Evolution is a work in progress and not all of the outcomes are beneficial. We have seen that in the deep jungles of Africa where closer contact between the human and animal worlds unleashed both AIDS and Ebola. Now a new menace is knocking on the door of Australia !
It's official terminology is "Aedes Albopictus ", but the people it torments call it the "Asian Tiger "
. It is a new breed of mosquito distinguished by broad stripes - and a voracious appetite for human blood. Most mosquitoes seek their meals in the evening and early morning, but this pest is active on a constant basis and is often referred to as "the BBQ wrecker "- because remaining outdoors becomes impossible.
It originated in Asia and quickly spread through both Europe and North America, and now it is within sight of Australia from the other side of Torres Strait. It's arrival here is inevitable and it is a known carrier of at least twenty tropical diseases and they include Dengue fever and Encephalitis. It is also a carrier of Chikungunya, a virus that is not present in Australia and which manifests itself with joint pain, vomiting, a rash, fatigue and violent headaches - and for which there is no vaccine or effective treatment.
This "Asian Tiger "is a hardy beast that it difficult to eradicate. In particular, it's eggs seem to survive weather conditions that destroy most mosquito larvae and it is a relentless attacker of any exposed part of the human body. It's one weakness is the need for a water source in which to lay eggs and in future we will need to strictly control any part of our property where pools of rainwater can collect.
An old car tyre hanging on a rope from a tree makes a good swing for the kids - but it can also collect water - and breed mosquitoes. A tarpaulin or plastic in the vegetable garden to control weeds can have hollows that retain a pool of water. The list is endless and unless great care is taken the Australian summer outdoor life is at risk.
Fore warned is fore armed ! There is little doubt that this "Asian Tiger will find it's way onto mainland Australia and the extent to which it becomes a menace and disturbs our laid back lifestyle will depend on how effective we are at stopping it gaining a foot hold, and that will depend on the average citizen blocking off it's water supply !
Sunday, 7 September 2014
Saturday, 6 September 2014
" Legitimate " firearms.
In the days before the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 gun ownership in Australia was a very casual affair. It was not required to register long arms and many guns simply passed down from one generation to another. It was decided to cull this proliferation of guns by a huge buy back and the imposition of strict rules. Owners now needed permission from a landowner to shoot on a property to gain a gun license - and new storage requirements were imposed on those who gained such a license.
Since then, gun ownership rules have been relaxed and it is claimed that the theft of guns is arming the criminal fraternity. Last year 578 guns were stolen from family properties, and 80% of these were from rural areas - and they were mostly rifles and shotguns.
Gun Control Australia ( GCA ) is calling for a draconian tightening of storage requirements and these will impose crippling costs on those with a legitimate need for firearms. The present laws require guns to be stored in "gun safes ", but few would meet the criteria that the GCA is now demanding.
This new gun safe edict would require each safe to be connected with an automatic alarm to alert a remote security company if tampering occurred, and the penalties for any breach of the rules are severe. They allow for the immediate seizure of guns and ammunition and the imposition of a seven year disqualification for future gun ownership. There is even an increased specification for the construction of gun safes - and the demand that they be made of hardened steel panels.
Security alarms involve a big monthly fee and the cost of the type of gun safe being proposed would run into many hundreds of dollars. It seems that gun theft is usually a result of of thieves carrying out a burglary finding an unsecured weapon - and many would question the assertion that it is these guns that are arming criminals. The constant Sydney gun crime involves hand guns - and gun theft from city homes and rural properties is exclusively long arms.
The question hanging in the air - is what sort of compliance inspection will accompany these new law requirements ? Will every registered gun owner in this state get a visit from the police demanding to inspect the gun safe and test the security alarm ? In particular, farmers who have a need for firearms will not welcome a huge financial impost to secure what they regard as a "tool of trade ". The question the legislators need to ask is : " Will this new law have any effect in reducing gun crime ? " - and the answer will clearly be "No "!
