When It Is Fraud

 "i have not lost my memory, but I still do not seem to remember". So goes a line from an old British movie.

When asked to respond to concerns of the serious lack of competition in the supermarket sector across Australia, a representative of the business sector is said to proudly state that " but they are making profits to serve investors".

I cannot see the humour and logic in such pronouncements that miss the essential point.  More of such publicly made statements can be heard from those in authority, to detract and distract from issues they cannot explain.

"The exact contrary of what is generally believed is often the truth."
(Jean de la Bruyere)

"Our ability to manufacture fraud now exceeds our ability to detect it." ( Al Pacino).

Albert Camus once stated
'Truth, like light, blinds. Falsehood, on the contrary, is a beautiful twilight that enhances every object."

"Fraud is the daughter of Greed." ( John Grant)

"Force and fraud are, in war, the two cardinal virtues.”
— Thomas Hobbes

"The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat one's self. All sin is easy after that."
(Pearl Bailey)

"If you see fraud and do not say fraud, you are a fraud."
-  Nassim Nicholas Taleb

"If it is too good to be true, it is probably a fraud."  (Ron Weber)

In Australia, there is more legal requirement to ensure truth when selling toilet paper in advertisements, than when in flagging political ads.

Whether it is in the context of business, politics, government service, communication media or international initiatives,  each of us must observe the words and actions who promise one thing and enact another. 

Confucius can have the final say.
"Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to
propriety;
make no movement which is contrary to propriety."

#yongkevthoughts

Screen Messaging

 The variety of contemporary social media communication, on screens of all sizes,

spreads across various options.   Messages, especially social ones, are sent at all times of the day or night, with little regard for the niceties of rules after hours and with the apparent gusto of the convenience of the sender.

The existence of group chat messages, although purposeful when they started being available, has witnessed its down side.   Arguments have broken out due to the steadfastness in belief and principle held and expressed by specific individual participants.   Much controversy has arisen over matters and issues practically beyond the control of such indivuduals - and arguments breaking out in group chats over various people taking a stand of their own views.

This further leads to the observation that many such online chat groups serve the need to reinforce the comfort and assurance of those who want to hear and read what they already believe in - and such chat groups are not for those who have a healthy interest in listening to or trying to understand other views on the same subject.

Line, Tik Tok, Instagram, Whtssapp, Signal and Telegram, to mention a few, supposedly have varying degrees of supposed privacy and encryption.

All offer voice, video, message and attachment capabilities.   Some restrict the number of words in text messages, all have storage capacity limits.  Unless one occasionally deletes the creeping build up of content on such apps, there can be inevitable grief.   Many in a group chat app utilise the feature of disappearing messages after a predetermined time, but will some members  miss some earlier messages shared if they do not regularly check such group messages?

Do we want to carry a chat without using audio at all - consisting of finger taps that may not spell properly,  some in a rush without careful thought and others in  such a casual manner of using lingo that will be not acceptable in formal writing.  The art of writing has been undermined and rare do we get to read a message with the grace of full grammar, punctuation and careful thought.  To me, conversation with some other human being is best carried out face to face and by articulating our spoken abilities.

There can be an expectation of a fast reply in messaging.   The reality is that such written messages can be only read at the next opportunity when the recipient has time to do so.   Yes, apps do offer features as well when the message sender knows that their message has been read by the recipient.  It must be borne in mind that each message recipient has a basic human right to be not using a cyberspace device all the time and be free of on screen demands as well - there are other things to do with our personal time.

The over crowding of messages, say on Whats App, does dilute the importance of written messages going through this Meta owned channel.    When a specific sender usually bombs recipients with an over whelming load of messages filled with casual links of video and web connections, many of no mutual interest on the part of the recipient, there can be an inevitable outcome.   Recipients lose interest in such messages, pyschologically withdraw from opening the offered links and inevitably will miss opening  the occasional significant personalised messages from the sender.

