh, why are people so ignorant to the obvious - it beggars belief sometimes...

Prediction - Nuclear Weapons in OZ (one day)

In the rash of debate surrounding the sudden acceptance of Nuclear Energy in this country, it would seem that it's only a matter of time before we see our first commercial nuclear power station on native soil.

My prediction is that soon after, we will have our own nuclear weapons. Why? Because the pollies can't help themselves (particularly the RIGHT).

But why might this happen? Well, apart from the (already socially stable) Scandinavian countries that have nuclear power stations, I'd have it a guess that nearly all other countries with nuclear power now have the bomb (or trying to get it). It's surely a natural progression. You have all this lovely radioactive leftovers that you have to do something with, so why not refine it to grab that lovely plutonium and drop 'em into bombs.

By then the RIGHT will have us all in a sweat about our nearest neighbour so it won't take much to push the right buttons (and create fear) that will allow them to take that step.

So, let it be known that we weren't warned. Would you trust the pollies with a big pile of plutonium in their care? I wouldn't...