The Bondi Beach terror attack is the worst terror attack in Australia and the worst terrorist attack against Jews since the Hamas October 7 terror attacks in 2023. The problem is, we all pretty much saw the signs, the Albanese Government did nothing to prevent the antisemitism building in the community.

We saw the attacks on the synagogues, the spraypainting left on walls, the “gas the Jews” chants at the Sydney Opera House, the pro-Palestinian March across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There were the threats and abuse of Jewish students on university campuses, graffiti attacks and protests across cities. Former Liberal Treasurer Josh Frydenburg didn’t hold back he let rip at the Albanese Government, former Prime Minister John Howard, the architect of Australia’s strong gun laws [that have since been eroded] was clear in highlighting the failures of the Albanese Government.

When Albo and Penny Wong endorsed Hamas by recognising Palestine when Hamas were still governing in Gaza, they sent a clear message to the terrorists. So when Australia was rocked by the Bondi Beach terrorist attack, how did Hamas respond? Well, Hamas portrayed this as an act of solidarity with its terrorist ideals to use as justification for the murder of Jews worldwide. Let that sink in for Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong, Hamas are celebrating this terror attack and endorse the Albanese Government policy as they straight saying they are antisematic.

I got home from a party and flicked the television on, I could not believe what I was seeing playing out. The gunmen were still shooting at people from the bridge at that point, it was awful, there was loss of life everywhere, we all knew the death count would rise. There were also about forty people wounded in the attack. This was the worst terrorist attack in Australia since Port Arthur, this is what caused the federal government to implement sweeping firearm changes and these need to be tightened again.

A Jewish Hanukkah celebration was the target of the Islamic extremists. I must confess I did not know a great deal about Hanukkah, so I needed to search for the history of Hanukkah, sometimes written as Chanukah. I know it is a celebration that lasts for about a week just before Christmas. It turned out to be eight days I learned, and commemorates the recovery of Jerusalem, in the second century the Seleucids ruled the holy lands and forced Greek culture and beliefs on the population. The Chanukah by the Sea festival is held at Bondi Beach to bring the festival to a wider audience with the lighting of candles. Given the recent threats against Jews in Australia, the security for the event should have been way stronger and way more prominent, now we have this disaster.

Among the dead are a ten year old girl, a holocaust survivor, a rabbi, and a whole lot more families devastated. These people have moved to Australia and expected to live a life free of terrorism and attacks. What we know is the terrorists are a father and son team, the father is not an Australian citizen, but the son was born in Australia. There are now concerns that both father and son were in the Philippines in November, so the enquiries will be ongoing there. There are signs the son had Islamic State links and was under some surveillance of ASIO [Australian Security Intelligence Organisation], the domestic security organisation. We will be learning more about this in the coming weeks, there were a lot of leads missed, there will be so much soul searching in Australian society and intelligence agencies. But none more than the Albanese Government and their failure to shut down the antisemitism that was allowed to grow in Australia.

I was following Insead on social media, I downloaded their app on my tablet, I really like their short knowledge series. Insead Knowledge is a decent app to follow international business perspectives allowing myself to remain current on contemporary business related issues. In a government organisation, they all think they are running a business – they aren’t. In most cases they are custodians of government funded monopolies.

This gives me the opportunity to review and analyse their short lecture series MBA business statements then relate them to my organisation. So according to Herminia, the only effective way to embed change in an organisation is to modify structures and systems. Based on my experiences, behaviours need to be changed and that is where most change management programs fail.embed desired behaviours in structures, processes and systems.

Change management is the least understood and least effective strategy at both an operational and strategic perspective. I respect Herminia’s perspective as a Professor of Organisational Behaviour, a professor at such a prestigious institute is required to keep current with industry trends. As a lecturer, I am aware they need to communicate with industry and integrate industry knowledge and skills into programs to maintain effectiveness. offer perspectives based on her experiences. Naturally I needed to do an online search of Herminia and her CV is impressive. Harvard Business School, Insead and now employed at London Business School – pretty hard core.

Herminia’s view is cultural change must be institutionalised in systems and structures, that is mostly a strategic view. That is, senior managers must instill values and behaviours in middle management that then filters down to supervisors and team leaders. Where I would differ in application, in a decentralised organisation this would occur at portfolio or work group level. I know based on my state government experience, managers [middle managers] do not manage, they could almost be made redundant and portfolios revert to an autonomous self-managed work group structure. A manager is required to sign-off on leave requirements, organise rosters and schedules as well as manage budgets. Really, the decision-making is performed by

In a government organisation we do not see leadership, nor do we expect leadership form any part of daily structures. Sure, you see some progressive managers mounting leadership motivational posters on walls. When you see the motivational posters hung on the wall, you know you will not be seeing any examples of leadership in the workplace.

