death and democracy

An opposition politician -- Nick Goiran -- is doing his best to delay the passing of a "voluntary assisted dying" -- euthanasia -- bill. Goiran has religious objections to euthanasia. The West -- a daily rag which is the degenerate descendant of a daily newspaper -- says that Goiran is acting undemocratically.

Sorry, but Goiran is acting within the rules of our democratically elected parliament. Not within the spirit, perhaps, but well within the rules. That is our democracy: we elect people, they set rules, we all follow the rules.

If we don't like the rules, we change them. How? By getting our elected representatives to change the rules. If that requires the election of representatives who will change those rules well, that's how our democracy works.

What if we want to change the rules but there is not the required majority of elected representatives? Well, the rules will not change. That's democracy.

Meanwhile, Goiran is acting within the rules of our democracy.

So to Goiran I say: carry on. It's good to see a politician thinking for himself, doing what he believes is right. I hope that he will ultimately fail -- I support the individual's right to euthanasia. But time is not of the essence, there will be a never-ending supply of people who want the right to choose the manner of their own death.

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Various politicians mutter in support of The West, they claim to want the bill to be passed. Or, at least, dealt with and out of their hair. Really? Maybe.

I have yet to hear those politicians -- or the daily paper -- making suggestions about changing the rules of parliamentary debate. No-one, apparently, is learning from this experience. Or perhaps they are learning? Learning a new way to delay the acceptance of bills with which they disagree.

To these politicians I say: stop attempting to score points -- and change the rules. Ask me, I can suggest several ways that will improve parliamentary debate. And if you don't like my ideas, vote against them. Because that is democracy.

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Meanwhile, the leader of Goiran's party claims that yes, she does want this euthanasia bill to be passed. Unfortunately, it seems, she has no control over the member of her party. Really?

Try this: tell Goiran that he is no longer the party spokesperson for (or against) this bill. Do you really want this bill to be passed? Remove Goiran's official imprimatur as the party representative. No, it won't stop his stalling tactics. At least it will show that you half-way support what you say.

Do you disagree with Goiran just this one time? Or do you truly believe that his approach is wrong... Make sure that he is not preselected by your party for the next election. He can still run as an independent. As a member of your party, Goiran represents your party views. Preselect him again and you are supporting his stalling tactics. For this and other bills.

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And in his electorate: if you like Goiran's tactics and support his views -- vote for him again.

That's what our democracy is all about.

Nick Lethbridge  /  consulting dexitroboper
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"If we really did profit from our mistakes, I'd be rich" … per Ginger Meggs
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It's not a newspaper

The West Australian is no longer a newspaper. Half of its articles are opinions, not news. Half of what's left -- in today's paper -- is drooling and salivating over the sad details of the murder of three young women. Sick stuff.

Of course the bulk of the paper is advertisements. Nothing wrong with that, it pays part of the cost of the paper. Except that quite a few of the "articles" are really advertisements. Or biassed. There are plenty of stories which are really teasers for channel seven.

Of course there are also the stories that never get to print. The court case which channel seven lost, for example, where "reality show" contestants successfully sued channel seven. No mention of that case in the seven-owned daily paper.

A different tv channel had a minor upset when morning show presenters were moved on, walked out, were moved back...  The paper wrote several snide articles about those difficulties. There were also a couple of articles which were very sympathetic towards the female presenter... and guess what? Now she's working for channel seven. No surprise at all.

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Today there is an article -- another opinion piece -- about Qantas. Written by a man who does seem to know about marketing. His opinion is, that a Qantas 100-year birthday celebration could bore the average consumer. The writer has missed the point.

Qantas will spend all year celebrating 100 years of operation. You can bet that sick children and orphaned animals will be flown -- free -- all over the country. There will be non-stop flights from A to B -- with journalists writing loving articles about the joys of flying first-class. And yes, consumers will lap it up.

Meanwhile, a standard Qantas flight leaves me with my knees poking into the seat in front. On the non-stop flight to London -- with extra leg-room -- I still have no room to bend down. Drop the pillow? Too bad, it's lost forever.

Flights are cheap, Qantas shares paid a small dividend. But guess what? Maintenance is no longer done in Australia. Where are the people who used to earn a living maintaining Qantas planes? Overseas, bankrupt or on the dole, I guess.

Doesn't matter, at least the investors get a dividend. Not that that helps Australia. Qantas is no longer "the Australian airline", Australian ownership went out with the wings on the kangaroo. Not to worry...

None of the uncomfortable history will be reported in the daily paper. We'll have happy stories of airline journalists flying first class. Top chefs designing superb menus... for first-class passengers. Extra leg room... for first-class passengers. New flight records, new flight technology, continuing safety records (I hope) -- for the foreign airline which started -- 100 years ago -- in Australia.

