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Media Dragon was blogging since before there were blogs ;-)You can spend your time piping petroleum in protected public parks, peddling pro-life propaganda for unplanned pregnancies, and putting lipstick on pigs, polar bears, and police state politics. There are Chasers on War on Everything who provide poignant parodies of political party's predictable platforms and pathetic public policies
Despite what some graduates are told by executives during work experiences success is not everything. Once we learn to define failure as an opportunity to learn, instead of a reason to be ashamed, the better our lives will be. No shame in failing

Lessons From the Poor Turmoil sends US stocks tumbling
There can have been few weeks in the history of the global financial markets that have seen events of such magnitude as that we have just witnessed.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=137390

• Financial Frankenstein ; [Treasury Opens Vault; Gangs of Robbers Rush In,; Does Wall Street Have a Death Wish? ; Google on Stephen King’s Anatomy of Economic Meltdown ]
• · An enduring myth of economic development is that lifting poor countries out of poverty requires transfers of wealth from rich countries--usually through grants, cheap credit and subsidies. In a recent op-ed for Barron's, and based on his recent book Lessons from the Poor: Triumph of the Entrepreneurial Spirit, Independent Institute Senior Fellow Alvaro Vargas Llosa argues that government transfers have little to do with economic success. The dirt-poor ; Half the people in the world live on two dollars or less per day and roughly 600 million live on no more than one dollar per day. The Triumph of the Entrepreneurial Spirit
• · Both McCain and Obama claim to promote "change." Skepticism comes not only from doubting their willingness to implement meaningful change, but also in their ability to do so. Change Congress, Urges Donald Downs: A New Congress Would be Change to Believe in; Political cartoons are a ubiquitous form of satire which assists the public to interpret political life How political, satirical cartoons illustrated Australia's workchoices debate
• · · In The Blogging Revolution Antony Loewenstein takes us on a personal journey through some of the more difficult places in the world to blog. Iran, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and China. Holidays in blogging hell; SOMETIMES language can obscure as much as it reveals, particularly when the world changes faster than our ability to create new vocabulary Before we criticise Media Dragons and bloggers, let’s define our terms
• · · · Malcolm is an iceberg swimmer and a character who even swam the Cold River - Malcolm Turnbull had no idea, as he was wafting home to Australia at the weekend from Venice, that within days he would be installed as Liberal leader. His own judgement, for once, was to go gently - to let Brendan Nelson's foundering leadership die a natural death, and not to push anything. But Nelson wasn't going to wait around for that ignominious end He took the plunge - and landed badly; Malcolm Turnbull could reshape the Liberal Party and, ultimately, Australia Turnbull the great contradiction ; Australia has never had a political leader quite like Malcolm Turnbull. The rise of Malcolm Turnbull ; The term poisoned chalice wasn’t coined for nothing;

• · · · · Like my surname, Malcolm Turnbull is a rich man. Estimates of his net worth range from $125 million to $140million, which easily makes him the wealthiest man in federal politics. In the vernacular, he is a silvertail, though most people know his wealth and influence came by dint of hard work and application rather than as a result of having been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Turnbull's Turn; Voters impressed by wealth of ideas ; Kerry Packer's ambitions for the Fairfax empire came unstuck with the sundering of his friendship with Malcolm Turnbull. FEW if any media issues in Australian history have provoked such a widespread and strong public response as Kerry Packer's 1991 bid to buy 14.99 per cent of Fairfax as part of the Tourang syndicate with the (now disgraced) Canadian press proprietor Conrad Black and the American private equity group, Hellman and Friedman. Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser had barely spoken to each other in the 16 years following the vice-regal dismissal of Whitlam’s government in November 1975, but in 1991, for the first time ever, they shared a political platform to oppose this threat of yet further media concentration. How Packer slipped on Fairfax - with help from Malcolm Turnbull
• · · · · · Without links, the Liberals are doomed Without ideas, the Liberals are doomed ; Google Does it better; Political links

CODA: Malcolm and I also love the BA Pool not just the icy berg - 100 YEARS SINCE "THE BOY" COMPETED IN THE OLYMPICS Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool

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The mill of the gods grinds slowly, they say, but it grinds exceeding small. In Washington, something very like the mill of the gods is the GAO (Government Accountability Office), whose anonymous researchers crank out facts about nearly everything the government does. Without opprobrious adjectives, the GAO just publishes facts and numbers with a droll combination of fearless frankness and resolute neutrality ("average cost of can opener for base kitchen in Kibangistan, $150," a report might say, its language primly denuded of words like "exorbitant" or "outrageous"). In a word—why pay taxes when you can buy politicians?

Who matters There comes a point in your life when you realize
LABOR'S Prague Spring is over. The election of a factionally unaligned Prime Minister who picked his own front bench rather than roll over for the party heavies was not, it turns out, a new dawn for Labor more widely.

Some saw the rise of Kevin Rudd as a tipping point, the equivalent of Tony Blair's Clause Four moment, when the political arm of Britain's Labour Party finally asserted its authority over the industrial arm.
How foolish we were to dream such dreams, for as the ugly events in NSW have shown this week, when party headquarters gives the order, the tanks come crashing through the gate

