Marty_d

I think anyone can, without fear of any legal consequence, point out that terrorism of any sort is just wrong. I'm kind of with OME on this. Gareth has a right to say what he thinks. Yes there might be omissions (there's some pretty rabid and disgusting christian terrorists in Africa for example) and I may not agree with his assertions or conclusions, but shutting him down because a law may or may not be proposed which would not be retrospective in any case, is a bit hard. If Ian or his proxies (the Mods) decide the risk is too great, by all means. But that's his call.

I think as we (men) age, the hair just migrates downward.

A good bread knife will do that too. Same shaped cutting edge.

Anyone that thinks that complex problems can have simple solutions is a blithering idiot. Politicians like Trump get where they are by offering simple solutions. Blithering idiots vote for them. Politicians like Wong get where they are by intelligence, hard work, negotiation, diplomacy. Penny Wong is worth a dozen Trumps. (Sorry about the insult Penny - who'd want a dozen Trumps??)

Go with the "have I used this in the last 12 months" system. I've never owned an electric carving knife, my parents did, but I can't see the advantage of having to disconnect and wash two blades when a sharp carving knife is much simpler and does the job just as well.

Got to pick you up on that one, GON. Can you give examples of how the Labor party is "extreme lefty"? Because from my perspective the Labor party is slightly right of centre in some things and slightly left on others, but I cannot think of any policy where they are extreme in either direction.

Don't worry OME, there's only 4 more years of it. ....or is there...

Why do you care? My father's shed was an absolute mess when he died, but it only took us a day to clear it out. Think about what you're going to do while you're alive, not worry about what others do when you're not! 🙂

Thanks Peter, but I don't actually like the video ones.

The question is, which side are the barbarians on. Look, you guys can hope for the best, and hey, there's nothing wrong with that. But look at the man himself, his character, his ignorance, his lies, his vindictiveness, his avarice, his criminality, his attitude to women... the list goes on and on. Then look at who he aligns himself with and chooses to support. Other criminals (Giuliani, Roger Stone, Jeffrey Epstein etc), white supremacists, fundamentalist christians, absolute nutcases (Marjorie Taylor Greene is one prime example), dictators, tech billionaires, fossil fuel companies. KNOWING ALL THAT, if you think his term in office can result in anything positive for the US or the rest of the world, then I suggest your optimism is outweighing your realism.

My wife and I bought wetsuits on Saturday and went snorkeling Sunday. Tinderbox marine reserve. Only metres from the rocks we saw heaps of big blue Wrasse, puffer fish, schools of small fish. It was beautiful.

Have they? I'm not an expert on the public service in the USA, but from what I read and hear about, they are much the same as here - a bunch of people generally working hard and caring about the public. Whether or not that is the impression the public gets is perhaps a different matter. Let's be honest - look at Robodebt which copped a fair amount of flak, rightfully so - that was an imbecilic policy forced upon Centrelink staff by the government of the day and the senior leadership of the department. A hell of a lot of brave people working in Centrelink spoke up about this and pushed back on it, because they had the expertise and experience to know that it was not only illegal but just plain wrong - but that distinction probably isn't clear to your average punter. There's an awful lot of work done by many departments to keep people safe and healthy, which probably goes unnoticed by Joe Public. Safety standards for food, medication, machinery, etc - environmental standards to protect waterways and the air we breathe (probably to be wiped out under Trump) - oversee agriculture which protect against devastating disease outbreaks - monitor and analyse traffic patterns, road accidents, black spots and come up with solutions - regulate companies to prevent anti competitive behaviour and monopolies (although given the concentration of power in that front row, maybe that one needs more teeth) - the list of what government does goes on and on. If you gut the public service then standards go down and life gets a little worse for everyone. If you outsource the work to the private sector then everyone pays more for the same result and only the rich profit from it. Voting for Trump because you believe he'll make things better by gutting the government, is like firing all surgeons and replacing them with a witch doctor.

There's 8 billion people on earth Spacey, don't worry, you won't be the last. There will always be someone around to bury your carcass, and if there's not, you won't be bothered by it anyway.

They are now mirroring Russia, with Putin and the oligarchs holding the same power positions as Trump and his billionaires.

"Niche" and "integrated activities" huh? Would your target clientele be high court judges and senior conservatives?? 😜

You have first option on that bridge, if Grumpy Old Nasho doesn't take it. Don't miss out! Deal of the century! It's a very, very good bridge. Best bridge ever. Everyone says I sell the best bridges.

If you believe that, I have a lovely bridge to sell you. Barely used!

I live near a little town called Margate. (Not the original where you are Jerry!) There was one pub in town, a concrete monstrosity with the entire street frontage taken up by the bottle shop. All the ambience of an undertakers. Now a brewing family have bought an old wooden hop-drying barn named, appropriately, Hopfields. They've set it up nicely with an excellent beer garden, live music on Saturday evenings, excellent menu and bags of character. Unsurprisingly the locals love it and flock to it. Car park is chockers every weekend and the staff (friendly and efficient) are flat out. https://www.hopfieldsbrewery.com.au/

Jerry - location, quality, atmosphere. All required for a successful pub.

So she's got an imagination too. If she's a good politician she'll know when to suck up to blowhards like the orange clown for the benefit of our country. Personally she may think he's a retarded dick head like most of the world does, but she knows how to handle him.

What you describe OME is AI at the moment. People who are far smarter than me and work in the field of AI are extremely worried about the future. On the other hand - you describe sci fi as making AI a bogeyman - try the Neal Asher "Polity" books. Absolutely cracking reads. They describe a future where AI develops well past human intelligence and then quietly takes over for humanity's own good. Each planet is ruled by an AI which optimises every field of human/robot endeavour. In fact medical tech progresses to the extent that unless you have to be scraped up in a bucket, an AI robot doc can probably save you - and if you have a memplant that records your memories, even that death is only a temporary inconvenience until you're either uploaded into a clone grown from your cells, or put into a crystalline brain in an android chassis. Fascinating stuff.

Yeah - any sort of non-bank player offering small loans are sharks. "Payday" lenders get people who really can't afford them into a world of debt. Two words for you Peter... "reverse mortgage"

Did you see the warranty though? 3 years/ 100,000k's. These days it's usually 7 years/ unlimited k's.

I don't think she'll care

Hold up. "The left campaigned to stop conscription, but did nothing about the wrecked lives." Did the right do anything about either conscription or the wrecked lives? If not - why are you down on the left? At least they did something.