The Brotherhood of Man

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=125 BGCOLOR="#0000FF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>The Brotherhood of Man   </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFCC00" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>www.brotherhood-of-man.net </B></FONT></div> <div> <B>This site now publishes the thoughts of elder-citizen Clive Pearson </B></div> <div> <B>(Find out what makes me tick in "</B><A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My Word"><U><B>My Word</B></U></A><B>")</B></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=220 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Email: </B></div> <div> <B>barossaserve@hotmail.com</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Links:</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id67.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Global Warming"><U><B>Global Warming</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id69.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Water Resources"><U><B>Water Resources</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Data Communications"><U><B>Data Communications</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id75.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Science and Technology"><U><B>Science and Technology</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id71.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Politics"><U><B>Politics</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id72.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Education"><U><B>Education</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id74.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Social Issues"><U><B>Social Issues</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id73.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Management Techniques"><U><B>Management Techniques</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id78.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Health"><U><B>Health</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id81.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nuclear Power"><U><B>Nuclear Power</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id87.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Disaster Management"><U><B>Disaster Management</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=355 BGCOLOR="#0000FF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>(If you have viewed this website before, your computer or provider may have cached an earlier version. For each page, click on the Refresh icon to view the latest version.)</B></div> <div> <B>Updates, March 4th. 2012</B></div> <div> <B><U>Night of the Long Knives</U></B></div> <div> <B>It is of considerable regret that the guerrilla war within the parliamentary Labour Party has resulted in the sidelining of Senator Kim Carr, the former Minister for Manufacturing Industry. Senator Carr was a quiet achiever, not seeking personal fame, but going about his task in a rational, diligent manner. He is a man of considerable talent, and will be sadly missed by the manufacturing industry. </B></div> <div> <B>I have a deep-seated distrust of policians (you can tell when they are lying, bacause they open their mouths) and believe that all may not be as it seems, following the re-organisation of the parliamentary ALP. If you like conspiracy theories, and are inclined to be cynical, try this:-</B></div> <div> <B>Without effective counselling, but with the backing of her ex-Union colleagues, Julia Gillard will proceed unopposed to implement all ALP policies, up to the time of the next election. She will renege upon any embarrassing promises. She will gain a reputation as the Iron Lady, doing all of the dirty work, and will become an un-electable future leader. All for the good of the Party, which will be considered to be active legislators.</B></div> <div> <B>Meanwhile, Kevin Rudd will sit quietly on the Back Bench, restoring his shattered reputation as a benevolent, wise elder statesman. Just prior to the next election, a rehabilitated Rudd will rise like a phoenix from the ashes, ready to lead a successful ALP to a glorious victory, over a frustrated, ineffective opposition. </B></div> <div> <B><U>Beaten With a Slipper</U></B><B> </B></div> <div> <B>Unexpectedly, Peter Slipper has not become a mouse as Speaker of the Lower House. Instead, he has restored traditional ceremonial functions which enhance the reputation of the House, and which remind the Members of his duties and authority in controlling debate. </B></div> <div> <B>There has been a noticeable improvement in the management of Question Time, with reduction of interjections and enforcement of the requirement for relevance. Even our Prime Minister has had to follow the rules - perhaps even she may be expelled from the House one day, if she doesn't mend her ways! </B></div> <div> <B>Now, once again, we can watch the broadcasts of Question Time with real benefit. </B></div> <div> <B>Updates, March 3rd. 2012  </B></div> <div> <B><U>Setting the Pace</U></B></div> <div> <B>With advancing years, bodily systems gradually fail. As of last week, I now incorporate a heart pacemaker. Like Dr. Manette, a principal character in Dickens' novel "A Tale of Two Cities", I feel that I have been "recalled to life". </B></div> <div> <B>Fantasising, I have actually been equipped with an implanted  Robotic Remote Control, which can be activated by the C.I.A. when needed to overthrow the Australian Government. Yes, I also believe that they found a Little Green Man at Roswell in 1947 - I was an impressionable 13 year old at the time.