Radio Australia Today Editorial
Archive for December, 2009
Another year over. A new one begins in hope
24 December 2009
This is the time that people trot out that perennial musical favourite: John Lennon’s Happy Xmas/War is Over.
That it was actually a Vietnam war protest song is probably lost on many people, because the it has the characteristic Lennon catchiness that makes it a singalong happy song instead of the chant for Nixon and Kissinger to stop bombing the hell out of people on the other side of the world.
Still, it is full of simple wisdom. Things like:
” And so this is Xmas, and what have you done?
Another year over, a new one just begun..”
Yes indeedy, John. Just what have we done? What have we done this year to make the world better. What have we done to make our lives, and the lives of those around us happier? What problems have we fixed?
As I look around some of my friends, I see some of them who are depressed and unhappy; people who find it hard to get up in the morning; people who feel alone.
Then I see other friends who spend a lot of their time supporting these downcast friends; being there to listen; being welcoming and inviting; always helping and loving.
There will always be people who find life hard. It probably has little to do with circumstances, because my sad friends are physically healthy, talented people who don’t do too much of anything to excess. They are just sad, just as there will always be people who are sad at times.
My special friends who show special care for these people are the treat of Jackie and my lives. These caring friends ooze love, and they don’t only do it on Xmas day. These people are always there for the sad ones; they never judge; they never blame; they never belittle; they will never hear a bad word said of anyone.
These are the people who live in the spirit of the great ones who have walked this earth, great ones like the guy we celebrate tomorrow.
Have yourselves a joyful time. Be happy, and share it around if you can.
It’s been great sharing the year with you.
- Phil Kafcaloudes
Financial crisis. Less fear, more smiles
23 December 2009
Did you see that report out of the U.S. that suggests that people are less scared about the financial crisis than they have been since it started last year?.
This wasn’t just a survey of people at the local mall. It is actually a long-standing index of fear. The CBOE volatility index, which our wire services say is Wall Street’s favorite measure of investor fear. It fell nearly 5%, closing below the critical level of 20 for the first time since this crisis started.
The U.S. is out of recession and that would certainly have something to do with it. Maybe it’s the natural cheer brought on by Christmas. Maybe it was the awarding of the Time Person of the Year to the Fed Reserve Chair Ben Benanke.
Probably it has more to do with the fact that the markets are heading up; companies are coming out of bankruptcy protection, and people are getting enough dosh in their pockets to buy things like cars.
It just highlights to me how fear can turn on a dime. Markets go down, people get scared. Nothing much actually happened as such, but a few cattle sniffed the wind and charged away from the market. Other cattle saw the rush and joined the herd, srtamping over the delicate buds on the way. As Pulitzer Prize winning economic writer David Wessel told me this morning, it made no sense, and you should’nt go beating yourself trying to find any.
If fear has gone down in the U.S., it would be rather higher in the U.K. As of today Britain is the only advanced economy still in recession. Combine this with the heavy weather and snowstorms that have shut down transport to Wales and Scotland, then we have the threat of the British Airways strike and the jamming of the Channel Tunnel rail link this week.
Actually, the Brits would probably feeling more angry than scared.
Perhaps that would be a good index. An Angry Index. Maybe then a Disappointed Index (good for supporters of losing World Cup sides); a Sad Index; or, if you are a satisfied sort: A Content Index.
A Perplexed Index would be the one that would score the highest, I think. It would catch all the people who have undoubtedly wondered how we got ourselves into the financial turmoil of the last 14 months in the first place.
- Phil Kafcaloudes
The U.S. Car Industry. The crash continues
22 December 2009
2009 has been the year that the U.S. car industry hit the wall.
It was the year General Motors went into bankruptcy. It was the year Chrysler went into bankruptcy. Both companies were eventually saved, in no short measure because of money that the federal government lent them.
Even Japanese operations in the States have not done too well, despite the move to smaller cars by consumers.
