We can never protect ourselves from every single scenario.
You 'didn't need to hear this'? Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt. Wrong.
History has repeatedly taught us how vulnerable we are at times, yet our instinctive reaction to natural disaster is to target a series of scapegoats to focus the blame - since the Causes are too difficult! - and then invest in an exercise to 'ensure it can never happen again.'
Even when we know, deep in our brains, that it probably will.
Much as it's human nature to seek them, there are no easy answers.
Particularly for those of us who choose to live in Paradise … in the middle of one of the most combustible forests in the world.
Blame 'the greenies' all you like if it floats your leaky McBoat.
In joining this tiresome game, I'll take a slightly more rational course: I blame the increasing ascendancy of 'Wants' over 'Needs'.
We stomp across the planet in our quest for repeated self-gratification then wonder why systems start to break down.
It ain't rocket surgery.
Overconsumption: climate change: erratic weather patterns: stuffall rain: drier bush: reduced opportunities for strategic FRBs (… which are, incidentally, endorsed by your 'greenie' scapegoats).
I expect a lot of really useful outcomes from the Royal Commission.
Hundreds of people should never die in vain.
But we'll never be invulnerable.
That's one piece of useful knowledge reaffirmed during my few hours of 'mortality' last Monday.
Something that seems to have gone 'AWOL' over my lifetime is personal autonomy, yet - unless we are prepared to take full responsibility, in every sense, for the consequences: our destiny - we simply don't deserve 'autonomy'!
Invest a few minutes in this article.
Most of the Comments are also worth reading.
(The intro follows. I'd dispute its claim that It is the other side of the story, since the 'story' is way too complex for a dualistic debate, yet it offers a series of valuable insights that need to be brought to the table.)
Hazard Reduction: The Blame Game
February 18th, 2009
…
The Bushfires in Victoria were a paradigm-shifting event - gripping, terrifying and devastating for dozens of communities and hundreds of families…The news was shocking in its magnitude and the disaster will have enormous consequences for land management and housing development across the nation. Professor Poongschtok is an alias for one of Real Dirt’s most informed readers. He knows what he is talking about so his piece may be long but every word is worth reading. It is the other side of the story.
…
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Ockham's Razor*: sorting the wheat from the chaff
(Before I start: if any of the following terms are unclear, feel free to look them up in a dictionary or use the 'define' option in Google.)
The best lies are half true.
Compare, for example, the mainstream (official) analyses of '9-11' with the alternative ('truthist') viewpoints.
Both 'sides' have much to gain by obfuscation in serving their respective agendas.
The best way to achieve this level of confusion (disharmony, conflict) is to blend truth and fiction in roughly equal measures, mix well - preferably by the light of the new moon! - and serve: with extreme prejudice.
I had my say on 9-11 several months ago - that the real truth is all there … but isolating it is much like separating egg yolks from an omelette.
Moving on …
I've had a bit of free time over the break and have spent too much of it doing research.
I'm now a lot more savvy about subjects as diverse as glyphosate, passionvine hoppers, the GM food agenda, water ownership …
However, what I'd like to focus on today is Globalism.
From time to time, I've had my say about this too. In fact, the subheading above sums up my world view: '… ACT GLOBALLY'.
This is something I believe in with all my heart: that we can all contribute to our planet in a positive way.
In promoting this ideal, occasionally I've made it clear that I believe all levels of government in Australia have 'lost the plot'.
They've embraced a sectional-interest-and-market-lobby-driven platform - as opposed to one that is people-driven; they buy our compliance with middle-class handouts and hide behind secrecy provisions; they still can't (won't) recognise the all-too-obvious connection between economic 'growth' (consumption) and environmental unsustainability.
Well, yes, everything I've written is (of course) true.
There's more government-bagging to come! And I'll continue to deconstruct The Emperor's New Clothes - in the interests of transparency! - until Conroy's goons (try to) shut me down.
However, today I'm going to switch my focus to the fringe-dwellers who feel compelled to believe in secret or cabalistic conspiracies against us - as opposed to the obvious conspiracy by the mechanics of 'market forces' to disempower us.
I've read a lot about (what I'll arbitrarily term) the New World Order over recent weeks; this reading supplements what I'd already known about exclusive cults (Freemasonry, the Illuminati, etc.), about the UN's Agenda 21, about privatisation of essential services, about debt-for-equity swaps, about corporate welfare, imperialism …
There's literally tens of millions of 'conspiracists' who believe - god bless 'em - that a secret plan has been in place (for up to 2000 years) to control the planet. According to which source you read, this plan is currently being shaped by any combination of the following: Jews, bankers, communists, fascists(!), fabian socialists, the UN, the IMF, environmentalists, green politicians, catholics …
over the past couple of days I've learnt that even shire councils and the feminist movement are complicit!
Yet there's nothing in any of these allegations which can't be explained by the ongoing struggle between capital and labour.
Here's a bonus irony: the anti-NWO movement seems to be a morass of half-informed, fundie christians. Heh … just like the NRA!
I won't charge these 'truthists' with feeble-mindedness, because there is, indeed, too much truth layered between the lies and assumptions. Furthermore, many people have lost what little they have - their jobs, their homes, frequently their self-esteem - due to the behaviour of one or more of the above groups - and it's human nature to blame someone.
No wonder Australia's One Nation party flamed briefly a few years back! It opportunistically rode this tidal wave of resentment and hatred.
No, the biggest problem I have with the Global Paranoia Movement is its lack of integrity: clear analysis and objectivity.
Take Agenda 21 as an isolated example: released by the UN in 1992, A21 offers us (as global citizens) some policies and pathways toward achieving a more sustainable future: protected natural environments, reduced consumption, increased equity, etc.
In order to achieve this, it 'requires' a degree of intervention by governments, worldwide, to secure such a future.
(I term this the Benevolent Big Brother effect; though I'm ambivalent, I concede it has an important role to play.)
As a body, the Conspiracists have selectively cherry-picked elements from A21 to convince the ignorant that it's little more than an attack on personal liberty.
In doing so, they have alienated people like me who believe we can have the best of both worlds - despite the cynicism and opportunism of regulators - by taking ownership of the problem of poor governance! By Acting Globally in our own Backyards!
The nett outcome of these poorly-constructed conspiracy theories is that the baby goes with the bathwater and the real enemy rejoices …
Divide and Conquer!
Patriots vs nationalists! Environmentalists vs trade unions! Social conservatives vs (small L) liberals vs feminists. Low-paid, unskilled workers vs immigrants!
US vs THEM!
In discovering 'who to blame', it's best to put reason ahead of emotion.
Apply Ockham's Razor: shave away the irrelevant and spurious data - if you can - and you'll discover the truth.
Friends! The conspiracy is clear - but it's no secret!
It's simply the ugly face of market economics.
As always, there's a fairly clear solution:
1. the people, united, will never be defeated;
2. know your real enemy: (BTW, who is underwriting the Global Paranoia Movement?).
*Ockham's razor (sometimes spelled Occam's razor) is a principle attributed to the 14th-century English logician and Franciscan friar, William of Ockham. The principle states that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible, eliminating those that make no difference in the observable predictions of the explanatory hypothesis or theory. …
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam's_razor
The best lies are half true.
Compare, for example, the mainstream (official) analyses of '9-11' with the alternative ('truthist') viewpoints.
Both 'sides' have much to gain by obfuscation in serving their respective agendas.
The best way to achieve this level of confusion (disharmony, conflict) is to blend truth and fiction in roughly equal measures, mix well - preferably by the light of the new moon! - and serve: with extreme prejudice.
I had my say on 9-11 several months ago - that the real truth is all there … but isolating it is much like separating egg yolks from an omelette.
Moving on …
I've had a bit of free time over the break and have spent too much of it doing research.
I'm now a lot more savvy about subjects as diverse as glyphosate, passionvine hoppers, the GM food agenda, water ownership …
However, what I'd like to focus on today is Globalism.
From time to time, I've had my say about this too. In fact, the subheading above sums up my world view: '… ACT GLOBALLY'.
This is something I believe in with all my heart: that we can all contribute to our planet in a positive way.
In promoting this ideal, occasionally I've made it clear that I believe all levels of government in Australia have 'lost the plot'.
They've embraced a sectional-interest-and-market-lobby-driven platform - as opposed to one that is people-driven; they buy our compliance with middle-class handouts and hide behind secrecy provisions; they still can't (won't) recognise the all-too-obvious connection between economic 'growth' (consumption) and environmental unsustainability.
Well, yes, everything I've written is (of course) true.
There's more government-bagging to come! And I'll continue to deconstruct The Emperor's New Clothes - in the interests of transparency! - until Conroy's goons (try to) shut me down.
However, today I'm going to switch my focus to the fringe-dwellers who feel compelled to believe in secret or cabalistic conspiracies against us - as opposed to the obvious conspiracy by the mechanics of 'market forces' to disempower us.
I've read a lot about (what I'll arbitrarily term) the New World Order over recent weeks; this reading supplements what I'd already known about exclusive cults (Freemasonry, the Illuminati, etc.), about the UN's Agenda 21, about privatisation of essential services, about debt-for-equity swaps, about corporate welfare, imperialism …
There's literally tens of millions of 'conspiracists' who believe - god bless 'em - that a secret plan has been in place (for up to 2000 years) to control the planet. According to which source you read, this plan is currently being shaped by any combination of the following: Jews, bankers, communists, fascists(!), fabian socialists, the UN, the IMF, environmentalists, green politicians, catholics …
over the past couple of days I've learnt that even shire councils and the feminist movement are complicit!
Yet there's nothing in any of these allegations which can't be explained by the ongoing struggle between capital and labour.
Here's a bonus irony: the anti-NWO movement seems to be a morass of half-informed, fundie christians. Heh … just like the NRA!
I won't charge these 'truthists' with feeble-mindedness, because there is, indeed, too much truth layered between the lies and assumptions. Furthermore, many people have lost what little they have - their jobs, their homes, frequently their self-esteem - due to the behaviour of one or more of the above groups - and it's human nature to blame someone.
No wonder Australia's One Nation party flamed briefly a few years back! It opportunistically rode this tidal wave of resentment and hatred.
No, the biggest problem I have with the Global Paranoia Movement is its lack of integrity: clear analysis and objectivity.
Take Agenda 21 as an isolated example: released by the UN in 1992, A21 offers us (as global citizens) some policies and pathways toward achieving a more sustainable future: protected natural environments, reduced consumption, increased equity, etc.
In order to achieve this, it 'requires' a degree of intervention by governments, worldwide, to secure such a future.
(I term this the Benevolent Big Brother effect; though I'm ambivalent, I concede it has an important role to play.)
As a body, the Conspiracists have selectively cherry-picked elements from A21 to convince the ignorant that it's little more than an attack on personal liberty.
In doing so, they have alienated people like me who believe we can have the best of both worlds - despite the cynicism and opportunism of regulators - by taking ownership of the problem of poor governance! By Acting Globally in our own Backyards!
The nett outcome of these poorly-constructed conspiracy theories is that the baby goes with the bathwater and the real enemy rejoices …
Divide and Conquer!
Patriots vs nationalists! Environmentalists vs trade unions! Social conservatives vs (small L) liberals vs feminists. Low-paid, unskilled workers vs immigrants!
US vs THEM!
In discovering 'who to blame', it's best to put reason ahead of emotion.
Apply Ockham's Razor: shave away the irrelevant and spurious data - if you can - and you'll discover the truth.
Friends! The conspiracy is clear - but it's no secret!
It's simply the ugly face of market economics.
As always, there's a fairly clear solution:
1. the people, united, will never be defeated;
2. know your real enemy: (BTW, who is underwriting the Global Paranoia Movement?).
*Ockham's razor (sometimes spelled Occam's razor) is a principle attributed to the 14th-century English logician and Franciscan friar, William of Ockham. The principle states that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible, eliminating those that make no difference in the observable predictions of the explanatory hypothesis or theory. …
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam's_razor
Thursday, 25 December 2008
centrelink
Inevitably, Australia's interpretation of the 'welfare state' has evolved - in some ways for the better.
If you think about it, the philosophy of 'mutual obligation' has a lot of nett benefits … as long as it applies to everyone!
It never has. It never will.
It's long been my contention that the ¿service? I term 'Clink' - the sound made by a single dried-out brain cell rattling around an empty skull - needs a bloody good reaming out.
In fact, it needs a Senate enquiry followed by an overhaul.
Why?
Somewhere over the past 20 years Australian society - the collective 'we' (comprising taxpayers, 'leaders' / legislators and administrators) - has lost sight of the original intent of 'welfare' as a safety-net.
Clink has become exclusivist, obstructionist and adversarial rather than inclusive and helpful.
In achieving this sorry political ideal Clink has devolved into a sanctuary for incompetence.
(As with education and health, alas, too many good operators have given up and moved on.)
Clink imposes the strictest of requirements on its 'clients' while failing to meet the lowest standards of professionalism.
Too much power, too little accountability. It's as simple as that.
If I ran my business the way they ran theirs, I'd disappear up my own backside (just like them).
My evidence is merely anecdotal: I know eight or ten Clink 'clients' fairly well; I've heard depressingly familiar stories from many more.
Most of them simply can't get consistently accurate (honest) information or consistent responses out of these bozos.
Here's a typical scenario:
1. 'Client' X calls on Monday and (after waiting in a queue indefinitely) receives 'advice A'.
This information usually doesn't tally with Clink's documentation, so …
2. She calls again on Tuesday and receives 'advice B', which invariably contradicts A.
3. Then she sacrifices other commitments and turns up to an appointment on Thursday with sufficient documentation to cover the requirements of both A and B.
