Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Diamond Wedding Anniversary Gabbie's 27: What key quality should Australia’s next PM have?

Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself. You bring to a novel, anything you read, all your experience of the world. You bring your history and you read it in your own terms
— Angela Carter, born in 1940

B and D: To the happy couple on your 60th anniversary. These days, loyalty and faithfulness are not as common as they should be. Your example to us is admirable.


Twenty seven is a really weird age; it is when people is in their late and mid-twenties at the same time and get to enjoy the benefits of both worlds






Jayani Nadarajalingam, via Pursuit
What prime-ministerial characteristics should be demonstrated in contemporary Australia?





Labor promises public servants above-inflation pay rises and APS-wide conditions




RISK-TAKING: Fraught with political danger but continuous discussion shows it’s a good idea.


'Nothing a user could have done': WhatsApp hack let spies hijack phones - Sydney Morning Herald



Harvard Business Review – Paul J. Zack: “Companies are twisting themselves into knots to empower and challenge their employees. They’re anxious about the sad state of engagement, and rightly so, given the value they’re losing. Consider Gallup’s meta-analysis of decades’ worth of data: It shows that high engagement—defined largely as having a strong connection with one’s work and colleagues, feeling like a real contributor, and enjoying ample chances to learn—consistently leads to positive outcomes for both individuals and organizations. The rewards include higher productivity, better-quality products, and increased profitability.
So it’s clear that creating an employee-centric culture can be good for business. But how do you do that effectively? Culture is typically designed in an ad hoc way around random perks like gourmet meals or “karaoke Fridays,” often in thrall to some psychological fad. And despite the evidence that you can’t buy higher job satisfaction, organizations still use golden handcuffs to keep good employees in place. While such efforts might boost workplace happiness in the short term, they fail to have any lasting effect on talent retention or performance.
In my research I’ve found that building a culture of trust is what makes a meaningful difference. Employees in high-trust organizations are more productive, have more energy at work, collaborate better with their colleagues, and stay with their employers longer than people working at low-trust companies. They also suffer less chronic stress and are happier with their lives, and these factors fuel stronger performance…”





… Paul Davis On Crime: My Washington Times Review of 'Mafia Spies: The Inside Story Of The CIA, Gangsters, JFK, And Castro'.





If you thought the climax of the Hollywood epic 'The Mueller Probe' was behind us and the credits were already rolling, think again.

The main characters are still plotting, and the drama has some way to run.

Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for a major legal battle over the report's redacted bits and underlying evidence.



Related: The Hero Solution to the Mass-Shooting Contagion. “We’re now remembering the heroes’ names more than the shooters. The shooters failed in two of their core missions — to kill large numbers of victims and achieve enduring fame. And if they keep failing, I wonder . . . could the mass-shooting contagion finally start to break?”