• My Two Decades At NSW Bear Pit reflected in one week of turmoil; [ SEEING the pitiful demise of the once all-powerful New South Wales Labor Right is like witnessing first hand the collapse of the Roman Booze, techno and undies ; TWO days before his surprise resignation, the former premier Morris Iemma confronted the right-wing faction leader Joe Tripodi, the man he had regarded as a key lieutenant, and accused him of betrayal NSW Bear Pit ; Google on NSW]
• · The decision to stand up and say ‘enough’ is rarely easy and too often carries heavy costs, Senator Faulkner said. We depend very much on whistleblowers to alert us to misconduct and malfeasance ; WHISTLEBLOWERS who expose major government fraud would be financially rewarded with a proportion of public funds recovered, under a radical scheme presented to the Rudd Government. Reward plan for major fraud whistleblowers
• · Former premier Morris Iemma has blamed his forced resignation on the Finance Minister and ALP numbers man Joe Tripodi.In an interview with the Herald last night he also urged his successor Nathan Rees to keep the North West Metro project because a metro system Iemma dumps on Tripodi and Costa ; THE jailed former Labor MP Milton Orkopoulos is adamant that the Premier, Nathan Rees, did not know about his involvement with teenage boys when working as his chief of staff, because he had been clever enough to fool even those closest to him Rees didn't know: Orkopoulos ; Mr O'Grady told The Sunday Telegraph: "Nathan raised the issue with me on at least two, if not three, occasions. I said to him: 'As someone who wants to be a [political] candidate, do you think that's an intelligent question to ask?' 'As someone who wants to be a [political] candidate
• · · Voters stuck it to the NSW government big time with the message that sacking an elected council is not on. Sending a message to Macquarie Street; THEY call her "the Grim" for short and Reba Meagher's haughtiness during a 14-year parliamentary career was up and running yesterday as she delivered one last raspberry to Nathan Rees, the man Labor chose to sweep up the mess she and others left behind. Grim Reba
• · · · Rare insight into the Bear Pit where I spent two decades serving outside the corridors of power. Some poker hands can never win. The NSW Labor Right and Sussex Street ALP headquarters dealt Nathan Rees such a hand. He made a Faustian deal to get the premiership, surrendering any chance of the fresh start he crowed about at his elevation eight days ago. The price of ambition fulfilled was to be stuck with the very powerbrokers and bit players who have besmirched the Government's standing. Losing Joe Tripodi, Eddie Obeid and Eric Roozendaal would have made a good start to a fresh start, but they remain entrenched as ever. The joker is wild ; Wood
• · · · · JUST after midday on Thursday, June 26, one of the most powerful media executives in Australia, John Westacott, caught a taxi to the NSW parliament to visit his state political reporter, Adam Walters.Westacott, the Nine Network's head of news and current affairs, had told Walters he wanted to see him for "a cup of tea". But when Westacott asked a cameraman to leave the room, Walters realised something was up. Westacott said yesterday that he wanted to visit Walters to give him a "tip" that the powers that be in the Labor Party were moving to replace premier Morris Iemma with Nathan Rees. The move was slated to happen in October. Walters sees it very differently. "Instead of getting the cup of tea all I got was a shit sandwich," he said this week. According to notes Walters took afterwards, Westacott told him that key people in the Labor Party "don't like us -- Channel Nine -- and they don't like you". It's not surprising some in the Government didn't like Walters. A story the journalist had broken the year before exposing a cover-up led to the resignation of police minister Carl Scully and earned him a Walkley nomination. He also did a sensitive story about Rees, then a Labor staffer, and Milton Orkopoulos, a minister now serving a 13-year jail sentence for child-sex and drug charges. Walters asked Westacott bluntly if he was talking about former Labor senator Graham Richardson and Labor identity Peter Barron? Secret deals behind Morris Iemma ousting ; POLITICS is a rough, tough, hard and brutal business
• · · · · · UK Spin doctor Adam Walters acts out career switch ; LORD ASHCROFT, deputy chairman of the Conservative party, has channelled money into party funds from the Central American tax haven of Belize, despite a ban on overseas donations Lord Ashcroft funds Tories from Belize tax haven

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Who amongst us has never unleashed some trivia at unsuspecting friends or family members? Could my daughter Gabbie be numero 3 (III) at the General Pants foto shoot competition. As the young teen, Gabbie and her sister Sasha used to beat all kinds of potential Olympic swimmers during the school competitions and now in their mid teens one is shooting at the stars with her peep hole while Alex is melting down music live venues such as the Kellet Street Melt bar

A couple of days ago I came across a list of what are supposed to be must-grab careers of the future. So here is my list which will win you praise, love, inspiration and the lifestyle of your dreams. Let’s start simple. The ability to tell stories has been admired since humans first gathered round a campfire. Now, with cultures merging and technology connecting everybody with anybody, storytelling will become even more highly sought after. Not everyone can do it well, but we all have a spark of the storyteller in us and it’s a skill to nurture. Where storyteller merges into mythmaker, that’s where the future lies. Creative Commons of Foto Magic

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Lucky Teen 13 ... Happy Birthday Godson OLEK - Military way for 15th September

History is a subject rich in insight for executive decision making and behaviour History does the executive suite ; Future - Leadership and Social Change: Making a Difference in the World

Hasta la Beijinsta True Patriotism at the Olympics
Becky Hammon, Liang Chow, and Kobe Bryant gave spectators of the Beijing Olympics something to remember besides athletic achievement. According to Independent Institute Senior Fellow Alvaro Vargas Llosa, all three individuals exemplified the original meaning of the modern Olympic games--not collectivist nationalism, but universal fraternity. Vargas explains why in "True Patriotism," his latest column for the Washington Post Writers Group.

At a time when some critics see the United States as increasingly nationalistic, NBA star and U.S. Olympic basketball player Kobe Bryant gave European journalists interviews in Italian (which he learned growing up in Italy) and Spanish (which he learned from an L.A. Lakers teammate). An even more dramatic example of a universal, non-nationalistic ideal came from former the current U.S. women's gymnastics coach Liang Chow. This former Beijing resident helped Shawn Johnson win a gold medal on the balance beam and thereby taught the collectivist government in Beijing about the power of the individual. Vargas Llosa characterizes this lesson as more powerful than the protestors' attempts at demonstrating against repression in Tibet during the games.
And then there was the personal drama in women's basketball: Becky Hammon, who plays pro basketball for the San Antonio Silver Spurs but could not make the U.S. Olympic team, endured criticism from the U.S. women's coach for competing on the side of Russia. A traitor? asks Vargas Llosa. No, an heir to America's grandest tradition: the right to the pursuit of happiness.
Despite the best intentions of the Baron de Coubertin, the French aristocrat credited with reviving the Olympic Games in the 19th century, the international competition has as much to do with collectivist nationalism as it does with universal fraternity," continues Vargas Llosa. "Any individual act, however small, that tears down a nationalist barrier during the Olympics should be applauded as restoring the games' true meaning.

