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Life flows better with great coffee and if you cannot drink the black gold brewed by Richard Calabro of Grind Espresso of CroNulla then consider going to the bible belt of Belrose where Scottie Callaghan shows you the way to the secrets of Italian culture. So never drink a bad cup of coffee ever again! This three hour Italian coffee course will ensure that you learn the finer art of coffee making in a relaxed, yet expert environment. Whether your weakness is latte, cappuccino or espresso, you’ll learn how to make the perfect cup every time! Start your Saturday at Belrose as they do in Italy and join us for a leisurely Italian breakfast of coffee and pastries as you learn the art of Italian espresso! Next, it’s time to taste some coffee blends, where you’ll be taught to distinguish the differences between northern and southern Italian style blends. You’ll also be shown how to get a perfect result from the Italian moka pot as well as a plunger. Your coffee expert will then show you step-by-step, exactly how to use the Italian-invented espresso machine and how to correctly foam milk. After the overview from your expert coffee maker, it’s time to spend 30 - 45 minutes on the coffee machines (both commercial and domestic) to make your own perfect cappuccino, latte or whatever takes your fancy! By the end of the 3 hour coffee course, you’ll become a true Italian espresso expert with a renewed appreciation for the humble cup of coffee! Espresso Company Australia 3/2 Niangala Close BELROSE NSW 2085

When things are not going well, until you get the truth out on the table, no matter how ugly Seeing Double
There is something about storytelling that attracts 'How-To' lists. A while back I posted a list by movie producer Peter Guber, and now I want to share some insight from the master of story, David Mamet who gives some great advice on what makes a successful scene

People read for all sorts of reasons. Some novels are just rollicking good stories and others hold deeper lessons. A novel can be an enjoyable read and also expand the mind.Fiction gives us an understanding of the motivations of people that is unmatched by any other art form. And that, of course is the beauty of fiction: it exposes every situation imaginable. Fiction provides a window into the human heart and human mind.We all live one life, but readers can live thousands of lives. Novels can open the mind. Researchers have argued that people who read novels and who have to think about the connection between a character's thoughts and their actions are better at social interaction. Children who read novels are developing their imagination, and therefore their ability to "think outside the square" and solve problems. And works of fiction can contain more specific, powerful messages. Fiction can move us to tears or laughter or it can move us to great deeds. George Orwell's masterpieces, 1984 and Animal Farm, did more to expose the general populace to the dangers of totalitarian rule than all the pontificating of democratic politicians put together. These books became "must reads" for anyone interested in life under dictatorships. Novels can be powerful weapons in social struggles.

• Chris Bowen is the federal Assistant Treasurer and member for Prospect. Fiction nurtures the soul - a must even for pollies ; [Telling the perfect tale; David Cameron has been transformed into a flesh and blood representative of the people by the sad death of his son. The politics of empathy: David Cameron and Ivan’s death ]
• · In the age of the 'war on terror' censorship in Hollywood works by omission and 'introspective dross'. Hollywood's new censors;
• · Carved between sand, rock, and sea, Rio is simply the most beautiful city in the world and definitely one of my favorites. So Many A Second; Anyone who works with me knows that I often communicate in the form of handwritten notes on typed memos. That contrast of handwriting and typed text has a freshness and immediacy I don't get in email. The spirit of the pen
• · · Why is the artistic imagination treated as a thing of angry suspicion and distaste by some people and with awe by others? Manifesto for the imagination; The desire for FREE on the Internet is a huge challenge to anyone who produces digital entertainment. I think that emerging from the torrent of files that are being forwarded from computer to computer, is a word that will have a terrific impact on our future. Sharing …
• · · · LinkedIn etiquette: five dos and don'ts / Facebook etiquette: five dos and don'ts Two articles with tips on better management of your social networking; The proposed internet filtering system currently being tested is fast becoming a disaster for this government. Internet: don’t link, don’t leak
• · · · · The myth of Gen Y being lazy, pampered beasts unwilling to move out of home denies the fundamental economic reality Generation Y, the economy and the media; The problem of worsening violence in public places is an international phenomenon and there are no quick fixes The new nightlife: less like Paris, more like the Somme’

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Experts worry that Australia, which emits more carbon dioxide per head than any nation on earth, may also be the first to implode under the impact of climate change. Parched: Australia faces collapse as climate change kicks in

Be Different: STAND OUT In Campaign Wars, Apple Still Has Microsoft’s Number
Winning the Dream On the Mac’s silver anniversary, we look at where it’s been—and where it’s headed next…

TWENTY-FIVE years ago, Apple hurled a legendary marketing sledgehammer at I.B.M. personal computers that ran Microsoft software. During the 1984 Super Bowl, Apple ran a television ad that depicted those machines as instruments of Big Brotherish conformity. The ad was shown just once, but people still talk about it.

