This Noisy Planet !

For the first few thousand years that human beings walked on Earth the only sound was them chipping away with chisels as they recorded their language and religion on the face of rocks in places like Egypt, Angor Wat in Asia and deep in the jungle of South America.  Today,  linguists are still teasing out the messages of long lost languages.

Over the following centuries humankind learned the art of war and eventually created the industrial revolution.  An observer of Earth might have noted villages becoming big cities and smokestacks belching smog and we certainly learned to create wooden ships propelled by the wind in their sails to cross oceans - and discover new lands.   But it was still a silent Earth.   We did nothing to announce our presence in the Universe !

All that changed with the dawn of the twentieth century.   A man named Marconi discovered that running electric power through resistors and valves enabled a radio signal to pass through the air and be recovered at a great distance.   At first, this curiosity had limited application.   In 1912 it added drama to a great sea tragedy.   The luxury liner Titanic was making its first Atlantic crossing when it hit an iceberg at night.   Its radio operators were sending distress calls and distant ships were racing to its aid, but within sight another ship was closed down on a calm sea and its crew were actually seeing the distress flares and rockets from the Titanic.   They thought these were entertainment for the passengers, never thinking that the ship could be in trouble because it was deemed " unsinkable ".
This ships radio operator was asleep in his bunk and refused to arise and turn on his radio.  When the rescue vessels finally arrived they found the fifteen hundred dead passengers and crew floating in the sea, killed by the chilling cold.

The advent of radio changed the world.  It quickly became a source of entertainment for the masses. Commercial radio delivered music and news to homes across the world and radio connected countries where landlines were impossible.   Then, midway into that twentieth century vision joined the sound of radio and the world embraced a new media - television.   From every city of every country on earth sound waves bombarded the ether and bounced away into space.

The momentum of life quickly followed.  The airplane brought mass, cheap travel and the age of rocketry allowed us to venture into space.   The " computer " changed everything.  In what seemed the twinkling of an eye we found ourselves with a " Smartphone " in our hand that connected us to the world, and as these decades slipped by the signals of planet Earth continued to boom away into space and announce our presence to whoever and whatever may share the Cosmos.

We even set up a " Search for Extra-Terrestial Intelligence " - SETI - and invited any aliens who respond to drop by and visit us.   For some strange reason we assume that such creatures would be both benevolent and friendly.  Perhaps that is naive !

We would do well to remember how we behaved when we were the explorers visiting new lands. We considered those we met as inferiors and we promptly placed our flag on their beaches and claimed the new country for our king or emperor.    We assumed the right to any riches it contained and we carted away gold, silver, spices or anything that took our fancy.    Worse, we imposed our laws and our religion on what we now called our new " subjects " and in many cases we forced them into the hold of our ships and carried them away to be sold in slave markets - where their labour would return us a profit.

It is too late to undo our declaration to the universe.   For more than a hundred years our signals have been radiating through space and it may be many more centuries before they reach the outer limits of this infinite universe.    Perhaps that may one day catch the attention of some other form of life and if so it may take a similar time measure for that entity to respond.

We hope that such an encounter delivers a better, kinder mix of civilizations than the history books recount of when we were the enlightened ones making new contacts !

" Managing " Prisons !

It is abundantly clear that the New South Wales prison system is dangerously under sourced.  We know that three prisoners are being crammed into cells designed for a single inmate and at the end of each court day the crop of newly convicted and sentenced prisoners is unable to find a prison bed.  Often they are held for days in court cells or moved around suburban police stations with the cops being responsible for buying in McDonalds or Kentucky Fried Chicken to keep them fed.

The state prison population reached 12,700 in July.  It increased by twenty-one percent since 2001 and on present indications it is expected to hit 13,500 by early 2017.   That will be an unsustainable figure and the state government allocated $ 3.8 billion for prisons in this years June budget.

The reason we have this overcrowding is complex.  The state closed several old and archaic prisons that were little changed from the days of transportation.  There was an expectation that prison numbers were dropping, but this coincided with a sharp increase inn the numbers held on remand.  It seems that the courts slowed and more cases were contested.  Perhaps the quality of defence lawyers improved.  Somehow many court cases seem to take a lot longer these days and serious crime in rewarded with longer prison terms.

It doesn't take Nostradamus to predict the outcome if we allow our prisons to degenerate into " hell holes ".   The overseas experience is clear.   Riots !   Fires !  Rebellions  !   Killings !   The festering conditions of too many people crammed into too little space must have an impact on the unfortunate warders tasked with guarding them and it doesn't take long for the rule of strength to rise to the top within the prison population itself.

We are already seeing that with Islamic State sympathisers gathering their numbers to form attack gangs to forcibly convert other prisoners to the Islamic religion.   A ruthless and numerous clique are able to impose intolerable threats to those they are unable to mentally withstand a threat to their lives.  We have seen an instance where boiling water was poured on such a prisoner and an Islamic code carved into his body with a razor blade.

The danger is that this form of coercion can quickly get out of control.   We know the problems of separating rival gangs in the prison system but the number of Jihadists is growing quickly and fanatacism makes them impossible to control.   Those converted often serve their new masters slavishly.

The state has a duty of care for those the law insists in putting under their control.  Along with incarceration comes a requirement that the prisoner will be housed, fed, clothed - and kept safe. That person has been put in the care of prison staff for the purpose of rehabilitation and has the expectation that on release they will be physically unharmed.    They certainly have a right to retain their original notion of religion.

One prisoner in the New South Wales prison system is at high risk of having that duty of care violated.   Renas Lelikan if a thirty-eight year old Kurdish journalist.   When he returned to Australia he was accused of being a member of the PKK - the Kurdish Workers Party - which is in conflict with Islamic State and is consequently classed as a terrorist group.   Lelikan was accused on fighting for the PKK, convicted and given a prison sentence.

Strangely, the PKK are allies with the very forces Australian troops are training to fight against Islamic State, but because our laws do not discriminate against which side fighters from this country join, all are classed as terrorists - and face prison.

So we have the weird situation that a man who supports what we consider the " right " side in this conflict is in prison and under threat from a vast number of Islamic State sympathisers who have every intention of causing his death because they see him as their enemy.

If this man is murdered in prison, the state will most certainly have failed in its duty of care.   Every single day he remains in the general prison population increases the risk and it is totally unacceptable if the state simply sits on its hands and pleads overcrowding as its inability to act.

That duty of care responsibility rests on the shoulders of those who head the command structure !

That Other Election !

The eyes of the world are firmly focused on November's election to choose the new President of the United States of America.    At the end of the year the Secretary General of the United Nations - Ban Ki-moon - completes his turn and the process of finding a replacement is well under way.

Strangely, the United Nations is not a " Democracy " in the way we usually understand that terminology.  The organization has one hundred and ninety three members who we would expect to have individual equality, but that is not the case.  It is a little like the characters in " Animal Farm ". Some are just more equal that others !

When the United Nations was mooted at the end of the second world war there was a problem.  Five countries were armed with nuclear weapons - and so the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France formed an " inner circle " and each was allowed a " Veto " to remove any matter of their choice from discussion by the forum.   They were also made permanent members of the Security Council.

Selecting a new Secretary General runs a strange course.   These five countries are referred to a " P-5 " and they nominate people who will be acceptable to them and who they hope may also meet the requirements of the other P-5 members.   At present there are twelve nominations, and five of them are women.   This is a break from tradition.  Past Secretary Generals have all been male.   None of these present contenders for the job are citizens of any of the P-5 member countries.

This is time of mulling and horse trading.   Eventually the P-5 will settle on a choice acceptable to all and that person will be presented to the 193 member General Assembly for ratification.  By protocol, all other nominees will withdraw their application to speed that person selected into office.

This list is not yet complete and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has asked the Federal Government to forward his name as a possible contender.   Rudd is considered controversial for the job and while the government has agreed to give it consideration, it is not high on the rate of urgency.

Some may contend that whoever fills the shoes of the Secretary General has the most difficult and powerless job on the planet.  He - or she - will face a constant battle to beg, borrow or steal both people and money from the member countries to try and keep the agencies of the United Nations running - and saving lives.

The task is legion.   The World Food Programme is always on the brink of disaster, trying to move food through armed blockades to keep refugees from starving to death.    The World Health Organization is at the forefront of stopping contageous diseases from ripping through the world.   It has had success against Malaria but one of its greatest triumphs was stopping Ebola in its tracks in Africa, and now it is battling Ziva of a wide front.

Civil war in both the Middle East and Africa has brought that UNHCR logo to prominence in the tent cities the UN has created to house and shelter the refugees fleeing to safety with just the clothing on their backs.    Along with providing food and shelter it is the UN that is providing schools to try and deliver at least a rudimentary education for the children whose lives have been shattered - and it is United Nations agencies tasked with finding refugees new homes in other countries.

The Secretary General has the task of wheedling and shaming the governments of member countries into contributing soldiers to expand the " Blue Berets " of the troops fighting under a United Nations mandate to separate warring armies in civil wars from decimating helpless civilians.    It also has a hand in trying to right labour abuses which verge on outright slavery - and then there is the World Bank and its ability to place money where it will raise living standards.