• True Patriots ; [ The Art and Science of Leadership; Right push for Turnbull-Abbott team How many effective leaders do we have in leadership positions? Death knell for a failed leadership ]
• · Political courage and leadership, not partisan finger-pointing and brinkmanship, are needed to navigate the current economic downturn InRICH: Brinkmanship Is No Substitute for Leadership ; NSW Labor was also in damage control after its dramatic leadership shake-up on Friday, which saw Morris Iemma's sudden exit as premier. THE State Government has scrapped laws requiring MPs to disclose the address of their homes and investment properties. New laws hide MPs' property assets
• · Back in 1999 the NSW Auditor General Tony Harris was concerned about the states having several books just like the Mafia or the black economy The States are in a State ; The NSW Labor government must now correct the last three years of neglect under Morris Iemma and his cabinet Rees: I'm in charge, not the factions; 'Underpants' minister loses job
• · · It is critical that leaders understand who they are and how their identity affects their capacity to communicate (and to collaborate). Leaders need to model the kind of communication that they view as critical to the success of their organisation The new leadership challenge: removing the emotional barriers to sustainable performance in a flat world ; The Age's editor Andrew Jaspan was the first staff member sacked. FAIRFAX LEADERSHIP
• · · · A symposium [on 4 July] organised by CSIRO and the Statistical Society of Australia will explore how technology is generating masses of information and creating exciting home-grown opportunities for new services for business, government and consumers. Symposium to explore opportunities from the information explosion ; Abstracts of papers
• · · · · Most organisations will state that their people are their most important assets. However, not as many managers personally act as though this is true. The talent lie ; The best change leaders work hard to create supporters out of skeptics and to change the minds of rational opponents On leadership: cherish the resistors and Media Dragons
• · · · · · More and more organisations across the globe are facing the challenge of diversity management. This article looks at the negative effects on employees who experience discrimination and exclusion in the workplace. Exclusive workplace systems; The cross-enterprise leader is someone who, at any level of leadership, sees the issues and analyses them, and then acts with the interests and perspectives of the total enterprise in mind. The cross enterprise leader

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All books are either dreams or swords, you can cut, or you can drug with words. Words are the most powerful drugs used by mankind. Getting it first and getting it write what a tension …

Blogs offer a window into mainly middle-class segments of societies rarely examined in the West. Speaking for themselves - the culture of blogging; BLOGGING is an inelegant term for an often inelegant activity. It is easy to be turned off by bloggers for whom civil discourse equates to personal insult — anonymously delivered — but this undersells the vast range of blogging swirling through cyberspace. Bloggers lead revolution - Lindsay Tanner blogs exclusively for Business Day

Hungry Media Dragon The Emotional Digital Tribe
As it evolves, who can miss the fact that the Internet is becoming more and more emotional? To claim it was an emotional place even five years ago raised eyebrows

Many people, and not only young ones, have learnt to share how they feel online in ways that would have been inconceivable when we began our tentative attempts at those mysterious functions: email, browsing, search, purchasing and blogging. If you still have doubts about this reshaping of cyberspace, visit We Feel Fine. This wonderful site is the brain child (or is it lovechild?) of Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar. The site is inspired by a simple idea about a simple phrase. The phrase is “I feel” (or “I am feeling”) and the idea is to gather together all the instances where it appears on the Web. Harris and Kamvar then present them in what they call 'six movements'. This has nothing to do with orchestral music, and is all about six different and interesting ways they have identified to theme their examples. And, as usual, examples explain the idea best:
I feel pretty.
I feel I don’t really have a clue what love is.
I feel the ghosts were cool but unnecessary.
I feel so lonely.
I feel like every time I find a product I really rave about, they change it.
I feel that I’m somehow being blackmailed into using Facebook.
Etc. Etc.

• Strangely compelling; [The Blogging Revolution author Antony Loewenstein introduces us to members of the Digital tribe ; Finally the power of paradox is gaining ground. F. Scott Fitzgerald probably captured the idea best when he suggested that "The ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function is the sign of a first-rate intelligence Either/Or are driven crazy ]
• · It’s said we may be heading for the big R - recession. If that’s the case, how will the arts be affected? The state of the arts in tough economic times; Funner. Impactful. Blowiest. What do all these words have in common? Someone, somewhere, is using them with a disclaimer like I know it's not a real word ... Chillax: if it works like a word, just use it
• · Spring of Quotes; Google: Wall Street Correspondent Lehman Brothers effectively put itself up for sale yesterday alongside a last-ditch restructuring to stem Blogging Quotes ; Live-Blogging the Lehman Conference Call- Wall Street - Deal Journal is blogging the conference call, which is hosted by CEO Dick Fuld and Bart McDade Blogging Media Dragons
• · · Internet campaigners for civil liberties and women's rights pay a high price for their "online crimes" Battle of the blogs; Steve Jobs has taken the stage at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco and he looks about as thin as he did at the Worldwide Developers Conference. But he acknowledged the controversy swirling around his health by pointing to a sentence on the screen that read, "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. Blogging live from the Apple event
• · · · As the rabbi of Congregation Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem in Cote St. Luc, Quebec, 46-year-old Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz not only gives sermons from the bimah, he has also found a way to offer words of wisdom through a virtual pulpit, by blogging. Blogging rabbis reach out to the world ; Elected government officials and members of the news media often are engaged in a strange, sometimes awkward dance in which each partner tries to lead without stepping too hard on the other's toes Rolly: Blogging legislators blast the Deseret News and reporters over news story
• · · · · Last month in Washington we got a rare look inside the global private banking industry, whose high purpose it is to gather up the assets of the world's wealthiest people and many of its worst villains, and shelter them from tax collectors, prosecutors, creditors, disgruntled business associates, family members and each other HMRC gives British investors in tax havens a chance to come clean in exchange for reduced penalties ; A Wordpress lead developer has described the Philippine blogging community as “impressive and very organized RP blogging community
• · · · · · With blogging, it is possible the only real protection is to stay anonymous. It worked for London prostitute Belle de Jour, and while it can be frustrating not to get the acknowledgement you feel you deserve for your insightful polemic and creativity, it's altogether safer. When personal and professional worlds collide: Social networking and blogging ; The whole subject smacks of narcissism. Why Blog???

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Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.
- Mother Theresa, spoken like the true Virgo she was

Some birthdays are milestones in a young person’s life. Obviously reaching 10 or 13 or 16 are important achievements. But what about reaching 18? In many ways reaching 18 means reaching adulthood. It signifies a true beginning to being a grown-up. Sydney won’t find any better or more funky, authentic Bohemian blues, in their own inimitable manner, than what’s on at Melt Gallery, level 1, 12 Kellet St, Kings Cross Sydney on 19 September 2008 Here's to celebrating you and your music!

