Australian foreign minister resigns amid speculation of leadership bid

Posted to CNN (22/2/2012) on 22/2/2012 at 7:10 PM (Not yet published by Newspaper)
Commenting on "Australian foreign minister resigns amid speculation of leadership bid"
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/22/world/asia/australia-rudd-resignation/index.html

I posted a comment to the news article published by Herald Sun (19/6/2011) on "Kevin Rudd set to party to mark his 'assassination day'. I reckoned that the whole thing was a conspiracy. Kevin Rudd’s resignation at 1:20 am Washington DC local time or 5:20 pm Melbourne Eastern Standard Time is the continuation of the saga.

The following is my original post, which was also posted to my blog site http://sinfongchanpolitics.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/kevin-rudd-set-to-party-to-mark-his.html

Kevin Rudd was never dumped. It was just an act to rescue Labor from total annihilation in the previous Federal Election. A change of leadership was the only way to beg the people of Australia for mercy to give this incompetent party another chance. With further intentional deterioration in performance will give Kevin Rudd an excuse to return to his rightful place - showing that he was not that bad after all.

Just think about this, why did Kevin Rudd just so happen had to admit to hospital at the peak of election campaign? It was just to avoid answering questions from the media. Former mates Wayne Swan and Julia Gillard did not visit Kevin Rudd at the hospital, nor a phone call to check on his condition was just unthinkable; in short, they are not fit to be called Australians if this was done intentionally.

Why in the world Julia Gillard has to kowtow to Kevin Rudd and keep Foreign Ministry just for a political "enemy", and provided such a big budget for him to travel around the world.

The so called conflict between Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd went on and on like a pork chop. This is nothing more than a distraction so that Australians will not pounce on the government continuously about the wasteful unproductive projects and mismanagement of the country.

Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd did not come from the lower rung of the labour force. They were well educated and had not really dirtied their hands in the shopfloor during their younger days. Their ideal on Labor movement is no more what they have learnt from textbook. They use the Labor Party as the platform and vehicle to enable them to rise to the top.

Deep down inside, they are unlikely supporters of Labor movement, which is a hindrance to Australia’s progress. The current show down is a way to destabilise the factionalism within the Labor Party, so that the Party can move more towards the less industrially militant position like the Liberal’s.

Perception is everything to gain confidence of the people of Australia. Once again, Kevin Rudd appears like a sacrificial lamb and Julia Gillard the big bad wolf. Despite all these drama and stress, Julia Gillard seems patient, cool and unmoved. She is a very smart lady and appears to be unassuming. By stepping down, Kevin Rudd is seen to be honourable and “submit” to play the game of peace, and he will be given a chance to rule the country again, does extending the life of Labor Party in power.

During the past few months, many key Ministers are in dead silence. They are all in the plot, and know very well what is behind the story, and how future will unfold. For what Kevin Rudd has done, he will be given a Diplomatic post likely in China, Indonesia and upcoming Burma, countries that have great strategic significance to Australia.

Relative calm will prevail for the next few months, and many bills will be passed with the help of the Independents, Greens and even Liberal MP’s who now have lost patience with the leader. Many of these bills will result in Australia going into further debt. The real unemployment rates, not the so called official ABS reported statistics, will rise. The mining boom is going to fizzle out as China’s economic prosperity begins to slow down.

Julia Gillard will remain as the Prime Minister until the next mutiny which will take place prior to election 2013. At this appropriate moment, the baton will be returned to Kevin Rudd, a god send saviour who has the charisma to pacify the restless Australians, as the country’s economy takes on a tail spin!

Sadly to say, the Liberal Party’s inaction leads to their missing a golden opportunity to get Julia Gillard out of office, if that is their intention!

Shares lower on Greece doubts

Posted to The Age (22/2/2012) on 22/2/2012 at 1:47 PM
Commenting on "Markets Live: Shares lower on Greece doubts"
http://www.theage.com.au/business/markets/markets-live-shares-lower-on-greece-doubts-20120222-1tmo0.html

Only bunnies believe Greece has such magical and mythical power to influence our stock market overnight!