Our porous borders are not stopping either drugs or hand guns entering Australia and it seems that we have developed backyard engineering by criminal elements who are even producing credible machine guns. This seems to be an attempt by the legislators to "look good "by imposing a crack down on gun crime, but without any real impact and at the cost of making life more difficult for the farming community.
It is not rifles and shotguns that the criminals are seeking and they are not having problems getting hand guns. That old adage "If it "aint broke - don't fix it " seems to apply !
Since then, gun ownership rules have been relaxed and it is claimed that the theft of guns is arming the criminal fraternity. Last year 578 guns were stolen from family properties, and 80% of these were from rural areas - and they were mostly rifles and shotguns.
Gun Control Australia ( GCA ) is calling for a draconian tightening of storage requirements and these will impose crippling costs on those with a legitimate need for firearms. The present laws require guns to be stored in "gun safes ", but few would meet the criteria that the GCA is now demanding.
This new gun safe edict would require each safe to be connected with an automatic alarm to alert a remote security company if tampering occurred, and the penalties for any breach of the rules are severe. They allow for the immediate seizure of guns and ammunition and the imposition of a seven year disqualification for future gun ownership. There is even an increased specification for the construction of gun safes - and the demand that they be made of hardened steel panels.
Security alarms involve a big monthly fee and the cost of the type of gun safe being proposed would run into many hundreds of dollars. It seems that gun theft is usually a result of of thieves carrying out a burglary finding an unsecured weapon - and many would question the assertion that it is these guns that are arming criminals. The constant Sydney gun crime involves hand guns - and gun theft from city homes and rural properties is exclusively long arms.
The question hanging in the air - is what sort of compliance inspection will accompany these new law requirements ? Will every registered gun owner in this state get a visit from the police demanding to inspect the gun safe and test the security alarm ? In particular, farmers who have a need for firearms will not welcome a huge financial impost to secure what they regard as a "tool of trade ". The question the legislators need to ask is : " Will this new law have any effect in reducing gun crime ? " - and the answer will clearly be "No "!
Our porous borders are not stopping either drugs or hand guns entering Australia and it seems that we have developed backyard engineering by criminal elements who are even producing credible machine guns. This seems to be an attempt by the legislators to "look good "by imposing a crack down on gun crime, but without any real impact and at the cost of making life more difficult for the farming community.
It is not rifles and shotguns that the criminals are seeking and they are not having problems getting hand guns. That old adage "If it "aint broke - don't fix it " seems to apply !
Friday, 5 September 2014
A lost opportunity !
Our politicians - both Federal and state - are not a brave lot. The moment " Medical Marijuana " gets a mention they run for cover. In particular, they try and avoid a " conscience vote " because they fear being accused of being " soft on drugs " and possibly alienating the more conservative voters in their electorate.
It has been proved that the properties of Marijuana are beneficial in alleviating the unpleasant aspects of several medical conditions, but in particular it prevents the severe vomiting that accompanies the use of chemotherapy for cancer treatment. The two most common side effects are the loss of all hair - and constantly suffering the emptying of stomach contents. Thousands have found that the application of a little Cannabis oil totally relieves this condition.
It would be reasonable to task the Commonwealth Serum laboratories with producing Cannabis oil and making it available through hospital Chemotherapy facilities. It is completely unreasonable that a treatment that works to relieve vomiting is simply not available because it conflicts with a law - which is being widely disregarded. Chemotherapy patients are being discreetly told to go and find a drug pusher - and break the law to get relief.
Avoiding the need to legalize Cannabis oil will probably have an unintended purpose - eventually blowing out the cost of the PBS. The opportunity offering will not be missed by the major drug companies and they will seek to identify the actual properties present in Cannabis oil and duplicate them in a way that bypasses the legal definition of Marijuana - and then that will become a new patent. For the next twenty years the PBS will pay a high premium demanded by the patent holder - for a product that is presently available for just the cost of production in a government owned facility.
