Post #288 31 March 2025

 Gentlefolk,

This post describes our main activities during the month of March 2025.

The contents of this post are in the following sequence:

Photos of our activities during March 2025.

News items which caught my eye in March 2025. 

A summary of actions by President Trump in his 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th weeks in the White House (frightening but fascinating!).

International Trade (this section survives, for now).

Highlights of March: 

Vera's 80th birthday which we celebrated in Sydney with Andrew & family.

Nate Roberts' 18th birthday - we had a family dinner for Nate in Brisbane on 16 March. Nate successfully applied for a rugby scholarship at Central Washington State University (CWU) which he will take up in August 2025.

Tropical cyclone Alfred threatened the Brisbane region - the first cyclone to hit Brisbane since 1974 (far north Queensland often experience cyclones, but they rarely come this far south).

Herewith photos of some of our activities in March 2025:

My niece Laura visited Caloundra for a couple of days. We took her to a hostel in Mooloolaba her next destination.

Laura and Selim (a backpacker from Argentina), checking into the Abode hostel in Mooloolaba.

We had coffee and cake at the Mooloolabah Surf Club - great views overlooking the beach.

Jen & Tom spent the night with us in Nirimba.

As it meandered down the Qld coast (took 17 days) Tropical cyclone Alfred dominated the news. It is a rare occurrence - the last cyclone to hit the Brisbane region was back in 1974. We prepared as muchj as we could, but didn't really know what to expect.
In the end, the areas south of Brisbane were hit hard (Gold Coast, Northern Rivers), but the Sunshine Coast was largely spared. We had some wind and rain, but not nearly as much as other areas. 

High waves and tides devastated many beaches, but the sand erosion at Kings Beach in Caloundra (where we normally go) was not too bad.

our wonderful neighbours Karla and Peter.

More wonderful neighbours: Gary and Margaret and Theresa.

The trucks using the haulage road along our back fence have been disruptive. On 13 March a group of us met with two executives from Aura Stocklands who told us that there would only be local vehicles using the haulage road in future, and the parking area for the Moxie trucks would be moved further away. - good news indeed. 
From left: Cec, me, Genaea Keith (Senior Develoment Mgr, Aura), Tanya, Joel Coates (Senior Project Mgr, Aura), and Attila.

With our neigbours Marg & Cec and Tanya & Attila. We are much relieved to hear that the noise and dust from the haulage trucks would cease soon. 

The final talk at U3A Travel Chats group for this term was on a visit to Buenos Aires and Santiago.
About 20 years ago, at the height of our Tango phose, Vera & I spent 2 weeks in BA primarliy taking taking tango lessons, but also exploring the city. It's a lovely city, the wide avenues and stately buildings were a reflection of a grand past.  The speaker described her visit in September 2024 - still impressive.

Brisbane

We went to Brisbane to celebrate Nate's 18th birthday. Tom & I attended the Reds v Waratahs game on Saturday night. The Reds had a good win.

Family dinner at South Bank for Nate's 18th birthday (under a railway line!). 

Nate is a talented rugby player - he played 5/8 for the First 15 at Marist College Ashgrove. He has been awarded a rugby scholarship at Central Washinton State University (in Ellensburg, about 150km east of Seattle). He has registered to do a 4 year Business Degree and will move there in August 2025 - exciting time!

Sydney, 19 - 24 March 2025

We decided to celebrateVera's birthday with family in Sydney.

Andrew got tickets for the Socceroos v Indonesia soccer game at Allianz Stadium.

The final score was 5 - 1 to Australia, but the game was actually closer than the score suggests. There were many Indonesian fans in the crowd, which made for a good atmosphere. The following week the Soccerooos played China in Hangzhou - we managed to win that game 2 - 0; hopefully we'll make the World Cup next year.

Coffee & hot chocolate at a cafe around the corner from Andrew & Caz's home in Queens Park.

Grabbing a coffee and hot chocolate on the way to school. Caz was missing, as she was visiting the factory in Indonesia.

Vera and I took a ferry from Circular Quay to Cabarita to visit Niniek and Paul at Breakfast Point.Their apartment has been renovvated and looks great!

Birthday girl!

Birthday dinner for Vera: from left Cath, Andrew, Vera, Niniek, me, Paul. The 4 kids were at the opposite side of the table. Caroline was visiting the factory in Indonesia.

Vera with Andrew and Jay Jay.

Eddie invited 25 friends (soccer  & school) to the party. for his 11th birthday. It wsa held at a special swim centre at Maroubra. Here the lifeguard is explaining the rules.

 

Everyone had to prove that they were competent swimmers, before the fun started on the jumping castle.

They had a ball for an hour.

The boys were hungry after the fun on the jumping castle.

We went to the Waratahs v Brumbies game at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night. The Waratahs won 25 - 23, their first victory over the Brumbies in 13 games. The halftime score was 21-6 and I knew we were in trouble. The Brumbies came back in the second half, but fell short.

Eddie played soccer - loves it - he is a good player.

Adrew chatting with some parents. This game was in Wollongong, about 1.5h  drive from Queens Park. 

We stopped for Fish & Chips (and icecream) after the game.

Vera loved spending time with the grandkids Eddie & Jay..

Jay Jay (8th birthday a couple of weeks ago).

Eddie (11th birthday a week ago).

Jay and her cousin Bea.

Mother & son.

