Leaderboard

The British Press British Press.mp4

I saw a short clip of a bloke in England being interviewed on the street. His comments were amusing: "Being British is all about driving a German car to an Irish themed pub with Belgian beer and then going home buying an Indian takeaway to sit on a Swedish sofa in front of a Japanese television to watch American shows and all the while being suspicious of anything foreign".

When is someone going to tell Trump to pull his head in, he doesn't rule the world. He wasn't elected to run this country. What right has he to tell us how much we should spend on defence? The amount spent on defence worldwide is staggering and sickening.Almost every thing troubling mankind, and nature, could probably be fixed if the money spent on defence was redirected to corrrecting these problems. Just because some greedy a**holes can't mind their own business.

First time we've had honey from our bees! Despite neither of us really knowing what we were doing, we managed to get about 3.4kg from our one hive.

I suppose that will make it a cruise missile?

Peta Credlin is an ultra Right Winger. She was an advisor to Abbott. I wouldn't beleive her if she said G'day to me.

I wouldn't go as far as Litespeed but he is a waste of space. Heard him on the radio the other day talking up the Macquarie Point white elephant and saying that if the Tasmanian government doesn't build it, no business will trust them. Absolute shite. There's probably about 2000 people in Tassie who physically regularly go to the football, and most of them are from the north of the state. I don't particularly care whether Tassie gets a football team or not, but to my mind the AFL have acted like absolute c**ts in mandating, as a deal-breaker, a new billion dollar stadium which the state can't afford in prime waterfront land which should be mixed use restaurant/ park/ boulevard etc.

He's doing it for a reason. He WANTS an incident in LA so he has an excuse to stomp down harder. He would be thrilled if a protestor killed a cop or soldier. I know I sound like a broken record, but this is 1930's Germany all over again.

Well, it's happened. I have seen the light. I am a changed man, a convert, my eyes have been opened, and I see the error of my ways. Before you have concerns about my mental health, this is not a religious experience. But if I had been on the road to Damascus... it'd be astride a cruiser. As someone who's only ridden sports / sports tourers (Honda VFR750 x 2, Triumph Speed Triple, Suzuki VF750F - but that was a high-revving piece of shit) - I've always had a vague contempt for cruisers. You know, the standard stuff... they're too heavy, too slow, don't handle, can't corner, produce more noise than power, etc. However, while age doesn't always bring wisdom, it usually brings an appreciation for comfort, and a lesser appetite for risk. I'm not 20 anymore. I don't want to do 250kph, tucked down over the tank, or take corners at double the signposted recommendation. For a potted history of my riding, I started on a road/trail (Honda XL185) as my learner's bike at 18, moved to a VFR750 as soon as I had an open licence, and spent the next couple of decades (almost) riding the bikes listed above. When I became a dad at 36, I did the "responsible" thing - sold my bike and packed away the bone-dome and leathers. A while back @nomadpete said he was regretfully parting ways with his XV1100. I'd been feeling the need to start riding again (mid life crisis?) and after mulling it over for way too long, I mentioned this to my missus. To my surprise she fully supported me getting a bike, to the extent she told me to contact Peter there and then. I did, but unfortunately he'd already sold his machine a month before. A few days later however, this prince among men (still talking about Peter) messaged me with a Facebook ad for a Honda 750 Shadow. I had a look at the bike, took it for a test ride (now that was bloody scary, 17 years since I'd been on a bike and a totally different style), thought about it for a couple of days then bought it. She doesn't have a name yet (I was thinking of "H" names, like "Helen the Honda", but one of our neighbours is named Helen, so the phrase "I'm just off to ride Helen" might lead to some marital misunderstandings.) But she's 21 years old, all her chromework still looks great, and she sounds like a motorbike should. She's also very comfortable and easy to ride. This evening I rode to karate. While it was damn cold, it was a beautiful night and I really enjoyed the ride. This being my 4th ride on the bike, I'm starting to get more comfortable with her - although it'll still take a few more rides until I'm ready to have my wife on the back seat. So yes, I'm a cruiser convert. Apologies to all the Harley riders I've thought bad things about. (Only thought, because some of them are scary!) And yes, it's true. Her suspension is made for comfort, not corners. Around 80% of the engine output IS noise. (Very nice noise!) And she's much more comfortable gently swaying around curves at 60km/h than doing 110 up the highway. But now I think all those things are positive. Here she is. The photo doesn't do the colour justice - it's almost a candy apple red.