So when we need to integrate behavioural change in an organisation, the leadership responsibility is accepted by the genuine leaders at portfolio level. The real role of senior managers is to maintain financial control and direct subordinates to create policy documents and procedures that the workers may, or may not follow.

Ok, so how is organisational direction changed? This generally requires highly paid consultants to come in, develop external strategies and inform senior managers who are supposed to implement the change. Instead, what about developing policies and then hand the change management over to teams and then develop a bottom-up approach instead of the standard top-down dictating approach.

I remembered the place, but forgot the name of this excellent food hall in Singapore’s Chinatown, Lau Pa Sat is a fine example of Victorian architecture, one of the oldest structures in South East Asia. A central hall connects the eight food halls serving an array of Asian food.

These are all small food vendors ranging from Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Indian and Korean styles. But if I reference Chinese food, there are a multitude of regions and styles. The place was buzzing at 2 pm, well past the lunchtime rush, it was still difficult to find a seat. There are two large fans in each hall slowly turning creating a gentle downdraft airflow to cool the halls. The central bell chimes on the hour and half hour. I enjoyed a cooling lime juice with my Katsu Don whilst she had a spicy Tom Yum.

I look to support local businesses where I can, so when I required a physiotherapist for a four week program for a worker’s compensation claim I looked local and I am sure glad I did. I was searching for a small and local business as small businesses tend to offer better service and I was lucky enough to stumble across this great little local business.

I attended Energise Physiotherapy at Unit 3, 221 Scarborough Beach Road in Mt Hawthorn. Phil Haynes is a small local physio who has taken a risk and opened his own clinic. Whilst I am not a leading authority on physiotherapy, you tend to get a feel if an individual is competent and Phil comes across as both confident and competent without appearing overconfident and cocky.

When chatting to Phil during treatment, he describes himself as a small suburban physio, he has plenty of humility. He has his qualifications hanging on the wall in a frame, I am aware he is a Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy and I wanted to expand the discussion regarding physio training and accreditation during future visits.

When I come in for a physio session, Phil has done some strength sessions with me as a diagnostic test to check range of movement and the strength in the affected muscles and damaged tendons and ligaments. Whist I get a deep massage as well, the strength conditioning is vital. I enjoy supporting local businesses and Phil provides extraordinary customer service. I will certainly recommend Phil to my friends and colleagues.

The alleged daughter of Vladimir Putin, Elizaveta Krivonogikh is living in Paris independent media outlet Proekt has reported. Also known as Luiza Rozova, the Kremlin has naturally denied and dismissed any allegations. Whilst Elizaveta is argued to have an uncanny resemblance to Putin, she replied that “there are a lot of people who look like Mr. Putin” to a GQ Magazine interview.

Her mother, Svetlana Krivonogikh was born in Leningrad [now St. Petersburg] in 1975. Svetlana attended Saint Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance in the Department of International Economic Relations receiving her qualification in 2000. According to reports, Svetlana and Putin took the same flight from St. Petersburg to Moscow in 1999. Svetlana is claimed to have been involved in a long-term relationship with Putin for years, it is unknown if she is still involved with Putin.

Svetlana’s alleged relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin was rumoured to have begun in the 1990s when Svetlana was reported to be working as a cleaner. Svetlana was apparently living in a communal apartment that her family shared with four others. After meeting Putin, she moved into apartments known for St. Petersburg elites. This is not unheard of in Russia, Putin’s former St. Petersburg chef Yevgeny Prigozhin became the head of private military contractor the Wagner Group.

An investigation into the unlikely $100 million wealth of Svetlana, who owes her fortune to the alleged romantic relationship with Putin by independent media outlet Proekt in 2020 also uncovered the connection to Elizaveta. Svetlana became widely known by the release of the Pandora Papers published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists [ICIJ] in October 2021. The UK government imposed sanctions on Svetlana, identifying her as a leading Bank Rossiya shareholder and the National Media Group consistently promoting the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Andrey Zakharov, one of the journalists involved with the Proekt media investigation, was allegedly engaged to Elizaveta. She was known to post on a regular basis about elite nightclubs and private jets. Her social media accounts disappeared once the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. The German newspaper Bild reported Elizaveta posting on social media site Telegram “It’s liberating to be able to show my face to the world again. It reminds me of who I am and who destroyed my life.” was rumoured to work at two Paris art galleries known for exhibiting anti-war art.

It has been mentioned to me that the Penfolds Bin 707 is the poor man’s Grange – but I just don’t see it. I am skeptical as a Grange is a shiraz whilst the 707 and 407 are cabernet sauvignon. I would argue the 707 is the cabernet sauvignon equivalent of Grange whereas the Bin 389 as a shiraz is indeed the poor man’s Grange. So now that this is sorted, is the Bin 407 the poor man’s 707?

