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A lot of people can't see the woods for the trees. Some who are unhappy with the rise in popularity of One Nation delude themselves that the problem is all One Nation and it's supporters who their critics perceive as a bunch of ignorant, redneck idiots. Fact one: One Nation wouldn't be having this rise in popularity if the major parties were doing a half decent job. Fact two: The major parties have been complacent for too long, and as long as they have their comfortable two party system of your turn/my turn without any major threat to their voter base, they will never get any better. For sure, a lot of the rise in One Nation is a protest vote against that laziness, complacency, and disregard for ordinary Australians that a lot of people see in the major parties. The voter erosion to One Nation is the kick in the pants that the status quo needed and still needs. They won't voluntarily get any better, so they need a boot up the rear end like this to to make them get off their backsides and start performing better to provide Australians with what they want and need from a government. If the threat of losing voters in possible election losing numbers keeps the major parties on their toes, in my opinion that has to be a good thing and an incentive to provide good government. I'm not defending One Nation or any other party, but just trying to point out the small minded nature of just blaming One Nation and their supporters and dismissing them as fools. Throwing rocks at them is not going to make them go away. You need to ask yourself why. Why are so many people abandoning parties they have supported for years. The problem the major parties have is not One Nation. The problem is within themselves. They need to ask themselves why do so many people not want to vote for them any more. To be honest, nothing much in politics surprises me, but I have been surprised lately by the sheer numbers of people I run into who say they are changing their vote to One Nation at the next federal election. A lot of these people are the last people in the world where I would have expected to see that. There's a problem for the One nation critics who are stuck in that rut of name-calling, ridicule and stone throwing in their stereotyping of supporters. While they're so distracted doing that, they're not seeing what's really happening. There's a big groundswell of a protest vote building, and I think it will keep rolling. I don't personally think what's happening now is just a flash in the pan. The way I see it, the Greens are immune from it. The Coalition has already taken significant hits and a lot of it by their own hand. And Labor, well I wouldn't be too complacent about if I was one of their supporters. At the moment, they are almost guaranteed to win the next election, and that's about as far ahead as most pollies can think, but they are already starting to bleed blue collar votes and that loss will continue to grow. For anyone who doesn't want to see One Nation grow in size, the challenge is how to create an environment where those lost voters will return. That's where they need to spend their energy. Ridiculing and blaming those lost voters for leaving in the first place is unproductive, and as I said earlier, small minded.

A prodigee of Abbott? Be careful what you ask for.

The Moon Photos from Artimus II

Absolute shite. Trump couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery.

And for all the Trump and Netanyahu fanbois... Tell me again what "the master of the deal" has done for America? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-08/donald-trump-cedes-ground-to-iran-before-negotiations-even-begin/106541368 After being fooled into this war by a war criminal, Trump has: - caused devastation to life and infrastructure in Iran - spent billions of US taxpayers money on a war they didn't want or need - depleted the US armory - caused mayhem around the middle east - raised prices around the world due to fuel and transportation costs, along with associated shrinking of tourism etc - trashed America's reputation even more - put money back in Putin's coffers enabling him to continue the Ukraine invasion. And in return for all this pain, felt worldwide, what has he accomplished? Nothing. If anything, the Iranian regime will come out of this with more than they started with. Not only will sanctions be removed, they will be making money, Mafia-style, from any ship using the Strait of Hormuz. No regime change. No democracy. No stopping of their nuclear program. And you think this pathetic creature is doing right for the US? Don't make me laugh.

When the war finished they had a lot of Japanese held in pow type camps awaiting repatriation back to Japan. In a lot of them they didn't have allied soldiers guarding them, they were doing it themselves. One night my dad and his mate were returning back to camp from a local watering hole and walked past one of the camps. All hell broke loose, the sentry called the alarm and the camp commandant roused the whole camp of Japanese out of bed to form up on the parade ground. He got my dad and his mate who were full as a boot to inspect the troops. The old man said it was one of the craziest experiences he had over there, two private ranked Australians with the wobbly boot on walking up and down the Japanese ranks inspecting them. He told me they hammed it up a bit and did a fairly dodgy officer impersonation to give the commandant a bit of face.

