The world looks towards Trump & USA in more ways than cruise missiles!

                                                   First appeared on Aljazeera

There is a cynical saying that …"No USA President can stamp his/her authority domestically & gain approval at home unless he/she bombs somewhere first!"

And whilst the atrocities of all sides in Syria since 2011 civil war have been visible to the world, our politicians have failed the people of Syria as well as the majority of the people in the West who have 7 continued to demand action in securing peace in Syria & settling millions of refugees (with the notable exception of Angela Merkel the Chancellor of Germany).

And sadly, no recently elected USA President in living memory so badly needed a poll boost as the hapless Donald Trump did….and he took his opportunity with both hands.

But lest we forget, the same mr Trump was hot at the heels of then President Obama when Obama was trying to take military retaliation in Syria in 2013. Trump constantly criticised Obama's attempts & encouraged him to take no action!

And the tweeting President has gifted those of us critical of his lies his tweets as proof of his yet again utter hypocrisy:

The world & Syrian refugees requires a lot more than a few cruise missiles from the USA & her narcissistic glass jaw President to trust strong leadership at world stage by USA is back on track again

sadly, it appears we will all be disappointed…yet again.

Trump's contempt for centrist media may be CNN's saviour!

For the last decade & half, and since the election of George W Bush in particular, Rupert Murdoch's FoxNews under the watchful eyes of wily (& now discredited) Roger Ailes, has set about destroying the credibility, and with it, the rating fortunes of its arch rival CNN.

FoxNews has used a mixture of sensationalist claims, loosely supported accusations & out & out lies whenever possible to achieve its commercial & political strength.

Bible waving dogmatic right wing preachers of division & hate have helped FoxNews control the hearts & minds of the voters in the gun loving bible preaching of "small USA" .

Donald Trump, as it turned out, is the master of media manipulation. He had a stows with Megan Kelly but was always acutely aware of how his own "report a lie enough & people will start to believe it as fact" was aligned with FoxNews strategy.

Politics 101 in FoxNews & Trump's world is about "You have to be trusted by those you lie to"

But amazingly now, following Trump's stows with CNN last week & Sean Spicer's dressing down of media for their "factually accurate" report of lower inauguration crowd numbers today, may bring CNN back to life!

This is because, the millions of anti Trump protesters in the USA & across the world may very well have to turn to CNN as their side's most accessible source of balanced news in the next four years.

New York Times will continue to scrutinise Trump. Bloomberg's will also be there to watchfully report on Trump & his administration. However, their reach remain less than CNN's.

This may overhaul poor ratings fortunes of CNN as most anti Trump viewers turn to it to voice their views & report on Trump's administration.

"Presidency by Twitter" will prove to be naive & a disaster for USA & the World!

Donald Trump is many things to many people, including to those of us who doubted and continue to question his competency, legitimacy, voter appeal & media success.

He means even more to all the right wing "once anti Trump pundits" who have now conveniently changed opinions & positions to fall in line as supporters since Trumps stunning election win in November.

Does Trump suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder? Most probably!
Does he lie to those voters who trust him? Almost regularly!
Does he know how to play the various media to his advantage? Most definitely!

BUT

Can a "Twitter Presidency" cut it in the brutal world of international diplomacy & global finance? No chance in hell!

Does Trump think he can tweet to throw his support behind Israel's illegal settlements in occupied territories and in the process solve the complex issues in the Middle east?
Or does he think he can tweet Putin & Russia into submission? Surely not! Or he'd better think again!
Does he really think he needs racist redneck grips to prove his legitimacy?
Does he really think a sceptical Europe will turn away from engaging with the likes of Iran just because Trump says so?

He can tweet as much as he wants but the fact is those involved in complex international relations eat "Twitter Presidents" for lunch!

And if  Trump thinks his mastery of media can save him & his multi millionaire & billionaire appointees from probes into whether their businesses directly benefit from their positions, he'd better think again!

Not after what Cheney & the likes of Halliburton fed the American public during the Bush Presidency.

