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Friday, August 21, 2009



Global teams are like oceans: depending on how they are navigated, they can link the world together or split it apart. When global (or any national or remote) teams work, they tap into a company's top talent, exploit local expertise, unite far-flung groups and ramp up worldwide production. When they don't, they are divisive, spark massive miscommunication and drive projects into the ground ...
A Butterfly Flapping Its Wings, or How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference: For many global citizens the only way to spend the weekend is cold, wet and practically naked.
"We are the Bondi Icebergs,
the toughest men they breed.
Happy and contented,
cold water's all we need.
We're not soaks or crooners,
we just sing as we drink our beer.
So bring out all your schooners 'cause the 'Bergs are here."
- The Icebergs Anthem, written by Joe Wallace, 1940
The impact of the Internet on democracy is still in its infancy, and while we have seen some remarkable developments, some more difficult challenges have also come into view Cooking The Internet and democracy ;
Digital Streams Books will survive, but not on paper
When I read recently that sales of the new Kindle e-reader in the US have not been as huge as anticipated, I must confess that my first feeling was one of relief. In the course of the past week I have acquired a new phone that does everything but feed the cat and an equally complicated camera. Both have necessitated lengthy tutorials from my son and I'm going through a fit of technology overload.

When US digital guru Bob Stein and I sat down at the Melbourne Writers Festival last month to discuss the future of the book, we were searching for common ground. Bob is one of those guys who calls books user-driven media. I'm one of those women of a certain age who belongs to a book club and can't get on a plane without at least one novel in my hand luggage.


sanctity of an author's work ; [It was once believed a national ID card would be a threat to privacy. Nowadays we need one to protect us from big government Protection from Big Brother; Biologically speaking, humans are a remarkable, and quirky, species. The New Scientist magazine has published a list of the odd things we do everyday that don’t make a lot of sense. With all the scientific advancement, you’d think we know why we do the funny things we do ... But why do we create art, or dream, or pick our noses? The Funny Things Humans Do ]
• · Or does it sometimes take moral courage to stand up against authority? How important a quality is a strong ethical framework in a good leader? From Janusz Korczak to Bernard Madoff, what makes a person act ethically or unethically as the case may be? Laws may be introduced which actually exacerbate (if they don't actually create!) the very problems they were supposedly set up to solve... Is what is legal always ethical? ; One of the primary tasks assigned to the Government 2.0 Taskforce is to find ways for Government to use Web 2.0 tools to consult and collaborate with the public.However, while Web 2.0 has lowered technical barriers to communication, there are still a series of just as significant social barriers that remain.Government needs to learn new skills to be able to effectively listen to the public via Web 2.0. In particular, it needs to learn that the key to listening in the Web 2.0 world is to focus to the community Government 2.0 - it's the community, stupid
• · The high number of users on social-networking sites means malware can be distributed on a mass scale. Web sites such as Twitter are becoming increasingly favoured by hackers as places to plant malicious software in order to infect computers, according to a new study covering Web application security vulnerabilities. The study is part of the recently released latest Web Hacking Incidents Database (WHID) report. Hackers put social networks ; such as Twitter in crosshairs
• · · ; Themed issue of Canada's public service e-magazine includes profiles of a wide cross section of Canadian public servants working in innovative ways.
People behind public service innovations
• · · · According to a report by Reuters (Zurich) bankers and industry experts say the US tax probe against Swiss bank UBS has killed traditional offshore banking, and wealth managers will have to improve their offers to survive ; Do we trust too much? As individuals and working in organisations, trust has to be developed and tempered. Learning to read the cues and clues better while developing receptive behaviours will improve the environment for all. Rethinking trust and brand
• · · · · The number of Internet users is forecast to grow 45% globally over the next four years, reaching 2.2 billion by 2013. More people online, more data to hack -- it's a cybercriminal's paradise. Many people don't yet fully understand the enormity of the threat - to individuals, their families and the companies that they work for. Information security: why cyberciminals are smiling ; The dangers of posting sensitive personal information on social networking sites are well known, but a researcher has now revealed how data mining these sites can dig up undisclosed personal - or corporate – information Mining social networks for clues ; Government policies change with the times, but the importance of government being accountable for its performance and the use of public funds remains constant The Business of Government: why public sector management must evolve
• · · · · · A legislative framework is required to govern the establishment and operation of official inquiries at the federal level, to ensure that such inquiries have adequate investigatory powers while at the same time ensuring the protection of the rights of individuals concerned ALRC calls for greater flexibility, more options for Royal Commissions and other official inquiries, ; Strengthening evidence-based policy: an introduction to the Roundtable ; Disclosure of information: rights and obligations of Australian Public Service employees