It's been hanging over him for years. Kerry Stokes tried to assist him and I don't blame Kerry for that. We Train soldiers to Be effective killing Machines and expect them to still Be NORMAL. I see that as a quandary. What HE did was awful but WAR is not a Normal situation, A lot of returned Soldiers are Ruined by what they have seen and done. It used to be called Shellshock. The People who start the Wars are the REAL criminals. Nev

For sure that is what he says. But the easily found facts do not show any signs of USA improving the lives of ordinary people. However, the (minority) wealthiest are doing just fine, and Trumpy's family are achieving great wealth. So I choose to see him as a liar, motivated solely by self interest. No, I have neither rage nor agression. Only disappointment. Ours is a similar path to that which has led USA to it's present situation. One which Trump seems to be accelerating. We should take that as a warning. But then along came synthetics (oil based) and we fell off the sheep's back. Then failed to monetise our mining industry, which only benefits a minority. I hold both major political parties for this, as do a lot of USAnians for their situation. Thank you. I am not trying to convince you. I am only trying to explain why I feel the way I do, about current politics. My only proviso is that I believe if someone important tells lies or bullies others, it should be called out. Anyone, whatever race, gender, political party. It seems to me that Trump consistently makes himself an easy target, and I see no proof of him "Making America Great".

The problem with Trump is that beyond quoting a slogan, he has no vision that he can articulate as to how to achieve what he allegedly wants for the country. On the other hand, it's very clear what he wants for himself - power, respect or fear (doesn't matter which), and money. His personality is that of a liar and cheat, and the energy and drive he has is all aimed at his own political survival and personal enrichment. As for Australia, if we had an outstanding and far-sighted politician who had a clear vision for improving the country and making it more self-sufficient that made sense to the voting population, he/she would likely be given a chance to implement their agenda.

Well all I see is people losing their minds over a guy who only wants for his country to be the best. How you get there of course is the methods you use. Why dont you point all your agression and comments and pontifications to the dickheads who lead our country down into the shi#t chute we are heading into. We are a Island..we dont have nutjobs on any of our borders than can just walk in. We have done our best over the past 30 plus years ( thanks to keatings globalization push) to defang and deindustrialize to a point now where we are a joke. We used to be self sufficient in power and oil and manufacturing pretty much anything we wanted. Exported all around the world and had a balance of trade far in excess of the situation we have in this country currently. Now we are a weak pissy shadow of our former selves. Both political parties are responsible for this terrible decline the problem is they are still in that mindset. We need someone to come in and reshape us. I am not saying thats Trump but we need someone with a big set of khunas or boobies..I dont care who it is just someone with the conviction that Trump seems to have. Not his runaway mouth but his drive and vision for a better country. If that makes me a racist or a woke hater in your eyes then so be it.Thats your opinion !...I have a thick skin and sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me. Oh and I am aloowed to still have a opinion dont I...I mean if I offend you with what I have said..then good...its not illegal to offend anyone...yet. well the current govt seems to want to try to even take that away from us. What ever happened to common sense and critical thinking to run your country. We have the resources here to be one of the wealthies countrys in the world and give the population here a lifestyle that could rival anywhere in the world. Wether you are born here or immigrated here I dont care. If you have immigrated here dont bring your shit here or try to convert what we are or the way we want to live. We are Australians..well we used to be...sometimes I really wonder who or what we will become in the future as I can not currently see any path forward to a better country under our current and ever former numbskulls Now you have a opinion in my view and I ont or probably wont be offended by whatyou say. I will listen and make up my own mind of what I keep on board what you say or discard it into the rubbish bin of ideas..be they sane or insane

Starter motor for wills Merlin powered bike

Pure right wing American, MAGA-land, unadulterated BS. This part is especially untrue - "The contradiction being that Europe’s energy systems, industrial bases, and geopolitical sermons 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝-𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭." Europes energy systems don't ALL depend on America. They get energy from Russia, from Norway, Azerbaijan, and Algeria for pipeline natural gas. They ship in millions of tonnes of Australian canola and turn it into transportation fuel. They ship in Uranium for nuclear power plants from Canada, Kazhakstan and Australia. They have huge hydro, windpower and solar energy projects. They have diversified their energy suppliers since the start of the Ukraine War. And at the end of the day, European consumers of energy use around one-quarter of the average American energy user. They drive fuel-efficient vehicles and EV's, not gigantic V8 fuel guzzling urban assault vehicles, and even their homes only use modest levels of energy because they're well insulated. It is pure American propaganda. The Europeans are primarily seeking a ceasefire, as they see massive global upheaval, a huge global recession, high interest rates, and vastly increased levels of unemployment, if this idiocy of Trump and his sycophants is left unchecked.