It seems that self preservation ranks higher in the minds of politicians than grasping the nettle when medical relief and criticism come into conflict. Bravery does not seem to be a political attribute !
It has been proved that the properties of Marijuana are beneficial in alleviating the unpleasant aspects of several medical conditions, but in particular it prevents the severe vomiting that accompanies the use of chemotherapy for cancer treatment. The two most common side effects are the loss of all hair - and constantly suffering the emptying of stomach contents. Thousands have found that the application of a little Cannabis oil totally relieves this condition.
It would be reasonable to task the Commonwealth Serum laboratories with producing Cannabis oil and making it available through hospital Chemotherapy facilities. It is completely unreasonable that a treatment that works to relieve vomiting is simply not available because it conflicts with a law - which is being widely disregarded. Chemotherapy patients are being discreetly told to go and find a drug pusher - and break the law to get relief.
Avoiding the need to legalize Cannabis oil will probably have an unintended purpose - eventually blowing out the cost of the PBS. The opportunity offering will not be missed by the major drug companies and they will seek to identify the actual properties present in Cannabis oil and duplicate them in a way that bypasses the legal definition of Marijuana - and then that will become a new patent. For the next twenty years the PBS will pay a high premium demanded by the patent holder - for a product that is presently available for just the cost of production in a government owned facility.
It seems that self preservation ranks higher in the minds of politicians than grasping the nettle when medical relief and criticism come into conflict. Bravery does not seem to be a political attribute !
Thursday, 4 September 2014
The " Fear Factor " !
The Islamist terrorists of the "Islamic State "are projecting a "fear factor "well in excess of their numbers. This has worked for invading armies down through the ages and the common tactic is to undermine the spirit of the defenders by creating the image of an unstoppable force that will impose the most bloodthirsty end to the lives of those who stand in their way.
It worked well in Iraq. The Iraqi army was vastly superior in numbers and equipped with the latest weapons of war. The Americans had spent time and treasure training it and despite a religious inbalance that worked against the general population numbers of that country it certainly had the capacity to perform a combat mission.
Faced with a fanatical foe, it's officers deserted and fled - and the ranks quickly broke and followed them, leaving behind a vast trove of weapons that not only equipped a terrorist army small in numbers, but under equipped with little more than AK-47 assault rifles, rocket propelled grenades - and a few truck mounted heavy machine guns. This spectacular victory certainly encouraged fanatical young men from many foreign countries to rush and join their ranks.
Nothing breeds success - like success ! The image of IS is that of an all conquering force that is sweeping away all before it. Now their tacticians are working to secure victory on the home front - and to them that is the vast masses of civilians that live in America, Australia and the countries of Europe. We are presented with the image of captured journalists being forced to read prepared statements - and then having their throats slit and being decapitated with knives. It is totally barbaric and it blends well with the images of captured Iraqi soldiers being led away to mass death in the desert.
They are careful to project a similar horror to the women of the western world. When they take a town or village their first act is to execute "Infidels " who refuse to convert to Islam, but a far different fate awaits their women and children. The prettier young women are shared up amongst their followers and forced to become second or third wives, and the rest are sold off for a few dollars in a slave market - to become sex slaves for those who take their fancy. The inference is that when they impose an Islamic Caliphate on the entire world, that will also be the fate of the western women that they conquer.
Whipping up religious fervour by barbarity abroad is designed to intimidate followers of Islam living in western countries. We are seeing this in Australia, where the silence of our Islamic population has been taken as support for terrorism. Firebrands have spread fear in the Mosques and few have been prepared to openly oppose fanaticism. When a street march has been proposed to raise objections to some supposed insult to Islam, the main rank and file have been too scared not to at least put in an appearance to appease their tormentors.
Islamic leaders in Australia have tried to steer a middle course, but that is now changing - fast ! The days of "double speak "- saying one thing to the media - and something entirely different in the mosque - are over. Islam is finding it's voice - and courageous leaders are emerging to express the views of the vast majority of Australian Muslims who simply want to live peacefully in this country.