And not when it is already open knowledge that Oil, Mining & Energy lobby groups were Trump's largest & most active financial supporters during his long campaign.

Either Trump quickly sets a more statesmanlike & consultative leadership style free of obvious lies & at times childish  rhetorical nonsense in his 100 honeymoon days in the oval office, or he will cause chaos and disaster the world over, and will not be able to simply fire those who disagree with him!

Trump can tweet but at this rate he will be chased out office in no time not disimilar to what twitter trolls do at their most militant ways!

Forget the Nobel Price for Literature for Bob Dylan! How about one for Economics too?

If the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Bob Dylan wasn't amusing enough for fans worldwide, the fact that he initially remained silent (in my view suggesting he was stunned) and then refused to attend the ceremony to receive the award in person certainly were the icing on the cake.

It must be said Dylan's fans worldwide have enjoyed his unique songwriting for more than 50 years. His views on social & political issues make his lyrics & songs unique.

But for those millions of disenfranchised people in the West who feel globalisation has taken much more away from them than it has brought them, Bob Dylan surely deserves the Nobel Prize for economics! (Although the economics prize is not an original category).

He does so for his lyric writing skills in his now considered seminal song "Union Sundown" from his 1983 album "Infidels".

(Seminal in many ways as Dylan's official website is called "Union Sundown")

Union Sundown is a political protest song against imported consumer goods and offshoring & the resulting job losses & an early dig at globalisation. 

Whilst the song is about protectionism, all credit to Dylan for talking about the issue more than 30 years before the likes of Donald Trump took advantage of voters' insecurity & desperation. 

Here are the lyrics for those of you who are not familiar with the son. If you have never heard it, have a listen to it as Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits produced the song & played the guitar in it:

Union Sundown

Bob Dylan  Union Sundown lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Well, my shoes, they come from Singapore
My flashlight's from Taiwan
My tablecloth's from Malaysia
My belt buckle's from the Amazon
You know, this shirt I wear comes from the Philippines
And the car I drive is a Chevrolet
It was put together down in Argentina
By a guy making thirty cents a day

Well, it's sundown on the union
And what's made in the USA
Sure was a good idea
'Til greed got in the way

Well, this silk dress is from Hong Kong
And the pearls are from Japan
Well, the dog collar's from India
And the flower pot's from Pakistan
All the furniture it said 'Made in Brazil'
Where a woman, she slaved for sure
Bringing home thirty cents a day to a family of twelve
You know, that's a lot of money to her

Well, it's sundown on the union
And what's made in the USA
Sure was a good idea
'Til greed got in the way

Well, you know lots of people are complaining that there is no work
I say, "Why you say that for
When nothing you got is US made?"
They don't make nothing here no more
You know, capitalism is above the law
I say, "It don't count 'less it sells"
When it costs too much to build it at home
You just build it cheaper someplace else

Well, it's sundown on the union
And what's made in the USA
Sure was a good idea

'Til greed got in the way

Well, the job that you used to have
They gave it to somebody down in El Salvador
The unions are big business, friend
And they're going out like a dinosaur
But they used to grow food in Kansas
Now they grow it on the moon and eat it raw
I can see the day coming when even your home garden
Is gonna be against the law

Well, it's sundown on the union
And what's made in the USA
Sure was a good idea

'Til greed got in the way

Democracy don't rule the world
You better get that in your head
This world is ruled by violence
But I guess that's better left unsaid
From Broadway to the Milky Way
That's a lot of territory indeed
And a man's gonna do what he has to do
When he's got a hungry mouth to feed

Well, it' sundown on the union
And what's made in the USA
Sure was a good idea

'Til greed got in the way

The era of Reality TV Trump Politics is here!

Love him or hate him, and as polarising & sociopathically egotistical as he certainly is, Donald Trump simply beat all expectations & rode the wave of "anti establishment resentment" skilfully & to his full advantage.

The Democrats, in choosing the much disliked Hillary Clinton, were counting on an "establishment" Republican opponent….not Donald Trump!