Unlike, the Chinese God of Wealth who "is" obese (sign of prosperity) and has a smiling face, Plutus the Grecian mythological God was lame and blind!

If you lose your money by following the gypsy-style crystal-ball-reading analysts, I can visualise that you are a hopping mad blind Freddy!

Making the most of the small outdoors (Post 2 of 2)

Posted to The Age (18/2/2012) on 21/2/2012 at 10:53 AM
Commenting on "Use your illusion: Making the most of the small outdoors"
http://theage.domain.com.au/design-and-living/use-your-illusion-making-the-most-of-the-small-outdoors-20120220-1tinw.html

..... I enjoy living in a house with front and back gardens. The only time I live in an apartment or rooms-only building is when I am on holidays.

I designed and landscaped my own gardens, with some professional help. Landscaping garden is one of my hobbies, and I file it under my artistic portfolio.

My wife does the regular maintenance like growing and harvesting the vegetables, trimming and regenerating flowers and shrubs. She also handles the horrible job in weeding among the display!

Cleaning the pond is a chore, especially on sunny, hot summer days. The dead leaves and flowers from the water lily and plants surrounding the pond fell to the bottom of the pond. Even with a circulatory pump running, mosquitoes still lay eggs in the undisturbed part of the pond surface. In addition, the Lilydale topping path that turned green then black due to the moss needs to be attended. Unlike the Japanese who treat moss as part of the scheme of thing, I prefer my path stay whitish.

There are many gum trees and deciduous trees in my neighbourhood. The leaves from these trees are not fussy where they land after the wind subsides. My garden is just as good as someone else’s for landing!

I don't quite understand the part on "the downpipe connecting three gutters". Anything not forming part of your property but connected to yours may void certain clauses in the house insurance policy and do check with appropriate water and drainage authorities regarding whether any legislation is breached.

Making the most of the small outdoors (Post 1 of 2)

Posted to The Age (21/2/2012) on 21/2/2012 at 2:46 PM
Commenting on “Use your illusion: Making the most of the small outdoors”
http://theage.domain.com.au/design-and-living/use-your-illusion-making-the-most-of-the-small-outdoors-20120220-1tinw.html

How long will such beautiful courtyard last? People choose to live in a cubby house in overpriced inner suburbia are likely to be either overworked or over lazy in house work / garden maintenance. Even a small garden needs time and tender loving care. The water feature may look good and sound good, but soon the water trough will gather moss and algae, even with running water. Leaves from neighbouring trees can fall into the water, and need to be removed.

“Sow carrots. Baby carrots are ideal for troughs.” Baby carrots will become big carrots, and what can they be used besides feeding them to the pet rabbit? After baby carrots, what else can be grown in the trough, not another lot of baby carrots?

Just keep in mind anything that grows needs more attention than something that is dead or artificial!

Changing needs call for reinvention (Post 2 of 2)

Posted to The Age (21/2/2012) on 21/2/2012 at 2:15 PM
Commenting on “Changing needs call for reinvention”
http://theage.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/building-conversions-set-to-increase-20120217-1tck2.html

Who in the right mind could imagine Australia had to resort to high rise buildings for dwelling in the CBD like our nearest neighbours Singapore, Hong Kong and now China? It defies logic that people choose to live in cubicles not much bigger than a prison cell instead of living in big houses as an expression of freedom and success. The kitchen is no more than a show piece, because cafés, restaurants or fast food outlets are down the street. How amusing to hear that so many trendy City dwellers are health conscious!

How many people really make use of the balcony? I have not seen many people sitting out in the in the balcony enjoying the cold Melbourne winter or sunny afternoon. Practically speaking, it is good for hanging out the clothing to dry, but this will upset the management which forbids such eyesore practices, and so dwellers dry them in clothes dryer, a complete waste of energy, and rendered them as Green hypocrites. Well, can a building be given a 5-star rating if clothes dryers are used instead of the true solar energy?

