Gentlefolk,
This post describes some of our activities during July 2021.
The contents of this post are in the following sequence:
Photos of our activities during July 2021 (including Movies and Books).
Some news items which caught my eye in July 2021; Tokyo Olympics.
International trade.
Covid-19 pandemic.
First photos of some of our activities during July 2021.
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| It was our turn to arrange the monthly get-together for the Guys & Dolls Group. We decided to have lunch at the Ginseng Chinese Restaurant. Only seven could attend, we had a round table and delicious food. From left: Dominic, Helen, Vera, me, Geoff, Nadia, and Neil. |
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| Old friend Hugo Hofgartner visited Canberra to we had a dinner at, you guessed it, the German Club. From left: Hugo, Alex, Vera, David, Rae, and me. With Greater Sydney in lock-down because of Covid, in Canberra we have to wear face masks in indoor venues - but can take them off to eat and drink, of course. |
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| We all had the (in)famous Pork Knuckle for dinner at the German Club. |
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| Smith's Cafe featured a poetry reading from Omar Khayyam; followed by a dance performance by an Iranian lady (her daughter joined her later). |
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| Sad news that Patricia Gray passed away last month. We met Patricia and Paul through the Old Time Dance Club. About 12 years ago she suddenly started losing mobility; we all thought it would pass, but instead it got worse. She was always full of life and it was awful to see her incapacitated. May she rest in peace. |
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| An open-mic night at Smith's Cafe. One of the acts was this young Chinese-Australian played the piano and sang. He had an enthusiastic group of fans. |
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| All Australia rejoiced when Ashleigh Barty beat Pliskova 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 to become Wimbledon Women's Singles Champion (our last Women's Champion was Evonne Goolagong). It was Barty's second Grand Slam win. I was surprised at her frequent use of slice, but it obvously worked for her. Djokovic beat Berrettini to win his 20th Grand Slam (he has caught up to Federer and Nadal).  Dylan Alcott (right) beat Dutch rival Sam Schroder to win Gold in the Wheelchair Tennis at Wimbeldon. Dylan has already won the Australian and French Opens this year, and hopes to win the US Open in September. What a champion! |
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| Paul Milton found this photo on the internet. Andrew played for the University of New South Wales top rugby team. They went on to win the Kentwell Cup that year with Andrew scoring a season total of 286 points - still the UNSW Rugby Club record! |
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| AIIA President with Prof Anthony Milner who gave a talk on "The Rules Based Order" to the Australian Institute of International Affairs. President Trump was "chief disruptor" during his time in office, and the world is now struggling with how to reform/update the established institutions. Tricky. |
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| We attended a performance of the indigenous Bangarra Dance Group at the Canberra Theatre. They were here for 3 days, and every performance was sold out. |
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| We had not seen this Group and were impressed by the athleticism of the dancers. It is pity that they didn't introduce each segment, as they just blended into one big spectacle. We found out later that the program actually described the various themes, but it would have been good to have an introduction at the time. Anyway, excellent choreography and an impressive performace. |
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| Caught up with Jane Freebury and Don Scott-Kemis who we met in Jakarta about 25 years ago. Such an inspirational couple - always full of energy and plans. Jane writes movie reviews and is working on another book, and Don has consulting projects, |
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| Rugby tragics watching the 3rd Test between Australia and France on 17 July. From left: Heath McMichael (a ring-in, his passion is Aussie Rules), Peter Rayner, me, Paul Nicoll, and Andrew Moorhead. The Wallabies won the first Test, lost the second Test, so this was the decider. We won a close contest 33 - 30!!! Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi! |
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| My brother's son and his family in Rarotonga, Cook Islands - gorgeous kids! From left: Engara, Wazza, Etu, Alex, and Hinamoana. |
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| I've been playing golf with Peter Rayner on Friday mornings. This photo was taken two days ago. It was cold overnight (down to minus 6C) and you can still see the frost on the fairway when we hit off at 9am. But it warmed up quickly, and was a beautiful morning (no wind!). I've been playing 9 holes two or three times a week - enjoying it immensely - but my golf isn't getting better. One of the mysteries of golf!!! |
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| I like to keep a record of petrol prices. There has been a slight rise in diesel this month. |
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Movies
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We thoroughly enjoyed this French film (with English subtitles), about a perfume maker who loses her 'nose' and gets it back with the help of a temporary chauffeur. A most unlikely pair, but the French make it work. It's a lovely film, without any violence or sex - amazing!Books |
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| My sister gave me this book to read - it's terrific!! The author is Siobhan McHugh who moved from Ireland to Australia in 1985. She became fascinated by the Snowy Scheme (1949 - 74) which initiated multiculturalism in Australia. The book describes a year in the life of 11 year old Eva Fischer whose parents move from Sydney to Cabramurra in 1958 when her father gets a job on the Snowy Scheme. I was also a "Snowy kid" (grew up in Cooma) and found her book very authentic and well written. |
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| This book describes the events leading up to the First Opium War also known as the Anglo-Chinese War (1839 - 42). When the Chinese Emperor took firm steps to stop imports of opium from India, Britain took military action; guns prevailed against bows and spears; the Chinese were forced to allow the trade and also ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain. British leaders knew that opium was evil - it was banned in the UK - but the opium trade was hugely profitable and they did not want to lose this valuable source of revenue. Greed trumped ethics! |
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News
items which caught my eye in July 2021.
