George at Studio 2GLF 89.3 fm

George at Studio 2GLF 89.3 fm
Broadcasting Emission Kontak

Friday 25 May 2012

A quelque chose malheur est bon by GDL

The "BOMB" scare which happened on MK 943 last Wednesday has been the talk of the town and non stopping. I have been flooded ever since by phone calls, sms and emails.
While it was a serous matter and no joke, never in the history of Air Mauritius has the carrier been subject to  so much publicity. One can say it was bad publicity but as marketers tend to say,  any publicity is good publicity.

Indeed I concur that it was a "good" publicity,  not only for Air Mauritius, but also for Mauritius as well. Never has Air Mauritius or the MTPA been able to reach the entire Australian market during their many many years of presence in Australia.(and around the world).

I explain: from the moment the news broke out, all the media, traditional, new and social, in Australia and around the world reported the news. A world wide audience heard the word "Mauritius." and discovered it.
In Australia alone, some 27 million now know where  Mauritius is and that there is an airline with flights Sydney, Melbourne, Perth if they want to visit the tourist paradise of the Indian Ocean.
The other good publicity was, how the crew handled the matter so professionally. At the end of the day, it was only a can of soft drinks. This reassured passengers of the safety image that Air Mauritius has always projected, " Passengers' safety come first".

"Sadly" this came at a time when Air Mauritius is pulling out of Melbourne, a city which has been loyal to the airline and filling its planes. Even in this precarious time there were 181 passengers on board MK while Air Austral for example, is flying near empty from Sydney.

I said earlier  that I received many communications  from Mauritians of Australia and overseas.
While some were very concerned, others were  trying to find out more, some were even trying to play Inspector Colombo  like:
When and where exactly was the can of soft drinks? Was it full or empty? Was the word bomb stuck to the can or was it hand written on it ? What type of pen was used ?
Someone even joked  : C'etait une bombe "alerte" !
One funny comment went " Mo crawr zot ti pe ecrir BOMBLI" and did not have time for the "LI".  A passenger might have stuck some of these badly smelt commodity in a can of soft drink. It could have been from the previous flight Mauritius- Australia. As Mauritians bring in achards in Australia, zot osi ti pe apporte Bomli.!!!

These are the more serious comments I received :
 - C'est une mise en scene.
- This cannot come from any passenger, No way!
- A scenario to portray  Australia is bad.
- Another excuse from MK to pull out of Australia.
- It is politically motivated by Port Louis to blame/penalise the Creoles of Australia.
- This exemplifies the tension that exists between the parties at MK.
- Someone somewhere want to take a revenge on Air Mauritius.

Anyway, it was a day to be remembered for Air Mauritius, a good souvenir of Australia.
But as said earlier never had Air Mauritius received so much  exposure.

GDL.


Tuesday 22 May 2012

Le changement il est deja la

By GDL.

During the Presidential campaign, the Socialist candidate Francois Hollande slogan was
" Le changement c'est maintenant".
Actually it did not take long for the French people to see " le changement" as soon as Mr Francois Hollande was officially intronised as President of France.
His first visit to Germany to discuss European matters or " La crise Euro" was a victory for Francois Holland as his " croissance" (growth) was "considered" by the Chancellor Angla Merkel, who said initially, she was opposed to " la croissance" and preferred " l'austerite" ( austerity measures).

Francois Hollande took his concept of "la croissance"  to the G8 meeting and succeded in convincing President Obama and the rest of the G8, that growth was the way forward. There was even an editorial saying how Angela Merkel was " isolated" on her concept of austerity.

The second great " changement" which the French people and the world was quick to notice, was the composition new French Government. It was a marked contrast with the Sarkosy and Fillon style. For the first time France has a government with 17 female ministers and so many young talents.

The third change was Francois Holland's victory in maintaining that the French military troups will be back to France by the end of this year. Barak Obama. apparently tried to convince Francois Hollande to change his mind but he resisted. That's what we call "n'avoir pas froid aux yeux" even while having an eye to eye contact with the most powerful person in earth.

Ah, j'allais oublier cette reduction de salaires des Ministres de 30%. Quel exemple pour les politiciens de Maurice et de L'Australie !! Je dirai plutot une claque a l'UMP.
Le changement en France est non seulement "maintenant", mais il est deja la.

GDL.

