onetrack

We export 100,000 tonnes of carrots (mostly from W.A.) to the rest of the world annually, and 48,000 tonnes of that goes to the Middle East. But the blockage of the SoH has effectively blown up that market, with $2M worth of Australian carrots currently on the water, unable to reach its destination. There will be serious losses for Australian carrot growers if the blockade continues, and there will be a lot of people in other parts of the world who will go without food, because of the blockade. I'd rather be here, than in a place relying on Australian produce, right at present. And we have no need to import frozen veggies, we can grow all we need right here. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-20/middle-east-conflict-may-end-some-carrot-farmers/106474078

I tend towards the view that BP guidelines are a bit like BMI guidelines - they were decreed many decades ago, without taking into account, enough of the factors that affect them. I've seen people who lived with high levels of hypertension for years, whereas others with relatively modest levels of hypertension, keeled over early.

Well, they must all be working, Peter, you're still kicking along O.K. A lot of people I knew, never made it to 80. My brother is 86 this year and still getting along just fine, he still drives everywhere in his Landcruiser, and helps out his sons. He got a new knee about 18 mths ago, and had his prostate removed about a year before that. He's a tough old geezer, I think he'll probably make it to his mid-90's O.K.

I took nothing until I was 74, when after a shoulder injury, the docs discovered I had high blood pressure. So they put me on an enzyme-blocker, the drug softens my hardened arteries. I take one little green pill each morning and my blood pressure has returned to an acceptable level (140 over 80), satisfying the docs. They all seem to think I'm "reasonably healthy" for my age (77).

The hole will be sold to other customers with other cars.

The police here copy the Americans. In the Bonnie and Clyde ambush, U.S. police let rip with 130 rounds, Bonnie Parker had 26 bullet entrance wounds, Clyde Barrow had 17 bullet entrance wounds. And the U.S. police didn't use popguns, they used .30-06 Browning automatics, .35 Remingston semi-auto, and a range of heavy police revolvers, .38's and .45's.

Costco are selling Brand diesel here on the Left Coast for $2.86 litre.

Oh, don't forget todays Presidential BS media release - "We'll be out of Iran in two or three weeks!" Just like, "When elected, I will end the Ukraine War in ONE DAY!!" Or - "I'm not going to start wars, I'm going to stop wars" (a major Trump campaign platform in 2024).

Never forget, that God WANTS you to be rich!! I'm always amused at the irony of them putting "In God We Trust" on their banknotes - when the only thing they trust is guns, and the only thing they truly worship, is the Almighty U.S. Dollar.

The simple consequences of our addiction to fossil fuels is that there is going to be; a major recession, high inflation, high interest rates, increased unemployment, increased poverty levels, and many business bankruptcies. It happened between 1980 and 1984 as a result of the oil price going ballistic after the Fundamentalists takeover of Iran, and nothing has been learned in the intervening 40 years. I am already seeing many "gas-guzzler" cars for sale on the streets, and I'm seeing numerous "luxury 4WD" models being transported on dealer plates from the city to the country, where the wealthier farming clientele are obviously picking up trade-in bargains, as city owners downsize or trade in on EV's.

Nomadpete, those sources of pure light crude are generally only very small reserves and don't warrant major expenditure on extraction, because they soon run dry. A mate worked for a drilling company in Central Australia, around Alice Springs, about 1982-83. The company had several drill holes that yielded the same type of light crude. It was drawn off and just filtered and used to power the company Landcruisers. But there wasn't enough of it, to warrant the infrastructure to draw on those small reserves.

I hate to think how much money was expended on finding this clown - money that could've been used elsewhere, to benefit people that really need it.

Meantimes, with hardship in most parts of Australia, bartering has returned!

We're all set for a fuel-restricted long weekend on the water!!

How he got that far away from his original point of habitation is going to be the subject of a lot of inquiry - especially when hundreds of police were combing the area around where he shot the police, almost straight after the event. He obviously got a ride straight away from a good mate, and he would've been hidden in the vehicle. I wonder what else the police will find? More "sovereign citizen" bunkers or hideouts, and arms/food caches? A lot of these SC fruitcakes are "preppers" as well and believe in preparing and stocking up on "last days" events. We've had some in W.A., this "preppers" setup in the far SE of W.A. is incredible. I think the area is SE of Norseman.

Sovereign citizens add nothing of value to a community. But they do cause an unbelievable level of disruption to accepted and legal court processes. Their problem is, they believe no laws of any kind should apply to them, and they believe all taxes are illegal. So they want all the infrastructure that civilised society offers, but don't want to pay for it. "Sovereign citizen" is a concept born out of the gun-toting craziness of the hicks of backwoods America. They place their faith in firearms, and nothing else. They claim they have faith in God, but they don't trust him either, so that's the reason they worship guns. As in the case of Dezi Freeman, we've seen where that idiocy leads.