• Apple ads Strike; [Working on a Dream. Nothing memorable can be written without the writer taking some kind of risk – Media Dragon type risks between the lines and coded We call these people the CRAZY ONES; What makes some objects Apples and others not? The Macintosh computer just turned 25. I bought one of the original 128K Macs not long after they came out. I remember being reluctation to shell out $50 for a box of 10 400k floppy disks (these were the the 3.5″ type that weren’t actually floppy, and became standard on IBM PCs quite a few years later). I thought I was unlikely ever to need 4 megabytes of storage, so I got the store to sell me what was left in a box they’d already opened. And I was pretty dubious that anyone could really use the 512K of RAM offered in w the top-of-the-line “Fat Mac” which came out soon afterwards. It didn’t take me long to discover my error and upgrade. Great Mac: Credit where credit's due ]
• · Could the story of Jesus Christ and Julius Caesar be part of yet another infinite spectrum of reoccuring themes the illuminati are feeding us?
- Both Caesar and Jesus start their rising careers in neighboring states in the north: Gallia and Galilee.
- Both have to cross a fateful river: the Rubicon and the Jordan. Once across the rivers, they both come across a patron/rival: Pompeius and John the Baptist, and their first followers: Antonius and Curio on the one hand and Peter and Andrew on the other. Both are continually on the move, finally arriving at the capital, Rome and Jerusalem, Sydney; Justice Michael Kirby: unimpeachable in office, a public intellectual with influence and a private citizen who is an adornment to the great egalitarian ethos of Australia. Farewell to an Honourable Jurist
• · The human race is in a mess because we make wild guesses and claim them to be true: we eat fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The price of judgment; There's always been a tension between love and hate. A tension that romantic drama, for example, thrives on. It worked in Pride and Prejudice, and works still. Science is now discovering that the distance between love and hate may not be as big as we have always imagined Love and Hate
• · · Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO), seminar papers, 4 December 2008. This seminar, held in the Parliamentary Theatre, Parliament House, introduced web managers and IT professionals from local, state and federal government agencies to new web technologies and highlighted some of the interesting uses of Web 2.0 being employed by government. Web 2-0 in government ; These trials will inform future policy development in the area of online consultation and improve the processes for e-democracy in Australia.' Senator Conroy will today launch the first trial consultation, a blog canvassing the future of Australia's digital economy. the potential of digital innovation.exploring Web 2.0 technologies Rudd Government trial for e-democracy future; Online consultation
• · · · The purpose of this circular is [to] provide a set of interim protocols to agencies that are using or planning to use online media, including blogs, as a means of communication with clients and stakeholders. These protocols focus on the application of the APS Values and the APS Code of Conduct in online communication Interim protocols for online media participation - circular ; Analysts say big changes are coming to the CRM (customer relationship management) application market this year, with significant financial, strategic and technical implications for customers. In terms of CRM product functionality, look for last year's trend toward "social CRM" -- marked by collaboration tools like wikis and blogs within the CRM experience -- to morph into "cloud CRM," wherein CRM applications connect to external social-networking sites like Facebook or LinkedIn, as well as other Web sources.[or] introducing a product for content management.
Social networking ROI pricing among '09 CRM trends
• · · · · Entering what looks to be a trying 2009, IT resources will be limited and business pressures higher. But that doesn't mean withdrawal or going into reactive mode. In tough times, being clear on IT and technical priorities is even more important, as everything that is done is more critical. The top tech resolutions for 2009,; From iPod and BlackBerry to Twitter and Wikipedia, take a look at the processes and people who came up with the names for these iconic tech products. How 10 famous technology products got their dragon like names
• · · · · · Taking a page from the updated whitehouse.gov web site, the federal government has gone Web 2.0 with is own site. The General Service Administration (GSA) announced that it has delivered on a promise to use Web 2.0 technology to provide electronic access to government information. The USA.gov web site now is offering a government-wide news feed service RSS and a gallery of gadget applications Federal government has gone Web 2.0 with is own site ; US Feds' web site gets Web 2-0 make over ; Australian National Audit Office objective was to assess how well agencies manage their websites. Particular attention was given to the audited agencies' website purposes, risk management and planning, policies, content management procedures, and performance monitoring and reporting (PDF) Government agencies' management of their websites

