Gentlefolk,
This post describes some of our activities during most of the month of July 2024.
Vera & I will visit Perth and Sydney from 28 July to 5 August, so I decided to make this post before our trip.
The contents of this post are in the following sequence:
Photos of our activities during July 2024.
News items which caught my eye in July 2024.
Highlights of July 2024 for me:
My talk on USA - China comaprison.
Our visit to Sydney; Wallabies v Wales game; Eddie has mastered Rubik's Cube - can solve in less than a minute!
Dinner at the Osteria Italian Restaurant to celebrate Niniek & Paul's new apartment in Breakfast Point.
Olympic Games in Paris.
Herewith photos of some of our activities in July:
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| We caught up with Kaye O'Hara, following Patrick's funeral 3 weeks ago. We all miss him so much, a truly wonderful friend. The family is giving Kaye lots of support. |
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| I gave a talk comparing the USA and China. This item appeared in City News weekly magazine. |
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| The statistics I used were derived from the CIA's World Factbook. |
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| Did you know that, according to CIA statistics, almost 19% of America's GDP is spent on Health??? Comparable figure for China is 5.6% and for Australia 10.7%. |
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| 28 people attended the talk. |
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| There was a lot of audience interaction and discussion during the talk. Everyone had ideas on how the two Super Powers relate. |
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| We attended the funeral of Marie Robins. She and husband Bill were keen members of the Canberra Old Time Dance Club. Despite increasing health problems, Marie was always cheerful. |
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| Kay and Bob Stoddard paying their repects at Marie's funeral. |
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| With Bill Robins, Marie's husband, after the funeral service. Bill has a remarkable ability to whistle! |
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| In Sydney, staying with Caz & Andrew. We bought Eddie a Rubik's Cube a month ago; he worked hard to master it - this kid is super-focused. Here Paul is timing Eddie in solving his Rubik Cube - under 1 minute, wow!!!! Eddie is passionate about soccer, but 6 weeks ago sprained his ankle badly in a game and is now wearing a moon boot. Let's hope he recovers soon. |
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| Paul & Niniek in front of the building in Market Street, Breakfast Point (Sydney) where they bought an apartment. Settlement is scheduled for early August. It's a great location and we hope they will be happy there. |
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| Andrew got tickets for the Australia v Wales rugby union game at Allianz Stadium. Here the two choirs are performing the national anthems. |
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| The Wallabies won 25-16. The following Saturday they played again, in Melbourne, and the Wallabies won again. Not great games (stop-start), but good to get two wins after a dismal couple of years. They beat Georgia the following week, but again not convincingly. |
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| Dinner at Osteria Italian Restaurant in Bondi Junction to celebrate Niniek & Paul's new apartment at Breakfast Point; the waiter Julio was a fun character. |
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| Toasting Paul & Niniek's purchase of an apartment at Breakfast Point; settlement in early August. |
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| With Eddie and Jay. |
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| Andrew. The family leave next week to visit their furniture factory in Java. Furnitue business (Reddie.com.au) has been tough in Australia; they are now focussing more on commerial sales (rather than residential), |
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| I attended the book launch at ANU; I like Allan Behm, the author. |
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| Allan Behm is a very astute observer of Australia's foreign policy and international affairs. I admire his intellect and style. |
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| It was our turn to organise dinner for the Guys & Dolls Group. We chose the Mustang Nepalese Restaurant in Farrer. From left: Michael, Dominic, Vera, Neil, Sandy, me, Helen, and Geoff. |
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| Function at Old Parliament House. |
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| The Hon Clare O'Neil, Minister for Home Affairs speaking, in the House of Representatives chamber of Old Parliament House. An iconic location. There is a general perception that democracy around the world is under threat and needs bolstering. A panel discussion followed on how to strengthen Austrlia's demorcacy (the 'elephant in the room' was the looming shadow of Donald Trump). |
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| Laurie Stroud organises a monthly lunch for former officers fo the Department of Trade. I don't normally attend (relate more to the ex-Austrade group organised by Geoff McKie), but this was a special occasion as Jim Scully (96!) had recently returned from an extended spell in hospital. Jim was a superb Secretary of the Department of Trade, and it was wonderful to see him up-and-about again. |
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| NSW makes a break! |
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| Noel, Paul and I watched the third State of Origin game at the Southern Cross Club; impressive contest. |
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| Paul visited us in Canberra for 3 days while Niniek was in Indonesia. |
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| Lunch with Helen and John Hemphill at the Arboretum. We were colleagues in the Trade Office of the Australian Embassy Jakarta half-a-century ago! |
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| Another nostalgic photo: the Trade Commissioner intake of 1971. |
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| More nostalgia: I found this family photo when clearing out some files. Might have been around Dec 1993, at Mum's place in Ainslie? |
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| I worked out that we have visited 75 of the locations listed in this book - still 426 to go! |
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| Dinner at Queenies, Kingston, with June and Craig Pearson; fun night. |
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| I served on the ACFS Committee for 7 years; tendered my resignation as Vera & I will shortly depart Canberra for points north. It is a worthwhile organisaton, promoting friendship and understanding between the people of Australia and China. |
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| We attended the "Oh, What a Night" show featuring the songs of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Great songs. |
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| Exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia. Must admit that I'm not a great fan of Gauguin - prefer Monet, Cezanne, or van Gogh. |
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| Gauguin self portrait. |
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| Our friends Angie and Howard visited from Sydney and we took them to the Gauguin Exhibition. |
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| This painting appealed to me. |
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| Our volunteer guide introduced the Gauguin Exhibition to us; she was great. |
News items which caught my eye in July 2024.