I have been away for a while. I am coming up to 2 years of EV ownership. As with 90% of EV owners I charge at home. The MG4 came with a granny charger. You don't get one with some brands. Tesla give you nothing now. I have used the granny charger once & that was to make sure it worked. I installed a 7kW wall charger & I get free power for 2 hours a day. I also have 8kW of solar panels so my running costs are negligible. The network is better than it was 2 years ago & there are now many "Destination Chargers" at hotels & motels & these are usually free. In the 25,000km I have driven so far I have spent about $150.00 at fast chargers. As with most people I don't do many long trips. The average car owner travels to/from work each day & except for long trips on holiday etc all charging is done at home. The charging process varies and the simple way is to register with each of the main suppliers. I have with Evie, Chargefox, BP, Ampol & Tesla. I have an RFID card which is registered with 3 of them. I pull up, plug in scan the card & that's it. If there is a queue it is bad etiquette to charge to 100% as the last 20% will be slow. I have not had a problem waiting long & by the time I have been to the loo & had a coffee or bite the car is ready. In the MG4 the WLTP range is 450km. At 110kmh I get around 380. After that many I am ready for a break. From Coffs to Noosa I stop once for lunch & charge top up (20-30 minutes). Admittedly this is on the main highway & chargers are everywhere. The thing is the car has a built in Satnav with a charging planner & it knows what range there is and will tell you which charger to go to & in many cases can tell you if the charger is in use or not. So where are we going from here? Well CATL, the worlds largest battery manufacturer has recently announced a new battery technology that uses a combination of 2 types (lithium & sodium) to provide a range of 1500km and can get 520km of range in a 5 minute charge. That is quicker than filling a petrol tank. The new tech breakthrough is with Sodium ion technology. Of course sodium is everywhere. The sea is full of it & it is cheap. https://carnewschina.com/2025/04/21/battery-giant-catl-showcases-three-innovations-1500km-range-battery-520km-in-5-minutes-ultra-fast-charging-and-2025-mass-production-sodium-ion-battery/ This is now where battery & charging technology is up to. The only thing that will happen from now on is that it will get better & better. Already battery warranties are 1.5 to 2 million km or lifetime, The battery will outlast the rest of the car. EV haters will continue to abound but they are being rapidly drowned out with reality & the uptake of EV ownership continues to climb (Tesla excepted due to the Musk factor). Worldwide 17 million new EVs were sold in 2024 representing a 20% increase on the previous year. The new government is not only supporting the switch to electric vehicles but also getting more home batteries installed. Since the election home battery installers have had a massive increase in orders and inquiries. The electric future is here.

The wife & I had a very quiet 63rd wedding anniversary. spacesailor

It's Europe's time to step up. We seriously have to reconsider both AUKUS (Awkers) and the 5 eyes partnership. What point is intelligence sharing with the US when we have a dictator-lovin' Putin puppet in charge? Plus his cabinet is comprised of arse licking sycophants. Definitely not trustworthy people. I think the global West has to face the sad fact that the USA is no longer a trustworthy partner.