And as it turns out in hindsight, their own anti establishment candidate Bernie Sanders  would have probably beaten Trump.

But one thing is now clear following Brexit & now Trump's ascendancy, the political classes in most western democracies are fast losing their appeal to voters, and the rise of "anti establishment" politicians is going to continue for a while.

The worrying thing for major political parties is this: The anti establishment politics are entering from all political angles………not just the conservative right………just look at Nick Xenophon' & his NXT success in Australia.

In terms of international diplomacy & trade however, Donald Trump must quickly equip himself with some newly found skills or he will be eaten alive by more wily opponents who clearly know & understand international relationships are about pragmatic negotiations & not autocratic " Apprentice style Hire/Fire" !

All we can hope for now is that Trump's populist demagogic promises were more rhetorical than anything else & were simply made to highlight the utter failure of the political elite to comprehend & address the deep seated resentment of many voters who feel disenfranchised & in fact (rightly or wrongly) impoverished as a result of globalisation.

On the positive side, we no longer need to suffer Reality TV on our screens as the American politics will be the most exciting Reality Show of all time for the next four years!

A simple question for the world to ponder about Donald Trump

A simple question for those cheering for Donald Trump, and indeed the rest of the world to consider:

What if Donald Trump was running to become the leader of North Korea?

His impulsive, narcissistic sociopathic behaviour would have the whole world on alert!

We should not be any less concerned about this egotistic self centred racist begot becoming the USA President……in fact the opposite, we should be much more alarmed!

….Not to mention the fact that he seems to be completely ignorant of the ins & outs of international diplomacy……..and we thought the world was in trouble when George W Bush got elected!

Malcolm Turnbull leads a long line of losers following Saturday's election disaster

Malcolm Turnbull has always been a confident man & believed in himself…….that may not be the case following Saturday's disastrous showing.

He has no one to blame for destroying a once in a generation public goodwill but himself.

He was arguably the only Liberal leader in living memory who got elevated to the top job with a massive public support & political goodwill behind him. Labor leaders Kevin Rudd, Bob Hawke & Gough Whitlam had enjoyed similar support but no conservative leader ever had, certainly not John Howard, Malcolm Fraser  or Tony Abbott.

But Turnbull's self belief got the better of him & contributed to his humiliation on Saturday night.

…..and let's make no mistake, humiliation it was! Even in the unlikely event that the coalition manage to win 76 seats & form a thin majority government.

Malcolm Turnbull & his coconspirators executed the first term PM Tony Abbott in no less ruthless fashion than Gillard, Shorten & co had done Kevin Rudd……and yet the unprecedented public goodwill (and intense dislike for Abbott) meant this was not an issue that could be used as character assassination!

But as a Liberal insider suggested to me a few weeks before the election was called…." Everyone knew Malcolm had always wanted the top job, but we now realise he wanted to get there but hadn't thought about what to do the day after he got there!……"

And this has been crystal clear from day one last September!

Thought bubble after thought bubble came & vaporised into thin air as Malcolm Turnbull waffled from one poorly considered idea to the next without consulting his senior colleagues yet alone his party room……..and his claim of a "consultative Cabinet" simply did not eventuate.

But what mainly undid the huge public goodwill & nationwide support for Turnbull were two main issues:

- His & his Health Minister's very poor handling of Health related policies as they alienated most if not almost all stakeholders in the industry, and
- His abysmal & almost embarrassing handling of tax reform as he seemed to be immersed in his own poorly considered ideas & change of mind day after day….from GST, to state taxes, to superannuation to negative gearing to…….

…...and the end wishy-washy policy platform for the election ended up alienating his base support on superannuation & giving his opponents the opportunity to portray his Tax Policy as "handouts to big business"!

The other reason many are disappointed in Turnbull's election strategy is his "double dissolution" idea to make the Senate more workable:

Any casual political observer like me would have known that at a time when demagogues from Donald Trump in USA to Marine Le Pen in France to Nigel Farage in UK to other minor parties across Europe were gaining traction with their divisive populist propaganda, a new Senate would undoubtedly attract protest votes & elevate the likes of Pauline Hanson!