Guess what?
4. Advice C both contradicts and supercedes the earlier advice. Trip wasted. In total, hours wasted. Clink accountability? Zero.
5. And so the cycle continues.
These days, one of Clink's core functions is to break people's spirits.
They'll never own up. They'll never tell the truth. Stuff the lot of 'em!
Without a doubt, it's a political thing. It's a policy thing.
Driven by the Tweedledum and Tweedledee of the market agenda: Labor and Liberal.
Don't get me started on 'Work for the Dole' (still operating under a different title). Suffice it to say, WFTD was never about getting anyone 'working' - and even less concerned with building better (more employable) citizens.
Don't get me started on Clink's role in cooking the books to help successive governments publish favourable employment stats.
If mutual obligation had an ounce of validity, any number of dysfunctional, agenda-serving ministers from the Howard and Rudd governments (Reith, Andrews, Ruddock, Downer - plus Conroy and possibly Garrett for starters) would be out on their arses.
(A couple of the former might even be serving prison time.)
That's enough ranting for now.
I've got a lot more to say about where the unemployed, the disabled, aged pensioners, single parents (etc.) fit into the global economy - in terms of their generally small enviro-footprint AND the Return on Investment they offer in terms of a more sustainable future - but will postpone this argument to ensure my key point is made …
Clink is f*cked. Clink needs fixing.
To close this particular attack, I'm going to cite, completely unedited (and with permission), a post I read the other day about how Clink 'functions'.
It was part of an online discussion pursuant to Kevin 747's Umpteenth Plan: to reduce homelessness in Australia by 50% by 2020.
(We all know - and most people (by now) hope - Kev'll be long gone by then.
I'll be happy to bet he'll be chairing that Nirvana of Inaction, the UN - prattling on smugly, happily and bi-lingually.)
To put the following into context, Y asks a question - "What changes would you suggest?" - and Z responds in beautiful detail …
What changes would you suggest?
Wow, where to begin?
Okay, to start with they can stop referring to the people using a Centrelink-provided service as "clients" and "customers". Its a ridiculous, politically correct waste of time that I (personally) find insulting to my intelligence. If I was a "customer" of Centrelink, I'd be taking my business elsewhere because their "customer service" sucks. But you can't go elsewhere, so they can drop the pretense of being like other large institutions (banks, shops and other businesses). I don't care what they refer to those people as, so long as it doesn't give the impression that they have any kind of choice in the matter.
Second, they can fix their computer systems. Centrelink's system doesn't (currently) interface properly with the system used by Job Providers. Job Providers log someone in as having turned up for job training and it doesn't show up on Centrelink's system, so they cut off your payments.
Third, they need to recognize that mentally ill people are mentally ill. They might not remember they have an appointment (Alzheimer's), they might be aggressive to staff (paranoid schizophrenia) and they might not even understand WTF you're saying to them (impaired cognitive function i.e. brain damage). The mentally ill person also can't help that they're flapped in the head.
Forth, the Income and Assets test needs to be reversed. Instead of you having to prove you don't have any money, they should have to prove you do before refusing payment especially in cases where the mentally ill are involved.
Fifth, I've also discovered that up to one third of the social services sector consists of people employed solely to inform members of the public that they can't actually help them and to distribute lists of other organizations that might be able to.
Sixth, if the people who work at Centrelink are supposed to be professionals, they need to be able to exercise some level of discretion if, in their professional opinion, a situation warrants a non-check box response. I know adding some flexibility opens the system up for cheating, but you can cheat it easily already just by knowing which boxes to tick on the forms. End result is that you still have a system that can be abused, but that can actually function for non-standard cases as well.
Here's my own personal scenario from earlier in the year:
What should have happened:
[Dad] Apply for Aged Pension, granted.
[Me] apply for Carer's Payment, granted.
What actually happened:
[Dad] Applied for Aged Pension, rejected, appealed rejection, rejection upheld, appealed again, gave up appeal in frustration, applied for Disability Support Pension, rejected, appealed, rejection upheld, applied for Newstart Allowance, granted, applied for exemption from looking for work due to sickness, exemption granted, applied for Disability Support Pension again, granted.
[Me] Applied for Carer's Payment, rejected, appealed, rejection upheld, appealed, rejection upheld again, applied for Newstart Allowance, granted, applied for exemption from looking for work due to sickness, granted, exemption expired, applied again for exemption, granted, applied for councelling session with psychologist due to impending mental breakdown, attended sessions with psychologist and bitched about Centrelink, psychologist diagnosed severe depression, anxiety, hypertension, grief, asked how I was still standing...exemption expired, applied again for exemption, granted, got Dad some money, made a few calls, got a new job, called Centrelink manager and suggested they attempt auto-copulation for making the whole saga stretch out for six and a half months.
Yeah, I lied and cheated the system and my Dad (who is suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's disease) would be on the streets if I hadn't, so I did what I needed to do and make absolutely no apologies for it.
You know what I needed? Some bloody time off to get my Dad's affairs sorted out and find him a nice nursing home to spend the next few years in while he turns into a vegetable. Knowing that he'd be flapped if I just handed everything over to the social welfare system, how could I do that and still sleep at night? I don't even particularly like my father, but I wouldn't wish Centrelink on my worst enemy.
If you think about it, the philosophy of 'mutual obligation' has a lot of nett benefits … as long as it applies to everyone!
It never has. It never will.
It's long been my contention that the ¿service? I term 'Clink' - the sound made by a single dried-out brain cell rattling around an empty skull - needs a bloody good reaming out.
In fact, it needs a Senate enquiry followed by an overhaul.
Why?
Somewhere over the past 20 years Australian society - the collective 'we' (comprising taxpayers, 'leaders' / legislators and administrators) - has lost sight of the original intent of 'welfare' as a safety-net.
Clink has become exclusivist, obstructionist and adversarial rather than inclusive and helpful.
In achieving this sorry political ideal Clink has devolved into a sanctuary for incompetence.
(As with education and health, alas, too many good operators have given up and moved on.)
Clink imposes the strictest of requirements on its 'clients' while failing to meet the lowest standards of professionalism.
Too much power, too little accountability. It's as simple as that.
If I ran my business the way they ran theirs, I'd disappear up my own backside (just like them).
My evidence is merely anecdotal: I know eight or ten Clink 'clients' fairly well; I've heard depressingly familiar stories from many more.
Most of them simply can't get consistently accurate (honest) information or consistent responses out of these bozos.
Here's a typical scenario:
1. 'Client' X calls on Monday and (after waiting in a queue indefinitely) receives 'advice A'.
This information usually doesn't tally with Clink's documentation, so …
2. She calls again on Tuesday and receives 'advice B', which invariably contradicts A.
3. Then she sacrifices other commitments and turns up to an appointment on Thursday with sufficient documentation to cover the requirements of both A and B.
Guess what?
4. Advice C both contradicts and supercedes the earlier advice. Trip wasted. In total, hours wasted. Clink accountability? Zero.
5. And so the cycle continues.
These days, one of Clink's core functions is to break people's spirits.
They'll never own up. They'll never tell the truth. Stuff the lot of 'em!
Without a doubt, it's a political thing. It's a policy thing.
Driven by the Tweedledum and Tweedledee of the market agenda: Labor and Liberal.
Don't get me started on 'Work for the Dole' (still operating under a different title). Suffice it to say, WFTD was never about getting anyone 'working' - and even less concerned with building better (more employable) citizens.
Don't get me started on Clink's role in cooking the books to help successive governments publish favourable employment stats.
If mutual obligation had an ounce of validity, any number of dysfunctional, agenda-serving ministers from the Howard and Rudd governments (Reith, Andrews, Ruddock, Downer - plus Conroy and possibly Garrett for starters) would be out on their arses.
(A couple of the former might even be serving prison time.)
That's enough ranting for now.
I've got a lot more to say about where the unemployed, the disabled, aged pensioners, single parents (etc.) fit into the global economy - in terms of their generally small enviro-footprint AND the Return on Investment they offer in terms of a more sustainable future - but will postpone this argument to ensure my key point is made …
Clink is f*cked. Clink needs fixing.
To close this particular attack, I'm going to cite, completely unedited (and with permission), a post I read the other day about how Clink 'functions'.
It was part of an online discussion pursuant to Kevin 747's Umpteenth Plan: to reduce homelessness in Australia by 50% by 2020.
(We all know - and most people (by now) hope - Kev'll be long gone by then.
I'll be happy to bet he'll be chairing that Nirvana of Inaction, the UN - prattling on smugly, happily and bi-lingually.)
To put the following into context, Y asks a question - "What changes would you suggest?" - and Z responds in beautiful detail …
What changes would you suggest?
Wow, where to begin?
Okay, to start with they can stop referring to the people using a Centrelink-provided service as "clients" and "customers". Its a ridiculous, politically correct waste of time that I (personally) find insulting to my intelligence. If I was a "customer" of Centrelink, I'd be taking my business elsewhere because their "customer service" sucks. But you can't go elsewhere, so they can drop the pretense of being like other large institutions (banks, shops and other businesses). I don't care what they refer to those people as, so long as it doesn't give the impression that they have any kind of choice in the matter.
Second, they can fix their computer systems. Centrelink's system doesn't (currently) interface properly with the system used by Job Providers. Job Providers log someone in as having turned up for job training and it doesn't show up on Centrelink's system, so they cut off your payments.
Third, they need to recognize that mentally ill people are mentally ill. They might not remember they have an appointment (Alzheimer's), they might be aggressive to staff (paranoid schizophrenia) and they might not even understand WTF you're saying to them (impaired cognitive function i.e. brain damage). The mentally ill person also can't help that they're flapped in the head.
Forth, the Income and Assets test needs to be reversed. Instead of you having to prove you don't have any money, they should have to prove you do before refusing payment especially in cases where the mentally ill are involved.
Fifth, I've also discovered that up to one third of the social services sector consists of people employed solely to inform members of the public that they can't actually help them and to distribute lists of other organizations that might be able to.
Sixth, if the people who work at Centrelink are supposed to be professionals, they need to be able to exercise some level of discretion if, in their professional opinion, a situation warrants a non-check box response. I know adding some flexibility opens the system up for cheating, but you can cheat it easily already just by knowing which boxes to tick on the forms. End result is that you still have a system that can be abused, but that can actually function for non-standard cases as well.
Here's my own personal scenario from earlier in the year:
What should have happened:
[Dad] Apply for Aged Pension, granted.
[Me] apply for Carer's Payment, granted.
What actually happened:
[Dad] Applied for Aged Pension, rejected, appealed rejection, rejection upheld, appealed again, gave up appeal in frustration, applied for Disability Support Pension, rejected, appealed, rejection upheld, applied for Newstart Allowance, granted, applied for exemption from looking for work due to sickness, exemption granted, applied for Disability Support Pension again, granted.
[Me] Applied for Carer's Payment, rejected, appealed, rejection upheld, appealed, rejection upheld again, applied for Newstart Allowance, granted, applied for exemption from looking for work due to sickness, granted, exemption expired, applied again for exemption, granted, applied for councelling session with psychologist due to impending mental breakdown, attended sessions with psychologist and bitched about Centrelink, psychologist diagnosed severe depression, anxiety, hypertension, grief, asked how I was still standing...exemption expired, applied again for exemption, granted, got Dad some money, made a few calls, got a new job, called Centrelink manager and suggested they attempt auto-copulation for making the whole saga stretch out for six and a half months.
Yeah, I lied and cheated the system and my Dad (who is suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's disease) would be on the streets if I hadn't, so I did what I needed to do and make absolutely no apologies for it.
You know what I needed? Some bloody time off to get my Dad's affairs sorted out and find him a nice nursing home to spend the next few years in while he turns into a vegetable. Knowing that he'd be flapped if I just handed everything over to the social welfare system, how could I do that and still sleep at night? I don't even particularly like my father, but I wouldn't wish Centrelink on my worst enemy.
Thursday, 18 December 2008
the spirit of christmas: a vignette
Like many atheists I don't get really excited about this time of year.
I'm not curmudgeonly about it.
I love sharing the happiness of kids.
I enjoy catching up with mates for a drink and a good rant and some special food.
I even look forward to seeing the odd relative. (I have plenty of those.)
And let's face it, after a few drugs of choice, some of those hymns and homilies can sound pretty damn good.
Yet it's difficult to seriously embrace superstitious behaviour … and harder still condone full-tilt consumption! … when these two factors, among several others, contribute to the deprivation experienced by billions of my neighbours - and ongoing damage to my planet.
Here's a little reality check which helped put my personal 'festive' season in perspective.
I picked up a hitchhiker today: a male, maybe late thirties to early forties.
During the three or four minutes we spent together, I learnt that a bare fortnight ago he had separated from his wife of 18 years.
Upon his return from an extended visit to relatives in the UK she pulled the pin.
He lost his family, his house, his car.
At some stage he had lost his business.
He was living between caravan parks and trying to pull the strands of his life back together.
He was friendly. He joked a bit. He even patted my car … something no one else has done (aside from me) since I owned it.
I'll probably never know his real story. I'll certainly never know his wife's side of the story.
But I felt incredibly empty inside when I dropped him off at the bus stop.
I'll admit that I wished him a good christmas.
And he reciprocated.
I'm not curmudgeonly about it.
I love sharing the happiness of kids.
I enjoy catching up with mates for a drink and a good rant and some special food.
I even look forward to seeing the odd relative. (I have plenty of those.)
And let's face it, after a few drugs of choice, some of those hymns and homilies can sound pretty damn good.
