Open Thread – Sunday Evening 15 Aug 2021


Nighthawks, Edward Hopper, 1942

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Also, can people let me know if they like or dislike the nested comment format. I think it saves having to quote replies to existing comments as you can reply directly (there are also other benefits to this) or do you prefer the old format?

Any other suggestions are welcomed too.


1,420 responses to “Open Thread – Sunday Evening 15 Aug 2021”

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  1. Cassie of Sydney Avatar
    Cassie of Sydney

    “cohenitesays:
    August 20, 2021 at 9:19 pm
    Good post Cassie.”

    Thank you…..and I have to say that we here in Oz don’t have anyone who comes to the calibre of of Glen Greenwald and Aaron Mate and Tucker Carlson and Matt Taibbi….maybe Alan Jones comes close…but Jones isn’t an investigative journalist.

  2. miltonf Avatar
    miltonf

    Back in the days when the SMH wasn’t just a marxist propaganda sheet, some of the journos did a lot of excellent investigative work re Obeid.

  3. Wally Dalí Avatar
    Wally Dalí

    Lovely day here, pruning with a batch of young backpackers. All born this century, all from NSW… tall as young kids are these days, maybe a bit soft, but conscientious and happily having a go.
    Chatting away- one youngster is trading crypto on a phone app, a young girl’s dad works for the ABC but her mum can’t stand them, another kid travelled to California for a junior surf heat before things went t!ts up and reckoned that the US in 2019 was heaven on earth. They’d all had year 12 behind a screen for periods, had school balls cancelled, and had deferred uni because they couldn’t face the heartless prospect of doing it via laptops.
    They were facebooking with mates back east, and anyone remaining was hating life. They all hated the government, thought that batflu was a snow job, the vax was for suckers, the lockdowns were harsh and pointless, the exceptions made for the high rollers were rotten, and exposed the ruling class for hypocrisy and cant.
    They even gave me a “Another thing you don’t hear much about anymore all of a sudden”- lack of any support-line announcements at the end of news items announcing the tragic death of another WZV victim, whose image and name are not used for cultural reasons. The culture being, the media do not want a questioning or sceptical culture in it’s audience, and will memory-hole any dangerous information for another eighteen months or eighteen years, rather that lose face or relinquish clout.
    I didn’t have to red-pill any of them- unlike the low-rent Dutch and Spaniards it was massive fun. Restored my faith in the next gen. I hope they vote, en bloc, for the Lib Dems.

  4. rickw Avatar
    rickw

    he fooled us all

    If you were fooled by Obama, Rudd, Turnbull, Biden: Chances are you’re a bloody idiot!

  5. Muddy Avatar
    Muddy

    Wally Dalí says:
    August 20, 2021 at 9:55 pm

    Thanks for the interesting observational report.

  6. rickw Avatar
    rickw

    What has happened to homeless folk during all the lockdowns and curfews?

    They get fined and / or arrested like the rest of us. Fucking pigs fined two of the local homeless. They leave the really loony bin ones alone however.

  7. Wally Dalí Avatar
    Wally Dalí

    Could be a bit of groupthink- they have been travelling as a loose convoy for a while, and all get on with each other- but it’s very encouraging that they have seen through the solid media spin, all of their own accord, at a time of life when most kids would be cruising on leisure.

  8. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare Avatar
    Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare

    I hope they vote, en bloc, for the Lib Dems.

    Plenty of young people intend to do just that, including my 18 year old grandson and my 37 year old son (his uncle). They are not drinking the Kool-Aid of lockdowns, although they are both early adopters of the under 40’s AZ jabs. Gives one hope.

  9. Bruce in WA Avatar
    Bruce in WA

    My wife spoke at length to her sister in the USA today. My B-I-L, former doctor, was saying the hospitals in WA and OR are at breaking point with cases, virtually ALL unvaxxed. Medical staff have said they are finding it difficult to summon up the appropriate sympathy for them. There is a huge public groundswell against the unvaxxed, particularly as kids go back to school next week after more than a year away from a classroom. I fear it could get nasty. Their back neighbours, who did not, LITERALLY, leave their house for a year, had a birthday party for one of their grandchildren last weekend. However, since two of their other grandchildren have not been vaccinated, they were not allowed in the house. The “party” was held at a park, with everyone wearing masks. Sad.