Mother & son.

Back home in Nirimba

More flowers for the birthday girl when we returned to Caloundra, this time from Oda & Marion and Moritz and Laura. Thank you so much!

Congratulations at Friday night happy hour from Sandie Ingram, Chair of the Halcyon Nirimba Social Club.

Read another Jeffery Archer book this month. 
He is a terrific story-teller.

 ......

News items which caught my eye in March 2025.

($ are US dollars unless otherwise shown)

Global	Turkey: Kurdish separatist group PKK declared a ceasefire with Turkey after 40 years of fighting. Huge protests across Turkey when Pres Erdogan’s main political rival, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested on corruption charges. Arab League: announced a $53B plan to rebuild Gaza (in response to Trump’s plan for Gaza). Hong Kong: Li Ka Shing’s Hutchinson Group sold 43 ports in 23 countries to a BlackRock consortium for $19B. Syria: Alawaite community targeted, many dead and injured. Canada: Mark Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party, and Prime Minister. He called a general election for 28 April.  The Conservatives were well ahead in polls, but many Canadians don’t like Trump’s claim they should be the 51st State. The Philippines: Former President Rodrigo Duarte was arrested and sent to appear before the ICC in The Hague. Formula 1: Lando Norris (McLaren) won the Australian GP; Oscar Piastri (McLaren) won the Chinese GP. Germany: Bundestag voted to lift spending on defence/security. UK: Heathrow Airport closed by a fire in a sub-station; 1,300 flights affected. Vatican: Pope Francis (88) left hospital after 5 weeks care. Electric vehicles: in 2024 BYD had revenue of $107B, Tesla had $98B. Both companies sold 1.8M EVs but BYD also makes hybrids. Myanmar: strong earthquake killed 1,700+ and many injured. South Korea: wildfires killed 30+ with many injured.
Israel – Hamas & Hezbollah	The ceasefire lapsed and the IDF started attacking sites in Gaza again. Israel stopped all aid from entering Gaza, to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages. Later Israel also stopped access to power. Death toll of Gazans passed 50,000 (mainly women and children). IDF struck sites in Lebanon, in response to attack.
Russian invasion of Ukraine	Confrontation in the Oval Office between Pres Trump & VP Vance and Pres Zelensky – they were obviously softening Zelensky up before the peace negotiations with Russia. Three-way talks  (USA-Ukraine, and USA-Russia) started in Saudi Arabia, trying to find a way to end the Ukraine conflict. European leaders held emergency meetings to rally support for Ukraine. USA halted cyber war operations against Russia. Trump ‘paused’ military support and intelligence sharing with Ukraine (later reinstated). Poland said it would pay the Starlink fee for Ukraine ($50M pa).
USA	Another frantic Trump month – see "Pres Trump at work" below. Trump announced 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, later suspended until 2 April (when 25% tariffs will start on all imports into the USA of cars and parts and many other products). In 2024 the USA imported about 8M cars (valued at $240B), mainly from Mexico, S Korea, Japan, Canada and Germany. About half of new car sales were imported cars. Stock markets volatile due to uncertainty of Trump’s policies; gold passed $3K per ounce. Trump made a “report to Congress” setting out his agenda. Trump revoked security clearances of Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Liz Cheney and others (Biden’s revoked last month). Trump took a legal firm off his black list when the firm agreed to provide $40M in pro bono services related to his initiatives. Trump said he will correct the Smithsonian’s (21 museums + zoo) “improper, unamerican, ideology” (similar to the Kennedy Centre of which he is now the Chairman). A Trump Executive Order made English the official language of the USA. Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha visited a US military base in Greenland - Vance urged Greenlanders to join the USA. US military attacked Houthi sites in Yemen to force them to stop targeting shipping. Trump threatened Iran if it did not renegotiate the non-nuclear agreement within two months. Trump closed down The Voice of America (“leftist”!). Elon Musk’s DOGE cut IRS staff by 20% (and other agencies). Anti Musk/Trump demonstrations at Tesla offices across America. Tesla shares have fallen from $480 in December to $250 now. Congress passed a bill to keep the federal govt going until 30 Sept. The Govt announced there were 8,326 “encounters” with migrants on the South-West Border in February 2025 (146,64 in Feb 2024). The Oscars: Anora – Best Picture; Adrien Brody – Best Actor (The Brutalist); Mickey Madison – Best Actress (Anora); Sean Baker – Best Director (Anora). Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams returned on A SpaceX satellite after being stranded for 9 months on the ISS. Former world boxing heavyweight champion George Foreman died aged 76. He won 73 fights, 68 by knockout. Mohammad Ali beat him in 1974 in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle” fight. Hyundai: announced plans to invest $21B in the USA. Stock market volatile due to uncertainty of Trump’s push for tariffs and drastic reductions in Federal Govt agencies. Elon Musk sold X (formerly Twitter) to sister coy xAI for $33B. American actor Richard Chamberlain died aged 90 (Dr Kildare, Shogun, The Thorn Birds, etc).
Australia	Prime Minister Albanese called a general election on 3 May 2025. Polls predict a close contest. The Aust Federal Police said that the caravan found with explosives in January was part of a “criminal hoax”, not terrorist. Annual Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras held in Sydney. NRL started the 2025 season with two rugby league games in Las Vegas (Raiders beat Warriors and Panthers beat Sharks). Tropical Cyclone Alfred crossed near Bribie Island (first cyclone near Brisbane in 51 years); extensive damage to areas south of Brisbane. Major floods in South-West Queensland; farms hit hard. James Harrison died aged 88. He was known as the “Man with Golden Arm” for regularly donating blood from age 18 to 81. Labor was returned in the Western Australia state election. Steve Smith announced his retirement from one-day international cricket. He was Aussie captain 2015-8. Scored 5,800 runs (av 43.28). 70 ODI caps. An estimated 80% of Australian adult males gamble at some stage; gambling turnover in 2023-4 estimated at $244B. Qld Govt unveiled “final” plans for the 2023 Olympic Games: new stadium and swim centre in Brisbane; several events will be held in regional areas. Former NSW policeman Kristian White found guilty of manslaughter for tasering 95 yo Clare Nowland which caused her to fall, hit her head and die. He was sentenced to 2 years community service.