Tell them it's a BAY and a PORT. The Gulf of America is between Trumps EARS. Nev

When it comes to public toilets I can think 2 facilities that are unisex nearby. One is by the water near the pier. It is two long columns of cubicles with a long row of sinks. The other is in the arts centre. This facility is pretty swish. It is a large area of sinks, mirrors hand driers etc and around the outside of the walls are cubicles some marked unisex others marked male or female for those who care. As FH pointed out this is old news in many countries. I remember my father telling me that when he travelled to Japan 40 years ago. He was momentarily surprised when washing his hands at a sink that there was a young woman next to him putting on makeup. He had not realized at first that it was unisex and thought maybe he had gone into the wrong toilets, but he was fine with it. Whilst I can see that change causes issues that will need to be sorted such as sport, I can not see why people get so flustered by this. I have a neighbour who moved in about 5 years ago. This young woman seemed very reluctant to engage in conversation, That was fine, I am naturally inclined to chat to anyone. Gradually I noticed that they were transitioning. It did sadden me that this person probably thought due to our age that we might be hostile, nothing could be further from the truth. Four years later my wife and I are pretty good friends with this person. Their defining characteristics for us are their wit, intelligence and kindness. I don't give a toss what their chromosomes are.

My 93 yr old Italian neighbour, Barney, has a Rheem instantaneous (natural) gas HWS. It stopped working, so he came over to see what could be done about fixing it. His English isn't good, and he has zero knowledge of the "computer world" - and he's deaf as a post, too - so it's all hard work for him. I told him he could call Rheem, they have their own plumbers and repair vans, but it would most likely cost between $400 and $500, even if it was a simple part. If it needed more repair, it might be cheaper to replace it (it's a 2012 model), which he understood pretty well. I told him Rheem take $200 deposit out of your credit card just to initiate a callout - and their minimum charge is $260. Of course, he doesn't have a credit card, he only uses cash at all times! - and when I said they would send him messages via his phone, he decided that wasn't the way he wanted to go (he has a cheap mobile, but hardly knows how to use it, and he only keeps it "for emergency"). So he said he had a plumber mate down at the Italian club, and he'd ask him if he could fix it. A week later, I asked how he was getting on with it. He said his mate looked at the unit, figured out it was "an electric part" that needed replacing, and it would take 2 weeks to get the part, and install it. I was surprised, I told him Rheem parts were easy to get, and Rheem will repair it in a day or two. He said, "I don't think my mate wants to repair it, would it be easier and quicker to get a new one?" (a new replacement gas HWS is $1350 for a basic installation here, and it goes up if any difficulties are encountered). I said, "Rheem will repair it for you quickly, and as I said, it will probably be $400-500, do you want me to organise it?" He looked relieved and said "Yes, I'll pay you what it costs, and pay you as well!" I said, "I don't need any payment Barney, but I'll get it organised for you". I rang Rheem and inquired about parts supply, and they said they can supply almost any part needed for nearly all Rheem HWS's in use, and the worst wait would be 2-3 days. So I got them to put me through to Rheem service, where the (older) lady was very good. She took all my details down carefully and read them back, and advised the $260 minimum and $198 up-front charge (which I knew about), and initiated a call-out. I got a text with the job allocation number within minutes, and the next text was advising the job would be done the following day. The following day I got a couple of texts advising the repairers timing of arrival, and he arrived pretty much on time, in the early afternoon. He quickly diagnosed the problem as a U/S igniter (about a $40 part) and he had one in his van - but the model of HWS Barney had was a bugger to work on, because it was older and the igniter was buried deep in the HWS. He set to, and had to undo about 50 screws and pull off part after part, panel after panel and bracket after bracket. After about 45 minutes, he had the igniter out. He said the current models were a doddle to repair the igniter, and he would've had it done in 10 mins, if it was a current model. When I asked him about the life of a gas HWS, he bluntly stated. "10 years!". So he reckoned this one was past its use-by date! - but it still looked O.K. and didn't show any signs of corrosion. He pulled a new igniter out of his van and had it in and finished about an hour and 15 mins after starting the job. He signed it off and left, and the HWS was working spot-on. I went to my computer and there was the bill! - $339.13 in total - and the money was already gone from my credit card! I went and told a grateful Barney, gave him the invoice (the job was booked in his name and he would need the invoice for any claims), and he insisted on giving me $340 plus $50 for my trouble - despite me insisting I didn't need any payment, I just wanted to make sure he could have a hot shower! I think he got out of it pretty lightly, cost-wise, and he would've almost certainly have been ripped off by private plumbers.

