the talk of the town

Hugo

2012-05-26T18:12:00.000+09:30

Image : Hugo

No spoilers here!

We watched this as a family this afternoon over a nice lunch. It was perfect for the cold weather we are having and for creating a nice atmosphere and a bit of togetherness. We all loved it and felt like we had had a special experience the likes of which only a good film can deliver. Martin Scorsese is known as a highly competent director with a skill and vision lacking in others. This film succeeds so well since it is executed meticulously. The attention to visual, set and character detail is what puts it into a cut above the rest. From the moment it starts you can see the shots are composed carefully and with artistic flair. The subtext of the film unites its various elements very successfully and in the end you realise you do have a right to dream. Everyone has a right to dream and that films can be the very vehicle which ignites your imagination.

Blood sport thriving in Australia

2012-05-23T18:23:00.000+09:30

The Federal Opposition has failed in a bid to force the Prime Minister to give a statement to Parliament about the issues surrounding crossbencher Craig Thomson.

I actually congratulate the ABC site for managing to report what happened in parliament today and get it all in perspective. I listened to the parliamentary session and question time today because I could. Anna Burke held a ridiculous question time together really well but she must be fed up and exhausted. The ploy of constantly blocking standing orders must be well in excess to requirements by now and it's a pity we have no mechanism to shut it down. It wastes valuable time and energy and interrupts a positive flow...as does any disruptive influence. In other arenas people are not allowed to be disruptive and constantly negative. We have ways of managing their behaviour. Parliament seems to have to put up with it. Prior to question time there were some really interesting and well thought out speeches delivered which showed just how far we have come and how well we can do. I have to thank the commentator on Radio National for ensuring we were all able to follow the stuff and nonsense of question time and were in possession of adequate knowledge of the regulations, rules, policies and we knew who was speaking. I do thank also the hung parliament for being the only parliament which has taught me so much about parliamentary and legal procedure. This seems to be our tragic sticking point at the moment. The delineation between the law, legal proceedings, legal entitlements and then parliament. There have been politicians and members of the press who have descended on Craig Thompson like a pack of hounds on the hunt and it has been relentless as a hunt is , and beyond endurance, as a hunt is. It is worthy then, that the ABC article raises the issue of our duty of care to other human beings. There are processes in place which are being followed and we need to follow them. We do not have the right to hunt people down. Or do we? The "hate mail " - what a glib term that was to fob off what Craig Thomson was reading as emails he had received - was deeply disturbing and no one should have to put up with that. It was scary just listening to his reading of it. These were people who were welcoming his suicide, his death, his end. Mal Washer is right to air his concerns about the way politicians treat each other and the way they are treated when things are not right. We know it would be good for the Liberals to get Craig Thomson so they can upset the balance of power but when it comes to being a blood sport then the disruptive, disturbing ugliness of it is something we need to promptly reject. Being above the law is wrong. Being outside of our sanctioned experts is wrong and if it is just about holding up all the other politicians who can speak so well, contribute so well and move our country forward - then that is wrong too.

Radelaide

2012-05-22T15:22:00.001+09:30

We call it Radelaide. If we know and love Adelaide and we are glad to be home - it's Radelaide because it's radical and very us. There is no place like it. In many respects South Australia and Adelaide are synonymous and in a South Australian head if people ask you where you'd visit in Adelaide you'd include other places like Victor Harbour, the Barossa, the Flinders...Adelaide and South Australia are bound together. If you actually ask someone from Adelaide to recommend places actually in Adelaide they will find it hard to define the boundaries of Adelaide and then feel it's being unfair being constrained like that. That is Radelaide.

South Australia boring?

2012-05-21T19:36:00.000+09:30

"(It) means to everybody from overseas the whole of the south of Australia. And the initials SA mean South Africa to most other people in the world."

So, South Australia is boring is it? No one can understand what it means? Google found it first up and had a wealth of the right images. It does come up with South Africa if you search for a map of SA. That is cultural bias. South Africa is ZA, anyway. South Australia is South Australia. It is a state and if others think it is the whole of the south of Australia then they need some lessons in geography. This is supposedly why we have education - to fill in the learning gaps. England is the land of the Angles. Scotland is the land of the Scots. France is the land of the Franks. Paris is where the Parisi tribe settled. Netherlands means low lands. South Africa is the south of Africa. Newfoundland? Iceland? Greenland? Ah yes, indeed, everywhere else has really inspiring names. It's not the name - it's the attitude and this article about sums up the attitude. We have key people who don't believe in us and don't think we can be found on a map nor that you can show people a map of South Australia and teach them something. I , too, have been in places where they have never heard of Adelaide or South Australia. By the time you have gone through the comparisons with Sydney and Melbourne, by the time you tell them we are 2000 km from Sydney and and hour and a half in the plane from Melbourne...that if you look straight up there is West Papua (Irian Jaya). I take pictures of Adelaide and SA and they get it. We talk about it.I believe I live in South Australia and that it is a real place. Others obviously don't.