 

President Trump at work

Donald John Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the USA on 21 January 2025. 

He was much better prepared this time, and started to implement his program immediately, largely via Executive Orders.

It's been a period of whirlwind action, which has completely dominated the media. He doesn't care what went before, completely disregards existing treaties and agreements, to have his own way. He will certainly change America.

Trump may be a rogue, but he gets things done.

To give a sense of what is happening, the following is a summary of Trump's key actions in Weeks 6 – 7 - 8 & 9 of his administration (roughly equating with the four weeks of March 2025).

Trump’s key actions in Week 6 of his administration

Ryan Teague Beckwith, MSNBC 4 March 2025

• Passed a House budget on party lines that could cut Medicaid and food stamps to help pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.

• Imposed tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada that went into effect on Tuesday.

• Scrambled to rehire staffers with the Food & Drug Administration who monitor the safety of medical devices.

• Proposed a "gold card" visa that would allow people to become lawful permanent residents for $5 million.

• Criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to his face in a shockingly contentious White House meeting.

• Slashed staff of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, fulfilling a Project 2025 goal.

• Announced the White House would take control of a press pool run by journalists for more than a century.

• Announced that it would strip security clearances from a white-shoe law firm for working with former special counsel Jack Smith.

• Announced that the Treasury Department will no longer enforce an anti-money laundering law.

• Began planning a nationwide operation to potentially deport children who came into the U.S. without a parent or guardian.

• Proposed that the U.S. government purchase and hold cryptocurrencies in a "Crypto Strategic Reserve."

• Said, through the Health and Human Services secretary, that measles deaths are "not unusual," though the U.S. hasn't had one since 2015.

• Wrote an unusual op-ed for Fox News in which the HHS secretary said the measles vaccine should be "readily accessible for all those who want them."

• Reportedly moved to cancel a $2.4 billion contract with Verizon to overhaul air traffic control systems and give it to Musk’s Starlink.

• Made plans for large-scale layoffs at federal agencies in March and April in a memo calling the federal workforce "bloated" and "corrupt."

• Floated a plan to put tariffs on copper as part of a move to hurt China's growth in the sector.

• Threatened to put 25% tariffs on the European Union, claiming, inaccurately, that the economic bloc was formed "to screw" the U.S.

• Filed three bills to impeach judges who ruled against the Trump administration in recent weeks.

• Invited billionaire federal contractor Elon Musk to Trump’s first Cabinet meeting, although he is not a member of the Cabinet.

• Said at that Cabinet meeting that the country has "gotten bloated and fat and disgusting."

• Denied access to The Associated Press, Reuters, HuffPost and a German newspaper at the Cabinet meeting.

• Revealed, after refusing to answer for weeks, that federal worker Amy Gleason is nominally the head of the DOGE effort.

• Floated removing government spending from gross domestic product (GDP) reports, complicating any analysis of DOGE cuts.

• Floated a controversial budget maneuver that would let Congress say that Trump's tax cut bill cost nothing, instead of trillions.

• Posted a video on Truth Social that showed the Gaza Strip as a resort featuring gold statues of Trump.

• Threatened to sue journalists who use anonymous sources or off-the-record quotes in news articles and books.

• Blamed, without evidence, "paid 'troublemakers'" for Republican lawmakers facing tough questions at town hall meetings.

 Trump’s key actions in Week 7

MSNBC Ryan Taegue Beckwith, 11 March 2025

• Lost a Supreme Court case, 5-4, in which the administration sought to continue a freeze on billions of dollars of foreign aid approved by Congress.

• Paused shipments of military aid to Ukraine approved by Congress after a contentious meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

• Gave his first joint address to Congress this term, defending tariffs while noting that there will be "a little disturbance" from them.

• Announced a new White House office centered on revitalizing commercial and naval shipbuilding.

• Told Congress that it should repeal the landmark 2022 bipartisan CHIPS Act to give subsidies to build semiconductors in the U.S.

• Said he would temporarily spare automakers from a new 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico.

• Stripped security clearances from the law firm Perkins Coie, which previously represented Hillary Clinton.

• Revoked security clearances and barred access to classified information for several Biden-era officials.

• Ordered a student loan forgiveness program to disqualify nonprofit workers who have engaged in "improper" activities.

• Called a Columbia student protester "pro-terrorist" and said his arrest is the first "of many to come."

• Told about 180 employees of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who had been laid off to return to work.

• Listed hundreds of federal properties for sale, including the FBI headquarters, then took the list down.