Yet it's difficult to seriously embrace superstitious behaviour … and harder still condone full-tilt consumption! … when these two factors, among several others, contribute to the deprivation experienced by billions of my neighbours - and ongoing damage to my planet.
Here's a little reality check which helped put my personal 'festive' season in perspective.
I picked up a hitchhiker today: a male, maybe late thirties to early forties.
During the three or four minutes we spent together, I learnt that a bare fortnight ago he had separated from his wife of 18 years.
Upon his return from an extended visit to relatives in the UK she pulled the pin.
He lost his family, his house, his car.
At some stage he had lost his business.
He was living between caravan parks and trying to pull the strands of his life back together.
He was friendly. He joked a bit. He even patted my car … something no one else has done (aside from me) since I owned it.
I'll probably never know his real story. I'll certainly never know his wife's side of the story.
But I felt incredibly empty inside when I dropped him off at the bus stop.
I'll admit that I wished him a good christmas.
And he reciprocated.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
customer service: part II – the solution
OK.
I've had my (valid) rant about predominantly crap service (see my last post), so let's move on to affirmative stuff.
Never a massive John Lennon fan, I agree it can often be a very good thing to Imagine a better world …
(as long as you're prepared to get out of bed and do something about it!)
So let's imagine a society where every person put everyone else ahead of themselves.
No self-servers, no queue-jumpers, no precious little personal agendas or self-centred 'emotional' responses.
(Of course, everyone's entitled to a little 'ME-time'. It's noted, so don't panic.)
To take a wholistic approach to customer service: the problem embodies the solution!
Your life, your family, your society, your planet, your universe has NEVER been about YOU … or me … or someone else:
It's always been about the entire fucking system!
I can't claim to have perfected the approach - and, indeed, I have more than my share of faults (e.g. I'm in the Guiness Book of Records under World's Worst Housekeeper!) - but it's one I strive for every day.
How does it work?
It ain't rocket science.
Try life at the back of the queue!
Example 1: Pay it forward.
(No, I don't believe in 'karma' but this is all about 'doing the right thing' - and satisfaction is its own reward.)
Be spontaneously helpful.
Trust people to fulfil commitments - at least once. :)
Offer respect up front - don't wait for it.
(Yes, you'll frequently get your fingers burnt!
Yet you'll also learn a hell of a lot. About others. About yourself. About how to 'do it better' next time.)
Example 2: Learn to say 'Yes!' most of the time.
Personally, I'm more than a little bored with those 'life-pilgrims' who've spent half a lifetime 'learning to say No'.
Engage with people! 'Learn' to enjoy helping them!
Your colleagues, your community, your planet really need your participation!
Example 2a: Be generous … with your time, with your talents, with your beer fridge.
Example 3: Children aren't chattels!
Indeed, they have a lot to learn and do need to follow the directions of loving parents for their own good, but they have every right to have their say and be respected as equal human beings.
'Children should be seen and not heard' is simply a bullshit model.
I can't stand parents who repeatedly shut their kids out of social interactions or otherwise disrespect them.
Parent, teacher, mentor, whatever your role … caring for kids is not about you; AND it's certainly never been about control.
Example 4: Leave your baggage at the door.
You've probably noticed that I'm a keen student of human behaviour.
Based on my direct observations over the past 40 years or so, I'll assert that about two-thirds of conflict situations (including poor service) arise from poorly contained, misdirected, self-centred emotions (usually combined with poor communications skills - see below).
Don't take your problems out on anyone else!
Leave your issues at home.
Having the proverbial 'bad day'? FFS, Let It Go!, get a bloody grip or simply walk away.
Example 4a: Forgive! - even if you can never forget.
Just as I'm bored with 'life-pilgrims' who believe the universe revolves around their own backsides, I'm equally pissed off with the many who bear a grudge over inconsequential matters or a healthy difference of opinion.
Grow up. Just bloody well grow up!
In case you haven't noticed, there's plenty of real shit going on: if you can't handle being part of the solution, stop being part of the problem.
Example 4b: At every opportunity, work to build your communications skills!
Effective communication is something I'm pretty passionate about.
If nothing else, be clear in what you say or write - and make every effort to keep everyone in the loop.
In social and commercial situations alike, failure to do all these things amounts to a serious deficiency.
No more, no less.
So fix it. This is not difficult!
To avoid prolixity I'll move on with this humble offering: Imagine a world where all communications were both clear (in every sense) and sensitive to others.
Example 5: Power is over-rated.
Take yourself in hand before you even think about pushing other people around.
Shed your personal agenda and move on to seek collegiate or co-operative solutions.
Believe me, being relatively 'powerless' is a truly liberating experience: having 'nothing to lose' sets you free!
Example 5a: Be humble. Listen.
It's human nature to assume a default position (or defence) based on our knowledge-base and past experiences and prejudices; humility enables us to develop (evolve) as human beings.
I have a good friend who occasionally seeks my advice on handling 'difficult' clients or improving his customer service - and I'm happy to share what I know.
Every so often he offers up a strategy that I hadn't considered before: I'd be a complete fool not to listen, to value his contribution and add it to my toolbox.
Example 6: Tell the truth! with minimum collateral damage.
The truth means a lot to me and, as I gracefully age, its importance grows.
Honesty isn't for everyone, nor will it ever be - and that's a shame, because (again) telling the truth is liberating.
That said, try to Tell the truth with full empathy with - respect for - the feelings of others.
Occasionally this won't be possible, so do your best.
Example 6a: Speak up! Stand up! Be courageous.
When you know you're right, don't take any shit.
If something's clearly WRONG in the world, in your community, in your family, have your say and make it stop!
If something's clearly GOOD in the world, in your community, in your family, have your say proclaim its worth!
Literally half the world's problems could be solved pretty rapidly if we all had the guts to speak … vote … act the way we think.
Have the guts to take a position and take a risk.
Example 7: ALWAYS keep your promises!
My daughter and I have shared definitions for undertakings.
There's a 'Hannah Promise' - like Mary Poppins' 'pie-crust promise': easily made, easily broken.
Then there's the 'Daddy Promise' - written in stone; a commitment never to be breached.
Critical where kids are concerned, I reckon Daddy Promises should apply to grownups too!
Incidentally, NEVER show up at 6.30 to pick up your kids from childcare that closes at 6.00.
This is a complete betrayal of trust (and really ought to be capital offence).
Example 7a: ALWAYS meet your daily commitments to the highest possible standard.
Return phone calls, emails and messages promptly.
Never let anyone down, regardless of the relationship.
For example, being a 'volunteer' is no excuse for unreliability. If you can't deliver as a professional, just don't offer.
Develop a service model for family, friends, colleagues, customers and suppliers - even strangers - that will uplift them.
Push yourself to excel at everything important you do.
Take pride in setting an example for others.
Example 8: When you're wrong, Apologise!
Don't hide, don't blame anyone, don't obfuscate!
Own up and take responsibility on the chin - and then do your darndest to make good: the apology is otherwise meaningless.
Again, yet another monkey off your back!
We all make mistakes. I should know.
Example 9: Always seek to improve.
This is a principle that helps you personally, in addition to everyone you deal with.
Taking opportunities to learn how to 'do stuff' will keep your brain functioning at its best; and help you serve your planet better.
It's not only good for you, it can be a lot of fun!
Example 10: Remain skeptical - 'cynical' if you like, but never bitter!
In case you haven't noticed, there's a large pack of idiots, parasites and users out there; not just in government, business or religion.
You're doing no one any favours by promoting them.
For example, NEVER forward an 'Alert!! / Panic NOW!!!' email without doing your homework on its veracity.
Equally, try to ensure your beliefs are underpinned by your knowledge and experiences, rather than your emotional needs.
And never forget that 'lobbyists' are paid to push an agenda. Right or Wrong - they just don't care!
Lobbyists who tell lies for money are the true scum of society as their (notional) 'integrity' is for sale to the highest bidder.
I'll reserve the right, as always, to update this post over time.
Feedback welcome.
PS. (20/12/08) I thought I'd covered pretty much everything already (in terms of the 'broad brush') but have made some inclusions above.
I've also gathered up a few extra 'values' which complement the others. There is a little built-in redundancy so bear with me:
Strive to be perceptive in every sense of the word: your physical presence and movement, your driving habits, your awareness of the needs (vulnerability?) of others in all situations;
Be courteous at every opportunity (I see courtesy as empowerment rather than servility);
Be willing to protect (or simply support) those who need it - yes indeed, sometimes you'll need to take a risk and reach out;
Try to ensure, within your ability to do so, that everyone gets a fair go - even if it's only their fair share;
Learn to lose gracefully - you can't win 'em all (and you shouldn't!);
Be patient! - not everyone will automatically absorb and understand what you require of them (and why should they?) - the more you invest, the better the return;
Embrace Diversity! Differences! Debate! - cultural or philosophical differences should never divide people of goodwill! and the bastards who are screwing up our planet - screwing with our lives - thrive on division!;
DON'T WHINGE! - 'debrief' by all means, cos it's a great safety valve, but (FFS) KNOW when to STOP!
I've had my (valid) rant about predominantly crap service (see my last post), so let's move on to affirmative stuff.
Never a massive John Lennon fan, I agree it can often be a very good thing to Imagine a better world …
(as long as you're prepared to get out of bed and do something about it!)
So let's imagine a society where every person put everyone else ahead of themselves.
No self-servers, no queue-jumpers, no precious little personal agendas or self-centred 'emotional' responses.
(Of course, everyone's entitled to a little 'ME-time'. It's noted, so don't panic.)
To take a wholistic approach to customer service: the problem embodies the solution!
Your life, your family, your society, your planet, your universe has NEVER been about YOU … or me … or someone else:
It's always been about the entire fucking system!
I can't claim to have perfected the approach - and, indeed, I have more than my share of faults (e.g. I'm in the Guiness Book of Records under World's Worst Housekeeper!) - but it's one I strive for every day.
How does it work?
It ain't rocket science.
Try life at the back of the queue!
Example 1: Pay it forward.
(No, I don't believe in 'karma' but this is all about 'doing the right thing' - and satisfaction is its own reward.)
Be spontaneously helpful.
Trust people to fulfil commitments - at least once. :)
Offer respect up front - don't wait for it.
(Yes, you'll frequently get your fingers burnt!
Yet you'll also learn a hell of a lot. About others. About yourself. About how to 'do it better' next time.)
Example 2: Learn to say 'Yes!' most of the time.
Personally, I'm more than a little bored with those 'life-pilgrims' who've spent half a lifetime 'learning to say No'.
Engage with people! 'Learn' to enjoy helping them!
Your colleagues, your community, your planet really need your participation!
Example 2a: Be generous … with your time, with your talents, with your beer fridge.
Example 3: Children aren't chattels!
Indeed, they have a lot to learn and do need to follow the directions of loving parents for their own good, but they have every right to have their say and be respected as equal human beings.
'Children should be seen and not heard' is simply a bullshit model.
I can't stand parents who repeatedly shut their kids out of social interactions or otherwise disrespect them.
Parent, teacher, mentor, whatever your role … caring for kids is not about you; AND it's certainly never been about control.
Example 4: Leave your baggage at the door.
You've probably noticed that I'm a keen student of human behaviour.
Based on my direct observations over the past 40 years or so, I'll assert that about two-thirds of conflict situations (including poor service) arise from poorly contained, misdirected, self-centred emotions (usually combined with poor communications skills - see below).
Don't take your problems out on anyone else!
Leave your issues at home.
Having the proverbial 'bad day'? FFS, Let It Go!, get a bloody grip or simply walk away.
Example 4a: Forgive! - even if you can never forget.
Just as I'm bored with 'life-pilgrims' who believe the universe revolves around their own backsides, I'm equally pissed off with the many who bear a grudge over inconsequential matters or a healthy difference of opinion.
Grow up. Just bloody well grow up!
In case you haven't noticed, there's plenty of real shit going on: if you can't handle being part of the solution, stop being part of the problem.
Example 4b: At every opportunity, work to build your communications skills!
Effective communication is something I'm pretty passionate about.
If nothing else, be clear in what you say or write - and make every effort to keep everyone in the loop.
In social and commercial situations alike, failure to do all these things amounts to a serious deficiency.
No more, no less.
So fix it. This is not difficult!
To avoid prolixity I'll move on with this humble offering: Imagine a world where all communications were both clear (in every sense) and sensitive to others.
Example 5: Power is over-rated.
Take yourself in hand before you even think about pushing other people around.
Shed your personal agenda and move on to seek collegiate or co-operative solutions.
Believe me, being relatively 'powerless' is a truly liberating experience: having 'nothing to lose' sets you free!
Example 5a: Be humble. Listen.
It's human nature to assume a default position (or defence) based on our knowledge-base and past experiences and prejudices; humility enables us to develop (evolve) as human beings.
I have a good friend who occasionally seeks my advice on handling 'difficult' clients or improving his customer service - and I'm happy to share what I know.
Every so often he offers up a strategy that I hadn't considered before: I'd be a complete fool not to listen, to value his contribution and add it to my toolbox.
Example 6: Tell the truth! with minimum collateral damage.
The truth means a lot to me and, as I gracefully age, its importance grows.
Honesty isn't for everyone, nor will it ever be - and that's a shame, because (again) telling the truth is liberating.
That said, try to Tell the truth with full empathy with - respect for - the feelings of others.
Occasionally this won't be possible, so do your best.
Example 6a: Speak up! Stand up! Be courageous.
When you know you're right, don't take any shit.
