profit before people?

Gary Martin usually writes sensible articles. On Sunday he writes that employers ... should promote a culture that prioritises wellbeing... and recognise the importance of mental health days.

Martin has clearly spent too much recent time out of employment and living in a magical land where dreams can come true.

Real employers prefer the easier options of micromanagement and squeezing employees till the pips squeak.

Our is it me that has been out of work too long:-?

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

mass saving of lives

The West has HORROR on speed dial for its headlines. Today it is on page one.

Fears of mass casualties...

Read the article and the death toll could be "upwards of seven people" Yes, that's awful -- but it is not "mass casualties".. A lone gunman in a shopping mall would be embarrassed to kill so few.

The true story is more positive. A timely Mayday call from the ship. A rapid and effective response by Baltimore Police -- and a far worse tragedy was averted.

But there's no Horror headline in mass casualties averted.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

score double nothing

Kate Emery hears the Chair of the Professional Darts Corp say that darts is a gender neutral sport.

Emery interprets this as an attack on Emery's "weak, feminine brain" 27mar, The West.

This confected outrage, in an otherwise illogical op ed does demonstrate one thing: Emery has days when her brain is particularly weak.  Feminine or not.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

all day sucker

Ron Elliot, Letters 27mar is such a sweet innocent man. He writes that politicians are elected "to ensure the voices of the people are heard"

If he really believes that... I have a Sydney Harbour Bridge that I am ready to sell to him.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

self-serve fix

the property Council of Australia tells us, 27mar,  how we can "fix home crisis". No surprise, each "fix" also involves direct benefit to Property Council stakeholders.

None of the "fixes" tackle the root cause of the crisis, which is detailed in the much smaller article on the same page. "Perth grows the most"

... Nick Lethbridge, Churchlands

====

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

profit from fool emissions

no wonder car importers are excited by new emission regulations.

low emitters are allowed to sell their emission credits to less efficient polluters.

so australia ends up with absolutely no reduction in destructive emissions. but importers get a chance to redistribute profits.

meanwhile, massive fuel guzzling 4WDs retain their protected status as "utes". with tax exemptions for city shoppers who probably do not even know how to open the tailgate.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

sit-down for me-first

the ABC had a news story about a "disability advocate" being upset over how he was treated on a flight within Australia.

First, this advocate was traveling with his support dog. a40kg monster which was uncontrollable except by its owner. even then the owner had to be sitting in his own wheelchair.

there was some fuss over the wheelchair. "only" 9kg says the man who obviously is not the person carrying an awkward 9kg up the steep steps into the plane.

okay. once they managed to get this mongrel onto the plane, the dog had its own booked and, probably paid-for window seat.

most likely this window seat is the emergency exit. in an emergency an active dog can move itself.

except that the immobile owner demands to sit in that seat.

imagine an actual emergency. two hundred passengers burning to death at the back of the plane. they are blocked from the exit by the man who cannot move.

what an idiot.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

unsocial media

Sarah Vine gives a bland half-apology for the recent frenzy surrounding, and attacking, Princess Kate.

Vine blames it all on the "toxic influence of social media".

She ignores the toxic influence of more traditional media. Which will happily spread any nonsense, in its efforts to remain relevant.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

dictator tactics

hmmm. terrorist attack in Moscow... just after a few Russians dared to question putin's election. all the excuse that putin needs to tighten up internal security and crack down, even harder, on dissent.

No surprise if putin himself organised the attack.

Now for an excuse to kill more people in Ukraine: a Ukrainian soldier will be shot and killed in Moscow, "resisting arrest" no surprise if that soldier was captured in Ukraine a month ago. kept on ice till needed as "evidence"

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

peace for a time

The general public are tired of listening to the endless childish sniping and bickering over GST redistribution.

Let the Federal government decide the total amount that they will return to the states.

Meanwhile lock the Premiers from each State into a fancy hotel. They talk to each other but have no communication with the outside, real, world -- until they all come out with an agreed percentage breakdown of GST payments. That is, an agreed list of the percentage that each state will receive of the total amount.

This will lead to a very fast and well-supported agreement.

