Willis's Walkabouts Newsletter 84, Wondrous Weather, June 2016

The Greening of our June Trips

More rain, in the Top End and Macdonnells this month should make our June trips something special. Just compare the two photos of Jim Jim Falls at the bottom of the page in this Kakadu Tour Operators newsletter. The first was taken on 4 May and the second on the 11^th. It's almost like it was the wet season again.

It was even more dramatic in the Macdonnells. Glen Helen, the closest weather station to our walk, had over 100 mm of rain in the four days 6-9 May, and a bit more on the 30^th. It could be years before we have this much water again.

I'd like to give more people the chance to experience these places at their best so I've put special offers on the two remaining. Both are definite departures.

If I'd managed to get this out a week earlier, I'd have had a special offer on Kakadu Super Circle No. 2: 5-26 June. I did get a special offer, now cancelled, onto the Availability and Specials page — a good reason to have a visit every once in a while.

• West Macdonnells: 12-25 June
  Two different walks, either of which can be done on its own. Partly on and partly off the Larapinta Trail. Both take you to hidden places that people who stick to the trail will never find.
  The trip notes were updated on 28 April with a slightly changed itinerary.
  Have a look at this 7½ minute video from one of the clients on our 2010 Green Centre trip, the last time there was anything like this much water.
  Special offer. Take $700 off the list price of the full trip or $250 off the price of either section.
  Guide: Rod Costigan
• Kakadu Highlights No. 5: 26 June - 9 July.
  Section two is full.
  Special offer. Book section one on its own and take $400 off the list price of $1695.
  Guide: Andy Peart

Note. None of our normal discounts apply with the special offers above.

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The End of Democracy?

Today America, Tomorrow ....?

Donald Trump is a symptom, not a cause.

• Trump's Il Duce Routine *
  "As Europe knows, democracies do die. Often, they are the midwives of their own demise. Once lost, the cost of recovery is high."
• Why Trump Triumphs
  "Now, we are old, tired, fearful, cowardly, and cranky. We want a strong leader to protect us — one who promises to take us back... to make us strong aga... to make us young again.
  But a democracy must find a leader to express its soul. Unwittingly, he moves the country in the direction it was going anyway. Then, unaware of his limits, he goes too far.
  The quotes above are from the main article. The Guest Insight near the bottom is in a different vein. For most of us, it suggests changing the way we actually live our lives. I found it well worth the read.
• Trump and the Rise of the Unprotected: Why political professionals are struggling to make sense of the world they created.
  The original was in the Wall Street Journal which requires paid a subscription. I found it on this site which has a bit more.
  "The protected make public policy. The unprotected live in it. The unprotected are starting to push back, powerfully.
  The protected are the accomplished, the secure, the successful — those who have power or access to it. They are protected from much of the roughness of the world. More to the point, they are protected from the world they have created. Again, they make public policy and have for some time. Because they are protected they feel they can do pretty much anything, impose any reality. They're insulated from many of the effects of their own decisions.
  In wise governments the top is attentive to the realities of the lives of normal people, and careful about their anxieties. That's more or less how America used to be. There didn't seem to be so much distance between the top and the bottom.
  Now is seems the attitude of the top half is: You're on your own. Get with the program, little racist.
  Social philosophers are always saying the underclass must re-moralize. Maybe it is the overclass that must re-moralize.
• When Innocence Is No Defense *
  The title says it all. I can't help but wonder how bad this is in Australia. Can anyone enlighten me?
• Was a USDA scientist muzzled because of his bee research?
  This is one of many examples of government censoring scientific findings because the conflict with corporate interests. I suspect that something similar happened in Australia — hopefully not as bad, but I'd be very surprised if some Australian scientific research doesn't get funded or published because it conflicts with some influential business interests.

Europe

Perhaps the terrorists have already won, changing our societies into something that we could scarcely have imagined 20 years ago.

• Crackdowns on Free Speech Rise Across a Europe Wary of Terror *
  "Spain's arrests of two puppeteers are the latest in a string of prosecutions fuelling a debate on whether freedom of speech is under threat in Europe."