  10. Wally Dalí Avatar
    Wally Dalí

    Odd, Bruce.
    WA and OR are both cold northern, solidly Democrat. I’d have thought they’d be among the most vax’ed population in the US, in states with a solid private health system too.
    I often thought in the last eighteen months that I’d like to see some custom maps- coof cases reported overlaid with political party administrating would be telling I reckon. Don’t know anyone both interested and willing to put it together?

  11. Bruce in WA Avatar
    Bruce in WA

    Diana launches Category A air machine gun capable of “full auto” fire, in new .9mm calibre! Revolutionary design ensures it is legal on a Cat A licence

    By Morgan Knutz – July 7, 202151409

    Air rifle maker Diana has announced a revolutionary 0.9mm air gun that combines the firepower of a machine gun with ammo characteristics of a shotgun, and it’s a Category A firearm in Australia.

    The new Diana Model 96 MPG (or Mouse Plague Gun) uses a cartridge not unlike a shotgun shell to hold 100 0.85gr 0.9mm projectiles that are fired in a single, continuous line down the rifled barrel using gas pressure from a canister.

    The action works in a semi-automatic fashion, which is quite legal under Category A air gun laws, but Diana points out that by repeatedly squeezing the trigger the shooter can release thousands of projectiles in successive hundred-round bursts, spraying an area with deadly effect.

    Diana says the incredible new weapon was developed specifically to help Australian farmers deal with the mouse plague, and tests have shown it can mow down swarms of rodents in a shed without damaging fodder or implements.

    The inspiration for the MPG was a direct result of COVID-19 lockdowns here in Australia.

    “During lockdown, an accountant from our Australian distributor was using her Diana .177 air rifle in her back yard to shoot cane toads,” a spokesman for Diana said.

    “It was the only hunting she could do. She sent a photo — she looked very funny in camo under the Hills hoist.

    “When a mouse appeared, she shot it and that made her think of the farmers suffering in the mouse plague.

    “That’s when she came up with a new calibre of air gun, which we call the .9 COVID, suitable for tiny rodents, but she knew a break-action air rifle would be as effective in a mouse plague as Scott Morrison in a windstorm of COVID germs.”

    The employee realised that under Australian law, semi-auto air-powered firearms are Category A. She took her idea to Diana’s engineers who further developed it until they could legally mimic the effect of fully automatic fire.

    The Australian Government has fast-tracked approval of the new Diana so that farmers will at last have an effective weapon to use against the millions of mice infesting their properties.

    “Usually we rely on carefully placed anti-gun bureaucrats to ensure nothing new gets through, but in this case we’ve used a combination of forced leave and temporary promotions to get them out of the way, so approval was granted this morning,” said a spokesperson for the Attorney-General’s Department.

    The Nationals have called for the weapon to immediately be outlawed.

    “We can’t allow weapons of mass destruction to proliferate in our streets,” a party spokesman said.

    He said they were looking for ways to bring back Tim Fisher to lead their campaign.

    Yes, of course it’s satire — but if only …

  12. Winston Smith Avatar

    Top Ender:

    I nearly shot one once when he ducked under a bazaar counter to get his drink bottle. Which they had been told not to put anywhere but in plain sight.

    Was it an assault bottle?
    You can’t be too careful…

  13. Knuckle Dragger Avatar
    Knuckle Dragger

    Test

  14. Mater Avatar
    Mater

    Test

    Fail.

  15. rosie Avatar
    rosie

    There’s a new open thread knuckles.

    It’s that kind of blog.

  16. Cardimona Avatar
    Cardimona

    My mate Dan’s fit sister died unexpectedly after being fully vaccinated.
    Here’s yesterday’s Cairns Post story about her, followed by today’s story.
    I talk to the journo via email occasionally (about ruinables in Douglas Shire) and I’ve sent him two thumbs up for today’s piece.

    Yesterday…
    ***

    Shock loss of teacher
    MARK MURRAY

    Cairns school teacher and mother-of-two Sara McCarthy, 45, died suddenly in Cairns after returning from a jog. Picture: Supplied

    A FAR North family is devastated after the sudden death of a fit and healthy 45-year-old mum who collapsed on a Cairns street returning from a jog.