Wednesday, August 19, 2009



Sometimes we experience grief which is so heart breaking and it is impossible to come to terms with monster acts. We do not go through grief and come out the other side the same as we were before the loss. Grief changes people. The death of my sister Aga changed me as death of Peter changed Leon. We desperately want everything to be the same as it was before the loss. This unachievable desire, simultaneously so natural and so understandable ... yet

When Leon Savage's 16-year-old brother Peter was murdered 14 years ago he told reporters he felt no anger towards his killer, only sorrow.
But faced with the prospect of seeing his alleged murderer in court the staunch Christian today said he would find it hard to keep his negative emotions at bay Arrests open 'old wounds' for brother of Peter Savage ; Man charged over 1995 schoolboy murder

Tuesday, August 18, 2009



Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit places only once a year. I visited the NSW Parliament as Andrew Tink was launching his book at the NSW Parliamentary Chambers. The Governor: Professor Marie Bashir AC Professor Bashir, the first woman to be appointed Governor of NSW, who took up her office on 1 March 2001 made a number of complimentary observations including the fact that every library should have a copy of Andrew’s book. She quoted Wentworth is stating that the squatters’ 8 million sheep and half a million cattle provided an annual income of $2 million pounds. By contrast, Sydney merchants were simply engaged in exchanging one commodity for another … productive of absolutely nothing.. The current Speaker Richard Torbay who was inspired by John Hatton to enter politics explained in a very entertaining way the reasons why Andrew picked William Charles Wentworth - because he was very important to the way we live today in two ways, the first was opening up new grazing lands by going over the Blue Mountains, but most importantly the way the government system was set up to today. Andrew gave us a number of vinaigrett such as this story He designation of William Charles Wentworth as “Australia’s greatest native son” is that of Manning Clark. William Charles Wentworth: Australia’s Greatest Native Son - Review Racy view of a rollicking life: The Australian

CODA: When Andrew Tink walked away from a distinguished career as a Liberal state MP, he knew his serious health concerns would one day take hold Andrew Tink

Outside Edge Pioneers of the Ryanair revolution
Is Michael O’Leary a child of the Soviet Union, something of a fellow traveller? OK, it might not be the first thing one associates with Ryanair’s Irish boss, the very personification of raw business drive who turned a struggling low-cost airline into a successful profit machine – all the while railing at bloated competitors and deploying a mischievous turn of phrase to generate more coverage than any marketing budget could ever deliver.


The reason I ask is that as thoughts now turn to tales of delays and lost baggage, I am transported back to the late 1970s when as a young westerner living in the Soviet Union I was presented with a vision of the future. It came in the form of a prim lecture from an official on the superiority of aviation under communism. Not only was it far more extensive and cheaper than in the west, it was less elitist. While back home air travel was for the few, in the USSR it was for the many – just another mode of public transport. Aeroflot, the national carrier, was both the world’s biggest airline and one of the cheapest, so catching the red-eye to Vladivostok was as easy as hopping on the Number 2 trolley bus on Kutuzovsky Prospekt.


Idealism and anger t; [The mountains around the cold war horizon began to wobble and fall over A time when hope replaced repression; Recently, the Minister for Finance and Deregulation addressed the International Corporate Governance Network 2009 Annual Conference held in Sydney. Mr Tanner discussed the future of corporate governance and, in particular, corporate and financial regulation in the post-recession global economy. He noted that "perhaps the most important lesson to take from the crisis is the need to build institutional and regulatory frameworks which fit the modern economy. FUTURE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE]
• · Stoppard is not the only playwright who has been provoked by the divisions of the cold war into thinking about psychological as well as political splitsThe art and culture of the year of revolt; Havel, Schwarzenberg and other East European politicians: Why did they write to Obama?
• · They say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. —Andy Warhol Do The Warhol—Part 3: The Velvet (Underground) Revolution; Central Europe: Naïve Nostalgia
• · · Sir, John Lloyd views the aspirational society through the prism of the educated elite John Lloyd ; A university degree is not everything ; Nelson Mandela: assessing the icon
• · · · George Burns noted that the secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible. 'The best in the business' reveal their secrets on how to nail a speech. Here are 15 foolproof tips to improve your public speaking, presentations and pitches. Never resort to stock standard phrases like 'thinking outside the box' ever again 15 secrets of a great speech
• · · · · Email overload can ruin your vacation. One solution: social media like Twitter, blogs and wikis to tame your inbox. How to stop email from ruining your summer vacation ; While it's impossible to escape every social networking threat out there, there are steps one can take to significantly reduce the risks. Here are seven typical security mistakes people make and how to avoid them Seven deadly sins of social networking security

Tuesday, August 11, 2009



WHAT is it about news in the 21st century that makes people so vehemently opposed to paying for it?