This dilution of paying attention in reaction to such overloading of otherwise not personally important messages has occured in the use of emails not long ago.
Such messages can reek of propaganda from a political and commercial view point.   The daily receipt of such communication can be compared to junk in the phyaical post box of old and the advertisements forced upon our viewing pleasure in paid or free to air streaming services.

Daily greetings do mean the effort and concern of meaningful friends or relatives
who make time to reach out to us.  At times, the recipient may not check his screen messages daily.  Is it considered rude not to always respond on a timely basis?

Images and weblinks can be attached on messaging apps, much like what we used to do with emails.  Several types of attachments can pose higher risks of containing cyberspace viruses or attacks, especially when images received can be automatically saved on to your gallery in your smart phones.

Short form written messages can be made in haste.  Recipients can misinterpret, take it out of context or not realise the true intended tone of such messages.

Formal issues are best written on documents or emails for recording purposes rather than left to the casualness of other communication methods.

Video clips can use up limited device storage capacity in our smart devices rather quickly.   Deletion of content can become a regular exercise in using apps.

You Tube links can be short, middling or long in requiring your time to view their clips.   For many of us, our attention span has sadly shortened to quick injections of dopamine to our physical brain wiring.

The instinctive need to share with and forward to friends and relatives can be an inherent human behaviour.    We discover new things on and off when we are informed.   We can be more willing to inquire and trust when we are communicated by someone we know in person, rather than from third parties.   However the recipient can have a problem with information overload.

Is there a protocol of politeness that we have to respond to every message sent to us?   What about messages that are forwarded from other chats, messages that originate from people or sources we do not know, but transmitted to us by a person we know?   Time and time again on the other hand we are advised to not click on dubious links.

In a working envionment, information sent or discussions made on apps may no longer be accessible, unlike emails or email attachments.

So how do we manage and learn to say no in response to the above situations?  I myself plead guilty to committing several of the misdemeanours discussed above.

#yongkevthoughts

Outsourced to Poorer Experiences

 Outsourcing in various forms can illustrate its inherent disadvantages, lack of quality and disservice to paying customers.

Outsourcing is now a pervasive option by government, businesses and providers to firewall themselves, in their self centred reasoning, from higher costs, responsibilities and liabilities.  By contracting, not just once or on a temporary basis, the growing army of such providers, now beg more questions than answers.  Outsourcing is growing to be a mixed bag of a solution.  

Are contracts for tasks or series of deliverable outcomes performed by people who know what they are doing?
Is due diligence carried out on selected contractors?   Are contractors actually qualified or technically capable to successfully carry out what they promise or supposed to do?

Do people, who are given the outsourced contracts,actually doing the work?  Many are just brokers or middle men who then engage another layer of staff to do the work.   Think of solar panel installation  businesses, mortgage outsourcers, child care operators, medical  and aged care services.    Huge amounts of money received from government often attract operators with insufficient knowledge or experience to deliver.  Taking the grant first is a priority.

Are such lower level hired outsourced staff given proper levels of training, customer service and related skills? 
Are such staff in contact with customers really specialised in their niche work or do they really work in several different roles throughout the week?

Are the outsourced providers monitored in their performance, or the entities granting the contracts do not have much contact with them after agreeing to the outsourcing?

Members of the public are the ones interacting directly with such outsourced people.  We do not get to see the presence of the entity which has contracted them. 

Several years ago,  when we were  asked to connect to NBN, we never saw any NBN employees or managers.   We dealt with individual contractors, often recent migrants, who knocked on our door - such contractors told us they have to maximise the number of installations per day.    When some problems ensued with the NBN installations,  NBN was adamant they did not want us to contact them but we had to enquire our retail providers of wifi.

Even a simple experience of catching a railway bus at Central Station Sydney can bring out the down side of experiencing outsourced staff in action.

