EYE-BALL’s – Novel 1 -”Balls Like an Elephant” – Chapters 22 – 23

Latest Chapter Updates – Sep 13th 2011

Chapters 22-23 can be read using the PDF file links below: Chapter 22 – The FIB Aftermath Breakfast – PDF File … Chapter 23 – The Positional cleanup – PDF File … Back to full list of Chapters

EYE-BALL on – Q&A Discussion 12th Sept 2011 … Pornography and respect for Political Leaders …

Title: Q&A Discussion 12th Sept 2011 … pornography and respect for Political Leaders …

The ABC’s Q&A program last night – [linked here] – had a mixture of panelist’s that surprisingly geled in ways that enhanced the debate forum.Panelist’s included MP Barnaby Joyce, Womans activist Germaine Greer, free-lance Journalist Paul Barry, Murdock Journalist Joe Hildebrand, and female rights advocate and blogger Melinda Tankard Reist. There were two questions debated last night that prickled my interest – the issue concerning respect for Political Leaders and Politicians in general and the role pornography is playing in shaping the sexual habits and responses within the teenage youth of Australia. Firstly – on the issue of respect for Politicians and Political Leaders. Paul Barry raised the issue of how the Australian public show scant respect for all politicians.  He mentioned Alan Jones and Ray Hadley as radio jocks and commonly referred to as ‘mouth pieces’ or ‘bullhorns’ – and their outright contempt for the current PM. Debate insured and it was the consensus of the forum that the current behaviour of all Members within the House made it impossible to have any respect for the parliamentary process.  Question Time debate is a farce and likened to bad behaviour in a primary school play ground. I blogged yesterday about the continued conduct of the House and the Speakers pathetic attempts to contain the process during Question Time.   Today’s session was even worse and two days into the current fortnight of sittings – conduct by both sides threatens to worsen. If these ‘idiots’ were to watch replays of themselves and see what the Gallery and the ABC viewers see – how can they ever expect to have the respect of the Australian public.  Claims that this is the worst bunch of Politicians ever to sit in the House.  It is the Speakers role to maintain the civility of the conduct of Members and he joins the list of ‘worst ever’ Speakers to hold the position. The second question related to pornography and the two women panelist’s debated strongly about the impact pornography was having on young females. Watching adult porn forms and educates these young females what males expect in a sexual partner, it educates and conditions them to male expectations of them in performing the act in various ways – whilst their young years give them no preparation or moral compass of what they are getting themselves involved with. Naked vagina’s – [no pubic hair] is the first lesson – second is the conditioning of male aggressiveness i.e. slapping, bondage ect – all portrayed as quite normal and what males want.   It has a similar impact on young males and educates them about what to expect from a woman and all in a negative impact on how women view themselves and their sexuality. This is a serious issue looking forward and what impact it will have on relationship expectations and the morality young children of this generation will be exposed to.  It all points to further morality challenges and a life where loving, caring and intimate bonding between males and females is being replaced by promiscuity and sexual aggressive behaviour. for the purpose of self-gratification. Both these issues pose challenges the current Government are unable to address.   There is no example being set by any level of authority – children are adults – or think they are adults at 12-14 years – when is a child a child and how can they be allowed to grow innocent … Society needs to turn a corner or Society will fail … ________________________________________ The EYE-BALL Opinion …

EYE-BALL’s Herman on – Democrazy Part IX – The 2012 Overture, a crappy new year.

Title: Democrazy Part IX – The 2012 Overture, a crappy new year. By: Herman O’Hermitage