Of the Big Three carmakers, only Ford was able to keep out of the bankruptcy zones, and did it without the help of Barack Obama’s dosh.
So how can we explain today’s announcement that Ford would be offering redundancies to 41,000 of its workers? Clearly, keeping off bankruptcy might be fine and well, but if people are not buying your cars, then no amount of deckchair shuffling is going to keep the icebreg at bay.
Ford is painting a pretty picture on things by using corporate speak, saying that it has a: “surplus of employees in our manufacturing system,” and that the redundancy offer is “part of our continued effort to right-size our capacity and align it with market demand that’s going to be an ongoing effort for Ford.”
Sounds reasonable, but still translates to 41,000 people minus a job.
Meanwhile, General Motors is dealing with flagging sales by hiring one of the wunderkind of the corporate finance world. His name is Chris Liddell, and his previous gig was as the chief financial officer of Microsoft, a company that just can’t lose money, no matter what it puts out in the market. GM will be hoping that Liddell (as its new finance chief), will weave some Bill Gates magic.
Liddell will find the differences between the two companies pretty stark. One has a virtual (irresistible pun) monopoly, while the other is only one of a huge number of companies competing for the consumer dollar. A competition the GM corporation has not been winning.
Chris Liddell obviously likes a challenge.
- Phil Kafcaloudes
Copenhagen: Waiting for Mexico City
21 December 2009
Can’t really see what the positives are out of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.
Except maybe that the Pacific and Indian Ocean communities made their cases about their countries being destroyed by an increase in temperature.
And except maybe that world leaders, almost without exception, demonstrated that they knew how important it was to deal with climate change.
And I suppose they were taking the subject serious enough to agree, in a non-binding way, that they should not let the planet warm by more than two degrees.
Now each of the leaders have taken their entourages and gone home, where they have to sell the target to their constituents. And that is the reason why there was not a binding agreement set. It’s easy to say “we promise a two degree limit”, but such limits come at an economic cost, and a political cost.
Nevertheless, these governments had years of preparation for Copenhagen, and they still couldn’t do it.
One of the phrases that came into play here in Australia in the second half of this year was that we should wait for Copenhagen. The Opposition and some business groups urged the Rudd government not to rush through emissions laws, but wait until after the Copehagen summit before doing anything.
We are now at that time, and Copenhagen gave us no miracles, no cure-alls, no big answer.
So what next? The next-stage conference on climate change is set for Mexico City next year, It was supposed to deal with the minutae arising out of Copenhagen, but considering that all that came out of Copenhagen was minutae, perhaps Mexico City will be seen as the next saviour.
The leaders present at Copenhagen now have to act on their own. They have now lost any chance of an agreement that takes the responsibility for the ugly tasting emission reduction sandwich they will be forced to eat. The responsibility is now on their own shoulders. No-one is foolish enough to believe that Mexico will be a sandwich saviour.
And still the planet warms.
- Phil Kafcaloudes
Stephanie Gilmore. Third time world surfing champ.
18 December 2009
A fabulous woman with shining eyes came into the studio for a chat today.
Stephanie Gilmore, who has just won her third Women’s World Surfing title, arrived home in Australia late last night, but was out first thing this morning, with her Cup in hand, talking to the media about the experience of winning the title for the third time.
The first time she won was in her rookie year, 2007, when as a fresh 18 year old, she took on the world and won.
Apart from her beauty and the huge cup she carried with her, the thing that struck me about Steph was the shine in her eyes. Surfers are close to the ultimate athletes. They take their life in their feet every time they hit the board; they have to use every single muscle in their body to do it; they are in touch with the elements; and they have to show a little bit of art in their riding.
Even early in the morning after a long flight, she made me look like I was the one who was sleepy.
Did I mention that Steph is only 21 years old. She told me that she feels she could go on surfing until into her thirties. If she can (and there’s no reason to think she can’t) that would well and truly overtake Layne Beachley’s record number of world titles.
Which is an amazing seven.
- Phil Kafcaloudes