Australia

• The 'draconian' new laws that have 'made Australia a police state'
  "More than 60 per cent of voters are against these changes, designed to protect mining companies. They've been passed anyway"
  "President of the NSW Law Society Gary Ulman told The New Daily the laws were draconian and interfered with people's ability to engage in demonstrations vital for a democratic state.
  "The Law Society is very concerned with the trend of expanding police powers without corresponding judicial and other safeguards," he said. "In our view, such a trend represents an erosion of long-standing democratic institutions and individual rights."
• The government is reading what you post online
  "Both the general manager Mr Jongen and Human Services Minister Stuart Robert pointedly refused to answer any questions from The New Daily on whether there had been any cost benefit analysis of the operations, how many public servants were employed monitoring social media websites, and whether there had been any research on the negative psychological impacts of their programs."
  "Facebook exposes a lot of people to privacy and security risks. Whether it is for a government to say 'suckers', whether that is morally and ethically and policy-wise appropriate is another question."

The Western World

Is This the West's Weimar Moment? * talks about some interesting parallels between the world that saw the rise of Hitler and the one we live in today. Agree or not, it should make you think.

Regulations

Sometimes, regulation slows growth in return for public benefits, such as environmental protection or transportation safety. One can argue whether it does so efficiently, but there is a purpose.

In Economic Growth author John Cochrane suggests that, "Most economic regulation is specifically designed to slow growth. The purpose of most economic regulation is to transfer money to a specific group of people, companies, or industry. It does so by slowing down new entrants, impeding competition, mandating uneconomic actions or cross-subsidies, slowing innovation, turning off price signals, distorting incentives, and encouraging waste. These are the tools of economic regulation, and they all impede economic growth."

"We are used to the right to see evidence against us, challenge witness testimony, and appeal decisions to an independent and higher court. These rights often do not apply to regulations, where the agency is prosecutor, police, judge, jury, and executioner all wrapped in one. The methods for determining an 'abusive' practice or 'discriminatory' outcome are not revealed ahead of time so that people could structure their actions in accordance with the rules."

The full article is worth a read. Given the ever increasing number of regulations with which I have to comply, I can't help but wonder whether a business like Willis's Walkabouts could start up today.

The New Mind Control

• The new mind control
  "The internet has spawned subtle forms of influence that can flip elections and manipulate everything we say, think and do. We are living in a world in which a handful of high-tech companies, sometimes working hand-in-hand with governments, are not only monitoring much of our activity, but are also invisibly controlling more and more of what we think, feel, do and say. The technology that now surrounds us is not just a harmless toy; it has also made possible undetectable and untraceable manipulations of entire populations — manipulations that have no precedent in human history and that are currently well beyond the scope of existing regulations and laws.
• Googling Is Believing: Trumping the Informed Citizen *
  The way the Internet affects our minds can be more subtle. It "can get you to information that would back up almost any claim of fact, no matter how unfounded. It is both the world's best fact-checker and the world's best bias confirmer — often at the same time. Group polarization on the Internet is a fact of digital life. Liberals 'friend' liberals and share liberal-leaning media stories and opinions with them; conservatives friend conservatives, and do the same."

There is more on a similar theme later in this newsletter.

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Technology

Good News

• Score! How to get some great free stuff online
  Whether it's benevolence, marketing or simply a passion for sharing, you'll find a large range of websites offering products and experiences as freebies.
• Tips and Myths About Extending Smartphone Battery Life *
  "We teamed up with the Wirecutter to determine the best methods for preventing your phone from going dark."