Remember.... Never interrupt your enemy whilst they are shooting themselves in the foot. (Or summat like that)

Oh boy! When I zoom in on the reflection in his visor, I can see the film crew!

I think they should be banned & all political advertising taken down on election day. I was in NZ for a wedding last month & there were differing opinions of Jacinda Adern. She won a landslide victory in her second term but had become a victim of the very left and resigned early. She handled the Christchurch massacre and Covid very well and became well known around the world. She was a great leader when NZ needed one. The current PM is not a leader at all & the NZ economy is not doing well. Of course it is all Jacindas fault.

Shy Cancels are a good example of the failure of the Democratic Process. . Nev

Here's something really random. My son works from home 3 days a week and goes to the office on the other two. When he works in the office, he usually gets home between 7.15 and 7.30 pm. The dog starts barking at the door from 7.15, and yaps till Andrew walks through the door. Andrew is currently on 10 days holiday in Thailand with a couple of mates. The dog still barks at the door from 7.15 till we reprimand him.

They're not rants, just long posts putting forward a lot of points that can't be squeezed into a one-liner like a lot of replies on the forum are. I've seen rants on this forum in the past but none with Jerry's signature. And to clear one thing up, I'm not defending Jerry because I'm pro Israel, I'm not. I'm not pro either side and personally couldn't give two hoots if both sides battled it out to the end, as long as they don't bring their hatred here to our country.

The Greens never knew about the tailings dam at Mary Kathleen Uranium until I told them. That dam was on bare ground and was covered with a yellow foam, leaching into the ground and exposed to the atmosphere. The Qld State govt minister told the Greens it was monitored. Nothing happened after that, that I know of. I felt disappointed the Greens didn't fight to get it cleaned up. I walked in it as part of my job to fetch a pump, had gum boots on of course. The foreman stayed well back on the bank.

I wouldn't go quite that far but I do agree they often let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The prime example is when they knocked back Labor on the emissions trading scheme. We could have had a working ETS for almost 20 years now if they'd given a little ground.

Ahh.. but he is the master of the art of the deal... In his own mind

Actually, the swing to One Nation is probbly the best thing that could happen to the traditional governing Parties. They only have to ask Why?, and do a bit of soul-searching. Why is the electorate doing this? Why have we lost their support? Answering those questions should lead to a reassessment of their platforms and with reformed platforms they can hope to win back lost support. We would end up with our traditional parliamentary system - Labor -v- Conservatives.

Couldn't disagree more, Nev. It takes a special kind of skill to consistently and thoroughly screw up a country. Didn't someone recently say that:- "If, hypothetically, D J Trump was a Russian operative sent to destroy USA, is there anything he would do differently? I think not."

Yeah - I have to restart drinking... 😉

Jeezus Jerry, I'm almost afraid to say anything now in case it brings forth another 50,000 words of reply! 😄 Look. If you want to ignore the almost daily reports of civilian killings, starvation, refusing to allow food and medical delivery by truck or ship, lack of any legal consequence for extrajudicial killings, targeting of noncombatants, etc - that's up to you. And no one is trying to hold Israel to any higher standard than anyone else. Is Hamas a terrorist organisation that should be disarmed? Of course it is. Do you keep killing a country's civilians until that terrorist organisation is disarmed? No you bloody don't. And as for throwing around the anti-semitic label at anyone who dares to speak out against Israel's invasions - Lebanon too now, as well as Iran - that's just lazy. I'm totally against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Trump's invasions of Venezuela and Iran, Hamas's October 7th invasion of Israel, and anyone else who takes uninvited military action in a country that isn't theirs. But because I'm also against Netanyahu's invasions of Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, I'm somehow anti semitic?