Chicago Tribune Media Group this week officially launched Media Dragons under the label ChicagoNow.com, a network of more than 70 local blogs on a variety of Chicago-area interests 70 local blogs on a variety of Chicago-area interests We think of it as an online townsquare where we talk about the real Chicago with each other Chicago Google

To accept or not to accept: The mix of payment, social networking and work Think again Rupert - consumers refuse to pay for online content
Rupert Murdoch’s plans to charge consumers to access the online content of The News of the World, The Times and The Sun, have been dealt a fresh blow by research which shows few UK consumers would be willing to pay for content they can currently access for free

Quality journalism is not cheap, and an industry that gives away its content is simply cannibalizing its ability to produce good reporting


Murdoch Dragons ; [Can Rupert Murdoch save the newspaper industry by making people pay to read the news online? WHAT is it about news in the 21st century that makes people so vehemently opposed to paying for it? ; Google GOOGLE is working to revamp its search engine as Microsoft muscles in on its territory Google working on new web search process ]
• · One of the easiest ways to promote yourself is by keeping a blog A GOOGLE search to define “tribe” reveals “a social group of humans connected by a shared system of values and organised for mutual care ; You've read the big social media blogs, followed the pundits' advice and tweaked your social media profile to your heart's content. Make your social media presence even more engaging with ideas from these 3 inspired social media profiles: Three Inspired Social Media Profiles
• · · A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for CEOs Say: How To Be An Executive Blogger ; It is not what it used to be The Future of MEdia Dragons
• · · · Rational beliefs in atheism will never entirely win out, for they are a total misunderstanding of human nature. Religion: is it forever? ; Protecting the book industry panders to the cultural cringe. Death of author unlikely
• · · · · THE Sun-Herald's state political editor, Lisa Carty, is preparing to walk down the aisle with former veteran NSW political reporter with Ten, Paul Mullins, in December. The former father of the NSW Press Gallery, Mullins spent 35 years covering state governments from Sir Robert Askin to Morris Iemma before leaving last year to set up his own government relations consultancy. Carty was former deputy editor of the Illawarra Mercury and editor of the North Shore Times before taking the gig at state parliament two years ago. It is the second marriage for both of them Gallery pair tie the knot ; The use of CCTV footage to spy on reporters is unprecedented in the history of this parliament and constitutes an unacceptable development, to say the least. We have sought an assurance from the presiding officers that it never occurs again Simon Benson President NSW Press Gallery State Political Editor, The Daily Telegraph ; So it seems the main source for Salusinszky's story was an open door in a public area of the Parliament building - and briefing documents left Lying around for anyone to take

Friday, August 07, 2009



The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.

Heart of Europe at Bondi Junction provided for a lovely gathering with Gina, Richard and John. John shared a number of images with us all taken around the old stamping ground of Darling Point A never-say-die friendship

Do not protect yourself by a fence, but rather by your friends.
- Czech Proverb


In a democracy, its your vote that counts. In feudalism, its your count that votes.

It took a lot to frighten the Stasi, East Germany's notorious secret police, but the moonwalking Michael Jackson and rock bank Pink Floyd managed to do it. Beat it: how Jacko's Berlin show panicked Stasi The Plastic People of the Universe was the name of perhaps the greatest obscure rock band of all time and their incredible story ranks as one of the truest examples of artistic perseverance and art imitating life in the entire history of Rock and Roll. Formed in 1968 following the Soviet invasion of their beloved Czechoslovakia, the Plastic People of the Universe suffered immeasurably for their simple desire to make their own music. His story of Rock and Roll

Best government money can buy? Fellowship of the ring of new mates
Labor is again coming under the sway of a ruling clique, but is this one up to the calibre of its renowned predecessors?

In politics, the mates must not rate
WAYNE Goss is entirely right to say standards have slipped in Queensland. Since the jailing of former minister Gordon Nuttall for soliciting bribes, revelations have oozed out of the state Labor machine about the way party players in the state make money from their ability to ensure businesspeople meet the ministers and mandarins they believe they need to know. But they have not slipped very far. Even after the changes that followed the Fitzgerald inquiry's revelations of the corruption that cursed the state in the Bjelke-Petersen years, the standards were never all that alpine. While four conservative ministers went to prison over corruption, Labor's recent record is not good. Mr Nuttall is serving a sentence and his former cabinet colleague Merri Rose was sentenced for trying to blackmail then premier Peter Beattie.


