Rambling's of a Youthful Mind

HSV temple

2011-12-23T15:09:00.002+11:00

Ricky Ponting: Extraordinary Batsmen, Ordinary Captain.

2011-03-29T12:28:00.003+11:00

Without wanting to seem disrespectful, Ricky Ponting's career needs a new spark. The composure, timing and technique on display against India last week shows that although he's gone through a rough period form-wise, he still has the instincts and reflexes to play at the highest level. Having struggled against fast, short balls from Steyn, Morkel, Roach, Broad, Tremlett, Khan and Sharma in the last few years, he's acknowledged that he can no longer attempt to hook his way out of trouble as he did in his youth and has consequently become a safer, smarter batsmen.

If Ricky does decide to leave the post of captaincy, I don't foresee a quick nor quiet removal from the Test team, although the ODI team may look to rebuild in time for the Champions' Trophy and the next World Cup. Micheal Clarke, the bookmakers favourite, should be installed as the Captain of all 3 Australian Sides, and his careful handling of the up and coming spinners is a trait that will be a distinguishing factor between himself and Ponting.

Although he has the highest winning percentage of any previous Australian Captain and oversaw another 16 game winning streak, he benefited immensely from the presence and form of great players like Hayden, Langer, Martyn, Hussey, Gilchrist, Warne, McGrath & Lee, at the peak of their powers. He conducted most of his tactical tweaking in conference with Gilchrist, Warne and Hayden, which proved to be very successful, although the extent to which Ponting led or was directed is another matter all together. Ponting couldn't win a series in India in 3 attempts, while Gilchrist made a few astute tactical changes to lead his side to a famous victory in what was considered the "Final Frontier". Three Ashes series defeats sours the public's perception of him as a captain, but should not tarnish his reputation as one of Australian Cricket's greatest ever batsmen.

He may yet have an important part to play in the reestablishment of Australia as the world's preeminent side, as the Test side's anchoring batsmen, alongside young, up and coming batsmen.

Exit fees are all they had.

2010-12-13T14:59:00.001+11:00

With Wayne Swan looking to pass legislation to ban mortgage exit fees, one must contemplate what effects this will have on the retail mortgage market. If banks are no longer allowed to write in compensatory fees/fines for terminating their agreement, they will lose control of their mortgage portfolios. Customers will move from bank to bank in search of the best rate, terms and conditions and the banks themselves will be squeezed to the limit, with increased competition making it almost impossible for them to make any money from the business of lending money.

Consequentially, this will lead to a decrease in the number of loans the banks will be willing to write, which will put pressure on both the housing market and the wider economy as they will be even less willing to fund small business growth. The worst case scenario, however, is the creation of regulatory conditions that encourages collusive behaviour. This would make the mortgage business similar to the retail petrol business, where prices are almost identical between competitors and fluctuations are synchronised so as to not lose customers to competitors.

Yes, collusion and anti-competitiveness is investigated by the ACCC and punishable by the courts, but building enough evidence to prove such behaviour is extremely difficult, as the Visy case showed. It is much better to maintain an environment that promotes competition and fairness, than try and deal with the problem after contributing to its creation. Instead of banning them completely, the government should be looking to regulate the size of exit fees, to make them proportional to the size of the loan, while also taking into account the socio-economic status of the mortgage holder. Otherwise, they'll be chasing the proverbial horse after unlocking the stables.

The Ties that Bind

2010-10-08T18:49:00.000+11:00

The Importance of Maintaining Ancestral, Cultural and Religious Ties

If you don’t stand for anything, you’ll fall for everything. This succinctly sums up a problem faced by many people who have left their homeland in search of a better future. Many 1^st generation Indian migrants worry that their children and their children’s children will grow up without the traditional moral, cultural and religious platform that they acquired while growing up in India. One may wonder how a person could possibly lose touch with their ancestral and cultural heritage, in this age of global connectivity, web 2.0 and easy access to vast online resources. But access to books online and the ability to email or Skype a relative pales in comparison to the ability to physically interact with like minded people, who are willing to share their experiences with those of a younger generation. This is what our parents fear they have deprived us of by moving overseas.

Maintaining the association of people of a good calibre, people with a good understanding of the world around us and with people of similar religious faith is no easy feat. Creating a network of like minded individuals with the freedom to discuss sometimes controversial philosophy in a non judgmental setting is an undertaking we have aimed to do. Although opinions can sometimes get heated, and ideals can just as easily set people apart, they can just as easily be brought closer together in the knowledge that there are others in the community who think and believe just as you do.

Attending community religious and cultural events, and participating in voluntary service hosted by the various associations and clubs around Melbourne give all people the chance to congregate, socialize and have fun while participating in an activity that is mentally, spiritually and holistically fulfilling. It provides opportunities to contribute to society in ways we would not usually do routinely, and reveals facets to our own character we would have otherwise never discovered.

A cliché riddled rant

2010-08-19T22:31:00.000+10:00

the fact of the matter is thus: if the population truly cared about the impact they had on the people surrounding them, their physical surrounds and the wider environment, they would be willing to compromise and sacrifice to find a viable solution to all of the planets human and natural challenges : Flood, famine, drought, obesity, fire, war, fear, financial distress, the list is almost endless.
Stop the apportioning of blame, and start thinking of solutions and ways to implement them. There has to be a limit to the amount of time, effort, energy and money spent politicizing problems and point scoring for the sake of popularity, if any true reform is to be undertaken. Leaders must be able to think altruistically, and believe that they are doing the right thing for the future, irrespective of their standing in the polls. Knowledge, expertise, Foresight and insight: we must allow those who have these qualities to have their voices heard, and their ideas publicised, as revolution can be just as important as evolution. If we allow populist opinion to run our nation, and consequently run the world, the human tendency to stagnate, to fear and resist change will overcome our basal tendency to live long and prosper, sometimes, we have to be the change we want to see in the world, there's no point waiting for the world to change, not when the people changing it currently are making it worse, if the people with power can't handle the responsibility, maybe its time to transfer the power.

Expensive, Expanding and about to Explode.

2010-08-16T17:43:00.000+10:00

Next step, living in the Bay?

The decision made last month by the Victorian State parliament to expand the metropolitan urban boundaries, (from the current yellow to include the brown pockets) has been taken without any thought for the future of our fair city.