Memories are made of birthdays Happy Birthday, Sasha aka Roxy Ray!
Earthy Virgo is symbolized by the ear of wheat and the bunch of grapes -- or alternately, an ear of wheat and a sickle. According to the ancient poets, the virgin Virgo is also sometimes known as Astraea or Alexandra ;-)

I hope that your day is filled with many blessings as you begin your 18th year. I can't begin to say what a blessing your existence … On 10th day of September 1990 I learned what the miracle of child birth is … The dictionary says a miracle is any amazing or wonderful occurrence. As a child in Czechoslovakia I learned a lot about miracles that happened hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years ago. Usually they were caused by the actions of saints. So I grew up thinking of a miracle as (1) something that was performed (2) by a religiously inspired person. The greatest of all miracle is the miracle of childbirth. It's a common thing, one that has been going on for ... well ... a pretty long time. This miracle is way beyond our understanding, and is almost beyond our belief. It's an everyday event. It is the greatest event of all!
Who would have thought that you would be a singer and writer and musician when you entered the world at the Benevolent Royal Hospital -Birth Center- at Paddington? Your band improvises a stellar piece of smooth, harmony-laden soul with a chunky beat and a funky bassline that sounds unique almost in spite of its dozen debts to Billie Holiday; Ella Fitzgerald; Erykah Badu; Miles Davis; Sarah Vaughan;
Etta James, Betty Davis, Jeff Buckley, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and Edith Piaf.
As they say, there are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle

• We now enter in earnest the harvest season; [Famous Virgos: Cameron Diaz, Sean Connery, Rachel Welch, Sophia Loren, Stephen King Shania Twain; Hitch your wagon to a star All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them]
• · There are differing evils, but they are common works of man. They reflect the imperfection of human justice, the inadequacy of human compassion, our lack of sensibility toward the sufferings of our fellows. Give me a place to standand I will move the world; A taste of the underground

CODA: Travis Jie was born in Tokyo on 11 September 2008 - Congratulations Godfather Steve and Tong Ling [Travis is a day older ;-]

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Can it really be a year ago I said 'I do'? Time flies when you're having fun at Berry at Broughtom Mill Farm and catching with wonderful films and books ... and sensational coffee

That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest. As Mal says, there is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else. There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved

The truest greatness lies in being kind, the truest wisdom in a happy mind What Makes Happy People Happy?

Happiness can mean different things to different people. For one person, it may mean being in a relationship, whereas for someone else it may mean feeling you have the ability to handle whatever life throws at you.
We might think that happy people have lots of money, are physically attractive, have great jobs, or own the latest gadgets. Or, we might just think happy people are plain lucky, and are born that way.
However, there are a number of variables that make a far greater contribution to happiness than external and more superficial factors.That doesn't mean that if you have a lot of money you won't be happy, or that having a lot of money is bad, it just means that other factors are more important in determining happiness. In fact, a strong positive relationship between job status/income/wealth and happiness only exists for those who live below the poverty line and/or who are unemployed.
What distinguishes happy people, is that they have a different attitude - a different way of thinking about things and doing things. They interpret the world in a different way, and go about their lives in a different way.

• You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. Meaning of life; [The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers. Moments ; How to Stop Struggling and Start Living ]
• · The science of happiness; Happiness is a spring day, coming after a winter that has been cruel — a gentle day of sunshine and promise and daffodils. Highs of happiness found after lows of sorrow

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Dedicated to a character who SHAW (sic) made my life under communism very colourful ...
The man who put a price on my head back in 1980 is nicely captured by Yuri Felshtinsky and Vladimir Pribylovsky who make it clear, it's the KGB that rules the roost in Putin's Russia A land fit only for crooks and killers

A new look in Putin's eyes Exclusive: Vlad the Impaler - What Is the World to Do with Putin
The intelligence community has its share of suck-ups, political assassins, incompetents and outright traitors.

A few months after he was sworn into office, President Bush flew to Slovenia where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The meeting was closely watched around the world because Bush had talked tough about missile defense plans and relations with Russia during his presidential campaign.
Coming out of their first meeting, Bush embarrassingly told the world, "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul."

• Smiling assassin: No friend of freedom ; [Putin; The Age of Assassins: The Rise and Rise of Vladimir Putin: How Scary Are Russia's New Rulers? ]
• · The future of Russia now looks even gloomier, and The Age of Assassins provides an admirable background to what we should expect in the years ahead. SSS Assassins; In The New Cold War, Edward Lucas says the fate of Politkovskaya and Litvinenko symbolises the Kremlin's plans for the rest of the world in a new Cold War that the West is already losing, "having barely noticed that it has started". Vladimir Putin and his corporate gangsters
• · We delve into the world of corporate recruitment of the best and brightest students in Australia. In a new book journalist and former law student Lisa Pryor asks why so many of our achievers end up studying law when they mean to pursue other careers? She argues this represents a brain drain away from jobs that potentially have greater value for the public good. The pinstriped prison; Booked in
• · · Australian journalist and blogger Antony Loewenstein explains that blogging is not the sole domain of pornographers or Hollywood gossips and that a previously voiceless Saudi Arabian female can now, by blogging, explain the realities of her life and culture with readers in Sydney. The Blogging Revolution, ; Bloggers of the world, let's shop!; Internet mapping is wiping the rich geography and history of Britain off the map, Britain’s most senior cartographer warned yesterday. Web
• · · · Dangerously Addictive Addiction Memoir Thanks for the memoirs: Costello sells his story An extensive author tour; Biden's memoirs suddenly becomes a best-seller
• · · · · With the contemporary serious novel in such a mess, travel writing, like biography, offers many of the traditional pleasures of the novel: story, character, good dialogue, development, resolution. Memoirs are made of this; The crackdown on memoirs came after the publication of Sir Christopher Meyer’s book DC Confidential book. The former British ambassador to the US used his . A ban on civil servants writing 'warts and all' accounts about their time in Government is "unduly restrictive", a committee of MPs have warned. Gagging order on civil servants' 'warts and all' memoirs is too strict, MPs warn

