kgwilson

Who started it he says! That's funny. He did in 2014 by annexing Crimea & militarily supporting the separatists in Donetsk & of course invading Ukraine this year. Everything else is Ukraine defending it's territory & depleting Russian supply lines & the dickhead is upset about it. Yes he knows he is losing.

I don't think the Germans would have won given the entry of the US. They would have entered later anyway even if Pearl Harbour had not provide the first reason. The industrial output alone from America would have worn the Germans down eventually along with constant bombing from the RAF, the massive resource of people in the USSR, the vastness of the country logistically and the Russian winter. The war may have gone on for another year or 2 but of course after mid 45 there was the atom bomb.

Russia declared war on Japan after the German surrender in 1945 & quickly took the Kuril Islands that were part of Japan & they have never given them back. Japan & Russia signed a joint declaration in 1956 ending their state of war but never signed a Peace Treaty. The Soviet Union offered Japan the 2 small Southern islands of the Kuril Group in return for japan renouncing claim to the 2 bigger islands. Japan refused this and the dispute continues to this day.

That story seems to be a complete over simplification and rather strange diatribe of events given Putins own statements and numerous other reports since January in hundreds of publications including those from Russia.

Russian politicians and top officials seem to have a problem with stairs and keep falling down them, some with fatal results and mostly after they have made statements that don't toe the official line. Staircases with windows must be doubly scary.

It all leads to the only conclusion for me. Putin is a complete f**kin wanker, but a very dangerous one. Trump is the same but now not quite as dangerous.

After the fall of Mariopol and the stall of the front line, most pundits were prediction a long and drawn out war that would likely see no clear victor. These predictions are largely coming to fruition but no-one really saw the ability of the Ukrainian counter attack to make such inroads and the abject failure of the Russian military except perhaps the mercenary Wagner group. Russia is running out of missiles even using empty cold war era nuclear delivery missiles and is desperately trying to procure more. Their armaments industry will now be working overtime to replace their massive losses and gifts to Ukraine. As gas and oil receipts decline the cost which is already massive will likely become unsustainable so Putin is still trying to get talks underway while declaring parts of Ukraine he does not control, his. That'll work - Not. Ukraine on the other hand is fighting for its existence, has a professional military and has been getting aid from NATO and the West as Putins guarantee of security was always a lie from day 1. The western arms industry is quite happy as orders will be coming in thick & fast to replace the stuff governments have given to Ukraine. A lot of the stuff was getting old anyway so it is a good option for the West to update its inventory. The conflict is also a fantastic proving ground for Western weaponry. One major thing this war has shown is that having a large fast jet air force has been of little use for Russia. Western anti aircraft short and long range defence systems have made this pretty impotent except for the bombers being delivery platforms for missiles & then high tailing it home. This is a good lesson for future manned fighter jet production. The big question is "How long can this go on"? The condemnation of Russia is virtually universal with 143 countries supporting this and only 4 countries siding with Russia and a number not wanting to take sides due to their previous economic or military ties with Russia. I don't have a crystal ball but I still think (so long as the West does not blink) a Winter or Spring Ukrainian offensive will be the decisive action to get the Russians out and some sort of peace deal being brokered.

I have no idea how it works on the right hand middle coast but the leftie coast idea looks pretty sound to me.

I don't live in Victoria so i don't know much of the history of Dan Andrew. One thing I remember from the decisions made during the Covid pandemic is that he worked himself to the bone & had to make decisions that were immensely unpopular with large sections of the population. There were the cat calls of Dictator Dan & Chairman Dan that got the right wing media going and they never stopped. The ridiculous stories about him falling down stairs and a car crash he was in when he wasn't even driving were just so far off and utterly pathetic, and they kept on right up to the election pushing the line the Lib bloke was neck and neck. All total fabrication with not an ounce of reasonable research to justify any of it. Well Victorians obviously saw right through the BS. He did say that he does not always do what is popular, he believes he does what is right. No one is perfect & Dan Andrews is no exception but he is obviously better than anything else on offer, so congratulations from me.

Now you would be accused of Child abuse or bestiality. That's a good enough reason to keep well away from both.