Anders Behring Breivik

2012-04-21T19:31:00.003+09:30

Image: Reuters Heiko Junge

So pleased to hear Anders Breivik thinks of himself as likeable. Others will find it difficult to arrive at that conclusion. My concern is still the concern I had about him when I blogged about him when he had killed 77 countrymen. He is devoid of emotion, thinks analytically, coldly and cruelly and knows a great deal of detail . He is meticulous on the detail. So I am concerned about what it is he has in his mind, on his mind and in mind. I don't believe for a moment he has stopped his thinking and planning and the court case would probably appeal to him as a high level intellectual exercise whereby he could pit his wits against some of the best in his country and achieve his desired outcome. What is that? What I said in my previous post - not to be dead. He thinks he is magnanimous for sparing life and yet every attack he made was deadly accurate. He is described as an islamophobe and yet he has killed 77 of his own county men and threatened a number of others. He thinks he is generous if he gives families an opportunity to leave the court because he will only be telling the truth. Everyone in his presence is under threat and no wonder that woman wanted to go home and go to the beach and just scream. She knows how much of a mind game this all is and that is how minds react when they are messed with. They want to scream. I'd say he'd far prefer psychiatric care. It would enable him more freedom to explore his thinking than a prison. This case is deeply concerning because he has only done things to hurt his own people and mostly the young and defencelessness at that. The cause he espoused and continues to espouse is harming his own people. I admire Norway for trying to deal with someone like Anders Breivik. I admire how they have tried to be so fair, humane and respectful. I hope they will work out what is in his mind and that they will have the immense courage they will need to defend themselves psychologically against him. They need to and they must . I suspect the whole world is on their side trying to think with them.

Go Adelaide!

2012-04-15T09:00:00.001+09:30

Oh yes, there is much talk about how we can make Adelaide go and grow. If you look back at Adelaide from high up in Fullarton, it is starting to look like Melbourne. That'll help. Cloning ourselves to somewhere else. Being another version of what people already can have. Much of the talk about sticking up big buildings is about getting us to move with the times. Oh yes? Profit, of course would have nothing to do with it. Big building, more bang for your acreage buck. The big buildings will come because greed predominates in our society and rich people like to get richer. So we are not going to avoid the big buildings but we can avoid the patronising tripe which comes with erecting them and recognise property speculation for what it is. Adelaide was always its own city with its own drive and atmosphere. The critics have got to us and made us feel inadequate so they can do as they please. Time to fix this , I think. Those who want to change Adelaide into Melbourne, Shanghai, New York, wherever they have come from big cities. We don't actually need another one but we do need something which will help us thrive and grow into this century and create a sense that we are able to offer something and somewhere other places cannot offer. We are very much nautical people and so marinas, nautical sports, swimming centres and wonderful boating and fishing areas are something we can develop. We are good at spawning successful women and politicians so we need to grow that aspect of our city and encourage more participation in a natural way in these areas. We need to be better at offering those who like leadership to have opportunities to develop those skills. We have a strong film, artistic, musical and writing tradition and we have not done enough to inject enthusiasm and development into those areas and yet our Fringe is getting bigger and better and Womadelaide is becoming legendary. We love sport. No need to clash sport and cultural events. We can rethink that. No need to go for the either or , the tut tuts and the confusion. We can resolve those issues because we are both. Then there is our food. We offer a great cafe lifestyle. We offer great fresh food but we keep blocking its growth. Instead of our growers having to beg us to be considered we can incorporate them naturally into our lives. Instead of making us look like our interstate counterparts we need to start inventing areas and initiatives which make us Adelaide. Instead of being the state which people bypass to get to Perth or Sydney we need to recreate the Adelaide which makes people want to come and participate, kick back and relax and go wow, that is so nice in Adelaide. People say we are friendly. When I go away I really miss our good food at good prices and the fact we offer rest facilities. I do not miss our transport. I don't miss our shops all selling the same thing. I do not miss our loss of fashion sense. We used to really dress up and show some flair. We have home grown designers and products. So if redevelopment is just about shoving up big buildings to make a profit, then we are lost. We have to get rid of the ho hum approach and start harnessing some real enthusiasm and participation. What's wrong with having a real Adelaide that is us?

Adelaide celebrates autumn

2012-04-14T19:26:00.001+09:30

Adelaide doesn't normally have autumn. We normally have a hot , dry summer which everyone complains about even though they love the beach and bbq weather and then winter which seems to last for far too long. More and more people have been appreciating the cold, wet conditions which tends to advertise their country of origin. More and more people have complained about the heat when we have had it. Historically Adelaide has been famous for scorching, relentless summers which those who have kept journals have always commented on. This year our summer has been mild and we have had a spectacular autumn which we have decided to really appreciate. We have loved sitting outside, eating outside, being outside. We have taken to the street cafes, the outdoor activities. Children have been skipping and running down the street. People have been out for leisurely and not so leisurely walks. The kind weather has allowed us to think about fitness and get us outside. We have had rain which is not usual for summer so our gardens are green. We have been pruning, clearing and planting and it seems odd in a way we have been able to carry out these activities for so long over summer and now autumn. By now it is normally cold. There have been confusing days where we don't know if we are hot or cold. Days where the layered look has been the outfit du jour and days where we go outside because it is far warmer and more inviting than indoors. Even weather is always a surprise to us but it has been a real pleasure to enjoy these lovely , sunny days.