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I don't care what anybody says, there is nothing, and I mean nothing, to come close to our dreams and dreams we have for our loved ones … The Olympics are in full swing, and we can once again marvel at dedicated people from all parts of the world aspiring to achieve the very pinnacle of human transformation. My girls Sasha and Gabbie spent four years at Redcliffe swimming with Kylie Palmer (aka Kyles) and Jessicah Schipper as well as Liesel Jones
… I reckoned we need more memory today because Olympic memories and songs have so many more images and words in them ;-)
Kevin Roberts noted last week that it could not have been easy for a New Zealand television reporter to get a word with Michael Phelps, the Olympic superstar, but through good luck, good management or sheer grit, she did it: What advice would you give young people at home in New Zealand who are just starting out in the pool? Now I watched a lot of sport on television and most athletes talk about the hard work involved and the commitment needed. All very true. However, Michael Phelps didn’t reach for train harder, faster, longer or any of the other 'er' words. He didn’t even hesitate. He simply looked her in the eye and said, Dreaming. That’s right, dreaming. He went on to say Go for Gold: When I first got into the pool…I dreamt I would be at the Olympics…anything is possible
PS She ran not for just a medal - Cathy Freeman had to run for her life = The dark side of the Olympic spirit

Hot, Hotter, Hottest: One World, One Dream Trust

An interview with Stephen MR Covey, (son of Stephen R Covey), whose latest book 'The Speed of Trust' argues that trust is an economic measure, enabling organisations to move faster and at lower cost.

• Why does corporate decision making largely take place in what could be called the men's room? The economics of trust; [Ben Stein is also a true believer in the power of love. His extended piece on love in the The New York Times is well worth reading An economist by trade, ; - According to AFR research, The Australian Public Service Commissions website includes a list of speeches, mostly by agency heads, of special interest to senior executives (at www.apsc.gov.au/sesmedia.htm). But only four out of 40 were made this year, which might say something about life under Kevin 24/7. I say, I say, I say ]
• · The rape of the Olympic spirit: For the rest of China's netizens, the China's Great Firewall and monitoring will remain firmly in place Emotional heat: One World, One Dream; Protest rallies and online blogging are increasingly popular outlets for young Australians seeking a political voice, a new study shows. Study shows young Aussies not apathetic
• · Italian Film Festival is in Sydney - Filippo Costa (Michele Lastella), a young tax officer of modest social origins has enormous ambition that isolates him from his colleagues and his background. Initially aspiring to climb the career ladder, once he has come face to face with corruption he realises that he can set his sights much higher. In his unstoppable social climbing, he is helped by Caterina (Fanny Ardant), a beautiful, cultured and well-connected gallery owner. Before long, Fillipo is mingling in high society and rubbing shoulders with the mighty. But will his reach exceed his grasp? Rush Hour: Tax evasion is a national pastime ; Mal and I love this movie shown in Sydney in June at the French Film Festival – Like As it is in Heaven it deserves to be seen by one and all of us ;-) Only Titanic has taken more money at the French box office than this comedy and it is poised to become the most successful French film ever released in France. This is a comedy that is directed at exposing French prejudices among communities that live in separate regions of France. North is magnetic as French flick sinks ship
• · · One of the experiences I love in Italy (one of the many experiences) is eating alfresco. There is something about the open air and food that brings a whole new dimension to flavor and good company. It’s a kind of paradoxical intimacy – the outdoor space seems to draw you closer to your fellow diners. A bread roll on a park bench does it. So do sandwiches at the beach or a barbecue in the backyard. But for a truly great alfresco experience, nothing beats a long table punctuated with bottles of wine and platters of food, good friends, perhaps some vines overhead and a light breeze. Alfresco ; Never underestimate an intimate gesture. In today's digital world of email and texting, the traditional postcard seems to be holding its own and indeed experiencing something of a revival... The Power of Postcards
• · · · Educational Advancement (IDEA) is a non profit organisation working to improve the ways people interact with technology. Finding information: factors that improve online experiences; For reasons of accountability and integrity, I start from the position that as much information as possible about government decisions and actions should be in the public domain. In other words, the more transparent the actions of governments are: the cleaner they tend to be-the higher their ethical and administrative standards; and the more comfortable the public will be that they are getting value for money, that policy challenges are being dealt with effectively, and that their personal information is open to scrutiny by them Climate of disclosure: the public service and the right to know ; This book examines the changes in the culture of the Australian Public Service including the purported loss of traditional public service values of impartiality, intellectual rigour and the willingness of public servants at all levels to offer frank and fearless advice to their superiors and their ministers Whatever happened to frank and fearless? the impact of new public management on the Australian Public Sector
• · · · · Companies and governments around the world are spending more and more on management consultants - but are they getting what they want? More bang for your buck ; FEDERAL public servants are systematically sanitising the Wikipedia entries for federal politicians and have shown MPs how to change their entries Politicians' Wiki entries altered

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Sydney is a modern city but many of its traditional values remain, including some of the best restaurants in the world all of which have been around for 20 years or so. Master chef Tetsuya has now moved into new beautiful premises and is still cooking up incredible contemporary Japanese seafood. Loving Sydney
Let the love flow at Clareville Kiosk Dining Remembering the past in images


August is a month peppered with swims at the Iceberg, slow dinners at Dial's or June's. Three weddings to celebrate on a certain busy weekends, but slow enough to drive from Revesby to Manly but stop halfway at Coogee to watch the whales, mother and the baby play 75 meters from the sand where Mal's eyes could not get enough of the scene. Amazing to watch them from our balcony during the week spraying salt water in the distance yet ... soo soooo close. It makes the routine dictated by lecturer who calls herself a bitch at work rather bearable ... The month is filled with great movies - The Square - as good as Lantana; The Bank Job - almost as good as smuggling inside Cold River; the Married Life, the Edge of Love; The Visitor - Amerika can do sensitive movies these days.