The negative results of his actions haven't hit home yet, they are still living on euphoria. It's only been 7 days. Seeing all the pre-election crap and comments on Farcebook, they are expecting miracles. Give it 3 or 4 months and things don't improve the way they hope, eg. cheaper eggs, gasoline, groceries, etc., and the impact of his policies on the cost of medicines, education, etc. start to hurt, that euphoria will evaporate.

Well, the daughter finished her A Levels (HSC/VCE equivalent) last year. She didn't quite do as well as she expected for one of her subjects, which was her best during the year. In fact, she scored a C (we still use the old letter system here). Bitterly disappointed, her school were fantastic. A little background, the examination boards here are.. privatised.. so any questioning of their results has two impacts - additional cost (less profit) and, if they agree (ie.e conceded, or admit they were wrong), reduced reputation with the government that pays them. She scored a C, and needed a high B or a low A with her other subjects to get into her chosen course. Her teacher was adamant she was at least a low A, and the examination board did concede that they were short staffed (aka didn't pay enough) and for my daughter's region, there was an inexperienced examiner. Our initial "review", which cost us £150 was immediately rejected. So we lodged a formal appeal. I aksed the school if there were others in her class, and she said all of them were poorly marked. I suggested a sort oif class appeal, but because they all got into their chosen courses, or went on to work or for their gap year, no one was interested. So we appealed. It takes some time and was something like £300, with a refind if the appeal is upheld. Designed to keep poorer people from appealing, I guess, we went with the appeal. After reading her paper, and the markers comments, they didn't tally, so I was confident it would get through - just by how much though, and would it be enough? My daughter, rather than travelling and taking a lesser course, decided she would sit a 4th subject. It meant doing a two year subject in one year, but because she was only doing the one subject, it was easy. But, it did cost as it was only available in that format at a private college. She has gone to the first term and then started th second. However, we got the results of her appeal, which I was minded to complain about because it only just took her into the B grade.. And her teacher from the original school is fantastic, called us, and asked if we wanted to challenge the appeal. At this stage, it would go to the local educational authoritym which is the government. My daughter decided to lodge her application for the course she wanted - Law at one of the Russel universities (sort of Ivy leagie of the UK and incudes Oxford and Cambridge - but her chosen university is neither of those). She just got the notice that shed has been accepted unconditionally, and is over the moon, as are all of us! BTW, she cose law all be herself. Both my partner and I agreed to not push or otherwise recommend either child into a vocation/profession - we would advise if they asked. And to top it off, she has just scored herself a temporary job at the local nucelar plant as well (security clearance permitting), paying almost average wage... Good on her.

Yes one must have a benchmark. Nev

Brilliant!

It lives, finished the painting. Rebuilt the carburettor... think I found the fuelling issue. And the proceeded to smoke my house out with the test start. Note for future, don't leave the door open with a 2 stroke exhaust pointing to it

Anything with Sky News on the label is pretty much guaranteed to be wrong. Actually, I'll go one step further and say I'm damn proud of Albo at the moment. He's doing a great job in China, and the Trump administration is like a tanty-throwing spoiled baby.

I bought a Thesaurus today - but when I got home, I found all the pages were blank!! I just didn't have the words to express how angry I was!!