The Secretary General must be a very remarkable person.  Part diplomat.  Part magician.   It must be terribly vexing to go to conferences where heads of state big note themselves by publicly promising worthwhile donations, only to have them renege as soon as the spotlight of world publicity moves elsewhere.

The American Presidential election is certainly important, but perhaps it pales into insignificance when compared to the task one person will be handed by years end.   The task the United Nations Secretary General undertakes probably decides the life or death outcome for more citizens of planet Earth than the ruler of any individual world country.    Hopefully, the P-5 will choose well !

Awarding Punishments. !

It was a sad story, but only too familiar through all stratas of todays society.  Harriet Wran, 28 was the daughter of former New South Wales state premier Neville Wran.   Estranged from her family because she was in the grip of an uncontrollable drug habit she was arrested by the police investigating a Refern murder.

It seems that Harriet Wran accompanied her boy friend Michael Lee and Lloyd Edward Haines to a known drug den in the city with the intention of obtaining drugs.   Wran knocked on the door and lulled the drug dealer to open up because he contended his caller was " only a girl ".    Her companions rushed in, intending to commit a robbery and in the ensuing fracas the dealer - Daniel McNulty - was killed.

Then came the inevitable apportioning of individual charges and this investigation dragged on for over a year, and during that time Harriet Wran was locked away in a high security female prison.  Her case was sensationally played out in the media and inevitably the  the reporting was coloured by the individual political bias of the media proprietors.  Harriet was fortunate that her family stuck with her and as a result she was served by top lawyers and attended by gifted psychiatrists and social workers.  She was also at high risk of personal attack behind bars and the sensational nature of this case will make rehabilitation eventually difficult.

The presiding justice had a thorny issue to decide.   Justice is never clear in the eye of all beholders.  It is much easier if the offender is a " nobody " and the decisions attract little media attention, but that was never going to be an option in the Wran case.

The DPP decided to charge Harriet Wran with " harbouring and maintaining " her boy friend when they went on the run.  The Justice handed her a one year sentence.    She was also charged with " robbery in company " and awarded a two year minimum prison term.   She was not charged with murder because both her companions pleaded guilty to that charge - and are awaiting sentencing.

With time served and credits for good behaviour it is quite likely that she may be granted her freedom in a matter of days.   Her time in prison has certainly broken the drug nexus and her loving family can be expected to cushion her return to personal freedom.   The sentencing Justice opined that he had every expectation that there would be no further criminal occurrences.

To a fair minded person that is probably a very reasonable outcome to what can happen when normal behaviour becomes deranged by drug cravings.   That expedition to Redfern had the intention of committing a robbery.   They were desperate for drugs beyond the money available to make a legitimate purchase and Wran took no part in the killing of the dealer.    The culprits have admitted their guilt - and will be punished accordingly.

The only jarring note is the fame connecting to the prisoners father.   It raises the question of whether those close to the public eye should be treated differently to what some may refer to as " ordinary members of the herd " !     The question in some minds is whether Harriet Wran got off lightly - because of who she was ?

There is no doubt that she was legally better represented by the family engaged lawyers rather than having legal counsel drawn from the pool of freshly minted lawyers on low salaries available to the courts.   But that is a very normal hazard of justice.   Some of the biggest criminals are also very rich people - and they deploy their wealth accordingly.

In the end, it rests in the hands of whatever Justice draws the case and has to try and juggle together the contrasting ends of justice and mercy.   He chose to give a twenty-eight year old woman a chance to return to a normal life and perhaps create a future family.    There is a very good chance that she will never again cross the law, but the curse of drugs is rife with temptation.

Tragedy !

One new born is dead and another is severely brain damaged after an incredible accident at Bankstown/Lidcombe hospital.    It was discovered that one outlet in one of the hospitals eight birthing operating theatres was connected to the wrong gas.   Instead of delivering Oxygen, it supplied Nitrous Oxide, commonly known as " Laughing gas " !

The supply of hospital gases comes from the industrial giant  BOC limited and there are strict protocols in place in all medical establishments.   All these procedures are now under review but it is worrying that this error remained in place for many days and that a great number of babies passed through that particular birthing centre successfully with the defect still in placer without suffering harm.

It seems that giving a new born oxygen is unusual.   Most have a very healthy natural birth and it is simply not necessary to give oxygen, but where the birth is both difficult and lengthy a shot of oxygen can rejuvenate the baby.   In this case, the oxygen probably stood unused as a standby during the many days it was incorrectly connected.

That Nitrous Oxide is also a standby gas.    If labour is protracted and the mother is becoming distressed a little " laughing gas " can cause relaxation and dull the pain.  Somehow, and against all protocol the gas line to the supply room managed to get connected to the wrong bottle - and nobody noticed.

This is the sort of medical disaster that strikes fear into all hospital administrations.   You can be sure that when this news broke a special check was carried out on the gas connections and spigot labelling in birthing centres from Cape York to Tasmania.   The fact that this is a cause of death that broke new ground - means gas protocols need to be tightened to ensure that it never happens again.

That is no solace for the victims.   One baby is dead and another is in a critical condition with severe brain damage.  It will result in a coroners enquiry and the protocols in place will be tightly examined to try and pin down exactly where this error occurred.   It may be human error and there may be latitude in how things are labelled, but the entire system needs to be fine tuned because what has just happened is unacceptable.

The victim families must feel that fate was being cruel.   It was just sheer good luck that many babies passed through that particular birthing centre procedure room with the incorrect gas connection before their turn, and many more after the first sign of damage was misdiagnosed.    Both gases are colourless - odourless.  Any reactions to gas are of an uncertain nature.

It is said that we live - and we learn.  Just one of those unforseen hazards that an unkind fate can deliver - when we least expect it.   What is important is that we close the door on repeat performances.

Balancing The Family !

The relentless march of Science is ever pushing back frontiers.   The coming of the IVF world ensured that many childless couples were able to conceive and complete the traditional family circle. It is an area of argument with some of the churches bitterly opposed to any actions that they claim interfere with the natural birth cycle.

Now a new proposal is about to send the IVF contenders to the barricades.  One of the contentious points of the IVF programme is its ability to manipulate the sex of the child, and this is already covered by strict regulation.    There are some loopholes.   It is logical to close out genetic diseases such as Haemophilia, which is a bleeding disease that usually runs in the male line of ancestry.  Where this is present, families would be wise to ensure that they have female children.

Now it is proposed that a " balancing factor " be allowed in family planning.   Manipulating the sex of the first child born to a women will still be forbidden, but should the family find themselves with two children of the same sex - and desire a third ?    Then they should have the right to choose that third child to be of the opposite sex to the other children.

It sounds simple and clear cut, but as usual the devil is in the detail.  A century ago family life was very different.  The average courtship led to an engagement, then marriage and later a family arrived.  It was all very orderly, but that is not the world of today.   About half of todays children are born out of wedlock and many parents have no intention of ever getting married.  Many are home births and it seems certain that not all are legally recorded.

Just imagine the complications if a man with a couple of kids from a broken marriage got together with a woman in a similar situation - and they both wanted one of their union - of a preferred sex ?  Whenever we make a new rule, be sure to first examine all the contingencies that can arise - because it is certain that many will crawl out of the woodwork.

The one thing that is certain is that we are a manipulative lot and whatever rules are put in place will be gamed by many.   The really big question is whether Australians have a preference for one of the sexes and how that would play out if child sex selection became a de facto lottery.

We have only to look to China for the answer to that question.   China forced its one child policy on its huge population out of necessity.  Girls were undervalued.  They became someone elses wife.   Boys had the responsibility to care for their aged parents and grand parents, and the wife they chose was forced to carry out these duties.   As a result, hundreds of thousands of girl childs were aborted after conception and China became a country of boy children.

The end result was tragic.   China has an over balanced population and many men are destined to never find a partner - because of a huge female shortage.  At the same time the demographics have changed. The people have moved from agrarian villagers to city workers and this ageing population lacks a social security net.

Fortunately, Australia is not reliant on its children for family support, but our planners would be wise to think long and hard before setting sex selection in motion.   They first need to be sure of the final outcome.   Whatever rules they put in place are unlikely to colour the outcome of whatever eventually evolves !

The " Crunch " Factor !

The latest terrorist attack in the German city of Munich left nine people dead - many of them children -and a further twenty-one with survivable injuries.  The killer was eighteen year old Ali Sonboly,  He was a dual nationality German/Iranian with no known contact with Islamic State.

There are claims that he was shouting " Allahu Akbar " which is Arabic for "God is Great "as he sprayed bullets at victims.   This seems to be the main claim that he was an Islamic terrorist.  In the greater number of other killings  claimed by IS the killers have loudly shouted this phrase as their justification for murder.

This scene of carnage was at a McDonalds family restaurant and it seems a bogus advertisement may have attracted an unusually large crowd of young patrons with the offer of free giveaway food coinciding with the exact time the attack took place.  The killer then ended his own life with a gunshot to the head.