The tactic of barbarity to silence opposition is now starting to work in reverse - and like the Boomerang - it is returning to sender. We certainly do have Islamic fanatics in our community and most likely there will be acts of terror that will cost Australian lives, but Islam in Australia is weighing up the reasons they are here in Australia - and not living under despotic Islamic rule where fanatics set the tune - and impose the rules.
The problem with the "horror tactic "- is that it quickly exposes all that is wrong with the intended achievement !
It worked well in Iraq. The Iraqi army was vastly superior in numbers and equipped with the latest weapons of war. The Americans had spent time and treasure training it and despite a religious inbalance that worked against the general population numbers of that country it certainly had the capacity to perform a combat mission.
Faced with a fanatical foe, it's officers deserted and fled - and the ranks quickly broke and followed them, leaving behind a vast trove of weapons that not only equipped a terrorist army small in numbers, but under equipped with little more than AK-47 assault rifles, rocket propelled grenades - and a few truck mounted heavy machine guns. This spectacular victory certainly encouraged fanatical young men from many foreign countries to rush and join their ranks.
Nothing breeds success - like success ! The image of IS is that of an all conquering force that is sweeping away all before it. Now their tacticians are working to secure victory on the home front - and to them that is the vast masses of civilians that live in America, Australia and the countries of Europe. We are presented with the image of captured journalists being forced to read prepared statements - and then having their throats slit and being decapitated with knives. It is totally barbaric and it blends well with the images of captured Iraqi soldiers being led away to mass death in the desert.
They are careful to project a similar horror to the women of the western world. When they take a town or village their first act is to execute "Infidels " who refuse to convert to Islam, but a far different fate awaits their women and children. The prettier young women are shared up amongst their followers and forced to become second or third wives, and the rest are sold off for a few dollars in a slave market - to become sex slaves for those who take their fancy. The inference is that when they impose an Islamic Caliphate on the entire world, that will also be the fate of the western women that they conquer.
Whipping up religious fervour by barbarity abroad is designed to intimidate followers of Islam living in western countries. We are seeing this in Australia, where the silence of our Islamic population has been taken as support for terrorism. Firebrands have spread fear in the Mosques and few have been prepared to openly oppose fanaticism. When a street march has been proposed to raise objections to some supposed insult to Islam, the main rank and file have been too scared not to at least put in an appearance to appease their tormentors.
Islamic leaders in Australia have tried to steer a middle course, but that is now changing - fast ! The days of "double speak "- saying one thing to the media - and something entirely different in the mosque - are over. Islam is finding it's voice - and courageous leaders are emerging to express the views of the vast majority of Australian Muslims who simply want to live peacefully in this country.
The tactic of barbarity to silence opposition is now starting to work in reverse - and like the Boomerang - it is returning to sender. We certainly do have Islamic fanatics in our community and most likely there will be acts of terror that will cost Australian lives, but Islam in Australia is weighing up the reasons they are here in Australia - and not living under despotic Islamic rule where fanatics set the tune - and impose the rules.
The problem with the "horror tactic "- is that it quickly exposes all that is wrong with the intended achievement !
Wednesday, 3 September 2014
A Balancing Act !
The Mining tax is now history, but it's demise has led to a re-balancing of the take home pay in workers pockets. The Superannuation guarantee that was to have increased from 9.5% to 12% from 2019 has been delayed and will not now be implemented until 2025. As a result, the Superannuation pool will drop by $ 128 billion.
Like most new measures, there will be winners and losers. With less money going into Superannuation, the vast majority will have more spending power - and we are living in harsher economic times. This will give more flexibility to manage things like electricity and gas bills but it will make the dream of becoming an affluent self funded retiree more remote.
The main losers will be mid-life people staring retirement in the face. Fortunately, they can opt to increase their personal Superannuation contributions but it simply means that we will surely see a continuation of retired people who need a part pension because their Superannuation nest egg is insufficient to cover their retirement costs. The whole purpose of compulsory Superannuation was to eventually do away with pensions as a drain on the national economy.