What do you want? Gold-plated major infrastructure built in tiny, dying country towns, with only 20 or 30 people? The Govt expends money where the population is, and where it can be paid for by those residents, on an affordable basis.

That little scumbag who owns Faecesbook is in a pile of steaming manure anyway. It appears he's got plenty of lawsuits to deal with. "As of late March 2026, Meta (formerly Facebook) CEO Mark Zuckerberg is facing significant legal and public pressure regarding the company's platforms, with courts delivering major penalties and verdicts. Recent developments include: Child Safety Fines: A New Mexico court fined Meta $375 million over allegations of failing to protect children from online sexual exploitation and harmful content on Facebook and Instagram. Addiction Liability Verdict: A California jury found Meta and YouTube liable for causing a young woman's mental health issues by designing addictive products. Court Testimony: Mark Zuckerberg testified in a historic, multi-week trial where he was questioned about internal decisions, including the lifting of bans on beauty filters and the targeting of young users. Legal Challenges: Meta is navigating over 2,500 lawsuits related to youth addiction to social media platforms"

Rural population decline has been happening since after WW2. The number of rural towns that have become virtually ghost towns numbers in multiples of hundreds. The reasons weren't anything to do with Govt money allocation, it was economic reasons. Farms were regularly bought up by local or adjoining landowners, and the families bought out generally left the area. The boys, and the girls in particular, couldn't find much local work, so they left to go to the cities where the work was. The boys often left the rural areas to find a girl, because the male-female balance in rural areas was often 2 boys for every girl. In the era from the end of WW2 to the early 1970's, the rural lobby was powerful, and plenty of money was spent in rural areas. The old saying "Australia rides on the sheep's back" was very true. You'll find all your rural roads and arterial roads in the country were upgraded and widened and sealed in the 1950's to the 1970's, and ongoing upgrades continue. The economics of rural production have varied substantially over the decades, and led to large numbers of farming families leaving farming, for other, more profitable pursuits. In the era between the end of WW2 and up until about 15 years ago, rural pursuits paid poorly, and wages were also poor, in comparison to city jobs. It's only about the last 15 years that rural activities have been more rewarding - but they still have to deal with fires, floods and droughts, which can set back rural areas for many years.

Sorry, I misread what you originally posted, I thought it read, "Liberals would NEVER form a Coalition with PHON". Why would Labor ever consider a coaltion with ON, when they're capable of winning in most states with just a few other minor parties preferences? It's the Liberals who must now consider a coalition with ON, or they will disappear from the political scene. Even then, they would both still need the Nationals in a coaltion to govern.

Give it a few months, Nev, and it could be a completely different story, as the Libs desperately try to recover lost votes.

The Govt has announced the halving of the fuel excise for 3 months as a way of easing the pain of major price increases in fuel costs. This means that the price of fuel should drop by 26c litre at the bowser. Nothing has been outlined as to how the Govt plans to ensure that the full amount of the fuel excise drop is passed on to motorists, and how they can stop oil companies from keeping a portion of it for themselves. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-30/fuel-excise-halved-three-months-petrol-diesel/106510432

Victorian police have announced they found Dezi Freeman hiding/living in a "container-style" structure, near Walwa, about 200kms from where he was last sighted 200 days ago. They sent in a sizeable force to negotiate with him, but Freeman refused to disarm and came out of the structure carrying a weapon, so the police shot him dead. It seems obvious that Freeman has had assistance in hiding from the authorities for the last 200 days, so I expect there will be arrests for hiding a fugitive. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-30/live-blog-dezi-freeman-porepunkah-shooting/105719456

I had a good chuckle at Jane Hume (deputy leader of the the Liberals) being interviewed over the Libs failure to even make a dent in Labors vote in S.A. She totally ignored the question, and went into a huge and smooth diversive tactic of carrying on about, how "Labor in S.A. has a huge problem! - look at all the votes they've lost to ON!" This deluded rabid right-winger is a classic individual, for obfuscation and diversionary tactics over who actually LOST in the S.A. election. If Labor getting an increased majority and 34 seats, when the Libs lost seats and can't even get a quarter of the seat numbers Labor hold, even if they formed a coalition with ON (which they claim they never will do - well, at least, not this month, anyway) - then I'd hate to see what Hume defines as a Liberal political gain.

Interestingly, the caravanners are cancelling their trips for mainly two reasons - One, they're scared of being stuck with no fuel - and Two, a lot feel that they shouldn't be "wasting" fuel on unnecessary trips, thus depriving farmers and other critical users of their fuel requirements. The exorbitant pricing doesn't actually seem to bother a lot of people.