Changing needs call for reinvention (Post 1 of 2)

Posted to The Age (21/2/2012) on 21/2/2012 at 2:13 PM
Commenting on “Changing needs call for reinvention”
http://theage.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/building-conversions-set-to-increase-20120217-1tck2.html

Melbourne is not prone to volcanic and seismic activities, but it does from time to time experiences minor earth tremor, not big enough to bring tall buildings down yet. However, Christchurch, New Zealand should be a wakeup call for multi-storey building owners and developers to have a closer look at their existing buildings to ensure that they can withstand something more than a Mickey Mouse earth movement and safety measures are taken to minimise casualties in unfortunate circumstances.

Many people are buying waterfront apartments to have calming and picturesque view of the water. Unfortunately, many owners of the lower floors of these buildings soon realise that the views are arrogantly blocked by “two-finger” salute of another high rise built in front of theirs.

Rendering is a waste of money, especially near the open sea, unless it is done properly. No wonder the pool of money contributed by the owners for future maintenance is known as the “sinking fund”! The southerly winds are harsh on the surfaces, and if erratic rainfall pattern were to continue in the long haul, rendered surfaces will look dirty and tired very quickly!

ANZ recruiting in Philippines as local jobs axed (Part 2 of 2)

Posted to The Age (19/2/2012) on 19/2/2012 at 12:22 PM (Not published by Newspaper)
Commenting on “ANZ recruiting in Philippines as local jobs axed”
http://www.theage.com.au/national/anz-recruiting-in-philippines-as-local-jobs-axed-20120218-1tg3l.html

Just in case some readers are not familiar with the basic accounting equation, profit or loss of a business is equal to income minus costs and expenses. Salaries, wages and superannuation, office rental, utilities, etc are costs and expenses, and since with less people around, the costs and expenses will be drastically cut. The profit will increase even if the income remains unchanged.

Are these CEO’s that smart to come out with these strategies? No, many just spend company’s money to engage consultants to plot against their own people! If part of the CEO’s reward is based on performance, this is the simplest way to make more profit without increasing sales!

How can these people go to bed with a clear conscience every night?

End 2 of 2 Parts

ANZ recruiting in Philippines as local jobs axed (Part 1 of 2)

Posted to The Age (19/2/2012) on 19/2/2012 at 10:26 AM
Commenting on “ANZ recruiting in Philippines as local jobs axed”
http://www.theage.com.au/national/anz-recruiting-in-philippines-as-local-jobs-axed-20120218-1tg3l.html

Whose jobs will be axed next?

For any major restructuring of a large organisation, the axe always starts from the lower rung of the leader. As the number of workhorses diminishes, supervision and management roles of the middle management are reduced, and so will the positions.

Well, you guess it right; once the middle managers are gone, the senior managers will be the next in line. I have come across a very senior manager from an Asian country who strategized the restructuring of the Australian operation received the same treatment after he had executed professionally many of his fellow colleagues.

The saddest thing is the senior managers are too naïve to think that they have done a good job and will be rewarded accordingly. The only ones that reap the benefit will be the CEO and Directorates, who claim the credit of turning the bottom line to show healthy profit.

End 1 of 2 Parts

Demetriou's pay drops as AFL records net loss

Posted to The Age (17/2/2012) on 17/2/2012 at 12:23 PM
Commenting on "Demetriou's pay drops as AFL records net loss"
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/demetrious-pay-drops-as-afl-records-net-loss-20120217-1tcwj.html

He does not play a game, make a loss and yet gets $1.8 million, just like many CEO's in many Australian companies.

Apathetic Australians in power or in control make this happen. A person with good character does not necessarily make a good business operator or leader.