• Floated the idea of having mail carriers conduct the U.S. census instead of hiring temporary workers.

• Gave some Republican senators Elon Musk's phone number so they can call him to get problematic DOGE spending cuts reversed.

• Refused to rule out a recession in an interview with "Fox News Sunday," saying the economy will see "a period of transition."

• Saw the worst day for the Nasdaq since 2022 amid market fears sparked by tariff uncertainty and Trump's remarks.

• Blamed "globalist countries and companies" for a recent slide in the stock market.

• Said "nobody has ever heard of" the southern African country of Lesotho.

 Trump’s key actions in Week 8

March 18, 2025 By Ryan Teague Beckwith MSNBC

President Donald Trump took his most dramatic step to claim executive powers in his eighth week in office, invoking the Alien Enemies Act to begin deporting noncitizens without giving them a chance to go before a judge.

The 1798 law has been invoked only three other times: during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II. The last time it was used as part of the legal rationale for Japanese internment camps.

• Invoked the 18th century Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador.

• Denied that it violated a court order temporarily blocking the deportations, arguing it "had no lawful basis."

• Deported a 10-year-old U.S. citizen recovering from brain cancer and her family to Mexico after detaining them on their way to one of her medical checkups.

• Claimed that pardons of House Jan. 6 committee members and some others by then-President Joe Biden were now "void."

• Ruled out an exemption for Australia on steel and aluminum tariffs, as the European Union announced retaliatory trade actions.

• Threatened to double steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada if Ontario added surcharges to electricity sold to the U.S.

• Fired 1,300 workers from the Education Department, effectively gutting an agency he's vowed to shut down.

• Announced that another 1,000 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration workers will be laid off.

• Put 1,300 staffers at the Voice of America on paid leave amid plans to shutter the news agency, which was set up during World War II.

• Passed a spending bill with $485 million more for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and nearly $1 billion in cuts to the budget of Washington, D.C.

• Made plans to fire workers who preserve and maintain 26,000 works of art owned by the U.S. government.

• Promoted Tesla on the White House lawn and said vandalism against the company will be treated as domestic terrorism.

• Disbanded two federal committees tasked with advising policymakers on food safety.

• Expelled the South African ambassador for criticizing the Trump administration, calling him "persona non grata."

• Withdrew a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nominee who had questioned the measles vaccine.

• Reversed more than 100 terminations of leases for federal buildings around the country.

• Threatened to impose a 200% tariff on European wine, Champagne and liquor amid a trade war with the European Union.

• Lost in court as two judges ordered the administration to reinstate thousands of fired federal workers.

• Deported a kidney transplant doctor and professor even though a judge had issued an order blocking it.

• Launched investigations into 52 universities, accusing them of "racial preferences" for diversity efforts.

• Threatened to pull federal funding to Columbia University unless it overhauls admissions and cedes control of academic departments.

• Faced a major protest as demonstrators took over Trump Tower to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil.

• Was sued by a group of Democratic state attorneys general over efforts to dismantle the Education Department.

• Directed military officials to draw up options for increasing the troop presence in Panama, according to two U.S. officials.

• Asked the Supreme Court to narrow court orders so that it can put into effect a new policy against birthright citizenship.

• Terminated $20 billion worth of Biden-era grant agreements to finance clean energy and climate-friendly projects.

• Refused, in confirmation hearings for Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead Medicare and Medicaid, to commit to not cut Medicaid.

• Sued, through various entities affiliated with Trump, Capital One bank for closing accounts after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

• Delivered a highly politicized speech claiming he was persecuted to officials at the Justice Department.

• Argued in that speech that reporting by independent news outlets is biased and should be "illegal."

• Promoted Steak 'n Shake beef tallow-cooked fries in an interview with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

• Said, in an interview with the commerce secretary, that Trump's policies would be "worth it" even if they led to a recession.

• Fired a pardon attorney who said she believes she was ousted because she refused to restore Mel Gibson's right to carry a gun.

• Made plans for a registry that would require Canadians staying in the U.S. for longer than a month to get fingerprinted.

• Criticized The Wall Street Journal by saying it's "owned by the polluted thinking of the European Union."

 Trump’s key actions in Week 9

MSNBC by Ryan Teague Beckwith, 25 March 2025

President Donald Trump escalated his attacks on lawyers and judges in his ninth week in office.

Though Trump has long criticized judges, he's now calling for impeaching ones who rule against him as well as sanctioning lawyers who work on cases he dislikes.

• Directed the attorney general and homeland security secretary to sanction firms who file lawsuits the administration dislikes.

• Called for the impeachment of a judge who ordered a temporary halt to the use of a 1798 law for deportations.

• Signed an executive order seeking to dismantle the Department of Education while flanked by children sitting at school desks.

• Was rebuked by the chief justice of the Supreme Court in a rare statement that said impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreeing with a judge's decision.

• Accidentally added a journalist to a group chat of top officials on Signal discussing war plans in Yemen.

• Used police and security to enter the U.S. Institute of Peace as part of a DOGE effort to take control of the nonprofit and gut it.

• Fired the two Democratic commissioners on the Federal Trade Commission in what appears to be a violation of a 1935 Supreme Court decision.

• Ended Secret Service protection for former President Joe Biden's two adult children, Hunter and Ashley.

• Appointed retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, to an oversight board for West Point.

