red750

Amazing what pops up on your Facebook memories. This one from 5 years ago.

Pity someone doesn 't put a bomb under him.

Trump made a speech to the NRA that with him in the White House, no-one would lay a finger on their guns, and their rights to bear arms would not be impinged.

To the man who invented zero  -  thanks for nothing.

Haven't been there for 2 or  3 years. Now I have a car, I'm hoping to get out there again soon.

A former indigenous politician who received a prestigious award from Barack Obama has described Aboriginal 'welcome to country' ceremonies as 'bullshit'.

Quote from former indigenous NT minister Bess Price (mother of Jacinta Price).

 'All the "Welcome to Country", all the "Smoking Ceremonies" and all the made up bullshit rituals about "pay our respects to elders past and present" is just one big lie.

The 'welcome to country' was adopted into Australia's parliamentary protocols in 2008, after the then prime minister Kevin Rudd delivered his apology to the ‘stolen generation’ (who were in fact mostly half-cast children taken into protective and educational care).

However, two years after that decision, Aboriginal entertainer Ernie Dingo claimed that he invented the concept in 1976 when visiting Pacific Island dancers demanded they receive a traditional welcome. The Aborigines have supposedly been here for at least 50,000 years, exterminating their predecessors the Mungo Man of light boned Chinese origin and the Kow Swamp Man of heavy boned Java Man origin (some say more like

60,000 years, but they came in waves when sea levels fell).

The fact is, as uncomfortable and as unfashionable as it is, aboriginal Australia had not produced anything resembling a Shakespeare, nothing much in the way of technology, never discovered the wheel, could not boil water, kept no written history, had no conception of the size or location of this continent, and no philosophy to speak of in the 50,000 years available to it. The English brought the rule of law, the Westminster system, a work ethic, the notion of progress and all the benefits of the science, technology and ingenuity of the modern European world.

On 26 January 1788 when the First Fleet ships unloaded their ~ 750 convicts, 245 Royal Marines and 15 officials, not a shot was fired. As they looked around what's now Circular Quay, they saw nothing other than bush. Not a single building, planted field, domesticated plant or animal - nothing at all. Very few natives were seen along the coast and it was considered there would be even fewer living inland. It was seen as "terra nullius" - a vacant land owned by noone.

There was no indigenous army to defeat, no Aboriginal flag to lower, no national leaders to consult. There was nothing to claim as the spoils of victory. There was just wild bush. There was no "invasion". The few Aborigines who came out to have a look at these strange people were

completely illiterate and innumerate and those on the south side of the harbour spoke a language completely unintelligible to those on the north

side of the harbour, and they'd been constantly at war with each other for as long as anyone can remember. Australian Aboriginal languages consist of around 290- 363 dialects belonging to an estimated 28 language families and isolates. 

Since the arrival of the English, only about 250 years ago, Australia has prospered and developed into a modern first world country, along with

all other Western democracies. Today, Aborigines enjoy many of these modern day benefits in preference to a harsh traditional Aboriginal life-style.

Yet for at least 50,000 years (prior to the arrival of the British) the Aboriginals seemed to have not progressed one step.

To put this into perspective, Aboriginals had inhabited our great land for at least 47,000 years prior to the ancient Egyptian empire. The Greek empire was at its peak in the period 500 BC to 300 BC and the Roman empire was at its peak around 117 BC.

Each of those empires were highly advanced and contributed enormously to the advancement of the modern world.

It therefore beats me why the stagnant Aboriginal culture is now so revered? In 1967, under the Holt Liberal government, 90.77 per cent of Australians voted to remove race from the Constitution, putting ‘indigenous’ Australian people on the same legal footing as all other Australians and allowing them to be counted in the Commonwealth Census. It was a momentous shift towards equality, removing the 1901 Commonwealth ban, which had been designed to prevent political exploitation of the aborigines, whose ignorance and malleability made them easy vote getters.

Half a decade later, the Albanese Labor government wants to insert RACE back into the Constitution!

To enshrine a special place in the Constitution, based purely on racial grounds, is racism pure and simple. Length of ancestry on this continent, whether it be 50,000 years, 250 years or 10 years, shouldn’t be the determinant for any special consideration to any population cohort in the Constitution. Furthermore, most 'Aborigines' today are of mixed ancestry and they live a non-traditional lifestyle in urban areas. 

JUST A LITTLE SOMETHING TO CONTEMPLATE BEFORE SIGNING UP TO A RACE-BASED "INDIGENOUS VOICE” BEING INSERTED INTO IN OUR CONSTITUTION. TAKE CARE - WE ALREADY HAVE A PARLIAMENT THAT REPRESENTS “ALL” AUSTRALIANS!

Our Federal parliament already has 11 Aboriginal members, which is proportionately higher than the rest of us. In addition, EACH of our State governments, plus our Federal government, have Ministers for Aboriginal Affairs who oversee Departments that provide for the particular needs of Aborigines.