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Global |
The Economist
described the global economic recovery as “fast, furious, and fragile” with
three issues under the surface: Jabs v jab-nots; demand v supply bottlenecks;
withdrawal of stimulus packages (Central Banks have bought assets worth over
$10 Trillion). 9 July global
deaths from Covid-19 passed 4 million. Tokyo Olympic
Games started on 23 July (postponed from last year). New sports:
skateboarding (gold won by 13 year old Japanese), surfing, climbing, and 3x3
basketball; also good to see BMX bike and golf. No spectators
permitted at events. Brisbane
announced as venue for the 2032 Olympic Games (following Paris 2024, Los
Angeles 2028). Widespread
and deadly flooding in Germany, China, India, and Bangladesh. Debate about
the (mis)use of Israeli Pegasus software by several governments. Euro 2021
Italy beat England on penalties. |
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USA |
14 year old
Zaila Avant-garde won the National Spelling Bee; first African-American
winner; contestants of Indian background came second and third. USA announced
total withdrawal of military from Iraq by end of this year. US Senate
passed a Bill banning goods made in Xinjiang Province of China unless
importers can prove that no forced labour was used. Space flights
by Richard Branson and then Jeff Bezos. Manufacturers
of synthetic opioids agreed to pay a settlement of $35 billion. “Heat Dome”
in north-west of USA and parts of Canada (temperature reached 49.6C in Lytton
BC, later town was destroyed by wildfire). Boy Scouts of
America reached a $850M settlement with 60,000 survivors of sexual abuse. Trump
Organisation CFO Allen Weisselberg charged over illegal business dealings. |
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China |
100th
anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China commemorated on 1
July; the CPC has ruled China since 1949, now has 92 million members. Second
quarter (Q2 2021) GDP growth of 7.9% (giving 6 months 12.7%). After a
decade of trials, China launched a national carbon trading scheme; will help
achieve aim to be carbon-neutral by 2060. China
unveiled the first waterless nuclear reactor. |
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Australia |
After 20
years the last Aussie troops left Afghanistan; total 41 dead, many injured. From 1 July
the Superannuation Guarantee for employees increased to 10% (scheduled to go
to 12% over the next 4 years); an estimated 4.5 million Aussies withdrew
A$36.4 billion from their Superannuation accounts during Covid. From March
2020 to June 2021 there were 363,796 applications for exemption to travel
overseas, of which 171,029 were granted. The Govt
announced that because to the infectious Delta Strain arrivals into Australia
would be cut by 50% to 3,185 a week; an estimated 34,000 Aussies still
overseas. Sydney / NSW
main focus of Covid, with new cases around 150 per day. Extended Covid
lockdown in NSW, and short lockdowns in Victoria and South Australia. Qld closed its border with NSW. Anti-lockdown demonstrations in Sydney and
Melbourne. NRL rugby
league competition moved to Queensland due to NSW lockdown. Govt
announced three new Departmental Secretaries: Kathryn Campbell for DFAT,
Katherine Jones for Attorney Generals, Ray Giggs for Social Services. Author Ian
Burnet’s new book “Joseph Conrad’s Eastern Voyages” launched. Australia’s
team to compete in the Tokyo Olympics comprised 254 men and 218 women;
included 16 competitors of indigenous background. |
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Germany |
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel will retire in September after 15 years; she made
farewell visits to several countries. She met with President Biden in
Washington DC, her 23rd official visit (she dealt with 4 Presidents). |
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France |
22 year old
Slovenian Tadej Podacar won the Tour de France for the second year. Aussie
Ben O’Connor came 4th overall. |
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UK |
10 July Aussie Ashleigh Barty won the Women’s Singles at Wimbledon; Novak Djokovic won the Men’s Singles, his 20th Grand Slam (now equal with Federer and Nadal). Aussie Dylan Alcott won the Wheelchair Men’s Singles at Wimbledon (after earlier winning the Australian and French Opens - can he win the US Open too? On 19 July
Govt removed almost all Covid restrictions, dubbed “Freedom Day” by young
people. |
Tokyo Olympic Games
Tokyo Olympic Games (32nd Olympiad)
23 July – 8 August 2021
Medal table, top ten countries, as at midday on 31 July 2021.
Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total medals |
1. China | 20 | 11 | 11 | 42 |
2. Japan | 17 | 4 | 7 | 28 |
3. USA | 16 | 17 | 12 | 45 |
4. ROC Russia | 10 | 14 | 10 | 34 |
5. Australia | 10 | 3 | 13 | 26 |
6. Great Britain | 8 | 9 | 10 | 27 |
7. South Korea | 5 | 4 | 6 | 15 |
8. Netherland | 3 | 7 | 5 | 15 |
9. France | 3 | 6 | 6 | 15 |
10. Germany | 3 | 4 | 9 | 16 |
I can't resist including the following graph from the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney which compares Australia and the USA. Overall Australia has won 512 Olympic medals (20 per million/population) compared to the USA's total of 2,828 medals (9 per million/population). So there!
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE
My 30 year career as an Australian Trade Commissioner gave me an interest in matters related to international trade. I subscribe to Bloomberg's excellent daily newsletter "Supply Lines - tracking Covid-19's impact on trade" (former title 'Trade Matters').
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| The USA's deficit in merchadise (goods) trade increased from $88.2B in May to $91,2B in June, the second highest monthly deficit on record. |
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| In contrast, China's trade surplus with the USA remains very large. |
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| Graph from US Studies Centre, University of Sydney. |
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| In May 2021 Australian merchandise exports totalled $29.4B, of which $16.5B went to China (iron ore price peaked at $232/t in May). A personal comment: of course it would be better not to have so many of our eggs in one basket, but in the meantime why do we persist in pocking our major export customer in the eye??? |
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Covid-19 pandemic
At present about 18% of adult Australians have received two jabs, and about 40% have received one jab. The Government believes that when 70% are fully vaccinated (possibly by year's end), disruptions (such as lock-downs) can cease.
About 60% of Australians have been in lock-down during July. NSW has been most affected, with around 150 new cases per day (one day over 230). That doesn't sound like much, but the new Delta variant is so infectious that the numbers can quickly get out of hand.
Victoria and South Australia both ended their short lock-downs quickly, while NSW (our largest State by population) wants to see the number of new daily cases reduced before relaxing restrictions.
A distrubing development: last weekend saw small anti-lockdown demonstrations in major cities. An estimated 3,500 marched in Sydney (a tiny proportion of the total population of 6 million); there were some scuffles with police which got wide media coverage. The vast majority of people think the demonstrators are crazy, but it's understandable that some people are becoming sick and tired of this nasty little virus which has dominated our lives for the last 18 months.
On a personal note, the ACT / Canberra has not been much affected although we are surrounded by NSW. The ACT Govt restricted visits from residents of Greater Sydney, we had to wear masks indoors, and also register when we visiting establishments, but otherwise our lives went on much as before.
Vera and I had our second AstraZeneca jabs on Friday 23 July; neither of us had any side effects this time.
The following table shows global and top-15 statistics as at 31 July 2021. It is noticeable that the number of Serious/Critical cases is dropping, as more people get vaccinated, at least in those countries where vaccines are readily available.
Covid-19 Pandemic: top 15 countries by cumulative
cases, as at 31 July 2021.
Source: www.worldometers.info/coronavirus
(accessed 31 July 2021)
|
Country |
Cumulative Cases (millions) |
Cumulative Deaths (thousands) |
Active
cases |
Serious/Critical
cases (of Active Cases) |
|
Global |
198M |
4.2M |
14.9M |
88K |
|
1. USA |
35.7 |
629 |
5.4M |
9K |
|
2. India |
31.6 |
424 |
415K |
9K |
|
3. Brazil |
19.9 |
556 |
729K |
8K |
|
4. Russia |
6.2 |
121 |
496K |
2K |
|
5. France |
6.1 |
112 |
295K |
1K |
|
6. UK |
5.8 |
130 |
1.2M |
1K |
|
7. Turkey |
5.7 |
47 |
204K |
1K |
|
8. Argentina |
4.9 |
106 |
257K |
4K |
|
9. Colombia |
4.8 |
120 |
88K |
8K |
|
10. Spain |
4.5 |
82 |
654K |
2K |
|
11. Italy |
4.3 |
128 |
83K |
0.2K |
|
12. Iran |
3.9 |
90 |
412K |
5K |
|
13. Germany |
3.8 |
92 |
31K |
0.4K |
|
14. Indonesia |
3.4 |
92 |
549K |
N/A |
|
15. Poland |
2.9 |
75 |
154K |
0.1K |
...
That's it for this post.
Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Saturday, 31 July 2021
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