These statistics point the finger at another problem that is worrying the economic planners. This roaring market in ever increasing home prices is shutting out first home buyers. In August, home loans amounted to $ 3.9 billion in new mortgages- and first home buyers have shrunk to just 9.5%. The delay in the Superannuation rate will certainly put more money in the pockets of young buyers, but these booming house prices show no sign of slackening, and getting a foot on the home ownership ladder is fast receding for the average young buyer.
Home ownership and Superannuation are locked in a mutual embrace. Owning a home is usually the biggest investment any individual makes and when retirement looms it is the key option in deciding what standard of living is possible. In many cases, selling a city home and downgrading to either a cheaper home in a remote area - or remaining in the city but embracing a smaller high rise apartment can free up the money needed for a comfortable retirement. There is every chance that those locked out of home ownership will eventually become future pensioners.
The obvious answer is more housing density to get more people living in affordable housing - and yet this comes with the threat of a drop in living standards. There is often a very fine line between reducing regulations to make more affordable housing - and having that freedom produce what amounts to a " Favella ".
Surprisingly, we are still building homes in the same way as the days of the Pyramids or ancient Rome - putting one brick on top of another - and that is a very labour intensive way of doing things. In this modular age it would seem reasonable to to expect factory built housing to sharply reduce prices and produce that first step to home ownership.
Superannuation and housing seem to be planned in isolation. One is very contingent on the other and it may be necessary to combine forces - and use the Superannuation pool as the way of financing home ownership - as a necessary step in financing those final years.
Anyone locked out of home ownership has little chance of a comfortable retirement- or avoiding looking to the government for help with a pension !
Like most new measures, there will be winners and losers. With less money going into Superannuation, the vast majority will have more spending power - and we are living in harsher economic times. This will give more flexibility to manage things like electricity and gas bills but it will make the dream of becoming an affluent self funded retiree more remote.
The main losers will be mid-life people staring retirement in the face. Fortunately, they can opt to increase their personal Superannuation contributions but it simply means that we will surely see a continuation of retired people who need a part pension because their Superannuation nest egg is insufficient to cover their retirement costs. The whole purpose of compulsory Superannuation was to eventually do away with pensions as a drain on the national economy.
These statistics point the finger at another problem that is worrying the economic planners. This roaring market in ever increasing home prices is shutting out first home buyers. In August, home loans amounted to $ 3.9 billion in new mortgages- and first home buyers have shrunk to just 9.5%. The delay in the Superannuation rate will certainly put more money in the pockets of young buyers, but these booming house prices show no sign of slackening, and getting a foot on the home ownership ladder is fast receding for the average young buyer.
Home ownership and Superannuation are locked in a mutual embrace. Owning a home is usually the biggest investment any individual makes and when retirement looms it is the key option in deciding what standard of living is possible. In many cases, selling a city home and downgrading to either a cheaper home in a remote area - or remaining in the city but embracing a smaller high rise apartment can free up the money needed for a comfortable retirement. There is every chance that those locked out of home ownership will eventually become future pensioners.
The obvious answer is more housing density to get more people living in affordable housing - and yet this comes with the threat of a drop in living standards. There is often a very fine line between reducing regulations to make more affordable housing - and having that freedom produce what amounts to a " Favella ".
Surprisingly, we are still building homes in the same way as the days of the Pyramids or ancient Rome - putting one brick on top of another - and that is a very labour intensive way of doing things. In this modular age it would seem reasonable to to expect factory built housing to sharply reduce prices and produce that first step to home ownership.
Superannuation and housing seem to be planned in isolation. One is very contingent on the other and it may be necessary to combine forces - and use the Superannuation pool as the way of financing home ownership - as a necessary step in financing those final years.
Anyone locked out of home ownership has little chance of a comfortable retirement- or avoiding looking to the government for help with a pension !
Tuesday, 2 September 2014
Brickbats - and Bouquets !