Wednesday 16 May 2012

Divorce in decline in Australia

Divorce in Decline in Australia, by GDL

Strangely as it may sound divorce is in decline in Australia. The number of divorces granted in Australia has been decreasing each year since reaching a peak in 2001. A recent report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, shows that divorce is in decline and marriage is on the rise. In 2009 there were 118,756 marriages registered and 121,176 in 2010. This represents an increase of 0.9 per cent or 1,058 more marriages. It is the highest number in any one single year. In contrast, there were only 47,209 cases of divorce in 2009 as compared to 52,700 on 2004. Why this turnaround when one decade ago, one out of 3 marriages ended in divorce?

Studies carried out on a marriage breakdown found many reasons e.g. marrying too early, poor communication, basic unhappiness, loss of love, incompatibility, infidelity, mental illness, emotional problems, deception over expectations of roles, low education, low income, parental divorce, early pregnancy, interpersonal conflict, just to name a few. It is also found that very often divorce is very much associated with economic circumstances and if the couple’s financial situation is stable, the couple has one thing less to argue about.
On the other hand, the Institute has identified the following attributes of healthy couples are: a sense of respect and feeling appreciated, trust and fidelity, good sexual relations, good communication, shared values, cooperation and mutual support, enjoyment of shared time, a sense of spirituality and the ability to be flexible when confronted with frustrations and changes, appreciation for each other.
Commenting on the decline in divorce, Peter Macdonald, Head of Demographics at the Australia National University, found that one reason for the divorce in decline, could be the trend of living together before marriage. He said that in 2008, seventy-eight percent of marriages were preceded by a couple cohabiting.
The economic argument also looks valid towards the longer duration of some marriages. The Australian economy has been strong for the past decade, and there has been a low rate of unemployment. The economy of Australia was not so much affected during the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 and we did not face any recession as opposed toUSAand other European countries. As the economy continues to grow with the unprecedented mining boom, and record exports to China, and the other Asian Countries, this seems to have positive impact both on the economy as well as on social life. It coincides with the fact that families seem to be sticking tougher more.
Another factor contributing to the decline of divorce is the new composition of Australian population i.e. the increasinglyAustraliamulticulturalism. According to the population census conducted last year, 27 percent of Australian residents were born overseas and increasingly, coming from South East Asia.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics,
From the beginning of the 1970s until the late 1980s, the proportion of the population born overseas remained steady at about 20% and, following an increase in immigration levels at the end of the 1980s, rose to 23% in 1990. Further arrivals of migrants in the 1990s and 2000s contributed to the increase in the overseas-born population, with their proportion of the overall resident population rising to 27% by 30 June 2010.”
The census also shows that the fastest growing community is to be those coming from India. These new migrants usually have a strong belief in spirituality, marriage and family life. As the Family Institute study found that spirituality is a contributing factor to longer relationship, divorce rate in these Asian communities is consequently very low. This also contributes to getting the numbers of marriage up and the rate divorce down.
My neighbours, a young couple coming from India, explained:
“Marriage is sacred in the Hindu religion. Very often marriage is arranged by the two families who consequently become very close, a small community is formed. The lengthy ceremony of marriage itself denotes how important this event is. There is always “surveillance” from the parents to see that the marriage works. A breakdown is a shame to both families.
The overall news that divorce is in decline, means that there is less family breakdowns and less suffering both for the couples and particularly for children. Fewer divorces denote more stability on the social front which also have positive outcome for the economy at the individual, family and national levels.
This is indeed good news for the whole Australian society.

Sources:
TheInstitute of Family Studies www.afs.gov.au
The family Law Courtwww.familylawcourts.gov.au
The Australian Bureau of Statistics: www.abs.gov.au/
The Sydney Morning Herald, Sept 2001
The Age Sept 2009

Sunday 13 May 2012

A Labor surplus budget after so many years

It was a promise they made after the spending spree of the past 5 years i.e since labour came back to office in 2007. From a surplus budget left by Peter Costello, it went down last year to negative $44b.

Labour had to deliver on its promises by hook or by crook to get the budget back in surplus although by a minimal 1.5 b. It also had to give away some goodies as the general elections looms and this is exactly what Treasurer Wayne Swan did.