Christine Milne new Green's Leader

2012-04-13T18:29:00.000+09:30

Christine Milne is the new Green's leader because the longstanding leader Bob Brown has retired. It was such a surprise to see her talking on Capital Hill tonight because I had no idea the Greens had changed leader. I started listening and then I started listening some more and then I started listening intently. I don't know her so this was our first meeting. If first impressions count then I was well pleased. She was well prepared. She was very clear and direct. She had an agenda which she could articulate so I knew what she was on about. She had done her homework and knew what she was talking about. Above all she was calm, confident and able to be clear about what the Greens stood for and that she would be discussing that more . It was time to change. Bob Brown has given a lot to our country and our political parties by way of some essential environmental awareness and reform in particular. He did stand for something. He lost his clarity around 2004 with the tsunami . He used to be a master of timing but he got that one wrong really. Not in essence but in timing. He then revamped himself but his message was no longer really clear. As a result the Greens' issues have slid into the background and that is something we cannot afford to happen. My impression tonight was that Christine Milne would get the party onto a good track and then give us back the strength of a party which really cares about our living conditions, sustainability, and environment. The quality of where we live is as important as how we live and what we do to live. I wish her well and look forward to hearing more of her.

We kill horses, don't we?

2012-04-10T19:22:00.000+09:30

Image: Grand National

HorseChannel.com

"He said given that 11 of the horses to race on Monday had also raced on Saturday, it was lucky more did not fall."

This article sums it all up pretty well. What else is there to say? 12 races, 3 dead horses and steeple chasing still isn't banned. It is not safe. It needs to stop. Now. The debate has never dried up. Every year we watch horses damaged, hurt and destroyed. It is senseless to do this to horses time and again. It's wrong. If people damaged themselves like that every time they hurdled, then we'd ban the sport. I do not understand why we are so slow to act. Softening the jumps hasn't worked nor was it going to. The race horses here have very thin legs. Time to ensure we never do this purposely again - every time we run a steeple chase we are showing we don't care. The cavalry days are over. The world needs to show some care and consideration for all life.

Jumps ban

Happy Easter - Joyeuse fête de Pâques

2012-04-08T07:31:00.004+09:30

Image: Cuisine simple

Queensland votes

2012-03-25T15:36:00.001+10:30

Image: Duckpond

Duckpond has a good run down on the situation so far in Queensland. Queensland does have a situation, that's for sure, and we'll sit back and watch it play out. Anna Bligh has done the right thing by pulling out. She has worked non stop for the state, she has put in hours and hours of her time and her skills are extremely high level. She really is not valued and thinks this is all her fault. She is right to walk away and to stop any further besmirching of her capabilities and the incredible effort she has put in.. I guess Queensland might feel better now it has a proper man doing the job. The representation of women has now fallen to around 20% so that is a pretty clear indication of what they think of women politicians and the right of girls and women to participate in the democracy which has been lauded all week. On the good side, I thought it was a very civilised affair and the commentary on ABC24 was very sane and informative too. Queensland now has a government which is probably 78 LNP seats out of 89 and so there is effectively no opposition. The LNP has a leader with no parliamentary experience and it has quite a few new parliamentary members with no parliamentary experience and the number of women representatives is considerably down. Nearly 12% of the vote went to Bob Katter's newly formed parted and the Greens don't appear to have a seat so there will be no discrete environmental representation. So the message is - we don't want Labour, we don't particularly want women, we don't want Greens and we don't want experienced politicians. We want a lot of new people and the only party we want to run the state is the LNP and yet the LNP doesn't have 50% of the vote. It might make it to 50 but even so this is a very strange picture. So, we'll sit and watch, shall we?

Bob Carr our new foreign minister

2012-03-13T20:59:00.000+10:30

Photo: Daily Telegraph

Bob Carr has now been sworn in as our new foreign minister in the cabinet reshuffle. He was premier of New South Wales and has been high profile and successful for a long time. He is not everyone's cup of tea but I like him for lending some colour to our landscape - as you can see from his sartorial splendour left. I must say I like our politicians in Canberra dressing up and showing some real pride in being leaders of our country. They are in high profile, very responsible positions so it would be a great way to give some of our hard working designers and fashion industry a bit of a lift. Besides, it lends some style to what ought to be a job which engenders dignity and inspiration. Enough of the fashion stakes. What about our new foreign minister? He is a strong speaker, a good thinker, a person who will take the time to explain his point of view and who can argue strongly for and against an issue or speaker. He is well versed in public speaking and it shows. He has a real degree of comfort when he speaks and he can use his humour well because he is in command of what he says. As such I see him as an asset on the international front but I am wondering what the rest of the world will think of him. He is not quietly diplomatic like Kevin Rudd. He is clear in his speech and uses evidence to back up what he is saying. He chose to retire as premier of New South Wales. He was a premier I got to know really well through the media because he spoke up strongly for his state and on issues which were of importance to us. He doesn't expect you to agree all the time because he knows you can offer another and just as valid point of view. His strong personality will serve him well in his new position but his way of straight talking might come as a surprise to some. It's his way of saying things which I like. He comes out with some classic lines and so it's a refreshing change from the bureaucratic yadda yadda or the pat statements or the jingoistic approach to politics. It's the sort of change we need so that we realise we can argue strongly and we don't always have to agree. It will mean we have had a really well thought out debate.