It will be published but it's not news. It will be published because The West Australian in not, in reality, a "news"paper.

Nick Lethbridge  /  consulting dexitroboper
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"If we really did profit from our mistakes, I'd be rich" … per Ginger Meggs
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Lesson from TV

Here's a lesson from TV's Yes Minister series: Once a politician denies a fact -- that fact is guaranteed to be true.

Federal parliament is attempting to pass what is referred to as, "Christian Porter's union-busting Bill" (The West, 26 Nov).

"The PM rubbished Labor claims the Bill would have unions deregistered over paper-work." The PM rubbished claims?! That's as good as a denial...

So it seems to be true: Christian Porter's "Ensuring Integrity" Bill -- an excellently sarcastic name -- will allow unions to be deregistered over shoddy paperwork.

Nick Lethbridge  /  consulting dexitroboper
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"If we really did profit from our mistakes, I'd be rich" … per Ginger Meggs
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the PWbattpack

the PWbattpack: making electric cars practical, popular and even preferred.

this week i wrote a letter to the editor, outlining a concept which would overcome the key problem of electric cars, the time and difficulty of getting them recharged. i'll copy the letter below, then expand on the details. there are a number of benefits -- to Australia in particular -- which are possible from the PWbattpack development.

the letter, the concept:

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think outside the battery box

it takes an overnight recharge to get this tablet fully recharged. or it takes me two minutes to change the battery.

use the famous aussie innovation to apply this to electric cars:

design an electric car to take a standard size battery pack. contents may vary as long as the size and connections are standard. the entire pack slides in and out, perhaps behind a bumper.

encourage electric car manufacturers to use the standard size battery pack. perhaps manufacture -- or remodel -- some electric cars in australia.

a garage stocks a pile of battery packs. these are recharged between customers. a customer car is recharged by replacement of its "empty" battery pack with one which is fully charged.

total time from flat to fully charged -- five minutes. for any electric car. at any garage.

think outside the box. consciously plan for an innovative -- and practical -- solution.

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the universal PWbattpack:

the central concept is the PWbattpack, a standardised container for whatever batteries run an electric car. key design criteria are:

1. standard external physical dimensions

2. standard mechanism for removal and replacement

3. standard electrical fitting into the vehicle

4. fully flexible internal storage for batteries

... the external physical dimensions of the PWbattpack are tightly defined and universally known

... the PWbattpack is easy to remove and replace; the entire pack slides out of the car, a fully charged replacement slides back in; this slide-in-out mechanism is tightly defined and universally known

... the PWbattpack provides a tightly defined and universally known electrical connection between the batteries stored inside and the electric car being powered by the batteries

... inside the PWbattpack, manufacturers provide batteries to suit the vehicle design; the PWbattpack provides the universal interface between batteries and vehicle

for petrol vehicles the 12v battery is a standardised power supply. it is made up of separate power cells within one standard container. the cell technology may vary, it doesn't matter. the petrol vehicle is designed to use any battery which matches the 12v standard.

the PWbattpack provides a similar physical and electrical standard for electric cars.

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recharging the electric car:

there are two ways to recharge your electric car:

1. plug it in to a standard charge station and wait. and wait and wait and wait...

2. drive into a garage. wait five minutes while your PWbattpack is removed -- and replaced with a fully charged PWbattpack. drive away.

the PWbattpack allows an electric vehicle to go from flat to fully charged within just a few minutes. at least as quickly as refuelling a petrol car. with no risk of fuel spills or leaks. a very clean and simple process.

one extra mechanism:

to make it easy to "recharge" your vehicle, a garage will have a PWlifter. this is a simple fork-lift, specifically designed to move a PWbattpack. the PWlifter is used to remove the discharged PWbattpack and to slide in the new PWbattpack. batteries may be heavy, the PWlifter can move the PWbattpack in safety.

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electric car design:

the PWbattpack is a universal design for the power source of electric cars. electric cars must be designed to use the PWbattpack. this provides a challenge -- and an opportunity.

australia has a history of successful innovation and a more recent history of failing car industries. combine remnant knowledge of car design with active australian innovation: design the PWelectric as the first car to use the PWbattpack.

how innovative do we want to be?

1. design and build a PWelectric concept car. do this in parallel with development and definition of the PWbattpack. then sell the two concepts to the world.

2. rebuild an existing electric car, to use the developing PWbattpack. sell the PWbattpack to the world, to be used in their own electric vehicles.

3. design the PWbattpack and the PWelectric. sell the manufacturing rights around the world.

4. design the PWbattpack and the PWelectric. restart the australian car industry, to manufacture the PWelectric. start a smaller industry to manufacture the PWbattpack.