So Thank you Mr Turnbull! Thank you for your political expediency & vision that suggested working with the likes of Glen Lazarus, Ricky Muir, Bob Day & the rest of cross benches was too hard & your solution was the divisive Pauline Hanson & her supporters instead!…..another disastrous result for Turnbull & co! (although I am not questioning the democratic process & election of Pauline Hanson per se, she has got elected because there are many disengaged voters who see no other option but to turn to her as their voice of protest)

And last but not the least, Turnbull decided on an unwise & long 8 week campaign….and then as reported in the media, seemed to switch off the long road even quicker than many voters did! in doing so he overestimated his popularity & ignored Politics 101 rules of campaigning 18 hour days…and some days stopped his media commitments by noon whilst Bill Shorten kept on talking to anyone who wanted to talk to him day & night.

On that note, credit must be given to Bill Shorten & his campaign team, for a very effective, tireless & successful campaign. Not withstanding the dirty & effective "Medicare" tactics, who would have given Bill Shorten the slightest of chances last September?

And a slightly less yet noteworthy credit to the Nationals Leader Barnaby Joyce. In an election which turned out to be full of "protest votes" against major parties everywhere, he was successful against a very experienced & much admired & high profile independent opponent (Tony Windsor) & triumphed when many of his colleagues failed.

This is why most voters' level of disappointment in Turnbull has been much more intense than their disappointment in Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd & Tony Abbott…….& it showed on Saturday……they had such high hopes & aspirations when Turnbull became the PM last September………and it all vaporised into thin air in such a short space of time!

Let Australia's US style Presidential Popularity Contest ……eerrrrr…….Elections begin!

As widely expected for the past few months, PM Malcolm Turnbull announced a double dissolution election for July 2nd last weekend.

And let's make no mistake about it: As his record so far stands, Malcolm Turnbull can only hope to win this election based on a US style Presidential/Personal popularity contest!

Malcolm Turnbull has been underwhelming to say the least since he toppled Tony Abbott last year & created a wave of national optimism.

He has demonstrated a mastery of political rhetoric & a less skillful political tactician than anticipated. The Government's foray to Tax Reform was of course the single biggest demonstration of lack of proper political process. The PM has jumped from one idea to the next & has quickly dumped one hasty thought bubble for another, causing embarrassment for his colleagues & in particular the Treasurer Scott Morrison.

Bill Shorten on the other hand, was totally hit for six by the popular wave of optimism following Turnbull's toppling of Abbott.

But to give Bill Shorten & his Labor colleagues credit, they have stayed united & focused on (mostly) policy issues & kept their nerves. Shorten has successfully narrowed & closed the huge gap in polls following the change of leadership & has highlighted the apparent lack of cohesive policy & decision making in the Turnbull Government to voters.

So as it is right now, and with a very long 8 week contest ahead of them, Malcolm Turnbull's best hope is to win a USA style Presidential popularity contest against Bill Shorten, because so far he has shown little substance to justify his challenge to replace Tony Abbott.

If eight weeks is a long time in politics, 8 weeks of election campaign must be even longer! Both leaders are bound to stumble & make mistakes during the course of the campaign.

But let's hope the Australia voters a) have lasting memories of e.g. Kevin Rudd's fruitless popularity  & b) remain interested & retain their focus during this long 8 weeks to scrutinise & ultimately judge the major parties based on their policies.

Otherwise, we will have a superficial USA style popularity contest based on media performance of our two opposing leaders!

RIP Johan Cruyff, Arguably the greatest ever Football Revolutionary, Tactician & Statesman

25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016

Johan Cruyff (1947 - 2016) influenced the beautiful game like no other person. His legacy stands above all other greats of the world of football.

He changed the game as an icon, as a player, as a master tactician, as a manager and continued to influence the game as a statesman. 

His style of play was similar to the great Messi, but in an era when defenders used to break players' legs & get away with it.