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Despite much attention to U.S. government policies since the early 1930s, key questions remain unresolved. Cold War … wise people store up knowledge even though words are chopped in half abondened at the end of lines left swivelling like cut worms eaten by Ukranian during the great famine Are We All Socialists Now? Not at All"


Can we change the heart of economics? Stimulus and Response: Watching Our Rulers Destroy Our World
The extra-constitutional (and thus unconstitutional) "bailout" and "stimulus" programs of the Bush and Obama administrations during the present economic crisis bring to mind Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose failed interventions turned a recession into the Great Depression, according to Robert Higgs, Senior Fellow in Political Economy at the Independent Institute. Yet, further back in U.S history, one can find a vastly superior approach to dealing with economic fluctuations - one that brought the country phenomenal economic growth during the first century and a half of its existence.

As recently as the major recession of 1920-21, the government took a hands-off position, and the downturn, though sharp, quickly reversed itself into full recovery, Higgs writes in an op-ed for the Christian Science Monitor.In another recent article, Higgs argues that although the policies of our leaders in Washington, D.C., are ill designed to restore health to an ailing economy, they are well suited to making the leaders appear to be doing something. They are pouring credit madness on credit madness because they have no real understanding of how the economic world actually works, and, even if they understand, they are politically beholden to the owners and managers of failing economic behemoths who profited handsomely from the artificial prosperity of the boom and are now staring into the abyss.

• Many questions are being raised about the stimulus package's contents and efficacy. Hardly anyone, however, is asking the most importation question: Should the federal government be doing any of this? Instead of stimulus, do nothing – seriously; [As we wait to see how the politicians in Washington will alter the stimulus package the Obama administration is pushing, many questions are being raised about the measure's contents and efficacy. History shows that the economy can recover strongly on its own, if politicians stay out of the way; Neither Liberty nor Safety: Fear, Ideology, and the Growth of Government We have nothing to fear but hype itself]
• · The “stimulus package” is to sensible economic policy as—
military justice is to justice, John Maynard Keynes is to F. A. Hayek “I Love Lucy” is to “Much Ado about Nothing” Pat Robertson is to Mother Teresa a shipload of gravel is to the Rock of Gibraltar Reader’s Digest is to Tolstoy’s War and Peace
rap music is to classical music Tolstoy’s War and Peace ; The use of gross exaggeration - labelling every car crash a tragedy, every flood, a natural disaster, every stock market fall a depression - is mad. Every month 5 billion people loose a job yes 5 billion …
• · The media plays a crucial role in disseminating information regarding issues of public importance to the rest of society. The current global financial crisis and the bank failures that have contributed to it are issues of immense public interest and significant complexity. It is therefore the responsibility of the press to explain what has happened and what measures are being taken by government and financial institutions to address the current state of affairs so that members of the public may evaluate the actions taken by key decision makers and make informed decisions regarding their own circumstances. Banking Crises ; Zimbabweans identify with those words – for Martin Luther King’s dream is our dream. What however will make the actions of President Obama so effective is that they cannot be dismissed as racist. So we can take heart that Robert Mugabe’s regime has been served a powerful warning today that whilst there is a window of opportunity open it must be grasped quickly and in good faith. Hope is indeed on the way You make peace by talking to your enemies Senator David Coltart: Hope is on the way
• · · Neil Waters writes about confidence, candour, consistency and cheerfulness are useful leadership qualities in today's uncertain economic times Four qualities leaders need now, ; What Moses, Attila the Hun and 280,000 books can't tell you about the art of management You wouldn't read about it, Bob
• · · · Winning the Dream ;
• · · · · Common sense, not to mention the evidence, tells us that a larger population cannot possibly be in the interests of Australia. How the growth lobby threatens Australia's future; As Groucho Marx said to some unfortunate, "I never forget a face, but in your case, I'll make an exception". In policy, as in life, it matters when and how you make exceptions … It's Bruce Hawker No.1 and a distant second to anyone else. If you want an opportunity to present your case [to the State Government] you do it through Hawker Britton Tsunami of Lobbyists ; The march of the Chinese into Australia's resource space has intensified
• · · · · · There's nothing like a gathering of the corporate great and good to put the sparkle into the top end of town and the American Australian Association benefit dinner honouring Frank Lowy, the Westfield founder and executive chairman, was a well-needed tonic for the uncharacteristically humbled gathering. Being Frank: we have thousands of TV channels and shops but nothing is on ; China’s political tunnel China's deepening economic crisis is provoking social discontent that will place the Beijing leadership in an impossible political predicament, says the renowned democracy campaigner Wei Jingsheng. A cold wind in Beijing