I just noticed this post:
http://stuartjeannebramhall.com/2015/04/09/former-cia-station-chief-to-face-murder-charges/
It reminded me of a novel by Colleen McCullough that I read not so long ago. The novel is called:
TOO MANY MURDERS
Normally I am not into reading murder stories, but because it was a novel written by Colleen I gave it a go.
I soon found out that the plot became very interesting. It was interesting because it showed how the secret services operate.
I cut my walk short this morning because it started to drizzle a bit. I did not want risking to get too wet! I was glad I did have a camera with me to take the above pictures. I use a very old camera now. But it is digital, much like the other somewhat larger camera that does not work any more. I am glad I can now use the very little camera instead. Very easy to carry around!
If you want to read the whole article, please go to:
David Fagan was editor and editor-in-chief of Queensland’s major newspaper The Courier-Mail for a decade and was News Corp’s editorial director in Queensland before joining QUT
We can be confident that the business of government and politics will continue. After all, its survival is legislated. And the public kind of likes democracy.
So far, the politicians and party organisations have dabbled with some of the tools of disruption to protect their positions. Most politicians tweet, share stories on Facebook and line up for selfies with their true believers. But this is at the margins rather than the core of political practice.
Fundamentally, politics is still built around internal loyalties and a win-at-all-costs approach to a range of complex issues. Yet most of the choices they face involve the decisions we must make to share the available resources among a growing population on a finite planet. If the tensions those choices create isn’t disruptive, I don’t know what is.
The changed consumer needs, aligned with technology, must change the practice of politics; the only question is how.
One answer might lie in the latest manifestation of disruption, the evolution of the sharing economy. This involves the use of digital tools to harness unused capacity and put it to productive use: for example, Uber as a ride-sharing app and AirBnB as an accommodation service.
What might this look like in politics? Imagine a mobile app where a third-party provider can harness support for an issue and deliver it as a bloc to a group of politicians willing to make available their legislative capacity.
Fanciful? Well, in effect, that’s what has already happened to the transport industry and the accommodation industry. It will take just one balance-of-power crossbencher in an Australian parliament to take up the idea to give it traction. And isn’t the basis of politics to understand what the public wants and to deliver it efficiently?
If politics follows the pattern of disruption, it will do just that. But the old brands risk falling by the wayside unless they face the reality that hanging on to the old ways almost certainly guarantees oblivion. Just ask Kodak.
Lindsay David wrote onMarch 27, 2015:
” . . . . since the mid-1990s, Australia’s strategy is for home buyers and investors to borrow heavily from lenders and flip houses to the next buyer who has taken out even more debt to speculate.
Today, all this country has to show for it is a $1.9 trillion mountain of household debt that will make the US credit-fuelled housing bubble of the last decade look like a walk in the park when our housing bubble bursts.
The unfortunate victims of today’s “wealth-creation” strategy are young home buyers and middle-income earners who are either completely priced out of the market or leveraged through the roof.
While our society lacks a meaningful and open debate on the toxic and rising levels of household debt, new home buyers in Sydney and Melbourne are entering the market and taking upon the most illogical sums of debt, courtesy of our over-leveraged banking system. . . . . “
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/land-tax-often-overlooked-in-the-tax-debate-20150407-1mfro2.html
Jessica Irvine says:
“Sometimes, the answer is right in front of your face. Sometimes, it’s just below your feet.
As we embark, as a nation, on a sensible and measured debate about tax reform, land tax should be a major part of the discussion.
Land tax is one of the most efficient taxes for precisely the reason it is unpopular: it is hard to dodge.
Of the roughly four things governments can tax – companies, individuals, consumption and land – economists agree that land is by far the most efficient source for taxation. . . . . ”
Please go to the above link to read on.
It is important that when it comes to land tax, only the unimproved value should be taxed, not the home!
Peter and I went on a morning walk today. We went along the footpath in Lakelands Park.
In November last year we saw here heaps of mulberries! You can see them here:
https://auntyuta.com/2014/11/07/in-search-for-this-little-tree/
This house on that hill fascinates me. I already took a picture of it the other day. Today I took another picture and cropped it, so the house becomes a bit more visible!
Peter took the last three pictures.
Not so long ago Peter and I drove up Mount Brown to have a look at the new sub-divisions. A lot of buildings have already gone up there. People who buy a block of land there have a beautiful view towards the lake.
For breakfast we had filter coffee, boiled eggs, warm bread rolls out of the oven, as well as some orange juice.