When Islamic State began their war on the world they proved to be adept at attracting publicity. Their methods were extreme and repulsive to most people, but they would have had a certain appeal to those desensitized by violent video games and the many in our  midst with extreme psychiatric problems.   They offered a new and violent way to hit back at society.  It is quite possible that those with absolutely no interest in religion are using the Islamic State credo as some sort of badge of honour.

One of the avenues of appeal - is the publicity it ensures.  This Munich attack brings headlines around the world  and this eighteen year old Ali Sonboly has become an instant celebrity.   Had he simply murdered any ordinary Munich citizen it is unlikely that the case would have made it beyond the local newspaper but now he has entered the pantheon that will be constantly mulled over by the great and powerful.

What is so awful is the certainty that we can never mount a certain defence to protect the population against this sort of infamy.  Someone with a concealed weapon can walk into any location with a mass of people and simply start killing.  Sometimes escape is an option, but that seems reserved for dedicated IS cadres.  Many with bizarre psychiatric grievances either expect to be eventually taken down by the police or end their life by their own hand.

Perhaps the nearest replication of the danger spreading across the world is comparison with the long ages when the streets of Ireland were darkened by "the troubles ".   That too was a religious war, but it also masked items of "payback " for civil issues and even the romantic upheavals that endue in all societies.   It served as "cover " for the dormant excesses that a civilized society keeps under control.

The people of Ireland simply had to adjust to a bomb in a public place without the slightest warning.  They had to accept that the religious divide ran deep and there was no such thing as neutrality. It was a religious war and it was also a tribal war - and there was no quarter.  Everybody wanted it to end, but nobody wanted to be the first to give ground.

What we are now seeing is the great religion of Islam at war with itself.  A fanatical breakaway Wahabist movement has emerged out of Saudi Arabia and is determined to force its way of life on the rest of the world at the point of a gun.   The end result so far is massive death and destruction in the Middle East and a tide of refugees last seen when the second world war ended.

It is likely that this IS phenomenon will run its course and be rejected by moderate Islam, but its ability to use the world publicity machine to exploit its successes is drawing in converts and many of these are simply the misfits of society.   When the people with psychiatric illnesses deliver an atrocity in the west, IS is quick to claim the credit.   This seems to bring more weirdos to flock to the IS banner.

It is quite clear that we are not changing our lifestyle.   We live in a dangerous world and today any sound of a shot in a public place sees people take immediate cover.   We are more watchful of our surroundings and others and we now tend to avoid places of evident danger.   Anywhere people are massed is now a danger point.

But we are also pragmatic.   Even a hundred deaths in a city of millions is small compared to the overall risk of accidental death.  What we can't stop we must learn to endure - and that is exactly what is happening in western countries.   The headlines are awful, but when it comes to the crunch very little has actually changed !

The American Nightmare !

Now it is official.   When voting day comes  around this November Donald Trump will be the endorsed candidate for the Republican side of American politics. Despite earlier odds against it is distinctly possible that he will be the person sitting in the Oval office in 2017.

If that happens the cherished " American Dream " will become the "American Nightmare " for many people.   It was the one country on planet Earth that boasted open doors to the worlds oppressed: where those prepared to work hard, be loyal to their new country and integrate socially could build a new life unhampered by the class and privileges stratification that doomed " peasants " in the rest of the world to a low ranking.

Trump has promised to send the millions of undocumented arrivals trying to achieve the American Dream back over the borders.   There will be no amnesty for those who are now integrated and running businesses.  America under Trump will be inward looking and American borders will be reinforced.  Even the concept of children born in America from undocumented parents claiming citizenship is under review.

Trump is truly an enigma.  Many of his supporters claim that once in office he will mellow, but his plans for the might of the American military machine are sending panic in world circles.  Since the middle of the twentieth century the Americans have had the most powerful military force on the planet and they have adopted the role of the " world's policeman ".   Many countries - including Australia - are comforted by inclusion in mutual defence pacts with America.   In the event of a threat we automatically expect defence help from our American friends.

Trump has proposed that he will scrap these treaties and replace them with a much more pragmatic outlook.   The main factor seems to be money.   Where the United States needs to station troops in another country to deter a threat, it will expect that country to foot the bill.    It is a fact that many countries shelter under the American nuclear umbrella and downgrade spending on their own armaments, but the Trump inference was that America was moving away from widespread guard duties and would in future demand that the threatened spend more on their own military protection before seeking help.

Such a tactical change would come at a dangerous time.   We have a very wobbly financial world and it is clear that the 2008 recession is still lingering over the horizon.   At the same time China is acting aggressively in the South China sea and Russia is in expansive mood with both Ukraine and the Baltic states.   Should either country misinterpret a new American policy an unintended clash could have wide - and disastrous - ramifications.

What is irritating is that nobody clearly known what President Trump's policy would be.  His campaign has been like no other in that he often reversed himself on the stump and no previous election involved the direct invective launched at other candidates.  Basically, the voters are being asked to take a big chance.   Just vote for Trump and hope that he eventually figures out some sort of comprehensive better way of running America.

Of course, the vote will be for one of the two candidates running.   There is a very good chance that Hillary Clinton will win the Oval office.   Politics is usually dirty business, but never before has such a spiteful and politically diverse election been presented to the American people, and never have the two front runners come with such wagon loads of contradictory " baggage " !

This is an election that will have the lights burning in government offices across the world as the tally is counted.   If Trump wins the Oval office - what follows will be completely unknown !

The " Policing " Enigma !

To the average citizen the police are an essential service.  If a burglar threatens our home we dial 000 and expect a fast response. A police station is a refuge where we can go for shelter and to seek help. Of course they are annoying when they run speed traps and issue fines for driving just over the legal limit and those booze buses have made many social outings hazardous - but deep in our hearts we accept that this is necessary for the common good.

The hardcore criminal elements have always been a threat to individual police but it was accepted wisdom that a murder of a policeman brought the full force of the law into play and the culprit would receive a draconian sentence.  Consequently, using deadly force to murder a cop was out of the question - but now that has changed.

In America this " Black Lives Matter " issue has brought ambush tactics into play, resulting in black gunmen avenging deaths in custody by mowing down groups of white police officers.  One of the problems seems to be the way policing is dispersed in the United States. Small towns and villages maintain what amounts to a local Sheriff and his deputies and most are voted into office at elections. Often these people lack any sort of qualification, beyond being thought a " good guy " and are expected to learn on the job.  It seems inevitable that many will bring deep grained racist prejudice with them and the form of law and order  delivered will hold to that attitude.

The religious war being waged by Islamic State specifically targets police.  Here in Australia an aged accountant who worked at a police station was gunned down by a radicalised youth, who then met his own death from police guns.   The Lindt siege shook the nation, and only now are we getting the unvarnished facts of unmet command responsibilities and lack of specialised equipment put into play. Alarmingly, the tactical snipers put in place and the other specialist police deployed have had their identities shielded by the use of code names.   It is an offence to photograph them and they often have a cover over their face when on active duty.

Wearing a police uniform in Australia is fast becoming a high risk occupation.  We are still a long way short of the military style of policing in use in America and across Europe, but what are essentially light tanks with machine guns are creeping into common use.   As the risk ratchets up, expect the attitude of police on duty to harden.  IS is encouraging radicalized youths to use their cars to run down officers and then ensure their death by beheading.   Even a single event would be guaranteed to rate headlines across the entire country.

One of the dangers is this risk pushing policing out of sight and the emergence of a " secret police " to do the dangerous work of rooting out the people who threaten to deliver harm.   The police in uniform take a more military presence and guard high risk locations such as airports and tourist areas while the secret police do their work out of sight.

It is easy to justify such a scenario, but we well remember the horror of the Gestapo which terrorised Europe during the second world war and the KGB which keep a Communist iron hand on the unfortunate countries which were liberated by the Red Army. Then there was the infamous East German Stasi which made life a misery behind the Berlin wall.

The pressure on policing is unforgiving - and it is being carefully orchestrated by IS to break down police morale as a divisive tactic.   Uniformed police will certainly need to be cautious and make sure backup is always in place, but those blue uniforms are a guarantee that policing is legitimate.  By the failures of past history, embracing secret policing would be a concept we would eventuall6y come to regret

Apology.

The writer of  "Views from Towradgi " is recovering from surgery and consequently there will be no Blog today.   Hopefully, they will resume in a few days.    I apologise for any inconvenience caused.

                                        Cheers             Geoff

Modern Turkey - at Risk !

When Turkey suffered defeat in the first world war it ended the Ottoman Empire and Kemal Attaturk opened this Islamic country to the world.   He turned it into a secular democracy and for decades this was jealously guarded by the army.  Turkey became well known for military coups any time the governing body strayed from Attaturk's  strict separation of religion and state.

