Jerry_Atrick

It's an interesting phenomena. In the previous national election here, when Boris was elected, there was some late breaking news that showed his true colours. I remarked to a bloke in the office who was a clear conservative supported, educated, etc.. and his response was, "well, we all know what Boris is like, so its sort of expected as we don't mind". My response was is that the sort of person you want making decisions about your finances - someone who thinks with their d!&k. He stopped and thought for sa second or two and gace a gallic shrug and walked off. It's sort fo a confirmation bias. Boris was helped by Labour putting up Jerremy Corbyn, who is a little too extreme for most people's likings.

Thans, Peter

Well, QLD has a new government. I always watch election night which is so much easier here because it is 2:15 Saturday afternoon when it has wrapped up. It was a bit of a good one, too.. It was a cliffhanger for a lot of the night. When Miles gave his speech, it was certainly not in the bag, thought it was getting there for Crusafilli. However, on reflection, he may well have wished he hadn't quite made that speech. This was the first time I saw Crusafilli in action, and if he is as good running the state as his specchwriter is of writing speeches and he is of delivering them, then at least whatever is done will sound good. I thought while Miles was a little less than gracious, Crusafilli was very humble and gracious in victory, even wishing the best the the opposition MPs who lost their seats. I was wondering if he may even have a federal shot in him... This election ddoes not bode well for Albo. Yes - the ALP are always batting off the back foot with the media bias they are up against. However, if the QLD results have been in some way influenced by federal politics, then Mackay and I think it was Bundaberg, which were very safe Labor seats, flipped. Next 6 months are going to be very interesting.

Yes.. pre polling votes coming in and Labor are pretty well out of the race. But this is not much different to the Labor federal win.. what should have been a romp was just getting over the line. It is not clear if the LNP will get a majority, but it is looking increasingly likely. But it won't be a rout that it probably should have been

Watching the ABC, the thought is the federal performance of the Greens.. Too early to call but it is looking like the LNP are snatching defeat from the jaws of victory

Can't find the other Albo thread, so will use this instead. I now understand why Labor seem paralysed when the select a shippy leader: https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-holds-so-much-power-over-his-mps-they-re-scared-to-rein-him-in-20241023-p5kklb.html I don't begrudge the bloke for buying a nice house on the coast, even during the cost of living and property crisis (unusually, it is both hard to buy and rent at the time). I bet my bottom dollar other pollies on both sides have purchased themselves a nice pad or added to their rental portfolios. However, his handling of what should be a non-story is a litany of faux pars that just shows how a) inept as a leader he really is as he can't read the room and b) seems as genuinely out of touch as any pollie I have seen. I honestly wonder if he is on the spectrum For my money, Chalmers, or even Marles would be a better option.. Doofus is a sell out to me.. Pliberseck seems to have been weakened, and I can only guess this is a result of internal politics.

Time flies

Maybe they could take cardboard cutouts of Scomo with moneybags and place one in front of the Pentagon and one in front of Whitehall Gardens to commemorate AUKUS?

I see that the oath or affirmation is a requirement under the Australian constitution, and it is prescribed in the Schedule to the constitution. Of course, making a statement publicly for whatever political or publicity gain she is hoping for does not constitute a legal admission, and she would have to make the statement under, ironically, an oath or affirmation. If she does admit it legally, then the opposition’s call for her disqualification would be valid. There is nothing in the constitution that requires the oath or affirmation to be held throughout the course of their tenure, at least per parliament between elections. I would imagine that the allegiance would have to be honestly held at the time of making the oath. But, remember, allegiance means loyalty or commitment. That does not mean support. For example, it could be argued that her expression of "you are not my king" is a representation to the King that, in her view, Australia is over the monarchy, and in her loyalty of serving the king, she is letting him know the truth... Of course, if she was just expressing her opinion then it could also reasonably be inferred as disloyalty or non-commitment, however, what if she reasonably and honestly believed this was also the opinion of the majority if Australians? She is, admittedly in a dramatic and disrespectful manner, simply stating to the King that the subjects are restless and want change. That does not mean one is disloyal nor non-committed. And if you think I am stretching it, then what about Malcolm Turnbull (not that he is an MP anymore) or any pro-republican MP? They clearly do not want the monarchy but it is not disloyal or non-committed to the monarch or their heirs. They are simply saying they think public opinion and the, in their eyes, anachronistic head of state of an independent country has reached its expiry date, and in good faith and wishing them a pleasant future, it is time to move on. If the plan is to keep a republic in the Commonwealth as active members, then is that not showing loyalty and commitment to the monarch? Otherwise, with the exception that Thorpe is a gregarious, attention seeking loud mouth, any prop-republic MP is also disavowing their allegiance, and should they also not be forced to exit stage left (or right, as applicable)?

Yes, but most people who vote Greens, I am guessing will give their second preferences to Labor.. The problem for Labor of course, is when the Greens get enough for a seat, it takes one away form Labor. I wonder though, if more moderate Lib voters may go Green on the commitment to coal fired power?

If this is real, it is quite amazing the pilot couldn't eject https://youtu.be/EzfR9UkXt2M?si=HtxljDUFe3bXBEgc

Does it mention anything about their gender.. even fair maidens these days may give you more than you bargain for.

You're a spring chicken in these parts 😉 I remember being 47.. At the time I thought I was old.. nah... Not yet.

