Happy When It Rains

It's RAINING!!!

Not usually a fan of rain as I like outdoor sports but when it hasn't rained for 890440449389020 years, it's always a good thing. Moreover, it's nighttime.

Ah, sweet rain. Can't remember the last time it was raining at bedtime.

About the fire the other day, favourable winds and excellent firefighters brought the fire under control overnight. It seems that only 1 or 2 houses were burned down at this particular fire, though the fire took with it several hectars of the reserve park. A few suburbs evacuated but it wasn't so much because they were burning but because they were swamped with the debris, ashes etc from the fire.

Anyway, I hope the rain doesn't stop till five minutes before I wake up tommorow. I love the smell of fresh rain in the morning.

Don't Panic

Ok, so the houses and trees and what not is burning in the suburb next to mine, maybe 1-2km from here. The smoke can be seen from here, as the picture taken from my house suggests. Me thinks tonight we'll be taking shift to keep watch.

If the wind blows in this direction at 50km/h, it'll mean we'll have 1.2minutes to get the fuck out.


See you soon.


TY

Did You Steal My Money

The Australian Senate has finally passed the $42 Billion stimulus package. Good thing if you ask me.

But somehow I think that some parts of the package are a little "weak". Here I have 2 proposals. Despite being a little too late and nobody reads my blog, I'd still like to write about it.

Firstly, I thought that the money should be spent on expanding satellite cities. Capital cities in most states are overloaded as it is now, and experts have predicted that population will keep increasing. Now, while population increase is not a bad thing, the rate it is increasing by seems to be unsustainable. Commute time will double in the near future, along with overloading of many infrastructure.

Hence, to me it seems reasonable that the money be spent on stimulating activities in those cities, creating jobs there. That way, jobs are created while the burden on capital cities do not increase. 2 birds with 1 stone if you ask me.

Secondly, it seems to me that most of the money in the stimulus package would be going to low income families/individuals. While this is a good thing, I thought more of it should be concentrated on those who have lost their jobs or are unemployed. My reasoning being that in a recession, inflation decreases. This would mean that low income earners would be better off than prior to the recession as petrol and food prices, among others, drop, provided they can keep their jobs and hours. Hence, they are not the ones who most need the money.

Looking from a less altruistic view, my point will still seem reasonable. This is because the purpose of the stimulus package is to stimulate the economy. In other words, the government would hope that the cash bonuses would be spent by the recipients rather than saved. And how better to ensure it is spent than by giving them to people who need the money just to survive? The unemployed are the ones who would most likely spend the money on daily essentials. They still need to eat after all.

Despite all these, I must applaud the government for promising it would make available money from the stimulus package for the reconstruction of bushfire ravaged communities. I guess, they, of all people, would be most in need of help.

Why then, you might ask, that I did not support the Opposition in blocking the stimulus package? The answer is simple. A slightly flawed stimulus package triumphs over a bad stimulus package, or in this case, the lack there of. The right-wing Liberal Party has handled the financial crisis terribly, in my opinion. All they ever talked about was tax-cuts. Nothing else. They opposed the package, but did not seem to provide any logical and acceptable alternatives. Useless. They are called the opposition, but their job is not just to oppose, but to provide an alternative. Tax cut isn't it. A 12 year old can propose tax cuts.


TY

Sunday Bloody Sunday

I'm safe. Thanks for asking.

But my heart goes out to all those affected.

The arsonists should be burnt alive. They shouldn't be treated any differently from terrorists. They've taken more lives anyway. Just because they aren't Muslim doesn't mean they should get lighter sentences. Bali bombings killed 202. The toll for this one is 173 and counting.


TY