After breakfast at eight we left for the drive to the bottom of Macquarie Pass from where Peter, Caroline and Matthew went on their nice little walk to the waterfall while I stayed outside in the beautiful, warming sun. Towards 11 o’clock we were on the way back home. Matthew was driving. He stopped on the way at a Pie shop in Dapto that was open! Several pieces of cake and a few pies were purchased.
So at eleven at was time for us to have our morning tea and to eat some of the things from the Pie shop. For lunch we had to wait quite a while for Monika and her family were a bit late in arriving. All in all we expected six additional persons for lunch.
Monika came in her car. She has a special child’s seat in her car. Her daughters Tash and Krystal came along too, as well as Tiana, the daughter of Mark. Krystal and Tiana are university students, whereas Tash has a job with the Postal Service. Tash is going to have an engagement celebration this coming Saturday. Krystal turned 18 on Easter Sunday. She had a birthday party the night before her birthday. She started university at the start of this year when she was not even 18 yet. Monica’s daughter Roxy did not come yesterday. But we are going to see her for sure at Tash’s party next Saturday. This is also when we are going to see Troy as well as Ryan and Ebony with their two little sons. It was so lovely that we could see Lucas already yesterday. Tiana kept carrying him. She said he was so cuddly. He did feel a bit tired for a while after they arrived. I think he had already seen Ebony’s parents in the morning and then he was at grandma Monika’s place for a while. After lunch Lucas went outside for some egg hunting. Everybody watched him as he was doing this! Tash and I took pictures.
Back to lunch now. Caroline and Matthew had earlier baked the leg of lamb. We had bought this meat, 2.7 kg of it, at Aldi’s the morning after Peter’s eye op. It only needed heating. Matthew sliced it. I had cooked some red cabbage the previous day. This also needed just some heating up. Caroline cooked green beans and sweat potatoes. Some other potatoes were baked in the oven together with the meat. Caroline filled up a jug with tap water and set the table with this jug, glasses, plates and cutlery. Peter sat up some extra chairs around the table. I think all I had done was to cut the sweat potatoes and to help with the tablecloth. I also took a few pictures of the lunch table.
In between I had another turn of rapid heartbeat. So I stretched out a bit on the sofa to calm down. A few times I did get a bit short of breath. When this happens, I know, I have to take a rest. I am always worried, others might think, I am just lazy! Anyhow, here are the lunch pictures now;
Yes, he knew at every stage how many eggs there were in the basket. Later on Tiana made him count all the chicks he could see. I think he counted right up to twenty!
The girls left early with Lucas to take him home. Tiana drove. She took Monika’s car. Monika went home later with Mark who had come in his car. He had come a bit later for he first had to do something for his mother.
We had a nice coffee afternoon with Monika, Mark, Caroline and Matthew. We animatedly talked about a lot of things. And we did not even drink one bit of liquor! Nobody thought of doing the dishes that had piled up in the kitchen. I had no idea Caroline and Matthew wanted to travel back to Sydney soon after Monika and Mark left. I thought they would stay till Easter Monday. Nobody had told me they wanted to be home on Sunday already. I am afraid I said in a probably snappish sounding voice: So, you are going to leave us with all the dishes!
Caroline became upset. Peter said she cried. Peter said he could do the dishes. I would not have to do a thing. In the end Caroline and Matthew decided they would catch their train one hour later and do the dishes in the meantime. I was very happy that Peter did not have to do the dishes. I probably could have helped him with putting away some of the dishes. However it would really have been such an effort for us oldies. I felt we needed a more restful evening.
I was very grateful that Caroline and Matthew cleaned up the kitchen. They did it very quickly and efficiently. I thanked them for it before they left and apologised that I had been playing up so much. When Caroline had arrived back in Sydney she sent Peter a message on his phone, saying that she loved us both.
When Peter accused me of treating Caroline like a slave, I felt really awful.
We were lucky yesterday, on Easter Sunday: There was beautiful sunshine all day after a lot of rain during the previous days. Early in the morning we went with Caroline and Matthew to the bottom of Macquarie Pass. It was easy parking there. At the other end of this beautiful green grass area is a path that leads to a waterfall. Everyone wanted to go on that walk to the waterfall. They all said I should come too. But I decided against it. I thought the path might be too slippery for me. I did not want to risk it. I had taken a picnic rug along and made myself comfortable near a table with bench. Peter took this picture of me:
I thought it was very pleasant to sit for about an hour in the morning sun. I did not mind this at all while the others disappeared to walk to the waterfall. All the following pictures Peter did bring back from their walk.
Little Lucas hunting for Easter eggs:
HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!
AuntyUta 