Fellowship of the ring of new mates ; [FORMER state and federal Labor minister Laurie Brereton has been paid thousands of dollars for representing the world's biggest ports operator, which was awarded a $530million Queensland government contract Laurie Brereton was paid to help port corp ; Goss backs Fitzgerald's Qld corruption concerns
; Lobbyists lying about ability to sway decisions: Anna Bligh ]
• · TRINITY, the company at the centre of the Labor mates furore in Queensland, is facing a new crisis after the superannuation funds whose cash it invests demanded it be dumped as fund manager. New crisis for company at centre of Labor mates furore; Who's who of Labor in the lobby business
• · SEATED discreetly in the rear table at one of Brisbane's better known corporate canteens, Il Centro, at lunch yesterday were former state and federal minister Santo Santoro and Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale. Queensland lobbying firms make a name for their clients; THE owner of a floating male strip club has won the $15 million to $20 million tender for a big maritime development near the Sydney Fish Markets. Tripodi opens door for strip club boss
• · · John Finnin held a top-secret security clearance from the Federal Government until July 2006, at a time it was alleged he was involved in an international child sex ring. No charges were laid on this matter. Sex predator tipped off by officials; THE former chief executive of the failed fuel technology company Firepower, John Cornelius Alphonsus Finnin, has been found guilty of 23 child sex charges. A web of sex chat with under-age boys
• · · · Turn page on archaic book laws ; THE Australian Labor Party has gone back to the future, appointing the advertising agency that created Gough Whitlam's successful "It's Time" campaign in 1972 to handle its federal re-election bid ALP says it's time for It's Time again
• · · · · Many former stars in either the AFL or the NRL end up with football jobs for life. They go on to become coaches, club administrators, player agents and, above all, media commentators. The same is true in politics. Productive lives after politics; In the last chapter of Battlelines, there’s a reference to my previous appearance before the National Press Club. Tony Abbott - National Press Club
• · · · · · The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran. Bob Carr's 'Sydney is full' ; Rudd policies on people’s bank, free trade, health: It’s not Labor, it’s fascism

Monday, August 03, 2009



When Computers Leave Classrooms, So Does Boredom 'Teaching Naked' at SMU

Hollow Victory The Friday Five: Forecasters and Futurists
The best forecasters and futurists in the Boston area.

From Cambridge-based Forrester Research, a collection of blogs on everything from data security to interactive marketing to consumer products. My two favorites are Forrester CEO George Colony's blog, and Josh Bernoff's blog on social technologies.


Social technologies; [As media giants band together to reinvent themselves in the digital age, potentially sharing everything from online video sites to DVD distribution, they have to be careful not to raise antitrust hackles. Hollywood dealmaking risks antitrust scrutiny; Best Job in the World” winner Ben Southall, who's being paid to promote Australia's tropical islands, is under fire for his online diary, with followers saying it sheds little light on what a Abnormal tourist would experience ]
• · Coolest Gadget Winner ; How a Pulitzer Winner Prepared for a Chron Buyout
• · Checkout' Girl Cashes In With Best-Selling Memoir Blog: Where Are They Now?; Knowing your checkout chicks and neighbors best way to fight crime ; Google on Crime; Wealthy shift tax burden to others
• · · It's pretty amazing what passes for good news these days MuscleMarketing.Blogspot.com as a Top Internet Marketing Blog; Joys Of Being A Blogger – My Ex-Wife Was Nicer To Me!
• · · · Ask my Millennial: Know your blog's audience; There was a time in this country when a company reporting a few billion in earnings could count its money while basking in polite, reverent applause Windfalls for Bankers, Resentments for the Rest
• · · · · The bad old days of bull semen partnerships may not return, but I suspect the financial Merlins are already cooking up new shelters for what promises to be a booming new market ; The joint Lords and Commons Human Rights Committee has waded in to support freelance IT contractors hit by tax demands going back up to seven years, following the retrospective closure of a £200m tax avoidance scheme
• · · · · · EthicalJobs.com.au is a new jobs website which promotes "work for a better world" – it connects people looking for an ethical job or career with employers from the not-for-profit, business & government sectors who see their organisations as contributing to a more equitable, more just or more sustainable world EthicalJobs.com.au; While the various wars on drugs have failed as a public policy, they have often succeeded as a political strategy ; The jobs of the future are beginning to be shaped right now, in the world of work, On the track of ignorance ; Nothing has prepared today's leaders for the current economic situation. As a result, managers who were once balanced and poised are being knocked off their feet, with their teams feeling the brunt of their increasingly ineffective behaviour Managing during the downturn ; Company politics, stonewalling, layoffs - sometimes it's part and parcel of the security job. Here are one CISO's takeaways. Surviving layoffs: five career lessons from the security trenches