Juliette Greco dies at 93 years
Juliette is no more… adieu Juliette
There was no other female french singer, or better “chansonette”, like Juliette. Living in German-occupied Paris and having a mother who was very active in the resistance, she saw the serious side of life at a young age. A certain sadness and melancholy can be felt in many of her songs. Juliette had a presence like no other. That is what makes her unforgettable.
A world leader
German chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel – Germany’s leader who enjoys worldwide respect and sympathy. She gave a most inspiring and sober speech on the current political work of the German government. She knows, she is not perfect and she does not hide this. Mrs. Merkel just states things as they are, not shying away or evading the uncomfortable. The world is a better place with women leaders like Angela Merkel.
I want civilisation back
Disgraceful
When a nation is in an emergency, clearly, all leaders – irrespective of their political association – must stick together and support each other in order to protect the nation and to ensure that correct decisions are taken. A pandemic is not a time for for divisiveness and criticism and certainly not a time for pursuing political gains for individuals or for political parties. Leaders must lead and focus on the need of the hour and refrain from pursuing their self-interests.
Not so, with the federal government of Australia, run by the liberal party. While Victoria was still very busy fighting the spread of infections, Scott Morrisson saw it fit to exploit the situation for political gains. Instead of standing by Daniel Andrews he kept on harping criticism about matters that are neither urgent nor pressingly important at the current time marked by ongoing infections and fatalities. It is easy to be “clever” in retrospect with “should haves” and “why nots”. The need of the hour was to fight Corona and to take the right decisions. But instead of offering his support, Morrisson kept on distracting our busy Premier with inflated demands for easing lockdown, contradicting expert advice. And who is Morrisson to be critical here ? Has he not holiday-traveled to Hawaii when ferocious bushfires were raging in NSW ? An inexcusable and outrageous behaviour by the prime minister of a nation.
And now that Daniel Andrews’ hard and tireless work and his brave and focused strategy is very successful – in spite of all the back-biting by Morrisson & Co – there is no sign of recognition of the Victorian success by the liberal government.
No “well done” or “good on you”. How poor and childish is that ? True leadership by the federal government would be to set aside differences and work together towards what is the best outcome for the nation.
It is the nature of the virus to return and infect people. It can happen in any state – unannounced and suddenly. We see this just now in WA. Finger-pointing is never right. It reveals the dark and ugly abyss in the soul of the finger-pointer who does not know that he may tomorrow need the help from others.
Delicious home-cooked food
Home-cooked food. Vadas & Sambar.
Going with the gut feeling
Recent research has revealed that gut feeling (intuition) is something we should not undervalue or even dismiss (Prof. Gerd Gigerenzer, Berlin). Our brain has regions that are not capable of “speaking” and yet these regions produce in us a feeling of whether something is right or wrong, especially when it comes to complex matters. Logical thinking can take us only so far. It is based on what is known. It works with memory and combination. Therefore logical thinking has its limitations and is often not enough or not the right path to come to the right decision.
But what if you do go with your intuition in a meeting aimed at making important decisions ? You won’t be able to explain much and yet your intuition is strong. Clearly, given what is known today about the human brain, it would be wrong to be dismissive of intuition. So, maybe the first step is to raise awareness of current research into the subject of intuition.
In light of the above, perhaps we can give less attention to the ever so popular lists of “pros and cons” and let other decision making options play a part – if not the better part of good decision making.
The passive Smartphone effect
According to tests cited by Prof. Manfred Spitzer of Univ. Ulm/Germany, the Smartphone on your table (while not in use) reduces your mental performance. This is so, because you need a good deal of mental strength to resist checking for new messages. Evidently true and proven. This effect can be measured in IQ points reduction.
So, it is best to keep your phone far away.
Australian Citizenship Test
It is hard to believe, but true:
“This is an example of a practice question on values:
Which of these statements best demonstrates Australian values about freedom of expression?
a) everyone can peacefully express their opinions within the law
b) people with different views from me need to keep quiet
c) only approved topics can be discussed.
There are significant reasons to doubt the usefulness of these questions as part of the criteria for citizenship.”
Dete's Words and pics 