    Freshwater State School teacher Sara McCarthy was found unconscious on a footpath and rushed to the Gold Coast University Hospital, where she underwent emergency blood clotting procedure related to a stroke.

    She slipped into a coma and died on Friday.

    Her death has stunned her loving family, friends and the school where she was “well loved by staff, students and admired by all.”

    Ms McCarthy – a mother of two – was almost back at her front gate after a 10km run when tragedy struck.

    She was in training for a half marathon.

    Her heartbroken brother, former KAP candidate Daniel McCarthy, said the family was in a state of shock.

    “We are devastated,” he said.

    “There are many hearts and lives that she has touched and influenced in a positive way.

    “The outpouring of grief across the community just goes to show what a wonderful person Sara was.”

    Mr McCarthy said his sister was an inspiration to her children, family, friends and colleagues in 2019 when she lost 58kg following the death of their mum. She had transformed herself into a supremely fit athlete.

    “She did an amazing job through hard work and discipline,” Mr McCarthy said.

    He said the circumstances into her death were gut-wrenching. “She had a stroke while she was running,” he said.

    “Someone found her and rushed her to the hospital. She slipped into a coma on the way down to the Gold Coast and never came out.”

    Tributes are pouring in for the “best mother” who was “loved fiercely” by her two children Georgia, 14, and Jack, 12. She was the youngest of four siblings.

    “This sudden loss has shocked our community, and we want Georgia and Jack to know they have our immediate and ongoing support,” her friend Katie Williard said.

    “Sara always provided opportunities for her kids, helping them to become the independent and confident people they are today, and we know she would want them to continue doing the things they love in her absence,” she said.

    ***
    Today…
    ***

    Probe into jog death
    MARK MURRAY

    FRIENDS, family and colleagues of a fit and healthy Far North primary school teacher have called for an investigation into her sudden death.

    Cairns mother-of-two Sara McCarthy had a stroke and collapsed after a jog on August 4.

    The 45-year-old (right) was flown to a Gold Coast hospital where she had emergency blood clot procedures but never recovered. She died on Friday, August 13.

    Ms McCarthy – who was training for a half marathon – had complained of severe back pain leading up to her death. She had been fully vaccinated, having her second dose of Pfizer on July 28.

    Federal health authorities have issued a new warning to the product information of the Comirnaty (Pfizer) vaccine and possible “inflammation of the heart” and “of the membrane around the heart” as a rare side effect of the jab which may occur “within 10 days of vaccination”.

    The conditions, known as myocarditis and pericarditis, can in severe cases lead to stroke or heart attack due to blood clots forming in the heart.

    The Therapeutic Goods Administration has received 188 reports of suspected myocarditis and/ or pericarditis following vaccinations with Pfizer as of August 15. A spokeswoman said there had been no reported fatal cases of myocarditis in Australia as being linked to the Pfizer dose.

    News Corp is not suggesting Ms McCarthy died as a result of the Pfizer vaccine, only that there are investigations into possible links between its side effects and, in rare cases, stroke and other heart conditions.

    “She had extreme back pain on the same day she had the second Pfizer shot,” friend Kate Willard said. “Sometimes extreme pain can be an indicator of stroke, but we just don’t know.”

    A Queensland Coroners Court spokesman said Ms McCarthy’s death had been reported to the Northern Coroner “and will be investigated accordingly”.

    Ms McCarthy’s brother, Daniel Mc-Carthy, said the exact cause of his sister’s death was in the hands of the coroner.

    “We need to wait and let the experts do their job, and we’ll deal with whatever the outcome is,” he said.

  17. Top Ender Avatar
    Top Ender

    feelthebernsays: Top Ender, seeing how former servicemen are treated, would you advise anyone to join any of the services here in Australia?

    No.

  18. Mother Lode Avatar
    Mother Lode

    FWIW – Archer Season 11 will be on Netflix on 17 September.

  19. cohenite Avatar
    cohenite

    Good summary by Jesse Watters of why the demorats are going to indict Trump (8 mins):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8ZSFBO95Y0

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