It was Saturday 29 March 2025, a dreadful weather time of sudden heavy showers, gusty winds and slippery surfaces.   Not that I like to use public transport on weekends to go to and from the Big Smoke these past few years - transport schedules are changed, delays are common and sudden changes often occur.

That Saturday no old style commute trains were running from Central in Sydney cbd to the South Coast of NSW.  Ah, I was grateful to have replacement buses instead.  Coming to the correct tent for me to catch the right coach to where I wanted, I was surprised that the staff told me they do not work for Sydney Rail, as they are contracted employees under outsourcing.

Even more fascinating was the conviction by this outsourced guy that he does not report to Sydney Rail.   He said he has another different outsourced job at night and he has no idea of how to answer various questions from commuters.  He only was working for a few hours in the Rail bus tent and only does what he was told.

There was also no indication of where the set up tents to catch the replacement Rail buses were when one came out to the Concourse - but that is another problem of lack of communication  by Sydney Rail top management to commuters.

Back to outsourcing.  Outsourced employees tend to work in silos and are unable to give a holistic understanding or appreciation of the bigger process to customers.  Not my problem.   When asked who next to approach, usually is they do not know.  And I really do not blame them.   Customers are left on the lurch. Check online, but the app or website does not have the information.

Paying customers are increasingly asked to self manage.    Entities selling them services or goods do not want to physically meet or communicate with other human beings who are providing the revenue.   Head Office tells us they have contracted out that part of process we are having problems with.  Outsourced staff tell us we have to resolve our problems with someone else.

When we face matters with outsourced providers, it may not be serious.  When significant issues arise with physical, financial, health and infrastructural consequences, do really ponder.

#yongkevthoughts

Breaking News

 I have an amused laugh when the term "breaking news" is used daily, whether online or on retro television.

Often when the details are finally revealed, it is not breaking or that important.

The misuse of exagerrated labeling or reference does cheapen words, descriptions and their meanings or implications.   No wonder many people I know do not bother to keep up with the news, or the overloading transmission of news.

Concurrent with the use of such terms as breaking news,  the news industry is observed to lure and bait readers, watchers or listeners with falling standards of integrity, rising sensationalism and agenda backed selection of what to report.

Trust by consumers of news holds it all together.  News that are increasingly seen or understood to be politically massaged lose their attractiveness.  On the other hand, some have argued that groups of believers take comfort in being reinforced and embedded in what they honestly reckon is their way.

News delivery that try to balance opinions and explain the diversity of views are getting hard to find.  The choice of words in headlines can also reveal the sell of the news provider.  Less we see are non prejudiced descriptions and more we see the obvious bent towards what they want us to be convinced about.

If you only know about news on channels of social media, you also do not escape what I mention above.  

Communication media seem to be categorised according to political colour.   We are less encouraged to maintain an open mind.  I do not want to take sides and can only see the ridiculousness of a circus of news transmission.

The world of newspapers, screen media and video clips have such a significant volume of material that any individual cannot handle.  Even if I want to be cocooned away from this calvacade of over kill, I get news in my personal or group messages online.

This information overload does test our intelligence, sanity and mental vibrancy.   The worst scenario to me is to subscribe for a fee or not.  Reaction to this can be to shut down, get sucked in or to be more cautious in what we hear or read.

"Breaking news"?  If this is followed by interviews or opinions that want the masses to toe the line, there is a canary in the coalmine.

Promotions for a product, service or opinion are also blatantly parceled as news.  The commercial communication industry needs funding and there is no such thing as a free lunch.

The upside is that the most discerning amongst us can see and understand better, sift the corn from the cob and spare our minds from poor quality stuff.

#yongkevthoughts

Blog 18th Anniversary - These Still Apply

 Pay more attention to what they actually do, than what they say.

Pay more attention to what they omit saying, rather than what they overly recite like a script.

A dog's breakfast of opinions from governments, varying views from experts and whether the whole truth is told to each of us.

