Tuesday November 11, 2008 (diary)

Last night we watched the English Premier League Highlights on Pay TV. Chelsea and Liverpool are in the lead with 29 points each, while Manchester United and Arsenal are 6 points behind. These are the four top performing clubs in the league and an absolute pleasure to watch.

Today it is "get it fixed day" for me. In the morning Doug drives me to the Mercedes garage in Woombye. For three days now they have tried to work out what is wrong with the fuel supply system but can't quite pinpoint the problem. The mechanic has replaced a number of things (like O-rings, seals, rubber connection lines), and hopefully has the problem licked.
I also drop my PC laptop off at Kimnat Computers in Woombye for a general cleanup and reinstating of my Internet Explorer Program which refuses to let me go online. I then drive to the coast to Instant Windscreens to order a new rear window for my car and organise the Insurance to cover it. Then my usual lunch at the Mooloolaba Surf Club and a read of the paper and a couple of articles in the Quadrant Magazine which has finally arrived.   In the evening my computer is ready and works fine again (as I write this).

In the (Roman Catholic) South of Holland and in Germany at 11 PM (their local time) on this day the 11th day of the 11th month, the elected Carnival Prince in each town will have the traditional meeting of their Raad van Elf (Council of Eleven), to prepare for the big event in February.

Wednesday November 12, 2008 (diary, States, politics)

I have been reading an interesting article in the November '08 edition (p.72-81) of Quadrant by Paul Monk in which he discusses the ideas of Philip Bobbitt in the latter's book The Shield of Achilles. The book itself, according to online reviews, is rather unorganised and not an enjoyable read ("using 600 pages for what could be said in 200"), but its ideas are very interesting.

The State's genesis (according to Bobbitt) is based on a symbiotic relationship between law and strategy of survival (war, economics, etc.) which over time has resulted in an evolution of State forms from the 15th Century to the present. Wars or other violence (like terrorism), argues Bobbitt, have usually been the catalyst for change, marking the transitions from one State form to the next.   The State forms Bobbitt defines are :

Although the above Characteristics are rather sketchy, there is no doubt that State forms over the centuries have changed dramatically. At present the Modern world is in transfer mode from Nation States to the much more outward focused Market States, as we increasingly are being affected and threatened by Global events like terrorism, financial crisis, economic interactions, international commodity prices, etc.

How are we shaping up in Australia in this respect ?
Paul Monk urges the Government to institute think tanks with the purpose of defining and working through possible future scenarios along Bobbitt's ideas, in order to prevent potential major violence ahead of us.
I personally believe that generally in Australia, more than perhaps in most European countries or the USA, an ever increasing portion of the general public starts to realise that we must consider our country's interest and expectations within the perspective of the entire World around us.

We do have however still an enormous millstone around our neck, a result from past history : our States.
At the time federation was only possible by maintaining the autonomy of the individual member States which divided our Continent. But these member States have lost (by Bobbitt's definition) the very essence of their Statehood identity. All strategy against survival has been taken over by the National ("mother") State, which is also in charge of and distributes most of the Nation's money.
In the modern world therefore these fossil "Non-States" have become an ever increasing wasteful (NSW is spending 50% of its entire budget on salaries for its largely unionised Public servants alone!) and unnecessary middle level of Government (between Federal and Local) which is holding us back in Education, Health, Water management, Infra structure projects. Most importantly they are obstructing the prosperity of our country as a whole and its maturing as a true modern Market State.

Liberal Shadow Minister Tony Abbott today has made a passionate plea (in The Australian Newspaper of Nov.12, 2008) to "Plan now for a federation with Canberra in charge". Will this ever happen ? With the present bunch of mediocre small time thinkers which rule the country right now, that is (in my view at least) not very likely at all.

PS (for non Australians)
Canberra is the Capital of Australia and the seat of the National Federal Government.

Thursday & Friday November 13 & 14, 2008 (diary)

Thursday starts with some bad news. I am informed that yet another one of my University Club friends is dying of cancer and presumably won't make Christmas this year. From the 20 in our Club Pimpernel who started Uni study in 1955 there will be now shortly only 14 of us left. A whopping 30% has moved on to an other world (? provided you believe in that of course). I still feel as if in the middle of my life and am quite confident to live well into my 90s, but of course one never really knows.

I receive a call about my car windscreen. It has arrived and I have it fitted in the afternoon. After that I visit Prue at the Beau Gentry Mens shop (formerly "The Outrigger") in Mooloolaba. I bought some shorts there the other day, made of a cotton/nylon mixture, wonderfully light and just right for warm and hot climates. I love them so order two more of these Yarra Trail shorts and while at it buy another brand as well. With five pairs of new shorts I should be right now again for a while.   Throughout the day we have frequent sudden downpours of rain.
Back at home I work on recompiling my various download merchandise and upload them online.

Friday I burn a CD from the .wav file recordings I made over the past month. Listening to them I find the sound quality surprisingly good. The Tenor sax has a big fat sound with lots of energy, which pleases me no end because it is exactly how I wanted it to sound.This first CD also gives me a good idea on how to proceed from here.
The rain has stopped and it is quite pleasant throughout the day. I have my usual lunch at the Surf Club and then do some shopping.
Later today I visit "The Australian" website and order a copy of Top Price, a collection of Newspaper articles by the late journalist Mat Price, who died last year far too young (only in his 40s ?).

Saturday November 15, 2008 (diary, politics)

Every morning when I wake up and open my eyes, usually around 6 AM, the first thing I see (barely 8 meters away, through the open door just on the other side of ThreePond's rear balcony) is a small bird in a Grevillea tree, picking the sweet juices from the yellow flowers which are in full bloom.
I am dead keen to take a photo of it but by the time I get out of bed and collect my camera the bird has flown of course. I must prepare myself before I go to sleep and have the camera at the ready.

Australia has one National newspaper, The Australian. It is quite good with wide National and International coverage and a team of outstanding journalists. When in Darwin I never read it because it only arrives at 2, 3 or sometimes even 4 in the afternoon, but here at the Sunshine Coast I read it every day, and always over lunch at the Mooloolaba Surf Club.

Amongst other things I am pleased to read this week an article by Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan applauding some of the achievements of the outgoing USA President George W. Bush.
I too believe that the Iraq war was the right thing to do. Unfortunately the lack of foresight, forward planning, intelligence, etc. did not come up to scratch.
Also (in my own view) to put all the blame of the current Financial meltdown on the Bush administration is most unfair.
The roots of the problem (it has now become clear) were really created during the previous Clinton administration, which made the then considered correct and deliberate decision to minimise the control over the US financial system.   Bush tried to curb its freedom, but his attempt was voted down in Parliament. History, Sheridan predicts, will look much more kindly back on the Bush administration.

I also notice that Kevin Rudd still rates very high as the best Economic Manager in the public opinion polls.
Many economists and informed journalists however, are becoming increasingly alarmed at the clear lack of judgement and errors (not to say blunders) being made by the present Australian Labour Government, and the lasting effect this may have on our Nation.