• Began planning tariffs on trillions of dollars in imports, according to a Washington Post article citing unnamed sources.

• Removed a ban on "segregated facilities" in federal contracts that dates back to 1965.

• Announced that Boeing had won a contract for a new fighter jet to be named the F-47, after Trump.

• Announced a new requirement that Americans applying for Social Security verify their identity online or in person.

• Threatened to shut down Social Security systems over a judge's order barring DOGE access, then backed down.

• Released tens of thousands of pages of government documents on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

• Included the Social Security numbers of hundreds of living people in the JFK documents released.

• Planned to send second lady Usha Vance and a national security adviser to Greenland, whose prime minister called the visit "aggressive."

• Attempted to recruit corporate sponsors for the 147-year-old Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn.

• Said in an interview with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that only "fraudsters" would complain about a missing Social Security check.

• Said, in another interview with Lutnick, that people should "buy Tesla" and that "it'll never be this cheap again."

• Suggested that Tesla vandals should be labeled as terrorists and sent to prison in El Salvador.

• Demanded that the governor of Colorado take down a painting of Trump that he said was poorly done.

 

......

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".  

Here are some of the interesting graphs in the Bloomberg newsletter during March 2025; they are self-explanatory.

At the beginning of December 2024 Bloomberg advised that they would start charging to subscribe to this newsletter ($299 pa). So far they have continued to provide it free, but when that stops I will, regretably, no longer include this section in my blog. Pity, as it's been an excellent source of readily-accessible information. 

In the meantime, herewith the latest offering, for March 2025.

 

......

That's it for this post.

Stay happy and healthy, and keep smiling.

Vera & Alex Olah

Caloundra, Australia

Monday 31 March 2025

Post #287 28 February 2025

 Gentlefolk,

This post describes our main activities during the month of February 2025.

The contents of this post are in the following sequence:

Photos of our activities during February 2025.

News items which caught my eye in February 2025. 

A summary of actions by President Trump in his first three weeks in the White House (frightening but fascinating!).

International Trade (this section survives, for now).

Herewith photos of some of our activities in February 2025:

Lunch with Bron & Daz Hensley at "The Black House" in Maleny (about 40 minutes from Nirimba). As part of ongoing renovations, they recently painted their house black (and changed all the windows to louvre windows to enahnce air flow).
We met them on the tour of India in Feb/March 2020, lovely couple.

A group from our Village went on a cruise of the Mooloolaba canals. Our captain/guide was exceptional.

We passed 'One Croc', Steve Irwin's boat before his tragic death from a Sting Ray.

We went with Glenys and Ken from our Village. Dinner first and then the show. 

The Credence Clearwater night at the Banana Benders Pub - dancing - good fun.

We went to dinner and the show with Glenys and Ken from our Village. Ken knew the band so we got to meet them during an intermission. 

My former student in Qingdao, Charles Yu and his partner Nikki visited us for a weekend.  We tried go-karting near us. Exciting!
Charles did engineering and finished his degree at the University of Wollongong. He liked the lifestyle here and decided to stay. Worked in Sydney. Nikki and he moved to Brisbane about 18 months ago. They bought a lovely house and are doing very well.

A view of the 1.2km Go Kart track - super fun.

Jen & tom & Kurt came up for a weekend.  Always good to see them, they are just so clever with digital stuff and also gardening. We had dinner at Kings Beach Surf Lifesaving Club.  Tom & Kurt found some good waves for a surf.

The Roberts leaving to return home to Brisbane (just over an hour from Nirimba to The Gap).

Vera and I have joined two U3A classes - "Brain Health" on Monday mornings at Caloundra Library, and "Travel Chats" on Tuesday afternoons. It's good to do some activities outside the Village.
Vera also participates in a Mandarin Chinese language class (by zoom) on Wednesday mornings.
This photo shows part of the Brain Health group. We haven't done crosswords before and are finding it a challenge (which is the idea!).

We had lunch with Sismanie Urbanchik in Nambour, about 30 mins from us. Vera and Sismanie were classmates at Teacher's College in Jogjakarta back in the 1960s. Sismanie and her husband moved from Canberra to Nambour  about 15 years ago; unfortunately he has since passed away.

. 

Barry Ditchburn from our Village organised a visit to the Queensaland Air Museum in Caloundra.

The Museum is run completely by volunteers, two of whom, Casey and Ray, showed us around. They said it has the largest collection in Australia of non-flying aircraft.
They have a DC3 built in 1937 for KLM (used to take 10 days to fly from The Netherlands to Indonesia). It was in serivce until 1983.
The Museum also features an F18; Ventura A59; Ganet X331; Drover YH-FDS (ex Royal Flying Doctor Service); Caribou A4-173; Canberra bomber; Sea Vixen; Meteor; etc.

Good neighbours Margaret and Gary invited me to join them at the Sunshine Cost Turf Club races on Sunday 23 February 2025. There were 8 races, between 1,200 and 1,400 meters. We picked one winner.

The horses being paraded before a race.

.....and the winner was #5, by a nose from #11 (we had picked #11 for the win!).

I'm starting to enjoy lawn  bowls at the Village. Some proper coaching is being arranged for beginners like me. 

The topic at this week's U3A Travel Chats group was "Auroras" also known as Northern Lights. It is a natural light display in the sky that occurs when electrically chagerd particles from the sund collide with the earth;s atmosphere. Amazing, spectacular scenes.