Already struggling under the demands placed upon it by over 4million people, Melbourne's vital infrastructure and public services will be stretched beyond capacity if more people are accommodated further away from the city's centre.

Now I'm all for having more people live in Melbourne, and in Australia in general, but it must be regulated to fit the needs of Australia's developing economy. Given the size of our land, the number of people occupying it and the relative abundance of our natural resources, Australia's economy is operating well below its capabilities. Broadly speaking, many foreigners are amazed at the size of our continent, and the small number of people making use of it. The skill set required for our country to grow into a true world "player" must be actively sought out by government schemes, while encouraging those in the corporate sector to bring foreigners here who will add to the country, economically, socially and culturally.

A typical Melbourne Traffic jam, rendering the speed limit useless.

Melbourne is a vibrant, cultural city, it is known world wide for being one of the most "liveable" cities, and is arguably the sporting capital of the world. However, there is only so much people can afford to pay as a premium because of these advantages. The day to day practicalities, however, make this city a nightmare for the commuting public, as patrons have to wait in cramped sardine cans on the late trains, or in banks of traffic that don't seem to dissipate until after the time at which you were meant to be at work.

Melbourne Train System

A small and unscientific analysis of three cities, Melbourne, London and New York City, sheds light on the long term planning that didn't take place. In terms of population size, New York City holds about .4 million more people than London, with the British capital holding just under 8mil. Melbourne holds under half that, with our population currently hovering around 4 million.
In terms of physical land size, Melbourne, in square kilometres, completely blows New York and London out of the park, with its area totalling 8806sq.km, London in second at 1706.8sq.km and NYC relatively small at 1214.4sq.km.

Greater London Trains- Underground and Above-ground systems

Counter-intuitively, the young city of Melbourne has by far the worst public rail system. Established and settled in 1835, Melbourne should have been able to build upon years of established technology and engineering experience gained from other cities established around the world. London was established by the Romans in 43AD, and New York in 1624. True, technological advances were relatively few and far between. The City of London began work on its first subterranean railway in the 1850s, with it becoming operational in 1863, it now incorporates 270 stations in its network.

New York's rail network is much more extensive, with 24 lines connecting 468 stations and the ability to carry over 5 million passengers per weekday. It began service in 1904, which begs the question, why didn't Melbourne's planners think long term and build for the future. One common feature of the New York and London system, is that they do not incorporate a central hub to which each and every train must pass, although there are areas of increased connectivity and no doubt activity.
Having greater connectivity and no central hub, makes it easier for people who have no need to enter the congested zones, get to their destinations. The ability to get from home to work, or from Frankston to Clayton, without having to catch 1 train and 2 buses, or 2 different trains and a bus etc.
The improvements required for the upgrading of Melbourne's rail network towards a modern, efficient, user friendly system, will require a lot of planning, international consultation, expertise and last but not least, foresight and a vested interest in making Melbourne a better city.

We can undoubtedly make Melbourne more attractive to the rest of the world by improving our public transport, but if we want to preserve our unique lifestyle and make it easier for families to live and grow, we must accept the need to become an economy of scale. To allow for more people, we must also recognize and accept the fact that living habits must change, and that some luxuries currently afforded to most of the population, must be sacrificed if we are to maintain financial prosperity. Many of the houses built in the late 50s and 60s are medium sized, well built homes that lie on massive amounts of unused garden space(see left). However, the structure of our modern society is such that most gardens go under used and under appreciated, with more and more people flocking to public gardens and parks to meet friends and conduct various recreational activities. So what purpose do expansive areas of grass, weeds and plants serve? Gone are the days in which children played with their friends in an unstructured manner.More kids are enrolled in after school care programs and are involved in club sports, martial arts, swimming, dance, drama and gymnastics than ever before; activities meant to add structure to children's lives and developing their all round skills.This is also symptomatic of the work/life balance afforded to their parents, who would rather spend money enrolling their kids in such activities than spending personal time with them. The amount of time they spend in their own front or back yard with their kids is lower than ever before, and its not something working families are willing to change.

So the main advantage of owning land along with a house, is prestige. But what value do people place on owning land that they do not use? Wouldn't they benefit more from selling their land and obtaining cash for it? would Melbourne as a city, not be better off if people capitalized from the land that they own by developing upwards? If we were to sacrifice our front and back yards, build longer and wider, single story houses, developing second and third stories would generate revenue for land owners, and easily accommodate the predicted population increase

Harry Brown & the Superhero Vigilante Complex.

2010-07-07T16:45:00.002+10:00

Harry Brown is not your everyday vigilante super hero movie. Nor is it a character study of a man at the end of his tether, frustrated at the lawless ways of London's "Estate" and the impotence of the police. It is a thrilling depiction of the potential held by normal citizens to "do what must be done" and to "be the change you want to see in the world". Although it does portray the title character as a hero, we question his methods even if we sympathize with his plight and accept his motives as pure. Director Daniel Barber shoots some tremendously gruesome scenes, with both the opening sequence and the finale depicting horrific, bloody deaths.

Harry Brown shows the depths to which an essentially good man will sink to regain a sense of normalcy. A former Royal Marine with repressed memories of past military activity, Brown seeks to eliminate the threat posed by the local youth gang by out thinking them and by operating alone, as no one believes a man of his advanced years would be capable of revenge, let alone murder.

This quality film provokes debate amongst its viewers, as it leaves them in a state of limbo, neither barracking for or against the protagonist Harry Brown, whose actions are quietly accepted but not acknowledged by the police.The final scene, wherein the chief of police denies any vigilante involvement and takes all the credit for himself, indicates that Brown has escaped the rule of the law, and has been granted immunity for his actions. Just like other super heroes, who take the law into their own hands to do what "they feel" is right, Brown acts in a selfish manner to gain revenge over the death of his close friend, which he rationalizes as "doing the public a service", by helping to 'clean up the streets'.

