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[Brains Trust66]

Important Message

My wife just got a call from a woman claiming to be from the Commonwealth bank . She said they had noticed an unusual payment of $900 to a person in South Africa , she asked did we want to stop the payment . My wife said yes as you would expect . The woman then said we would have to cancel our current credit card as that had been used , that sounds ok , but then , she asked my wife for her pin number . My wife said what do you need that for and the woman claimed it was so they could make sure she was the correct holder of the card . My wife realised it was a scam and said so to the woman who straight away hung up .

Now i know most of you would be smart enough to realise it was a scam but warn any older relatives like old parents or grand parents etc who arent so aware of these sort of scams . I bet alot of older people would think it was actually the bank and give out their details .

This is just another of the long list of scams that have popped up since the introduction of computer banking .


Don’t Panic !!

 

[Brains Trust66]

I worked in Canberra consulting to the public sector, CF. I can verify he was very much into community service in both the Rural Fire Service and in volunteering for several social causes. Most I met spoke quite highly of him on a personal basis. He's a complex person, apparently . His contradictions include his views supporting LGBT (his gay sister publicly confirmed his continued support and love for her, partner and friends. He was also Kate McGregor's biggest supporter after her transition in the military, although they fell out over SS marriage) and on the other hand he publicly opposed Gay marriage. He has some personality quirks and beliefs, which he may have picked up in his seminary days. He did lose me over his support for Pell, amongst other peculiar views. He is a man of the 50's. He would've been in his element in a Menzies' government. As for that jerk in the shop, he wouldn't have got my $30.

Ive got a story about a guy i knew on twitter a few years ago . He was American and seemed like a well adjusted guy . He voted Democrat and i thought he was pretty smart . One day there was one of those shootings they have in American schools where a bunch of kids died .
I started chatting to him on twitter and suggested that they some how had to ban guns like Australia did . He went beserk at me and said if his kid had been killed he would have taken his gun and shot the guy who did it . I asked what about the rest of his family because he would either be shot by the cops or put in jail for years . He said his family would understand and agree with his actions . I said whats the point of giving up his life too because it wouldnt bring back his kid . He replied that i was a Commie bastard and he had every right to defend his family .
At that point i stopped chatting and he has never contacted me since .
There sure are some weird people in the world which is why so many countries including Australia are so screwed .


Don’t Panic !!

 

[Drake Huggins]

Ok I’ll bite

1996 Howard came to power Cathay Pacific / Swire Group were pretty worried about China takeover
approached the Australian Government were proposing to shift Cathay Pacific’s head office to
Brisbane and base their world operation from there instead of Hong Kong.
It was leaked to the Sydney shock jocks ....Alan Jones & usual suspects then broadcasted the Chinese
are going to take over our country and put our beloved QF out of business
Geoff Dixon was the head of Qantas ...Howard killed it
Years later Jones & several Murdoch & Related 3AW etc personalities were carpeted for getting hundreds of
Thousands of dollars in kickbacks from Qantas .

Over 100, 000 extremely rich Hong Kong residents ..Doctors , Lawyers , Financiers etc were trying
to get into Australia ...at this time.... Howard Killed it ....( indisputable fact ) they all went to Canada
2 cities Vancouver & Toronto over 300, 000 residents in the end.

Singapore Airlines wanted to buy out Ansett Airlines , make Australia hubs featuring Darwin as the main
Airport for Cargo , Export ...Geoff Dixon again lobbied .......Howard killed it dead in the water
few months later Ansett collapses leaving thousands upon thousands out of work.

Dixon smelling the Tea Leaves resigns and pays himself a $20 million bonus as he leaves the building
John Borghetti 2nd in command resigns shortly after paying himself $10 million dollars bonus
and after short period becomes the boss of Virgin.

Nothing political hate most politicians in this country because self interest always is valued more than
National interest

Too true, Stewart66,

Brilliant post mate.

Ps: I've seen plenty of lazy people in private enterprises.

Clock watchers are everywhere IMO.

Frankly I wouldn't get too excited every day if I was working behind the counter at Vicroads. No different in the private sector.

I suspect that's a byproduct of wage and salary as opposed to performance.

I have one ex colleague who is going to move to an office that pays a retainer, milk it and if it doesnt work out, move on again.

I think the issue with the PS is complacency and also the funding model whereby they have to spend on order to qualify for funding.

Save money and they give you less.

My first hand experience suggested the PS staff in Canberra were busy and most put in the effort. The downside was the inefficiencies that hindered progress, caused frustration and was demotivating.

 

[Drake Huggins]

There was the old saying, "Those who don't like Tony Abbott have never met him. Those who like Kevin Rudd have never met him". Exchange the names with other pollies'. They say the same about Albo and Malcolm Turnbull.