The idea that our present government is socialist is a little hard to fathom. I looked up the definition of socialism. Socialism is an economic and political system based on public or collective ownership of the means of production, rather than private ownership. It aims to reduce inequality by controlling resources and distributing goods based on societal needs rather than profit accumulation, often managed through state planning or worker councils. Key aspects of socialism include: Distinction from Capitalism: While capitalism is built on private ownership, free markets, and profit, socialism challenges these by proposing collective management to eliminate class disparities. Ownership: Major resources, such as factories and natural resources, are owned by the state or cooperatives. Economic Goal: The focus is on distributing wealth equally among workers, as opposed to capitalist systems which allow for private wealth accumulation. Role of the State: Socialism is often seen as a stage where the government or working class takes control of the economy and planning. Distinction from Capitalism: While capitalism is built on private ownership, free markets, and profit, socialism challenges these by proposing collective management to eliminate class disparities. Australian Communist Party +6 Socialism varies from democratic forms that work within market economies to more centralized, planned systems. While sometimes conflated with communism, it is often viewed in Marxist theory as a lower stage of development preceding communism. I can't really see how our government fulfils these criteria. Businesses are not being nationalised, and the rich are definitely getting even richer. Wikipedia +4

We had a reverse mortgage for quite a while. I think the maximum we went to was about 20k. The thing is, most of this was used to make home improvements, which more than paid for itself when we sold the house. The other thing that worked in our favour was the fact that during the 10 years we had the reverse mortgage, the value of the house increased at a greater rate. Of course, for those undisciplined, you could conceivably burn through the value of your house. I know of elderly people who are struggling but live in a huge house, which is both too much for them to maintain and just too big for 1 or 2 people. At 80 or 90 you would have to be pretty irresponsible to blow through $500 000. We sold our 44-acre property and now live in a nice unit. The profit from selling the property allowed us to retire in our mid 50s whilst we are still fit enough to travel, bushwalk, kayak and cycle. Too many people (in my opinion) hang on to an overly large house whilst spending their remaining years in poverty. Although we do not need one at this point, I would not rule out another reverse mortgage. Here is an interesting article. This little‑known government scheme can help retirees tap into $3 trillion of housing wealth

I am not shamed to say I am pro Israel. I admire their strength and tenacity in a region of evil and terror. I wish them complete success in defeating those who cry death to Israel.

Well, I hope to stay here full term Marty. Getting rated off the place would be the only thing stopping me, but at the moment it's affordable. And it suits me not living like a king. I've got a lifestyle here kings could only dream about.

He's a Dill acting for the Coal Industry. and He's only a Senator. (Not directly elected) and dresses Up as a Tradie. It's the NATS that have killed the Libs. Nev

I wonder if that means that Trump immediately reimposes sanctions on Russian oil now. I think I know the answer.

It was Willie that said far left, not Peter.

The ‘technical malfunctions’ probably refer to the Iranians having blown the wings off.

Agree, except..... it's ok as long as the wake-up call actually wakes up the slumbering major party policy makers. In the USA extreme, twice now, the rebel voters created a One Party situation which permitted a political leadership disaster. Now they are stuck with a shadow of an opposition party that is unable to provide any balance to the excesses of the incumbents. We seem to agree that our two major parties need to get back in touch with the electorate, and prioitise the masses. But I fear our two parties are both too conservative to move forward.

That's my thoughts too @rgmwa. Everything this administration says is a lie, why would they start telling the truth now.

That's all well and good, Willie, but it misses the point. Making a protest vote may be a way of expressing frustration or disenchantment with the major parties. But that vote has an impact, and the impact is to potentially replace a major party with a party that has no costed, valid policies, is chock full of despicable people, led by a racist opportunist, and financially supported by people who have very illiberal beliefs who will expect a return on their investment. If people truly wanted to improve how parliament works, they would research the policy positions and backgrounds of independents, and support the campaign of a good one. Simply lashing out won't work. The object lesson from the US showed that. Are the people in the Rust Belt better off now? They voted to "drain the swamp" but elected the biggest alligator around. You can call me "small minded" for considering anyone who votes for ON an idiot, or at best ignorant. That's fine. But I will maintain that voting against your own interests is not the most intelligent thing to do.

Get value then, Crash away. Insurance is to avoid risk of being exposed to a cost liability you can't cover. You are buying Peace of Mind. You CAN'T HAVE that and then say "I want a refund". Insurance Companies DO have No Claim Bonuses. You should be able to work this out for yourself if you weren't so determined to be the "Greatest Whinger on the Planet" Nev

What rock are you living under GON? We have NO idea what he will try Next and Neither does HE. He's FAKE. To Him the whole thing is a Game. He spends 1/2 his time Playing Golf . The other 1/2 playing GAMES with the World and feeding his insatiable EGO.. Nev

You do realise that's something made up by Trump because his fragile ego can't accept that the majority of people on earth think he's an absolute c**t?