Or, like a deadlocked jury -- at least we will have some peace and quiet while the Premiers are locked away.

... Nick Lethbridge, Churchlands

===

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

fact check fable

an ABC fact check report says that in 2021, four countries met 100% of their energy needs through renewable energy (wind, water, solar). these countries are : Albania, Bhutan, Nepal and Paraguay. Those for do not sound like high tech producers, so...

 where did those countries source the equipment, eg solar collectors, which provide the power.Probably from some energy hungry, high polluting country such as China.

Does Albania, for example, produce enough wind power to mine, smelt, refine, etc all the material that will be needed when they need to expand their energy production?

they may produce worth energy for today but...

unfortunately, politicians listen to economists who demand constant growth... and more growth.

As soon as Albania's economy grows -- they will need more energy. They will need to import more solar collectors... manufactured in one of the other 96 countries of the world -- from a country which will not be depending 100% on renewable energy.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

death by stealth

a man takes a lunch break and rests in a park. and is run down by a car, a Tesla.

there are important lessons here.

if you are resting -- do not believe that cars drive only on roads.

if you are blind, or resting, do not expect any warning sounds before an EV runs you down.

do not expect a Tesla driver to look where they are driving.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

flaming idiots

a man uses an angle grinder. sparks start a destructive bushfire. the man is fined and hounded to hell n gone.

an idiot lights a campfire. it escapes and starts a destructive bush fire. this is determined to be accidental, no follow-up needed

WTF?

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

school force

23mar24: printed in The West as Part of that job, anyway

school teachers should quit teaching and join the police.

The pay is just as bad. public respect is still non existent. but at least as a police officer they know that being a target for unprovoked violence is a formal part of the job description.

... nick lethbridge, churchlands

===

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

Trump for Australia?

Trump has heard that Kevin Rudd is a bit nasty and not the brightest bulb...yes, that's what I've heard too.

There's a possible benefit for Australia from the US election: If Trump wins, he may get rudd to leave... It could mean the end of the embarrassment of having rudd as our ambassador to the US. We can but hope.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

balance of loss

Josh Zimmerman 20mar tells us to expect more government cash bribes thanks to the spoils of six successive surpluses. On the same day the government is said to be needing more than a billion extra dollars to cover its over-spending.

Whatever happened to those budget surpluses?

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

buy my vote

the government is offering cash to parents of schoolchildren.

Forget that the money could have gone directly to each State School to, for example, subsidise a school uniform for each student. This cash bribe is similar to the cash for your vote offer to Seniors.

To get the Seniors cash, first provide a massive amount of personal data. Enough data, including proof of identity and full bank details, to allow even a moderately competent criminal to steal your identity.

All this personal data will then be stored on a government server. Which may as well have a "hack me" target painted on the side.

Expect to receive your bribe... closely followed by notification that your entire bank balance has been transferred to an unknown overseas destination.

btw: money to subsidise a school uniform would also buy the vote of Seniors with a grandchild at school.

... Nick Lethbridge, Churchlands

====

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

lacking logic

today's paper has two letters which end, "i rest my case". coincidence? or one letter writer and two false names? (no, neither is me).

one letter rests the case without actually presenting a case. they fail to make any point at all.

the other letter seems to argue in favour of first past the post elections, rather than proportional voting. they don't seem to understand the point behind our proportional voting.

but what is clear is that the letters editor needs my letters, to raise the standard of logical opinion.

i rest my case.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

funny no business

CCIWA surveyed WA businesses which plan to scale back, or close, in 2024.

40 percent of those businesses blamed declining customer demand.

Do they expect sympathy for their own ignorance of free-market economics?

Here's some advice for those 40%: When there is no customer demand -- there is no need for your business.

Just ask the people who used to repair typewriters. When typewriters disappeared, typewriter repair businesses also disappeared.

When their is no market demand then yes, your business should close.

Find a new business -- where there is actual customer demand.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

Referendum required

As Mark Riley explains, March 15, the High Court has ruled that indefinite detention is unConstitutional.

. I can't believe that even the most rabid of glory-seeking "advocates" really wants murderers, rapists, paedophiles and drug runners to be freely released into the community. Nor is it the fault of lawyers who are paid big money to find the legal loopholes which allow their criminal clients to walk free.