Maybe the truth is just there for us to see and judge, rather than what is told to us.

Often we can be hidden from the truth, but that is all right, for it forces us not to readily accept spun truths and cherry picked untruths.

I enjoy more of reading between the lines.

#yongkevthoughts

Keeping In Touch

 So the Calendar marks another close of year.  For me, my posts here have reached their sweet seventeenth year.

I appreciate the contribution of friends and family around the world who have directly shared various valuable links and posts with me - theirs is such a rich tapestry of what concerns and inspires them.   Their taking time and effort to reach out to me is never to be underestimated.  At times we may have nothing to say, but such links and posts are just a valued way to keep in touch.

At the same time, have I sent to many Whats App messages, posted unnecessary photos or videos and spent more time on screen instead of doing other things?

It can be disappointing and sad that on the other hand, despite more effective ways of communicating in this technologically more advanced world, the world can witness less hellos, less reaching out, more scamming and more silence in varying levels of personal interaction.
Only messaging text adds more burden to the eyes, loss of social verbal skills and over use of light emitting screens. 

Social media in the worst criticism can be dominated by relentless flouting of divisive views that refuse to compromise,
dodgy video clips that may contain intrusive viruses and signs of personal boredom.  The beast can be addictive, all consuming and trivial in the end - we have to be mindful of this.

The sole reliance on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Tik Tok posts assumes everyone else spends time to check your posts.   The cyberspace can be full  of overloaded data like the debris circulating over Planet Earth.  Something can be amiss if one has not spoken to a Facebook contact in years - it can be obvious.  Individual brains can be transformed by the daily use of clicks, deletes and scrolling on a screen - are we becoming less patient, getting more sucked in on our stubborn beliefs and feeding on a dangerous addiction?

Getting connected in person is a different dish from broadcasting on Facebook, Tik Tok video clips or WhatsApp chat groups.

Apart from the agendas of obvious influencers social media mechanisms are often utilised by many to be a record of personal and family lives.  This virtual record is now dependent on wifi and external parties, instead of just the retro but independent photo album.  Many contacts can just be not interested in your personal or family records.  Those who truly are interested in you usually keep in touch in varied other ways.

Time is a personal asset that can never be replaced.   When someone offers you that, it is priceless.  Never take for granted when someone uses time, energy and interest to keep directly in touch.  Their time is an opportunity cost which can otherwise be used for their own personal development in their continuing journey of life.

#yongkevthoughts

What "News"?

 

The way so called "news" is being dished up to us these days is not worth the time and attention we give it.

"News" is delivered to us on so many varied platforms, from social media video clips to the presenters still appearing on retro media.

There is street level news, of episodes that are hyped up, whinging accounts, tearful recoils, nasty damage, road rage, domestic violence and consumer matters.

There are advertorials, disguises of pushing for a commercial product or service.

There are self opinions flagged as news - just observe the background of so called experts interviewed.

There is the ten minute dedication to sporting matters.

There are the repeatitive
pronouncements and forecasts on the weather.

There are increasing  sections of news bulletins that promote the channel's own productions.

Some news broadcasters still maintain time for arts, culture and heritage.

Anything sensational is often pushed to the front of a news bulletin as "breaking", "exclusive", "do not miss" and
"live".

Increasing numbers of news watching fans feel stressed, intimidated and uncertain being fed content thar affects the nerves, mental uncertainty and visually provoking reactions.

News on the other hand can often coddle us by providing preemptive reminders that the next content to be presented may cause stress for some viewers.

How do news producers and editors choose what to reveal to us, especially on an endless circuit of 24 hour news streaming?

How do we differentiate propaganda, opinions and tampered news from the truth?

Perhaps the significant matter is what we are not informed of - instead of the constant barraging of selected information.

