old man emu

Is a choice of occupation. One can always resign.

He's just said that for the moment, any electioneering is off the table until this storm has been weathered (not a pun) and things brought back to a semblance of normality. In case you had not heard, the States' requests for the assistance of the military has already been granted. Did you know that also there is a Federal disaster relief coordination organisation within the Federal government that, no doubt, has been working flat out over the past week organising the delivery of aid to the areas expected to need it? At least these radical leftist politicians have done something to enable assistance to be provided to those citizens who will need it. Don't forget that the Dept of Social Services will be preparing to provide immediate financial assistance to victims. The above paragraph could be taken as a cheap shot at Conservatives, but I'm sure that the concern for victims would be bipartisan.

For decades the USA has claimed to be the World's Policeman. "To Protect and to Serve", has been the motto of the Los Angeles Police Department since 1963, subsequently adopted by many other police forces in North America. I guess it no longer is the motto of the World's Policeman. Can those countries allied to the USA continue to trust its adherence to any agreement with them? If the Republican administration is tossed out in four years' time, will its replacement ever be trusted by the rest of the World?

I think this one exceeded my current capacity.

To boldly go ...... and yet to return ...

The reason those Methuselahs appear in the figures is quite easily explained. Before computerisation, the data was recorded manually. When it was computerised, sometime in the 60s (?) the programming language used was COBOL. Apparently Musk's computer nerds never learned that language and so are unable to understand why those Methuselahs are in the data. Also, there may be a bit of false information in the reporting. The print out must be a spreadsheet with the data in columns. Apparently the data in the next column shows the date of the last payment to the recipient. and for the Methuselahs, those dates show last payments being made before the 1950s or 60s. There are so many videos being published daily identifying the falsehoods of the Trump administration that it's impossible to remember which one contained the information I have related here. I can't search my viewing history because I can't remember the title of that particular video, or on which day I watched it.

I think that the coming election will be fought on domestic issues, avoiding Europe. There's enough ammunition in the debate over our relationship with China. On the one hand we like their trade, and on the other we don't like their military posturing.

Let's see what the March exports to the USA are. If they drop from the average monthly figure, then it's time to yell. I suspect that Both Albo and Dutton are adopting and wait and see attitude before taking the plunge one way or the other. While we have our own domestic topics on which to run election campaigns, the global situation generated by Trump is something to monitor. We also have to be mindful of China/USA trade. If that breaks down, China will not want our raw materials to the current levels. Globalisation: The knee bone's connected to the thigh bone.

Click on the image to make it legible.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-04/rawlinna-sheep-station-on-nullarbor-sold-to-uk-buyer-cpc/105008032 https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/jumbuck-sells-rawlinna-australia-s-largest-sheep-station-20250304-p5lgtn

Oops! I did think that "marshal" looked strange. I was in a bit of a rush to write that post and get out to the Men's Shed.

People have been comparing Trump's actions to those of Hitler in the way that both have taken over government and turned their countries upside down as if it was something new. Have you heard of the Rum Rebellion in NSW in 1808? The false story is that the military overthrew the appointed governor who was allegedly a tyrant. The truth of the matter is that the military, made rich by their control of trade had brow-beaten earlier Governors until the British Government sent William Bligh to bring order to the colony and reduce the economic power of the military to make things fairer for the free people who were trying to make a living. The leader of the military faction was John Macarthur who used threats and legal action to cower any opposition. After arresting Bligh the rebels set up a legal system that ensured that the rich and powerful could eliminate opposition. Eventually, the nominal commander of the military, Johnson, was brought back to England and court marshaled. Macarthur had resigned his commission, so he could not be court marshaled. However, the evidence adduced in the court marshal was enough to alleged that Macarthur had committed treason. A quirk of the law at the time meant he could not be tried for treason in England, but could if he was in NSW. That's why he stayed away for 9 years. (It was his wife, Elizabeth, who really was the founder of the wool industry through the development of the Merino strain of sheep.)

