Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Corruption in the world economic system

Great to see Stephen Long chasing the financial structure run by Indian overseas investors .I hope he uncovers the truth and the implications for our government in dealing with Adani . I fear there is too little focus on the former and too much on the latter . A short look not a long look is not a good look - but normal
 We baby boomers need to face the fact that we have been ignoring the dangers beyond our shores and focusing too much on the unconvincing and unjustified attacks/debilitating cynicism  on our own system .The Libs are not the worst disease affecting the country.
We gave money to the poor , often ignoring the fact that we can't really help countries whose own rich exploit them . We are not real wise about real politics - esp when we wander off telling others "How "to do things .
If we are going to do more than be good samaritans with individuals ( our historical and limited territory) we must not ignore the evil which corrupts and can corrupt even our own eco system.

As Susan Neiman has pointed out we lack wisdom in this area and in particular the post Christian reactionaries lack wisdom about evil .
The only way you can tackle real politic is to understand it and understand it in our own system.  Most important of all - understanding it as it happens close to home .
Only by being complete political and jericho road realists can we hope to really keep Australia great .

Do we not also have to decide whether our cynicism. ignorance and fear of evil  is preventing us believing we can be great again . Self loathing is not just the other blokes problem

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Ignorance and Arrogance on Environment

Nothing will help modern Australian governments more than finding a way to get OBJECTIVE advice about soil water land and biodiversity questions . Neither farmers nor armchair experts and Green activists  can be trusted on this .
Our world, its wars , its food and its security in investment are dependant on getting this right  The mess of constant fighting about who knows what could go on for centuries .
There is a way forward cultivate local specific objective environment advice and ditch the empires and those who build them . A better democratic project for the 21st century I cannot think of .
Recent letter of mine to the papers .

Common advice to new Councillors is to "take expert advice seriously" . This is good advice ,but it is definitely not the best advice. The best advice is to take on " much advice " as is written on the floor of the Victorian Parliament .
The people in the big smoke don't know everything and one person can't be trusted to know all there is to know on the public good subjects in question.Sorry people, but those of you who live in cities are especially ignorant and arrogant on the subject of environmental risk --if only your leaders would admit it.    
Which of your former Councillors briefed themselves widely on the environmental risk questions which often plague their terms of office . I know having written to many many Shires on the subject of environmental risk for over thirty years, just how little that happens. The waste extends up to the golden thread weavers in Spring street who once thought they could make water .
Many post Kennett Councils have made the very bad and expensive habit of taking and seeking little advice, and from outsiders to the local area. They pay monkeys, and not with peanuts.   
Please Councillors, don't be a bunch of smart arses ( alecs) who think the only good advice comes from above.

.Democrats used to all believe in wisdom from the ground up. I wish all new Councillors well in keeping a better balance that truly respects local sources of wisdom.

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Do we really need Emergency services hierarchies

The answer is No . We need leaders but not empires . Many emergencies services can be run by devolved services within existing more local organisations .The shires, hospitals police CFA and forest and  land and water management groups .  

The fact is that emergencies  don't occur every day and they are varied in their extent severity and focus. Permanent agencies are only necessary where both planning and recurrence demand it  Dedicated agencies will get lost between drinks if they don't deal with issues ( often much smaller scale and not called disasters) at very high  return periods
Risk is not an unknown in the country,  but it is to many city centrics , However well trained, city centric  managers are , they cannot have enough experience to properly  manage the range of  them unless they have worked long term at a local level . .

Much environmental risk management is best managed by people who work with related everyday issues ( soils ,water rivers  forests shires  The UFF - CFA dispute  is only the tip of an iceberg of increasing empire building and sus performance within the emergency services industry ,

Craig Lapsley and his staff have too much authority and too little responsibility . Yes govt may need agencies to show and show coordination,- but it should build, as required, from the boots up.

Anyone who knows how the modern emergency services organisation compete with each other and their members will not be surprised that we are not always getting good cost benefit from many of the new ones .

EXAMPLE September 25th September 2016    Forbes floods


'"  all sorts of dialogue is being offered up about situations where so-called managers are out of their depth."
 Incompetent comment in    Italics
Competent responses in      Normal 


"Flood waters hide deep holes and there is risk a car could overturn if a driver attempted to drive through.""  
In designing creek crossings I would consider it poor design if a 1 in 100 year flood eroded the roadway pavement . Ie any holes are Councils or Vicroads fault in most cases . Even  gravel roads should have safe crossing edges ,flood level markers and water over road signs  Public authorities should close the particular road and avoid broad blanket access  .

It is not difficult to prevent the tunneling problem but there would frankly be plenty of low flow crossings that should be on the agenda for work 

"Could get more water  in next few days"     The whole role of EM is to anticipate each situation as it likely to arises not use realtime  situation or unknowns as broad fear factors   

" this is a different flood from the last one "    Em should not talk like public do about risk , They should speak to anticipated risk directly by saying  This is a 1 in 10 i in 100 etc . Each flood behaves differently but the stream manager should be able to plan and design responses on the basis of proper risk assessment calls ( return period - likely rain ,
The geomorphology is known and an  Em who talks vaguely about breakouts and changes in flows has NOT been studying them in the many quiet times between floods . 