Laura Sandmeier visited Caloundra. We had coffee at Kings Beach. Perfect day.

 

Vera & Laura. We had lunch in a Thai restaurant, then coffee at Kings Beach. Drove aling Golden Beach. Then home to show Laura our house and the Village. Swim in the pool. Then Bingo, followed by dinner in a Japanese restaurant before dropping Laura off. 

......

News items which caught my eye in February 2025.

($ are US dollars unless otherwise shown)

Global	UK: 5th anniversary of Brexit; many people now regret that decision. A jury found soccer star Sam Kerr not guilty of causing racially aggravated harassment for calling a Police Officer “stupid & white”. Israel: Netanyahu was the first foreign leader to meet Trump at the White House, followed by Modi. Sweden: ten people killed in shooting at an Adult Education Centre. Japan: 1.2 metres of snow fell in 12 hours in Obihiro, Hokkaido. Argentina: pulled out of the World Health Organisation (followed US example). Malaysia: received 25M foreign visitors in 2024: main sources 9M from Singapore, 4M from Indonesia, 3M from China, 2M Thailand. Artificial Intelligence (AI): at a conference in Paris, 60 countries signed the AI Action Statement to make AI open, inclusive and ethical (signatories included China, India, France etc but not the USA or UK). Singapore: will invest $750M in a new R&D semiconductor facility. Vatican: Pope Francis is seriously ill with pneumonia in both lungs. Egypt: Tomb of Pharoah Thutmose 2 (1493-1479) discovered (first major tomb since Tutankhamun in 1922). Spain: ex-Football boss Luis Rubiales was found guilty of sexual assault for kissing Jenni Hermoso after winning the World Cup. G20 Foreign Ministers meeting held in South Africa – US absent. Ice Hockey: Canada beat USA 3-2 in overtime in final of the 4 Nations Championship (USA, Canada, Finland & Sweden). Germany: Elections held on 23 February top 3 parties: conservative CDU got 29% of vote; right wing AfD got 21% (up from10% in 2021); and social democrats SPD got 16% (down from 26% in 2021). CDU leader Friedrich Merz (69) will seek to form a coalition government and replace Olof Scholz as Germany’s Chancellor.
Israel – Hamas & Hezbollah	Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza, and an exchange of hostages for Palestinians in Israeli jails. Gaza casualties since 7 October 2024: estimated at least 48K killed (mainly women & children) and 112K injured; most buildings and infrastructure destroyed. Israel's PM Netanyahyu was obviously very pleased at President Trump's suggestion that Gaza Palestinians be relocated to neighbouring countries. Trump said that the USA would assume control of Gaza, which would be redeveloped as a "new Riviera". Reports that Israel's IDF is increasing operations in the West Bank.
Russian invasion of Ukraine	3rd anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (24 Feb 2022). American and Russian officials, including Marco Rubio and Sergei Lavrov, met in Saudi Arabia to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. Zelensky and Europe angry at not being included. European leaders, and UK, held emergency meetings in Paris and London to decide future support for Ukraine.
USA	President Trump – many, many initiatives in first few weeks in the White House, see summary below (after this News section). Trump fired General Charles Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and five other senior Pentagon officers. Trump banned Associated Press (AP) from White House briefings until it accepts the new name for Gulf of America. Elon Musk spent $290M supporting Republicans during the 2024 election campaign. His DOGE is targeting many federal departments and agencies. He initiated an email from the Office of Personnel Management to all Federal employees asking them to list their contributions/achievements to justify their positions. NFL Super Bowl 59: Played in New Orleans. Philadelphia Eagles 40 beat Kansas City Chiefs 22. MVP Eagles Quarterback Jalen Hurts, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni. Jordan Mailata is the first Australian to win a Super Bowl. He was born in Sydney of Samoan parents. He plays Offensive Linesman for the Eagles. He is 27 years old, 2.03 metres tall and weighs 166 kg. President Trump attended the Super Bowl. The US Mint loses $85M pa on producing pennies – will stop. Following Trump Executive Order, Google Maps changed the name of Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America. Mexico not happy. 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live”. Berkshire Hathaway reported an operating profit of $47B in 2024. CEO Warren Buffett is 94 and hinting of retiring. Roberta Flack died aged 88; famous for hits such as “Killing me Softly” and “The First time I saw your Face”.
Australia	YouGov Poll of 41,000 found that if an election were held now the Coalition would win about 73 seats and Labor 66 seats, Greens 1, and independents 10 (76 needed for a majority in HoR). The Reserve Bank cut interest rates by 0.25% to 4.1%; there were 13 rate hikes since Nov 2020. Extensive flooding around Townsville & Ingham in North Queensland, much damage, at least 2 dead. Aust Govt banned Chinese AI company DeepSeek from govt devices. Australian Parliament strengthened hate-crime laws: 6 years mandatory jail for terrorist offences; 3 years for providing financial support; 1 year for Nazi salute and symbols. SA Govt forced the Whyalla Steelworks into receivership following payment delays by owner. Prime Minister Albanese announced additional funding of A$8.5B to Medicare to increase bulk-billing rates.

 

Donald John Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the USA on 21 January 2025.  

He was much better prepared this time, and started to implement his program immediately, largely via Executive Orders (he signed 73 EOs in the first 100 days).