If something's clearly WRONG in the world, in your community, in your family, have your say and make it stop!
If something's clearly GOOD in the world, in your community, in your family, have your say proclaim its worth!
Literally half the world's problems could be solved pretty rapidly if we all had the guts to speak … vote … act the way we think.
Have the guts to take a position and take a risk.
Example 7: ALWAYS keep your promises!
My daughter and I have shared definitions for undertakings.
There's a 'Hannah Promise' - like Mary Poppins' 'pie-crust promise': easily made, easily broken.
Then there's the 'Daddy Promise' - written in stone; a commitment never to be breached.
Critical where kids are concerned, I reckon Daddy Promises should apply to grownups too!
Incidentally, NEVER show up at 6.30 to pick up your kids from childcare that closes at 6.00.
This is a complete betrayal of trust (and really ought to be capital offence).
Example 7a: ALWAYS meet your daily commitments to the highest possible standard.
Return phone calls, emails and messages promptly.
Never let anyone down, regardless of the relationship.
For example, being a 'volunteer' is no excuse for unreliability. If you can't deliver as a professional, just don't offer.
Develop a service model for family, friends, colleagues, customers and suppliers - even strangers - that will uplift them.
Push yourself to excel at everything important you do.
Take pride in setting an example for others.
Example 8: When you're wrong, Apologise!
Don't hide, don't blame anyone, don't obfuscate!
Own up and take responsibility on the chin - and then do your darndest to make good: the apology is otherwise meaningless.
Again, yet another monkey off your back!
We all make mistakes. I should know.
Example 9: Always seek to improve.
This is a principle that helps you personally, in addition to everyone you deal with.
Taking opportunities to learn how to 'do stuff' will keep your brain functioning at its best; and help you serve your planet better.
It's not only good for you, it can be a lot of fun!
Example 10: Remain skeptical - 'cynical' if you like, but never bitter!
In case you haven't noticed, there's a large pack of idiots, parasites and users out there; not just in government, business or religion.
You're doing no one any favours by promoting them.
For example, NEVER forward an 'Alert!! / Panic NOW!!!' email without doing your homework on its veracity.
Equally, try to ensure your beliefs are underpinned by your knowledge and experiences, rather than your emotional needs.
And never forget that 'lobbyists' are paid to push an agenda. Right or Wrong - they just don't care!
Lobbyists who tell lies for money are the true scum of society as their (notional) 'integrity' is for sale to the highest bidder.
I'll reserve the right, as always, to update this post over time.
Feedback welcome.
PS. (20/12/08) I thought I'd covered pretty much everything already (in terms of the 'broad brush') but have made some inclusions above.
I've also gathered up a few extra 'values' which complement the others. There is a little built-in redundancy so bear with me:
Strive to be perceptive in every sense of the word: your physical presence and movement, your driving habits, your awareness of the needs (vulnerability?) of others in all situations;
Be courteous at every opportunity (I see courtesy as empowerment rather than servility);
Be willing to protect (or simply support) those who need it - yes indeed, sometimes you'll need to take a risk and reach out;
Try to ensure, within your ability to do so, that everyone gets a fair go - even if it's only their fair share;
Learn to lose gracefully - you can't win 'em all (and you shouldn't!);
Be patient! - not everyone will automatically absorb and understand what you require of them (and why should they?) - the more you invest, the better the return;
Embrace Diversity! Differences! Debate! - cultural or philosophical differences should never divide people of goodwill! and the bastards who are screwing up our planet - screwing with our lives - thrive on division!;
DON'T WHINGE! - 'debrief' by all means, cos it's a great safety valve, but (FFS) KNOW when to STOP!
Friday, 14 November 2008
customer service: part I - the reality
Sensational service underpins my business.
I've always taken pride in delivering fast, excellent service to my clientele and new customers alike.
I take a real interest in their progress and celebrate their successes.
Most of them are friends. Some are good friends.
I enjoy challenging myself to turn around work as quickly as possible and finding efficient, elegant solutions to technical issues.
I always promptly respond to phone calls and emailed enquiries.
I'm generally happy to go the extra mile to satisfy customers' needs … by working out-of-hours to achieve the 'impossible', perhaps, or building solutions to help their budget work.
Sometimes they need some simple advice - or a referral - or a 'translator' to explain some technical jargon.
Information is power! and customers are entitled to know what's going on.
I never charge for such 'consultancy' services … even when I need to conduct my own research on behalf of others.
In fact, though I realistically can't afford to - and shouldn't! - around a third of the work I perform is charged out either free or at my 'community rate'.
To simplify all this: I'm a professional. I love my work. I love to help out.
'It's all part of the service!'
I was having a chat yesterday with my very good friend S about the many 'gaps' in Australian culture which encompass knowledge, skills and behaviour rather than socioeconomic inequities (although the latter is definitely relevant up to a point).
Here's my thesis: I believe it's accurate to claim that most Australians simply don't understand the simple principle of customer service.
Yes, we know what we expect of others … yet we simply aren't that good at meeting their expectations!
Using the KISS principle, let's start with the commonly understood interpretation of 'customer service': it's how a business and its representatives respond to your needs.
Irrespective of the size of the business - one employee or thousands - I am repeatedly disappointed by their lack of interest in my needs as a customer.
Poor service takes many forms and I won't dwell on anecdotal evidence. Here's a handful to go on with:
A tradesman who doesn't return my first and only call has lost me as a customer (as well as those I whinge to).
In the retail environment I expect to be acknowledged as (treated as) a human being.
A straight question to a salesperson merits a straight answer. ('I don't know but I'll find out' is fine with me.)
Surreptitiously taking over my telco account without my permission is fraudulent! (Yes, this happened to me. Cheers Optus!)
If I choose to do my grocery shopping 'off-peak' to avoid the queues I get bloody pissed off when I end up in a queue.
Whenever I telephone a company with an enquiry or a complaint, why should I be expected to wait at their convenience?
(Feel free to substitute your own experiences!)
To reinterpret: why must the customer repeatedly 'pay' for a business's deficiencies?
Why is the whole notion of 'customer service' so poorly interpreted within our economy?
And why aren't we doing anything about it?
Now that the traditional definition is covered, let's expand the theme.
Ten or 15 years ago, in response to the demands of the market god (see this - 8 November), government departments, educational institutions, charities and other not-for-profit organisations started relabelling their user-base as 'customers' and 'clients'.
Did this change anything? Did the culture improve? No - and NO.
More 'benchmarks'. Sweet. Ample 'workshops'. Cool.
Same old mediocre service in shiny new packages.
Walking the Talk remains the province of the minority.
Again, I won't dwell on anecdotes since everyone can provide their own - so here's another handful, all very recent.
When I present (as a 'customer') at reception and four staff are jabbering I'm entitled to expect that one just might divorce herself from the drivel to serve me - promptly, courteously, professionally.
And when a local government uses my money to destroy a much-loved kids' playground to build a better one, it shouldn't take more than twelve months to 'serve the customer'.
And should an extremely busy individual be expected to spend 20 minutes plus trying to send a fax to a government department because the number is continually engaged?
Face it. In most cases 'customer service' is getting worse - yet we're all talking the talk more than ever.
Why is this shit happening?
A couple of closely-related reasons.
1.
The market knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
In other words, there's a damn good reason why so many non-essential products are so cheap - aside from the slave-labour involved in production and our collective failure to realistically charge for raw materials.
On the retail side, fewer skilled staff allows more competitive prices, higher turnover … ad nauseam.
To put it another way, the market inherently and systematically undervalues humanity.
'god' just wants us all to be productive / consumptive little cogs in this pervasive, fragile, structurally-'needy' machine that lacks either brain or heart.
It's been proven repeatedly that trained, skilled, professional employees not only add real value to a business … they become more empowered in their personal lives.
Some even start to question the morality of capitalism and overconsumption … and then proceed to disengage just a little … eventually, perhaps, even find a better quality of life.
The market can't have that!
2.
As a society we are increasingly collectively selfish.
What I want is more important than what you want!
Too few of us offer respect unless we get it first. (Even then, it's all-too-often 'conditional'.)
We increasingly eschew volunteerism - leaving the dwindling few to carry the load - and then complain when a community project fails or the Country Fire Authority doesn't show up in time.
We 'shop 'til we drop.'
We demand our middle-class welfare.
We stomp across the planet on the back of cheap air-fares and wonder why the Barrier Reef is dying and the Coorong is dead; why Summer's 'getting hotter' and the rain isn't falling like it used to.
We indulge ourselves silly and worry that our kids are turning into spoilt brats.
Enough! There is a fairly straightforward solution.
But I'll keep you in suspenders.
I've always taken pride in delivering fast, excellent service to my clientele and new customers alike.
I take a real interest in their progress and celebrate their successes.
Most of them are friends. Some are good friends.
I enjoy challenging myself to turn around work as quickly as possible and finding efficient, elegant solutions to technical issues.
I always promptly respond to phone calls and emailed enquiries.
I'm generally happy to go the extra mile to satisfy customers' needs … by working out-of-hours to achieve the 'impossible', perhaps, or building solutions to help their budget work.
Sometimes they need some simple advice - or a referral - or a 'translator' to explain some technical jargon.
Information is power! and customers are entitled to know what's going on.
I never charge for such 'consultancy' services … even when I need to conduct my own research on behalf of others.
In fact, though I realistically can't afford to - and shouldn't! - around a third of the work I perform is charged out either free or at my 'community rate'.
To simplify all this: I'm a professional. I love my work. I love to help out.
'It's all part of the service!'
I was having a chat yesterday with my very good friend S about the many 'gaps' in Australian culture which encompass knowledge, skills and behaviour rather than socioeconomic inequities (although the latter is definitely relevant up to a point).
Here's my thesis: I believe it's accurate to claim that most Australians simply don't understand the simple principle of customer service.
Yes, we know what we expect of others … yet we simply aren't that good at meeting their expectations!
Using the KISS principle, let's start with the commonly understood interpretation of 'customer service': it's how a business and its representatives respond to your needs.
Irrespective of the size of the business - one employee or thousands - I am repeatedly disappointed by their lack of interest in my needs as a customer.
Poor service takes many forms and I won't dwell on anecdotal evidence. Here's a handful to go on with:
A tradesman who doesn't return my first and only call has lost me as a customer (as well as those I whinge to).
In the retail environment I expect to be acknowledged as (treated as) a human being.
A straight question to a salesperson merits a straight answer. ('I don't know but I'll find out' is fine with me.)
Surreptitiously taking over my telco account without my permission is fraudulent! (Yes, this happened to me. Cheers Optus!)
If I choose to do my grocery shopping 'off-peak' to avoid the queues I get bloody pissed off when I end up in a queue.
Whenever I telephone a company with an enquiry or a complaint, why should I be expected to wait at their convenience?
(Feel free to substitute your own experiences!)
To reinterpret: why must the customer repeatedly 'pay' for a business's deficiencies?
Why is the whole notion of 'customer service' so poorly interpreted within our economy?
And why aren't we doing anything about it?
Now that the traditional definition is covered, let's expand the theme.
Ten or 15 years ago, in response to the demands of the market god (see this - 8 November), government departments, educational institutions, charities and other not-for-profit organisations started relabelling their user-base as 'customers' and 'clients'.
Did this change anything? Did the culture improve? No - and NO.
More 'benchmarks'. Sweet. Ample 'workshops'. Cool.
Same old mediocre service in shiny new packages.
Walking the Talk remains the province of the minority.
Again, I won't dwell on anecdotes since everyone can provide their own - so here's another handful, all very recent.
When I present (as a 'customer') at reception and four staff are jabbering I'm entitled to expect that one just might divorce herself from the drivel to serve me - promptly, courteously, professionally.
And when a local government uses my money to destroy a much-loved kids' playground to build a better one, it shouldn't take more than twelve months to 'serve the customer'.
And should an extremely busy individual be expected to spend 20 minutes plus trying to send a fax to a government department because the number is continually engaged?
Face it. In most cases 'customer service' is getting worse - yet we're all talking the talk more than ever.
Why is this shit happening?
A couple of closely-related reasons.
1.
The market knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
In other words, there's a damn good reason why so many non-essential products are so cheap - aside from the slave-labour involved in production and our collective failure to realistically charge for raw materials.
On the retail side, fewer skilled staff allows more competitive prices, higher turnover … ad nauseam.
To put it another way, the market inherently and systematically undervalues humanity.
'god' just wants us all to be productive / consumptive little cogs in this pervasive, fragile, structurally-'needy' machine that lacks either brain or heart.
It's been proven repeatedly that trained, skilled, professional employees not only add real value to a business … they become more empowered in their personal lives.
Some even start to question the morality of capitalism and overconsumption … and then proceed to disengage just a little … eventually, perhaps, even find a better quality of life.
The market can't have that!
2.
As a society we are increasingly collectively selfish.
What I want is more important than what you want!
Too few of us offer respect unless we get it first. (Even then, it's all-too-often 'conditional'.)
We increasingly eschew volunteerism - leaving the dwindling few to carry the load - and then complain when a community project fails or the Country Fire Authority doesn't show up in time.
We 'shop 'til we drop.'
We demand our middle-class welfare.
We stomp across the planet on the back of cheap air-fares and wonder why the Barrier Reef is dying and the Coorong is dead; why Summer's 'getting hotter' and the rain isn't falling like it used to.
We indulge ourselves silly and worry that our kids are turning into spoilt brats.
Enough! There is a fairly straightforward solution.
But I'll keep you in suspenders.