Bad News

• Malware threatens millions of smartphone users
  "A sophisticated malware attack on the Australasian banking sector could see unwary banking app users fleeced."
• Hackers acquire bank details of Australian smartphone owners
  "Users of these popular banking apps and services like Skype and eBay risk having their money stolen after a security breach more."
• Apple users exposed by ransomware Mac attack
  "It seems Macs aren't as unhackable as some believed. This is how thieves are taking control of computers and making the user pay."
• Apple infuriates iPhone users again with 'Error 53'
• China's scary lesson to the world: Censoring the Internet works
  Technically, this could be done in any country in the world.
• How Uber is able to exploit our desperation
  An Uber staff member has revealed the app knows when our phone battery is low and that we're more likely to accept higher charges when phone death is imminent.

Good or Bad — You Be the Judge

What's driving Silicon Valley to become 'radicalized'
Fearing FBI, Silicon Valley races to lock itself out of data.

Internet Addiction

This dark side of the Internet is costing young people their jobs and social lives
"Those who say they suffer from Internet addiction share many symptoms with other types of addicts, in terms of which chemicals are released into the brain, experts say. The pleasure centers of the brain light up when introduced to the stimulus. Addicts lose interest in other hobbies or, sometimes, never develop any. When not allowed to go online, they experience withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, depression or even physical shaking. They retreat into corners of the Internet where they can find quick success — a dominant ranking in a game or a well-liked Facebook post — that they don't have in the real world, experts say."

Disappearing Jobs

'Confronting' technology to cost workers' jobs
"The CSIRO and the Australian Computer Society report looked at trends for Australia's future workforce and said jobs with tasks which are 'routine, repetitive, structured and rules-based' were 'likely' to become automated. They predicted about 44 per cent of Australian jobs were at risk of computerisation and automation in the next 20 years."

Unbelievably Amazing

Modeled After Ants, Teams of Tiny Robots Can Move 2-Ton Car *
"Researchers are exploring the limits of friction in the design of tiny robots that can pull thousands of times their weight, wander like gecko lizards on vertical surfaces or mimic bats."

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Kakadu Highlights No. 7: 7-20 August and Kakadu Highlights No. 8: 18 September - 1 October both have bookings but neither has the bookings we need to guarantee departure. We want to confirm these departures so we'll give the next three who book either full trip an extra $200 discount after they have deducted any of our standard discounts (bottom of page 1). You can see the list prices here.

Kakadu Highlights No. 8 takes place at the beginning of Gunumeleng — The Build Up — The Most Dramatic Season of All. Why not combine one of our Gunumeleng walks with some fishing — the Million Dollar Fish competition will be back from 1 October.

Barramundi Family Special

The Barramundi Family Special: 31 July - 6 August is a special trip created at the request of a family coming from overseas. The parents walked with us in the 1990s and now want their children (ages 13, 11 & 9) to experience Kakadu.

As with all our family walks, this trip is designed to run at a slower pace than our other trips to allow families with children to enjoy the Kakadu bush. That makes it equally good for adults who like children and a relatively easy paced walk.

We'll give anyone who books this trip an extra $100 discount after they have deducted any of our standard discounts. Better still, we'll extend our 10% advance purchase discount until 7 June.

Our Easiest Trips

We ran three light pack trips at special prices last year. They all went well so we decided to see how they would go at a realistic price. I thought it was a good idea. I enjoyed all three trips last year. I'm sure there are people who would enjoy all of them, but with no interest in any of them to date, I may have to cancel them all. If that happens, they may or may not be offered again next year. Have a look at the notes describing them and see what you think.

• Kakadu Day Walks: 21-27 August
• Kakadu Short Overnight No. 1; 28 Aug - 3 Sep
• Kakadu Short Overnight No. 1; 4-9 September

Advance purchase discounts are still available on them all. For anyone who has more time, we offer an additional 10% off the price of a second trip for anyone booking two consecutive trips.

Finally, if anyone has some good ideas as to how I could make these three trips more attractive while keeping them economically viable, please let me know.

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Your Health

Here, in no particular order are some articles I found interesting.

• Sugar is an informative article from National Geographic. Click on the images to see the photos that went with the article.
• High Fructose Corn Syrup
  Here in America, it is almost impossible to avoid it. I've been reading labels and it's everywhere.
  