Just as Batman and Spiderman pursue 'wrongdoers' in the name of justice, Brown acts with neither mandate nor method. Acting on instinct and impulse, Brown skirts the police as he takes action against those he has a problem with. Just as Bruce Wayne sought revenge for the brutal murder of his parents, and Peter Parker took revenge upon the man that killed his Uncle, Harry only takes action once he has personally been affected by the "estate gangs". The principle difference between vigilantes and authorized officers of the law is without doubt the emotional connection the vigilante feels towards the victim. Being emotionally driven to take action, however, is not always a good thing, as the decision making process of the vigilante is compromised by the grief and their actions are driven by hatred. Even though the police may be hamstrung by onerous laws which demand proof beyond reasonable doubt, their is still no good reason for people to take the law into their own hands.

The Age Review 1
The Age Review 2

White Noise : : Kevin'07(& '08-'09-'10) has lead us down this dark path.

2010-04-02T20:36:00.001+11:00

Australian government policy is without doubt in a bit of dead zone. While suffering the effects of the much vaunted "Global Financial Crisis", numerous other political, economical, ecological and social problems, are running rampant under the watchful gaze of our nations fair dinkum leader Kevin Rudd. Having promised much change in his "Kevin '07" campaign, what we have seen is a lot of jetsetting, a lot of media spin, a lot of show piece speeches and 'peace time' electioneering. Don't be fooled by this latest effort at spin. It is clear that the Prime Minister and his advisors have seen this as a way to ingratiate himself to the public again. It's all an act and it amazes me that people seem to be falling for it.

Kevin Rudd isn't the only responsible party in this whole mess. John Howard put into motion a whole range of irresponsible policies that caused such a public outrage it cost him his job. the infamous Work Choices, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, non-existant policies in regards to the environment, renewable energy, the list goes on.

So what exactly has Kevin done? After promising much, he has failed to live up to the hype he and his merry band of PR pros created. Yes, he took on and defeated the big-bad-GFC, and in the process wasted millions, if not billions of dollars on pointless schemes that did little to stimulate Real growth in the economy.He re-spent promised money, re-branding his "Education revolution" plan as the new " Nation building" scheme, as the global picture turned towards longer term growth, and instead of buying computers, rebuilt schools in good communities, (which act as reminders come election time), neglecting schools that really need the development and funding.

He guarenteed bank deposits, usually a smart move for the circumstances, but then means-tested and over-regulated the scheme to make it more wasteful, made a big fuss about "saying sorry" to the stolen generation, then did nothing to improve the living conditions of the many thousands of Aboriginies, nor improve their life expectancies by encouraging the building of infrastructure, hospitals, and creating jobs and educational opportunities.

He signed the Kyoto protocol, then did not think it important enough to negotiate with the opposition to see an effective Carbon emmisions trading scheme, passed through parliament. He successfully introduced several ill-thought schemes to "green-up" Australia, but instead ended up with a large sticky mess, and the death of half a dozen insulation installers on his hands. The national public service should be able to arrange solar, insulation and rainwater schemes effectively and efficiently, to budget and on time, with a minimal of fuss and fully regulated.Instead, he continued to play political games, effectively sacking the opposition leader, and having gotten nowhere on climate change, started preaching to the nation about the state of healthcare, and the need for State government co-operation to see reform. He calls himself a diplomat, but cannot seem to negotiate with foreign leaders and their governments to serve the best interests of our nation.

He failed to intervene in the Southern Ocean whaling debacle, where other leaders might have held direct talks with the Japanese government, and more recently, failed to serve the interests of an Australian Citizen facing trial in China. This case rankles the most, for the first time in a long time, we've had a Leader fluent in another language, and instead of combining his skills, experience and knowledge of China, to seek a fair and open trial for Stern Hu, who was involved in commercial espionage and allegedly paid/accepted bribes on behalf of Rio Tinto, was strangely quite, and almost non-existant in the media.

And on a foreign policy front, our golabal position, a periphery player in the G20, not really apart of ASEAN, nor a powerhouse in the UN, leaves us in a very precarious position. As an emerging, but already established country, we should be leading the world, but Kevin has got us following the lead of Obama and the EU, and although we are a major resource supplier to China and India, we don't seem to have any actual direction as to the future of our nation

JET CAMP: A revealing experience.

2010-02-07T17:15:00.000+11:00

Last December, I spent six days in the presence of my family Archarya, his entourage of vedic scholars and about a hundred other devotees. He spoke, we listened, he taught, we attempted to learn, and on the occasions that he allowed public debate, he provided a forum in which we could rid ourselves of conjecture and form an understanding of our rich vedic traditions and history.

Although mainly a religious camp, it allowed us to meet new people from around Australia, share ideas and philosophies, and most importantly, allowed Swamiji to speak to all of us in the one location. He gave a detailed commentary on Thirupaavai, expounding the meaning behind the famous poems written by Andaal, and gave many discourses on various topics, ranging from the Bhagavad Gita to the importance of temples and their place in Vedic culture, which sparked a somewhat heated debate amongst the disciples which lasted well into the early hours.

Not only did we listen and learn from Swamiji, we also learnt various asanas to keep the body healthy, clear and regular. We learnt various slokas which we now recite upon waking, learnt their meaning and significance, and gained a greater understanding of our mothercountry's history, culture and traditions. It was, without doubt, a great way to spend 5 days amongst the tranquil surrounds of nature.

X & Y : Oh Brother!!

2010-01-03T20:53:00.000+11:00

The governments economic stimulus package has worked its 'magic', the recession that we Aussies were well placed to fend off in the first place, was completely avoided with exorbitant Government spending in various projects that had questionable motives and public worth.
"Nation Building", "the Education Revolution", 900 Household bonus, etc etc were rolled out with massive fanfare and PR spin. The Treasury didn't release details as to how they were to fund these massive stimulus payments, but since their release, the Commonwealth Government Bond market has exploded into life, for the first time since late 1999, when Howard and Costello got rid of federal government debt, the government now owes foreign and private entities money, at a rate of interest which will need servicing from the public. so let me ask you, which generation is "screwed" ??

World Cup 2022 Stadiums, Scheduling, Scaremongering

2009-12-22T12:22:00.001+11:00

Melbourne, the world's sporting capital is facing a small scheduling problem. Cricket, Tennis, Soccer, Grand Prix, AFL, NRL, rugby union, and the local leagues all compete for the populations' affection and their ticket money.All of these sports have successfully coexisted for a number of years, but a hectic year-round schedule, and increasing demand for the MCG and Telstra Dome means that they do not see a realistic way to accomodate a world cup bid.