The problem is with our Constitution, which is clearly well past its use-by date.

We need a Referendum -- to change our Constitution so that it is fit for purpose in protecting Australian citizens from new generations of wealthy and well-connected international criminals.

... Nick Lethbridge, Churchlands

===

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

Paris parking oui

Paris, France: parking fees will be trebled for large SUVs. Great decision. It won't worry me. Even if I did live in France.

We own a medium-large 4WD. It is for comfortable driving in the country. There is no way we would attempt to park it amongst the packed and fuming traffic of The Big Smoke.

Yet if desperate times did lead to desperate driving, well... three times the cost for very short-term parking would be a small and fair cost to pay.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood
   

dig, destroy, profit

printed in The West on 13 March, as Lack of protection

The West Editorial 12mar is critical of the speed and secrecy of rewriting Environmental Protection laws.

The Editorial states that, the public will bear the costs if things go wrong. There are several obvious problems:

The resultant Act will not be about environmental protection. It will define lots of ways in which miners and other industries can justify destruction of yet more natural environment.

It will be an attempt to allow every powerful stakeholder group to gain profit from the inevitable destruction.

And it's not just the public which will bear the costs. It's the public -- and every future generation.

There is no if. It is When things go wrong.

... Nick Lethbridge, Churchlands

====

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


As Conan says: What does not kill you
does not kill you

basil for nukes and coffee

basil Zempilas really should stick to sport. when he waxes lyrical over Italian soccer teams (8th March) i can just roll my eyes and smile tolerantly.

when he gets hot and sweaty over a coffee chain expanding to perth, well, commercial sponsorship does pay his wages.

But his ignorant bias shines too brightly when he quotes his political masters in an effort to justify nuclear power.

"trust the science" he chants -- with no indication that he (or his masters) have ever read any of the science. either for or against.

nuclear is safe, he claims. with a passing joke his only reference to fukushima. and no mention at all of three mile island. nor of Chernobyl, which is still bubbling away under tonnes of cement. oh, but my political lord and master has more than the nuclear egg in his basket of bribes. you name it, we will pretend to support it, basil concludes.

basil really should stick to sport. at least he is right if he believes that even a drunk but oh so famous footballer is not likely to reduce perth to a nuclear wasteland.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


As Conan says: What does not kill you
does not kill you

stupid white bastard

Kate Emery (8 March) believes that "stupid white bastard" -- directed at a policeman doing his duty -- is not racist.

Try calling an indigenous australian a stupid black bastard -- you will be in court, or hospital, before you can blink.

in America even black is considered racist, as in, do not order a "black" coffee.

What is it, Kate? one law for rich, famous, drunk sports stars -- and another law for the rest of us. Stupid white bitch (no racist insult intended)

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


As Conan says: What does not kill you
does not kill you

ornamental Opinion 7/3

The West uses a comic strip about wrestlers.

A key female character is independent, strong and a nurse.

Last week she was ordered to wrestle in a skin tight costume. The response of the male characters was a loud Phwoar!. Is that really how we see nurses?

Not while they are wiping our bums and changing our catheters, I hope.

Perhaps we all need to lighten up a little.And accept that men like to look at attractive women. And, if movies have it right, vice versa.

... Nick Lethbridge, Churchlands

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Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


As Conan says: What does not kill you
does not kill you

power pole play

Laura Newell is half right (opinion,5/3). Western Power would not approve Aunt Gladys using her feather duster. the known and approved method is to clean dust off power poles with a high pressure hose. But that is preventative maintenance -- and costs money.

Far better to save money and let customers get by with interrupted power.

... nick lethbridge, churchlands

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Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


As Conan says: What does not kill you
does not kill you

democratic action needed

dear Mr Burke,

i have decided to enter parliament. i calculate that two million dollars will buy a suitable seat. please arrange for the government to pay me this amount. i will then pay your ten percent lobby fee with a cheque made out to Cash

while in parliament i will continue to accept bribes in exchange for policy changes.

thank you in anticipation

... nick lethbridge, churchlands

====

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


As Conan says: What does not kill you
does not kill you