Sunday & Monday November 16 & 17, 2008 (diary)

The weather forecasts have been spot on for change. Saturday and Sunday fine and sunny, then Monday rain again. It has been a great window of opportunity to finally get my washing done.
As I drive into Mooloolaba Sunday lunchtime the place is packed and it is hard to find a parking spot for my car. A Juniors Surf Carnival is in progress on the beach and hundreds of kids are competing.

Babette has given me a step counter which I have slipped onto my waist band to measure the length of my walk along the beach. From the Surf Club to the very end of the pier at the Spit and back is just under 5,000 steps. It takes a good half hour to walk, so a good track to do for me as a regular exercise. I used to do this every day a few years back, but I must admit I have become rather lazy this year.

After my lunch and back at ThreePonds we have nibbles on the hexagonal deck, then move inside when a huge downpour of rain marks the end of our sunny weekend.
But never mind, we have salmon sashimi, pickled octopus and wakami (seaweed) salad for dinner tonight with a bottle of Australian Sake which in no time lights up the sun in our hearts again.

Monday it is dark and rainy. Babette gave me some pages of the book she is writing for me to edit and comment on and today is a good day to start on that.

Tonight the ABC is showing the first of a four part TV Series on "The Howard Years". Eleven years of Conservative Government, covering a range of important decisions including the new Gun laws, introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and of course the Iraq War. I very much look forward to watching it, as only the active players ("who were actually in the room when decisions were made") have been interviewed. Besides many Australian politicians they also include important foreign players such as Tony Blair and George W. Bush.

Tuesday November 18, 2008 (diary, Global politics)

These last few days I am strongly reminded again of Philip Bobbitt's thesis in his book The Shield of Achilles, which I briefly discussed on November 12.   His basic proposition is that war or any threat against the survival of a State becomes an immediate catalyst for an evolutionary change of that State. This is, what I believe going on right now and at at least two large scale levels.

Firstly the present World financial crisis has been the catalyst in elevating the G20 Conference this weekend to a much higher and more significant status than it ever had before. Besides reaching a general consensus on how to proceed forward it has given the two Asian giants, China and India a much needed strong voice in World economic affairs.
At the Conference it was also agreed to reopen the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Doha Round, the instrument for liberalisation of world trade. Great news! The round had broken down earlier this year, much to the dissapointment of many countries and to the detriment of the entire world.

Secondly the over reliance on Russian gas and the potential threat this holds for the entire EU economy has been the catalyst for the European countries (including the UK) to cooperate and form one EU wide electrical power grid. This grid is connecting wind farms from all member countries, so that when there is no wind in the North Sea for example, countries will still receive power from other areas, like the Baltic Sea or any other location where there is wind.   The EU is also constructing a huge circular gas pipeline (encompassing all Europe), with the gas to be supplied from two feeder lines, one from Asia, the other from North Africa.
These actions are greatly strengthening all European countries individually as well the EU economic block as a whole. They will also substantially reduce the potential threat from the East.

Wednesday November 19, 2008 (diary, politics)

This is the most hopeful picture I have seen for a long long time. Hope for the American nation, and through that perhaps for the whole World. The Democratic President elect Barack Obama has invited his Republican opponent in the Presidential race John McCain, to discuss ways in which they can work together to change the course of their Nation.

Will we ever arrive at such a mature state of politics in Australia. I am most doubtful. Certainly not in the present climate were our Labour Cabinet Ministers play parochial Mickey Mouse politics by refusing to say the D word (Deficit) and the R word (Recession) in TV interviews.   Let alone having the guts to acknowledge that the present financial strength of our Nation is to a large degree the result of eleven years of responsible efforts by the previous Liberal Gorvernment. How unspeakably childish is that!! . Sorry guys, to come up to scratch you've got to do a hell of a lot better. Sometimes (surprise surprise) it actually pays to be honest with the people.

After much rain and drizzle the past few days we have a nice sunny day again today. For lunch I go to Jimmy's Place for a Nasi Goreng, then on to the Surf Club for my daily read of the paper. Hillary, one of the waitresses there is having her day off, and where do you think she goes for lunch ? Yes, the Mooloolaba Surf Club. I have to smile about that.

Thursday November 20, 2008 (diary)

When I wake up this morning the sun shines brightly. It has been raining again heavily last night. The green leaves on all the trees and bushes are glittering in the sun, birds are making exited visits to the Grevilleas and I can hear the loud rushing sound of the waterfall releasing overflow water from the lowest dam on ThreePonds.

In this week's News on TV : Statistics about the consumption of alcohol have revealed that on average every Northern Territorian over the age of 15 consumes the equivalent of 1,300 cans of beer per year. This figure is no doubt much inflated by the rampant alcoholism of the Aboriginals in the State, many of which are already totally blotto by 10 AM each morning. But we do like our drink in the Northern Territory (NT), after all it is hot in the Tropics, is it not ?

The other thing we like up in Darwin is quality fast food. That struck me again when walking through the food court at the Sunshine Plaza in Maroochydore the other day. The food on offer there is absolutely pitiful, crude, parochial, and in stark contrast to the truly cosmopolitan variety of mouth watering dishes in Darwin's Casuarina Shopping Centre.   The best comparable food to be had at the Sunshine Coast is in some of the unpretentious "hole in the wall" cameo little restaurants like Jimmy's Place's (originally from Darwin!), the Thai Parnit (with Thai cook) in Nambour, etc.

At the Surf Club over lunch I watch the first cricket test of the summer, Australia against New Zealand at the Gabba (Brisbane Cricket Ground). The all around stand has lost part of its roof during last Sunday's storm, when thousands of homes were damaged at an estimated cost of $100 million or more.
As predicted it is bowlers wicket and the Australians (who have been sent in to bat first) have lost 6 wickets for less than 140 runs by the time I leave. It should be an interesting test and, provided it is not rained out, provide a definite result.