I however, think there is a simple way to accomodate this. Firstly, I must mention the assumptions that I'll take before tabling a reasonable alternative.

1) That all the domestic football leagues will grow, increase in number, and spread out across Australia. By the time 2022 rolls around, the A-league will have more than a dozen sides, the AFL will have at least 20 sides, ( Gold Coast, Western Sydney, Tasmania, Darwin), the NRL and Super leagues will no doubt grow in Melbourne and attract more followers.

2) Hopefully, we'll have a larger number of high capacity stadiums. Whether it be by upgrading current grounds, or building them from scratch, more grounds in and around Melbourne will no doubt help all the codes surviving in the long term.

3) England, could, should and will most probably win the right to the World Cup for 2018. And rightly so, they have the best facilities, great grounds, great transport systems and enough space to host the expected millions of tourists.

On to the plan...

The role of other sports.
Cricket, Tennis, NRL, Super League (union)
By my estimates, the summer of 2021/22 is an Ashes summer, and we should try to schedule the cricket season so that the Test series finishes by Jan 6 and the One-day and Twenty 20 series finish by the end of January.

The Australian Tennis Season usually concludes in January, with the Australian Open at Melbourne Park. So its not too much of a hassle.

I doubt the NRL will be able to expand in Melbourne, and the Storm will no doubt live long and prosper. The Super 15 expansion into Melbourne will quickly establish itself, and attract enough supporters to sustain itself in a rectangular stadium

AFL
By the time 2022 rolls around, the AFL will have no doubt expanded to a 20 team competition. The current 16, plus Gold Coast, Western Sydney, Tasmania and a northern territory team I'll loosely call Darwin. Given the increased number of teams in the league, I would think the AFL would look to reshape the landscape, having a "European" football style of home and away league, scraping the "finals", and awarding the "Premiership flag" to the most consistant side over 38 games.

The excitement of the finals series, can be regained by adding significance, prominance and prizemoney to the NAB cup, and turning it from a preseason warm-up tournament to a nationwide, multi level, knock-out tournament that gives non professional sides the chance to take on "the big boys" in one of australia's premier stadiums.

Another facet of AFL that I believe needs changing, is the amount of games AFL players play, and the number of rest days between games. Would it be hard to see AFL players playing more than 1 game per week?? With the size of current AFL squad lists, and the depth of talent in the competition, more games per week would lead to a general improvement in player skill levels as the younger and fringe players gain more experience due to increased squad rotation. A league schedule of 3 games in 14 days wouldn't be hard to cope with, and can be relaxed even futher post world cup to allow for more recovery time. Games on Saturday, the following wednesday, and the sunday after, followed by a 6 day break until saturday, would allow for travel, recovery and training. A smartly designed fixture list would also see clubs touring, playing 2 away games in perth in 1 week, before flying home to melbourne, or a game in darwin and then in adelaide, ect,etc.

Given the Australian WC bid is targeting 2022, 13 years away, we can make a few assumptions about what will probably occur, infrastructure wise. Public transport systems will increase in efficiency and frequency, the urban sprawl will probably see us travel longer distances each day, we'll aim to decrease our carbon pollution emmisions by either buying more environmentaly friendly transport vehicles, which will hopefully become more efficient and cheaper, or paying greater taxes to offset emmisions. Air travel will hopefully become cleaner, cheaper and quicker, ( Boeing 777 Dreamliner !!) and the current concentration of sporting stadia in and around the MCG will decentralize as teams look to get a better deal by playing games at other, more viable grounds. That said, we'd probably have at least 3 more multi-purpose venues around melbourne, one in the eastern suburbs, one in the northern suburbs, and one futher west. Smart planning, and shrwed construction will see these stadia meet FIFA's abitrary capacity requirement of 44000, and will make these available for use by all the sporting codes.

So the big problem is that the World Cup requires the major grounds to "shut down" for reconfiguration and "de-commercialization" for up to 10 weeks. It shouldn't be too big a deal if the AFL adopts the aformentioned changes, as it could play 18 games pre-World Cup, in the 12 weeks between Febuary and April, and then take a "winter break" of may, june and july, before continuing and concluding the league by the end of october, just in time for cricket season.

Movie Reviews: HP & the Half Blood Prince

2009-08-12T09:56:00.013+10:00

The last truly great movie i remember watching at the cinemas was Nolan's The Dark Knight, and after watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, i must say, David Yates, and his band of young, highly paid actors did an almighty injustice to one of the more character defining books in the series.

J.K Rowling's sixth novel is one of the more traditional books in the series. The first two books were slightly introductory, was more about the adventure than the characters themselves, and the depth of character on show, both in the books and their film adaptations were limited, and with each consecutive novel, we have been exposed to the true nature of the characters, how they think, how they feel, what they do and do not like, who they are and are not romantically interested in, and what motivates them to do what they do.

Half Blood Prince is very much a story based upon the premise of Harry not liking Slughorn, but having to follow Dumbledore's orders to extract THAT memory from the potions professor. It carries on the undercurrents carried on from Order of the Phoenix, of how the battle between good and evil has caused fissures between the Ministry and Dumbledore, and how the relationship between Harry and Dumbledore is strained post the Battle at the Ministry and Sirius Black's death. The book is essentially a growing up story, of how Harry, Ron and Hermione grow into their minds, body and the task that lies ahead.

The film adaptation, at best, flatters to deceive, and in the cold light of day, is simply wrong. There are plot holes everywhere, Yates tried to change things in the plot to make things more interesting for the viewers. A few scenes, the bridge exploding, the burning of the house, and the many scenes of awkward attraction between Harry and Ginny, as well as the "heart-break"/ unrequited love scenes between Hermione and Ron, are portrayed with a look to the future, but the accuracy of the plot is compromised in the futile attempt to make things easier to film. Changing the details of the climax was always fraught with danger, how are we, presumably not having read the series, meant to make the connection of trust between Harry and Snape, the helplessness of Harry being trapped in a "full-body bind" and the betrayal inherent in the scene?

The directorship of Yates, I believe, has collared the young actors, and in both of his movies, the acting skills of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Bonnie Wright and Tom Felton have all been rendered surplus to requirements, none of them have been able to infuse their own personalities to their characters, leaving many of their scenes devoid of emotion and warmth. Order of the Phoenix saw many scenes of over-acting, pointless action that instead of adding value to the film, did exactly the opposite, but also some rare and telling signs of acting skill in the younger cast. Although all the young actors gained valuable experience away from the realms of Harry Potter, David Yates seems to have chosen to ignore all the evidence that they can act.