</B></div> <div> <B><U>Terrorists Exploit the Web</U></B></div> <div> <B>If I were a terrorist, and wished to motivate Muslim populations to attack Coalition forces and Overseas Aid Organisations, then I would pose as a Coalition serviceman and post anti-Muslim, sexist, and racist comments upon social web-sites such as Facebook. So much easier and more effective than making a car bomb. Of course, </B><B>if I wished to appear to be authentic, </B><B>I would need to choose the right language for my insertions. Whoops! - when did an Australian serviceman refer to his comrades as "buddies"? </B></div> <div> <B>No intelligent serving or retired member of the armed forces would ever risk provoking attacks upon his associates.  What kind of deranged idiot would do that? </B></div> <div> <B>We have reasonable criteria for acceptable content in all traditional media resources, but virtually no restraints upon web-sites. All web-sites should be required to Moderate (i.e. validate) their content, or face closure by cancellation or modification of name-server data on their web Domain Registrars. </B></div> <div> <B>No newspaper will publish anonymous Letters to the Editor. Why should anonymous, scurrilous, inflammatory or defamatory postings be permitted on the internet? And, by the way, why should we allow the "cyber bullying" of our kids?</B></div> <div> <B><U>A New Scapegoat</U></B></div> <div> <B>The federal Australian Labour Party is renowned for its practice of plucking out reputable persons  to enhance their public image. Of course, it is a little like becoming the principal guest at a cannibal dinner party - look what happened to Cheryl Kernot, and more recently to Peter Garrett. </B></div> <div> <B>I wonder what the future holds for Bob Carr? </B></div> <div> <B><U>Service Call Centres</U></B><B> </B></div> <div> <B>Recently, I purchased a mini Netbook with ARM7 processor, running the Windows CE 6.0 Operating System, because I wanted a more portable computer than my Laptop, to access my bank account and Skype. I already have a BigPond Mobile Internet Service, and expected to be able to use it on my new Netbook. So, I called Telstra's technical support centre to obtain the necessary driver software. </B></div> <div> <B>For the next 2 hours, I spoke to a charming lady in Manila, who spoke excellent English, but who had no installation information, other than for Windows 7 or for Mackintosh computers. Finally, she connected me to a Technician, who claimed to be in Sydney, but who spoke almost no English. He told me that there were 15 technicians at his Centre, but that only one had any knowledge of Windows CE. Despite my best attempts, I was unable to speak to this person, so finally gave up. I still can't use my Netbook. Should I complain to the Communications Ombudsman? </B></div> <div> <B>In the good old days, Telstra provided excellent service from Perth, W.A., using Australian staff. They were knowledgeable of the technical aspects of their services, not just of pricing plans.</B></div> <div> <B>How can we apply pressure to all types of service providers to establish call centres in our own country? With the advent of the National Broadband Scheme, there should be no difficulty in establishing Call Centres in regional communities, where there is a great need for employment. I feel sorry for the Filipinos, but the Australian workforce deserves a fair go, and we deserve better service. </B></div> <div> <B>In Singapore, where superannuation contribution rates are far higher than in Australia, it is common to become a self-funding retiree at age 55. Retirees frequenttly seek part-time employment at "volunteer"  pay rates to provide social en</B><B>g</B><B>agement and to supplement retirement income. Perhaps we could consider this method of staffing for call centres, as an alternative to cut-price overseas facilities. </B></div> <div> <B><U>Parenting Leave</U></B></div> <div> <B>We now have wonderful support for new parents, at considerable cost to the employers and to the taxpayer. </B></div> <div> <B>But what happens when the child-raising leave is over? If the new parent returns to work, the replacement staff faces disnissal. The new parent must pay for childcare services, often costing nearly as much as salary. The new parent must pay travel costs, to and from work. No wonder the new parent finds that