Turkey is a member of NATO and it has long cherished the hope of joining the EU.  Other EU members are hesitant and fear opening Europe's borders to this huge Muslim population. When civil war ravaged Syria and Iraq was invaded Turkey became the conduit for refugee movement and its bargaining power increased.   Unfortunately, the direction in which Turkey was heading became something of a mystery.

This enigma was a man named Recep Tayyip  Erdogan who emerged as a charismatic leader.  Initially he seemed a moderate but as he gained power he began to embrace Islam more closely. He has aspirations to change the constitution to change the presidential role to an executive presidency and this has faced resistance in some quarters.  Erdogan has become increasingly authoritarian and has stripped away the rights of free speech and imposed his will on the courts and justice system. Early in his reign he forced the retirement of army leaders and seemed to have defanged any possibility of future coups.

Like a bolt from the blue some sections of the armed forces left the barracks and sized control this week.  They took over television stations and announced the new order and there were tanks in the streets and armed helicopters covering strong points.   It caught Erdogan unprepared, away on a holiday out of the country.  He managed to send a message exhorting his supporters to rush to the streets and oppose the coup - and thousands responded.  Some sections of the armed forces remained loyal to the government and this led to a fire fight in which hundreds were killed or wounded.  The police backed Erdogan - and the coup collapsed.

The world waits to see what type of regime emerges in Turkey.  Erdogan is entitled to assume emergency powers and may dispense with the need for a referendum to change the constitution. It is possible that this coup attempt may accelerate Turkey's embrace of Islamic law and turn away from its former secular stance.  It will certainly harden its attitude to the Kurdish minority engaged in a civil war for autonomy.  Then there is the issue of the huge number of refugees from Iraq and Syria stranded in camps on Turkish soil - and the complex repatriation arrangement that exists with the EU.

Australia has had a cordial relationship with Turkey since our involvement in the Gallipoli landing. Australians have been welcome guests at ANZAC commemoration ceremonies and the Turkish economy relies heavily on tourism.  If Turkey begins to embrace a rejection of its secular heritage the turmoil of the Middle East may bring all that to an end.

Western leaders will hold their breathe and wait to see what emerges.  Some may wish that the coup had been successful and that the army and its secular disposition had taken power.   Erdogan is not an easy person to read and his true aims are yet to emerge.  It seems certain that defeating the coup has put new power in his hands.    Once again religion has overturned the chess board of the Middle East.    The crystal ball is far from clear !

The Age of " Terror " !

Jihad has evolved from the impulsive act of wild eyes assassins to carefully crafted acts of terror designed to deliver maximum casualties from the loss of a minimum number of zealots.  Our reaction to the risks have developed accordingly.

Back in 9/11 when terrorists hijacked four passenger jets the captives were calm because past hijackings usually ended well. Those hijackers made the mistake of not confiscating mobile phones and when the first planes flew into the World Trade Centre their captives quickly guessed their fate - and stormed the cockpit.   From a terrorist point of view that fourth plane was a failure because it failed to destroy its target.

A plane hijacking today would not deliver calm acceptance from the victims. The likelihood of a fiery end would cause passengers to fight back, and for that reason it has slipped off the terror agenda.  What is alarming is that new and very clever methods of causing mass casualties is coming into play.   We have yet to discover if these are formulated from the leaders in the Middle East, or are evolving from the terrorist cells residing in our cities.

The latest terror attack in France ticked all the boxes.  A single French National with Tunisian heritage drove a twenty-five tonne truck at high speed two kilometres along the seafront promenade in the city of Nice.  This promenade was crowded with men, women and children watching the fireworks set off to celebrate Bastille Day.  The truck swerved to run down as many pedestrians as possible and the driver shot into the crowd as it delivered carnage.  Police return fire riddled the truck cabin and eventually killed the driver, bringing the truck to a gory halt.

The terrorists will be well satisfied with this result.  For the loss of a single jihadist France lost eighty four citizens dead and well over a hundred injured, eighteen of whom are classed as critical.  Many children were amongst the dead and injured - and the French nation is in shock.

Exhaustive enquiries will follow.   How did this truck evade the roadblocks designed to seal off the Promenade.  This professional delivery driver was known to the police.  Why was he not stopped sooner.   He had guns and hand grenades.  Who supplied them ?

Once again we are dealing with the aftermath of an event that was beyond imagination.   It should not have been.  The killing of an army soldier in Britain involved him being run down with a car before he was hacked to death.  IS has urged its followers to use their cars to main and kill.  What is unusual was the choice of a twenty five tonne truck because such a juggernaut was virtually unstoppable.

What the terrorists don't seem to realise is that terror delivers the " reward of diminishing returns " !  After 9/11 people did not stop flying in airplanes.  They simply accept the risk with a shrug of the shoulders.   During the second world war, the people of London wearily accepted the need to spend the night in a shelter to avoid the bombs.   The shock value of terror quickly diminishes.   People become more cautious, but they continue to live their lives as before.   In fact in many people it creates an attitude of defiance and it is quite likely that we will see a rise in the number of volunteers making their way to join the forces opposing Islamic State in Syria.

Unfortunately there is the expectation that terror attacks on western targets may ratchet up in number and severity.   IS is suffering reverses in Iraq and Syria and they are desperate to keep their followers loyal by proving that they are still an enduring fighting force.

Opening the Gambling "Can of Worms " !

Andrew Wilkie has long been an anti gambling advocate and it seems that Nick Xenophon has teamed up with him to use their Senate powers to impose gambling restrictions on Australia.  In their sights are poker machines and the more recent intrusion of International bookmakers advertising their services during live broadcast sporting events.

The plan is to restrict the maximum bet on each roll of the symbols - to just one dollar, and to programme the machines so that the loss to the person playing it can not exceed $ 120 per hour.  It is hoped that these restrictions will save compulsive gamblers from catastrophic losses and  reduce the lure that induces some people to pursue illusionary mega jackpots.

One of the problems seems to be that this move is in the Federal sphere and poker machines are very much a state issue.  For many years New South Wales was the only state that licensed poker machines and even now the rules that apply vary state to state. 
 Taxation is a form of state revenue and severe restrictions will have an affect on state finances.  Any such measure will have resistance from state Treasurers and the club industries.

It is estimated that the mechanical conversion of poker machines to fit this new format would involve an outlay of $ 1.5 billion and many contend that it would not stop compulsive gamblers wasting their money.  The vast majority of people wager below that one dollar limit.

The plan to place restrictions on bookmakers advertising their services during live sport may get a better reception, specially as it proposes a complete ban at times when television is providing dedicated children viewing.   A lot of people have reservations on the wisdom of allowing bets to be placed on specific outcomes within the course of live games.  This opens the door to match fixing and provides an entry to profitable criminal activity.

There is no doubt that Andrew Wilkie and Nick Xenophon are good hearted and believe that their proposals are needed to fix a blight on society, but interfering with recreational gambling frees a particularly malevolent genie from imprisonment in a very large bottle.

Gambling is an emotive issue that has long caused discord.  Originally, the idea of holding a state lottery in New South Wales faced stiff opposition from church groups.   It only finally got the nod when the profits were dedicated to funding the hospital system, and at that time the only legal way to place a bet was to attend a race meeting and place a wager directly with a bookmaker.

For many decades the gambling dollar was serviced by totally illegal SP bookmakers who held court in the back bar of local pubs.  This was an open secret.   The police made regular raids but only minor people ever faced courts.  Eventually, the state succumbed to the tax bonanza to be made from making betting legal and so came the era of the TAB.

This move to restrict gambling comes at an awkward time.  Sydney is about to get a major waterfront building which will house one of the worlds high roller Casinos.   Our existing Casino at Darling Harbour has poker machines and is exempt from the liquor licensing lockout laws that have tamed Kings Cross.  It seems certain that this same poker machine exemption will apply to Casinos because any gambling limitation would be laughable to the very notion of Casino philosophy.

What happens in the advertising world and with the licensing of television is a Federal matter and comes within the scope of Messrs Wilkie and Xenophon.     They open a very different Pandora's box if they venture into state issues, particularly state finances and the giant club industry which is the main form of entertainment for a wide section of the community.    In the past, this have proved to be an area where angels - and legislators - fear to tread !

Duty of Care !

A prison is not a nice place and it is not intended to be anything else than a punishment, but when the authorities incarcerate someone they have an obligation to provide a duty of care.   There is the expectation that the prisoner will be housed, fed and suitably clothed during the length of the sentence to be served and that on release they will not be physically impaired.

When Britain sent the first fleet to Australia in 1788 it deliberately created a harsh prison colony with the intention of creating fear of transportation to reduce crime in England.  Flogging was a common punishment and the regime was unbelievably cruel by todays standards.  We have since evolved a rule of law that is supposed to reform prisoners and return them to society when their sentence is served.

We now have a mix of prisons to suit the security classification of individual prisoners.  They range from the Supermax at Goulburn which houses our most violent and dangerous inmates to prison farms where supervision is relaxed to prepare those soon to be released with the need to adjust to a civilian lifestyle.   Prisoners are steadily reclassified and moved as they journey towards work release and freedom under the care of a parole officer.