Monday, 10 November 2008
bye-bye murderers
So, three of the Bali bombers - those pathologically stupid, grinning, self-promoting criminal arseholes - have finally been terminated by the Indonesian state.
Heartbreaker. A handful down, a million or two to go.
No, seriously, it's about about fucking time.
I'd have taken these turds out with a baseball bat … along with the adventurist murderers in the Bush cabinet.
It may surprise many, including my nearest and dearest, that I indeed support the death 'penalty' in some cases.
This is one of them.
As I point out in the following extracts, it's taken me most of a lifetime to arrive at this point.
No, it hasn't been an easy journey.
Two 'wrongs' don't make a right … but, occasionally, one 'right' does.
Here are some of recent posts from my favourite forum - edited for context only.
2 November (1)
Old enough to remember the execution of Ronald Ryan in 1967 … http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/ergo/ronald_ryan … and the community rage it engendered at the time (including the anger and despair within my own family), I've grappled with this issue since I was a kid. Now, nearer to my date of death than my birth (unless I live to 105+ … possible?), I've (more or less) settled on a position I'm satisfied with.
Having read all these posts from people I respect a great deal – who have produced solid 'pro-life' arguments that make sense – it ain't easy for me to say this … but I do indeed support termination of life when it makes society a better place.
Where murder is concerned it's not about punishment or penalties (or even political repercussions) for me: it's more about eliminating menaces, making life safer for the majority.
My support is conditional, however: if any doubt regarding guilt exists, or if the killer/s express genuine contrition, then murdering someone in the name of 'justice' is plain wrong.
I'd happily extend my beliefs to embrace a range of other violent crimes.
2 November (2)
[Responding to XXX.]
XXX: The problem is – people are convicted when the evidence is 'beyond reasonable doubt'. If there was any doubts as to their guilt, they shouldn't be convicted.
Agree 100%, XXX. That's one of the shortcomings of the jury system: average punters are expected to make a life-or-death decision based on a series of evidence which all too often is inconclusive … applying the 'final solution' to a criminal must not be based on weighted conclusions (opinions) but on incontrovertible fact – or, in the case of the Bali bombers, self-aggrandising admissions. And, when the execution takes place, it is (ideally) unpublicised.
XXX: As to whether they have genuine contrition – who decides that?
I'm not a lawyer ;), just a fairly compassionate individual who believes in the greater good. I don't profess to have all the answers and wouldn't dream to proselytize. That said, there are plenty of professionals who are more than capable of determining whether killers, serial child-abusers et al. regret their actions or not. Once again, if a skerrick of doubt remains at the end of a trial, don't kill them in society's name.
3 November
Violent crime rightly evokes an emotional response. We'd be less than human if we didn't feel anger and horror when any human being is violated.
The death sentence – ideally, any sentence – must transcend emotion.
(Or, for that matter, political expediency.)
As I said earlier, for me it's not about 'punishment' – and definitely not about revenge.
Neither is it about the political ramifications, martyrdom (what a pack of indoctrinated loser thugs choose to do in the name of a non-existent deity!) or the murderers' global fan-base.
In those rare cases when the facts are established – with 100% certainty – it's time for society to take out its garbage. IMO.
(Acknowledgements to whoever mentioned cleaning up the gene pool.)
One of the reasons many societies ('Western', 'Eastern', others[!?]) are struggling more than ever is that – individually and collectively – we are increasingly disengaged and unwilling to face problems head-on (but that discussion's probably best left for another thread).
In response to the implied question, Yes – as a pacifist rather than a passivist – I'd pull the pin if my number came up.
Admittedly, this is unlikely in a country where cold killers, child-abusers, rapists and wife-bashers can receive multiple 'second chances'.
Postscript: "Never to be released" is pretty arbitrary in countries where presidents, governments and miscellaneous dictators can overrule court decisions when it suits them.
Heartbreaker. A handful down, a million or two to go.
No, seriously, it's about about fucking time.
I'd have taken these turds out with a baseball bat … along with the adventurist murderers in the Bush cabinet.
It may surprise many, including my nearest and dearest, that I indeed support the death 'penalty' in some cases.
This is one of them.
As I point out in the following extracts, it's taken me most of a lifetime to arrive at this point.
No, it hasn't been an easy journey.
Two 'wrongs' don't make a right … but, occasionally, one 'right' does.
Here are some of recent posts from my favourite forum - edited for context only.
2 November (1)
Old enough to remember the execution of Ronald Ryan in 1967 … http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/ergo/ronald_ryan … and the community rage it engendered at the time (including the anger and despair within my own family), I've grappled with this issue since I was a kid. Now, nearer to my date of death than my birth (unless I live to 105+ … possible?), I've (more or less) settled on a position I'm satisfied with.
Having read all these posts from people I respect a great deal – who have produced solid 'pro-life' arguments that make sense – it ain't easy for me to say this … but I do indeed support termination of life when it makes society a better place.
Where murder is concerned it's not about punishment or penalties (or even political repercussions) for me: it's more about eliminating menaces, making life safer for the majority.
My support is conditional, however: if any doubt regarding guilt exists, or if the killer/s express genuine contrition, then murdering someone in the name of 'justice' is plain wrong.
I'd happily extend my beliefs to embrace a range of other violent crimes.
2 November (2)
[Responding to XXX.]
XXX: The problem is – people are convicted when the evidence is 'beyond reasonable doubt'. If there was any doubts as to their guilt, they shouldn't be convicted.
Agree 100%, XXX. That's one of the shortcomings of the jury system: average punters are expected to make a life-or-death decision based on a series of evidence which all too often is inconclusive … applying the 'final solution' to a criminal must not be based on weighted conclusions (opinions) but on incontrovertible fact – or, in the case of the Bali bombers, self-aggrandising admissions. And, when the execution takes place, it is (ideally) unpublicised.
XXX: As to whether they have genuine contrition – who decides that?
I'm not a lawyer ;), just a fairly compassionate individual who believes in the greater good. I don't profess to have all the answers and wouldn't dream to proselytize. That said, there are plenty of professionals who are more than capable of determining whether killers, serial child-abusers et al. regret their actions or not. Once again, if a skerrick of doubt remains at the end of a trial, don't kill them in society's name.
3 November
Violent crime rightly evokes an emotional response. We'd be less than human if we didn't feel anger and horror when any human being is violated.
The death sentence – ideally, any sentence – must transcend emotion.
(Or, for that matter, political expediency.)
As I said earlier, for me it's not about 'punishment' – and definitely not about revenge.
Neither is it about the political ramifications, martyrdom (what a pack of indoctrinated loser thugs choose to do in the name of a non-existent deity!) or the murderers' global fan-base.
In those rare cases when the facts are established – with 100% certainty – it's time for society to take out its garbage. IMO.
(Acknowledgements to whoever mentioned cleaning up the gene pool.)
One of the reasons many societies ('Western', 'Eastern', others[!?]) are struggling more than ever is that – individually and collectively – we are increasingly disengaged and unwilling to face problems head-on (but that discussion's probably best left for another thread).
In response to the implied question, Yes – as a pacifist rather than a passivist – I'd pull the pin if my number came up.
Admittedly, this is unlikely in a country where cold killers, child-abusers, rapists and wife-bashers can receive multiple 'second chances'.
Postscript: "Never to be released" is pretty arbitrary in countries where presidents, governments and miscellaneous dictators can overrule court decisions when it suits them.
Saturday, 8 November 2008
Jed's Ten Commandments for the Naughty Naughties
(Probably a work in progress: this is the first draft.)
1. I, the Market, am the god of everyfink.
Despite my ongoing series of massive fails, all governments shall kneel before me.
2. My servants shall continue to privatise profit and socialise debt in My name.
3. My apostates shall cheat, speculate, exploit and lie massively until found out.
Then tell a different lie … ad infinitum. For this is my divine will. And My children have 'special needs'.
4. Greed is good, as is Poverty - as is Mediocrity - for I cannot survive without all of These Things.
5. The dual fevers of Aspirationalism and Overconsumption are indeed wonderful, god-like attributes.
Thou must continue to believe in Me and refrain from Revolutionary medications.
6. My human race shall make tremendous sacrifices to sustain their planet yet no individual shall be required to Shop Less.
7. My governments shall shield behind incompetence, vacuity, over-regulation, FOI and 'Commercial-In-Confidence' while their constituents, my beloved productive plebs, shall enjoy no privacy.
8. All single parents must be forced to serve Me for slave wages, leaving their children in the care of fellow slaves. (It's My Economy, Stupid!)
9. With several months of experience, a computer, Publisher and Photoshop as thine tools, thou shalt decree thyself a Graphic Designer and market thine services accordingly.
10. My house has many rooms. There are no elephants in the room. god knows everyfink.
(third draft)
1. I, the Market, am the god of everyfink.
Despite my ongoing series of massive fails, all governments shall kneel before me.
2. My servants shall continue to privatise profit and socialise debt in My name.
3. My apostates shall cheat, speculate, exploit and lie massively until found out.
Then tell a different lie … ad infinitum. For this is my divine will. And My children have 'special needs'.
4. Greed is good, as is Poverty - as is Mediocrity - for I cannot survive without all of These Things.
5. The dual fevers of Aspirationalism and Overconsumption are indeed wonderful, god-like attributes.
Thou must continue to believe in Me and refrain from Revolutionary medications.
6. My human race shall make tremendous sacrifices to sustain their planet yet no individual shall be required to Shop Less.
7. My governments shall shield behind incompetence, vacuity, over-regulation, FOI and 'Commercial-In-Confidence' while their constituents, my beloved productive plebs, shall enjoy no privacy.
8. All single parents must be forced to serve Me for slave wages, leaving their children in the care of fellow slaves. (It's My Economy, Stupid!)
9. With several months of experience, a computer, Publisher and Photoshop as thine tools, thou shalt decree thyself a Graphic Designer and market thine services accordingly.
10. My house has many rooms. There are no elephants in the room. god knows everyfink.
(third draft)
Sunday, 26 October 2008
you really need to read this particular post
I've had a flurry of micro-activity this weekend, with the unfortunate result that yesterday's crucial post has slipped down the queue.
If you read nothing else (your loss), please check this one out!
If you read nothing else (your loss), please check this one out!
a sensationally funny joke
Warning: DON'T read this with a mouthful of beverage.
The chicken and the egg are in bed together.
The egg lights a cigarette, leans back and says, 'Well, that one's sorted.'
Source: my good mate Pete - and those who came before him.
The chicken and the egg are in bed together.
The egg lights a cigarette, leans back and says, 'Well, that one's sorted.'
Source: my good mate Pete - and those who came before him.
soothsaying from the backyard: the Good Oil
I'm not the type of person who says 'I told you so'.
We all make mistakes; we all embarrass ourselves from time to time: the last thing we need is some wanker reminding us (at the worst possible time) that we ignored their priceless advice.
OK, now that the mandatory, qualificative preamble is out of the way, I'm going to:
(1) give myself a hearty pat on the back for delivering a series of rock-solid insights since I started this blog, early in the New Year; and
(2) humbly suggest that you might gain - in at least three senses of the word - from paying closer attention from now on.
This is neither the time nor the place to collate a definitive testament to smugness, so here's just a couple of recent-ish examples which serve to contextualise the current global 'economic crisis'.
(Spoiler: sorry folks, said 'crisis' will remain ONGOING for the best part of a generation until genuine cultural shift kicks in.)
http://jedsbackyard.blogspot.com/2008/04/joke.html
http://jedsbackyard.blogspot.com/2008/05/whats-real-cost-of-mythical-free-market.html
Go back thru my archives and you'll find a few more incredibly accurate analyses. (Pssst. Some have still to eventuate.)
[faintly heard: a lone voice from the Peanut Gallery:]
Stop beating around the bush! Desist from abusing equine species post mortem!
What's your nebulous point this time, Jed?
Right here, my savoury, delicious, nutly friend …
Quite simply, I'm right.
Yes, I'm the first to admit that the highly-nutritious produce from Jed's backyard is seditious and often critical …
random and occasionally querulous …
too-frequently prolix, impenetrable and convoluted.
I remain 50% post-new-age care-bear and 50% self-righteous, bloody-minded mongrel.
I embrace free-spirited rebellion, creative entrepreneurialism and gritty, generous collectivism - all the while, somehow, trying to balance a love/hate relationship with six billion other human beings …
BUT - like it or not - I know what I'm talking about.
AND I always tell the Truth!
Phew. Deadly punchline.
To summarise.
Just get with the program:
I'm giving you these insights for free.
No strings attached.
(Comparison: Late-nite TV Guy want an arm, a leg and both your kidneys for a pile of disingenuous hogwash.)
If you choose to ignore what I'm giving you - and I'm only going to say this once - I bloody-well told you so.
[ Optional homework: http://www.dict.cc/german-english/Korinthenkacker.html ]
We all make mistakes; we all embarrass ourselves from time to time: the last thing we need is some wanker reminding us (at the worst possible time) that we ignored their priceless advice.
OK, now that the mandatory, qualificative preamble is out of the way, I'm going to:
(1) give myself a hearty pat on the back for delivering a series of rock-solid insights since I started this blog, early in the New Year; and
(2) humbly suggest that you might gain - in at least three senses of the word - from paying closer attention from now on.
This is neither the time nor the place to collate a definitive testament to smugness, so here's just a couple of recent-ish examples which serve to contextualise the current global 'economic crisis'.
(Spoiler: sorry folks, said 'crisis' will remain ONGOING for the best part of a generation until genuine cultural shift kicks in.)
http://jedsbackyard.blogspot.com/2008/04/joke.html
http://jedsbackyard.blogspot.com/2008/05/whats-real-cost-of-mythical-free-market.html
Go back thru my archives and you'll find a few more incredibly accurate analyses. (Pssst. Some have still to eventuate.)