($ are US
dollars unless otherwise shown)
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Global
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Olympic spirit: Games kicked off in Paris. France: No majority in new Parliament: Marine Le
Pen’s far right National Rally gained seats; but so did the Left Alliance.
President Macron’s Center Party is negotiating to form a coalition. Olympic Games kicked off in Paris (26 July to 11 August); Lady Gaga and Celine Dion performed in the Opening Ceremony which was held along the banks of the Seine; Russia and Belorussia banned, but individual athletes could compete as Neutral
Athletes (AIN). UK: after 14 years of Conservative govt (5
PMs), Labour won the 4 July general election with 411 seats (out of 650);
Conservatives 121 (lost 251), Lib Dem 72, Reform 5. 41% of MPs are female. Sir
Keir Starmer is the new Prime Minister. Spain: Barcelona will ban short term rentals (eg
AirB&B) from Nov 2028 to increase housing options for long term renters
(following NYC, Berlin, etc). Big demonstrations in Barcelona against “mass
tourism”. Hungary: Victor Orban is (rotating)
president of the EU, visited Kyiv and called for a ceasefire in Gaza; he also
visited China. Met Trump in Florida. Solar Age: Economist article noted that solar
capacity is doubling every 3 years. In 2004 the World took a year to install
1GW of solar, now it is doing it every day. In 2003 China installed solar
power equivalent to the rest of the world. India: Pres Modi visited Russia. Over 100 dead in
stampede at a religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh. Hurricane Beryl: devastated Caribbean and
SE USA. Turkey: BYD will build a $1B EV plant. Fighting
erupted between locals and some of the 3 million refugees. Iran: Masoud Pezeshkian (69) elected President;
relatively moderate. F1: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) won the British
GP for the 9th time; Max Verstappen second. Aussie Oscar Piastri
won the Hungarian GP. NATO: 32 leaders met in Washington DC to mark 75th
anniversary; more commitments to support Ukraine (Zelensky must be worried
that Trump will win and stop aid). Soccer: Euro semifinals: Spain beat France, England
beat Netherlands. Final: Spain beat
England 2-1 to win the Championship. Copa America: Argentina beat Colombia in
Miami. Tennis Wimbledon: Alcaraz (21) beat Djokovic (37)
6-2,6-2, 7-6 to win Men’s Singles. Barbora Krejcikova beat Jasmine Paolini
6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to win Women’s Singles. Thailand: expanded its 60 day visa free
entry to 93 countries; attracted 17M tourists in first 6 months of 2024. Bangladesh: Student protests against
preferential treatment for Govt jobs turned violent – dozens killed. Indonesia: imposed up to 200% tariff on
Chinese textiles. CrowdStrike Cybersecurity: glitch in software
to update Microsoft Windows caused global IT outages / problems. ICJ The International Court of Justice ordered
Israel to end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory in the West Bank,
Gaza, and Jerusalem. Tour de France: winner was Tadej Pogacar 25,
Slovenian; his 3rd time. Golf: Xander Schauffele (USA) won the British Golf
Open. Typhoon Gaemi hit The Philippines, Taiwan
and China. Extensive damage. Wildfires: many wildfires burning on West Coast of USA and Canada, including damage to Jasper.
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Israel – Hamas (Gaza) |
Israel strikes on Lebanon killed
Hezbollah commander Moh Nasser. Increasing rocket attacks both ways. IDF air strike on a school in
Nuseirat Refugee Camp killed many; IDF attacked a humanitarian enclave.