Humans have become soft and reliant on electricity and fossil fuels to get through winters. We always managed to survive before these things were available but there were also a lot fewer of us. The elderly, infirm and the young are always the victims. Most European houses are far better insulated that ours in Australia but then their Winters are very much harsher. The ability to adapt is the key and to look after those who are vulnerable. I think the problem lies in the change in human culture where many people live their own lives with little socialisation and don't or won't ask for help or the system they live under fails them or there is no social security at all. The Ukrainians are meeting the problem with what now is proving to be their ever increasing tenacity. They are evacuating people from areas where the risk is highest and diverting timber that would have been exported to be made available as firewood as another measure to keep going. In some interviews they will complain of the lack of power and destruction of infrastructure while remaining totally defiant & saying they don't care what the Russians do they will never win. This attitude was the same during WW2 here when most people did whatever they were capable of to help the war effort. Little things like knitting socks or whatever and it made a difference. I wonder if we would do the same today?

Ukraine continues to win on the battlefield. Putin continues to try to break their will by destroying civilian infrastructure. The EU just passed a resolution declaring Russia a terrorist state. The UN General Assembly has demanded an unconditional withdrawl by Russia from Ukraine. Only Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Syria & Russia voted against the UN declaration. the G20 leaders have denounced Russias aggression in Ukraine. Putin is now more paranoid than ever fearing for his life from his own henchmen. Russia is running out of missiles and the army hasn't the will or the training to fight. Ukraine is telling people in the East to get out for their own survival this Winter, a smart move. It does not look like the West will stop the supply of weaponry so if there is a lull over the Winter there will be a major Spring offensive which I reckon will result in Putins demise, Ukraine regaining all of its territory inclusive of Crimea and a peace deal that will require major reparations from Russia.

Trump should already be in jail but the US justice system is so slow and he appeals everything without any real just cause, he may die of old age before there are any convictions.

I saw a few clips of these being laid with a hiab off a truck so they can't be that heavy so maybe a couple of tons at most. Basically they are useless and just define a line. Any half decent bulldozer would clear them away in minutes. The only reason I can think for laying them is propaganda so Putin can say look at our defence lines. He is losing on the military front so they have to be defence lines.

There are lemons with every brand and model. Toyota have a reputation for the most reliable of all. I have owned a number of Toyotas but my 91 Camry station wagon was a lemon. The engine management system had an intermittent fault & got fixed several times & kept failing. Even the replacement wasn't right. The auto transmission died as well as a number of other more minor things. never had any issues with my 84 Corona or 2006 HiLux.

It looks too perfect to be real.

The US justice system moves at super slow glacial pace. Almost everything seems to be able to be appealed even subpoenas. Trump just gets new lawyers. He has refused to pay some as I understand it & the ones he gets on board are as crackpot as he is. eg Rudy Giuliani and that weird woman who reckoned a dead South American politician changed the software in the vote counting machines.

That is definitely the biggest problem. Overcoming the fear of the present comfort zone we have all become used to. Anyone who has doubts will pick up on an issue that supports their fears and shout it from the rooftops. The term "Cherry picking" comes to mind. It is true than the infrastructure does not yet exist or it is inadequate. Range anxiety and charging times seem to be the biggest fears of all. These are being addressed right now as I have already pointed out with some EVs pipping the 1000km mark and 0 - 80% charge in 10 minutes or less. I will not be buying an EV until my current ICE car bought new in 2012 dies. As the price of petrol/diesel increases and the EV availability increases along with range and charging time and price decreases the change may be quicker than I originally anticipated. Whenever I get the opportunity I ask owners of EVs what they think and especially would they ditch the EV for a ICE car. The biggest whinge is initial price, the next that if they'd waited a bit they would have a lot more EV for the same money or the same for less. Not one person I have spoken to would go back to ICE citing better comfort, features, quietness, reliability, lack of maintenance requirements and especially power when needed. Hardly anyone mentioned environmental reasons. That may just be considered given. Most had some range anxiety when they first got their EV but they no longer have this problem and plan trips. Charging doesn't seem to be an issue with most owners even those with old very slow charging vehicles with small batteries. Commuting is a breeze and they plug the car in at night. About 1/2 those I've spoken to have had fast chargers installed at home. Some still have large ICE vehicles for long trips, holidays and towing boats & caravans etc but have plans to replace these long term with one of the new batch of Utes and trucks beginning to hit the market when they become available. In the city environment one of the best features I like is you only consume a small amount of power to run the aircon, radio etc when sitting in city traffic while everyone around you is churning through fuel and pumping enormous amounts of CO & CO2 and other noxious gases into the atmosphere.