There has always been a trend to violence within the prison system. Enmities between individual prisoners surface and gangs try and protect their turf.  Prison culture and currency do a constant battle with the warders and a trade in prohibited items such as mobile phone is rife.  What we are now seeing is the raising of the risk factor to a degree that is unacceptable.

The Islamic State phenomenon which has been carving out a "caliphate " in Iraq and Syria has  adherents in Australia and some have been convicted of terrorism charges.  They are religious fanatics and they are using brutal coercion to force other prisoners to convert to Islam.   In one instance at Kempsey prison, boiling water was poured on an inmate who refused their advance and the symbol EYE was carved into his head, denoting the IS "an eye for an eye " motto.

Unfortunately, our prison system is under overcrowding stress and as a consequence some cells designed to hold a single occupant now house three people.   This allows these fanatics to bring intensive pressure to bear on their victims and recently this led to a prison yard riot at the Supermax that required warning shots to be fired and tear gas to be used.   Prison authorities are concerned that this conversion tactic can quickly advance out of hand and create a vicious "cell " within prisons that will be almost impossible to control.

Groups of Muslim fanatics can instill fear in other prisoners and this is a form of gang warfare.   It also opens a recruiting base that will be valuable to IS.  The fact that IS is losing ground in the Middle East seems to have intensified terror actions in western cities to keep the IS image alive in the media.   It is quite possible that the IS presence in Australian prisons will continue to expand in number as these actions escalate.

All prisoners have a right to serve their sentence free of religious indoctrination by force.  Just as those prisoners who fight and assault others find themselves removed and placed in a prison with tougher rules and more spartan facilities, those imposing their religion on others require similar treatment.

Religious fear can quickly become a festering sore that make prisons unworkable and it clearly violates the duty of care which is an entitlement for all those sentenced by our courts.  Forcing an inmate who can not avoid the presence of an inquisitor to convert to a different religion is a form of tyranny little different than the horrors imposed at Macquarie Harbour and Port Arthur centuries ago.

Those who use force to impose their religion on others can not be mixed in the general prison population, nor should they be allowed to congregate in a single prison.   They need to be widely dispersed and if that requires expanded prison accommodation - that would be money well spent.

Allowing unfettered religious conversions in prisons is probably equal in danger to the risk posed by religious fanatics recruiting followers in the wider community.   The end result is usually the death of innocent people !

Ideological Fanaticism !

Every five years Australia takes stock of the herd by requiring every citizen to fill out a census form.   This will take place on Tuesday, August 9 and we have the choice of doing it online or using the traditional pen and paper approach. As usual, the nit pickers are in a frenzy about some of the questions asked !

This time around the census contains the option of ticking a " No Religion "  box in answer to the religious question.   In the last census the form listed most of the worlds religions and then offered a box labelled " Other ".   Twenty-two percent of respondents wrote in descriptions such as " Atheist ", " Agnostic ", " Humanist "   - and some Sci-Fi wags claimed to be followers of " Jedi " !

One of the problems of living in a democracy is the " majority rules " tenet that applies.  If the census shows that Christians have become the minority in this country then whoever exceeds that count has a legitimate right to expect the legislators to support their view.   We are already under pressure from what can only be described as " Ideological Fanatics " who demand that their views be placed on the political agenda.

One of these demands is the introduction of " gender neutral " to replace the traditional " male " or " female " description of gender.   This opens a very complex can of worms, not the least of which is deciding which bathroom a person of neutral gender may use.   It is biologically possible to achieve a gender transfer - with the help of a surgeon and some fanatics insist that this " gender neutral " state is necessary for the time that person meets neither standard.

Of course that three letter word " sex " is the most emotive in the alphabet.  It has many people frothing at the mouth over " men in womens bathrooms " and insisting that whatever description appears on birth documents must apply.  It seems to completely  ignore that many toilets are for use by a single person and are intended for either sex.

We have just suffered the harrowing experience of an over long election campaign.  The most amazing points of view have come out of the woodwork and many are what could only be described as " extreme ".  Sadly, there has been sufficient voting support to elect a handful who express these views and they will be in a position to influence the decisions of the parliament.

It was encouraging that when this election was finally decided it was agreed that both sides of politics would compromise to ensure that legislation for the common good of the country passed into law.  Unfortunately, the combative nature of the political system makes that unlikely.  The main objective of whoever is in opposition is to prevent measures that make the government look good, and persuade the voters that putting the opposition in power would deliver better results.   In many cases, measures bitterly opposed miraculously become policy should such a result happen.

It seems that this " ideological fanaticism " is a growing element in the society in which we live. Perhaps the emergence of social media features such as Facebook has enhanced the bully pulpit from which commentators can espouse their views.   Perhaps we have simply become more argumentive because we gain in stature and attract a following.   The very fact that many of those who initially attracted the most scorn now are called " The Honourable " and sit in this country's parliament attests to the elevation that is possible.

The usual outcome is that the people's choice - delivers the outcome that the people deserve !

" Dead End " Degrees !

It has become abundantly clear that the unqualified face low pay and reduced job opportunities.  Some sort of university qualification is now essential for those planning a " career  , but gaining a degree does not guarantee a job.   It is estimated that there are 47,000 qualified teachers in New South Wales who are unable to find a permanent job in the teaching profession.

A few calculations on the back of an envelope bring clarity to this problem.  The state teaching payroll amounts to 49,000 teaching positions spread over primary and secondary schools.  Because of retirement and resignations the state hires about 2,200 freshly minted job applicants to fill these positions, but the universities churn out 7,500 new teachers each year.

It is obvious that teaching is an over supplied market and the sad thing is that those who complete their university training are saddled with an education debt that will still need to be repaid, even if they never actually get to face a class in a classroom.

Teaching is a traditional career opportunity. It tends to attract more women than men and many see this as denying boys the role opportunities now exacerbated by many single parent households. Unfortunately the tertiary admission ranking at universities has slipped to a low of just 60 and in an attempt to raise the standards it it in the process of being raised to 80.   While we have a mass of qualified but unemployed teachers, we also have a critical shortage in some teaching categories.

Many schools are crying out to fill positions teaching mathematics, science, engineering or industrial technology.   Opportunities are there for teachers who train to specialise to fill these gaps and that usually means more time at university to gain the necessary knowledge.

It seems quite clear that we have an over supply in the area of general teaching and the universities need to overhaul their curriculum to branch students into speciality at a far earlier time in the learning process.  It is also evident that those choosing a teaching career need to be more specific about just what career path they intend to follow.   Education is emerging as a profession with its own areas of speciality, just like many other disciplines.   For instance law.  It is common for lawyers to choose a specific area in which to practice - such as merger and acquisitions, criminal law, tort, legal defence or domestic affairs.   The medical profession also tends to specialise in treating individual areas on the human body.

This whole concept of teaching is undergoing change.  In a distant age when a teacher achieved the necessary qualification little changed for their entire teaching career.   They developed an individual style of delivery and they were judged on the success of those entrusted to their care when they entered the job market.   Little effort was made to judge teaching by proficiency.

We are fast reaching the stage where excellence will be recognised - and rewarded.  Despite opposition from the teaching unions schools are enterering a competitive era where they will vie for students on the basis of their teaching reputation.   Teaching standards will have a bearing on both the career prospects and renumeration of those that graduate from their care - and they will be judged accordingly.

That old " one size fits all " approach to university training is no longer relevant !

Electronic Voting !

It seems extraordinary that in this electronic twenty-first century we have just had an election and it has taken eight days to deliver a verdict on which political party will have the numbers to govern in the House of Representatives.   The laborious task of allocating preferences to determine the Senate outcome finality may still be a month away.

The government has spent billions to wire the country with the NBN network.  The computer has shrunk to a size that can be held in ones hand with the development of the Smartphone and this is certainly the age of instant messaging.  The postal network is on the verge of bankruptcy because we are both billed and settle our accounts online electronically.   Recording a vote in an election seems to be the last standout in the pen and paper era of yesteryear !

Both sides of politics are promising to give consideration to a move to electronic voting but it is certain that they will move with caution.   Few world countries have embraced this concept and so far it is only in place in Kazakhstan, India and Brazil.  We are warned that security can not be guaranteed and this has been aptly illustrated by the infiltration of crime in siphoning off money by deception.  Even the International banking world has fallen victim to clever scams in which millions of dollars have mysteriously " disappeared " !

Electronic voting would require some sort of personal input to a central data base.  Within minutes of the poll closing the power of the computer would deliver an instant result with all those preferences being cross referenced and allocated.   The problem is that at this stage of its development the computer world is not immune to " hacking " and we could not be sure that the final outcome was a true result.   It would be very suspect if the outcome was an unexpected result !

The clever people who devise computer systems doubt that the electronic world can ever be made totally secure.  Voters may be required to attend a polling station and record their vote on a secure line to a central tally room but it would be much harder to ensure security if each individual were allowed to record their vote using their home computer or Smartphone.