It's been a period of whirlwind action, which has completely dominated the media. He may be a rogue, but he certainly gets things done (eg Canada and Mexico making significant changes with threat of 25% tariffs).

To give a sense of what is happening, the following is a summary of Trump's key actions in the first three weeks of this administration.

 

 Trump’s key actions in Week 1.

Oliver Holmes, The Guardian, Sat 25 Jan 2025

Donald Trump has spent his first week back in the White House introducing so many policy changes that it has been hard to keep up with what has happened.

In less than a week, the new administration has abandoned the world’s main health agency, ditched a global treaty on the climate crisis, and told refugees already approved to fly to the US that they were not welcome and could no longer come.

1. Issued pardons for people involved in the January 6 attack

Trump issued presidential pardons for about 1,500 people who were involved in the January 6 attack on Congress, including more than 250 people who were convicted of assault charges.

2. Left the World Health Organization and suspended foreign aid

The US announced it would exit the World Health Organization (WHO) and suspended all foreign aid for three months.

3. Backed ‘biblical’ Israeli claims to Palestinian land

Trump’s nominee for US ambassador to the United Nations endorsed Israeli claims of “biblical rights” to the entire occupied West Bank.

4. Withdrew from the Paris climate agreement

On his first day back as president, Trump signed an executive order in front of supporters at an arena in Washington DC to quit the Paris climate agreement for a second time. It will take about a year for the withdrawal to be formalised.

The administration separately plans to fast-track permits for new fossil fuel projects.

5. Launched a war on migrants – and their children

Trump declared a “national emergency” related to migration. The president also targeted people already in the country by seeking to cancel automatic citizenship for US-born children, known as birthright.

6. Cancelled travel for refugees, including those approved to resettle in US

One of Trump’s first actions as president was to suspend a refugee admissions program for people who have fled war and persecution.

7. Recommitted to the death penalty

Trump has committed to pursue federal death sentences and pledged to ensure that states have sufficient supplies of lethal injection drugs for executions.

8. Ignited fear when Elon Musk appeared to make a fascist salute

Elon Musk, Trump’s closest billionaire backer, ignited controversy when he gave back-to-back fascist-style salutes during inauguration celebrations. Musk later responded to criticisms of his behaviour on X, tweeting: “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is soo tired.”

9. Warned Joe Biden he should have pardoned himself

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said Joe Biden should have pardoned himself – a lightly veiled threat that he would go after the former president.

10. Put anti-discrimination government staff on leave

US federal employees working to halt discrimination were put on paid leave this week. Under the order, the White House said it would scrap all Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility offices, positions, plans, actions, initiatives or programs within 60 days.

11. Denied transgender rights (and banned flags)

Government agencies issuing passports, visas and other official documents have been ordered to only allow male and female as options.

12. Changed a couple of names

In his inaugural speech, Trump repeated his intention to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. He also said he would revert the name of Alaska’s 20,000ft mountain Denali, the highest peak in North America, to Mount McKinley – its name before Barack Obama changed it in 2015.

 ……….

Trump's key actions in Week 2.

Feb. 5, 2025 By Ryan Teague Beckwith MSNBC.

Here's a not-entirely exhaustive rundown of actions by the Trump administration in his second week in office:

• Signed the Laken Riley Act, which allows federal immigration officers to detain and deport undocumented people charged with crimes, instead of just those who have been convicted.

• Ordered a widespread freeze on trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans. Rescinded a memo about the freeze after a judge blocked it.

• Paused a U.S. foreign aid agency's spending, placed top officials on leave, ordered workers to stay home and locked them out of their email.

• Purged multiple government websites of references to climate change and LGBTQ+ Americans, including the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Census.

• Signed an executive order that would make it possible to detain migrants at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay. Promised to send 30,000, although it held only 680 prisoners at its peak.

• Sent 2 million federal workers an email offering to keep paying them through September if they resign now, a move that appears to run afoul of federal employment rules.

• Revoked a security detail and clearance for former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, who once called Trump "fascist." Ordered a review to see if Milley, who is retired, should be demoted.

• Launched a review of federal prosecutors' use of an obstruction of justice charge against some Jan. 6 defendants which the Supreme Court said was used too broadly.

• Ordered public K-12 schools to stop teaching "radical gender ideology and critical race theory," although it's unclear exactly how the federal government will pursue this.

• Ordered a 10% tariff on all Chinese products, leading Beijing to announce tariffs on U.S. coal, gas and other goods, restrictions on exports of minerals and an investigation into Google.

• Ordered 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, leading fans at an NBA game in Toronto to boo the U.S. national anthem, then announced both would be paused for a month.

• Blamed, without evidence, Federal Aviation Administration efforts to hire a more diverse staff for an air crash near Washington, D.C.

• Suggested Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations accept more Palestinian refugees in order to “just clean out” the war-torn Gaza Strip, wording criticized for sounding like "ethnic cleansing."

• Joked about serving a third term, which would be unconstitutional, while speaking with House Republicans holding a retreat at the Trump National Doral Golf Club, which he owns.

 ......

Trump’s key actions in Week 3.

 Mallory Moench, BBC News 8 February 2025

The third week of Donald Trump's second term has been marked by more major action from the US president and his team.

1. Proposed the US 'take over' Gaza

At a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said the US would "take over" and "own" Gaza, resettling its Palestinian population in the process (he mentioned Egypt and Jordan as possible destinations). Trump proposed developing the territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East".

