tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40977582011-04-21T12:25:10.238-07:00Aussie Expat WhineBleatings from exile by an Australian ExpatriateUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger261100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-76737198318591784972007-03-26T23:47:00.000-07:002007-03-27T00:11:05.213-07:00Taxi PollThe Sydney Morning Herald has been running a regular blog called Cab Poll in which a cab-driving contributor asks passengers what they thought about the upcomiong state election.This reminded me of the years when I studied for my honours degree in political science and then later my MBA. Both times I supplemented by student allowance with taxi driving on weekends - Friday and Saturday Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-60383511580817269782007-03-06T21:19:00.000-08:002007-03-11T17:05:22.268-07:00Australian Journalist Seeks to Re-invent EconomicsEconomics correspondant for the Sydney Morning Herald, Ross Gittins, has recently published a book called modestly, Gittinomics. He reviews it here. He deplores the lack of humanity of economists who simply predict human behaviour when it comes to making and spending wealth, and tries to imply that what they should be doing is telling us what is Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-1132207038661991712005-11-16T21:28:00.000-08:002005-11-16T23:34:56.270-08:00Recently in Australia around 18 alleged terrorists were arrested and all of the press were full of details of the terrible things these fools were planning. It was easy to generate a sense of outrage and strong support for the arrests in the light of the detailed information on conversations about targets, requests for martyrdom, massive stocks of arms and bomb-making chemicals. At the same time Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-1085624336158289252004-05-26T18:46:00.000-07:002004-05-26T19:33:16.253-07:00French Linguistic Protectionism and Chinese Characters
Nobody is less apologetic about wanting to protect their industry, culture and even their way of life than the French. But I heard an interesting program recently on Duetche Weller, the German short wave wave program, which suggested that the French language itself is valued as a bulwark of this protectionist urge.
The program pointed to Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-1079957440632030712004-03-22T04:10:00.000-08:002004-03-22T04:14:01.310-08:00Education - A Personal Rant
My teacher and mentor on China, Dr Adrian Chan, recently wrote to my about development in Australia. Adrian taught me a great deal about Chinese history, politics and philosophy and at the time was my political soul mate. After my arrival in China however I slowly began to realise that China, while implementing Socialism in the way it was understood in those days wasUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-1079437148450590752004-03-16T03:39:00.000-08:002004-03-16T03:42:20.123-08:00NSW Department of Education & Training (NSW DET) Acts as arm of Teacher's Union
Browsing the website of the NSW DET recently I came across the recent, large scale trial conducted at the request of the department into the benefits of smaller classes on educational outcomes. It was commissioned by the department in the context of falling enrollments in the public system as people gravitated Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-1077016976268682362004-02-17T03:22:00.000-08:002004-02-17T03:25:31.170-08:00A Pox on Both Your Houses
I wrote the following to prolific anti-Leftist/Green blogger John Ray. He wrote in the context of a story in Australia announcing the government had devided to abolish a superannuation scheme (retirement allowance) for politicians which vastly over-rewarded them compared to the normal schemes for working people. Indeed the government contribution in this scheme was 160%Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-1076075710615612852004-02-06T05:55:00.000-08:002004-02-06T05:57:30.560-08:00The map below represents the countries I have visited. Given 25 years wandering around outside Australia you might think I would have been to more. In fact I spent most of my time in China. Travelling rarely as we took most of our breaks to return to Australia to see my family.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-1076075591680999872004-02-06T05:53:00.000-08:002004-02-06T05:55:31.653-08:00
create your own visited country map
or write about it on the open travel guide
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-1074178422555865172004-01-15T06:53:00.000-08:002004-01-15T06:56:05.606-08:00Economic Rationalism
Today I received an email from my brother Thomas, an active branch member of Australia's conservative Liberal Party. As is too often the case the rest of the family, including me, are die-hard Labor Party people so our family gatherings are characterized by vigorous political debate. The irony is that while I am a rabid economic rationist, as are many in the former Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-1072577769289750462003-12-27T18:16:00.000-08:002003-12-27T18:17:36.340-08:00Friendly Diatribe
Aussie Expat's old friend Dr John Henningham is the retired professor of Journalism from the University of Queensland. He was the first Professor of Journalism in Australia, founder of an academic journal on the subject and a specialist on the subject of political bias in the media. Recently he retired from academe to found his own private college journalism, Jschool, in Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-1072576061120394992003-12-27T17:47:00.000-08:002003-12-27T17:49:07.733-08:00The Internet Church of Ray
Christ you're a shambles Ray! Yes and a sentimental old fool!
Teary eyed at the Queen's Christmas address! Wait let
me guess - no doubt at the Pope's entirely inaudible
effort. Oh and of course His Grace the Archbishop of
Canterbury's Christmas Sermon, Not to mention John
Howard's Christmas message and Bob Carr's Annual
Address.