Politics is the source of both power and money.  Staggering sums are spent at each election to influence the vote.  There is no doubt that if we embraced electronic voting at least some people on both sides of the political divide would give consideration to using the electronic media to illegally swing the vote in their favour.   In the world balance of military power it is highly likely that a foreign country would seek advantage by manipulating the vote to bring a friendly regime to office.

Concern has been steadily mounting at the intrusion that electronics is making in the art of voting influence.   The power of the computer has been utilised to generate what are termed " Robo-Calls ". These can take the form of either text messages or voice calls sent to a broad spectrum of people and in many cases spread a damaging and consistent lie.   The source of this communication is well hidden and it can be very effective in swinging votes.

Eventually, cost and logistics will make electronic voting a necessity.  The problem will be to police the lines of communications to ensure that the end result delivers the votes that each voter intended !

The Morning After !

The awful reality of that " Brexit "  vote is starting to sink in to the British people !   They look to the political leaders to sort out the mess - and find empty chairs.  The Conservatives are navel gazing as they manoeuvre to fill the vacancy left by David Cameron's resignation, and across the aisle at Labor its misfit leader just receiving a crushing vote of no confidence.

Withdrawal from the European Union is a step into the unknown.  There is just no precedent to set a guiding star.  Whatever arrangement is eventually thrashed out will need the approval of all the remaining members and even one obstinate maverick can swing a wrecking ball.   There is a real chance that the negotiations may become vindictive just to set an example to other countries thinking of a similar exit.

Perhaps the biggest danger is the threat to the unity of the United Kingdom.  Scotland gave the country a scare when it narrowly rejected independence in a recent referendum, but Brexit has again raised that question.   In Northern Ireland the prospect of national borders, passports and visa inspections will certainly put fresh pressure on the peace accord.

The sad thing about the Brexit referendum was the discord it revealed within the British population.  London and the other big cities voted solidly to remain.  Young people and professionals also supported the remain side, but the old and those living in what are termed the " rust belt " so badly affected by globilization heeded the siren call of  " renewal  " !

The " Leave " crowd cleverly extolled a return to an earlier age of full employment when a host of small industries gave the country a vast manufacturing base.   That world no longer exists and the empire on which it rested has long dissipated.    The voices that promised that Britain could " have it all " by simply leaving the EU are now strangely silent !

The standard of living in Britain will heavily depend on who gets the job of prime minister and whether that person is up to the job.  Boris Johnson, the former Lord Mayor of London looked to be a shoo-in but it seems obvious that he jumped on the " leave " bandwagon opportunistically and had absolutely  no plans when it succeeded. He has removed himself from contention.

Britain needs a leader who is a realist to sort out this mess.  It is important that the parliament achieve discipline and it is very likely that this issue will be returned to a decision by the people by way of a new election.   That makes the leadership issue in the opposition Labor party critical.   It is vitally important that both sides of politics are headed by astute leaders capable of arising above the mundane matters of politically skirmishing to deal effectively with a national crisis.

Withdrawing from the EU will decide whether Britain becomes an orphan nation on the perimeter of Europe, or successfully integrates as a trading partner with a new working relationship alongside its former inner colleagues.  Gains and losses will be integral parts of reaching a working consensus.

The nation narrowly delivered a decision with the Brexit referendum.   Now it has to live with the consequences !

Civil War in Dallas !

There was an aura of inevitability in the scenes that flashed on television news screens this week. What can only be described as " civil war " broke out on the streets of the American city of Dallas.  As a " Black Lives Matter " protest march made its way downtown, four snipers armed with assault rifles positioned themselves on the top of multi story parking stations to triangulate their fire effectively.   Without warning they cut loose on the uniformed police escorting the marchers.  Five police officers were killed in that hail of bullets and another six were seriously wounded.  Three of the snipers were eventually arrested and the fourth died of self inflicted gun wounds.

This is a civil war that has been coming for a long time.  Policing in America is very aggressive - and it probably needs to be that way.  There are actually more guns in America than there are people. The Constitution specifically grants the right to be armed and many local laws permit citizens to carry concealed handguns on their person.  As a result, even at a traffic stop a cop may force a driver to lay on the ground and be searched as routine procedure.

America certainly has a wide disparity in how black and white citizens are treated by the police.  The segregation days of the old south live on in the attitudes of some white police officers and the statistics tell a story.  Blacks are more likely to be arrested and sent to prison than whites - and black deaths at the hands of police are overwhelmingly common.

Time after time unarmed black citizens accosted by police end up dead.   Often the resulting enquiry is put in the hands of a Grand Jury - composed of mainly white citizens - who deliver a finding exonerating the cop.  Sometimes the circumstances are captured on film and it is blindingly clear that the deceased posed no threat to the officer, but rarely is justice served.

This incident could be the flash point from which we see urban warfare in America.  Tension has been building with the  " Black Lives Matter "  mantra taken across the entire country and now urban guerillas have chosen to take up arms against their oppressors.   Just like the " Black Panther " movement decades ago, they will be applauded by some - and copied by others.    Perhaps this incident is like a match dropped in a tinderbox !

Gun control seems a lost cause in America.   Politically, it is a fork in the road which the National Rifle Association will exploit shamelessly.  The police have been relentlessly increasing their firepower to the point where they are virtually indistinguishable from the military.  They carry assault rifles in their patrol cars and can summon armoured vehicles with machine guns as backup. At even a seemingly innocuous traffic stop they are likely to approach with a gun in their hand.

Most police jurisdictions have instituted at least some reform.   The mix of black and white officers is more even but policing is a dangerous job and the number of guns in the community make officers cautious.   They are trained to follow a routine which leaves them in command of the situation at all times - and to the public this seems threatening.

It raises the question of where do we go from here ?   Will these police deaths make the cops more aggressive  ?   Will we see urban warfare become a fact of life in similar fashion to the news feed we witness on television from other strife torn countries ?    Will we fear a black fifth column delivering mayhem in similar manner to Islamic State ?

That is the question that rests in the hands of American citizens.  So far, any hope of peace seems to be far out of reach !

Death of an Industry !

Horse racing is said to be the sport of Kings.  In New South Wales, racing Greyhounds was the sport of Battlers !   A familiar sight in the half-light before dawn was a man or woman leading several tethered Greyhounds to achieve the exercise necessary for racing success.   Often a promising dog got better food than its owner.   There was always the hope that all this work and effort would produce a champion - and with that the fame and money that success brings with it !

Sadly, this was rarely the hoped for outcome.   There are 3,800 registered breeders of Greyhounds in New South Wales and each year about 17,500 pups are born - and about half of these never race.  This is a big industry.  It employs two thousand full time employees with another eight thousand casuals and each year $ 1.1 billion in bets is placed on Greyhound races, and this returns $ 335 million in taxes to the government.

Unfortunately, it is also an industry with a dark side, as a recent enquiry has shown.  This was sparked by a sensational expose conducted by a television news crew and it shocked the New South Wales government in banning this sport.   From July 1 next year, Greyhound racing will be illegal in this state.

Just as in horse racing, the sport is a contest to award the fastest .  To achieve that, the dogs are trained to chase a " lure " and this has been refined to unacceptable levels of cruelty.  Some trainers contend that what is called " blooding " is necessary to maximise the dogs performance and so a live animal - a rabbit, cat or piglet - is attached to the lure and the dog is permitted to tear it to pieces. Such " blooding " is carried out in secret at bush training camps.

There is also criticism levelled at injuries suffered during racing and about 136 incidents when dogs have been put down have been recorded each year.  It is also thought that thousands of unsuccessful dogs are euthenised because they are " too slow " for racing success.   There have also been doping scandals and persistent rumours of underworld interest in the Greyhound racing industry.

Banning the sport seems an inconsistent knee jerk approach.  Not all the horses sold at the annual yearling sales are successful at the race track.  Many such slow horses end up as horse meat for the pet food industry and race falls that require injured animals to be put down are a part of racing.
The government claims that this ban was " necessary " from a " humane " approach and that improving the industry by " regulation " was unlikely to lead to success.

This ban is basically handing a death sentence to the thousands of Greyhounds now in training and those currently in work.  The better dogs will obviously be sold to other states where racing continues, but with no prospect of a return for the average Greyhound the outcome will be a mass slaughter.   Few are likely to find a new role as household pets.

Greyhound racing has a big following and it is a big industry.   Apart from dedicated racing venues worth millions of dollars its withdrawal will leave a big hole in the wagering industry and cause a blip in employment figures.   It seems defeatist for the government to throw up its hands and insist that regulating this form of racing is simply beyond its ability.

This seems a surrender to the well oiled cadre of animal rights exponents who use infiltration tactics to obtain sensational footage to try and shut down the live meat animal trade and close battery hen egg farming.   With the right legislation and adequate inspection there is no reason that Greyhound racing can not be as clean and legitimate a sport as horse racing.

This ban has a whole year before it comes into force.   It is highly likely that it will be subjected to an interesting court challenge to gain a reversal !

The " Safety " Fallacy !

