Open Thread- Mon 1 Nov 2021


Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Rose, Zurbarán, 1633

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

3K Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Top Ender
Top Ender
November 4, 2021 11:10 am

Oz newspaper says kidnapper self-harmed; Daily Mail report linked to above says beaten up by another prisoner:

The Australian has been told the man was in custody and had been subjected to some questioning on Wednesday when he repeatedly banged his own head against a wall shortly before midday. “I think it was once he realised how much trouble he was in,” one person familiar with the events said.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
November 4, 2021 11:16 am

The one thing that we need to make sure of is that Republicans in 2022 don’t become is the party of parents.

Except the Dems will see this as “parents not understanding the message” and a need to “curb the influence of far-right media commentators”.
The thought that they should give up their dream of re-shaping society by force-feeding shit to kids through schools won’t occur to them.

H B Bear
H B Bear
November 4, 2021 11:17 am

Once you are not dealing with reality TV “stars” and fake tits the Daily Mail might not be the most authoritative source.

incoherent rambler
incoherent rambler
November 4, 2021 11:21 am

Daily Mail. I only look at it for the articles.

Roger
Roger
November 4, 2021 11:21 am

Except the Dems will see this as “parents not understanding the message” and a need to “curb the influence of far-right media commentators”. The thought that they should give up their dream of re-shaping society by force-feeding shit to kids through schools won’t occur to them.

Can’t remember where exactly, but I saw the problem put concisely the other day:

Conservatives think Leftists are mistaken.

Leftists think conservatives are evil.

HD
HD
November 4, 2021 11:22 am

@ Mother Lode

Fwd to our discussion the other day, perhaps you may find this interesting regarding medical interventions and DNA damage demonstrated in vitro. Specifically to the nucleus. Probably the mitochondrion as well. Which might be heritable or result in cancers and/or AIDS like diseases. In either/ both adults or kids yet unborn.

Paper also discusses how both franken spike and naturally occurring spike both have the same effects on inhibiting DNA repair. On interfering with development of an adaptive immune memory by stuffing with the genes systems which the body uses to explore potentially effective antibodies in the course of immune challenge. Hence inhibiting production of cells with a specific response.

https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/10/2056/htm

Indicates that spike proteins, cause more damage to and interfere to a greater extent versus hydrogen peroxide, gamma radiation and doxorubicin ( a chemotherapy drug). Great huh.

Didn’t show up on literature searches I did on, for example PubMed with the terms “DNA damage” and “vaccine” (title and abstract).

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
November 4, 2021 11:25 am

Smoke ’em if you’ve got ’em.

Self-Driving Farm Robot Uses Lasers To Kill 100,000 Weeds An Hour, Saving Land And Farmers From Toxic Herbicides (3 Nov)

Neat beastie. I’d guess that defence R&D is looking at such things for mine clearing too. Tune a maser to cook off the explosive in the mine and pop goes the weasel.

Zatara
Zatara
November 4, 2021 11:30 am

… after the “offence” of Southern states electing black republicans in the first elections after the war that the KKK was the instrument of choice to prevent that “mistake” happening again.
And it unfortunately worked.

It took until 1929 for the northern states to elect their first black to the US Congress.
Those supposedly racist southern states had elected 42 of them by then.

Black-American Members by Congress, 1870–Present

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
November 4, 2021 11:32 am

Just listening to Nanny Neil in the car.
The network’s 6PR correspondent up in Carnarvon breathlessly reporting “calls for calm from community leaders” and “judging from the mood in the local pub, it’s a powder keg of emotions”.
Translation.
Radio Perthonality attracts every mouthy pisshead in town who has the “inside info” on Big Things which are brewing.
Perthonality also does a bit of stoking of the coals himself.
Be a pity to come all this way and leave without a race riot.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
November 4, 2021 11:33 am

Self-Driving Farm Robot Uses Lasers To Kill 100,000 Weeds An Hour, Saving Land And Farmers From Toxic Herbicides

From the comments – “an average field of corn is 160 acres….’

Boambee John
Boambee John
November 4, 2021 11:35 am

Roger

Can’t remember where exactly, but I saw the problem put concisely the other day:

Conservatives think Leftists are mistaken.

Leftists think conservatives are evil.

I used to take that position, now I believe that leftists are evil.

Old School Conservative
Old School Conservative
November 4, 2021 11:35 am

As I recall Frank shot a few weirdos who were running around a stage in the park wearing togas and brandishing knives.

