Fire and Rain
December 8th 2006 17:16
From Bob:
News:
Victoria braces for intense weekend fire activity
Victoria's east is being urged to prepare for worsening fire conditions over the weekend.
Firefighters continue to battle 56 blazes, which have so far destroyed two homes and
burned 100,000 hectares of land.
All this in the wake of Australia’s worst drought in 100 years.
Views:
Pray to the rain gods. Some precipitation would solve an awful lot of problems.
From Theresa:
What's up with the weather? Tornados in San Francisco a summer or two ago; lived in this area most of my life & some guy is on the news telling us we just never noticed them before....Now a tornado hits London, where they're having the warmest season in over 300 years....What's up?
From Bob:
News:
Parliaments new Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd, in his last speech to Parliament for the year, wished the Prime Minister and his family all the best as follows: "They will be able to spend time together and recover from the rigours of the year and prepare for the next;” Mr. Rudd then gave the Prime Minister the following advice: “Don't recover too much Prime Minister,"
Views: It promises to be an interesting, and, hopefully, productive year for the Australian Government.
News:
Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, says it is wrong to link the Arab-Israeli conflict with wider problems in the Middle East and has ruled out any immediate talks with Syria despite a US report calling for them.
Views:
This attitude seems, to this writer, to be counter-productive to the peace process.
Anytime you can talk to your “enemy” would seem to be a positive move towards peace. Am I missing something?
From Theresa;
Agreed. Mr. Olmert mis-spoke? Israel's in the middle, just as it has been since the super-powers put it there at inception. Who really thought that was a good idea? And, distasteful as Mr. Olmert may find it, seems like if there isn't diplomacy with Syria & others, then there will be fighting with Syria and others.
From Bob:
News:
A federal parliamentary committee conducted an inquiry into ways the Australian Government could make it easier for parents to return to paid work and the impact tax has on their choices.
It has recommended fringe benefits tax be removed from all child care to exempt
assistance provided by employers and the cost of in-home nannies be recognised for tax purposes.
Views:
It seems to me that to remove tax benefits child care provided by employers would cause employers to think twice about their providing such child care - can this be good? It would seem that giving a tax break for in-home nannies would encourage parents to seek or stay at work.
From Theresa
I don't fully know this law, Bob. But, coincidentally, in the US they're talking about repealing or letting slide renewal (or something!)of the Family Leave Act, which provided that your job was still there if you had to take time for a family emergency. Is there some kind of international agreement in developed countries to make things as difficult for the average working person as possible?
News:
Australia's first feature length film in an Aboriginal language, Ten Canoes, has taken the top prize at the Australian Film Industry (AFI) awards in Melbourne. Ten Canoes won the best film category, and also picked up best direction for Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr.
The film took six awards in total, including best original screenplay and best cinematography.
Views:
Good work, Ten Canoes.
News:
Victoria braces for intense weekend fire activity
Victoria's east is being urged to prepare for worsening fire conditions over the weekend.
Firefighters continue to battle 56 blazes, which have so far destroyed two homes and
burned 100,000 hectares of land.
All this in the wake of Australia’s worst drought in 100 years.
Views:
Pray to the rain gods. Some precipitation would solve an awful lot of problems.
From Theresa:
What's up with the weather? Tornados in San Francisco a summer or two ago; lived in this area most of my life & some guy is on the news telling us we just never noticed them before....Now a tornado hits London, where they're having the warmest season in over 300 years....What's up?
From Bob:
News:
Parliaments new Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd, in his last speech to Parliament for the year, wished the Prime Minister and his family all the best as follows: "They will be able to spend time together and recover from the rigours of the year and prepare for the next;” Mr. Rudd then gave the Prime Minister the following advice: “Don't recover too much Prime Minister,"
Views: It promises to be an interesting, and, hopefully, productive year for the Australian Government.
News:
Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, says it is wrong to link the Arab-Israeli conflict with wider problems in the Middle East and has ruled out any immediate talks with Syria despite a US report calling for them.
Views:
This attitude seems, to this writer, to be counter-productive to the peace process.
Anytime you can talk to your “enemy” would seem to be a positive move towards peace. Am I missing something?
From Theresa;
From Bob:
News:
A federal parliamentary committee conducted an inquiry into ways the Australian Government could make it easier for parents to return to paid work and the impact tax has on their choices.
It has recommended fringe benefits tax be removed from all child care to exempt
assistance provided by employers and the cost of in-home nannies be recognised for tax purposes.
Views:
It seems to me that to remove tax benefits child care provided by employers would cause employers to think twice about their providing such child care - can this be good? It would seem that giving a tax break for in-home nannies would encourage parents to seek or stay at work.
From Theresa
I don't fully know this law, Bob. But, coincidentally, in the US they're talking about repealing or letting slide renewal (or something!)of the Family Leave Act, which provided that your job was still there if you had to take time for a family emergency. Is there some kind of international agreement in developed countries to make things as difficult for the average working person as possible?
News:
Australia's first feature length film in an Aboriginal language, Ten Canoes, has taken the top prize at the Australian Film Industry (AFI) awards in Melbourne. Ten Canoes won the best film category, and also picked up best direction for Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr.
The film took six awards in total, including best original screenplay and best cinematography.
Views:
Good work, Ten Canoes.
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