[faintly heard: a lone voice from the Peanut Gallery:]
Stop beating around the bush! Desist from abusing equine species post mortem!
What's your nebulous point this time, Jed?
Right here, my savoury, delicious, nutly friend …
Quite simply, I'm right.
Yes, I'm the first to admit that the highly-nutritious produce from Jed's backyard is seditious and often critical …
random and occasionally querulous …
too-frequently prolix, impenetrable and convoluted.
I remain 50% post-new-age care-bear and 50% self-righteous, bloody-minded mongrel.
I embrace free-spirited rebellion, creative entrepreneurialism and gritty, generous collectivism - all the while, somehow, trying to balance a love/hate relationship with six billion other human beings …
BUT - like it or not - I know what I'm talking about.
AND I always tell the Truth!
Phew. Deadly punchline.
To summarise.
Just get with the program:
I'm giving you these insights for free.
No strings attached.
(Comparison: Late-nite TV Guy want an arm, a leg and both your kidneys for a pile of disingenuous hogwash.)
If you choose to ignore what I'm giving you - and I'm only going to say this once - I bloody-well told you so.
[ Optional homework: http://www.dict.cc/german-english/Korinthenkacker.html ]
Saturday, 25 October 2008
a new series of Big Brother you aren't allowed to switch off
(I'll need to be a bit more rigorous in my blogging habits. In the current climate, if we don't use it we're gonna lose it.)
Investing a few minutes into your own investigations (some starter links below) could literally change your life.
(Not bothering to will almost definitely change your life!)
I've never used that cliché before. Now I've used it twice.
Likewise, I've never consciously used the words Conroy and fascist in the same sentence before. It's a useful precedent.
Context: We Are Protecting Children. Yes, indeed. And grownups. Oh, yes. And warm furry puppies. Yummy!
A lert? or a llama? or a lemming?
No opt-out of filtered Internet
Policy to be set after trial
Darren Pauli 13/10/2008 15:10:00
Australians will be unable to opt-out of the government's pending Internet content filtering scheme, and will instead be placed on a watered-down blacklist, experts say.
Under the government's $125.8 million Plan for Cyber-Safety, users can switch between two blacklists which block content inappropriate for children, and a separate list which blocks illegal material.
Pundits say consumers have been lulled into believing the opt-out proviso would remove content filtering altogether.
…
So. Here comes the Fundie Right's first Trojan Horse since the last election.
First of many, no doubt about it. (Add Bookmark here!)
The DLP is reborn. Ethos: let's not actually FIX social problems - let's just marginalise victims, proscribe normal activities in the name of kids (nice irony there! - see my July postings), shut down debate, monitor and control people, restrict their access to information.
Inquisition anyone?
If ISPs fall into line and the public adopts its standard head-in-the-sand posture - beggar me, beggar me NOW! - we'll have crossed the digital Rubicon, cos (as with our beloved gst) you can't unscramble an egg.
(Now we've got freakin ostriches! How did I manage to stuff up my lemming analogy?)
Here is some critical analysis:
These people are llamas … and rightfully so
… so are these … indeed: watch this space.
Here is some recent backwash (yesterday)
________________________________________________
Jed's off-topic rantful spin:
Well, the euphoria of a Fresh, Visionary, Compassionate and Democratic (Consultative!!) Federal Government has worn off pretty rapidly, hasn't it?
(Aye, Cap'n, the ALP keelhauled the True Believers a few years ago!)
My personal November high lasted about 18 hours.
Watching John Howard standing on a street corner in threadbare Levis and murdering Puccini was pretty painful after all.
The Feds have NFI what to do about the Murray-Darling; they're incapable of setting realworld - REALTIME - greenhouse* caps; loath to dump AWAs (a non-core promise!) and still content to encourage Centrelink clods to bash up single parents. Oh, how many peds and wife-beaters have been arrested / charged / gaoled since the Intervention started?
(As mentioned above, it's more about control than actually repairing social fabric.)
(* Did someone mention Greenhouse!? Kevin's personal contribution over less than 12 months is equivalent to Wollongong's 1965 thru 1970.
Source? Look it up under 'hypocrite': the dictionary shows Kev and Al Gore joining the Mile High Club.)
Bottom line. Things will only get better if we mug punters want it badly enough. In the meantime …
Same old retarded cappo economics: that 'growth' is the panacea ('massive fail' to use the technical term); we'll just continue to 'share' the economic pain, won't we? (Honestly, things are indeed looking bleak in Double Bay and Toorak.)
I never believed I'd say this either: RJ Hawke is starting to look like a bloody Marxist. ; )
Yes - sigh - I realise it's technically illegal to Eat The Rich … but can't we just hang them upside down for a few days until their pockets are a few mil lighter? (Jed's 'Trickle-down Theory'.)
A postscript on the loony right …
If these bastards had their way you wouldn't be legally permitted to safely kill a foetus - I grew up when the consequences of backyard abortions were a sad fact of life.
They'd force you to go full-term and thrust a child into a world that doesn't want it.
How many Fundie Catholics do you see queueing up outside maternity wards offering to walk their righteous talk and pick up the pieces of a broken life?
So, if they got their way, you can't terminate an unwanted foetus -
but free speech, free and open flow of information?
Fair game. Kill the sucker.
(How do we sleep while our beds are burning?)
Investing a few minutes into your own investigations (some starter links below) could literally change your life.
(Not bothering to will almost definitely change your life!)
I've never used that cliché before. Now I've used it twice.
Likewise, I've never consciously used the words Conroy and fascist in the same sentence before. It's a useful precedent.
Context: We Are Protecting Children. Yes, indeed. And grownups. Oh, yes. And warm furry puppies. Yummy!
A lert? or a llama? or a lemming?
No opt-out of filtered Internet
Policy to be set after trial
Darren Pauli 13/10/2008 15:10:00
Australians will be unable to opt-out of the government's pending Internet content filtering scheme, and will instead be placed on a watered-down blacklist, experts say.
Under the government's $125.8 million Plan for Cyber-Safety, users can switch between two blacklists which block content inappropriate for children, and a separate list which blocks illegal material.
Pundits say consumers have been lulled into believing the opt-out proviso would remove content filtering altogether.
…
So. Here comes the Fundie Right's first Trojan Horse since the last election.
First of many, no doubt about it. (Add Bookmark here!)
The DLP is reborn. Ethos: let's not actually FIX social problems - let's just marginalise victims, proscribe normal activities in the name of kids (nice irony there! - see my July postings), shut down debate, monitor and control people, restrict their access to information.
Inquisition anyone?
If ISPs fall into line and the public adopts its standard head-in-the-sand posture - beggar me, beggar me NOW! - we'll have crossed the digital Rubicon, cos (as with our beloved gst) you can't unscramble an egg.
(Now we've got freakin ostriches! How did I manage to stuff up my lemming analogy?)
Here is some critical analysis:
These people are llamas … and rightfully so
… so are these … indeed: watch this space.
Here is some recent backwash (yesterday)
________________________________________________
Jed's off-topic rantful spin:
Well, the euphoria of a Fresh, Visionary, Compassionate and Democratic (Consultative!!) Federal Government has worn off pretty rapidly, hasn't it?
(Aye, Cap'n, the ALP keelhauled the True Believers a few years ago!)
My personal November high lasted about 18 hours.
Watching John Howard standing on a street corner in threadbare Levis and murdering Puccini was pretty painful after all.
The Feds have NFI what to do about the Murray-Darling; they're incapable of setting realworld - REALTIME - greenhouse* caps; loath to dump AWAs (a non-core promise!) and still content to encourage Centrelink clods to bash up single parents. Oh, how many peds and wife-beaters have been arrested / charged / gaoled since the Intervention started?
(As mentioned above, it's more about control than actually repairing social fabric.)
(* Did someone mention Greenhouse!? Kevin's personal contribution over less than 12 months is equivalent to Wollongong's 1965 thru 1970.
Source? Look it up under 'hypocrite': the dictionary shows Kev and Al Gore joining the Mile High Club.)
Bottom line. Things will only get better if we mug punters want it badly enough. In the meantime …
Same old retarded cappo economics: that 'growth' is the panacea ('massive fail' to use the technical term); we'll just continue to 'share' the economic pain, won't we? (Honestly, things are indeed looking bleak in Double Bay and Toorak.)
I never believed I'd say this either: RJ Hawke is starting to look like a bloody Marxist. ; )
Yes - sigh - I realise it's technically illegal to Eat The Rich … but can't we just hang them upside down for a few days until their pockets are a few mil lighter? (Jed's 'Trickle-down Theory'.)
A postscript on the loony right …
If these bastards had their way you wouldn't be legally permitted to safely kill a foetus - I grew up when the consequences of backyard abortions were a sad fact of life.
They'd force you to go full-term and thrust a child into a world that doesn't want it.
How many Fundie Catholics do you see queueing up outside maternity wards offering to walk their righteous talk and pick up the pieces of a broken life?
So, if they got their way, you can't terminate an unwanted foetus -
but free speech, free and open flow of information?
Fair game. Kill the sucker.
(How do we sleep while our beds are burning?)
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
who remembers cardinal sins?
Here's a couple of posts I've submitted to a forum.
I've edited them for context only.
<->10 July
On the 7.30 Report last night the versatile Ali Moore demonstrated a new standard for fair-but-ruthless journalism in her interview with Pell. IMO.
Too clever by half!
There's a saying to the effect that 'if you always tell the truth you can get away with having a bad memory.'
Pity George never learnt this (or has forgotten).
Here's an extract …
GEORGE PELL: Mr Murray is quite clear and he clarified that subsequently that Father Goodall always insisted it was consensual.
ALI MOORE: Because in fact in police phone taps that Lateline will reveal tonight, Father Goodall tells Anthony Jones that "I certainly did not say it was consensual. I don't know where they got that from." And he's referring to his interview with Howard Murray in January 2003.
GEORGE PELL: I am not aware of that. I was always told it was consensual. *
In a week when Helen Thomas deplored the standards of her journalist peers …
Toady reporters
… and during an era when Dorothy Dix sets the farcical benchmark for interviewing in Australia, Ali Moore and a handful of others offer a breath of fresh air.
The woman is a bloody legend. Watch this space.
*Neither the investigator, the victim or Goodall himself made this 'consensual' claim, so where did it come from?
My Dad, a reporter for 40+ years, often claimed that the passive voice was for cowards – most frequently used by politicians.
<->16 July
More bastardry from Australia's senior catholic
(extract from previous poster:)
Mathew 18:6
‘But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.’
Great quote, Flednam, which should apply to everyone not just 'believers'.
As I mentioned earlier, watch this space.
These heart-breaking stories are the tip of the iceberg.
Celebrate all you like, catholics.
Enjoy your innocence.
Maybe, in-between the group hugs and jolly songs, you can spare a thought for the victims of your church.
While people piss and moan that 'art' equates to 'porn' (as a potential threat to kids), in Real Life children have been permanently damaged and families torn apart by 'spiritual guides' and trusted mentors.
Pell's 'solution' to these cases?
Hush it up, apologise in private and hide behind lawyers in public.
*Pontificate* on what's wrong with society!
Yep, just what our planet needs: more kids.
I've edited them for context only.
<->10 July
On the 7.30 Report last night the versatile Ali Moore demonstrated a new standard for fair-but-ruthless journalism in her interview with Pell. IMO.
Too clever by half!
There's a saying to the effect that 'if you always tell the truth you can get away with having a bad memory.'
Pity George never learnt this (or has forgotten).
Here's an extract …
GEORGE PELL: Mr Murray is quite clear and he clarified that subsequently that Father Goodall always insisted it was consensual.
ALI MOORE: Because in fact in police phone taps that Lateline will reveal tonight, Father Goodall tells Anthony Jones that "I certainly did not say it was consensual. I don't know where they got that from." And he's referring to his interview with Howard Murray in January 2003.
GEORGE PELL: I am not aware of that. I was always told it was consensual. *
In a week when Helen Thomas deplored the standards of her journalist peers …
Toady reporters
… and during an era when Dorothy Dix sets the farcical benchmark for interviewing in Australia, Ali Moore and a handful of others offer a breath of fresh air.
The woman is a bloody legend. Watch this space.
*Neither the investigator, the victim or Goodall himself made this 'consensual' claim, so where did it come from?
My Dad, a reporter for 40+ years, often claimed that the passive voice was for cowards – most frequently used by politicians.
<->16 July
More bastardry from Australia's senior catholic
(extract from previous poster:)
Mathew 18:6
‘But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.’
Great quote, Flednam, which should apply to everyone not just 'believers'.
As I mentioned earlier, watch this space.
These heart-breaking stories are the tip of the iceberg.
Celebrate all you like, catholics.
Enjoy your innocence.
Maybe, in-between the group hugs and jolly songs, you can spare a thought for the victims of your church.
While people piss and moan that 'art' equates to 'porn' (as a potential threat to kids), in Real Life children have been permanently damaged and families torn apart by 'spiritual guides' and trusted mentors.
Pell's 'solution' to these cases?
Hush it up, apologise in private and hide behind lawyers in public.
*Pontificate* on what's wrong with society!
Yep, just what our planet needs: more kids.
Friday, 6 June 2008
spammers = scammers
Phew! Where to start?
At present I have one phone line, used for voice and broadband Internet (and, infrequently, for faxes - remember them!?).
Well, I've had the same number since 1996 when my ex-partner and I moved to Warburton.