Be careful of news content that hardly criticise the side they support -  and over the top aggression against the side opposed.  Taking things out of context is a technique often utilised

Most relevant is who and what are behind the news we receive.   The contemporary world of well funded and often hidden backers no longer want to feed us with balanced viewpoints, alternative considerations and varied points.

There is a growing information overload.
It is up to each of us to better discern the quality and intent of what is flagged to us as "news".

What looks like initially ridiculous is the canary in the coal mine.  Choice of words, gaslighting attempts, AI modification and pumping of relentless messaging are assaults on the unique intelligence of each of us humans.

#yongkevthoughts

Immediate Response to SQ 321 22 May 2024

 

A 16 year old  Boeing 777 ER on flight at 37000 feet on 21 May 2024 over the Irrawaddy Delta in Myanmar experienced a sudden encounter with a clear air turbulence.  The aircraft tilted up and then fell dramatically for a very short time, causing spinal and head injuries to 53 passengers and one crew member who were not belted up.  A British subject unfortunately had a heart attack and died.

The injured were thrown up in dramatic fashion against overhead lockers or projected upwards while walking in the aisle or using the toilets.

The plane made an emergency landing in Bangkok.  SQ231 was flying from London enroute to Changi.   Breakfast was served on board when the plane encountered the severe turbulence on a route used by several airlines.

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport rose to the occasion by offering interim triage to injured passengers on the tarmac once the affected plane landed.

All eyes are on SQ now as to how they handle the aftermath for passengers, crew, airline reputation, aircraft safety and more.

One of the five key pillars for the nation of Singapore is air travel and  SQ.

I reckon the others are the vibrancy of its financial hub,
shipping port, innovation and good governance.This incident can be described as s black swan in risk management speak.

Such a black swan is seen as an unlikely event but when it happens, creates a significant impact.

For passengers and crew, is it covered by air travel insurance? The CEO of SQ immediately offered
an apology on Facebook.

Both the President of the island Republic and its newly sworn in Prime Minister also provided clear unconditional apologies in public as well.

Effective and timely open communication is a hallmark of good businesses and governance.

The official Singapore response and tone from the top is immediately not to get into any blame game, not to push underlings to speak and not to keep quiet in the first critical hours after the incident.  SQ and the Government of the Red Dot moved fast to navigate a business like yet caring response.

The official communication given soon after this event was not just aimed at the passengers and crew aboard this flight, but also for the whole cohort of other existing and potential members of its world wide market.

A quarter of the passengers on the flight hold Australian passports, another almost quarter are Singaporean.  Many boarded SQ231 to ultimately head to Australia.

I noticed the efficient transfer by 22 May on charter flight of uninjured passengers from Bangkok to Changi.

Although there was some uncertainty from the incident, SQ worked on the facts, concentrated on taking care of passengers plus cabin crew and methodically mopped up.

No cabin crew or pilot, aboard the SQ 231 flight from London scheduled to Singapore, spoke or wrote on social media.

SQ ensured any speculation on public media was minimised.

As usual, so called air travel experts appeared on broadcasted media overseas chatting of the possible why and how.

SBS free to air in Australia mentioned that Singapore Airlines had a record of only 3 fatalities during operations  in the past 25 years.

#yongkevthoughts

What They Do Not Want To Tell Us

 In an age of information overload, what is most significant? 

It is what they do not tell us.

It is what they make it so difficult to access.

It is "nothing to see here".

It is what they dress up in  mighty terms - commercial-in-confidence, 

Parliamentary privilege,

national security, military secret, for the public's own good.

It is what Freedom of Information requests gets the silent treatment.

It is when shareholder microphones get shut down by the Chairperson of the Board.

It is when obvious topics of urgency, news or discussion of them do not appear as headlines.

It is when authorities underestimate the intelligence of the public.

It is when weblinks are blocked without any explanation given.

It is when the public are fed addiction on rather useless distractions.

It is when censorship occurs covertly with those in power shouting they represent democratic values.

It is when the public gets strongly aroused to find out for themselves.