As Peter just mentioned, Trumps "Big Beautiful Bill" has passed. This bill is beautiful for billionaires, because they benefit hugely from tax cuts. It's very much horrible for most Americans, removing vast amounts of money from health, food assistance programs, education and environment. This is so it can pay for those tax cuts for the wealthy, as well as increasing the size of ICE's budget by a factor of 14 (from $3.5b to $48.5b). Despite these cuts it will still add 3.3 TRILLION dollars of debt over the next decade. This, by any objective view, is a terrible and harmful bill. The people it affects the most are the poorest, and ironically, their "representatives" in the Republican party are the ones who pushed it through - against their own interests, their political interests, and the interests of their constituents. Why? I can only think that Trump and his MAGA freaks, so similar to Hitler and his Brownshirts, have such a grip of fear on house Republicans that they do not have the courage to stand up to him, even on such a disgusting piece of legislation. What else can explain why they would vote for something so wrong? Many of them had publicly spoken out against the bill in the days before they passed it. Seeing this travesty makes me so glad we don't have a "cult of personality" type head of state here in Australia. I'm actually starting to think that remaining a monarchy and being kind of attached to the UK is no bad thing. Let's face it, no one is going to throw themselves on a grenade for Albo or Sussan. They are simply the politician who happens to lead their party, not an emperor-wannabe who wants to impose his twisted desires on the whole country. We have sufficient distance from our "King" that neither he nor his successors have any influence over our country. I kind of think of England as the old parent's place; America is the rebellious older child who left and joined a religious cult, Australia is the younger but more mature kid who lives apart from Mum or Dad but still gets on ok with them.

So thats about $24 to fill up a 60kw battery. If you go 350k on it, that's 6.8 cents per k. My mitzi does .09 litre per kilometer. Thats roughly 17 cents per k. Just on fuel alone, the electric car would run at less than half the cost of my petrol car. Then factor in the six monthly engine service, which the EV doesn't need. And a periodic auto transmission service that an EV doesn't need.

Not sure if this should be in the Trump thread, or in this thread ..... Click on the photo to expand it, if you're having trouble reading it.

In my opinion, BOTH sides (Palestinian & Israel) need to be metaphorically grabbed by the scruff of the neck and given a shake. Further, other countries should starve BOTH sides of weaponry. Otherwise they are supporting atrocities against civilians - probably because of hidden interests. Wiping out the whole population of one country is the most uncivilised way ttotry to stop a conflict.

I have fond memories of Lord Howe Island. When I was a musician in the RAAF, we made many visits there. The landings and takeoffs in a C-130 were always exciting. These trips were in the 80s, and from memory, we used to perform at "Founders Day" events. Back then it was a big deal, and we seemed to have some celebrity status. We would be put up by the locals and shown a good time with boat trips, etc. On one occasion, I was able to get my wife on the RAAF flight. On another occasion, after takeoff, the crew put a cargo strap across the rear of the aircraft, and they opened the back ramp as we flew past Balls Pyramid.

A big positive for me. I lost my wallet in a park yesterday in the English Midlands and today I got it back with licence, credit cards and about $400 equivalent in cash. The girl who handed it in at the police station did not leave her name.