Its unfortunate that the final pieces of the jigsaw is to be directed by Yates as well. Hopefully the powers at be will reduce the length of leash afforded to him for creative license, and sticks to the major, and minor details of a great story, otherwise, many, if not most of my generation would wait for the inevitable remakes in 5-10 years.

Kids in Cars

2009-06-29T16:31:00.000+10:00

Its not often i write about depressing issues such as death, and the road toll, but last weekend, a group of teenagers got into a car and they never managed to get out. It was reported in the newspapers that speed played a significant part in their demise. A day before that horrific crash, a21 year old was luckily pulled over for exceeding the speed limit by a whopping 131 kmph.

A radio broadcaster was discussing these events this morning, seeking answers to questions such as "why do young drivers speed?" , "why aren't the TAC's messages(Drink and drive our a bloody idiot/arrive-alive/speed-kills) making a noticable difference to the road toll" , "what can we do to lower the road toll?" etc.

He sought far and wide for reasons, explanations and answers, but amongst his callers, i don't think he ever asked a driver between the ages of 16-25. Although it would seem quite pertinant to ask the so called "target group" for answers to the aforementioned questions, the general consensous amongst the so-called "older and wiser" is that they know what's best, and that they know what/when and why youngsters behave as they do. "I was once your age" they'd claim, but surely things have changed over the years, man-kind has progressed, Darwin called it evolution, some might call it regression(the fact that we are killing ourselves by abusing machines we created is ironic, like a plot-line out of the Matrix??)

Call it what you may, but the cold fact is that youngs drivers are putting themselves, and their passenger friends in dangerous, life threatening situations by driving under the influence of alcohol and /or drugs, and driving at excessive speeds. The preceeding situations that young adults find themselves in have hardly changed in over 50 years. Alcohol has always been an instrument of social cohesion and celebration. Responsible consumption of alcohol has always been a problem for modern western society. Thousands of people across many age groups have struggled to limit their alcohol intake to that which is considered a safe and responsible level.

Public figures have been shamed in the media for acting irresposibly after having more than one too many drinks. The problem is alomost endemic, and reversing the nations' drinking culture will no doubt help reduce the number of deaths related to alcohol abuse.

The "speeding culture" of many young Australian's is with out doubt an age related problem. Anyone who says otherwise is talking nonsense. It's not generational, its not a sign of the times, its prely age-related. History shows that ever since cars where affordable, the number of deaths amongst young adults where higher than the rest of the population. Young adults are by nature impatient, hurried and have more demands on their time than ever before. Driving fast is without doubt the simplest solution to getting to their destination faster.

While i don't condone such behaviour, i undersand it, and those seeking to have a positive impact upon the problem must do so quickly , or else risk missing the problem completely. Why young adults are driven ( forgive the pun) to speed from one destination to another is another underlying "fault" of the human condition. Its well known that young-adults think of themselves as invincable, reckless levels of over-confidence, mis-placed faith in their own abilities, both to drive and to consume alcohol turn a self reliant, self-confident, headstrong young adult into a dangerous liability on the roads.

A few years back, a spate of high-school shootings and classroom violence sparked an international debate over how absorbant children and young-adults are to violent video-games, music, tv-programming and the coverage of violent incidents by journalistsin the news-media.
Strangely, the interconnected issue of how absorbent young adults are to car racing games such as Gran Turesmo, Need for Speed etc etc, and movies such as Fast and the Furious, Gone in 60 Seconds etc etc .

In my humble opinion, the number of young adults, boys in particular, who are attracted to enourmously powerful cars, with exorbitantly priced customizations, which they showcase proudly to their friends at illegal, impromtu meetings has increased ever since the turn of the century. No coincedence I think, since 2001s premier of The Fast and the Furious , more and more action movies premised around street-racing have enjoyed box-office success.

Such cultures have to be firmly, but gently removed from the mainstream media, because driving them "underground" will only lead to the mess experienced overseas, a situation no well-wishing policy maker wants.

The Problems with Australian News-Media

2009-06-21T12:39:00.000+10:00

The Australian news media love a good tale. Not unlike other news services, the australian New stations like a story that captures and engages their target audience. But how often do they actually report the news that matters.
The last month has seen some big news around the world. The furore over alleged voting irregularities in Iran, the upcoming elections in Afganistan, the continuing wars in Afganistan and Iraq, the world-wide spread of Swine-flu, the response to the Global Financial Crisis, and of course the seemingly out-of sight,out-of-mind human rights abuse in Dafur.
In Australia, the government has been making news with its attempts to get an Emmisions Trading scheme through both houses of Parliament, coupled with an equally controversial Clean/Solar Energy Bill. Indian students have been making their presence left over the last few weeks, after being a string of allegedly racially motivated assaults in Victoria and New South Wales.

But the news media, on TV, radio and the interent don't ever do any real analysis of the underlying issues. Why bother when you can lift a piece for a news scource like Reuters or AAP, and make bold headlines that attract attention without accurately representing the story. I'll give you an example. On Friday, the Age.com.au reported under its breaking news header,"Australia's First Swine-Flu Death". Without a doubt, it grabbed my attention, i was pretty relaxed about swine flu, as all the reports i had read from Mexico and the USA said that the people who had died from Swine Flu had died because of other illnesses and that the strain of influenza known as Swine Flu was virulent but had mild symptoms and was overall, not very dangerous. The story took some time unfolding on the Age's website, and after 10 or so minutes, it revealed that the person who had died, had Swine Flu as one of many other chronic illnesses, which caused complications leading to his demise. IN summary, a poor bloke living out in the middle of desert in Western Australia, miles away from any decent health care, had died from complications to his various chronic ailments, and he so happened to be diagnosed with a disease that's currently a buzz-word for news paper editors!