Unlike the likes of Platini & Beckonbauer, he refused to get involved in FIFA politics & risk tarnishing his name.

Unlike Messi & Ronaldo, the lack of a World Cup in his resume was accompanied by leading a team that mesmerised the fans & revolutionised the game in the 1974 World Cup 
(unlike e.g. Ronaldo & Portugal the losing finalists in 2004 Euros or Messi & Argentina the losing finalists in WC 2014, both of which were at best above average). 

He therefore may not have won the World Cup, but he won the world over.

As an icon, he was the first player to wear a tailor made double stripe Adidas shirt during WC 1974 (vs the famous Adidas triple stripes). 

He was the first player in the world to transfer for $2m (Ajax to Barcelona).
He was the first player who wore a no outside 1-11 (famous 14) in the World Cup.

He named his third child "Jordi" after the patron saint of Catalonia, This was seen as a provocative gesture towards the then Spanish dictator General Franco, who had made all symbols of Catalan nationalism illegal.

His famous quotes make him football's true philosopher: Here are some of his best known quotes:

On himself:

• "In a way I'm probably immortal"
• "If I wanted you to understand it all, I would have explained it better"
• "Actually I never make a mistake, because it takes a huge effort for me to make a mistake."
• "I don't believe in God. In Spain all 22 players cross themselves, if it works the game is always going to be a tie."

On football and his philosophy

• "Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is."
• "Italians can't win the game against you, but you can lose the game against the Italians."
• "Quality without results is pointless. Results without quality is boring."
• "It's better to go down with your own vision than with someone else's."
• "In my teams, the goalie is the first attacker, and the striker the first defender."
• "There is only one ball, so you need to have it."

New FIFA President Infantino must deliver on the promise of transparency & reform!

FIFA has finally got a new President! And not a day too soon as the reign of the master manipulator/storyteller Sepp Blatter finally came to an end as he starts serving his 6 year ban. (Surprisingly, and not hard to believe no jail term or criminal indictment have been forthcoming by Swiss authorities!)

Gianni Infantino was today elected the new FIFA president. 

This followed 18 tumultuous months of jaw dropping revelations of chronic corruption, money laundering, cronyism, outright financial theft by FIFA Executives & vote buying scandals surrounding 2018 & 2022 World Cups in Russia & Qatar (with thanks to many investigative Journalists around the world such as Andrew Jennings)

A corrupt/money laundering scheme that was created by Joao Havelange at the dawn of media/sponsorship money in early 80s (with Sepp Blatter as his dutiful Secretory General of FIFA), was masterfully turned into a very sophisticated bribery/theft/money laundering scheme in exchange for votes under the watchful eyes & (so called) leadership of Sepp Blatter! 

5 star hotels/restaurants/1st class flights/expensive gifts/rubbing shoulders with world leaders & of course prostitutes were also thrown in for good measure in order to keep the chaps (aka FIFA Executives with voting power!) happy, engaged & loyal!

As it is usually the case, finally Blatter succumbed to his own arrogance, grandiose delusion, vanity & complacency by granting 2018 & 2022 World Cups both at once. 

Blatter was at best forced to do this in order to cover himself & his cronies rampant money laundering & theft from FIFA  (from indicted Chuck Blazer to disgraced & exposed Ricardo Teixeira & Jack Warner to name the most well known amongst many executive thieves at FIFA), and at worst was a full accomplice as greed simply got the better of him & his thieving colleagues.

Whilst Infantino has a clear history & does not carry a "heavy FIFA baggage" of his colleagues at FIFA, he still represents "the establishment" at FIFA headquarters & must deliver on the promise of transparency & good governance in his first or resign.

If Gianni Infantino is serious about reforming FIFA:
1) He must open FIFA accounts to investigators for as far back as possible
2) He must fully overhaul FIFA's Corporate Governance
3) FIFA must allow Governments concerned with financial management of their Football
4) FIFA must fully disclose financial terms & details of grant of rights to MEDIA companies.