Then there are the prices, a 2010 Bin 407 will set you back about $120 and a 2015 vintage is about $79 whereas a 2014 Bin 707 won’t leave you much change from $499 at current prices. Fortunately these are not up in the Grange price ranges with a 2013 around the $722 price range. So now we have the prices sorted out what about the wine?

The tasting notes tell me the fruit was sourced from Coonawarra, Wrattonbully, Robe, McLaren Vale, and Padthaway. The cabernet fruit was matured for 12 months in new French oak (23%), new American oak (10%), 1 year-old American oak (18%) and 2 year-old American oak hogsheads (45%). The tasting notes informed me the 2010 vintage is drinking well between 2014 to 2038 but I won’t be waiting that long.

This is a full-bodied wine with a granular tannin structure, balanced acidity and a cassis/blackcurrent nose with dark chocolate palate. I would expect this to soften out as the wine ages in the bottle with the current deep magenta colour to change to a brownish hue on the rim. I must admit, I do like to put good reds down but you have to be careful to not to overdo it.

As I am disengaging from work and wandering around Little India, I am viewing small retailers working from their shops. There are less restaurants than I remember, these seem to be replaced with general traders and fabric shops. It has been a while since I was in Little India, whilst the changes are not great, they are subtle in the post-covid economic slow-down.

My mind is momentarily slipping from all the issues I face at my toxic workplace and on to my surroundings. I am loving this, in a few years I will be semi-retired and working part-time, now putting minimal effort into battling the toxic work environment and just doing my work and then heading home.

I am looking at tailors sitting at their machines sewing brightly coloured fabrics on the sidewalk. I watch them work for a while, these guys are busy creating custom garments for their clients. I love watching their ingenuity and skills at work, whilst I missed the measuring, I am seeing their machine sewing skills in action. For me, this is pretty interesting. Whilst these guys may not be designers, they take someone else’s design prowess and turn this into a garment.

I have previously written about why Perth should consider a ferry service, I am not anti-ferry, I believe there is a demand for a ferry service. We previously had a ferry service on the Swan River, however, the service failed for a multitude of reasons. There is a ferry that goes from Elizabeth Quay to South Perth operated by Transperth, a great option for going to the zoo or South Perth in general.

The ferries really go back to the 1830s running between Fremantle and Perth, this was apparently a popular service as these centres lacked infrastructure in the early days of the colony such as roads and rail. The Swan River Ferry Company, formed in 1897 operated between Coode and Mends Street before expanding to Como, Applecross and Canning Bridge.

I recall the older service on the river stopping at jetties to pick up passengers, from my recollection there were only a few passengers on each jetty. Firstly, there was poor patronage on the ferry service, it was not integrated into other services and was more of a tourist service as I recall that finished in the mid 1990s.

So that leads us to Rita Saffioti’s expanded Metronet ferry dream. Matilda Bay is an A-Class reserve and magnificent bay at the button of King’s Park. As a tourist attraction, the last thing anyone wants is a huge jetty in the middle of the bay, generators running to recharge electric ferries with ferries arriving every 15 minutes.

There will be a ferry parked on charge at the jetty, the ferry will run from Applecross at 20 knots so it will be competitive with the train. Why would anyone get off the train at Canning Bridge and catch a ferry to Matilda Bay when the train goes to the Esplanade station and you watch a bus that gets you closer to the University of Western Australia.

The Trump peace plan is an embarrassing farce, Donald Trump sent his negotiator and friend over to Russia to negotiate an end to this war. Steve Witoff is a former real estate developer and lacky for Trump. The Russian negotiators made a fool of him, their 28 peace plan is basically all their objectives they have been unable to secure by force. There is an old joke getting around that the only person qualified for their job in the Trump Administration was Stormy Daniels.

So they play dum dum Trump like the amateur he is, he is so fixated on securing a Nobel Peace Prize because Barack Obama was awarded one that he is willing on doing anything to get one. No one has told Trump that they do not give Nobel Peace Prizes for appeasement, other Neville Chamberlain would have had one sitting on his shelf for appeasing Adolf Hitler. Naturally, with such a poorly negotiated peace plan you can betthere was no Ukrainian input, this was Trump’s idiot negotiators getting embarrassed on the world stage working together with superior Russian negotiators. 

So the 28 point peace plan involves giving up territory including the Donbas region, reducing the size of their military, giving up their weapons and technology, and giving up their chance to join NATO. This is a total capitulation by the US, Trump is not a clever guy, he is not a good negotiator, he surrounds himself with yes men, and his narcissism clouds his very limited judgement on any matter. Trump is a failure, a reality tv host with little ability apart from being born into a seriously rich family. Steve Witoff is one of Trump’s golf mates, just a Bronx real eastate developer who Trump has thrust into a position where he is way out of his depth.