Friday, February 20, 2009



Insanity in individuals is something rare, but in teams, parties, nations and expochs, it is the rule.
-Friedrich Nietzsche

To be sure to be sure it is Friday and some partially pregnant souls fail to farewell Media Dragons as new venture and team calls ... As it is in Teams- It's the corporate stereotype - the ruthless alpha male

Obviously, there was always a bit of anxiety about whether all those premiers would ever agree to that $42 billion worth of free stuff. But they did - and did you ever see a happier little bunch of vegemites? Forgive our leaders - they're having a lovely, lovely crisis

If all the tools at our disposal, listening is the secret weapon that can create the most value. Whether you're playing for global stakes or selling hotdogs, the only way to work out what to do next is by listening. Who should you be listening to? You know who ... Media Dragons

Out of the blue Bohemians joins the dots to find purpose: Redundancy figures are just ‘tip of the iceberg’
Peter Hartcher reached a point a few years ago where he stopped reading anything on China that included this quote from Napoleon: "China is a sleeping dragon. Let him sleep. If he wakes, he will shake the world."

In the great gush of China boosterism of the past decade, this became one of the ritual incantations. It was always followed by the claim that China had awoken and was about to shake the world. Often, analysts would simply stick this quote together with the country's economic growth rate and, hey presto!, you had an irrefutable case for China's uninterrupted rise to global dominance.


• The research organisation GFK Australia has just revealed that the best-selling DVD of 2008 was not Underbelly Our love affair with China is cooling but far from over; [The research organisation GFK Australia has just revealed that the best-selling DVD of 2008 was not Underbelly Two heroes actually worth talking about; Previously it had been presumed that fish, then the highest forms of life on Earth Knowledge of ancient mating rituals within their clasp ]
• · The SMH - The Sydney Magazine - has a feature on Iceberg as this year it celebrates 80th anniversary. It talks about its 80 year old rule 15 B - The Bondi Icebergs swimming club was formed in 1929. The club played an important role in the growth of Bondi beach culture. To be a member, swimmers had to brave the chilly Bondi Baths at least three out of every four Sundays during the winter months, for a period of five years. The Icebergs became the source of long standing humour in Sydney and the local press often reported on their winter antics. As John Singleton said during the fight to save the Iceberg's club in the 1990s, the Icebergs are iconic and something that Australians hold close to their hearts-larrikins who still had the discipline to complete a minimum 75 swims during five years of swimming almost every winter Sunday Did you know that former school captain Andrew Kucharewicz can now out-drink Boris Yeltsin?; A unique representation of a fast disappearing Australian culture; one that doesn’t take itself too seriously, one where competition is important but where a fair-go, generosity and mateship are even more so. Ken Eastman, Matt Barry, Alan Gow and Chucky are captured by wilk – They used to say that you could either be happily married or be a member of the Iceberg …You just never know who you might bump into at Bondi Icebergs Club...
• · by Robert Higg For nearly a decade, we acted as though taking on more debt posed no problem. The Government's Cure for Alcoholism--Whiskey, More and More Whiskey; New Strategy in War on Terror? Don’t Hold Your Breath
• · · Masterpieces reflect their creator, including fiscal fantasies where even the wildest dreams can be funded. In politics, a $42 billion stimulus package is about as good as it gets. Faith of our fathers: $42 billion spend misses the mark; Kevin has posted before about how small steps to change the way we live and the things we buy can make amazing things happen.
Turn the Tide

• · · · A book of 14 essays on innovation in organisations; a mix of case studies and discussions, particularly on innovation networks. Inside the innovation matrix: finding the hidden human dimensions ; Rural internet can mean shifting data on a USB stick driven off in a cloud of motorcycle dust, or bumping along in an ox cart. Rural internet - offline but still connected
• · · · · Sydney's reign as the nation's criminal underbelly comes to grim life in a new series. FOR CRIMINALS and corrupt police, the 1970s were the best of times. Corrupt cops, it's addictive TV crims and a heroin kingpin; The veteran crime reporter Andrew Rule recalls the day that, as a cadet journalist, he found himself caught in a deadly crime drama Men of the gun who inspired Underbelly
• · · · · · The Code sets out the standards of personal integrity, professionalism and behaviour that are expected of ministerial staff... Code of Conduct for Ministerial Staff - Circular 2008/7, ; You have to hand it to The Guardian newspaper as it is publishing a series of article about corporate tax avoidance using tax havens. The article below is an introduction. As it is in Haven