Palestinian death toll in Gaza now close to 40K, and about 80K injured (many of whom
will die for lack of medical facilities). It's awful, but the world is getting immune to these casualties in Gaza. Israel approved settlement on 5 sq
miles (5,300 homes) in the West Bank. US-built pier for humanitarian aid
will close, damaged by rough seas. Israel attacked Houthis in Yemen
after a drone hit an apartment block in Tel Aviv. PM Netanyahu visited Washington DC;
addressed joint sitting of Congress. Big demonstrations against Israel’s
actions in Gaza. Australia joined with Canada and New Zealand - called on Israel to institute an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
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Russian invasion of Ukraine |
Russian missiles hit several
areas, including a children’s hospital. 36+ dear hundreds injured. NATO leaders meeting in Washington
pledged increased support for Ukraine, including F16 fighters and air defence
systems. Australia promised A$250M.
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USA
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US Supreme Court ruled that the
President has immunity from prosecution when engaged in core/official duties. Sentencing of Trump in hush money
trial postponed until September. Trump survived assassination
attempt at campaign rally in Pennsylvania; shooter identified as Thomas
Crooks (20) was killed; one attendee dead, two injured; Trump lost part of his right
ear; fist pump photo; claimed divine protection. Secret Service Director
Kimberley Cheatle resigned. DJI hits record, Trump Media
shares jumped 30% (but following week big slump on share markets. Trump confirmed as nominee at
Republican Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Trump chose Senator JD Vance (39,
Ohio) as his running mate. Elon Musk endorsed Trump and will donate $30+M a
month to his campaign. Florida Judge Aileen Cannon
dismissed the classified documents case against Trump. President Biden withdrew from the
Presidential election and endorsed VP Kamal Harris as the Democratic candidate. Biden tested positive for Covid. 4th human case of Bird
Flu H5N1 which is in dairy herds. Govt allocated $504M to fund 12
regional technology hubs to expand research in AI, chips, & clean energy. Nathan’s annual hot dog eating
contest: Patrick Bertoletti ate 58 in 10 mins to win Men’s; Miki Sudo ate 51
to win the Women’s comp. Amazon (Jeff Bezos) celebrated its
30th anniversary. Michael Bloomberg donated $1B to
subsidize medical students at Johns Hopkins University. META (FB, Instagram) lifted restrictions on
Trump’s accounts. |
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Australia |
Dr Samantha (Sam) Mostyn sworn in
as Australia’s 28th Governor General. Vapes can only be bought in
Pharmacies with a medical prescription – fear that the black market will
grow. The ‘live sheep trade’ will end in
2028. Senator Fatima Payman (29, WA)
resigned from the Labor Party and will sit as an independent. She is a strong
advocate for Palestine. Amazon Web Services won a A$2B Defence Dept contract to provide cloud
services for top secret classifications. Following another weekend of violence,
police in Alice Springs instituted a 3 day curfew 10pm – 6am. Aust Govt appointed “envoys” to
advise on antisemitism and islamophobia. Rugby Australia assumed
operational control of the Brumbies and Waratahs. Wastewater analysis showed
increased use of meth, cocaine and nicotine. Per capita Australia is second
after USA for meth use, and 3rd highest for cannabis (after
Netherlands and Spain). BHP said it would “moth-ball” its
nickel operations in WA. Australian-Russian couple Kira
(40) & Igor (62) Korolev was charged with espionage. Rugby League State of Origin
series: NSW Blues beat Qld Maroons 2 – 1.
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China |
Third Plenum meeting held in
Beijing. Govt concerned that ageing
population will burden pension budget; retirement age will increase (probably
by 5 years, to 65 years for white collar men etc).
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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" (former title 'Trade Matters').
A bit of fun
The King wanted to go fishing so asked the royal weather man
the
forecast for the next few hours. The palace
meteorologist assured him that
there was no chance of rain.
So the King and the Queen went fishing. On the
way he met a man with a
fishing pole riding on a donkey. The king asked
him if the fish were biting.
The fisherman said, "Your Majesty, you
should return to the palace! In
just a short time I expect a huge
rainstorm."
The King replied: "I hold the palace
meteorologist in high regard. He is
a highly educated and experienced professional.
Also, I pay him very high
wages. He gave me a very different forecast. I
trust him."
So the King continued on his way. However, a
short time later, there was
a torrential rain storm and the King and Queen
were totally soaked.
Furious, the King returned to the palace and
gave the order to fire the
meteorologist. Then he summoned the fisherman
and offered him the
prestigious position of Royal Meteorologist.
The fisherman said, "Your Majesty, I do not
know anything about
forecasting. I obtain my information from my
donkey. If I see my donkey's
ears drooping, it means with certainty, that
there will soon be rain. The
lower his ears droop, the heavier the rain will
be."
So the King hired the donkey.
And thus began the practice of hiring asses
to work in influential
positions of government.
The practice continues to this day.....
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