Next year around about the end of the Mayan Calender we also have the bi-centenary of Napoleon Bonaparte’s failed invasion of Russia. The Grande Armee left France on June 24, 1812 for the Patriotic War (2nd Polish War) and failing to effect victory before the onset of winter saw Napoleon’s army starve and suffer a totally humiliating defeat. That episode inspired Peter Tchaikovskyto write his classic piece. The world had other tensions at that time where Britain and America were at war. (The 1812 War)The interesting aside about the overture, is it is the prelude to the Opera, and tells the story in musical precis. This blog is also attempting to tell next year’s story in precis, which is hard, given I don’t profess to have supernatural powers only the insights of history mixed with some logic and common sense.Again some of the players are somewhat intact France, Britain and the USA but others have changed, some most dramatically. Germany was essentially unified in 1871, China has only really opened it’s economy since Tiananmen Square, and Germany and France have cobbled together a free trade zone known as the Euro. Most other players are not so central to the events – even at times merely pawns in a grand game of chess. Poland was the excuse for Bonaparte in 1812, so Greece (PIGS) is the excuse/cause for Euro in 2012. The sub prime crisis of 2007 has caused a severe bust in the USA property and banking markets with a contagion affecting most of the world’s international banks, and that has been exacerbated through the collapse of the Euro, through the so call PIGS, further crippling already deficiently capitalised European Banks. Meanwhile China and India have achieved break neck GDP growth while oil prices have merely returned to their long term price increasing trend on the back of China and India’s incremental demand. These debt imbalances has seen gold become the only real safe haven for investors. (Volatility is unprecedented). In recent weeks we have seen traders buy on first the aberration in durable goods in the States, and then lower inflation pressures in China. Both were mis interpreted. I wont bother with Durable Goods, (a perfectly natural aberration not matched by inventories) but what really matters is inventory overhang in China. The Chinese inflation equation is seen as a reason for China to pursue higher growth. Trouble is post 2007 China was able to direct its excess capacity internally, and now they too are developing inventory overhang. They will attempt to again re divert resources to other internal projects, but that is an aside. By Thanksgiving we will receive our Thanksgiving rally (trend reversal). According to script the trend reversal will continue into Christmas awaiting consumer spend statistics. Early in the new year, the full picture of China’s issue will be in the markets. Where may they try to dump their excesses, particularly if they are condominiums in some Chinese satellite city? This will see demand for base metals collapse. Don’t over exaggerate this. Spot price will fall below contract price, for coal, iron ore, alumina, and bauxite. Gold will stay buoyant because of lack of stability in currencies. China will cope adequately with this. The issue will have parallels to the Poseidon boom of 1969, and crash of 1973/74. To be an Australian means appreciating a good mining boom, however catching the fever is the problem. Our banks have the fever, so do our government. In the Poseidon boom the Australia mining industry got in front of itself. Then several times until 1991 the Japanese would actually snuff out new dawns in mining by encouraging excess supply. They would encourage the miners to bring new resources on stream where constantly supply exceeded demand and at contract price negotiations they would use supply overhang to put downward pressure on the sellers. BHP and RIO are too often seen in some role of glory, they have attempted to squeeze out the independents. They have attempted to create a duopoly, yet independents like Fortescue continue. Helped and financed by the Chinese. Last week we had APRA stating they want to accelerate the implementation of Basle III to win competitive advantage for Australian banks, while Euro attempts to come to terms with the required write downs on PIGS sovereign debt. Meanwhile the Australian banks exposure to a fall in real estate equity is simply not addressed. Under Basle, domestic mortgages require lower capital allocation than other forms of more risky lending. The Australian banks have too become addicted to this mortgage growth, a bubble. It is no different to the gold bug. Rapid balance sheet growth, to the point where they shun balanced growth that includes industrial sector growth. It is different to sub prime, but not wholly different. In sub prime the investment banks became addicted to securitised mortgages. This scenario will be most apparent in the peak real estate selling season of next Easter. In my own street, there are 2 interesting properties. The first a preservation order affected 3/4 bedroom dwelling that was in so bad a state of repair it was expected to sell 1 year ago for $700,000 (basically land value). It sold for $765,000. Equivalent properties in good repair sell for something approaching $900,000. It is now back on the market with new floor, new bathroom and kitchen (ever so modern) new back of the house, concrete drive, landscaping and paint for $1,150,000. Another property twice the land, with full heritage listing, and equally a knock down, sold for $900,000 2 years ago. The buyers (also speculators) who sat on a tenanted property and attempted to sell for $1,300,000 last Spring, without any interest. In February a private sale was arranged where the new owner sought Development Application for 10 one bedroom units, 3 storey, (affordable housing) and as it was totally out of character with zone, and heritage, and………. the DA was refused. Both of those speculators are between a rock and a hard place. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world in Europe, please see my article of June “the Greek Sovereign Debt Default”. Nothing Germany or France can come up with will be an equitable solution to their crippling disease best summed up by foolish borrowing by Greece on the first part, but equally foolish lending by the Euro endorsed French and German banks. My previous article has a synopsis that only cutting off the gangrenous growth can save the patient. Greek is better off leaving Euro. When you watch other spot fires, be they Libya or Syria, Portugal or Spain, Dublin or Washington, we have a collective consciousness who are addicted to fear and greed. The world has lost sight of balance. In USA, Michele Bachman advocates cutting corporate taxes to re invigorate capital spending. How will that address consumable over-supply? It panders only to the ultra right wing. In Australia, I am sick of hearing about the 2 speed economy. What does it really mean, an economy totally out of balance. Some will say I am peddling fear. Creating fear, and making the scenario worse, a doomsayer. I say I am simply using history to show how it simply repeats, recurrence and synchronicity. Excessive over belief. Just like Napoleon leading the Grande Armee into Russia. Harry S Dent is about to release a new book, The Great Collapse Ahead. It will form a trilogy to “The Great Boom Ahead” published in the late 80’s, and “The Great Depression Ahead” published earlier this century. Very importantly he has set out in writing ahead of his time what has transpired. Maybe I need to re read his previous books. I read those books with awe, always trying to maintain perspective. In the late 80’s he said the Boom would end in 2004 or 2005. When we went through the Y2K mini-crash or September 11, 2001 each time you could only wonder how right was he. As the global (Western) economy rebounded each time and went on to greater heights of exuberance, again he picked the economic cycle, maybe for the wrong reasons. Much of his logic is based on the baby boomers life cycle. I don’t want to distract by arguing for or against this “baby boomers life cycle”. I do believe that his theories will spawn many doctoral thesis, in time. His writings are extremely unlikely to ever win him a Nobel Prize in Economics. Link to Herman’s Previous Posts: ________________________________ Herman …