According to the fully proven investigations by journalists such as Andrew Jennings & others, this appears to have been the biggest source of bribery to FIFA Executives in order to obtain media & broadcast rights to Football Tournaments.
5) FIFA must, within reasonable terms, allow Governments to scrutinise money trails to their Football Federations.
Again, according to the fully proven investigations by journalists such as Andrew Jennings & others, disgraced FIFA Executives, including those mentioned earlier in this post, on a regular basis received FIFA grants to their respective Confederations/Country Federations only to channel the money to their own private business empires instead! In return, they guaranteed voting blocks to re elect Sepp Blatter!

 Sept Blatter's Standard BLOCKING tactic was to suspend any country with the smallest hint of financial enquiry to how money was being handled! Now we all know why Blatter used to use this dirty tactic….to cover theft/corruption/money laundering by FIFA Executives from their respective Parliaments & Governments!

Gianni Infantino owes this to the billions of fans of the beautiful game across the world to clean up FIFA from its money laundering organisation with its mafiose executives, to the gatekeeper which used to have the motto "for the Good of the Game"

If Gianni Infantino does not deal with the rampant corruption, non existent corporate governance & & cronyism in FIFA in a transparent & effective manner, UEFA should pull out of FIFA membership & boycott all FIFA events including the World Cup. This will simply dry up the easy sponsorship money that has brought so much corruption & greed with it & ruined FIFA.

…just remember Infantino…….For the Good of the Game Infantino….for the Good of the Game!….Please!

The danger with procrastinating Malcolm!

Malcolm Turnbull smoothly executed coup to the top job was greeted with a combination of relief & hope by the majority of voters who were tired of the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd infighting & Abbott's Captain calls style of leadership & were looking for an intelligent steady hand statesman to lead Australia.

And in Turnbull that is what they got…..at least initially. And the voters extended the honeymoon period as they gave Malcolm Turnbull the benefit of the doubt. The honeymoon still continues, albeit with some shine coming of it since before Christmas.

With five Ministers gone & one MP trying unsuccessfully to defect to his National coalition partners, the gloss is starting to come off. (to paraphrase Oscar Wilde "To lose one Minister may be regarded as misfortune, to lose 5 looks like chaos!"

But whilst reshuffles are part & parcel of governance, it is the apparent lack of a coherent policy framework & in particular economic leadership that is starting to hurt the Turnbull/Morrison team. 
This is particular because on the day Turnbull challenged Abbott, he specified "economic leadership" as the main reason for his decision to challenge. This is what he said:

'It is clear enough that the Government is not successful in providing the economic leadership that we need……It is not the fault of individual ministers. Ultimately, the Prime Minister has not been capable of providing the economic leadership our nation needs."

I have said in a previous post Malcolm Turnbull's challenge is to address GST/taxation reform, the inflexibility of the IR Laws & Fair Work Legislation & Australia's infrastructure deficit.

The PM has now ruled out an increase in the GST & is still procrastinating with negative gearing, superannuation tax & company tax rates  (currently 30% compared to e.g. 17% in Singapore & average of 20% in OECD).

Most commentators are now leaning towards predicting a benign budget with potentially the opportunity for an overhaul of Australia's complex burdensome Tax System gone due to the PM's cautious approach. 

The danger with PM's cautious approach & procrastination is that he may end up not addressing issues of national significance, such as taxation & IR reform, & instead decide to salvage his legacy by going after what he cab get by e.g. promoting Harper's Competition Report in order to appear to be a "reformist Prime Minister".

An case in point is the community pharmacy sector. Successive & continuous cuts to funding to pharmaceutical companies & pharmacists have helped to sustain Australia's world class prescription medicines subsidy scheme (PBS) and have so far saved the health budget in excess of $4 billion with forward estimates suggesting another $4 to $5 billion of savings in the next few years to come.

The sector has dealt with very tough funding cuts & is reform fatigued. Pharmacists in particular have worked cooperatively with successive Governments & generated billions of dollars of savings for both Labor & Liberal budgets & forward estimates. 