Adelaide's smoking!

2012-03-12T14:27:00.003+10:30

The weather in Adelaide is just superb at the moment so we are making the most of it. March is a busy month with festivals, music events, the Clipsal 500. There is plenty for people to enjoy. We weren't planning on the second hand blanket of smoke from the Victorian burn off yesterday, though. I could see it all over the hills and my friend who visited from Clarendon said it was creating low visibility on the road. They could have told us! I was on the net early and there was no sign of us being the recipients of the Victorian back burning. No warning at all. Just wheezing and breathing difficulties, sore eyes and then the constant smell of smoke. We doubted it was us because, as you can see, Adelaide is very green and lush for this time of year. Doesn't mean we can't have bush fires, though. So we were wondering. I think we just thought someone might have let us know in advance. We worked it out for ourselves and carried on regardless. My street has been very relaxed this long weekend. Some have taken the opportunity to have a garage sale, some have fixed fences or gardened, some have been off playing water sports and the feel of my street has been very neighbourly and friendly. The warm weather has got us out into our gardens and it has made for a nice, safe atmosphere.People make a difference. I , too , have used the time to clear clutter and liven my home and garden up a bit. It's amazing what some pleasant weather does to lift the spirits - Victorian smoke or not.

Caucus Summer Collection 2012

2012-02-27T20:20:00.000+10:30

When you lead a team there will always be those who would put poles in your back, poles in your chest and poles in your side. There will always be those who do not support you. All you can do is attempt to get them onside but carry on regardless if you don't. The nay sayers and black hatters will always be there. A 71-31 win at the caucus vote was pretty impressive for any leader. When your opponent is well liked and respected and has some high level skills, then it is a remarkable result. It is unfortunate it had to be done this way but when you have two really competent leaders in one party and they both have good things to offer, there will be a power struggle and in the end the party has to decide and they did. Julia Gillard is not at all flimsy. She has stood up to an onslaught of of challenges and one at a time she has been able to rise above them and keep a clear head. Her resilience is remarkable as is Anna Bligh's and one day both those women will be given credit for their capacity to endure exceptional circumstance. They are worthy leaders and they are able to withstand the battering of life in Australia and Australian politics. If Kevin Rudd will now use his talents and skills to continue his own good work for the party in his state and his country then he will see that he is still able to lead but not in the way he thinks. He actually needs to be flexible in his thinking. His sporting loss means he can walk away and get on with his new life and new Kevin in that comfortable, assured manner we like. That said, I'd now like to appreciate the fact our politicians got out on the runway today with some pretty dapper clothes. Conservative, yes, but they were impeccably dressed and it is something I'd like to see continue. I do not expect Canberra to be the fashion capital of Australia but I'd like to see our politicians show, as they did today, that Canberra is worthy of quality clothing, good cut, a certain je ne sais quoi and a dash of panache when it comes to dress. Clothes do not maketh the man but a certain standard and style of dress is what we need and what has been missing. Perhaps I am with Mr. Slipper and his attempt to put a level of finesse into our federal parliament. I do like what I saw today. Even our reporters showed a real sense of occasion with their dress and demeanour. I like it and it suits us!

Kitchen Cabinet

2012-02-26T20:31:00.002+10:30

Kitchen Cabinet is a delightful half hour show where you get to dine with politicians and Annabel Crabb. I managed to catch up with it today and thought it capitalises perfectly on something we do well - lunch. We are very good at relaxed dining. It breaks through the stereotype, barricaded media representation of politicians and we see them on our own turf - lunch. I could never have imagined myself watching a programme with Amanda van Stone and Christopher Pine and yet having lunch with them and Annabel Crabb was convivial. It was proof again that we actually want to see our politicians as people and not media images. We want to engage with them. I guess that is the impact of social media and Facebook , in particular. We can know people in a more detailed way these days if we want to and we know them warts and all . It isn't a problem. It's good. A media image is exactly that - an image and neither we nor the politicians have been able to sustain it in any kind of viable way - hence our hung parliament. If we were more accepting of the fact people are people and can be quite lovely or quite horrible depending on where and when,can say one thing and then another, then we'd go a lot further. Analysis paralysis through media scrutiny has made it impossible for some really good people to survive. Already they are writing off Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd. There's a scenario, a narrative and then people are bashed into the shape. So to have a chit chat and a leisurely lunch was so refreshing. I could see Amanda van Stone was in command, that her face changed to very serious over political questions and she just talked away. Christopher Pyne was full of banter and not one nasty word. He was just very sociable and straight forward. He is never like that when I see him. It was the stuff of a good Australian lunch - some good stories, some lovely food, an appreciation of the food and then the valuing of being in the company of others. There is a real disconnect between what the media engineers as the story and the real story. It is pretty presumptuous to write someone off. Besides, if I walked into work tomorrow, challenged my boss for her position , lost - I'd still be in my job doing my job and taking pride in that. What my colleagues or anybody else think is none of my business.Amanda van Stone and Christopher Pyne talked about that quite well because she was very much disliked and it put a really human face on it. My business is to do my job well and be responsible for that. If I lost a challenge, well, the job is still there and needs doing and I am still there with control over my own destiny. No one would be describing me as terminal. No one would be talking me down - we'd have lunch and sort out the next step. Life goes on with or without the hackneyed phrases.