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but i want to drive a big truck !

the PWbattpack comes in three sizes: one, two and four.

PWone can hold enough batteries to power a small car for city-based driving. PWfour is... four times the size of PWone. a PWfour provides four times the power -- or four times the distance. my battery knowledge is limited, it would be nice if the PWelectric vehicle could choose whether to use power or distance...

oh, and a PWtwo contains twice as many batteries as a PWone but half as many as a PWfour.

that's the electric power standard for the three sizes of a PWbattpack. the physical standards are just as important. are these possible? i'm not sure. the following may be no more than a wishlist for the PWbattpack concept:

1. a PWelectric vehicle may be designed to run on any combination of PWbattpack.

2. a small PWelectric vehicle is designed to run on one PWone. the design may allow a second PWone to be slid in, next to the first, to provide almost double the travel distance. ("almost" double because there is extra weight from the extra batteries.)

3. where there is room for two PWone packs -- the universal fitting will allow for use of a single PWtwo.

4. a PWelectric design may allow for various numbers of the PWbattpack. because the physical and electrical fittings are a standard, the total battery load can be made up of various combinations of the three sizes of PWbattpack.

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where do i recharge?

any garage can stock a range of different sizes of PWbattpack. there is no need to constantly replace PWbattpack stock -- because every recharge involves a one-for-one exchange. new stock is required if a PWbattpack is damaged -- or as the recharge business grows.

the PWbattpack stock is recharged by the garage, between customers. the customer need only wait the few minutes required for the PWbattpack to be replaced.

where does the garage get its power?

each PWbattpack is recharged -- with no delay to the customer -- from whatever power is locally available. this power may be from the grid, from a generator, from solar or wind powered generators.

there is no time constraint. if the power source is solar, recharge during the day. if wind power fails, use a generator. once charged, each PWbattpack will hold its charge, until required by a customer. PWbattpack provides rapid recharge for the customer and when-convenient recharge for the garage.

there is no need to limit PWbattpack recharging to garages. all that is required is a PWbattpack stock, a PWlifter, space to do the PWbattpack exchange and a means to recharge each flat PWbattpack.

as soon as a location takes delivery of its first PWbattpack supply -- you can go there to get a rapid recharge. anywhere. city, country or at a remote location, off the beaten track.

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PWbattpack and the PWelectric range will ensure that electric vehicles are both practical and popular. even preferred.

they will allow electric vehicles to be used across australia -- as easily and effectively as any petrol-powered car.

design of the PWbattpack, PWlifter and PWelectric require -- and will boost -- australian innovation.

the benefits will be even greater if australia maintains control of manufacturing.

PWbattpack is an opportunity for australia. no matter what level of the opportunity we grasp -- there will be benefits. PWbattpack, PWlifter and PWelectric. an opportunity for australia to lead the world. and to provide practical benefits for all of australia.

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"If It Ain't Broke, Break It" … Meat Loaf
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dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
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negative views of negative gearing

Plans to "curb" negative gearing will come at the "worst possible time" for WA's property market. So say the real estate sellers. And we know we can trust them for an honest statement of well researched facts.

What could possibly be wrong with negative gearing? The worse our purchase decision, the more the government will reward our stupidity. Even better, the government will reward our stupid investment decisions with money from the suckers who actually pay tax.

Brilliant!

So "now" is the worst possible time to change the rules. After all, we have just had three years of falling prices for real estate. Any changes will... well... what?

With negative gearing as it is... we have just had three terrible years for real estate investment. So what is so terrific about the current rules? What part of falling prices do we want to maintain?

We have had three years of negative gearing matched to three years of falling house prices. This seems to be three years of data to link falling house prices to negative gearing. Why protect a failing payment for investor stupidity?

Three years of negative gearing has run with three years of falling house prices. Perhaps it's time to try something better. Something that works. Or, at least, something which is not a government handout to the biggest investment losers.

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On the other hand: what is wrong with falling house prices?

Perth is now Australia's second-most most liveable city. Two years ago we were the least liveable.

Could it be our beaches? our accessible bush? perhaps even our slowing down of population growth? Near the top of the list for liveability is... falling property prices. At last, people in WA can (almost) afford to buy property.

Of course we don't really want WA to be liveable, that just attracts other people to come here. So we pour concrete as close as possible to our clean and sandy beaches. We convert bush into housing estates and lock the public out of the rest. We fill every open space with concrete block-houses.

And if that doesn't keep away non-West Aussies... we will do anything possible to raise property prices. Or at least to protect the stupidity-bonus which has paid for so much concrete profit in the past.

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"I think and think, for months, for years. Ninety-nine times the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right." … Einstein
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dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
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violence at schools

According to The West, "Almost 1000 students have been suspended from WA public schools for physical aggression in the first four weeks of the school year..." (12 Mar 19). By journalism-school maths this is "a 15 per cent increase on the same time last year."