.
CONCLUSION
Emergency agencies are making the most of the risks,  but are not responding to them in a cost effective manner .
If the locals area reticent about their statement Ministers must take it seriously . A high  number of  disobedients may mean the agency is outta touch with real world risk management  The longer this goes on , the more the system will be corrupted

 Don;t expect the public or the media to pick a sound way through the rhetoric. Cultivating respect for leaders depends on onground credibility , consistent words and ideas like return period


FIRES
see another time 

Monday, June 27, 2016

Projection

Takes one to know one is a great test -well applied . People accuse others of things they know lots about . Tanya wants us to believe her maths is better than the incumbents when it was her party that was the one  rejected at last election for  mismanagement  of Tax .
"According to my figures " we did OK
More here 
.

Friday, May 27, 2016

One Wonderful Wednesday

I talk a lot ( please be patient and listen this time) but this Wednesday I saw the most powerful standing in silence I have ever seen.   Hours of it --It was beautiful - to be treasured forever .
I love the system of governance we have inherited. Seldom have I loved it as much as I did  on Wednesday when I stood with 3 groups outside Parliament (Victoria)
eh -Its hard to love it at moment with all the noise and superficiality ( 4wks to election)

The very founders of our Colony put gold in the roof and green wisdom on the floor , We hopefully will continue to do the same.
Study it and show yourself truly following their reliable wisdom that's fixed on the floor .IiTs beauty is more than skin deep - reliable resilient.  A place of noise yes but a place where the framework for  peace and rest has been set .
To be continued shortly

Monday, May 02, 2016

Can any good come out of ABCTV ?

Clearly yes . Tonights more interesting QANDA program probably has nothing to do with formula but  more to do with a lack of one -the old one (stacked)  .
Few polys , real diversity and few interruptions and directions by Jones always helps.
The great question and statements by the  young voter in dark suit were not adequately addressed, This is an area where SABC have little credibility - with young people .  ABCTV followup of him would make more sense than next week's worry or whatevers new campaign

The young blokes concern that BB adults are out of touch was demonstrated,  if not discussed.
All hands to him and others like him .
The Libs need to worry as Pru  seemed least exposed to the realities on the street.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Wading through the murk

The mystery of Q and A (ABCTV)  is why the directors think pollies know things -- too many at the ABC clearly know nothing and clearly don' t know where to go to find more than projection and prejudice built entertainment .They swim too low in the stream .
The real leaders whom they should have on , swim above the murk , Get them on like SBS do!
Those who commit only to  the middle get told what to think --eh Malcolm. they wander around in the murk and  ,   say what they are supposed to say.

Radical anti --Christians can't have it all ways . Infact to get rid of Christianity you have to get rid of a lot of stuff . Not just ideas and values about ( equity and autonomy ) but every persons value, equality and autonomy before God and the theory of just punishment and responsibilities to others Exodus 20.  You have to get of all the laws that have built up over centuries or just hope they work in written formal alone like the Pharisees once did . That or hope lawyers get loved to death like gods .

The reactionaries have been beavering away at it for years but cause they have nothing to replace it  they will end up with nothing - just a few laws they hope will hold water - for them .

You can't say as they have said that its all mind construct without undermining your own mind  and its games .

....we start our week really weak with the lame old ABC.

Comedy expansion  --what a laugh - They know what they need but not how to get there -more taxpayers money wasted in chasing the mere name ONLY ..  
If only the ABC stuck to its job -reporting ,  we would hear more entertaining news  more princes in disguise, more surprises 

 The monday night game at the coliseum is often to see somebody sacrificed ,That person or group maybe in the panel  but maybe not . You can rest assured if they are in the panel,  they will be alone . Appearances of course may disguise the old predictable game they play to win.
Not that the irresponsible directors get it all their own way -  the child can sometimes intervene.

QandA loses lots of it appeal if its just same old same old ; projecting guilt and shame onto someone else -- same old reactionary framework for the ever changing trans everything generation , The amount of blood required to get the same hit increases. The paradox of life severely constrained by reaction to the well established never seen .

This overly predictable reworking of the predictable was another waste of time last night .Jane Caro should have been taken off her banging on pedestal of the pedestrian years ago .
Wise members of the panel had to spend OUR time correcting her about how money was actually spent in public schools .Previous to that we have night after night of spin and stupidity .
The popularity of the simple is however completely understandable .
As for real dialogue and conversation - you couldn't cut a slice of fun  out of that overly controlled  format.and next week - just an anorher illusion of their own making . ho hum never get to the gist mam .

Monday, March 14, 2016

Its all about TRUMP

No it can't be all about Donald TRUMP . It must ALSO  be about the people .
Until we look at ourselves   we won't really understand why the face of stupidity stares right back at us , The hypocrisy

The presumption  that government should ACT  when we don't.

The government should KNOW what its doing when we don't


Most importantly of all for this moment

The government should act tough when we have been
weak 

Despite this weak moment in history and perception ( That its all determined )

WE have the power
we are the ricest people in history and can make it work

Are we not decieved? if so by whom? 

We abandon the freedom and call for personal responsibility for the security of tyranny

Who is voting for him ?
Are young people voting for him because the only thing they are interested in is entertainment , After all isn't that the sort of thing we taught them at home and at school?