The divine oracle of the polls

2012-02-25T20:25:00.000+10:30

Image: News

I feel like saying divine orifice. Honestly. I am waiting to hear we have brought out the sacrificial goat or virgin to seal it all. The media always point to the polls as though there is something divinely , mystically right about them. They are a small sampling of the population. They are by a biased media because so much of it is owned by one interest . They are not at all independently or scientifically constructed and yet we have polls in our heads. Polls , polls, polls. Polls are another form of media manipulation as are comments. It is far too easy to create a bias one way or the other and , frankly, polls are not helping us at all and we know it. There is no way we should be running our country and its people by polls.

So, the media today have reported much with regard to the Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard power struggle . We still have no idea what it would look like should Tony Abbott become PM. Mr. Abbott tried to give us an idea but the media have avoided this notion completely even though they are quite happy to claim certainty with regard to a Labour defeat at the next election. I love the crystal ball gazing which goes on. To be honest, I have enjoyed what has been brought to me today via the media. I feel like I am getting to know my politicians in a very real way and a way which has been denied me until this hung parliament. Julia Gillard took Kevin Rudd into her cabinet because it would have been foolish not to. He is highly competent, hugely popular and the job as foreign minister suited him and us well. She battled those early days with great courage because the way she was treated had our mouths gaping and that is the thing we are still talking about now in SA. Perhaps it is because we were the first state to give women the vote. We are always conscious of how systems and institutions can harm and disadvantage women and it's one of the first things we note. So we are talking still about the way she was treated, what she had to put up with, how men just assume they can be Prime Minister. Remember when Costello wanted to be Prime Minister? Bad luck. John Howard was the Prime Minister and his party did not want to remove him. We vote in the party. The party decides on its leader. Labour is showing us this time that you can actually do that out in the open and it's quite nice being included. It is better than being excluded. We've noticed the Labour strategist just expects Ms Gillard to give up being Prime Minister because Kevin Rudd wants to be Prime Minister. He is popular. He is certainly very popular in his home state of Queensland. Yet you don't judge your good boss by how popular they are nor if they can draw a crowd in the street. Sometimes bosses are unpopular when they try to bring about structural change and it is not fully understood what that means. Popular is important but John Howard stayed in power for far too long and I don't think anyone would claim that popularity was what kept him there. So I think we need to think a bit harder here. We have two really good politicians and it is a shame they are in the same place at the same time but history will depict it more clearly. Their style is different and they both represent something we want to see. We want a Prime Minister who can give us a good image internationally and both of them can do that. We want a Prime Minister who can effect the changes we need. They can both do that. Is it really about Tony Abbott? So where's that part of the picture?

Gillard vs Rudd vs Abbott

2012-02-24T19:35:00.003+10:30

Image: Cheezburger

Both Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd care about their party, that much is clear and it is also clear they care about Australia. I watched the whole thing unravel today because I could and because it was really hot and I wanted something quiet to do. They were both calm and composed. They were both confident and capable and they both delivered rational, well thought out speeches. Kevin Rudd probably thought he was evening the score a bit? It's not a war. It's not a crisis. They are both strong, skilled people who represent the same policies but have a different way of approaching things. A differing leadership style. I really valued the input we had today from other party members. You could see there was no animosity and they would be glad to relieve the air because they had all reached the stage where the power struggle between Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard needed to be resolved. Julia Gillard is representing our nation, her party and then has the responsibility of being the first female Prime Minister in Australia. Given that countries like America and France haven't been able to achieve that, then it is a very unique flag for her to be flying. It really is important in a free nation that girls and women can see themselves holding the top job and that there is a model for that. Kevin Rudd is still flying the flag that Australia did clearly elect him in and gave a very firm and resounding defeat to John Howard. Much was made today of how Australians will send their leaders packing with a baseball bat. That is so wrong. We hate people taking to others with a baseball bat. It is anathema to us. It is more the feeling of a grand final victory that we achieve. We also need to be constantly reminded we only elect the party. We do not elect the leader and there is room for debate on that, but as it stands, the leader is picked by the party we elect. At one stage we really wanted Kevin Rudd back. Then we went through a phase of wanting to see Kevin Rudd go up against Malcolm Turnbull. We have since seen a female Prime Minister go through the hoops and rings of fire and then grow into the job of being a female Prime Minister and it is not the same as having a male Prime Minister yet we are still coming back to the mindset the only right way is to do it the men's way. I don't have a problem with exploring how to get a woman to succeed in this job. I do not have a problem with having a party sort out its balance of power and for me to know how that is happening. The media brought us all the information but it was focussing on what would happen if Kevin Rudd won and then if Julia Gillard kept her leadership position and then the belief Labour was now in the position of being well set up to lose the next election. This was echoed by Adam Brandt of the Greens. That's where it stopped. With all this ill founded and idle speculation. I was really surprised they were not looking at how we would look under an Abbott Government. Much was said about how Tony Abbott would win the next election but nothing was said about what that meant in terms of changes, policies, likely ministers etc etc and yet that was examined in detail with regard to the Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard scenarios. If it is such a certainty why hasn't the media got onto it?