Another grievance i have with Australian News outlets is their lack of detailed analysis of the GFC, and what the world's governments are doing to try and reduce the severity, longevity and impact of Recession. Last night, World News Australia(SBS) ran a story on how the American Senate are complaining that Barack Obama is trying to "make a grab for power". They included a short clip of a senator addressing the House, using a strange analogy to question why Obama either needed the power to pass those reforms, without actually mentioning what those reforms are, why they are needed nor why Obama needs executive power to get those reformns passed.
Do they think the Australian public don't care? Or are we simply not smart enough to understand the complicated world of politics, finance and economics?
Isn't it the media's duty to make the complex understandable? To inform the population as to what is being done by governments to make the world a better place?

If the media can't do their job, how are the people of the nation going to inform themselves of the issues that matter. Especially in a year that may end up being an election year, after Rudd and Co's inability to bow to the overwhelming tide of logical arguement presented by the Coalition and the greens in against their "packaged" Emmisions trading scheme, the media should be presenting all sides of these highly politized stories. Portraying either side of politics in a negative light is wrong, and clouds the judgment of the population, who must be kept aware of the dealings of the Government, immaterial of the nature of the story. Developments should be analysed by correspondents, giving the viewer the neccesary background information to contextualize the incidents, and in time form their own opinions.

The current media coverage of politics in Australia is playing into the LAbor government's hands, the media is potraying the Turnbull and his Liberals in a bad light, and although they are demanding what is right for the country, the propaganda machine that is Kevin Ruddis spinning a great yarn to the media to cast himself as the victim. Watching the news, it seems like he's getting away with daylight robbery, and the population are none the wiser.

Northern Reds, why Manchester United are so much better than Liverpool

2009-02-02T08:21:00.000+11:00

I'm hoping Chelsea drop as many points as possible, so that Liverpool start getting overconfident and sloppy again. Liverpool aren't a real threat to our full strength line-up. Line-for-Line we are better than them.

VDS, Foster, Kuzszack,Heaton Amos, Zieler >REINA, Cavalieri, Gulácsi,Hansen.

Ok, Reina may have won Golden Gloves a couple of times, and may make some great saves, but he's never won any important domestic silverware there, fluck that they won the Champs league after letting in 3 to AC Milan. VDS and Co. have a harder job of not falling asleep behind UNited's defence, and remaing alert to the one-or two shots that actually get past the back-four.

Rafael,Neville, Brown,Eckersley, Simpson, Rio, VIDIC ,Evans, Chester, Evra, O'Shea,Fabio > Dossena,Degen, Hyyypia, Agger, CARRAGHER, Skrtel, Arbeloa, Aurelio, Insua, Kelly Carby,.

Absolutely no doubt, UNited's defence is about 5 times better, both technically and physically than Liverpool's. Taller, Better Faster Stronger!!

RONALDO, Park, Nani, Tosic, Martin?, Giggs, Scholes, CARRICK,Anderson, Fletcher, Gibson,Possebon, Cleverley, Hargreaves > GERRARD, Alonso, Mascherano, Reira, Pennant?, Babel, Benayoun, El Zhar, Spearing, Plessis.

Other than Gerrard and Mascherano, we have them covered 2: 1in every depeartment, so much so, i'd even hazard a theory than Ando can keep Gerrard quiet, and Carrick, Giggs and Scholes can overpower Masch. Therefore, when we play them,a 5 man midfield will overpoer them easily, and win us the game.

Rooney, Tevez, BERBATOV, Welbeck, Macheda, King, Ajose, Brandy?,Campbell?, Manucho? > TORRES, Keane, Kuyt, N'Gog, Linfield, Ecclestone.

Hands down, Torres is the best forward there, but as a unit, United's Trio are more effective and more dangerous than Liverpool's. Now that Keane and Kuyt's careers as strikers have effectivly been killed by Rafa, the task of actually scoring weighs enourmously heavy on Nando, i don't think he'll cope, probably buckly under the pressure and tear his hamstring again.

With liverpool's title aspirations resting heavily on the shoulders of Reina, Carragher, Gerrard and Torres, they are paper thin and prone to failure, unless Alonso and Keane step up and deliver( which would require them to be on the pitch, in the first place, hint,hint, nudge,nudge, Rafa! ). Whereas SAF uses all 30+ members of his squad to win multiple trophies. Even though we all rode the Ronaldo wave(ably assisted by Rooney, Nani, Ando and the defence) last year, this year, everyone seems to be chipping in and contributing to a possble quaddie!

Man City's wealth, the death of Football

2009-01-16T23:23:00.000+11:00

With City and Chelsea being bought by oil magnates, and other clubs being owned by somewhat-less rich billionaires and millionaires, football has become more than a sport, and has become wholely commercial. Kaka's transfer from Milan to City will hopefully be seen as a rarity, but with the possible transfer of CR7 to Real also being of that value, it may become commonplace to spend 100's of millions of dollars on players. 10years ago, a 20-30mil fee was seen as huge, and even now, people wonder whether Tevez and Berba are worth 30mil each. When Rio, Veron and Rooney were bought, 30mil was alot of money, but with inflationary pressures, tax rises and other costs involved with playing and running a club, the amount of money coming in has also increased, and deservedly or not, players and their agents have sought, and consequently been given, higher sums. These are being sourced from higher TV rights deals, and higher ticket prices, ( just imagine what the big-four would do if half their stadium were empty each week for a season. )

These creates commercial tiers inside the BPL, with City up there on their own at the top, Chelsea, United, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Tottenham, and Arsenal forming the rich clubs, of which Newcastle and Everton are hoping to become. This has formed gradually over the years, with only United, Arsenal & Liverpool , really deserving of their current financial stature, having won something significant before coming into wealth.This leaves the "rich" clubs in such a position so as to use the "poor" clubs as feeders. for example, if West Ham had had the resources to have kept Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Glen Johnson and Frank Lampard, there is no doubt in my mind that they would be dominating the BPL. Just as United are once again looking to raid a smaller club for their talent, this time Wigan for Palciaos and Valencia, other smaller clubs have been forced to sell up and coming talent to stay in the black. Another club comes to mind in Southampton, if they were able to build a squad around Bale and Walcott, they may be progressing up the BPL instead of struggling in the Championship.