Malcolm Turnbull must show courage & go for the big guns, i.e. to reform Australia's Taxation & IR issues & to address our infrastructure problems. anything else & his time as PM will follow the disappointing path of his 3 immediate predecessors!

David Bowie, the kind of Pop Icon that come around once in a generation….or two…passed away after a highly private 18 month battle with cancer.

Bowie released his latest & last album only a few days before his death & around his 69th birthday.

Simply titled BACKSTAIR……….even at his death he was one step ahead of his legion of fans……and the choice of colour of BLACK in mourning a true STAR is highly symbolic as it turns out.

And when the official video clip of the song Lazarus was released, it became clear Bowie was going to leave us with one last bang, remaining ahead of his time & ahead of his fans' expectation…...

Bowie was always ahead of his time….and took the fans who he gained as Ziggy Stardust in the early 70s (and millions of others along the way in the 80s & 90s) all the way with him to 2016……..when his music sadly stopped for the last time….although his influence will linger on for many more years to come………….

RIP you timeless legend, fashion & pop culture icon

Here's the lyrics to Lazarus: (I hope I have permission from him to do this !)

Here are the lyrics and the video to David Bowie's final song 'Lazarus' 

Watch it on Youtube......heartbreaking but obviously a parting gift to his fans:

"Look up here, I’m in heaven

I’ve got scars that can’t be seen

I’ve got drama, can’t be stolen

Everybody knows me now

Look up here, man, I’m in danger

I’ve got nothing left to lose

I’m so high it makes my brain whirl

Dropped my cell phone down below

Ain’t that just like me

By the time I got to New York

I was living like a king

Then I used up all my money

I was looking for your ass

This way or no way

You know, I’ll be free

Just like that bluebird

Now ain’t that just like me

Oh I’ll be free

Just like that bluebird

Oh I’ll be free

Ain’t that just like me"

The lyrics and video to David Bowie's last single.

Time for the "REAL MALCOLM" to show up!

During the election campaign in August 2010, Julia Gillard suggested she had followed the rule books too much & wanted the voters to see "The Real Julia Gillard"

Up to this point, in his first 100 days of so as the PM, Malcolm Turnbull has also followed the rule books, the rule books of niceties & looking measured!

 Now that he has had to deal with the Brough/Briggs/Dutton saga, will we finally get to see "The Real Malcolm"?

I suspect not! The real Malcolm is almost certainly a lot more ruthless & much less measured & considered than the rule books Malcolm is!

He may disappoint a lot of voters who have so far happily fallen for & are continuing to enjoy the staged managed "sweet, considered, intelligent Malcolm"!

Malcolm Turnbull's biggest challenge: How to neutralise the powerful electoral toxicity of three simple terms: "GST", "Work Choices" & "Carbon Tax"

As the mining boom & the riches that came with it begin to evaporate away, Australia faces several major immediate & present challenges.

And whilst at least on the surface Malcolm Turnbull appears to be the most suitable leader on all sides of politics capable of tackling these challenges, he does have a mountain to climb.

Whilst different interest groups would argue over the degree of urgency of various reforms, there are two major issues which needs the most urgent attention. And from the various overtures since his elevation, it is encouraging that at least on the surface Turnbull & his new team acknowledge the urgency of these issues (although it appears Turnbull has promised the hard right Liberals to leave Climate Change alone for the time being):

a) Tax Reform
b) Industrial Relations Reform
c) Climate Change Policy Reform

And here is where the main challenge for PM Turnbull lies:

Malcolm Turnbull must address, attack & neutralise the following powerful toxic electoral terminology that has put an end to any chance of any reform in these very important policy areas, with thanks to Labor, Julia Gillard & Tony Abbott:

"Work Choices"  "GST" & "Carbon Tax"

Australia's taxation system is generally acknowledged as complex & in many instances regressive. Whilst GST is considered a regressive tax, with appropriate compensation for lower income earners, a broadening of the base & an increase to the rate in return for discontinuation of most Federal & State indirect taxes, is the easiest & most logical way of addressing the problem. This is because a consumption based tax system (GST) has many benefits which an income tax dos not provide.