PM wins votes but not voters

Posted to The Age (17/2/2012) on 17/2/2012 at 11:39 AM
Commenting on "PM wins votes but not voters"
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/pm-wins-votes-but-not-voters-20120216-1tbrn.html

The ways Labor spent money on all past projects can only be compared with people with pea brains. Two wrongs don't make one right!

Carbon capture storage (CCS) was doomed and carbon tax will cause many Australian businesses to doom. Two doomed carbon schemes don't make one oxygen breather for Australian business.

Don't let this pain and suffering to continue further after the next election. Julia Gillard got rid of Kevin Rudd, voters will get rid of Julia Gillard. Two hopeless leaders don't make one great Australia!

As for the Coalition, two negative knockings don't make one positive policy.

May I ask the Coalition why two parties in coalition cannot beat one?

Rents rise by 13% in sought-after suburb

Posted to The Age (15/2/2012) on 15/2/2012 at 1:48 PM
Commenting on "Rents rise by 13% in sought-after suburbs"
http://theage.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/rents-rise-by-13-in-soughtafter-suburbs-20120213-1t0e7.html

Most people, whether they are renters, owners and investors have not much or no idea at all about the costs of owning and keeping a property. With rising utility charges, rates, land tax, on top of bank interest charges, property owners are in no way laughing to the bank. In fact, the contrary is true.

When one wants to start a business, he/she has to prepare a business plan and many potential wise operators will even attend courses on how to manage business and basic accounting.

A few hundred thousand dollars investment in property is worth more than some small businesses, and yet I have not come across anyone to take the effort to learn about income, expenses, breakeven, small business operation/management, negotiation skill, demography, real estate market trend, etc. Some of the course items mentioned are not rocket science, but only very few real dummies will find these difficult to understand.

If the initial rent charged was low, there is a lot to catch up in rent increase. Investors are not saints, and they need to make a profit to justify their investment. Many properties purchased during the last few years were at highly inflated prices, and the rental return for property investors has been in the red. Unless they are other form of income to cover their shortfall, many will have to sell their investment properties to cut their losses. The cumulative loss is far more than the capital gain in the past few years.

Unfortunately, many investors cannot curb their losses even in the next seven years, unless annual rental increase over this period is at least double that of the inflation rate. By my calculation, some may even have to increase rent by 40% to achieve breakeven.

The Ugly Side of Online Shopping (Part 1 of 2)

Posted to The Age (11/4/2012) on 11/4/2012 at 9:00 PM
Commenting on "The ugly side of online shopping"
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/the-ugly-side-of-online-shopping-20120411-1wq5q.html

Time has changed and so must the retailers. Yes, I’m on the side of the retailers, because I can see that their livelihood is seriously being jeopardised. The price of an item sold includes many costs, and besides the brick-and-mortar cost, the running costs, and a large component is the service cost and the related on-cost for the staff. It is not unreasonable that if service is rendered, even though the item is not purchased, the business operator should have every reason to recoup the service cost incurred.

While Canberra Business Council’s intention may be good, their advice on adjusting to the business cycle is far from satisfactory. Many small business operators do not have the purchasing power and hence the bargaining power. Due to the size of our country, and low population density, cost of product distribution is very high. While the concept of jut-in-time may be appropriate for component usage in large manufacturing companies, this may not work for small ticket items in most retail outlets. The opportunity cost for losing sales will also have negative impact on business good will.

End of Part 1 of 2

Four Corners has Labor sides on edge

Posted to The Age (9/2/2012) on 9/2/2012 at 12:14 PM
Commenting on "Four Corners has Labor sides on edge"
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/four-corners-has-labor-sides-on-edge-20120208-1rezy.html

The strategy Liberal Party needs to adopt now is to "Conquer and Divide". Each Labor MP can serve only one master, either Julia Gillard or Kevin Rudd, and therefore, for each supporting group, the number of MPs is less than the total number of Liberal MPs working as a team.

If any Liberal MP is stupid enough to start infighting now, they should be sent to Christmas Island and never to be released! Liberal's infighting will cost the party missing the boat to win the next election, presumably an early one.

