red750

Russia has issued the West with one request before it would agree to consider meeting to discuss about ending the Ukraine war.

United States President Joe Biden flagged on Thursday (US time) he was willing to sit down with Russian leader Vladimir Putin but only if it was about a ceasefire.

President Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron held talks in Washington and reaffirmed their commitment to stop the war.

"I'm prepared to speak with Mr Putin if in fact there is an interest in him deciding he's looking for a way to end the war. He hasn't done that yet," the US leader said.

"If that's the case, in consultation with my French and my NATO friends, I'll be happy to sit down with Putin to see what he has in mind. He hasn't done that yet."

But hours after his remarks, President Putin's chief of staff Dmitry Peskov issued an ultimatum to the leader of the free world and the West.

He declared discussions would only be considered when the four annexed Ukrainian regions are recognised as Russian territory.

Four regions in the war-torn nation - Donetsk and Luhansk in the east and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south - were illegally declared by Moscow in September as its territory after claiming ballots showed residents were in favour of being separated.

Ukraine accused the referenda of being a "sham" and argued they were "staged" for the outcome to only go one way, with the United Nations also condemning the move.

Mr Peskov said President Biden's refusal to recognise the territories as Russian "significantly complicates the search for mutual ground for discussions".

"What did President Biden say in fact? He said that negotiations are possible only after Putin leaves Ukraine," he said but added that was "certainly" not accepted.

"The special military operation is continuing."

This sort of behaviour is becoming more widespread.

Fedex driver dumps packages beside road.

14 hours ago, nomadpete said:

I thank God that the earth is flat so I push them off the edge

I'll keep my eye out for you if I get near the edge.

We ought to go to their house and throw their treasured possessions around like that. Maybe they were trained by Ausfailure Post.

The Prince and Princess of Wales took a commercial flight to a climate conference, while the Sussexes flew by private jet.

Smart Alec.

The Ordinary Phrase:Smart Aleck.

Smart Alecks are too clever for their own good without being that clever to begin with. The insult is dismissively applied to those who think they know everything. The real Alec probably wished he was a little bit smarter.

The Unordinary Life: 

Alec Hoag was a prominent criminal in 19th century New York. Hoag’s wife, Melinda, disguised herself as a prostitute. While the johns were obviously distracted, Alec pilfered through their pockets. Because Melinda could be easily identified, to keep the business flowing, the police received a portion of the profits from the stolen goods.Hoag improved upon his scheme with a move called “the panel game.” In the middle of a tryst, Alec again took the valuables out of the discarded clothes of the unsuspecting mark. He then barged in the room accusing the man of sleeping with his wife. The adulterer would pick up their clothes and escape without thinking of their missing items.Eventually, Hoag made enough that he thought he no longer need law enforcement’s help. They disagreed. Alec and Melinda were quickly arrested. Mocking him, the police ironically referred to him as “smart Alec.” The phrase entered the lexicon shortly after.

Here I go again, devil's advocate if you will. This graph from my friend Wikipedia compares the CO2 pollution by country. It has been said before, but compared to the US which is approximately the same area as Australia, our output is miniscule. Reducing our output by 50% would have negligible impact on the world situation. Like baling out the Titanic with a soup spoon.

A man goes to a female dentist to have a tooth extracted. She pulls out a large syringe to give him an anaesthesia shot.
“No way, no needles! I hate needles!” the man exclaims
So she starts to hook up the nitrous oxide tank, and the man says, “I can’t do the gas thing either. Just the thought of having a mask on my face suffocates me!”
The dentist then asks the patient if he had any objections to taking a pill.
“No,” he says, “I’m fine with pills.” So the lady dentist gives him two little blue pills and he swallows them. “What are those?” he asks.
“Viagra,” she calmly replies.
“I’ll be damned,” said the man, “I didn’t know Viagra works as a pain killer.”
“It doesn’t,” says the wise lady,
“But it’ll give you something to hold on to when I pull your tooth.”

War with Japan

According to a newly leaked email from a whistleblower with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), months before Vladimir Putin began his disastrous invasion of Ukraine he was planning to attack Japan.

Russia appears to be preparing for another large-scale air attack on Ukraine with dozens of bombers spotted massing at a key airbase.

Read more here.

Hi-jinx are OK, pregnancy not so much. No maternity wards on Mars.

... or avoid pregnancies.

Moscow has once again laid out its conditions for peace negotiations with Ukraine. Russia wants to see genuine political will on Kyiv's part to engage in dialogue. Moscow wants legal guarantees that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO, the Western military alliance, and wants Ukraine to change its constitution to cement this. In the past few months, Vladimir Putin has called for talks with Ukraine several times. Even the United States privately urged Volodymyr Zelensky to be open to talks. But the Ukrainian President has ruled out the possibility of negotiations, as he sees talks with Russia as a compromise and a surrender in front of Moscow.

I guess you could say I'm slightly right of centre. No, I don't support or agree with Morrison, Abbott and Co, sometimes I think they as looney as Trump. On the other hand, I just can't bring myself to vote for the left. Going back, my father and grandfather were farmers and voted for the Country Party. Perhaps that is where my leanings are founded. As as for the myriad of minor one-trick-ponies, they are just a waste of time and oxygen.

Two exposures in case your rego is obscured in one, and by measuring how far you travelled between exposures, they can calculate your speed.

I'm 78 and haven't ridden a bike since I was in my teens. I now need a handrail or something to lean on to walk any distance. I can get to the letterbox and back, but that's about it. I started wobbling drunkenly about six years ago. To walk up the street for exercise, I need a four-wheel walker. When shopping, I use a trolley for support. The doctor says the lack of balance was caused by my cancer treatment. Platinum affects the inner ear. 

Bikes aren't so great for a daily commute if you live 25 km from the office. Working from home is a boon and reduces traffic and saves on parking. My son loves it. Thank god for the internet.