#yongkevthoughts

Pause for Thought

 

Oh, the habits of the past and what was a comforting routine is no more.

Many years ago, it was a casual relaxing pleasure to do something easy and different from weekdays, on a Saturday morning.  Simple regimes like going through the newspapers. Or catching up with people in a cafe. And driving like crazy just to try eating some hyped up dish, even before Instagrammable culinary.

On a small island, it was doable, until the escalating traffic jams made me think twice.

The pleasure and reward were to catch up with fellow human beings. The underlying pace was that it was unstructured, flexible and had delightful changes in store - surprise me!

Across the plains of Greater Sydney, I had to plan arrival and appointment times, for distances were greater to transverse and traffic jams even more congested at particular hours.

Now the newsagent is a sad shade of its past activity and future possibilities.  The dominance and ease of online publications have decimated the presence of print in magazines and newspapers.

I recall the high pleasure of reading subscribed weekly columns in print, to make sense of an ever changing world and events beyond my control.  Now, that is only but a distant memory. The advent of round the clock news and hijacked agendas in communication these days has made me turn off much of the media in whatever form.

I love visiting various suburbs, for many have a distinct character of their own in various layers of impression and experience.

I reckon each of us have cut down roaming the suburbs - and the big world - due to movement restrictions over the past two years.  We have inadvertently turned to nearby localities in our footprint - and this may not necessarily be a negative change.

Still there is the inherent instinct of the wanderer in each of us.  However, we no longer assume the right and convenience of greater mobility.  Our mindsets have inevitably transformed in rhe process.

Our eating habits may also have changed.  First there was a shift to more cook-ins and takeaways, when dining-in had or still have density limits and mindful physical distancing. 

The constant barage of almost daily telecast addresses by the powers that be has made me watch such institutionalised sessions to almost zilch.

We are increasingly told to comply and not question many important things.  The liberating joy of opening my mindset in reading books and magazines many years ago is no more. 

We cannot sneak out in the middle of the night to experience a secret pleasure.  Each of us are becoming more traceable through online devices and communication.

Yes, we still have the opportunity to embrace Nature in our own free time - and to physically sustain and manage our health with the wind blowing in our faces.  However, we must be ever conscious to build our mental resilience, more than ever in a changing world.

#yongkevthoughts

The News

What the news media ignores, or omits. For example, how strong those umbrellas are folded out and used in street protests in Hong Kong. I wonder who manufactures them.

How news can be repeated throughout the day, whether anyone is tuning in or paying any attention to them.

How sensational news is prioritised over good news.

How advertorials continue to be blatantly pushed through in news items, without respecting the intelligence of the recipient.

How breakfast shows can thrive with the unimportant, the trivial and in rush hour of early morning.

Why there is a proliferation of read news at set times of the day or night, when the public wants to be able to access the news at their own leisure.

How the agendas of broadcasters and web site publishers reinforce the attitudes and mindsets of people who already think alike, instead of opening their mindsets.

How news can be faked, how authentic news can be twisted, and how facts can be selectively argued.

How news can be emphasised according to culture, lifestyle and ignorance of the target audience.

How local news still dominates in a more globalised and inter-dependent world.

How broadcast news just increasingly makes us listen to what we want to hear anyway.

How news is often seen or interpreted through the goggles of the political spectrum.

How personal opinion is presented as news.

How news is withheld, crafted or selected.

#yongkevthoughts

Social Media Messages and News - Stop First to Think

It is usually in our human nature to share experiences, knowledge, news and information.

One may expect human beings to gather around physically and face each other to do so, but this is no longer necessary.

They come in various forms in our contemporary world. We need not even speak to each other, but transmit almost instantaneously what we share in graphics, videos, pictures, text and more. Such startlingly efficient sharing communication is enabled by code, artificial intelligence, analytical cookies, wi-fi, gateways and monitored channels.