 

[Yawkey way]

There was the old saying, "Those who don't like Tony Abbott have never met him. Those who like Kevin Rudd have never met him". Exchange the names with other pollies'. They say the same about Albo and Malcolm Turnbull.

Jeff Kennett was an easy going bloke who was always happy to chat when he was the leader of the opposition. John Cain came around once a year on his royal tour had a cup of tea that he chocked down and hated every minute with the common people.

 

[gringo2011]

Jeff Kennett was an easy going bloke who was always happy to chat when he was the leader of the opposition. John Cain came around once a year on his royal tour had a cup of tea that he chocked down and hated every minute with the common people.

And once they get power they all of a sudden become campaigners again. Then in old age they all become good blokes again.

 

[StFly]

Big business & Government are the same beast in my experience. They are run on policy, procedure & repetition. They are notoriously risk averse. Efficiency & innovation usually comes from small business who have the decision makers close to the action.

Largely depends on industry re risk, as yes there are emphasis on policy, procedure but not always repetition, as in ours repetition is finite and eventual death.

Diversity where viable, innovation and creating to create is the reason behind almost a couple hundred years of business in one form or another and considered a global leader in several categories as a multi $bn fortune 500 company.

Calculated risk.

 

[VDS66]

And once they get power they all of a sudden become campaigners again. Then in old age they all become good blokes again.

Yes so much this.

You look back and realise how left wing Fraser was with fondness.

Howard, not so much.

 

[VDS66]

This ones for you Brainstrust66

 

[Indie Rock]

It’s ironic that we’ve been asked to keep it clean on here so as to not upset advertisement partners who want to market on the site....



.....and only a little bit worrying that these days adverts are supposed to be smart and targeted to the individual based on past internet searches.

 

[austinnn]

It’s ironic that we’ve been asked to keep it clean on here so as to not upset advertisement partners who want to market on the site....

View attachment 684175

.....and only a little bit worrying that these days adverts are supposed to be smart and targeted to the individual based on past internet searches.

Yeah I wouldn't be publicising the type of targeted ads you get if I were you.

 

[Yawkey way]

Ive got a story about a guy i knew on twitter a few years ago . He was American and seemed like a well adjusted guy . He voted Democrat and i thought he was pretty smart . One day there was one of those shootings they have in American schools where a bunch of kids died .
I started chatting to him on twitter and suggested that they some how had to ban guns like Australia did . He went beserk at me and said if his kid had been killed he would have taken his gun and shot the guy who did it . I asked what about the rest of his family because he would either be shot by the cops or put in jail for years . He said his family would understand and agree with his actions . I said whats the point of giving up his life too because it wouldnt bring back his kid . He replied that i was a Commie bastard and he had every right to defend his family .
At that point i stopped chatting and he has never contacted me since .
There sure are some weird people in the world which is why so many countries including Australia are so screwed .


Don’t Panic !!

That is a classic story comrade.

 

[St Muir]

Largely depends on industry re risk, as yes there are emphasis on policy, procedure but not always repetition, as in ours repetition is finite and eventual death.

Diversity where viable, innovation and creating to create is the reason behind almost a couple hundred years of business in one form or another and considered a global leader in several categories as a multi $bn fortune 500 company.

Calculated risk.

The main point I was making was that by merely transferring services from Government to big corporate entities, isn’t going to make much difference, as they operate with similar systems.
Many of those businesses you refer to didn’t start out as huge organisations they grew over time.
The bigger you get the more systems you require and the more fixed you become. You have to more to lose, so the more restricted and risk averse you become. It’s a logical progression.

 

[gringo2011]

The main point I was making was that by merely transferring services from Government to big corporate entities, isn’t going to make much difference, as they operate with similar systems.
Many of those businesses you refer to didn’t start out as huge organisations they grew over time.
The bigger you get the more systems you require and the more fixed you become. You have to more to lose, so the more restricted and risk averse you become. It’s a logical progression.

I was speaking to an engineer recently who does big road projects. He said there are 2 companies who get all the government work then outsource it all but skim huge money off the smaller guys who get bullied into signing up to take all liability to get the jobs. Once it was all done with government workers who went out and repaired or built as needed. Now you need to go through 10 levels of government red tape to get the thing assessed for priority and costing. Then by the time it's ready to be done it needs reengineering because it's too small for needs.

 

[StFly]

The main point I was making was that by merely transferring services from Government to big corporate entities, isn’t going to make much difference, as they operate with similar systems.
Many of those businesses you refer to didn’t start out as huge organisations they grew over time.
The bigger you get the more systems you require and the more fixed you become. You have to more to lose, so the more restricted and risk averse you become. It’s a logical progression.