At roughly the same time (1996) we incorporated our business … so for eight years (until the company was liquidated), we ran Banshee Graphics Pty Ltd.
From what I can ascertain company details automatically become public property, so it was no real surprise that we were quickly inundated by trash marketers: frequent, unsolicited calls from any range of douchebag businesses trying to flog (usually dodgy) products and services which we never needed and never wanted.
Up to a point, we were philosophical about this phenomenon: it's the price you pay for living and working in a shameless and consistently hypocritical 'market' economy - and I for one don't begrudge another the right to earn a living.
At some stage - late nineties? - we were so busy that we purchased a second line.
And when we separated, in 2004, I kept the original number and my ex-partner, S, kept the newer one.
It's a fact of life that The Market is insensitive to changes in circumstances: it runs on dollars, disinformation, vacuous 'incentives', blind greed and a 'crash-through' mentality - and fuck anyone who gets caught in the traffic.
As a registered, productive and legitimate company it was all-too-easy for us to be sucked into the vortex comprising any number of marketers' databases.
But just try DISengaging!
Fair dinkum. Telemarketing - this responsive and consumer-need-drivenjuggernaut - reminds me of herpes simplex: it's painful, useless and it just keeps coming back.
Since 2004 I've been receiving more trash calls than ever before - and they've steadily increased up to the present.
About 12 months ago both S and I signed up to the Howard government's 'Do Not Call' register.
Well, as with pretty much everything 'achieved' under Howard's watch, it's been pretty bloody useless.
(Not too destructive compared to most of his anti-worker initiatives, but you can't win 'em all John.)
The volume of unsolicited calls to my number has roughly doubled since then - from an average of five per week to around 10 - while calls to S's number are now approaching zero.
For several months now, I've been screening my calls and only picking up for legitimate callers - but I know that I've missed out on genuine business opportunities - and even many personal calls - as a consequence.
A couple of weeks ago, I RE-registered with Do Not Call - but nothing has changed in the interim.
At times, I feel that I no longer truly 'own' my phone line.
What I need is a strategy to remedy this situation.
All the while, I remain sympathetic with telemarketers in third-world countries who are simply trying to improve their material existences and are in no way driving this abhorrent, exploitative, BASTARD-CAPPO agenda - but, equally, they need to learn to be sympathetic to my existence!
The best I can come up with at this stage is to publish any information that comes my way, in the hope that the spammers, scammers and turds involved might get their come-uppance in the full glow of public scrutiny.
Here's one to go on with.
Mid-afternoon (AEST) 5 June 2008:
"Gavin" from "Multicom Corporation" or similar.
'Please to' call him back on 1800 179 276.
(Garbled reference number: 142298)
…
Hey GAVIN: Please to FUCK OFF!
(Or at least email me your home number so we can 'catch up'.)
At present I have one phone line, used for voice and broadband Internet (and, infrequently, for faxes - remember them!?).
Well, I've had the same number since 1996 when my ex-partner and I moved to Warburton.
At roughly the same time (1996) we incorporated our business … so for eight years (until the company was liquidated), we ran Banshee Graphics Pty Ltd.
From what I can ascertain company details automatically become public property, so it was no real surprise that we were quickly inundated by trash marketers: frequent, unsolicited calls from any range of douchebag businesses trying to flog (usually dodgy) products and services which we never needed and never wanted.
Up to a point, we were philosophical about this phenomenon: it's the price you pay for living and working in a shameless and consistently hypocritical 'market' economy - and I for one don't begrudge another the right to earn a living.
At some stage - late nineties? - we were so busy that we purchased a second line.
And when we separated, in 2004, I kept the original number and my ex-partner, S, kept the newer one.
It's a fact of life that The Market is insensitive to changes in circumstances: it runs on dollars, disinformation, vacuous 'incentives', blind greed and a 'crash-through' mentality - and fuck anyone who gets caught in the traffic.
As a registered, productive and legitimate company it was all-too-easy for us to be sucked into the vortex comprising any number of marketers' databases.
But just try DISengaging!
Fair dinkum. Telemarketing - this responsive and consumer-need-drivenjuggernaut - reminds me of herpes simplex: it's painful, useless and it just keeps coming back.
Since 2004 I've been receiving more trash calls than ever before - and they've steadily increased up to the present.
About 12 months ago both S and I signed up to the Howard government's 'Do Not Call' register.
Well, as with pretty much everything 'achieved' under Howard's watch, it's been pretty bloody useless.
(Not too destructive compared to most of his anti-worker initiatives, but you can't win 'em all John.)
The volume of unsolicited calls to my number has roughly doubled since then - from an average of five per week to around 10 - while calls to S's number are now approaching zero.
For several months now, I've been screening my calls and only picking up for legitimate callers - but I know that I've missed out on genuine business opportunities - and even many personal calls - as a consequence.
A couple of weeks ago, I RE-registered with Do Not Call - but nothing has changed in the interim.
At times, I feel that I no longer truly 'own' my phone line.
What I need is a strategy to remedy this situation.
All the while, I remain sympathetic with telemarketers in third-world countries who are simply trying to improve their material existences and are in no way driving this abhorrent, exploitative, BASTARD-CAPPO agenda - but, equally, they need to learn to be sympathetic to my existence!
The best I can come up with at this stage is to publish any information that comes my way, in the hope that the spammers, scammers and turds involved might get their come-uppance in the full glow of public scrutiny.
Here's one to go on with.
Mid-afternoon (AEST) 5 June 2008:
"Gavin" from "Multicom Corporation" or similar.
'Please to' call him back on 1800 179 276.
(Garbled reference number: 142298)
…
Hey GAVIN: Please to FUCK OFF!
(Or at least email me your home number so we can 'catch up'.)
Friday, 30 May 2008
yet another joke
Apparently Schapelle Corby's beauty salon has a couple of other signs on the door.
There's an advertisement for Shapelle's new herbal treatment which is guaranteed to take 20 years off your life.
It's for women who have lost their appeal.
Source: http://au.messages.yahoo.com/news/top-stories/1135494?p=2
(Funny how anything concerning a convicted drug smuggler generates perverted humour.
Good thing nobody else in the family uses, deals or tells lies: THAT would be exceptionally funny.)
There's an advertisement for Shapelle's new herbal treatment which is guaranteed to take 20 years off your life.
It's for women who have lost their appeal.
Source: http://au.messages.yahoo.com/news/top-stories/1135494?p=2
(Funny how anything concerning a convicted drug smuggler generates perverted humour.
Good thing nobody else in the family uses, deals or tells lies: THAT would be exceptionally funny.)
camden, new south wales
Just a quick note to congratulate the good citizens of Camden, west of Sydney, for their passionate interest in planning issues.
A few days ago 200 of them attended their local council meeting to hear confirmation that a planning permit for a new muslim school is the district would not be issued.
All I can say is, GOOD ON THEM! And GOOD ON COUNCIL!
Appropriate usage of land, even in rural areas where there's plenty of room for everyone, is crucial.
Amenity is important to all of us; I think we can all agree on that.
Gosh, there's road traffic to worry about. There's sewage. There's garbage collections. Miscellaneous infrastructure.
There's the incalculable environmental impact of thousands of border crossings every schoolday of the year.
AND, next thing you know, they'll be moving in on us.
And the children. Our children. Oh my, who cares about The Children?
So, to all Camden's quiet achievers out there, GOOD_ON_YOU!
No doubt you and the other 199 attend every council meeting where planning issues are concerned.
No doubt you continually have done so in the past … and continually will do so well into the future.
Even past the day when the muslim 'language!' and 'culture!' have usurped your Proud White Trash ghetto mentality, I'm sure you'll keep showing up at council in your akubras, ug boots and union jacks, upholding a noble tradition of 'looking after the neighbourhood' and - ca va sans dire - keeping planning issues first and foremost while staving off racist agendas at every step.
A few days ago 200 of them attended their local council meeting to hear confirmation that a planning permit for a new muslim school is the district would not be issued.
All I can say is, GOOD ON THEM! And GOOD ON COUNCIL!
Appropriate usage of land, even in rural areas where there's plenty of room for everyone, is crucial.
Amenity is important to all of us; I think we can all agree on that.
Gosh, there's road traffic to worry about. There's sewage. There's garbage collections. Miscellaneous infrastructure.
There's the incalculable environmental impact of thousands of border crossings every schoolday of the year.
AND, next thing you know, they'll be moving in on us.
And the children. Our children. Oh my, who cares about The Children?
So, to all Camden's quiet achievers out there, GOOD_ON_YOU!
No doubt you and the other 199 attend every council meeting where planning issues are concerned.
No doubt you continually have done so in the past … and continually will do so well into the future.
Even past the day when the muslim 'language!' and 'culture!' have usurped your Proud White Trash ghetto mentality, I'm sure you'll keep showing up at council in your akubras, ug boots and union jacks, upholding a noble tradition of 'looking after the neighbourhood' and - ca va sans dire - keeping planning issues first and foremost while staving off racist agendas at every step.
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
9-11: the real conspiracy
Don't you love how the vast majority sees the 9-11 attacks in isolation - either as a pack of Al Qaeda terrorists opportunistically slaughtering 3000 western citizens or a neo-con plot within the US government to galvanize and unite 'christendom/ziondom' against Islam - rather than a mutually advantageous joint effort?
Back in 2001 I was dozing in front of late-nite TV when my partner shook me awake to the news that the first plane had hit the World Trade Centre.
Without going into the detail, I sat glued to the screen for the next 15 hours, flicking between channels and trying to separate fact from fiction.
Viewing these source documents it quickly occurred to me that such an attack presented an ideal opportunity for both sides - the fascist elements of the US government and bin Laden's fascist elite - to gain strategic territory in their shared agenda of an extended war of attrition.
Wake up!
There's really nothing new here: by its own admission, the US has a strong, cherished tradition of funding, equipping and facilitating selected terrorist organisations for decades.
Why should 9-11 be any different?
It's established that both sides are more than willing to sacrifice many lives to satisfy a 'big picture' agenda.
I've seen and read nothing over the past six years and eight months to change my original conclusion.
This scum feeds on death, hatred, ignorance and division.
Of all ideologies, only fascism, capitalism and terrorism inherently and systematically undervalue human life.
Back in 2001 I was dozing in front of late-nite TV when my partner shook me awake to the news that the first plane had hit the World Trade Centre.
Without going into the detail, I sat glued to the screen for the next 15 hours, flicking between channels and trying to separate fact from fiction.
Viewing these source documents it quickly occurred to me that such an attack presented an ideal opportunity for both sides - the fascist elements of the US government and bin Laden's fascist elite - to gain strategic territory in their shared agenda of an extended war of attrition.
Wake up!
There's really nothing new here: by its own admission, the US has a strong, cherished tradition of funding, equipping and facilitating selected terrorist organisations for decades.
Why should 9-11 be any different?
It's established that both sides are more than willing to sacrifice many lives to satisfy a 'big picture' agenda.
I've seen and read nothing over the past six years and eight months to change my original conclusion.
This scum feeds on death, hatred, ignorance and division.
Of all ideologies, only fascism, capitalism and terrorism inherently and systematically undervalue human life.
geelong revisited
On 29 April I posted about the Geelong footy team; in essence, that they were unbeatable …
I'm unhappy to admit that my analysis was dead wrong.
Look it up if you want to beat me over the head with it.
If Geelong ever did have a magic black bag 'o' tricks, it proved to be empty last weekend.
(It will be fascinating to see how they respond, won't it?)
My pathetic effort just goes to show how much I really know about footy.
But do you know what the great thing is?
I don't care. I'll keep posting (occasionally about sport) until someone shuts me down.
(… and NOTE that my earlier post about 'my team', St Kilda, was deadly accurate! NO guts, NO glory.)
I'm unhappy to admit that my analysis was dead wrong.
Look it up if you want to beat me over the head with it.
If Geelong ever did have a magic black bag 'o' tricks, it proved to be empty last weekend.
(It will be fascinating to see how they respond, won't it?)
My pathetic effort just goes to show how much I really know about footy.
But do you know what the great thing is?
I don't care. I'll keep posting (occasionally about sport) until someone shuts me down.
(… and NOTE that my earlier post about 'my team', St Kilda, was deadly accurate! NO guts, NO glory.)
Monday, 19 May 2008
I *really* love the interwebz
Forget its efficiency and immediacy for a minute.
Ignore, even, the small and decreasing enviro-footprint of working and communicating online.
In the 'nett return' stakes, the Internet simply rocks - because it empowers people!
Not just you and me, but her and him and them and … an increasing number of global citizens every day.
No matter where you live, or how you live, or how much money you make, OUR Internet is OUR tool.
And WE can use it to shape our future.
No wonder fascist governments hate it.
No wonder the US government, for example, automagically scans our emails. (Sorry, it does. By default, we're all terrorists.)
No wonder the China government and its transnational partners (Google, Yahoo …) have connived to minimise citizens' access to information.
Knowledge is power.
Of course the Internet is abused.
There's perverts and stalkers and child pornography.
There's spam (how big is YOUR penis?!) and viruses and trojans.
There's loony-tunes crypto-fascists and neo-con zionist murderers and vacuous islamist suicide-bombers … and any number of racist, supremacist scum espousing divisiveness and even genocide.
And so forth.
But in the face of all the negatives, I'll continue to argue that our Net can help to liberate us!
A free, open and democratic system will always be abused by sociopaths: it's the price we pay for a defective gene pool!
You've probably noticed this yourself but I'll just confirm that over the past 30 years or so governments and corporations have colluded in using, misusing and abusing their power to collect and abuse our personal data, with the nett outcome of diminishing citizens' autonomy.