We do so with rising expectations of the quick and easy. The convenience can come with a cost.

We learn to lower our trust levels when messages in whatever format can be tampered with an intent to manipulate.

Racial, religious and political matters are especially vulnerable to be disseminated with an intent to arouse our deep set emotions, stir our beliefs and shake our convictions.

Hence the rise of the risks in whether things shared are authentic.

What are the signals that alert us to a higher possibility of receiving mischevious, false, compromised and tampered messages?

1. Messages featuring provocative negativity or over rated hope on an uneven emphasis.

2. Messages with no ownership and attachments with no trace of a time stamp.

3. Messages with sensational graphics and tone of voice over.

4. Messages with images that cannot be authenticated and so can be put out of context.

5. Messages from unknown and highly dubious websites.

6. Messages that test your inner instinct of being too good to be true, or make you want to authenticate further.

7. Messages from parties known to slip through fake news to you.

8. Messages sent instantaneously to groups of recipients can signal higher risks.

9. Messages from unknown or untraceable parties and yet claims to originate from famous persons.

10. Messages that intensify matters when every one should step back and calm down.

Each of us can just respect and utilise our own level of intelligence to avoid being sucked into furthering the progress of social media messages that cause problems if shared.

Step back from a message received if the first gut feel is bad on a suspicious message.

Always question the agenda of the party who shared the stirring message to you.

You can be the only person to break the chain of such suspicious messages. In the end, it is best not to respond.

Matters that are Still A Bother

So I sit with a group of mates overlooking the beach, somewhere on the South Coast of NSW. It seems to me a most familiar scene, its peacefulness taken for granted, with the fresh breeze much appreciated after another rather humid summer's day.

What has not changed can be something we can be much grateful for. At the same time, there are less desired aspects of matters that remain the same, or have grown worse.

Venezuelans remain trapped in economic despair as a country rich in petroleum resources continue to spiral in negativity under the dictatorship that seems to be a South American affliction.

An infectious disease like Ebola resurfaces in central Africa, adding to a heady mix of socio-political issues.

An African swine disease out break is being managed in southern China, with the dry winter air increasing health risks. 

Guns under personal ownership and military weapons of bigger destruction continue to wreck havoc, grief and damage.

Individuals continue to have a strong urge to migrate in illegal ways to seek a better life, whether to escape from political or religious persecution, economic malaise or discrimination.

The use of trade wars or extreme tariffs is escalated to appease heartland support groups. This inceases the likelihood of escalating into military conflict between nations. History has many examples of this.

Excessive spend on fireworks, extreme hotel prices, lots of alcohol, huge street gatherings, fancy restaurant prices and a heightened sense of crowd control highlight the ritual of a change in the annual calendar. Local governments, commercial parties and the media cash in.

The gap between the very rich and the poorest in any society continues to widen.

Addiction to technology marches on, no matter what is discussed about the erosion of privacy, manipulation of data, increasing reliance on a few super duper companies and the effects of excessive screen time.

The usefulness of increased revenue for governments does not change from high consumption levels, gambling activities, over construction of apartment blocks and outsourcing of management of vital assets to private parties.

There remains too much talk and lack of action by politicians who prioritise their own self interests way above the needs of the voter populace.

There is a surge of illicit drugs that still comes in to damage the brain, health capacity and personalities of the vehicle driver, colleague at work and family member.

The increased loss of common sense, accompanied by the manipulation of law and policy, to obtain over the top financial benefits by knowledgable claimants who have selective causes.

Decreased personal communication is happening despite the increased channels available to do so.

The loss of press freedoms is evident in a more politically restrictive world. Even when media appears relatively more free, behind the scenes, such media are owned and controlled by powerful owners with their own cultural and political agendas.

There is increased use of our skies for passenger, commercial and cargo traffic.

Personal identification, monitoring and data storage have increased in leaps and bounds.

And the beer continues to taste good, which may not be a bad thing.