There is a certain inevitability about the link between road death numbers and the ever increasing car traffic on New South Wales roads.  All the car manufacturers compete for new car business with a mix of car prices and it is possible to buy a new car at the bottom of the price range for as little as fourteen thousand dollars.

Years ago most low paid workers had to settle for a "used car " and many of these had age defects.  Today the used car lots are simply not interested in other than late model vehicles, often with remaining factory warranties still current.   Never has the Australian car fleet achieved such high safety standards.

The government is worried because we are seeing a spike in road deaths - and so far this year forty-three more people died on the states roads than happened in 2014/15, and five more months remain until years end.

Once again a driver crackdown is threatened.  From July 1 a two percent increase was slapped on fines for speeding and running red lights - and this is already returning an income for Treasury of $ 507,000 a day.   It is expected an increase in excess of the $ 170 million from fines that occurred in the 2014/15 full year.

It is claimed that the $433 fine for running a red light and the $ 265 fine for speed excess of between 10 and 20 kph - and the accompanied loss of demerit points - is the prime safety method of making drivers obey the law.    The psychology people debunk that claim.   Days - sometimes weeks - after the offence has occurred that fine arrives as an unwelcome bolt from the blue - in the mail !

Traffic fines have come to be regarded as just one of those expenses that come with owning a car. The demerit points are more concerning than the actual fine because that can lead to license loss, but in many cases the driver was not aware that an infringement had been recorded.  As a consequence, fixed and mobile speed cameras do little to change driver behaviour.

What does have an instant effect - is the presence of a marked police car in the traffic flow.   It creates an instant need to check the speedo and there is something menacing in witnessing a police car pull over another driver.   That will do more to change driver behaviour than all the signs warning of speed cameras and other recording devices now in use.

Every holiday and long weekend we are told that police leave has been cancelled and the highways will be saturated with police checking speed, drink driving and mobile phone use.   It seems that this is more bluff than reality.  The thin blue line is scarce except for a few hot spots because it costs money for police overtime and to run the police car fleet.   We live in an economic age - and those ever snapping speed cameras are the most efficient way to bring in revenue in relation to cost of operation.

Now the police have a new weapon.   The increase in technology has developed a spy camera that can record clear images from a kilometre away - long before a driver can detect this speed operation.  Not only can this camera accurately record the speed of the car, it can snap a picture of the driver using a mobile phone or breaking any other driving ordinance.    The most likely use will be to set speed and behaviour traps - with the fines again being delivered through the post.

If the government is serious about lowering the road toll it needs to allocate money from those speed cameras to finance police overtime and car costs to enhance the presence of marked police cars on the road system, and they need to be actively pulling over errant drivers and writing traffic tickets.

It all depends if revenue - or road safety - has the highest priority !

Class Actions !

Volkswagen will be facing a class action in the Federal Court this week as Australians who purchased their vehicles equipped with diesel engines fight for compensation.  Volkswagen admit that their diesel engines exceed the limits imposed on noxious gases and it has compensated 470,000 American
car owner with $ 5,000 each. It has refused compensation to the 100,000 Australian Volkswagen diesel owners, claiming that the Australian emission laws are different to those in the United States.

This case really has nothing to do with the extent of actual emission laws.  The fact is that Volkswagen made a false claim of what standards were achieved by the engines it produced and not only did these engines fall far short, the company was well aware of the deficit and developed masking technology designed to deceive not only owners. but the testing authorities of all the governments where the vehicles were tested and sold.  At the same time, claimed economy to run these cars was also deliberately false.

On a fine technical point, these diesel vehicles do not attain the standards required in Australia for registration and should the Australian government decide to play hardball, it could order them off the road.   The Federal court has ordered Volkswagen to bring their technical people before the court so the omission details can be closely studied.   It seems that this class action is fast developing into a battle between legal minds.

There is no doubt those owning a diesel Volkswagen vehicle in Australia have suffered loss.  The publicity has certainly reduced the resale value of the cars they own and if the manufacturer fits enabling equipment to reduce the noxious gas problem, the performance of the cars will suffer and they may need more fuel to cover the same distance.   Then there is the lowered satisfaction and prestige in owners minds.   They purchased what was touted as the pinnacle of the car industry, only to discover that it was sub standard and engineered to deceive.

Volkswagen has taken a massive financial hit.  Its share price plummeted and there was a massive sales loss across world markets.  The company name has lost some of its prestige value and there have been casualties among its senior executives.

Many Australians will question why it is necessary for owners here to have to resort to a class action to gain compensation.   We have consumer protection laws administered by consumer protection authorities who are quite ruthless when it comes to prosecuting those who fail to meet the standards that exist in each state.  Volkswagen has been forced to admit that they cheated and that their product is deficient.   The very people who drag shop owners into court and impose penalties for failing to meet the law standards when it comes to a faulty toaster are strangely silent when it comes to one of the worlds biggest car manufacturers.

To some extent, this reluctance to get tough on big ticket items was probably a form of protection for our local car industry.  Those making cars in Australia used the jobs they created as a bargaining weapon and as a consequence repeated call for the introduction of "lemon "laws were never enacted.

In a few more months we will not have a local car industry.   All the cars sold in Australia will be imported and this clears the way for consumer protection laws to be upgraded - and this Volkswagen debacle would be a very good starting point.

It is time the consumer protection people entered this class action and demanded that Australian buyers got the same treatment as people in other countries !

Jupiter Unmasked !

The Canberra Deep Space Communication Centre will be the first place on Earth to receive transmissions from NASA's  "Juno  " space probe when it attempts to orbit the mysterious planet we call Jupiter.    It is thought that Jupiter was the first planet to emerge from the great cloud of dust created by the "big bang " and its gravity was so huge that nothing escaped.   As a result, Jupiter is ringed by dense "clouds "of matter and we have no idea of what lurks below !

It is hoped that Juno will approach as closely as 4,100 kilometres and make thirty-seven orbits. It will burn thirty-four percent of its fuel to get into position and all its instruments will be streaming back atmospheric, gravitational, magnetic, radiation and structural readings - and it will take forty-eight minutes for these transmissions to reach earth because of the distance involved.

Science  has been mystified because Jupiter breaks all the rules.   There is no logical explanation as to why its gravity is so immense and it seems likely that it simply attracted every morsel of matter and that the "clouds "that surround its surface are this matter solidified.    The conjecture of what its surface may contain could hold the explanation of how the universe evolved.

Human kinds exploration of space commenced just after the middle of the twentieth century when we developed rockets powerful enough to evade gravity.   We have made great strides since those early days when rocketry had military objectives.   Many nations share the International Space Station and world communications rely on the satellites that dot the skies above.  Telescopes in space see an almost endless vista of stars, but what we know is infinitesimal in relation to what the universe has to offer.

Planet Earth has been fruitful to the human race.   We started as nomadic tribes of hunter/gatherers and centuries passed with incremental progress.  When we started to farm we put down roots and bit by bit we developed tools to increase our capacity to create an adequate food supply.  With each  tribe competing for space on what seems to be a crowded planet, the tempo has quickened and today there are seven billion of us.

By the middle of this present century we will probably number ten billion and planet Earth will be bursting at the seams.  It seems inevitable that just as the people of Europe developed ships and set off across the oceans to find new lands, we will seek to establish colonies on planets that form part of the universe.   It is quite possible that beneath those ever present clouds on Jupiter a warm world exists that may be suitable for human habitation.

So far, the best human kind has been able to manage is to set foot on our moon, but there are tentative plans for a colony on Mars in the decades ahead.   We may need to mine other worlds as we exhaust the minerals here on Earth and space exploration is coming within our grasp as our knowledge grows - and our ability to build bigger rockets increases exponentially.

It is inevitable that Australia will be an integral part of world space adventures.   We occupy an important land mass that will be essential to sending and receiving contact with space missions of the future.   Just as Juno will be in world contact with that Canberra Deep Space Tracking station to deliver data from Jupiter, other Australian stations will join the world array when a serious colony attempt gets under way.

Now all the lands of the Earth have been discovered and explored, the next search for the Holy Grail will certainly extend to the stars !

Counting the Votes !

It seems strange that we have just had an election to determine whom sits in this nation's parliament and rules the country - and the result will not be known for at least a week.  Every person of voting age in this country of twenty-four million people was required to attend a nominated polling booth, where they were handed a paper for the lower house and another - about the size of a tablecloth - for the Senate.

To cast a valid vote they needed to mark those papers in order of preference and put them in a bin carefully watched over by election officials.  At the stroke of six in the evening, the doors were closed and the laborious task commenced of counting the votes.  Australia does not have a "first past the post "voting system.  Preferences are allocated as weaker candidates are eliminated - and all that takes time.  The allocation of absentee votes and postal votes can be vital in determining the winner in tight elections.

Basically, the choice of government in Australia is between the Liberal/National coalition or the Labor party.   The Greens and other single purpose groupings lack the numbers to do more than supplement one of the majors in a hung parliament and in this election the voters came close to an equal vote for both of the majors.   The final outcome may rest on a handful of independents in the lower house.