Labour of love

2012-02-23T21:15:00.000+10:30

Has she cancelled her trip?

Hope not, why would she?

Oh, because of the Rudd situation.

What? Prime Minister Gillard cancel her trip to Adelaide because some man is having a situation? Oh right.

That is how my morning started. People actually thought that she , Prime Minister Gillard, would just drop all her womanly interests to pursue the interests of some man. This is what a woman Prime Minister in Australia has to contend with. Julia Gillard does, and with good grace, but she had to get the ruler out and rap the desk when some journalist just kept baa-ing out his questions. Whoever it was was ridiculous. He was so pushy, but the headlines read something along the lines of HER losing it? What? WHAT? The men politicians have been busy running to the media saying what she ought to be doing , or thinking, or how disappointed they are. I don't know how she puts up with it. Incredibly patronising. She doesn't need a brain she has all these men thinking for her. Okay for Kevin Rudd to perform on video before the whole world landing us with his news, but Julia Gillard is not allowed to call a ballot on Monday to try and clear this matter up. That is a lot of warning. He gave none. Normally you would go and have a conversation with your boss if you were going to resign. 2012 and you have to develop positive, functional relationships with all work colleagues. I have a lot of time for both of them. Kevin Rudd is a very caring, competent man who was hugely popular as a Prime Minister but the media confused everyone about who he was and what he was doing. He is a bit of a one man show but he has some very high level international skills which we need as a nation to float ourselves world wide to gain the benefit of knowledge, trade and international relations. Julia Gillard has worked very hard to show us we can have a woman Prime Minister - that girls and women are just as entitled to want the top job. How many men are still suggested and how many men feel so entitled? There has been so much more discussion and open debate since we have had this government and the hung parliament . It has allowed us to learn about the politicians who lead us and the ins and outs of policy making. We are now getting good at animated debate based on information and fact. Still we come back to the easy out of the dumb cluck narrative. These two people are very competent politicians. Neither should be lost to politics and Australia needs to wake up to that and learn. Our lunch time discussion at work was so far from the media tripe that I was glad to see we have come such a long way with our hung parliament and all that has happened. Most people are horrified with the way Julia Gillard has been treated as a woman in leadership. We were roaring with laughter because people thought her trip to Adelaide would be cancelled over some man. This is 2012. 2012, people. Get rid of the 1950s narratives and stop it at once. We thought Tony Abbott had made the best decision of his leadership by keeping quiet for once and we were all wondering where Malcolm Turnbull was because he still has a lot of clout in the community as someone we all value, labour, liberal or green ,as a politician who is of great value to us. We are fed up with the way our woman Prime Minister is being treated and blamed for everything. Must be her fault. Must be her fault. Classic abuse line. We all know it. We like Kevin Rudd. What we like better is seeing a woman lead our country and being allowed to. She has actually shown us it's possible but we are back to the argument that it takes a proper man to do the job. The media has been on and on and on about this and now it's happening they are having a lovely time at the expense of two really good politicians whom we can ill afford to lose. What happens Monday, happens on Monday, but I'd hate to see us throwing ourselves back into the knee-jerk formulaic, jargonistic thinking of a couple of years ago.

So, who's the President?

2012-02-04T19:30:00.001+10:30

When the time comes, America will choose the president it wants. The presidential elections are being followed over here. Last time they followed the French ones as well, which are on again, but I have seen nothing about those this time. At this point I have to say the presidential elections in both countries are nothing like the last time. It is not as interesting for us and it is not as dynamic. For both countries it was a very trying but important time. The same applied to us. In the end Twitter went off like a rocket and the whole world welcomed Barack Obama. This doesn't seem to be being taken into account this time. What the world thinks doesn't seem to be important this time. The Americans can choose who they want and they will. What matters to us is what has occurred with Barack Obama. The world has embraced him. They genuinely like him and his wife, Michelle. Everyone is talking about how fit she is now and how natural and then how she did all those push ups on TV. We watched it or we caught up with the video. This is a very likeable first lady who has a lot of personal strength.She is part of the presidential image in a very real way. Kids know Barack Obama and they like him. While they are focussing on who to pick, the Americans may well forget that who they pick has an impact on us. America sees itself as a world leader. People tend to think of it as a country which can have good leadership qualities. They can also think of it as a country which pushes its weight around. Barack Obama has done so much to soften this approach because people warm to him, can relate to him and they can relate to his family. The only time they don't relate to him is when he comes in as the talking suit on some predecided governmental position. He sounds very ordinary. When he is himself and he can talk as himself he gets through. He is a communicator and so many nations and so many age groups can identify with him and where he is coming from. We know he isn't perfect and we know he is not always right but he is someone we like a lot and we value his approach. If Barack Obama is not re-elected I shall actually miss him. He has made a significant impact on world politics and has started to draw nations together because he knows how to work with different cultures. So far I have seen no other candidate who would suit the 21st century and that has to be someone who can have a good global impact as well as a good impact on their home turf. I wish him well in his campaign.