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The death of Russian Nobel Prize-winning author Alexander I. Solzhenitsyn clearly marks the end of an era Cold War River; Like my father Jozef, Alexander (Sasha) survived Civil War, World War and Cold War. However, only few suffered as much as Alexander who suffered Stalin's camps and Brezhnev's repressions; he fought cancer when exiled without possessions in remote Kazakhstan, and resisted Western materialism to concentrate on his writing as a rich exile in his Vermont estate. As he himself had predicted, he lived to see the sorry collapse of Soviet Communism, and returned to his homeland in triumph. As a youth, he believed in the promises of Marxism-Leninism, but was brutally disillusioned when arrested as a young officer fighting Nazi Germany, turned to Christianity, and roundly defeated the legions of Soviet stool pigeons, security police and censors who tried to suppress the revelations which poured from his acerbic pen. Solzhenitsyn's truth outweighed the world; Without individual conscience, argues Solzhenitsyn, both Communist and capitalist societies have repulsive aspects. ALEXANDER Solzhenitsyn took millions of readers inside the horrors of Stalin’s prison system – and by extension, ripped the mask off the brutal regime which I escaped in 1980 A soul in exile

Literary Giant, Solzhenitsyn inspired many Chinese who will tear the wall down just like the Ztmbabweans will … Alexander Solzhenitsyn is the man who put the writing on the wall for Leninist totalitarianism. In a country that employs a vast bureaucracy to monitor all types of internet activity and where posting a comment critical of the authorities can land you in re-education camp, people have to choose their words very carefully Chinese netizens rail against Great Firewall

The face of 'human rights The Great Writer Who Buried Communism: The wealth manifesto
Ehrenreich's skill, apart from the sheer quality of her writing, is to illustrate her opinions with wave after wave of examples of unglamorous labour disputes and everyday injustices that don't get much of a look-in elsewhere.

There's this powerful myth that America doesn't have classes; that they're an ancient English or European thing that we abolished. And that if you're not rich, it's your own damn fault

• Warren Buffett recently said that he thought the effects of the financial crisis were far from over… A hunger for anything except more of the same in Sydney Society; [They came in a trickle rather than a flood, but raw emotions were never far from the surface To Russians, 'a ray of light' is now dimmed ; 'SOUL-DESTROYING" has become a cliche for life in a Soviet prison camp. He lived not by lies. Solzhenitsyn: exiled then exalted in Russia Of Good and Evil - One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich]
• · Read SPIEGEL's final interview with Alexander Solzhenitsyn, my teenage hero, the last given to the Western media. I Am Not Afraid of Death: SPIEGEL INTERVIEW WITH ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN; Solzhenitsyn -- a prophet the West must prove wrong
• · Evil is all too real and had to be confronted – why be afraid of death? One Day in the Life of Jozef Imrich; Solzhenitsyn and piercing pens
• · · There is this belief that all those other worlds are only being temporarily prevented by wicked governments or by heavy crises or by their own barbarity or incomprehension from taking the way of Western pluralistic democracy and from adopting the Western way of life. Countries are judged on the merit of their progress in this direction. However, it is a conception which developed out of Western incomprehension of the essence of other worlds, out of the mistake of measuring them all with a Western yardstick. The real picture of our planet's development is quite different. Other worlds are only being temporarily prevented by wicked governments or by heavy crises ; Harvard Class Day Afternoon Exercises: Without any censorship, in the West fashionable trends of thought and ideas are carefully separated from those which are not fashionable; nothing is forbidden, but what is not fashionable will hardly ever find its way into periodicals or books or be heard in colleges. Legally your researchers are free, but they are conditioned by the fashion of the day. There is no open violence such as in the East; however, a selection dictated by fashion and the need to match mass standards frequently prevent independent-minded people from giving their contribution to public life. There is a dangerous tendency to form a herd, shutting off successful development. I have received letters in America from highly intelligent persons, maybe a teacher in a faraway small college who could do much for the renewal and salvation of his country, but his country cannot hear him because the media are not interested in him. This gives birth to strong mass prejudices, blindness, which is most dangerous in our dynamic era. There is, for instance, a self-deluding interpretation of the contemporary world situation. It works as a sort of petrified armor around people's minds. Human voices from 17 countries of Eastern Europe and Eastern Asia cannot pierce it. It will only be broken by the pitiless crowbar of events. A World Split Apart

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Some wonders of the world are just that. Wonderful. See it by moonlight or during the day, the magic is always there. A friend saw the Australian Taj Mahal the Iceberg lit by lightning recently. You and I should be so lucky...

What fate for Tim Porter. I hope he is successful as another Tim - Tim Russert who in 2004 wrote a memoir BIG RUSS AND ME and the 2006 followup WISDOM OF OUR FATHERS was in serious demand after the Meet the Press host died of a heart attack last Friday. "We sold out in an hour," Richard Klein, co-owner of the Book Revue in Huntington, told Newsday's Tom Beer. "We probably could have sold 100 if we'd had them." Random House started shipping an extra 100,000 paperback copies of WISDOM while Hyperion has gone back to press for an additional 100,000 copies of BIG RUSS.
High Demand for Organic Stories

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What can you buy for $100 billion in Zimbabwe? Not quite one loaf of bread ...

With the amount of violence that has gone on, with the total denial of access to the media, with the fact that we have not had an opportunity to look at the voter rolls yet, there is just no way that a free and fair election can be held.
- David Coltart quote

This week I had the strange dejavu when I touched a 25 billion banknote which came from the wallet of David Coltart. John, Gina and Richard and I found David's stories from the cold face very disturbing. Like under communism the theatre of the absurd under totalitarianism in Africa does make my blood boil. Wherever one goes there seem to be some ironic central european connection or disconnection. The Mugabe regime’s final lifeline is a small Vienna-based software company that helps it to keep printing the money it relies on for its survival Blood Diamonds - Blood Democracy with licence to print Mugabe's money ; Gideon Gono - Zimbabwe’s equivalent of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke - issued a $100 billion note Hyperinflation: The Inevitable Result of Government-Manged Money


David with Jennifer and their four children

David Coltart: Human Rights Making a Difference Cry for freedom in Zimbabwe: Movement for Democratic Change
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change says Mr Mugabe is on a much tighter timetable than it to find a resolution because of the economic freefall.

