Getting to Know You

My Lord and Master

It's come to a coup.
Another one, the latest instalment in a long battle between supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra,  after months of protest seeking to oust her government. and opponents backed by the royalist establishment. With a population of some 65 million people , the problems in Thailand are political, economic and cultural. The unrest in the country has been simmering for almost a decade if not more.
India, on the other hand, appears to be a bastion of democracy.With a population that dwarfs that of Thailand the new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds sway, for the moment at least , over 1.27 billion souls.

In both countries poverty in rural areas is marked and the difference between the middle class and rural dwellers is as wide as ever if not widening.
(Radio news stations, barely fifteen years ago referred to rural residents as "peasants" .Hopefull this is no longer the case. There would have been an outcry causing George Brandis , yes, he of the call to all bigots, to blush,  had Australian farmers been referred to as peasants) !Stone the crows!

In Thailand , resentment at the corruption and protection of the inner circle of those in power has been at the root of the current  ongoing unrest  with economic and cultural inequities following closely behind, While there is violence in India it is for the moment localised and not directed at the government as such. There was however a surge of emotion and anger at the recent cases of rape and violence against lone women.

While the West seems to be struggling with the excesses of the Church , becoming even more secular and pragmatic, religion still plays and important role in the Asiatic countries where democracy lurches and gropes for success. The appeal and power of religion appears to cause immense problems for many Muslim countries but less so for Asian Muslim nations.

It appears that the current bogeyman is power and corruption, even in China where steps to prosecute bent officials have been increased. The GFC (Great Financial Con) had at its roots the excessive power and corruption of many financial institutions and individuals. In the aftermath many were spared or even assisted because of their perceived importance  It seems that the old adage that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely is very much still in vogue.

Interesting to note that recent reports have put Vladimir Putin's personal wealth at something in excess of $30 million. Perhaps Kim Jong-un,Supreme Leader, might take note although he could  be perfectly happy with his popular haircut ( he suffers from a fear of barbers) , raising unicorns or kidnapping a South Korean film director to direct a North Korean Godzilla epic. Our dear leader also took part in the direction.

Panda-ing to the U.S

Bear Hug

It's been a bit of a quiet time for China.

After the Malaysian Air disaster, focus has been on the Ukraine, Russia and Crimea. Attention is once more turning to the adolescent superpower.

There are accusations flying around re Chinese military officials hacking into U.S companies'
computer systems and the subsequent theft of sensitive material. The Australian press is also keen to tag along..advancing similar claims..a sort of keeping up with the Joneses. I'd like to add more on this trait but have been criticised for being too long winded with this blog  (not from a reader )  so I'll keep it short.

Of course there is little doubt that espionage is a tit for tat business. I don't imagine the U.S. is not as pure as the driven slush when it comes to espionage  or cyber spying.

It was of course a frightful thing to happen, the disappearance of the Malaysian Airlines Boeing with more that 200 people on board. It might well be one of those mysteries that last for years although the current salvage team are confident something will be found within the year. Here , the Chinese were also actively involved and their ships scoured the ocean for days. Unfortunately  a few seamen call Ping  fell overboard and their retrieval caused not a little confusion with news reporters Apparently a number of Pings were located and retrieved.

It's an awful and sad business for all those involved, while there has been a fair amount of skull-duggery mainly to cover up gross errors and inefficiencies by those authorities responsible. A messy affair with the pilots' reputation being torn to shreds in their absence.

To conclude while on the subject of things Chinese , here is a photo taken by my son while he was working in Shanghai.
Luv it!

OMG!

Sydney living

The Harbour City

It has its problems but Sydney is quite a city. 
Arriving here many moons ago , in winter, we saw more sunshine during the supposedly "cold"months than we had the previous summer in Europe. There were disadvantages and the adjustment to a different way of life were enormous . Rule numero uno was to reply enthusiastically to anyone who asked what we thought of Sydney  that we loved it! We once made the mistake of openly being critical of the things we found different , to which the blunt  reply was "Well, you'd better shape up or ship out!' Fairy nuff! (Translation : Fair enough; as a Uni professor once pointed out , we run words together like it was going out of fashion . Eggnisher for example is air conditioner ,which we had to use quite a bit this summer, and narsen parsee is nice and spicy when eulogising on various curry condiments available).
Accents can and do vary. Original Aussies can identify a Melbourne, Adelaide , Perth or country drawl with ease. Then, on the other hand , as one columnist wrote,  you can be "flayed with diphthongs" when visiting one of the expensive, very expensive (10% off for additional siblings ) schools. Oft, when catching a taxi from the airport to the city,  unwary travellers are subject to a stream of the vernacular that makes heads spin.

This is something very Sydney ( and perhaps the rest of Oz as far as I am aware ) in that everyone likes to know what you think of Australia. I can't for the life of me imagine anyone in Dundee, Scotland asking that question.It would be met with a bemused expression or at the worst by much rolling around accompanied by gales of laughter. Sorry Dundonians. A friend of mine remarked once ( himself a Scot not Scotch) that in his travels he had never met anyone who actually lived in Dundee. They had fled. Much has happened in Dundee since those prehistoric ages but the memory of what it was like still lingers.

To get back to Sydney,  one of the lesser known benefits is that on a Sunday,  transport passes ( Family Passes) are available that allow travel all day wherever and whenever the fancy takes you for the princely sum of $2.50 p.p. 
It allows you to see much of Sydney you would never really visit. It is mooted that those who live on the North Shore never really go South and vice versa. The western suburbs is where the rough diamonds and salt of the earth live , while the Eastern suburbs...well, let's just say they are special.

The painting ( one of mine) is a view of the City which was done in Balmain,  quite a trendy sort of place where the aspiring right people live; a bit arty farty although once rough as guts. Being a peninsular, house prices there are some of the most expensive with correspondingly vast mortgages (and parking fees). Still quite democratic though,  another good Aussie trait . You've got to give it to 'em, mate! The way that mate is used would fill a book. Perhaps more thoughts on that later.

Just Fun

An ursine "Nutcracker" 
Or  "I can see all the way to Kiev  from up here!"