For the Liberal's leader, too much negativity can lead to voters' revolt. Prove to me why I should vote for the Party if I perceive the Party is nothing more than just a bunch of sour grapes, and cannot think of anything positive to say, such as how the Party can bring employment and prosperity back.

Unemployment and trade deficits are not just numbers. They represent jobs that bring home the bacon. They are the roots of many family breakup, depression, and other human sufferings.

Ten of thousands of home owners prepared to switch over rates

Posted to Herald Sun (9/2/2012) on 9/2/2012 at 2:58 AM
Commenting on "Ten of thousands of home owners prepared to switch over rates"
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/ten-of-thousands-of-home-owners-prepared-to-switch-over-rates/story-fn7x8me2-1226266201942

It's easier said than done. Furthermore, most people find it too troublesome to keep switching banks - CBA may be higher in interest rate today, but after switching ANZ may take the cake. This is no difference from shopping around for cheap petrol.

In many cases, real interest rates chargeable are not published publicly, and until one sits down to negotiate with the lender, there is no guarantee that the self-proclaimed bargain hunting expert actually wins the day.

Negotiation demands confidence and skills. Many borrowers are unlikely to do a good job when confronted by experienced professional lenders. Compounding this is that negotiation normally takes place at the lenders office, and therefore gives the lenders a winning edge, at least at the psychological level.

Borrowing approval criteria are getting more and more constrained; those whose income has been reduced due to reduced hours of work may not have the same borrowing power as before. Borrowers are stuck, and unable to refinance their loan at the same magnitude.

EastLink catches driver nappying

Posted to The Age (6/2/2012) on 6/2/2012 at 12:08 PM
Commenting on "EastLink catches driver nappying"
http://theage.drive.com.au/eastlink-catches-driver-nappying-20120205-1qztg.html

"You can exit and re-enter EastLink in the same trip, provided you keep in the same direction, don't repeat a section, and complete your trip within 60 minutes".

The rule is simple enough and not ambiguous to understand.

As a comparison, when a passenger travels on a train with a 2-hour ticket, 2 hours means 2 hours, or else he/she has to purchase a day ticket. Further to that argument, a day ticket cannot be used by a passenger who wants to stay overnight at some place and continues to use that ticket the next day.

Travelling on a toll way is a choice. The purpose of using it, for many people, is to cut down travelling time. If one wants to rest and have a bite-to-eat, why travel on the toll way unless that is the only way to travel on.

Tony Abbott's Try-A-Thon

Posted to The Age (4/2/2012) on 4/2/2012 at 11:32 AM
Commenting on "Tony Abbott's Try-A-Thon"
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/blogs/rocco-bloggo/tony-abbotts-tryathon-20120202-1quq4.html

Will the future Prime Minister of Australia stand up, please?

No one is trying harder than Tony Abbott at present to get the top job; he is determined to get it.

It is better for someone to declare his position, his vision no matter how unpalatable it is for the audience, than a little mouse who pussies around!

We don't really know how good or bad Tony Abbott will be until he gets there. Isn't it true for Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, too? They had big ambitions that caused more hardship, made promises not kept and spent money on projects that lined the pocket of the unscrupulous!

I always believe that those who sit all day will remain at the(ir) bottom(s)!

Rudd would not race to poll

Posted to The Age (4/2/2012) on 4/2/2012 at 11:08 AM
Commenting on "Rudd would not race to poll"
http://www.theage.com.au/national/rudd-would-not-race-to-poll-20120203-1qxwi.html

Until and unless Rudd becomes the Labor leader, he will not disappear in the wilderness. He will continue to destabilise the party, and create more uncertainty.

When someone including Rudd tells you positively that he is going for the top job, you know for sure he means what he says. On the contrary, if he tells you otherwise, there is no certainty the answer stands.

I place my bet on Rudd is going to challenge Gillard. Oh yes, personal glory comes before consequence!