  What is high-fructose corn syrup? What are the health concerns? is from the Mayo Clinic. Their take is that "there's insufficient evidence to say that high-fructose corn syrup is any less healthy than other types of sweeteners." On the other hand, they also say that people are eating far too much sugar.
  
  This article from the Huffington Post Why You Should Never Eat High Fructose Corn Syrup is typical of the arguments posed by those who are opposed to its use.
  
  Finally, a good article from the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Straight talk about high-fructose corn syrup: what it is and what it ain't, tries to debunk some of the myths.
  
  What's the truth? I'm not sure but I do try and avoid too much of anything with a lot of sugar in it. Important words here, "too much" — I do have a bit of a sweet tooth and enjoy desserts.
• 'Second Skin' May Reduce Wrinkles, Eyebags, Scientists Say *
  It's not here yet but this is one of many new medical advances which won't be long in coming.
• It's No Accident: Advocates Want to Speak of Car 'Crashes' Instead *
  Activists are campaigning to change a 100-year-old mentality that they say trivializes the single most common cause of traffic incidents: human error.
  38,000 deaths in a single year in America. Whether you call it a 'crash' or an 'accident', it's definitely a danger to your health.
• Donated organs kept 'alive' may ease the transplant shortage
  It sounds great and may well be, but when you look at the cost, you have to wonder if there will be some point where neither the government nor private insurance will be able to provide some treatments, leaving them exclusively for the very rich.
• One of America's healthiest trends has had a pretty unexpected side effect
  The same has to be true in Australia.
• Could Alzheimer's Stem From Infections? It Makes Sense, Experts Say *
  "Infections, including ones that are too mild to elicit symptoms, may produce a fierce reaction that leaves debris in the brain, causing Alzheimer's."

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Terrorism and Being Terrified

Terrorism and Being Terrified is a good article which tries to put it into perspective.
"Islamist terrorists welcome death. Many groups — not just IS and al-Qaida but also Hamas, Hezbollah, and others — have promoted the saying 'We love death more than you love life.'"

"The present emergency may not end, because we will never know — and have no way of knowing — whether people who love death more than life have moved into the house next door. We can ban anyone and everyone from the country, as we ban drugs or once banned alcohol. But banning people won't work. And even if it did, we would never be sure that the threat was really gone."

"And that is why terrorism is effective. A terrorist need not be present among us in order to cause terror. Our imaginations are already infested with him. He wins if we can't live with the terrors our imaginations conjure, inspired by acts already committed here and there around the world. But imagination is neither trivial nor a mere illusion. It is where we define our relations with the world. We win if we can control our collective imagination."

If you want to try and make sense of the world in which you live, please read the full article.

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The Environment — Four to Think About

The Unnatural Kingdom *
If technology helps us save the wilderness, will the wilderness still be wild?

Love in the time of climate change
Grizzlies and polar bears are now mating.

Air and water problems are worsening on a global scale, U.N. says
"Every region, regardless of how it might be perceived from the outside, is suffering from water scarcity,"
On my recent trip to southern Africa, the drought was a common topic of conversation. Crop yields are way down. Water levels in one major dam were so low I could scarcely recognise them. People have been 'mining' ground water more and more with each passing year. At some point, those supplies will start running out. What then?

Science censorship: Great Barrier Reef scrubbed from UN climate change report
The government has the right to disagree with the report but I don't believe that they should be censoring it.

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Photos & Videos

Some impressions of our planet
This 10 min video has some beautiful photography which includes a few wordless stories. Watch it sometime when you'd like to feel a bit better about the world.

The Most Beautiful Abandoned Places Around The World. This is one of several similar sites finding beauty in ruin.

Just for fun. Azulejos. This short video shows how to create something from nothing and turn it back into nothing. Unless I'm terribly mistaken, I know how it's done. Can you work it out?

Finally, the human mind is programmed to work in particular ways. Someone sent me these photos in an email. I was so impressed that I did a search and found it on the web. Have a look. See if you are more observant than most.

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