Yesterday was the first day of Spring - and it was also the first day that it was impossible to buy a train ticket at a Sydney railway station. To travel by train you needed to swipe an Opal card at the entry terminal - and there were predictions of chaos. This first major test of the Opal card passed with flying colours.
The previous Labor government spent millions and decades failing to get such a system up and running. The complexities of applying it to rail, bus and ferries was just too great, given that it also had to encompass pensioner discounts and the range of weekly, monthly and annual fares on offer. They tried to plan it across all sectors for a single implementation - which maximised the difficulties.
Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian adopted a more cautious approach to overcome these problems. It was first applied to the Sydney ferry system with it's much fewer passengers and this enabled the bugs to be rectified with minimum travel disruptions. Then it was applied to the rail system, but on the basis of one rail line at a time. The constant publicity kept it in the public eye and now that rail is covered by Opal card the system is being systematically applied to bus travel - and after that it will encompass light rail - completing the trifecta.
There are some grumbles ! Some passengers find that instead of the promised saving on fares, they are actually paying up to fifty dollars a month more for public transport. The grading of fares is yet to come and the main impetus was to get the system up and running and that required a common fare in these early stages. Within a short time we will see the issueing of Opal cards that identify pensioners and the whole raft of fare structures that the computer can identify - and the entrancing prospect of cheap off peak travel to entice users to save money by avoiding peak times.
At the moment the main saving is speed. Gone are the dreary queues waiting to buy paper tickets and the actual loading of passengers is much faster. Strangely, Opal cards are not on sale at rail stations. That was one of the predicted problems of yesterday, but it did not eventuate. They are sold by selected outlets - usually newsagents - in nearby shopping centres and machines at stations allow the balance held in customer's accounts to be topped up. It is evident that travellers have adapted to the need to have an Opal card in their wallets or purse.
Now that the system is up and running we can expect the fine tuning to be steadily improved. The detractors who said it would never work in this city have been proved wrong, and yesterday a lot of people were holding their breathe - waiting to see how the day would turn out.
The previous Labor government spent millions and decades failing to get such a system up and running. The complexities of applying it to rail, bus and ferries was just too great, given that it also had to encompass pensioner discounts and the range of weekly, monthly and annual fares on offer. They tried to plan it across all sectors for a single implementation - which maximised the difficulties.
Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian adopted a more cautious approach to overcome these problems. It was first applied to the Sydney ferry system with it's much fewer passengers and this enabled the bugs to be rectified with minimum travel disruptions. Then it was applied to the rail system, but on the basis of one rail line at a time. The constant publicity kept it in the public eye and now that rail is covered by Opal card the system is being systematically applied to bus travel - and after that it will encompass light rail - completing the trifecta.
There are some grumbles ! Some passengers find that instead of the promised saving on fares, they are actually paying up to fifty dollars a month more for public transport. The grading of fares is yet to come and the main impetus was to get the system up and running and that required a common fare in these early stages. Within a short time we will see the issueing of Opal cards that identify pensioners and the whole raft of fare structures that the computer can identify - and the entrancing prospect of cheap off peak travel to entice users to save money by avoiding peak times.
At the moment the main saving is speed. Gone are the dreary queues waiting to buy paper tickets and the actual loading of passengers is much faster. Strangely, Opal cards are not on sale at rail stations. That was one of the predicted problems of yesterday, but it did not eventuate. They are sold by selected outlets - usually newsagents - in nearby shopping centres and machines at stations allow the balance held in customer's accounts to be topped up. It is evident that travellers have adapted to the need to have an Opal card in their wallets or purse.
Now that the system is up and running we can expect the fine tuning to be steadily improved. The detractors who said it would never work in this city have been proved wrong, and yesterday a lot of people were holding their breathe - waiting to see how the day would turn out.