COMMENT by AMBROSE EVANS-PRITCHARD. SMH, 20 March 2025. Donald Trump has inflicted enormous long-term damage on America’s defence export industry, a lucrative earner worth $US320 billion ($500 billion) a year in all its forms. Foreign defence sales are 10 times greater than US exports of liquefied natural gas. First in line for collective repudiation is Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jet. Mark Carney ordered a review of Canada’s order for 72 of these advanced aircraft within hours of becoming prime minister. It will determine whether ‘‘other options could better meet Canada’s needs’’. Nuno Melo, Portugal’s conservative defence minister, says the F-35 is no longer considered a safe choice to replace his country’s ageing F-16s. ‘‘We have to know that an ally will be on our side whatever the circumstances,’’ he told Publico. ‘‘The world has changed. This ally of ours, so predictable over the decades, could limit the use, maintenance, components, and everything needed to ensure that the aircraft are operational in all scenarios,’’ he said. Portugal is looking at a European alternative. Germany may be next. ‘‘Nobody needs to buy an F-35,’’ said Tom Enders, ex-Airbus chief and now head of the German Council on Foreign Relations. He said Germany’s contract for these fighters was a misguided attempt by Angela Merkel to ‘‘appease’’ Trump during his first term. It should be cancelled forthwith. Europe does not strictly need the US Patriot missile defence system either. The upgraded Franco-Italian SAMP/T rival is more or less ‘‘equivalent’’. ‘‘It is absolutely imperative that we free ourselves of dependence on US systems as far and as quickly as possible. We can’t simply close our eyes to the fact that this American government has become an adversary,’’ Enders said in an explosive interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine. He said Trump was likely to blackmail and coerce Europe in much the same way as he has coerced Ukraine. ‘‘No one believes any more that he will stand by Article 5 if Putin invades the Suwa›ki Gap,’’ he said. One should be cautious of reading too much into share price movements. But it is striking that Lockheed Martin’s stock has dropped 23 per cent since late October, while Dassault Aviation has almost doubled in dollar terms on talk of more orders for the Rafale fighter aircraft. French missile maker Thales is up 90 per cent. The European defence sector has seen an explosive rise over the last month, pushed even higher by Germany’s coalition deal for €1 trillion ($1.7 trillion) of rearmament and infrastructure – to be ratified this week by a constitutional amendment to the debt brake. Enders, a no-nonsense parachute officer and former head of European defence group EADS said the US has access to the operating system of F-35s. ‘‘We know the Americans can shut the thing down whenever they want. We are totally dependent,’’ he said. Experts disagree over what the Pentagon can or cannot do remotely to paralyse an F-35. ‘‘There is no explicit kill switch. It’s not something that can be turned off on any given day,’’ said Justin Bronk, an aviation specialist at the Royal United Services Institute. But the fact that this discussion is even going on in the highest circles of European defence and foreign policy exposes the complete collapse of confidence in the US military alliance. In my view, it is irreversible. Enders has just launched Germany’s ‘‘Sparta’’ project, drafted by leading figures calling for immediate and massive German rearmament. It clearly has the backing of incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz. Rather than trying to catch up with Russia in tanks and aircraft, Germany and Europe should together seek ‘‘asymmetric superiority’’ by building a drone wall on NATO’s eastern flank, according to Enders. This could be done very quickly and at a fraction of the cost. ‘‘We need tens of thousands of smart robots on the battlefield,’’ he said. A few dozen people can make 1000 combat drones for less than it costs to make a Leopard 2 tank shell. ‘‘These drones can knock out enemy systems that cost several million with great precision,’’ he said. Europe should also move fast to escape the clutches of Elon Musk’s Starlink. Enders said Eutelsat’s OneWeb could do much of the job if buttressed by the medium-orbit satellites of SES. The focus should be on the ‘‘sharp end’’ of defence. Some of the weapons should be in the field in six to 12 months, but none beyond five years. ‘‘We’re not interested in a new arms system that takes 20 years,’’ he said. Sparta includes a dash for ‘‘cloud-combat’’ hypersonic weapons, a European missile shield, as well as a joint nuclear deterrent in co-ordination with France and the UK that span the escalation ladder from tactical nukes to strategic missiles. There have always been restrictions on how US weapon exports can be deployed, but the rules were clear. Trump has turned every form of vulnerability into a means of extortion. He has shown that he will not hesitate to cut rough with military kit to get his way – in Ukraine’s case to force capitulation on Kremlin terms – or ‘‘dividing up certain assets’’ as he put it. Those terms will probably be close to the Istanbul Protocol: neutrality, a skeleton military like Germany in the 1920s, Russian control over four annexed (but unconquered) oblasts, cultural re-Russification of Ukraine, plus a Vidkun Quisling-like figure to replace Volodymyr Zelensky. Europe faces serious dangers trying to extricate itself from US dependency. ‘‘If European politicians provoke Trump, we could get into an even more precarious position, setting off a vicious cycle,’’ said one expert from a NATO state helping the Ukrainian military. But it cannot go on as before either. ‘‘The US has complete lockdown and ownership of our security architecture. Long-range fires and potentially the Patriot missiles and some intelligence systems could stop working if somebody in Florida or Washington presses ‘‘no’’ on a computer. You couldn’t keep the show on the road,’’ he said. The Stockholm Institute says the US cornered 43 per cent of global weapons exports over the past five years. This cannot last. Japan, India, Latin America, and the Middle East will all be wary of locking into complex defence systems that could be used as leverage by the White House at any time and for any purpose. It is no protection if suppliers are private companies: Trump compels corporate leaders to kiss the ring and execute his agenda. He is proactively imposing his ideology on capitalist America. Even the Washington Post has bowed to pressure, refusing to publish views that flout MAGA nostrums. Two of the irresistible selling points of US arms exporters have long been that a) the dependency would not be abused and b) countries were implicitly coming under the US security umbrella by aligning their fortunes with America. Neither has currency in Trump’s Hobbesian world. The Telegraph, London

