Politics is a dirty word

Burning of native vegetation in efforts to reduce fuel loads does not make Australia any safer from wildfires.The mantra of fuel reduction burns is used as an excuse to get rid of more native vegetation even though in some cases it restricts the spread of fire.Rather than focus on extinguishing fires as quickly as possible, fires are often left to develop into major burns as they present better photo and television opportunities. An issues paper published by the Federal Parliament in 2002 says: Fuel reduction burning should not be applied uniformly, in terms of frequency or extent, across Australia because of the diversity of forests, topography and climates in southern Australia as well as the different priorities that different land managers have in developing specific burning regimes. In order for fuel reduction burning programs to be effective they need to be designed to be applied to specific vegetation types and implemented by properly trained and resourced staff. Proper assessm...

It will be interesting to find out how much of Australia’s defence budget has been spent on this year’s Sydney to Hobart yacht race. The RoyaL Australian Navy has two entries, Navy1 and Naval Group and the army has one boat, Gun Runner.

Russia plans to sell its MiG-35 fighter jets to a number of countries in the Middle East, including Syria and Iran. The twin turbofan engined fighters may provide aerial superiority in the region.

Economist John Maynard Keynes is the man most responsible for the economic chaos in the world today. In 1941, Keynes developed a plan for the era following the Second World War, He advocated an International Clearing Union. Instead of countries clearing their external credits and debits with payments in gold and internationally accepted currency, such as sterling or the US dollar, He proposed an essentially cashless society Central Banks of member countries were to form the Clearing Union and to avoid running up excessive credit or debit balances, creditor countries would revalue their currencies, while debtor countries could devalue. Removing the gold standard, which had given money an underlying value, he sowed the seeds of economic chaos which has led to Central banks printing endless amounts of money and the current plan of "Quantitative Easing." World leaders regarded him as a hero and his philosophy was implemented. Britain and some other countries moved off the Gold S...

A coalition of former fire chiefs from around Australia have accused the Federal government of trying to gag debate on climate change rather than accepting some of the blame by acknowledging that their long term policies and procedures have made Australia more fire-prone. Burning practices in bushland, on the pretext of fuel reduction, has increased fire risks, and the practice of waiting for small fires to develop into large conflagrations to enhance photo opportunities has put communities at risk. So-called fuel reduction burns cut soil and vegetation moisture, leading to more catastrophic fires. Leaf litter, like mulching in a vegetable garden, retains soil moisture and can limit the spread of fire.

At last Britain may be able to leave the European Union as the exit poll after the UK general election demonstrates a clear decision. According to the poll, the Conservatives will have 368 seats in Parliament, a majority of 86. Many argue that the UK should never have tied itself to Europe. When Edward Heath made the decision to join the European Economic Community (known as the common market) it was a simple trading block, but over years it morphed into a separate government, imposing huge costs on member states with a duplicated bureaucratic structure. It was hard for British people to accept that after centuries of animosity and conflict with European countries, Britain’s government was made subservient to the European Parliament. Rule from Brussels was deeply resented, Many asked themselves “Why did we bother fighting the Spaniards, the French and the Germans. We may as well have let Hitler walk in during the Second World War”.

Julian HillLabor backbencher for Bruce, Victoria, is proposing a plan for state and federal MPs to change the constitution without a referendum and dump the monarchy. Mr Hill says the Australian public should not be responsible for changing the laws but it should be up to members of parliament. If the proposal is accepted Queen Elizabeth 11 will be Australia's last monarch. He believes an Australian should be head of state but inexplicably is pushing to retain the role of Governor-General. We don’t need a Governor General, that's a remnant of the colonial era. It makes more sense for our Prime Minister to be head of state.

North Korea has tested a new solid fuel rocket engine designed to enhance its arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles. The test was conducted at Sohae near the border with China and was the latest test of a high thrust engine which may be hypersonic. It sent the US military into a tailspin and the Pentagon Generals will encourage President Donald Trump to respond in his usual aggressive style.

It’s official, Australia is the dumb country. International comparisons show that Australian students lag behind students in China and elsewhere in mathematics, science and comprehension. It’s not something that’s suddenly happened, our education standards have been in decline for years. Language is not understood - so many people put a 'k' on the end of words supposed to end with ing. Somethink, nothink etc.and they say stupid things like 'could ov' instead of could have. In the Kennet era in Victoria, it was decided that schools should not teach the alphabet but then it became clear that people wouldn't be able to understand a dictionary or a telephone book. That problem has been partially solved by the rise of digital technology - but that has unleased a generation incapable of telling the time by looking at a clock unless it is in lcd display digital format.