The problem with City's, and now to a lesser extent Chelsea's, large influx of spending money, is that it has forced the rest of the "rich" clubs to spend more on transfers and consequently drive up the asking price for any player. No doubt, Tottenham would have sold Dimi to us for 25mil if City weren't interested. Now that the world knows of City's spending power, any club can simply raise the price on any player by saying that City can pay more and hold a "hoax auction". Of course, City can't buy everyone, and some clubs will obviously realise that some players aren't wanted by City, but there is no doubt that City and Chelsea have been ripped off by smart sellers including United ( the sale of Veron to Chelsea), who made some money by inflating their asking price. remember these names? Shevschenko, Elano, Jo, all are signs of the bad business that top clubs engage in.Even United isn't foolproof, we bought Veron to england in the first place for 28.1mil and sold him to chelsea in 2 years for 15mil.

This leads to another problem, being the lack of pitchtime available to up and coming youngsters. Gone are the days of seeing a flock of up and coming, fresh-faced youngsters, playing for the super-rich sides. Middlesborough once fielded a side totally from its academy, and United have for a long time given time and space for their own academy graduates to flourish on the biggest of stages. However, recent history hasn't provided Old Trafford with young, home-grown talent, with the exception of Danny Welbeck and Jonny Evans, and before them Wes Brown, our home-grown players have increasingly been loaned out, then sold off, populating the 1st Division and Championship, as United have focused on winning and retaining trophies without the cyclical downturn. We have seen ex UNited players playing very well: Eagles doing very well for Burnley against Arsenal and Chelsea, rating as 7.8 and 8.3 respectively from Skysports, Danny Pugh against UNited for Stoke, McShane left after not featuring in 3 years. Simpson is making his precesnce felt at Blackburn, Campbell likewise at Tottenham and now Manucho is out on loan to Hull, along with Martin, Cathcart, Gray, Heaton and Brandy out to various other clubs. If this can happen to a club that utilises its academy to such an extent that it produced the Class of 92( Giggs, Scholes Neville, Beckham, Butt etc ) imagine the fear such riches has struck into the hearts of City's youth system.

I'm hoping, Richard Scudamore realises his "product" is killing football,or that the FA or FIFA introduces some tighter reigns on wages( club salary cap at 35mil per year) or at least on transfer fees,( capping them at 50mil per club per year) and forces clubs to operate in the black, instead of having clubs, including united, massively in debt to the banks, instead of allowing them to run on operating profit.

Finally, i think Kaka would flop at City, i really don't rate Kaka, and actually think he would flop everywhere in the world but Italy, such is the lack of defensive pressure in Serie A ( no wonder Italian teams need such good keepers, their defenders are so shiiite). Sparky will deliver City a great team if he realises that second rate Brazilians don't play well against top-rank defenders. How would Robinho and Kaka fit together without some seriously awesome central defensive midfielders? Already Hughes' side scores lots of goals and leaks just as many, so he needs to stem the flow at one end without effecting the other. Ireland plays similarly to Kaka, obviously not as good, but potentially better suited to BPL than Kaka ever will be.

Ricky Ponting's Weak Link ?

2008-12-21T19:10:00.000+11:00

As all the cliche's say, a team is only as strong as its weakest link. What do you do when the team has more than one weak link? That is the problem facing Australian Captain Ricky Ponting. the past 5 days have highlighted Australia's weaknesses, Batting and Bowling, two seemingly crucial elements of the game. The problems stem from top and below, the top 3 not scoring enough runs, and the bottom 4 not getting enough wickets. Simon Katich is the only one who has been contributing at all to the cause, Ricky and Mathew have both been way below their best, and although Hayden has gotten some dodgy decisions and some brilliant balls, the best batsmen can grind out runs when the going gets tough, and they seem to make their own luck. Hayden's dismissal in the first innings showed how desperate he is to make some runs, such desperation aids no one, and if anything, creates too much pressure with which the human mind cannot function well enough to react to a ball approaching at 140Kmph. What it does, is muddle the mind, and confuse it to such an extent, that simple decisions, such as leaving a ball outside off, become 50-50, and you end up chasing, and edging balls you would normally leave 99 times out of a hundred. Matty Hayden has been plagued by uncertainty in his last few innings, no doubt the annoyingly incorrect judgements that keep cutting his innings, short weigh on his mind as much as the media's persistant rumblings that he has to be looking over his should at state-level players who are plundering runs with ease.
The team's problems aren't limited to Hayden's mental block, but it is symptomatic of the infliction affecting the majority of the squad. All jokes aside, the team is lacking that air of arrogance that literally won them year upon year of test match cricket games.

Addressing the nations Energy Needs

2008-11-21T20:23:00.000+11:00

It's amazing how easily Mr Rudd and his 07 revolution have duped the public. With their large, headline gathering announcements and their future plans and investigation committees, but when it comes to actually doing anything productive, they debate, hold think tanks and summits, then stall for a period and then formulate plans and policy that don't address core problems. If your having a heart attack, its no help giving the patient a towel to wipe off the sweat. In a country where we are facing massive energy and water shortages, the feds are doing nothing but commisioning expensive reports and cuting back on vital funding to promote modern technological development to move into a greener energy producing future.

What we need: Jobs? Cash? Growth?

2008-11-10T16:05:00.000+11:00

With the economic growth slowing, with a recession looming and consumer and wholesale spending decreasing, governments have been hard-pressed to find a solution to the financial madness that has spread from the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Having over-leveraged investment loans, governments and financial entities have found themselves in a unprecedented situation where they cannot liquidate their assets (as no one wants them at the price they would like to sell for), nor can they borrow from each other as the inter bank trust and credit ratings for most companies have fell as they revealed mismanaged debts and exposure to foreign markets that have failed them. Consequentially, major governments have sought long term solutions by "creating jobs" for trade-related workers, investing in infrastructure and manufacturing is all well and good, as they make up a large proportion of the money-spending population, but true economic stimulation requires that the whole economy gains from changes in monetary policy and government plans. Most, if not all changes in Australian monetary policy has resulted in the population tightening their back-pockets, putting the extra dollars that they save( via interest rate cuts and tax savings) in their bank accounts instead of doing what the government wants them to do, go out and spend it. Creating jobs for some sectors, e.g. their funding the production of Eco-friendly cars here in Australia, planning water infrastructure(desalination plant, piping to aid farmers/crop growers) and roads, isn't taking care of the whole picture. "Opening the coffers" for such extravagant, long term projects is good for nation-building, one of Kevin Rudd's election promises, but in the current financial climate, where the Government's future fund is loosing money, and the budget surplus of $22bn. is in threat of becoming a deficit, one must ponder whether the amount short term loss can be regained in the future.