2. Planned to put thousands of USAID staff on leave

Thousands of employees at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the government's main foreign aid agency, were expected to be placed on leave at midnight on Friday. The proposed cuts will affect the vast majority of the agency's workforce, leaving only a few hundred essential staff out of a total of about 10,000 employees globally.

3. Imposed tariffs on China and pulled back threats on neighbours

Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese imports on Tuesday, but held off on his threat of implementing 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico for 30 days, after those countries' leaders pledged to beef up border security and help combat drugs.

4. Pressed ahead with plan to incentivise federal workers to resign

The Trump administration had offered incentives to federal workers to voluntarily resign by a Thursday midnight deadline - part of an effort to slash the size of the government.

5. Sanctioned the International Criminal Court

On Thursday, Trump signed an order to impose sanctions on some staff of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The sanctions place financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist in ICC investigations of American citizens or allies.

More than 120 countries, including the UK, are members of the ICC, though the US and Israel are not.

6. Ordered strikes against the Islamic State group in Somalia

Trump said he ordered military air strikes on a senior attack planner and others from the Islamic State (IS) group in north-east Somalia on 1 February.

7. Withdrew from United Nations institutions

On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the main UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, of which Israel has been highly critical.

The same order said the US would no longer participate in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and the US would conduct a review of its membership in the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) within 90 days.

8. Sent first plane of deportees to Guantanamo

The US sent the first group of migrants to Guantanamo Bay on Tuesday, after Trump announced plans to expand migrant detention at the US Navy base in Cuba to 30,000.

9. Demanded Ukraine provide rare earth resources

On Monday, Trump said he wanted Ukraine to guarantee the supply of more rare earth metals in exchange for $300bn (£240bn) to support its fight against Russia.

10. Banned transgender competitors from women's sports

Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that prevents transgender women from competing in female categories of sports.

11. Released water from dams in California

Trump on Monday ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to release billions of gallons of water from two reservoirs in California's Central Valley after deadly wildfires in Los Angeles in January. Trump had claimed California withheld water supplies that could have made a difference in fighting the fires, which the state's Governor Gavin Newsom and other officials disputed.

12. Announced taskforce to tackle 'anti-Christian bias'

Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that aimed "to protect the religious freedoms of Americans and end the anti-Christian weaponization of government". He appointed newly confirmed Attorney General Pam Bond to lead a task force to eradicate what he called "anti-Christian bias" in the federal government.

13. Intervened in a dispute in the golf world

Trump, an avid golf player who owns courses around the world, reportedly intervened in a dispute between championship organiser PGA Tour and its rival series LIV Golf.

14. Removed climate change mentions from government websites

Starting last week, the Trump administration reportedly ordered departments of transportation, defence, state and agriculture to remove references to climate change from their websites. Some climate content remained on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Nasa and energy department's sites.

15. Increased access for Department of Government Efficiency (Doge)

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he had directed Musk's Doge, a cost-cutting initiative to shrink the federal government, to "check out" spending at the defence department among other agencies.

16. Joe Biden's security clearance revoked

Trump revoked Joe Biden's security clearance and access to daily intelligence briefings on Friday - something Biden did to Trump four years ago.

17. Scraps task force that seized assets of Russian oligarchs

Trump's Attorney General Pam Bondi this week disbanded a force designed to combat foreign interference in elections, as well as another initiative which targeted Russian oligarchs. Bondi also disbanded the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force - which aimed to prevent foreign meddling in US elections - to reassign its staff to focus instead on drug cartels and transnational criminal organisations.

…………….

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".  

Here are some of the interesting graphs in the Bloomberg newsletter during February 2025; they are self-explanatory.

At the beginning of December 2024 Bloomberg advised that they would start charging to subscribe to this newsletter ($299 pa). So far they have continued to provide it free, but when that stops I will, regretably, no longer include this section in my blog. Pity, as it's been an excellent source of readily-accessible information. 

In the meantime, herewith the latest offering, for February 2025.

......

We have been in Halcyon Nirimba for 4.5 months and are starting to feel more settled now. Ironically, one of the reasons was Vera's fall back in November. In late-January she started twice-a-week Balance Classes at Caloundra Hospital, which has meant that we have had to  become much more comfortable driving into Caloundra. 

Typically, I drop her off at the Hospital, and then go for a swim at Kings Beach, before picking her up again. I love spending even just 15 minutes battling the strong waves and undertoe. 

Also this month our U3A classes started: Monday morning "Brain Health" at Caloundra Library, and Tuesday afternoon "Travel Chats" at the CWA hall. Both locations are in Caloundra city which, again, has forced us to come to terms with driving in this area.

The Piriformis muscle in my left buttock continues to give me grief (started in December), despite daily stretching. Had a CT scan - the doctor confirmed that I have arthritis in my lower back and lower spine. She said there is no cure, but can manage the pain with anti-inflamatories. I am trying an acupuncturist, David Pentland, but little relief so far.

The last 2 weeks we have noticed the weather become less humid, and the mornings a little cooler.  Maximum temperatures are still around 30C. The weather is very variable: clear blue skies can turn into showers within an hour.

That's it for this post.

Stay happy and healthy and keep smiling!

Vera & Alex Olah

Caloundra, Queensland

Friday 28 February 2025