Pragmatism..' suppose

It is what it is.....

The ABC reported that  while in Myanmar the Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop,  declared she will urge the Myanmar government to be inclusive and respect human rights as the nation moves towards democracy. This is a little at odds , ironic almost , bearing in mind the current proposal to send refugees to Cambodia and the recent reported return of a boatload of Tamils by Australian authorities to Sri Lanka. 

It would seem that asylum or economic refugees are not blessed with the right to be human. It's a big problem the world over .Oppressed, disadvantaged people will always look for a way out of their predicament. In our society it is admired and called ambition. 

Cambodia has one of the worst human rights records in the world while Sri Lanka has much to answer for following the civil strife that engulfed that beautiful island for decades. It's a question of " don't do what I do but do what I say" .           

Wise Move

So sorry....

Commonwealth Bank boss Ian Narev, came out and did it. Japanese style he apologised for the trauma caused to investors, some of whom had lost many thousands of dollars due to inappropriate advice from the bank's investment salesmen.

Of course, not everybody is happy .Some pundits claim in essence the bank was acting as prosecution, defence, jury and judge all rolled into one. 

The bank has probably acted sensibly and by presenting their plan have pre-empted further enquiry and examination which would have been much more damaging in the long run, 
It makes sense to control the enquiry, as far as possible ;  to do otherwise would be like giving your house keys to burglars and telling them to fill their boots.  Admittedly, investors are not in the same category as burglars but then,  there are always two sides to any story. 

We often seem to forget that if returns are too good to be true, tread with caution. There are exceptions but these are rare. When things are going badly ,  we are easily reassured by speaking to some who seems to know what they are talking about .Nine times out of ten they know little more than you. I recall,being advised that a certain support line was rock solid and most technical advisers agreed however,  when the crunch came,  the market fell through this " cast iron" support like a knife through butter.

It will  take a while before the Commonwealth Bank CAN get over the hurdle of client's memories. All the dilly-dallying cost them a considerable amount of goodwill.

Rooster one day............

...............feather duster the next.




The fall from grace must be painful. A number of icons have been falling over recently The conviction of Rolf Harris in London and now the arrest and charging of Nicholas Sarkozy for corruption,  in France are the incidents that spring to mind.
History is full of it! As long as we remain frail, a common human affliction and in spite of outward appearances , the tumbles will continue...ad infinitum.

Democracy on trial

Guilty until proven definitely guilty 

On 18th March 2014 the then Justice Head Adly Mansour declared he would  "spare no effort" in his attempts to secure Australian, Peter Greste's and his Al Jazeera colleagues release. Since then after a few fruitless trips to court where ,caged like animals, they awaited the judge's pleasure or displeasure , the journalists are still in limbo. The new Egyptian President , el- Sisi, despite calls from the Australian Prime Minister, has declared he will not interfere with the  Egyptian judiciary. (He obviously has a finely developed sense of irony . If it ain't working, don't fix it!) The ramifications of the Arab Spring are far reaching and Qatar's support of the Muslim Brotherhood, is not in the journos favour. The process is a farce and conditions outside the court and within the country are reported to be even worse than when under Mubarak. 

"Kiss my Asp"

Can or Can't or Won't?

Don't bank on it..

A transparent bank statement

There's something rotten in the state of the Commonwealth (Bank). Many investors who are out of pocket by not inconsiderable amounts of dosh are feeling the pain years after the GFC aftermath swallowed their savings, Commissions paid to so-called financial advisers encouraged the mob mentality that multiplied out of control and led to impossible promises and forecasts for investors.Greed and fear go hand in hand.
What is fairly obvious is the inherent inertia that is in-built in large corporations be they financial, construction or whatever. It would be nice but totally unrealistic to hope for complete transparency.