Today, with annual inflation officially at 2.2 million per cent, Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank will introduce a currency that wipes 10 zeros off the previous notes - $Z10 billion will be worth $Z1 in the new currency. But as the regime has done nothing to improve economic fundamentals, the inflation will continue. "We would like to see the speedy conclusion of the talks … and a successful outcome so that we can focus in the future our attention around our economy," Mr Mugabe said this week in Harare. He voiced his "total commitment" to a successful conclusion to the negotiations in South Africa between his ZANU-PF party and the two factions of the MDC.
David Coltart, a senator-elect for the smaller MDC faction, said the speed of the talks was being driven by what was happening in the economy. "I think Mugabe understands he has no solution to hyperinflation and the looming problem of him not being able to pay the military and police has put enormous pressure on him to reach a settlement," Mr Coltart said in Sydney in July 2008.
A lot of cold water flowed under the bridge of injustice since David came to Australia back in 2005 Interviews, speeches and papers: New Africa

The Shadow Minister for Justice from Zimbabwe, Mr David Coltart briefed Law Council President John North and Secretariat staff on the current situation in Zimbabwe. He reported on the ongoing settlement demolitions which resulted in more than 700,000 people being displaced over the last 7 months. Mr Coltart advised that the displacement of the people is a retribution and intimidation tactic by the Mugabe Government to secure its power. There have also been more than 300 political murders in the past 5 years but no one has been convicted to date. The reason for this is that the judiciary in Zimbabwe has collapsed and is not working at all. Mr Coltart himself was the subject of an assassination attempt but was able to escape against all odds.
Mr Coltart further noted that the Law Society of Zimbabwe has about 400 members. The Law Society is still strong and is opposing the Mugabe Government together with the Zimbabwean Lawyers for Human Rights, which made a submission to the UN that was included in the —Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Zimbabwe to assess the Scope and Impact of Operation Murambatsvina“. This report and more background information regarding the situation in Zimbabwe can be downloaded at www.zwnews.com Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Zimbabwe

• Pressure on Mugabe to pay troops; [David and his stories about lack of food and real money; But a lack of food isn't the only danger: More and more people are getting killed and beaten up in both rural and urban areas. The culprits are members of the ruling ZANU-PF party; the victims are mostly supporters of the Tsvangirai-led Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The general population has become hopelessly fearful. This terror campaign by ZANU-PF is already estimated to have claimed 500 lives. David Coltart, the opposition senator and a human-rights lawyer, has described this as a deliberate and systematic attempt to wipe out an entire political group in order to permanently cripple the MDC. We're hungry, angry, and depending on a sovereign God; David Coltart, the legal affairs secretary of the Mutambara-led MDC, said a GNU would be viewed with extreme scepticism by most Zimbabweans who fear that it would draw in unscrupulous political leaders.The fear is that those leaders are then compromised and that they will fail to deal with the fundamental problems facing Zimbabwe, Coltart argued. It is for this reason that a transitional authority should be agreed to. Coltart is of the view that civil society should play a crucial role in some aspects of the TG. During the transition, civil society will have to play a major role in certain aspects of the transitional authority’s mandate, especially regarding the process which should culminate in a new democratic constitution, he suggested GNU, TG Which Way For Zim? Losing billions in Zimbabwe; Senator tells: Why the fight is still ahead for Zimbabweans ]
• · The phrase Tear Down This Wall was as powerful in Cold War era as David’s headline is now in the context of Africa - That vision reaches out to gather in the desires and hopes most ordinary Zimbabweans carry for peace, freedom and justice in their country. The coming weeks are not a time for empty leadership, nor is it time for a process of arranging the chairs of power to comfort the padded fundaments of power-brokers. Zimbabwe has seen enough of this. We need leaders who listen to human-scale policies Ditch this old dictator; David Coltart, in a very thought-provoking article, has described the long history of state sponsored violence in Zimbabwe and the resulting idealisation of violence, ‘kragdadigheid’ and the gun. It’s time it ended - in Zimbabwe and in South Africa too. Until we are brave enough ; Question what has happened to all our patriots? It seems to me that our nation has been blighted by a succession of leaders who are more concerned with their personal interests or the narrow interests of their own political parties and supporters than they are in the great nation state of Zimbabwe Towards A Negotiated Settlement In Zimbabwe ; Obama In Berlin, U.S. Mideast Policy, and Zimbabwe's National Unity
• · HOPES for a breakthrough in talks to establish a unity government in strife-torn Zimbabwe … UN troubleshooter Haile Menkerios ; Under a gracious exit plan, Robert Mugabe will become Zimbabwe's ceremonial president during the forthcoming transition, after which he will retire as the Founding President and father of the beleaguered nation, protected under a blanket amnesty. Amnesty plan for Mugabe
• · · A few years ago, the United Nations published a list of Zimbabwean politicians and businessmen that it accused of plundering the riches of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Mugabe cronies reportedly stashing US dollars into foreign accounts; Attempts to tame Zimbabwe’s multimillion percent inflation rate is beginning to have a negative effect on banks in that country.
Zimbabwean banks cash strappe
• · · · For money, one can safely substitute might. RBZ Currency Reforms Futile, Say Economists; Zimbabwe Rolls Out New Bank Notes
• · · · · Stolen crude oil Vs blood diamonds ; Diamonds have scripted a typical rags to riches story for Bonny, 35, who spent most of his life on the streets before the discovery of the gems three years ago, near the eastern Zimbabwe town of Mutare, transformed his life. I have, over the last two years, acquired a fleet of 12 cars and several houses in Mutare and in the capital, Harare - Bonny told IRIN. ZIMBABWE: Diamonds are Mutare's best friends ; It is the fact that Mr. Mugabe has been quietly doing business, a lot of it, with the one country which has virtually unlimited need of strategic raw materials Zimbabwe can provide -- China. Mugabe’s Zimbabwe is, along with Sudan, on the central stage of the new war over control of strategic minerals of Africa between Washington and Beijing, with Moscow playing a supporting role in the drama. The stakes are huge. Mugabe’s biggest sin ; The Austrian firm, Jura JSP, provided the Mugabe's Zanu PF party with software that allows the regime to print forgery-proof bank notes back in 2001. As it is Zimbabwe’s economy is being propped up by foreign investors who are taking advantage of cheap resources. Mugabe’s man unmasked: Arms ship exposes Robert Mugabe’s link to Chinese firm
• · · · · · Tanyaradzwa Mutola is now losing hope that life will change for the better and give her a well-deserved rest after years of “hard” labour. Cry for freedom in Zimbabwe; They are pouring money into the pockets of the cronies of Mugabe, Mahmoud Ahma-dinejad and the Burmese generals. The recent drift from general sanctions Sanctions are a war waged by cowards; US looks at more sanctions against Zimbabwe

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Guevara had a charismatic attraction in real life, long before he became a Mantegna icon in death and a hypnotic image on a pop art poster in the age of Andy Warhole.
Richard Gott