Remember back in the day when the USA would enter into foreign disputes because the side it backed had oil? Now it's all about securing the metals needed to sustain an electric world.

He's sacked the weather bureau people. No storm warnings. No aviation weather.

That's a Haitian thing to say.

I don't like what she does. I just admire how well she does it. She has the political nous of someone who has spent years operating in this area. It is too bad that she has hitched her wagon to the wrong animal.

The Ukrainians ARE fighting to restore and maintain their autonomy after Russia launched an unprovoked invasion the intention of which was to wrest the autonomy of Ukrainian lands from the people. There are no ifs or buts or maybes. Russia attacked and Ukraine defends until it can repel. Hey Fellas! GON has just given us carte blanche to enter his home and take whatever we want from it. He'll even let us throw him out on the street.

Didn't want to put this in the Trump thread, but I just had to express my admiration for Karoline Leavitt. I really admire her ability, at only 27 years-old, to navigate the minefield the the position of White House Press Secretary is. Her performances in those press briefings show an incredibly quick mind and complete grasp of the material she has to deal with. I haven't seen her stumble once at any time in the videos I've seen her in. Now, don't think I've gone over to the Dark Side. What she says is absolute crap, but one must be fair. She craps on exquisitely. I think she's the genius in the White House.

We are only interested in what your belief is, not the beliefs of politicians. As a great man said only a few days ago, "don't try to dictate what others feel".

Let's try to find some escape route for the USA. In Australia, if a government acted in the way that Trump has acted in the USA, our Constitution has a means of putting that government out of office. Our Constitution allows for the Monarch to end the reign of a government and then throw the formation of a new government back to the electorate - The Dismissal. Then it's up to the electorate to return the dismissed government, or to install another one. Impeachment is the only way to remove a President, but the steps to do that are complex. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. So the first step is to convict these people of the described offences. "High crimes and misdemeanors" is a term that was commonly used when the Constitution was written. It was used to describe crimes committed by people in positions of authority who abuse their power to avoid justice. The recent ruling of the US Supreme Court giving the President indemnity could make that difficult. But if Trump, Vance and their administration were impeached, what would replace them? It is clear that the framers of the Constitution never envisaged the current situation. Not doubt they thought that there would only be the need to deal with one person at a time, eg Nixon. Such a massive impeachment would be akin to a political revolution. The impeachments would be the means of restoring the Ship of State to an even keel. I do believe that the Americans would continue to have themselves governed by an unchanged Constitution. The First American Civil War mainly arose out of the economics of slavery. We know that tentacles of economics wrap themselves around many things affecting the lives of the people, but it is common to assign the cause of that civil war to different attitudes to slavery as a blanket reason. It is possible that there could be a Second American Civil War? I think not, because those who previously supported Trump are the ones who seem to be suffering the most as a result of his manifesto. There does not seem to be as much anger directed towards those who did not support Trump. Perhaps the civil war might not be fought amongst the common people, but would be like the French Revolution where the common people rose up against the ruling class.

I disagree that Albo is bumbling. As I said earlier, Albo did declare Australia to be standing by Ukraine's side. Although I didn't hear Dutton say anything, I firmly hope that I am correct in thinking that he supported Albo's declaration. I said that Australia is still concerned about the uncertainty of Trump's tariffs, which are due to come into effect next Wednesday, our time. Better to keep one's mouth shut until one knows if there is anything to say. At the moment Albo has to deal with political point scoring arising from the movements of the Chinese navy. Where's the hullaballoo over the US nuclear sub arriving in Perth? Oh! There can't be any of that since SkyNews and the Conservative media are all for it.

I'm just a simple commoner, but I'd love a Mark 2 Jaguar. I'll never have one. Morse's the pity.

A secondary advantage of the disappearing bonnet ornament might be the prevention of it theft, but I would say that the primary reason is to prevent injury to a pedestrians when you "run over the bastards".

I love a pun that uses of the meaning of 'homonym'.