But it is not compulsory to drive. The fact is that people get injured in traffic accidents sometimes catastrophically. How, as a society, do we handle this? Do we deny people the means to live, perhaps as a paraplegic? If this insurance were not compulsory, would you not have it? If you were to cause an accident, would you be happy to be sued for every cent you have in order to provide for the person you may injure? If you yourself had life-changing injuries, would you want to be provided the financial means to help you live? You say you get nothing from this insurance, but what you get is protection from losing your house if you injure someone, and protection for yourself should the worst happen. In life, there are rights and responsibilities. To want the rights without the responsibilities is childish. Operating a car does involve responsibilities and expenses. I am compelled to have tyres on my car that are roadworthy, the brakes must be serviceable, etc. (oohhh it's so unfair sob sob). I have not had a significant accident in 46 years of driving; however, obviously, it could happen. I am not willing to lose my house if I injure someone. I also am not willing to be injured by another motorist, which could cause me to have to sell my house for my medical treatment. Sorry, but this is just another one of your endless list of "whinges"

It's not the first time a keen innovator has built a Lister-powered Rat Bike!

Picked up this little air cooled 7.75 hp Lister SR1 today for bugger all. Most of it is there except for the fuel tank, air cleaner, fuel filter and some missing fuel lines. It's the clockwise running version. The 7.75 hp is the rating at full revs, 2,500rpm. At 1,000rpm I think they make 4 or 5. Hopefully it won't take too much to make it a runner. There's a place about 100 klm away that sells unaffordable genuine parts and reasonably priced non genuine parts. Everything is still available for them.

My grandfather used to grow red pontiac potatoes and he would bed them down in straw on the floor of the laundry outbuilding to keep them a long time. That was in a cool climate though. I don't know how he kept the rats away from them. I guess I'm an embarrassment to my Irish ancestors, not being a potato eater.

Idaho is a beautiful state. I know people in Idaho as one of my best mates was from there. He was out here last year visiting and we got to catch up after a lot of years, but sadly he died suddenly three weeks after he went home. When he left here we were discussing his next trip back here in a couple of years time and the possibility of me going over there for a visit in the interim, as I haven't been there since the mid 80's. It's a very scenic place with the mountains and rivers and a nice slow, relaxed lifestyle a bit like we had here several decades ago. Not a big popuation, the capital has only 235,000 people. According to the mate, it hasn't changed much since I was there 40 years ago. His family live on the Snake River; attached is one of his photos of a canyon near their place.

James E Thorne is the one who is misunderstanding Trump's lack of strategy as strategy.

That's your punishment for swanning around the mainland watching plane porn.

I was in Israel for a short time in 1973. The Israelis were very hospitable and were under constant threat then. The 6 day war in 67 was the last one then but the world was in the middle of the aircraft hijacking phase at the time. I fully supported Israels position and role then, after the holocaust & persecution they'd been through, to building a state and home for their people. Times, actions and attitudes have changed. Netanyahu is a War Criminal & needs to be prosecuted and jailed. He already would be if the Hamas terrorist attack had never happened. 75,000 Palestinians have been killed and Gaza destroyed. Palestinians are being evicted from the West bank and illegal Jewish settlements set up there. Israel has killed numerous aid workers & press personnel in Gaza with excuses or denials every time that they were targeting Hamas. They has excellent intelligence & the most sophisticated of weaponry but somehow can't get their targets and through the whole conflict still couldn't find Hamas or their hostages. They broke the ceasefire numerous times always with excuses and have now claimed part of Gaza for themselves. Now they are taking part of Lebanon. Without Trumps support this would not have happened who also wants Netanyahu pardoned. Trump has turned the US into a dictatorship with him as president assuming absolute power, achieved by appointing unqualified sycophants to top roles and ignoring all rules of order and decency. He is ignorant, poorly educated & supported by 60 million fundamentalist evangellical christians now called MAGA. He even thinks he was appointed by some GOD he professes to believe in. I have not read any of JAs long rants and don't intend to.

Now that I agree with whole heartedly. A strong opposition is essential to keep the government performing. However the LNP has lost their way and forgotten that if they ever want to be in government again, they need to recapture the centre, not the lunatic fringe. But yes ON are who I'm hoping will implode quickly. Given the quality of their candidates, it shouldn't be long.