It's more levels of bureaucracy though in such things though, Telstra is the classic example.

The physical lines did not change hands, always government. What changes/d was the bureaucracy surrounding it.

They also started small, but they also started as a bureaucracy instead of as a means to improve, to talk and build as opposed to just talk if you will.

You don't really have more to lose, as you're operating beyond means initially due to outsourcing and levels of bureaucracy attached to those sources, but you don't take risks because you don't want to lose or eat the profitability of your over-extension to approach viability.

It's why we are largely spending 50+ years on talking, and say Melbourne is only just starting to update from 1970's infrastructure.

Because you want it to be profitable in a sense of plastic, not in a sense of "will this improve the part, the whole, and branch out" as first discussion.

As the bureaucracy needs to expand to further bureaucracy.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Yeah I wouldn't be publicising the type of targeted ads you get if I were you.

He was worried about all the injured Saints. He was hoping to see them "Crutchless "

 

[SaintsSeptember]

The main point I was making was that by merely transferring services from Government to big corporate entities, isn’t going to make much difference, as they operate with similar systems.
Many of those businesses you refer to didn’t start out as huge organisations they grew over time.
The bigger you get the more systems you require and the more fixed you become. You have to more to lose, so the more restricted and risk averse you become. It’s a logical progression.

The old SECV was disgustingly inefficient. Putrid.
No private company would have ever permitted the excesses in their workforce like the SEC did.
Laziness, corruption, Unchecked Uniion powerplays, theft, and home business run at work. All on a ridiculous scale.

Privatizing was then more efficient, but they actually messed up the things the SeCV was good at.

 

[gringo2011]

The old SECV was disgustingly inefficient. Putrid.
No private company would have ever permitted the excesses in their workforce like the SEC did.
Laziness, corruption, Unchecked Uniion powerplays, theft, and home business run at work. All on a ridiculous scale.

Privatizing was then more efficient, but they actually messed up the things the SeCV was good at.

I think humans are just naturally greedy, now they steal it in private firms and have lawyers to make it look legal. The old days guys stole copper wire and sold it off to scrap dealers to buy slabs, now they hide big money in the Caymans to buy swimming pools and cars.

 

[Yawkey way]

The old SECV was disgustingly inefficient. Putrid.
No private company would have ever permitted the excesses in their workforce like the SEC did.
Laziness, corruption, Unchecked Uniion powerplays, theft, and home business run at work. All on a ridiculous scale.

Privatizing was then more efficient, but they actually messed up the things the SeCV was good at.

Have you checked your power bills lately?

It’s like comparing someone putting their thump on the scale to robbery with violence imo. What you describe is really nothing more than poor management that could have been easily fixed, good luck reigning it in now.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Have you checked your power bills lately?

It’s like comparing someone putting their thump on the scale to robbery with violence imo. What you describe is really nothing more than poor management that could have been easily fixed, good luck reigning it in now.

I'm convinced it couldn't have been fixed with the workforce they had. It was too ingrained and enforced by the unions. Power bills are the "middle men" but also supply demand. We don't have enough electricity so they get to pump their prices up.

 

[gringo2011]

I'm convinced it couldn't have been fixed with the workforce they had. It was too ingrained and enforced by the unions. Power bills are the "middle men" but also supply demand. We don't have enough electricity so they get to pump their prices up.

Not quite true. It's like our gas, we can buy our own gas retail in Japan and ship it back cheaper than we buy it wholesale in oz. Because the companies are not forced to supply local minimums and have sold quotas over seas. Power companies have little legislation to stop them gouging as well. We pay them to renew powerlines that they don't have to replace and pay huge levies. So much of the cost is in supply charges and most"power" companies are on sellers who don't provide much but a bill for you.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

It kind of sucks that Herald Sun paywall articles are listed in Google.

I google it. It says it found me a result. But result is not accessible.
Should not come up as a search hit IMO.

 

[VDS66]

Have you checked your power bills lately?

It’s like comparing someone putting their thump on the scale to robbery with violence imo. What you describe is really nothing more than poor management that could have been easily fixed, good luck reigning it in now.

Easier to just blame the unions lol...

 

[Yawkey way]

Easier to just blame the unions lol...

Greedy bastards wanting a decent wage and a safe workplace, where will it end.

 

[Yawkey way]

It kind of sucks that Herald Sun paywall articles are listed in Google.

I google it. It says it found me a result. But result is not accessible.
Should not come up as a search hit IMO.

Someone posted a way around that I think it might have been triggering bro, I haven’t tried it but others have.