The situation is very different in the Senate.   The states vote to elect their Senators and this same system of "preferences  " can see a person with a low personal vote achieve a "quota " - and that is exactly what happened at this election.  It seems certain that neither of the majors will have a majority in the Senate and up to twelve very disparate people will hold the balance of power.

The purpose of this election was to remove a gaggle of eight disruptive independent Senators who were blocking important legislation.   It seems we have replaced them with twelve others and some of these are known for wildly divisive views which will be impossible to merge with major party policies.

It is a fact of life that whoever rules has the need from time to time to implement unpopular measures for the good of the country.   That becomes impossible when a populist block holds the balance of power.  It is damaging if deficit budgets can not be balanced or wrongs righted because that does not suit the objectives of a small parliamentary rump.

It has been a long time since either of the majors has had a numerical majority in both the lower house and the Senate - and has been able to govern according to their stated policies.   The mood of the voters seem even more divisive today than it has been in recent times and in fact the maverick numbers in the Senate is growing in size.

There is a lesson to be learned if we take the trouble to compare the economies of the rest of the world.   This disruptive effect of minor parties holding the balance of power is common - and consequently many of our trading partners are suffering ailing economies because their decision making processes are ineffective.  As a result, living standards are suffering and some are close to bankruptcy.

The world had a big scare with the financial crisis of 2008.   That has not finally dissipated and we are not in good shape to ride out another recession if world events turn sour.   It seems that when the voters put pen to paper on Saturday they expressed their wishes - and consequently what they get will be what they deserve !

Edgy Voting Patterns !

Across the entire world traditional voting patterns are undergoing change.  British voters have just delivered a verdict to withdraw from the EU and Spain has been without a government for over a year because forming alliances have failed.   In many countries extreme movements from both the left and right are altering traditional voting patterns.

Saturdays Australian election was billed as a cliffhanger - and it certainly delivered some surprises.  At the end of the night the final result was unclear. Either the government will be returned with a wafer thin majority, or we will have a hung parliament requiring a coalition extension to the minor parties.

It was clear that Labor gained a small swing in several states and a major gain in Tasmania, but not enough to win government.   Many will sheet that home to a clever lie that would have overtones of Joseph Goebells claim " that if you tell a lie often enough people will believe it ".   Labor claimed that the Liberals intended to privatize Medicare and relentlessly continued this claim despite emphatic denials.   It became evident that this scare campaign was effective.

Several contested seats will go to preferences and absentee votes will be critical, but there was clarity in how some issues were settled.   It was evident that the voters had not forgiven Tony Windsor or Rob Oakeshott for their defection to Julia Gillard that allowed her to form a minority government.  Both were solidly rejected.

The big winner was Nick Xenophon.  This South Australian Senator has gathered the nucleus of a new political party and will be represented in both houses.  His exact party platform is not clear and it seems that he attracted many voters simply protesting against both the traditional parties who wait to see what emerges.   Whether Xenophon can instill party discipline and achieve a united voting pattern will be critical to its success.

The Senate result will be a big disappointment to the government. Clive Palmer and his disruptive acolytes have been routed, but it is possible Jacqui Lambie may have survived and it seems likely that Derryn Hinch, the " Human Headline " and Pauline Hanson may have won seats.   This illustrates the edgy mood of the electorate when it comes to refugee numbers and the policy in place to control the flow.  Both the Muslim issue and the capacity of this country to absorb the hordes on the move across the world are still very emotive issues.

The voting result in Tasmania was unexpected.   The state had experienced a severe drought and electricity was in short supply because of a break in the cable between Tasmania and Victoria. It is quite possible that such local issues influenced the voting decisions.

What is important is that the voters of Australia have delivered their verdict.  In the days ahead the postal votes, the absentee votes and the sorting of preferences will clarify exactly who gets to sit in both houses of the Australian parliament - and that will deliver the election result.

What happens from there will depend on what policies can be decided and agreed between the disparate people the nation has chosen to govern.

Education - and the Technology Age !

Alarm bells are ringing in evaluating five year olds starting their first days in the education system. Today's kids are very different from those who presented for the first time even a decade earlier and that change is going to make lifestyle differences in the vocations they choose, how they spend their leisure time and even whether they play sport.

Many lack the skill to use a pencil to write on paper or use scissors - simply because they have not experienced those arts before coming to the classroom.  Instead, they have skills manipulating touch screens and are adept at tapping, sliding and pinching to work the screen electronically. Basically, they lack the motor skills that deliver a wider dexterity - because they have not been exposed to the range of activities of earlier generations.

There is a diversity of opinion on whether this is good or bad amongst parents.  Some believe it is a natural phenomenon that is simply fitting the kids for the world they will encounter.  The keyboard has replaced the pen and pencil and this is a natural progression.   They note that from next year NAPLAN testing for year three will be conducted on tablets rather than employing paper and pencils.

Other education professionals worry that by curtailing dexterity skills we are closing off other options that deliver benefits.   The process of writing on paper and cutting and folding to various shapes expands the creative process that is lacking by simply moving images on a screen.  Creating shapes with Play-Dough moves images from the abstract to physical reality.  There is a vast difference between what you see on a screen and what you hold in your hand when it comes to understanding the limits of ingenuity.

Childhood has changed dramatically in recent years - and will change some more as the cities expand
 and country towns shrink.  In the days of the quarter acre block most homes had a back yard where kids could toss a ball or build a cubby house.  Today, that space has been depleted and more inner city residents live in apartments. Parents are reluctant to allow kids to roam freely and even city parks are no longer secure playgrounds for young people.  Junior sport is more likely to exist in the far outer suburbs than in crowded city centres.

This childhood change is delivering new forms of adversity.  Obesity is rampant because the modern child lacks the opportunity to exercise and far fewer play any kind of organised sport.  School sport seems to be optional - where it still exists, and many parents face time pressures which prevent them from encouraging kids sport by regularly attending. It usually also involves a cost factor.

Educators bemoan the absence of book reading as a form of entertainment.  The minds of many past generations were expanded by the stories they read and this has been replaced by both television and the expanding world of action gaming.   At least the use of game consoles increases the rate of manual dexterity but it does little to improve imagination that may help future career prospects.

Lurid stories of sex predators and the sudden abduction of innocent children make parents tighten security and restrict freedom.  Items like the faithful old push bike are becoming rarer presents and an electronic toy is a more likely gift at Christmas or birthday.

It seems that the education system has embraced electronics.   Parents who wish to have a well rounded child who is adept at using paper and pencil - and has an enquiring mind that can do mental arithmetic without a calculator - would be wise to ensure the full gambit of play materials are utilised in those early years.

It is the time before schooling starts that moulds the ultimate mind that will develop as the child grows to maturity.

Risky Business !

Henry Ford was undoubtedly a genius.  His concept of building cars on a moving assembly line where individual workers specialised in adding the component part they were trained to handle brought the finished cars price to a level that the average person could afford.   The old clunkers of that era were pretty basic and that magic word  " Warranty " was not part of the lexicon.

What a difference today.  What we now call the "Automobile " has evolved in myriad shapes and sizes to suit a variety of uses and each car contains components made by a network of surrounding industries that compete to produce the luxury, comfort and reliability that is now integral to our personal means of transport.

As the modern car evolved its c omplexity grew exponentially. A long time ago a car with a radio was a novelty.  A car heater was a winter luxury, but now few cars are sold without factory installed air conditioning.  The complex range of safety features is ever growing and todays cars come with a factory warranty that stretches for years.   One maker now guarantees the vehicle for seven years and unlimited mileage.

This whole industry is facing a threat to its cost structure because safety standards insist that if a fault develops even after the warranty period has expired there is a risk of a mass court action if that fault exposes owners and drivers to death or injury.

The "Recall " is an event that strikes fear into the very hearts of motor industry money managers - and recalls are fast becoming a regular occurrence.  This week Mitsubishi and Toyota, two of the biggest Japanese manufacturers announced recalls of five hundred thousand and three hundred and twenty four thousand cars over a wide range of models to have faults repaired at no cost to the owners - and some of these cars are now ten years old.

That is part of the risk of building cars on a "platform " that is common to different models.  It allows component uniformity, hence if a fault develops there is every chance that it will be widely distributed across the product range, extending the cost of the recall.

This Mitsubishi recall seems to involve the electrical pod controlling  the turn signals, car lights and windscreen wipers.  The Toyota problem concerns the delivery of fuel to the engine.  If a crack develops in a component it may allow petrol vapour to penetrate the interior with a consequent fire risk.

These recalls are in addition to a major event that threw the entire industry into dismay.   One manufacturing company had managed to win the air bag supply contracts for many car manufacturers and it was discovered that a fault in the air bag specifically designed to protect drivers could spray shrapnel causing death or serious injury if it was deployed in an accident.    The extent of the recall was staggering.    1.3 million cars were involved and replacements will still be taking place well into 2017.

The risk factor may thin the ranks of the world car industry.  Certainly only those with very deep  pockets can withstand the astronomical costs that a major recall imposes - and these days shareholders and investors seem to be very risk adverse !