a working career is over for the next several years. </B></div> <div> <B>In many cases, the new parent could work from home, using the National Broadband Network to establish video conferencing (e.g. by Skype) and data server connection with the employer's premises. The employee could benefit from Flexitime working hours, booking time through the network server log, and permitting breaks to care for the infant. Contact with workmates through video conferencing would be easier than walking down the corridor in the real office. Apart from, say, a month around the time of confinement, the employee would be able to contribute nearly a full day's work, with no travelling time or cost. Any additional expense for the employer would be offset by a saving in floor space. The employer would not face recruitment, training and severance costs for temporary staff. The employee could legitimately claim a tax refund for the proportionate cost of the home office.  </B></div> <div> <B>Updates from October 2011:- </B></div> <div> <B><U>Carbon Tax </U></B></div> <div> <B>Changing to a low-carbon economy will obviously be at a cost, and the Carbon Tax is a logical and fair method of raising the funds. Given the opportunity, will the federal Coalition repeal the Tax? My guess is NO! Instead, they will choose to use direct action to reduce carbon emissions, they will not allow the purchase of carbon credits from abroad, and they may well be able to levy the carbon tax at a lower rate than $23 per tonne, thus reducing cost increases. </B></div> <div> <B>Imported goods, from countries which do not levy a carbon tax, should be taxed upon entry into Australia, in order to ensure a level playing field for our own manufacturing sector. </B></div> <div> <B>The "get out of jail" option of purchasing overseas carbon credits is plainly stupid, as it exports funds which we should be using to restructure our own energy industry.</B></div> <div> <B><U>Global Warming</U></B></div> <div> <B>For authentic and well-documented  information upon climate change, visit the website of Professor Barry Brook,  </B><A HREF="http://bravenewclimate.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://bravenewclimate.com/"><U><B>bravenewclimate.com</B></U></A><B>.  There is also a link on my website page, </B><A HREF="id67.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Global Warming"><U><B>Global Warming</B></U></A><B>, to a very comprehensive study of alternative energy systems, which was co-authored by Barry Brook.  </B></div> <div> <B>My Contact Details:- </B></div> <div> <B>Clive Pearson, B.Sc. Special Physics (Lond), C.Eng. </B></div> <div> <B>Email: barossaserve@hotmail.com, tel: 8 8522 4188, address: PO Box 207, Gawler, S.A. 5118 </B></div> <div> <B>Web-sites:  </B><A HREF="http://www.barossa-classifieds.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.barossa-classifieds.com/"><U><B>www.barossa-classifieds.com</B></U></A><B>    </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CCFFFF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>Classified Directory</B></FONT></div> <div> <B>                    </B><A HREF="http://www.nvicon.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.nvicon.org/"><U><B>www.nvicon.org</B></U></A><B>                          </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CCFFFF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>Climate Change </B></FONT></div> <div> <B>                    </B><A HREF="http://www.brotherhood-of-man.net/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.brotherhood-of-man.net/"><U><B>www.brotherhood-of-man.net</B></U></A><B>    </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CCFFFF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>Clive Pearson's Blogs</B></FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CCFFFF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>                </B></FONT><B>    </B><A HREF="http://www.diabeticease.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.diabeticease.com"><U><B>www.diabeticease.com</B></U></A><B>   </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CCFFFF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>            Suggestions from a long-term survivor of diabetes</B></FONT></div> <div> <B>                    </B><A HREF="http://www.gibbsbrightclub.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.gibbsbrightclub.org/"><U><B>www.gibbsbrightclub.org</B></U></A><B>            </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CCFFFF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>Reunion lunch club for</B></FONT><B> </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CCFFFF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>My Favourite Job</B></FONT><B> </B></div> <div> <B>Navigate this web-site by clicking on the links in the left-hand side panel, and within each topic page.  </B></div> <div> <B>(Site re-organised for easier access</B><B> March 17th. 2011) </B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>