How do we treat the US? From my understanding: We allow them t have their bases here. We historically have a large trade deficit with them (in other words, they have a large trade surplus). That has only changed this year because their ultra wealthy see the writing ont he wall with Chump's policies and are going to a safe asset - gold - and are importing it from all over the world like crazy. We sell them aliminium that they did ot impose tariffs on previously.. but it was not dumped - it was sold at wither prevailing spot price or in accordance with futures or forward contracts (Vance lied when he said we sold subsidised goods); Unti Abbot clamped down on the car industry, we allowed the US car mnanufacturers to claim the 150% R&D tax deduction through transfer pricing R&D and not carrying out anywhere near as much as they claimed they did. Oracle, a large software company still claim their R&D centre in Aus, yet they don't do that much development there. AUKUS. Australia has signed up to $380Bn purchase of something like 8 subs, but have committed soemthing like 8bn just to prop up their ship building industry and we can't get anything back even if the US decide they don't want to supply us.. Most of our defence procurement is spent on the US We have sent troops to fight US wars that have no impact on Australia, and little in local geopolitics We have far more people move to the US for work - called the brain drain - we pay to educate them and the US gets the benefit of that education. And with all of this, we have lost our self-sufficiency in many ways. What does Australia get out of it? A promise (and increasingly unlikely to be honoured) promise that should Australia be invaded, the US may come to our rescue... So, tell me what else do we get from the US and what else do we do to treat the US so badly? So, I would argue we treat them very, very well.. using Chump's vernacular, we treat the US beautifully.. don't we? And they stick it up our arse.

I wonder if the organisers will be able to pull it off.

Let me say again... there are no rare earth reserves in Ukraine. Reporting of mineral reserves is internationally governed by the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards. See The International Reporting Template - Crirsco . I have lectured about this in Moscow a couple of decades ago. The Russians in Ukraine had speculative estimates of what might be there but nothing upon which a commercial contact could be arranged. The whole minerals thing is a Trump smoke screen for political agreements that will not stand public scrutiny.

Today is the eleventh anniversary of my cancer operation. 04/03/2014.

Mrs Octave and I went on an enjoyable hike this morning. We are getting fit for our upcoming NZ trip. Day-to-day life is pretty good, isn't it?

You literally just described Trump.

I think you're missing the point. Regardless of who owns the factories, they're employing Australians. If Trump puts tariffs on Australian goods then the price goes up in the US, which means it either gets passed to the consumer or they stop importing as much. In either case demand for Australian products goes down and that could lead to a loss of Australian jobs. That's why Albo will talk to him. Hopefully he understands that when dealing with vindictive bullies of limited intellect, crawling will not work, so he will be respectful but firm and clearly put Australia's case forward.