Fire Bugs

2012-01-20T08:17:00.001+10:30

Img: Colleen Kelly

The fire flared in a reserve at Brown Hill Creek when a car was set alight and rolled down an embankment on Tilleys Hill Rd.

Task force set up

It's very worrying. We have arsonists or an arsonist in the McLaren Vale area and now the hills. It's a nightmare for people and the CFS. The firefighters are doing a great job but it means they are not home and resting. The police are doing a great job trying to get a strategy into place to catch whoever it is or whoever they are. What impresses me about the article is that it gets the information out and has kept it very straight forward so we can take it in and think about it. It's true, people are the best resource in these kinds of situations. They have eyes , ears brains, technology and the local community will know what is right or wrong about their area. Police can map strategies and the fire brigade obviously have quick response times and are able to manage. It's awful, though. The other thing which is impressive about the article is that it has drawn some sensible and workable ideas for how to deal with this because of the way it has been written. It's true, anyone who has or knows a child who is overly fascinated with fire needs to have an avenue they can approach to get early intervention. The other thing which is clear is that we understand that arsonists are not well. We have to stop them and we have to harness them but we have to help and treat them too. There is a great deal of compassion in the article and comments about the state of mind of arsonists. That will be our best weapon because we find them very hard to understand. Why would you light a car and shove it down a hill? Would you then pop off home on foot and watch a bit of tele, listen to some music maybe, check on your sleeping children? I cannot work out where these thoughts come from. Often it is in the earlier hours of the morning. Do they set an alarm and get up to light a car and push it down a hill or do they stay up all night and develop a black frame of mind which means vengeance is theirs? They must have a lot of physical and emotional energy to be doing what they do at the times they do it and setting fire to a car means they have stolen it or are prepared to burn something they own.. Given they are as dangerous as they are and are capable of wholesale damage to flora, fauna, homes, communities and other peoples' lives, it is in our own best interests to watch and to get a better understanding of how these people think and operate. In South Australia we can operate in a very low key but connected manner to resolve community issues. We need to raise community awareness again to get ourselves thinking.

Spindle Cell Tumour in Dogs

2012-01-10T20:30:00.000+10:30

My dog has just come back from a day of blood tests at the vet. You can clearly see the spindle cell tumour in this photo. She has had it for two and a half years now. When it was first operated it stayed down for a year. I am blogging about it because if you click on the link you will get the links to all my other posts. If you are here it is probably because you have a dog with a spindle cell tumour. They are nasty but my dog has lived happily for two and a half years and the good vetinary care and some googling on my part have enabled her to be a normal , happy dog. She literally takes it in her stride. She was at the vet today to have the blood tests to see if she really does have Cushings disease as I blogged about in my last post. It could be caused by the cortisone and it could be that she has developed it as an older dog.Recently she has had trouble getting out the back. She can no longer go up and down the steps and she has trouble getting up the ramp. She does it though. The heat made her breathe hard and we need to know what is going on so she can be helped. The bare skin on her leg next to the lump is from where she had her anaesthetic for her dentistry! She is even famous and on the vet website. She was glad to get home today but they had taken great care of her and said she had spent a quiet day, as she does these days. The lump has ballooned a bit because she needs the cortisone to keep it down but had to come off the cortisone for a few days so the tests could be done properly. It is a big balancing act. She'll lie quietly these days and then amble around the back garden. Her spirit is very strong and at peace but her energy levels are quite low...but then she is eleven and a half, likes to take an interest in things but is content to mosey along!

The violence has to stop

2012-01-09T09:22:00.000+10:30

"When he realised I wasn't going to let him go he punched me several times in the face, so subsequently I took necessary action to stop him from doing that and sat on him essentially until the police arrived," he said.