On the other hand, as I always say: "If as it was claimed, Work Choices made it too easy to sack workers, then Fair Work has made it ten times harder to employ or sack workers". 

Fair Work, with its stifling provisions & excessive penalty rate schedules is surely the most urgent policy reform requiring attention. Employer Groups, big & small, whilst happy to pay reasonable penalty rates, are reluctant to hire more workers due to the inflexible, unworkable & stifling provisions of the Fair Work Act.

Australia desperately & urgently requires IR reform to reintroduce flexibility back to the system & improve productivity. 

However, the Unions & Labor have made "Work Choices" such a toxic & untouchable term to the point that any discussion of any IR reform is choked on the spot.

Thanks to Gillard's broken promise & Tony Abbott's cunning ploy whilst in opposition, any discussion on Climate Change & Environmental Policy is also deprived of any traction by the mention of the toxic term "Carbon tax"!

As the new PM, Malcolm Turbull & his main advisor the Cabinet Secretory Arthur Sinodinos acknowledge, the PM must carry the voters behind him in order to succeed with any major reform, something that ultimately Rudd, Gillard & Abbott all failed to do.

In order to bring about reform & growth, Turbull must tackle Tax, IR & Climate Change. 

Turnbull's starting point is to neutralise the powerful & toxic electoral impact of three simple terms: 

"GST", "Work Choices" & "Carbon Tax". 

It is only after he achieves this that he can be sure his opponents, detractors & enemies are sufficiently disarmed to allow him to proceed with reform......easier said than done!

President Obama & John Kerry must be applauded for their strategy of engagement in the Middle East

President Obama & Secretary of State John Kerry must be applauded for their massive diplomatic success in engaging Iran, and now Russia (albeit slowly)

Whilst the agreement with Iran will address & keep in check Iran's nuclear capability, it is the success in engaging Iran & Russia to resolve the escalating regional trouble spots that is a huge win for Obama & the West. And John Kerry's diplomatic skills in negotiating with Iran's Foreign Minister that unlocked the process.

It is quite clear that Syria's civil war & the devastating impact of ISIS can only effectively be addressed in USA & its allies fully engage Russia & Iran.
This may result in Assad remaining in power, but this is a positive result if Russia & Iran assist US to neutralise ISIS's influence in Syria (and Iraq).

This is at a time when Obama & Kerry can no longer rely on their Arab allies. Saudies & Qatar seem to be hedging their bets both ways by supporting ISIS elements to counter the ever growing influence of Iran.

Iran on the other hand, is fast becoming the voice of reason as well as effective military strategy in the region! Let's look at Iran from a different angle:

- Iran can comfortably claim a much more democratic political system than most of its Arab neighbours. Whilst the disputed 2009 Presidential Elections caused political unrest, subsequent election of the moderate candidate Mr Rohani took the system back towards the right democratic path.

- The reason for the relative stability of the political system in Iran is its Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamanei.

Iran's Supreme Leader is an experienced politician of exceptional strategic competnce. He reads the region's political pulse as well as its religious social fabric much better than his Arab foes/friends across the Persian Gulf. This is quite clear given the fact that Iran's political, religious & military influence currently stretches from Afghanistan to Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria & Lebanon.

- Furthermore, Iran's religious ideology is diametrically opposed to that of terrorist groups such as ISIS as well as Taliban, Al Quaeda & most of the smaller militant groups in Iraq & Syria. On top of this, Iran has both the military might & the geopolitical influence to deal with ISIS.

And last but not least, as the BRIC countries growth falters & affects the world's global growth, Iran with its population of 76m, its vast oil & gas (and copper amongst other minerals) resources, and its urgent need for massive infrastructure investment in these industries, potentially represents the brightest growth prospects in the world economy in the next decade.

Russia & Iran on the other hand must now deliver effective success against ISIS if the diplomatic relationship can grow to a more fruitful stage.