Labour presented a budget which is tailored for the lower and middle class, for the battlers. A budget with cutting income tax is rare. The tax free threshold tripled going for $6,000 to $18,200. This means that people earning less that $18,200 will pay zero tax and if it has been deducted at source, they will get the refund. This represents some 1.5 million taxpayers paying no tax al all.
It also means that all those earning beyond $18,200 will not pay tax on the first $18,500 which was at the rate of 22%. It represents a saving of close to $2,000.
Pensioners will get an increase of $338 and families with school children will get $410 for primary and $820 for secondary students among other benefits.

The budget forecasts a surplus of $1.5 billion coming from a deficit of $44 billion. It means that new revenues and savings will amount to $45.5 billions. While cost cuttings have been a hard thing for labour who always favour big spending and deficit budgets, they have now done it. It affects many government departments and some public servants will face redundancies.
This surplus, according to wayne Swan, will continue to increase over the years. But remember this is only a forecast and will only come to reality or not at May of next year.

Most of the government revenues will come from the Mineral Resources Rental Tax and the new Carbon Tax. They are both taxes on big business. The MRRT is fair when we know that billionaires are getting everyday richer exploiting our land. It takes great courage to tax these powerful people like Clive Palmer, Gina Reinhart and Mr Forrest who are favoured by the Liberals.
The Carbon Tax will be imposed on some 200 businesses who are consistently and continuously polluting our atmosphere. It aims at reducing emission by 5% by 2020. The CT will be changed into an Emission Trading Scheme after some time.

In the budget speech there was hardly any mention of the Carbon Tax. These words are toxic to the government as this is the Black Caviar ( the winning horse) of the opposition. Campaigning against the carbon tax has caused damage to the government. It has become a slogan which hammered by Tony Abbott so much so that the majority of Australians now believe that it is a bad tax, that will affect us all. It comes into effect on 1st July and it is only after a few months, or a year later that we will feel the real effect of this tax, if it will really drag prices up and our standard of living down. It remains to be seen and proved. If it doesn't it will surely backfire on the opposition as this is their only weapon. A weapon that Tony Abbott used extensively in his budget speech reply.

The budget of Wayne Swan was definitely a leftist and an electoralist one. It shows that Labor wants to connect back to its base i.e the lower and middle classes. Will this pay off in the months to come ?
The answer will be in the polls three months before August 2013. But for now, labor is still in deep shit. Their battle is definitely uphill.
GDL

Saturday 5 May 2012

Quand un Premier Ministre ment.

If you have followed the events of the 1st of May in Mauritius, you would have noticed that all speeches were dominated by 2 topics: Medpoint and RochesNoireGate.
While much is known about Medpoint(Gate) little was known about the RochesNoiresGate.
The event related to Roches Noires happened in the night of the 2-3 July 2011.
It all started about a Rolex watch belonging to the Prime Minister of Mauritius Navin Ramgoolam, that was allegedly stolen in a bungalow at Roches Noires.
The bungalow is said to belong to the PM which he bought for 40 millions rupees. Only God knows if that is true...!! as no one dares to contradict him.
The strange thing is that the PM initially said that he was not in the bungalow that night and if so how comes that his watch was there ? But he said that is not true and he still have his Rolex ? Is this the same Rolex asked SAJ ou bien Rolez faire piti ?
Then the PM said he actually went to the bungalow that night and later said he only stayed for a little while. However  he did not say who were in the bungalow that night . Some said there was a woman, others say that there were a at least six people there partying,  a second version of the Macarena party !!  You surely remember the Macarena party 15 years ago at Albion!!!   15  years later we have another of these secret party at Roches Noires !!!??.
In a meeting in Port Louis, first Paul Beranger, then Sir Aneeropod Jughnuth revived the events of the 2-3 July 2011 at Roches Noires implicating the Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam.
SAJ talked about a macarena party at Roches Noires where the PM was present and he even talked about " couteau emba la gorge " !!
What really happened that night in the bungalow is a real mystery although there has been many versions by the people of Mauritius. Personne  pa kone mais nou tou kone ki ti pase sa swar la !!!

Anyway following the macarena party at Albion, many has been written and said about les frasques du PM et ses sorties nocturnes. A journalist even called these night adventures  " les demons de minuits" from the tube of Mario Ramsamy and le Groupe Images.

The other question raised by SAJ, Is the death of a person in police cell linked to the Roches Noires party ? Did that person know too much and had to be silenced ?
The answers my friend are blowing in the wind as Bob Dylan sang.
This is the RochesNoireGate. Only an independent enquiry can shed light on whether the PM lied and why.
Meanwhile enjoy a sega made in Mauritius.

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