I had a mate who offered to take me up. but then we lost contact. I'm not sure if he gave up flying. Last I heard, about 4 years ago, he was working in avionics. Many of you may know of him, he was a member on here. Went by the name of Robbo. He was the one who sugggested to Ian that I would be a good person to do the Aircraft profiles.

Like Octave, I gave up flying because I couldn't afford to educate  kids and fly frequently enough to stay safe. For a while I flew the minimum 3 hours in the 90 days prior to licence expiry so I could renew, but figured that wasn't wise. That was in 1986. Have not flown in a GA since, and never in a RAA type. Yes, I'd love to go up again at least once before I get my 'other' wings, but with my crook legs, I doubt I could get into a low wing. Getting into a car isn't easy, and I'd probably have difficulty in a high wing.

The place I want them to implement AI is in text captions on TV. Quite honestly, you cannot make sense of the crap they display. Talking about the Liberals stance on The Voice referendum, twice this morning they referred to Dutton as Dunn. If you didn't have some hearing, you'd have no idea what the hell they were on about. Can't display two lines without a stuffup.

Moishe Plotnik's Laundry

Walking through San Francisco's Chinatown, a tourist from the Midwest was enjoying the artistry of all the Chinese restaurants, shops, signs and banners, etc.

Then he turned a corner and saw a building with the sign 'Moishe Plotnik's Laundry.'

"Moishe Plotnik?" he wondered.

'How does that belong in Chinatown?'

He walked into the shop and saw a fairly standard looking dry cleaner, although he could see that the proprietors were clearly aware of the uniqueness of the store name as there were baseball caps, T-shirts and coffee mugs emblazoned with the logo 'Moishe Plotnik's Chinese Laundry.'

The tourist selected a coffee cup as a conversation piece to take back home.

Behind the counter was a smiling old Chinese gentleman who thanked him for his purchase.

The tourist asked, "Can you explain how this place got a name like 'Moishe Plotnik's Laundry?'''

The old man answered, "Ah..Evleebody ask me dat.

It name of owner."

Looking around, the tourist asked,

"Is he here now?"

"It me. Me him!" replied the old man.

"Really? You're Chinese. How did you ever get a Jewish name like Moishe Plotnik?''

"It simple" said the old man.

"Many, many year ago I come to this country. I, standing in line at Document Center of Immiglation.

Man in front of me was man from Poland.'

Lady at counter look at him and say to him, 'What you name?'

He (Polish man) say to her, 'Moishe Plotnik.' Then she look at me and say, 'What your name?'

I say, 'Sam Ting.'"
 

19 minutes ago, onetrack said:

I cannot understand the deficient brain cells behind a beautiful young girl graffitiing her gorgeous body with scribbles and scrawls and other rubbish such as faces. 

As I have said on a few occasions, it's like scratching a new Mercedes with a screwdriver.

I don't want to imagine what they will look like in their 70's.

My lawn is smaller than an average school classroom, so I don't need a ride-on. My son now cuts the lawn anyway.

Here is a photo of the "Tower Fuel Stop - Groom, Texas" Truck Stop on Route 66 with its unique Britten water tower. This water tower lies right alongside the former path of Route 66, which has since been paved over to create US Interstate 40. During the early and mid-20th century, passersby on the "Mother Road" were intrigued by the severe tilt of the tower, asking themselves what on Earth could have caused it.

   In reality, it was the work of a heavy-duty vehicle and a bulldozer. Ralph Britten, a man who wanted to start up a truck stop and restaurant off Route 66 in Groom, bought the water tower from the town of Lefors as an ingenious marketing technique to attract new visitors. He towed the enormous thing 34 miles to Groom, wrote “Britten USA” on top, and then, using a bulldozer, elevated two of its legs off the ground, dangling them in midair without support, so that the water tower made an 80-degree angle with the ground.

   This helped his business immeasurably. It would catch the eye of every passing motorist on the route for years, many of them becoming terrified that the tower was in the process of collapsing. This played right into Britten’s hand. Worried route-takers often swerved off the road and into his truck stop, shouting “Watch out! That tower’s about to fall!” Britten responded that it had been like that for years, and then asked them to sit down and buy food and a drink. 

   Britten’s manipulation of the tower did, however, require sufficient knowledge of physics. If the water tower were completely empty or completely full, its center of mass would be directly in the middle of the can, making it topple when slanted. So Britten filled it only partially so that the low level of water would place the can’s center of mass near its base, directly above the two supporting legs, keeping it aloft.

   Unfortunately, after many years of success, Britten’s truck stop burned down in a devastating fire in about the mid-1980s, closing down all sales. Despite this unfortunate event, the leaning water tower is still one of the most photographed oddities on the way out west.

   This photo is courtesy of 66postcards.