Take the actual figure of 919 suspended (almost 1000 ?!) and last year's of 799, there has been about 10% increase. Both those figures (919 and 799) are in that same article.

Solution: Teach basic maths to journalists. And explain the difference between "almost 1000" and the just as emphatic but more honest "more than 900".

Then there is the education minister. "We have drawn a line in the sand," she says. It's a government-driven crackdown on school violence which is "working".

Working? Really ? With a 10% increase in student suspensions ? Okay, that may show a better rate of reporting of student violence, that's a good start. Increased numbers of students being suspended from school for violence ? Soooouuunds good...

If you are violent at school you may receive a ten-day holiday from school.

Students are forced -- by law -- to attend school. A suspension overrides that law. Suspension is not punishment, it is a reward. It gives the student ten days to freely commit crimes outside school grounds. To return to school refreshed and ready to fight with renewed vigour.

Solution: Provide a "borstal" day school. Students suspended from their usual school must attend borstal. Wikipedia says, "Borstals were run by HM Prison Service and were intended to reform seriously delinquent young people."

Provide a modern form of borstal for students who are excessively violent at a public school. Stricter controls, closer watch and better management of activities in the play areas. Plus the essential education which is the basic reason for provision of public schools.

At best, violent students may learn that they cannot start fights with impunity. At worst, they will attend lessons with teachers who are given the authority to keep control in the classes. The students may even learn.

Meanwhile, all of this is ignoring parental responsibilty. Where are the parents who have legal responsibility for their children ?

When a student is given a suspension holiday from school, are there parents at home to take responsibility ? Maybe. Or it may be that the parents have also lost control of their violent children. They cannot also lose responsibility.

Solution: Parents must get their suspended children to the borstal. Every day. If this is "not possible" then there will be a "borstal bus". Provided by the government and paid for -- on a pay-per-use basis -- by parents. It may not be actual "taking responsibility". At least it is "being made aware of their problem".

More student suspensions is a part of the solution to student violence at school. It's a start, it removes violent students from their potential -- at school -- victims.

We also need to provide better solutions to prevention of further violence. A holiday from school is very short-term. Longer-term, we need to provide continuing education -- to all school students. Education for students who require stricter controls and better management than can be provided at a purely educational school.

Solutions:

… Maths education for journalists.

… A political line drawn in the sand where that sand is not just a bigger playground.

… Select schools which can help violent students to adapt to -- or at least work within -- normal society.

… A reminder to -- and support for -- parents who have ultimate responsibilty for their own children.

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"If I had only one hour to save the world, I would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem, and only five minutes finding the solution." … Einstein
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dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
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Criminal responsibility -- shared

Excusing crime

Do you get tired of crimes being forgiven because the perpetrator had no "intent"? They were drunk or drugged or crazy therefore -- innocent. Hmmm.

What about the violent criminals let out on bail, or released for good behaviour who then commit even more violent crimes?

Then there are the Good People who cry for the drugged, the drunk and the crazy. Who demand understanding for the criminals who need to be given a second chance. Which may well turn into a second chance for more violent crimes.

Let's add responsibility to the cries for forgiveness and understanding.

When a Good Person asks us to excuse a violent crime because the perpetrator was not in control of their own actions -- let that Good Person share the responsibility. And the consequences.

First, the Good Person stands tall, to ask us to understand. Then the Good Person accepts shared responsibility for future crimes. If the perpetrator -- while on bail, while on early release, while freed due to diminished responsibility -- if that person commits a crime... the Good Person is immediately sentenced to the maximum penalty for that crime.

If the criminal is sentenced to jail -- the Good Person gets out of jail.

If the criminal is found to have not committed the crime -- everyone goes free.

If the criminal is set free due to diminished responsibility then the Good Person stays in jail. Or completes whatever penalty is attached to the crime. After all, the Good Person promised that no further crime would be committed. They were wrong. They are responsible for the second crime.

In a case where there is a general public outcry, responsibility can be shared. Two or more people sign on as Good People. After all, they are so certain that the perpetrator should go unpunished that they are fully willing to share responsibility.

Just to be fair, Good People can accept the minimum applicable penalties rather than the maximum.

If we really believe that a person should not be penalised -- despite committing a crime -- because they were too drugged or drunk or crazy to themselves be responsible -- then Good People can share responsibility for subsequent crimes.

It's a positive way in which Good People can save people from actions committed when they just could not control their violent actions.

A fair deal for drunks, druggies and crazies. A practical way in which Good People can prevent legal injustice. A way to share responsibility for good intentions with bad results.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"For every action there is an equal and opposite government program."

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Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)