You're not just a sentimental old Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-1060999490311392272003-08-15T19:04:00.000-07:002003-08-15T19:04:45.606-07:00Eating Humble Pie
Aussie Expat these days is the classic neocon. Having a spent good number of his youthful years trumpeting the doctrine of socialism as being the only one morally defensible I now blog my frustration about the slow transition of the former socialist non-economies to a 'politically correct' market economies. Pet targets of my ire have been the trade unions who seem to do nothingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-1059425254639209512003-07-28T13:47:00.000-07:002003-07-28T13:47:34.610-07:00**Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-1059403666808336392003-07-28T07:47:00.000-07:002003-07-28T07:47:46.666-07:00The War in Iraq
Aussie Expat today received a note on an interview with formaer British pollie, Dennis Healey recorded on the BBC cllaiming that all the reservations against intervention in Iraq were proving to be true and that Blair would have to step down as he had badly misjudged the situation due to an obsession with his place in history. He further stated that if the US had gained UN Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-1058096325024346582003-07-13T04:38:00.000-07:002003-07-13T04:38:44.906-07:00Rules of Civility
I found a copy of the Rules of Civility as taught to US President George Washington while searching for something to help Chinese officials going overseas. They had to be substantially editted for both language and modern relevence. I ended up with 110 rules which seem to be the general basis of English politeness. I plan to use it as a teaching device for my students as well. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-1057415066863399242003-07-05T07:24:00.000-07:002003-07-05T07:24:26.810-07:00Degree Factories
The following letter appeared in the Economist this week. The comment is predictable given the source but it reminds us that occasionally we should apply the hot torch of cost-benefit analysis to all our institutions.
A little learning
SIR – So arts graduates from British universities command less in the jobs market than those without any degree at all (“Money back”, June Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-953512492003-06-05T18:44:00.000-07:002003-06-10T07:49:07.000-07:00Moral Certitude
The following quote I took from my "A Word A Day" email a couple of days back and sent it off to friends. It struck a resonance with me, particularly the complete inability to believe in any position with great certainty. I sometimes envy those able to believe as I have always lacked that particular capacity which seems so central to those who go out and achieve great things. I Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-948890082003-05-26T01:06:00.000-07:002003-05-26T01:07:31.000-07:00Etymological Correctness
This feedback from the famous "A Word a Day" email service which I enjoy. An egregious example of poltical correctness I think you will agree. Especially given their failure to produce any words which did not fit the politicaly correct criteria or even the word which Africans are supposed to use when referring to their homeland. The compliler of AWAD will no doubt be Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-943773352003-05-15T00:36:00.000-07:002003-05-15T07:41:11.000-07:00Muslim's Just Want to Rule the World.
Many good hearted people with the best of intentions propose solutions to the problem of militant Islam. They think Western people offend them with their materialistic societies, or their comparatively liberal social mores. They earnestly preach that we oppress Arab countries because of our rapacious desire for oil. Whatever bad the Islamists do, their Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-938044252003-05-05T08:28:00.000-07:002003-05-06T06:42:44.000-07:00Immigration - some radical thoughts
Australian Dr John Ray, a self professed libertarian and author of blogsite Dissecting Leftism, has posted on the decision of the British government to send all asylum seekers (some 100,000 a year!) to Russia for processing on May 4 here. Rather similar to the Australian Pacific Solution. He sees it as a vindication of the Australian policy.
Ray is a Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-931166532003-04-23T08:27:00.000-07:002003-04-23T08:28:49.000-07:00Carr for Canberra?
The following letter to the Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald was written following the publication of surveys in Sydney which showned that 61% thought NSW Premier Bob Carr would be a better leader of the Federal Labor Party than the incumbant - Simon Crean. Although a Labor supporter since the late 60's I am now also a firm believer in the market system and the move away Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-923592562003-04-10T06:54:00.000-07:002003-04-10T06:57:43.000-07:00The UN and Iraq
First UN Secretary General Kofy Annan and now French President Chirac have implicitely threatened that the UN may withhold recognition of a new Iraqi government if the UN is not given the leading role in the post war reconstruction.
One can understand their pique at the Coalition going over their heads and providing the only effective sanction, after a decade of meaningless Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-921812082003-04-07T16:21:00.000-07:002003-04-07T21:17:17.000-07:00Public Education
As a consumer of public education both as a student and a parent I have mostly been a defender of the Australian system. Indeed when I returned to Australia in 1996, I immediately headed for the public system to complete the education of my children. My wife had severe misgivings however. Coming from Hong Kong it is incomprehensible to her that her children could receive a good Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-878396222003-01-22T05:49:00.000-08:002003-01-22T05:49:59.966-08:00Canberra Torched
As a Sydney-sider who lived all but three years of his first 22 years in the Sutherland Shire not far from the Royal National Park where ‘bush fires’ threaten most summers, I first must mourn the loss of four lives in Canberra as well as the hundreds of houses.
Australians’ love of ‘The Bush’ has been recorded by our own writers as well as many from overseas. When we buy a new Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097758.post-873359742003-01-12T20:20:00.000-08:002003-04-23T08:32:59.000-07:00Mission Statement
To provide an outlet for my opinions on the Australian social, economic and political scene. To comment on developments and critique the comments of others. To be a positive voice for change in Australia along economic-rationalist lines which could see this beautiful country move once more into the front ranks of the worlds richest in terms of per capita income.
(NB Australia Unknownnoreply@blogger.com