Monday, 1 September 2014
" MAD "
It looks like those three little letters are about to come back to haunt us. During the days of the Cold War they stood for " Mutually Assured Destruction " and it was very clear to both America and the Soviet Union that there would be no winners in a nuclear exchange. Both sides were on hair trigger alert. B-52"s of America's Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) were on air patrol twenty-four/seven armed with nuclear weapons, and Soviet " Backfire " bombers maintained a similar vigil. The worlds oceans contained nuclear submarines and on land massive ICBM's sheltered in hardened silos, each fitted with multiple entry hydrogen warheads that would evaporate entire cities. At the press of a button World War Three would annihilate much of the civilization that had taken centuries to build.
Good sense prevailed and eventually an understanding was reached that saw a stand down of those nuclear forces. The Soviet Union renounced Communism - and Europe relaxed. The threat of a Russian invasion melted away, until Vladimir Putin became the Czar of the new Russia - and the old quest for domination over it's neighbours reasserted itself. Russia is on the move - and the first Domino to feel it's pressure is Ukraine.
Russia learned a strategic lesson from the days of Adolph Hitler. Hitler was the master of bluff and he played the brinksmanship game to perfection to net Austria and Czechoslovakia without Britain and France resorting to war. He finally over reached with the invasion of Poland - and this resulted in the most destructive war to visit planet Earth.
Russia has seized and annexed Crimea from Ukraine and has launched a limited invasion to secure it's Russian speaking east. It is a fine balance of bluff and brawn worthy of the tactics used by Hitler and so far it has brought only sanctions that are imposing financial hardship. The nations of the west have made it very clear that there will be no military intervention to stop this Russian advance.
Ominously, Putin has reminded the world that Russia is a nuclear power and seems to hint that there are limits to the degree of opposition he will tolerate from the west. Just as Hitler found out in Poland, there is a very real chance that he may overplay his hand or events may spin out of control. Putin's hint of nuclear sabre rattling will surely escalate tensions and increase nuclear readiness in the world's other nuclear powers.
The last thing we want is fingers poised above the nuclear button but it seems that Putin is determined to create a Russian empire and the countries that formed the old Soviet block have good reason to be worried. Bluff and brinksmanship is a dangerous game. Even more so when the pot of chips on the table has moved into the nuclear age - and loss of face may provoke dangerous miscalculations.
Let is hope that all the players in this poker game remember what " MAD " stands for !
Good sense prevailed and eventually an understanding was reached that saw a stand down of those nuclear forces. The Soviet Union renounced Communism - and Europe relaxed. The threat of a Russian invasion melted away, until Vladimir Putin became the Czar of the new Russia - and the old quest for domination over it's neighbours reasserted itself. Russia is on the move - and the first Domino to feel it's pressure is Ukraine.
Russia learned a strategic lesson from the days of Adolph Hitler. Hitler was the master of bluff and he played the brinksmanship game to perfection to net Austria and Czechoslovakia without Britain and France resorting to war. He finally over reached with the invasion of Poland - and this resulted in the most destructive war to visit planet Earth.
Russia has seized and annexed Crimea from Ukraine and has launched a limited invasion to secure it's Russian speaking east. It is a fine balance of bluff and brawn worthy of the tactics used by Hitler and so far it has brought only sanctions that are imposing financial hardship. The nations of the west have made it very clear that there will be no military intervention to stop this Russian advance.
Ominously, Putin has reminded the world that Russia is a nuclear power and seems to hint that there are limits to the degree of opposition he will tolerate from the west. Just as Hitler found out in Poland, there is a very real chance that he may overplay his hand or events may spin out of control. Putin's hint of nuclear sabre rattling will surely escalate tensions and increase nuclear readiness in the world's other nuclear powers.
The last thing we want is fingers poised above the nuclear button but it seems that Putin is determined to create a Russian empire and the countries that formed the old Soviet block have good reason to be worried. Bluff and brinksmanship is a dangerous game. Even more so when the pot of chips on the table has moved into the nuclear age - and loss of face may provoke dangerous miscalculations.
Let is hope that all the players in this poker game remember what " MAD " stands for !
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