It is some sort of pine... Not sure what type to be honest. It is probably 50 years old, if not older.

Well, it has been slow going, but finally builder has been able to return to start staining the floor. Could have done it myself, but he is a dab hand at it.. Fumes are smelly though. It has just been applied to a portion of the floor so looks very sheen-ey. Hopefully sparky is back on Friday, so the lights will go in properly and switches will be there, too. Noe, you can see the radiators both sides of the door.. Place is (so far) toastie and warm, though is extremely mid at the moment. Had my last exam last night, so need a day's break. In London on Friday, but the weekends and now the eves are mine to get cracking. More photos to come.

New thought.. I am not one to shy away from political discourse, nor one to shy away form indigenous rights. However, I think Lydia Thorpe scored an own-goal for her heckling of the king.. OK.. she scoes a lot of own goals, but that one, I think, irked many who would see her side of the story.. maybe. And, I am none-too-happy with Michael Wests portrayal of the monarchs as the landlords of Australia. Nothing could be further from the truth (it is even arguable they are landlords of the UK anymore), and stoking ship into the fire to support republicanism turns more people away, I would suggest. Just a random couple of thoughts about how to turn people away from your cause (maybe I should read this twice!)

Protest upheld. There are only 10 digits, despite there being 12 numbers - 0 through 9 respectively. As two are duplicated "[o]n a standard analogue clockface..." (1 & 2), that leaves 8 digits that appear exactly once on a standard analogue clock face.. No grammatical construction of the English language, even the Aussie derivation of the English language could be taken to mean in isolation of other numbers that appear on the said analogue clock face. Leave to appeal to the Grammar Police bench of the Privy Council is granted.

I am not a big tomoato fan by any stretch of the imagination. Roma are up there, but my favourite is what is normally a canned tomato - San Marzano (https://www.marthastewart.com/7616623/san-marzano-tomatoes-explained), Tescos sell them fresh here, and they are quite nice. There are other smaller varieties that are sold by other supermarkets, which are acceptable. But blimey - cherry tomatoes - they are put on earth be the devil himself.

Sadly, ll that divisive, hatred talking is having an impact: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/new-cases-political-violence-roil-us-ahead-contentious-election-2024-10-21/

The reach of Americanism.. My niece from Aus was staying at our house.. She asked me what the difference between murder 1 and 2 was. I was a little shocked. I asked if she meant murder in the first and second degree. She said yes.. She is now back off to Australia! (well, she was going anyway, but I had to set her straight - Aus (or at least NSW) has no such distinctions.

Apparently part of the deal is to provide both NK and China with technical know how.. not sure how much that will help China

At Steavonson Falls, near Marysville, there is a plaque in memory of a couple of lads who were killed by a falling limb.. I have seen a eucalypt limb fall and it is without warnidng and fast. It has a name, suddeb brach drop.. https://www.trekandtravel.com.au/blogs/trek-travel-events-and-blog/sudden-limb-drop-the-facts?srsltid=AfmBOooQ5V94xiS0wutTm1X-V7kdF9lx-HK1kkUze1s-plF1GfL0LwdF

I get your point (I thiink). The only thing that I can see that Australia can do to defend against attack is to bolster its defences. And, of course that takes money. But, selling all the coal and gas in Australia isn't going to cure that situation. Here are the reasons: Australia is, relatively speaking, a free and democratic society. We don't use authoritarian tactics like artificially keeping wages low and people in economic servitude to bolster the soverign economy. Our foes you speak of do, which means they can basically force teh development of an industry and the military or equivalent of the Stasi will step in if you don't comply. On the economic front, we are fighting with one arm tied behind our back. As Australia lacks the economies of scale of a large population, we are further hindered in that role. We receive very little recompense for the extraction and sale oversears of our natural resources. Shareholders, and a decent chunk of them are foreign, so the money provided from these activities direct into the government coffers to support the massive real increase in defence spending is really not that great. Yes, the indistries employe a lot of people on very good salaries, and this contributes to taxation through wages and the local economy, but these people still need roads, schools, hospitals, art galleries, police, and the like.. Our successive governments have been reliant on foreign powers to protect us, and foreign countries (mostly) to equip us. And in a global conflict, when the chips are down, especially with AUKUS, which basically has us paying over the odds for subs that are operationally less appropriate for the defence of Australia, if we are to get them, we play second or third fiddle when it comes to the supply of parts. We've now got Tomahawk cruise missiles (or maybe they are coming). Problem is, the operators are US, and sit in the pentagon, and guess where those ones with the Aussie flag painted are going in the time of need.. Not to the targets that Australia needs, if at the same time stocks are low and there is a pressing US threat. But, on the bright side, operationally, Australia is a very difficult country to sttack and take over because it has the natirual barrier that surrounds it, and keeping supply lines open is key. Also, as the Ukraine war has shown, you don't need all the expensive kit if you ar innovative - but there still is, albeit a slower, brain drain of Aussie talent as it headed overseas where their skills were more able to be utilised at a more mass scale. Sadly, meglamaniacs are always around.. there's not much we can do to stop them, but we can make sure we are ready for it when it happens. However, climate change can be addressed in terms of continual change... it takes the will of people. We can still use coal and other fossils.. but they are, at the end of the day, just energy sources. The won't go away, but for civilian use, we can move right off it, and remove the impacts.. and we stand a better chance of building a decent economy if we do move off it because our costs will be lower.