, Blame the rotten Newspapers for a lot of that. Your Country forced you to go to war. To treat returnees as was done to you is a disgrace but the People themselves who turned out to throw red paint and other reprehensible acts were NOT forced to do it and should not have. I completely understand you for being thoroughly pissed off and even the rotten RSL wouldn't acknowledge you.. You Got a $#!t deal. .I know quite a few people in your position who are far from amused.. Justifiably so. Nev

Government ministers often meet with leaders from other countries even if they find them objectionable, this is part of their job, The reality is that Trump won and as a country we have to suck it up and deal with it the best we can. It would be absurd if politicians only met with those they admire. Trump seems to loathe Trudeau but met with him and vica versa. It would be a bad politician who did not attempt to further the interests of our country.

I see lots of comments on Facebook from people who believe that Trump will save them from the financial problems they are facing, in other words, they voted through their pockets. Unfortunately for the Dems, a number of worldwide circumstances (Covid, Middle East wars, etc.), have caused inflation, and they are blaming the Dems for these effects. I think, when they realise that Trumps policies will increase these problems, not reduce them as he promised, those who jumped ship may change their mind at the midterms. Trump cannot be removed at the midterms, but he may lose control of the House, and possibly even the senate, which will tie his hands. I doubt they would use the 25th Amendment to get rid of him, as that would put Vance in charge. From Wikipedia: Midterm elections historically generate lower voter turnout than presidential elections. While the latter have had turnouts of about 50–60% over the past 60 years, only about 40% of those eligible to vote go to the polls in midterm elections. Historically, midterm elections often see the president's party lose seats in Congress, and also frequently see the president's opposite-party opponents gain control of one or both houses of Congress.

I'm surprised Jerry had a problem with it, I read it more easily than I read most of Jerry's posts.

Another bit of good news My NEW KNEE is now capable of a single leg stand up. I haven't been able to do that since I was about 30..Nev

We have been given a multitude of examples in YouTube videos of how ignorant Americans are of anything outside their own local area. Talking to them about anything in foreign countries, or anything about US foreign policy is a waste of breath, they simply would not understand. I bet that the recent elections in several European countries where there was a swing to the Right didn't even get a mention in the news at the State or County level in the USA. I find that the form of Christianity in the USA is almost anti-Christian. If the central tenet of Christian practice is to love one's neighbour, then the refusal of the US population to embrace social welfare standards that apply in the rest of the First World, especially health care or wages that can provide adequate financial support, is actively ignored. It's probably because the culture of the USA has only one goal - that accumulation of wealth and from that accumulation, power.

On the subject of positives, I've been in salvager's heaven this last week. I just have to make sure I use all the gear so it doesn't turn into a hoarder's nightmare. I answered an ad on Facebook Marketplace for some secondhand bricks. They were solids, from the old local brickworks when they were operating. Solids are like hen's teeth now; brickworks that still make them often only do it to order and they are very expensive. I rolled up at the renovation site and picked them up, about 200 of them. The people doing the renovation are a nice young couple and it turns out they are house flippers. They usually end up with heaps of building demolition material that goes in the bin skip and would prefer it if someone could use it instead of throwing good material away. As it is, they found the right bloke for that. I went back in today for a couple of loads. I ended up with 100+ split face retaining blocks (retail $6 each) and a pile of good fill for the driveway holes and a few sheets of non structural ply. The second trip was more driveway fill plus a couple of 3 metre long 6x3" hardwood beams that had been used as lintels and a whole bunch of hardwood 3x2" short studs. They're only 2 metres long but will be ok for jack studs and the like. Tomorrow I'm going back for another short 6x3" beam, some more ply, a hardwood bench, some treated pine posts and there's heaps of pallets there if I want them. It might be ongoing as they do two or three houses per year. It's mutually beneficial; I get good recycled building material for free and they get the site cleaned up.