Even before the "global credit crunch" and the "sub-prime mortgage write-offs" many sectors of the Australian workforce were being cutback and displaced as jobs were flying overseas to lesser economies as companies outsourced non-essential service jobs and the nations balance-of-trade swung to the side imports. Although we have seen a massive increase in the exported volume and price of Australian ores and minerals, the product life cycle brings back the raw material as processed and packaged goods and consumables. The meteoric rise of China, and the comparatively steady growth of India saw the spot rate of steel explode and Rio Tinto and BHP, amongst others, made bumper profits while companies in other sectors also benefited from the rise of the Asian powerhouses, not because those countries were buying in massive amounts from them, rather, the rise of China let manufacturing companies cut costs by importing goods, and let textile companies cut costs by hiring cheaper labour and using cheaper materials, which they then had imported for a lower total cost.

The government did nothing about those drastic developments in the employment of Australians, yet it feels that pumping money into the Motor vehicle Manufacturing Industry is part of a solution to "kill not two, but three birds with one stone". Their initiative aims to employ more people, by rewarding companies who definitively plan to produce vehicles that will emit less carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which will in turn stimulate the economy by providing more people with disposable income(spending money). The glaring flaw in this supposedly sound plan are twofold.

Firstly, promoting the production of fuel efficient, Eco-friendly cars right here is only profitable for Australian companies if the trade agreements we have with our export countries allow reasonable profits to be made. Already, there is talk of decreasing the import tariff from 10 to 5 %, making it easier for foreign companies to import cars to our market, and sell them at "Australian market" rates, effectively letting them make an extraordinary profit margin, while not demanding that those trading "partners" agree to the same deal. What chance do companies like Holden and Ford have exporting to the world when they have to pay tax between 10 to 20 % just to export cars, when Hyundai and Mazda pay 5% to import to Australia.

Secondly, the economic benefits of such a plan will not be felt for at least two years at best, and even when it is, there is no guarantee that the Australian economy will be in such a state that the people with disposable income will go out into the markets and spend it. If nothing is done to stave off recession and stimulate true growth across the country in the short term,( latest figures show that NSW is a dead weight to Australia's economy) even the best laid plans have no chance of succeeding in the medium to long term.

K Rudd and Co. need plans that will promote growth across the board, whether it be by cutting taxes to citizens, reducing the tax burden on companies that start new IT and other commercial projects, subsidize the employment of Australians in call-centre jobs, or the promotion of infrastructure growth in the Health sector, the government must ensure that all sections of the population stand to gain by the measures they introduce, or else whatever growth is seen by those favoured sectors will soon dissipate in the overwhelming tide of recession.

Professional Nepotism: Neville, Giggs, Scholes Van der Sar & Rooney?

2008-11-09T22:48:00.000+11:00

AS a avid Manchester United supporter, last nights loss to Arsenal was hard to swallow. Although it pains me to say it, Samir Nasri deserved his brace and Arsenal their 3 points, but for some personnel decisions, i think we could have had that game in the bag long before nasri snatched Arsenal the lead.

Sir Alex Ferguson's (SAF) team selection against Arsenal will no doubt come under scrutiny from various "pundits" and past players who think they can predict SAF's thought's from their past dealings with him. I think SAF has one of the hardest jobs in the land, trying to field the right combination of players to defend, attack and keep possession of the ball, in the right proportions so as to win games of football.

Manchester United have experienced many a golden age, and the last vestiges of the club's heroic 1999 treble are now entering the twilight of their careers.Neville, Giggs, Scholes, Solskjaer all entered 2006 at various states of physical disability. I may use the term quite liberally, but in wider terms, slight hamstring strains and a broken bones are hardly crippling, but as a professional footballer, optimal physical condition is a mandatory prerequisite to play competetively. A year passed and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer realised that his immediate and long term future did not lie in playing the game at a level that paled in comparison to his former glory days. The mature and wise man that he is realised that preserving his body for his own future, and the future of the club( via his coaching skills) was much more important than pushing himself so hard that he did himself permanent damage.

Neville, Giggs and Scholes all suffered various injuries in that period, ankle, hamstring, knee, foot and eye problems signaling that their bodies may not be responding as their minds wish. With that in mind, Sir Alex Ferguson has had to manage their playing schedule, limiting their appearances so as to keep them fit and fresh. Add to that list Edwin van der Sar, who joined United from Fulham at the peak of his powers, at the ripe old age of 34( once again talking in football years, its not young) has this season seemed out of touch with the sharpness of the league's opposition forwards, and has struggled to remain fit after suffering back, hamstring and leg problems last season.

Sir Alex has the unenviable task of easing out the ageing masters in favour of youthful exuberence, while maintaining their presence around the squad to add vital experience and tactical nouse.The difficult nature of his task was fully exposed by United's defeat at the hands of Arsenal, where 2 of his ageing master's let him and the team down. Gary Neville, captain extraordinaire and heart of the club, needlessly deflected a piledriver past the other master, who could do nothing but wave helplessly as the ball rocketed into the back of the net. He was beaten many a time both on the ground and in the air by opposition wingers and wing-backs. Van der Sar neither looked composed or comfortable in goal at any point of the 95 minute game. True the 1st goal came as a unpleasant surprise, and would have no doubt shocked the system, but he didn't recover well and was hesitant on many occasions when he was forced to clear high quality crosses and shots.

SAF's tactical changes were both symptomatic of the problems that plague him and also showed he has a ready made solution. Rafael da Silva, youthful, exuberant, speedy and defensively and offensively sound and contributes to United's attack with foray's forward that leave the opposition defence overwhelmed at the collective talent on show on United's right wing. Wayne Rooney, another of SAF's favourite sons, wasted a handful of chances to put United ahead and laster on, equalise, and was without doubt, having a frustratingly bad day. Carlos "Apache" Tevez, was brought on for Wayne in the 77th minute, giving him just over 15 minutes to weave his magic and salvage something out of the game. Not even the world's best can create/score two goals in 15 minutes, although he created more than Rooney did all game and his efforts lead to Rafael's brilliant consolation goal and it made it clear for all to see what may have been if Tevez had started the game.