Kieber's action has now triggered tax probes across 14 countries relating to 1400 individuals. This is looking familiar to followers in Australia of the Offset Alpine Printing saga that came to light in 2003. That involved broker Rene Rivkin explaining to a Swiss district attorney in 2002 details of how he had been operating Swiss bank accounts for decades, which more recently had involved Kennedy and Richardson. Tax haven secrecy tests staff loyalty and ethics … In many cases, holding money in an offshore tax haven is perfectly legal. [ UK -New deal offered on tax haven cash ]


Can we change the heartbeat of death and taxes? RICH PICKINGS: Nothing New Under the Sun and Cold River
Frank Lowy spent 10 years on the Reserve Bank board, from 1995 until 2005. Precisely the period during which we are now told according to allegations

Experience has shown that many taxpayers who use these tailored financial structures in tax havens are engaging in tax evasion." There had been "difficulties" in applying Australian taxation laws to non-common law entities such as Liechtenstein foundations, it said. Bank accounts, corporations, trusts, and foundations in tax havens are shrouded in secrecy because they can’t stand the light of day. It’s long past time to shine the light on tax haven abuses and stop the tax dodgers from offloading their tax burden onto the backs of honest citizens …

• Lowy and tax havens; [; Silo Breaker ; Sydney Stories; The tax affairs of the Lowy family are again being investigated. In the mid-1990s, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) audited the Lowys' Westfield Group. Lowy, a turncoat and mystery $48m ; Google line up ]
• · Lowy is actually the second Aussie billionaire to be investigated by the Australian government in recent years. In October, Richard Pratt, worth $2.1 billion, apologized for his role in a price-fixing cartel between his Visy corrugated box company and its main competitor, Amcor. In that case, Visy paid the Australian government a $33 million fine. In the latest update of that saga, Pratt is now facing charges he lied during the price-fixing probe. His lawyers' reported retort: The Australian government regulator is abusing power Visy Forbes ; Many of the world's richest people have been suspected of tax evasion, but only a few have actually been convicted of cheating the government out of revenue--and nearly all have involved U.S. taxpayers. That could be changing, particularly in Europe, where the German government is going after clients of a bank in the tax haven of Lichtenstein. Here's a list of some of the world's richest tax dodgers in recent years. In Pictures: The World's Wealthiest Tax Cheats ; Wealthy Americans are hiding about 1.5 trillion dollars in overseas tax havens in a "deceptive" partnership with top foreign banks …The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has long had an investigative interest in U.S. taxpayers who use offshore tax havens to hide assets and evade taxes. Tax Professor; I broke the story of Frank Lowy’s first costly punch-up with the Australian Taxation Office, writes Alex Mitchell. Frank Lowy, my part in his tax bill
• · beSpacific is in great company along with the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, The Volokh Conspiracy, and the International Economic Law and Policy Blog among a wide range of outstanding topical blogs well worth your review. Media Dragon: Top 100 Law and Lawyer Blogs Law blogs; A big target with another battle to fight. Australian Financial Review, 24/07/2008 Last year the Howard government passed what some called the Lowy amendment. As part of the new tax treaty with the US, Australian real estate investment trusts gained the ability to offer capital gains tax rollover relief to potential targets across the Pacific Money Race Widget Empowers Bloggers
• · · A survey of U.S. journalists by Brodeur, a unit of Omnicom Group suggests that blogs are not only having an impact on the speed and availability of news, but also influence the tone and editorial direction of reporting. (pdf) Brodeur Journalists Survey Identifies Blogs’ Influence on Traditional News Coverage; Science 2.0: Great New Tool, or Great Risk?
• · · · Heather A. Phillips reviews a new book whose main focus is on uses on six major criminal cases of the 1990s, as well as one that concentrates on the details of what really happens when the media circus invades the courthouse, and the effect it has on both the trial participants and the verdict. Like many others who watched the news in the 1990s, the authors were dismayed by the thousands of hours devoted to “infotainment” stories such as the O.J. Simpson trial, the JonBenet Ramsey case, and the Lorena Bobbit trial. They coined the phrase ‘tabloid justice’ to describe these cases and their impact on journalism. The move away from descriptive reporting toward journalistic practices that focus on the sensational, marginal and personalized aspects high-profile legal cases, the authors contend, has done the viewing public no favors Tabloid Justice: Criminal Justice in an Age of Media Frenzy and The Star Chamber: How Celebrities Go Free and their Lawyers Become Famous ; Staying current on the latest cases and news in the area of class actions can be challenging, but Scott Russell's guide to reliable subscription based publications, free legal sites and blogs that offer timely news, analysis and selected copies of court filings, is a valuable resource Keeping Up with Class Actions: Reports, Legal Sites and Blogs of Note
• · · · · Meet the American daily newspaper of 2008. It has fewer pages than three years ago, the paper stock is thinner, and the stories are shorter. There is less foreign and national news, less space devoted to science, the arts, features and a range of specialized subjects. Business coverage is either packaged in an increasingly thin stand-alone section or collapsed into another part of the paper. The crossword puzzle has shrunk, the TV listings and stock tables may have disappeared, but coverage of some local issues has strengthened and investigative reporting remains highly valued The Changing Newsroom: What is Being Gained and What is Being Lost in America's Daily Newspapers? ; Project for Excellence in Journalism, Sydney Journalists Food Authority Penalty Notices issued: the outlets you should know about
• · · · · · There is an element hypocrisy in Western society when it comes to polygamy Polygamy: lust or love ; Crikey can exclusively reveal that the secretive Christian sect, the Exclusive Brethren, has gone to great lengths to obtain parliamentary lobbying status for two of its leading Sydney members. Because parliament was in recess pending the March 24 election, it is unclear whether they co-signed authority for the passes or it was processed by the clerks, Russell Grove (Legislative Assembly) and Lynn Lovelock (Legislative Council). Love of Lobbying; Politicians toing -and- throwing overseas ; Russell Grove has been Clerk of the Legislative Assembly since 1990, having entered Parliamentary Service in 1971. As CEO of the Legislative Assembly he is the principle adviser on parliamentary law, practice and procedure to the Speaker, the Hon. Richard Torbay. He was awarded the Public Service Medal (PSM) for services to the NSW Parliament in 2000, and made a Paul Harris Fellow in 1997 for service to the international community particularly in the area of developing countries. Russell has been a member of the Parliament’s Artworks Committee since its inception. Controversy Erupts in the Public Service Association