Tesla built battery recycling plants into their manufacturing process but to date have not recycled any of their batteries other than damaged ones as those from old Teslas are being repurposed in buildings.

Most of those who own EVs already do this as they plug the car in when they get home. This is not a problem at present as the number of EVs is tiny compared to ICE vehicles. The issue is that the old coal fired power stations are nearing the end of their useful life and while wind and solar are beginning to make inroads there is a very long way to go. Coal fired power simply cannot be turned down much and to remain efficient must produce power continuously regardless of demand. Storage especially pumped hydro can provide a lot of off peak demand but we have done little to get this going other than the flawed Snowy 2 project. As EVs begin to become more common the charging problem will increase so good planning is essential. We are playing catch up due to the last LNP government doing virtually nothing in its 10 year stint at the helm other than being forced to make commitments they had no idea how they would be able to achieve. Across the ditch they already produce over 80% of their energy from renewables, mostly hydro which they have in abundance and an increasing geothermal industry. Their biggest problem is farting cows with a huge Dairy industry.

Zelenskyy has consistently said that Ukraine will take back ALL of Ukraines territory including the Crimean peninsular. The Winter is beginning to set in with snow falling in many parts. Ukraine needs to keep the pressure up. The only area that Russia seems to be holding the line is in Donetsk region with the Wagner group. Ukraine though keeps repelling their attacks and nothing is gained. The Ukraine 72nd brigade has some of their best and most experienced soldiers and every time the Russians gain some ground they get blasted with artillery & tanks & withdraw as they did yesterday when they advanced on the town of Pavlivka. Personally I think the next prize is Crimea & this will be the fatal blow to Putin. He is running short on long range missiles & Ukraine has already slowed access via the Kerch bridge. Another decent attack on the bridge could easily put is out of action for enough time for Ukraine to take Crimea back. Ukraine has already won on the battlefield, their morale is high and Russia has lost and their morale rock bottom. The West needs to keep the supply of equipment and weapons going though or things could easily change. Logistics and supply will allow Ukraine to win. They have already shown that they can totally stuff up the Russian supply lines & this will continue while all Russia can do is fire missiles at Ukraine's civilian infrastructure.

It does seem like a defensive action gone wrong. It will certainly be in Zelenskys favour if it is proven correct that he publicly apologises while reiterating nothing would have happened if Russia wasn't sending missiles into his patch. Ukraine has to defend itself and in all conflicts there is always collateral damage to some degree. NATO has already blamed Russia in any case as it would never have happened if Russia hadn't attacked Ukraine in the first place.

The US right wing press is not impressed. Even Murdochs New York Press had a bottom line on the front page stating "Florida man makes announcement" referring to the article on page 26. Murdoch knows nothing infuriates Trump more than not having his name mentioned. Just glance at some headlines in the conservative press.: “Trump Shocks the World by Nearly Putting Us to Sleep,” said the RedState blog. “Old Mar-a-Lago Man Yells at Cloud,” said the American Conservative. “Donnie, Time to Go Away,” said Blue State Conservative. “Trump 3.0 is a Changed Man. He's a Loser,” said the Washington Examiner. “No,” simply read the National Review headline. In the meantime Lavrov left the G20 after one day & Putin remains silent since before the Kherson withdrawl. I guess he is busy 100% of the time watching his back as his physical and mental state continues to deteriorate. Deja vu Adolph.

Any rail link that reduces the number of trucks on our roads is a good thing IMO. Less traffic and less greenhouse gas pollution.

After the disastrous results for Trumps picks in the mid terms & the comments now coming quicker more frequently from the Republicans, Trump may finally be confined to the dustbin of history where he will find good company with Putin.