They have achieved our collective compliance by using the argument that 'the innocent have nothing to hide'.
So, somehow, we have become guilty of something by default. WTF?
Well, I, for one, have nothing to hide and nothing to be ashamed of - but I draw the line at governments' right to snoop, to manipulate and try to control my life. (Don't you?)
Furthermore, the 'nothing to hide 'argument cuts both ways.
It's doubly ironic that, as governments' 'rights' to our personal information have increased, citizens' access to governments' operations and culpability has significantly decreased.
Funny about that!
Back to my main point.
I urge you to use the Internet - this amazingly powerful, free tool - to help reclaim our planet.
Be subversive. If necessary, be seditious.*
Discuss. Debate. Research.
Communicate. Join some forums.
Do a few cash deals and don't tell The Man. (Easily justified as 'Commercial-in-Confidence'.)
PS. It's worth noting that the likelihood of US government complicity in the '9-11' attacks is no longer the province of the lunatic fringe but has finally entered the mainstream.
Some of us knew this six years and eight months ago!
*sedition, noun.
1. speech or action causing discontent or rebellion against the government; incitement to discontent or rebellion.
Ex. Sedition against the Federal Government, the Court held, is a field in which Congress alone has jurisdiction to enact laws (Wall Street Journal).
Ignore, even, the small and decreasing enviro-footprint of working and communicating online.
In the 'nett return' stakes, the Internet simply rocks - because it empowers people!
Not just you and me, but her and him and them and … an increasing number of global citizens every day.
No matter where you live, or how you live, or how much money you make, OUR Internet is OUR tool.
And WE can use it to shape our future.
No wonder fascist governments hate it.
No wonder the US government, for example, automagically scans our emails. (Sorry, it does. By default, we're all terrorists.)
No wonder the China government and its transnational partners (Google, Yahoo …) have connived to minimise citizens' access to information.
Knowledge is power.
Of course the Internet is abused.
There's perverts and stalkers and child pornography.
There's spam (how big is YOUR penis?!) and viruses and trojans.
There's loony-tunes crypto-fascists and neo-con zionist murderers and vacuous islamist suicide-bombers … and any number of racist, supremacist scum espousing divisiveness and even genocide.
And so forth.
But in the face of all the negatives, I'll continue to argue that our Net can help to liberate us!
A free, open and democratic system will always be abused by sociopaths: it's the price we pay for a defective gene pool!
You've probably noticed this yourself but I'll just confirm that over the past 30 years or so governments and corporations have colluded in using, misusing and abusing their power to collect and abuse our personal data, with the nett outcome of diminishing citizens' autonomy.
They have achieved our collective compliance by using the argument that 'the innocent have nothing to hide'.
So, somehow, we have become guilty of something by default. WTF?
Well, I, for one, have nothing to hide and nothing to be ashamed of - but I draw the line at governments' right to snoop, to manipulate and try to control my life. (Don't you?)
Furthermore, the 'nothing to hide 'argument cuts both ways.
It's doubly ironic that, as governments' 'rights' to our personal information have increased, citizens' access to governments' operations and culpability has significantly decreased.
Funny about that!
Back to my main point.
I urge you to use the Internet - this amazingly powerful, free tool - to help reclaim our planet.
Be subversive. If necessary, be seditious.*
Discuss. Debate. Research.
Communicate. Join some forums.
Do a few cash deals and don't tell The Man. (Easily justified as 'Commercial-in-Confidence'.)
PS. It's worth noting that the likelihood of US government complicity in the '9-11' attacks is no longer the province of the lunatic fringe but has finally entered the mainstream.
Some of us knew this six years and eight months ago!
*sedition, noun.
1. speech or action causing discontent or rebellion against the government; incitement to discontent or rebellion.
Ex. Sedition against the Federal Government, the Court held, is a field in which Congress alone has jurisdiction to enact laws (Wall Street Journal).
Friday, 16 May 2008
wanky products
Thanks to 'global thinking' by a series of Australian governments, manufacturing in this country has been declining for 25 years.
RIP John Button. I know your heart was in the right place, but thanks for nothing.
In retail the grocery industry, dominated by the duopoly of Safeway / Woolworths and Coles, the consumer is presented with declining choice between brands, dearer prices and even products of dubious quality, pretty much all imported!!, in the name of 'competition'.
No, really guys, thanks for all that. The bigger the lie, the more believe it.
But that's not why I've dropped in today.
I wanted to 'credit' a few products that society doesn't need, has never needed - but has decided it actually does 'need' - and will continue to pay good money for.
How about the blue liquid that we dump in our toilets?
Nice one. A toxic chemical which interferes with the biological action septic tanks were designed for.
We get away with it because an increasing number of households no longer take responsibility for their waste locally but ship it off 'somewhere else' via sewers.
Congratulations for concealing your culpability and convincing yourself that your excreta is someone else's problem.
How about 'leaf blowers'?
Now that hosing down your driveway (whatta wank) is illegal pretty much everywhere, morons take refuge in a machine which is almost effective as a rake.
Have you useless gimps discovered how a broom works?
Seriously: well done!
How about 'diet dinners'?
For fuck's sake, calories aren't rocket science.
Try eating less or eating better quality food rather than consuming overpackaged, over-processed muck.
How about 'climate control' in cars?
I just love it.
To be continued.
RIP John Button. I know your heart was in the right place, but thanks for nothing.
In retail the grocery industry, dominated by the duopoly of Safeway / Woolworths and Coles, the consumer is presented with declining choice between brands, dearer prices and even products of dubious quality, pretty much all imported!!, in the name of 'competition'.
No, really guys, thanks for all that. The bigger the lie, the more believe it.
But that's not why I've dropped in today.
I wanted to 'credit' a few products that society doesn't need, has never needed - but has decided it actually does 'need' - and will continue to pay good money for.
How about the blue liquid that we dump in our toilets?
Nice one. A toxic chemical which interferes with the biological action septic tanks were designed for.
We get away with it because an increasing number of households no longer take responsibility for their waste locally but ship it off 'somewhere else' via sewers.
Congratulations for concealing your culpability and convincing yourself that your excreta is someone else's problem.
How about 'leaf blowers'?
Now that hosing down your driveway (whatta wank) is illegal pretty much everywhere, morons take refuge in a machine which is almost effective as a rake.
Have you useless gimps discovered how a broom works?
Seriously: well done!
How about 'diet dinners'?
For fuck's sake, calories aren't rocket science.
Try eating less or eating better quality food rather than consuming overpackaged, over-processed muck.
How about 'climate control' in cars?
I just love it.
To be continued.
Friday, 9 May 2008
confessional
Constructive criticism over the months has convinced me that my posts are often impenetrable.
(Say the word 'rant' many times, quickly: it blurs, acoustically, into 'rah-rah-rah'!)
Those of you who know me well enough will understand why I do this.
Whether you do understand or not, here are some reasons.
1. There's so much to say.
2. It's all, in my opinion, urgent.
3. There's always at least two sides to an argument and I find it difficult to summarily dismiss positions I disagree with.
4. Therefore, this internal debate all too often invades my writing, effectively undermining my own platform.
5. The compulsion to integrate every aspect of my complicated life is too often impossible to communicate succinctly.
There's more, but that will do.
Having set up this 'defence', I need to transcend it!
I'm a professional communicator, after all.
No doubt, it's wonderful to vent - I'm all for it! - but the main purpose of a blog, I think?, is to reach out and share ideas.
To do so effectively demands that I express my ideas clearly.
It would be a pretty sad outcome if no one read my posts but me!
Feedback welcome.
(Say the word 'rant' many times, quickly: it blurs, acoustically, into 'rah-rah-rah'!)
Those of you who know me well enough will understand why I do this.
Whether you do understand or not, here are some reasons.
1. There's so much to say.
2. It's all, in my opinion, urgent.
3. There's always at least two sides to an argument and I find it difficult to summarily dismiss positions I disagree with.
4. Therefore, this internal debate all too often invades my writing, effectively undermining my own platform.
5. The compulsion to integrate every aspect of my complicated life is too often impossible to communicate succinctly.
There's more, but that will do.
Having set up this 'defence', I need to transcend it!
I'm a professional communicator, after all.
No doubt, it's wonderful to vent - I'm all for it! - but the main purpose of a blog, I think?, is to reach out and share ideas.
To do so effectively demands that I express my ideas clearly.
It would be a pretty sad outcome if no one read my posts but me!
Feedback welcome.
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
what's the real cost of the mythical 'free' market?
I'd be the first to admit that, as a general rule of thumb, you can't change human nature.
Example. There's nothing wrong with communism in its purest sense but as applied, historically, it has too often brought out the worst in humanity: criminality, genocide, elitism and privilege, incompetence, lack of accountability, exploitation, suppression and repression.
Substitute communism with Catholicism or Islam (or any cult you like) and you'll observe a similar phenomenon: the finest altruistic principles corrupted by human opportunism and manipulation.
Another time, I'll look at this phenomenon a little more closely.
Suffice it to say, most communist states have broken down because the vision, in practice hasn't matched the theory – thanks to human nature.
Why? Too many of us don't really believe, in our hearts, that we are no better than everyone else.
A global economy underpinned by the 'principles' of Supply and Demand is humanity's panacea.
Damn! I didn't vote for it but I'm really impressed!
As with most noble precepts, capitalism works - on paper …
Production and consumption increasing in harmony, in equilibrium.
Innovation, excellence and hard work rewarded: wealth for all!
Mutual obligation - so no free rides at society's expense.
Productivity and Competition keeping prices down; mediocrity and underperformance penalised.
'Just In Time' management offering efficiency gains to benefit the marketplace.
(insert your favourite cliché here)
How much needs to go wrong before our collectively-thick-as-pigshit human nature perceives that the free market is a complete crock?
Six billion of us live in a closed system which can't sustain anything approaching continual growth.
In fact, if we all stopped breeding tomorrow, our manufactured environmental crisis is still inevitable.
When I was in high school 35 years ago, we learnt that a quarter of the world's population lived in poverty.
Thanks to the market, they still do.
As for aspirationalist 'working families' - a favoured tool of the overpaid and largely underworked notional 'left' here in Australia - this term needs to be replaced with 'WORKING POOR'.
REAL workers are being screwed worse than ever.
Example. There's nothing wrong with communism in its purest sense but as applied, historically, it has too often brought out the worst in humanity: criminality, genocide, elitism and privilege, incompetence, lack of accountability, exploitation, suppression and repression.
Substitute communism with Catholicism or Islam (or any cult you like) and you'll observe a similar phenomenon: the finest altruistic principles corrupted by human opportunism and manipulation.
Another time, I'll look at this phenomenon a little more closely.
Suffice it to say, most communist states have broken down because the vision, in practice hasn't matched the theory – thanks to human nature.
Why? Too many of us don't really believe, in our hearts, that we are no better than everyone else.
A global economy underpinned by the 'principles' of Supply and Demand is humanity's panacea.
Damn! I didn't vote for it but I'm really impressed!
As with most noble precepts, capitalism works - on paper …
Production and consumption increasing in harmony, in equilibrium.
Innovation, excellence and hard work rewarded: wealth for all!
Mutual obligation - so no free rides at society's expense.
Productivity and Competition keeping prices down; mediocrity and underperformance penalised.
'Just In Time' management offering efficiency gains to benefit the marketplace.
(insert your favourite cliché here)
How much needs to go wrong before our collectively-thick-as-pigshit human nature perceives that the free market is a complete crock?
Six billion of us live in a closed system which can't sustain anything approaching continual growth.
In fact, if we all stopped breeding tomorrow, our manufactured environmental crisis is still inevitable.
When I was in high school 35 years ago, we learnt that a quarter of the world's population lived in poverty.
Thanks to the market, they still do.
As for aspirationalist 'working families' - a favoured tool of the overpaid and largely underworked notional 'left' here in Australia - this term needs to be replaced with 'WORKING POOR'.
REAL workers are being screwed worse than ever.
Saturday, 3 May 2008
let's shut this arsehole down …
… permanently.
(… and any individual or organisation that underwrites him.)
Guillermo Vargas Habacuc
This piece of scum calls himself an artist. I'll give him 'art'.
Maybe 30 years ago I read a quote from Doris Lessing along the following lines. Unfortunately, despite several searches, I've not been able to properly source and attribute it, but truth transcends 'credit' …
The measure of a civilization is how it cares for its defenceless.
What kind of 'civilization' tolerates and even encourages torturing animals? Darling, how caché!
Guillermo Vargas Habacuc belongs in prison where he should be fed the same diet as his former pet.
(… and any individual or organisation that underwrites him.)
Guillermo Vargas Habacuc
This piece of scum calls himself an artist. I'll give him 'art'.
Maybe 30 years ago I read a quote from Doris Lessing along the following lines. Unfortunately, despite several searches, I've not been able to properly source and attribute it, but truth transcends 'credit' …
The measure of a civilization is how it cares for its defenceless.
What kind of 'civilization' tolerates and even encourages torturing animals? Darling, how caché!
Guillermo Vargas Habacuc belongs in prison where he should be fed the same diet as his former pet.
Friday, 2 May 2008
get with the program … coupla useful links
Regain control: Insight 1
Regain control: Insight 2
quality before quantity … efficiency before 'busyness' … Equity before morbid overconsumption.
Wake up before your bed catches fire.
Regain control: Insight 2
quality before quantity … efficiency before 'busyness' … Equity before morbid overconsumption.
Wake up before your bed catches fire.
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