John Elferink, a Port Darwin MP came to the aid of a woman in Adelaide whose mobile phone and car keys were stolen. I was thinking he feels very confident when dealing with difficult, unstable situations and he caught and restrained the man until it could be dealt with by police. Most people would stand and watch. We have lost that level of self confidence here mainly because a number of people have been badly injured or killed while trying to intervene and help someone. You just don't know who you are dealing with anymore. John Elferink has reminded us we can do something about it if we use our heads and our skills. I have known others to intervene by using their mobiles for pictures or calls to the police but at the same time judging whether they are putting themselves at risk or not. It is not easy. I was wondering why the guy stole the mobile and car keys. If it was random it would not have done him much good in terms of cash. If he was known to the woman then it was just a mean act. It's a bit disturbing but John Elferink has dealt with it all in a level headed manner to show us you can do something about it and take the control back by being matter of fact . We wouldn't all have his capacity to deal with an onslaught of punches and we are not all in the situation where we can. There is another article about the cost and concern of violence in our hospitals. The government needs to urgently clarify when restraint can be used because that apparently has not occurred and we need to stop putting money into protecting ourselves from violence in hospitals when that money could be put to better use to help heal people. People are flaring up for all sorts of reasons. Like the lady who went spare at me because I backed my car out BEFORE she had got into the lane at the shopping centre car park but she was angry because she had to wait until I straightened my car up. Flouncy , self serving behaviour is becoming too common and people just go off. Some get violent so you have to be wary as you step around town and shopping centres. If it is a hospital then that is unthinkable and staff will then be tied up dealing with someone and their anger issues instead of people who need medical help. I can well imagine doctors and dentists may well be facing the same irrational anger problems and it will put them off the job. Is it expectation? Is it education? I remember sitting on a bus in Noumea and the bus inspector got on. I thought, there is no way anyone would mess with him. He was super polite as they are. He was really nice because he actually helped me find my way to the right stop when the driver was dealing with someone else. It was all very civilised...but you would not have done the wrong thing on the bus...nor brought on fish that wasn't in a thermal bag as the big sign said.

Potato Power

2012-01-08T09:49:00.000+10:30

Image: Carolyn Keeney

Personally I wouldn't go past local potatoes. I even grow a few of my own because fresh potatoes have a taste and class of their own. So I feel for our potato growers. The article articulates the situation well and in a well thought out manner. People do look at price and convenience and tend to think a bag of frozen chips will be easier to manage than real potatoes. It's not true and it means we probably have to do a bit of customer awareness and education. If I use potatoes out of my garden people always notice. They taste really nice. I don't get many so they are usually put into a potato salad or cooked with other vegetables. I buy potaoes by the bag and make my own oven fries, oven wedges, roast potatoes and the French certainly have plenty of recipes for potatoes which are actually quick and easy. Layering potatoes with other things like onion and a bit of bacon makes for a quick, easy treat. I also make potato pancakes which are a huge hit and people always are asking me to make more. So it's a matter of getting the information out about how to easily prepare real potatoes. There is quite a variety in Adelaide and it is good to try them. My favourites at the moment are the white ones with the little purple spots. They have a name which I never remember. I also give my dog some cooked potato on a regualr basis. I chop and microwave them. They are for her potassium levels which she needs. She loves them mixed in with her dinner. Now we have the information, we need the action. The newspaper article did a good job of drawing attention to the situation and everyone was talking about it...so give us a plan. Let us help!

Bonne Année - Happy New Year

2011-12-31T08:01:00.000+10:30

Wishing everyone a really Happy New Year . Je souhaite à vous et à vos proches une bonne année 2012.

Spindle Cell Tumour in Dogs

2011-12-28T19:47:00.000+10:30

My dog is still here and she is eleven and a half now. She still has her spindle cell. She also has the hard skin on her back still. Last week she had her teeth cleaned so she would not get any infections from her back teeth. They had suddenly become quite discoloured . While she was under anaesthetic the vet had a chance to take blood tests and have a better look at her. She has been on cortisone tablets for quite some time now. He shaved some of that hard skin off and told me to halve the dose of cortisone. She has Cushings disease which does not have a good pathway but dogs can live with it. It could be the cortisone has brought it on or it could be a tumour on her adrenalin glands or pituitary glands and the vet needs to establish what is causing it. In the meantime we have to manage that lump on her leg which grows without the cortisone. Cushings was not news to me. She has all the symptoms - the black, hard skin and loss of fur at the back of her, the panting, the excessive drinking and then the food fixation. She also pees a lot when she does pee. It varies from week to week how the symptoms are. She has been living with it because it seems to have been brought on or exacerbated by the cortisone tablets. She has been happy and led a quieter but pleasant life. You can see she is quite relaxed and has a really good coat except for near her tail. Since I have cut down the cortisone a bit then her hard skin is starting to soften and there has been a bit of an improvement. She doesn't pant as much. She has been fairly droopy though and not as energetic as she used to be. I have to take her age into consideration and that stupid spindle cell tumour on her leg. It has grown but not affected her walking at all. I take her back next week because Christmas week probably wasn't the best week to see how she was going. At the moment I'd say not too badly at all. My concern is she has a quality of life and can live with whatever comes her way. So far I have been able to navigate that path along with the help of my vet. His knowledge and level of care have been invaluable in keeping my dog going well. I am just taking things as they come and going from one day to the next. I am glad we have managed to get her this far because it is two and a half years since the operation on her spindle cell tumour. She has not put on weight as it says in some of the articles about Cushing's disease. She has lost a little but that is not a problem. So we'll see how we go.