Certainly not as memorable as the “Carry on Cleo” line from Kenneth Williams about Infamy.

incoherent rambler
incoherent rambler
November 4, 2021 11:35 am

Uses Lasers

What about the CO2 footprint?

Roger
Roger
November 4, 2021 11:41 am

I used to take that position, now I believe that leftists are evil.

At which point we’re getting the ingredients for a civil war together.

[That’s an observation, not an exhortation, ASIO.]

Dot
Dot
November 4, 2021 11:42 am

I don’t know why you are poo pooing the robots.

24/7, cheap.

Imagine what ten of them can do over a week.

rickw
rickw
November 4, 2021 11:43 am

Life in Mongyang:

Local coffee shop has now had thrice visits from third world Covid Marshalls. They’re holding the line, yeah yeah it’s a family business, no employees we’re all vaxed.

Unhitched the car trailer half up on the nature strip to not lug it around while getting some tools etc. return to find a namaste dream weaver shitbox nosing over my driveway and 4” from the tow bar. Fuck! Just enough room to push the heavy bastard back and do a reverse park hook up.

Mongyang.

Vicki
Vicki
November 4, 2021 11:46 am

Conservatives think Leftists are mistaken.
Leftists think conservatives are evil.

I also like:

“Conservatives get angry when someone tells a lie”
Leftists get angry when someone tells the truth”

twostix
twostix
November 4, 2021 11:48 am

Many times I thought a commentator very astute and sane and then oops, they blurt out something asinine and ruin their whole reputation with me. Once you see their blind spot you tend to disregard them, even if they may be right, on other issues.

There’s about ten full time paying jobs in all of Australia for non-left ‘commentators’. What would they do if they got fired? They literally have no marketable skills outside of pretending to be ‘conservative’ and steering 30% of the population into never ending dead ends on every issue.

incoherent rambler
incoherent rambler
November 4, 2021 11:49 am

Nice beaver.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
November 4, 2021 11:51 am

“an average field of corn is 160 acres….’

Pretty small. About 800 m by 800 m. But the beastie is quite a small unit from what I saw in the pics in the article. I suspect if they find a market they’d bring out bigger models.

rickw
rickw
November 4, 2021 11:52 am

Neat beastie. I’d guess that defence R&D is looking at such things for mine clearing too. Tune a maser to cook off the explosive in the mine and pop goes the weasel.

I think CSIRO did some similar trials using microwaves.

Roger
Roger
November 4, 2021 11:53 am

Speaking of civil wars, my recently ordered copy of ‘The Gettysburg Campaign, A Study in Command’ by Edwin B. Coddington just now landed on my doorstep courtesy my friendly courier.

Whilst it was written over 50 years ago, it’s still the book on the topic most recommended by historians of the period. At nearly 900 pages with maps, photos, footnotes and index it certainly looks exhaustive. It must have exhusted the author as he died just before its publication in 1968.

H B Bear
H B Bear
November 4, 2021 11:54 am

The ALPBC reporter on the 7pm News filed his report from a Carnarvon beer garden (presumably between rounds). It was completely dead and served to remind people how lucky they are not to live in Carnarvon.

MatrixTransform
November 4, 2021 11:54 am

all it took was 7 toaster minutes in the kitchen overhearing the missus’ radio tuned to 3AW
my blood pressure rises listening to that mong Mitchell.

yabbers about the terrible Tim Smith witch hunt
segues to saying he reckons Timmy is a dangerous (reee!) idiot (reee!)

I leave avec toast yelling at the radio …

Unlike yourself Mitchell … at least Timmy is an ELECTED dangerous idiot.

Neil (reeeee!) Mitchell should be charged with culpable stupidity

Dot
Dot
November 4, 2021 11:55 am

Yea.

168 million weeds over a week from 10 robots.

You could lease 90 units over a busy season. Or get a contract drone controller to do it.

You could kill off 10 billion weeds over a six week period.

The technology is likely to improve, chemical poisoning has probably peaked, even with research into general non toxic herbicides and specific, allelopathic herbicides.

How much are you paying for workers, utes, fuel, dumb dumb *safety* courses, tractors, boom sprayers, IBCs…?

Tom
Tom
November 4, 2021 11:55 am

Comments remain closed, go chat among yourselves elsewhere.

Arky, such a passive-aggressive smartarsed way to conclude your otherwise excellent Cognac dissident post. Your old teaching sensibilities are evidently dying hard. You’re better than that.

Roger
Roger
November 4, 2021 11:57 am

What would they do if they got fired? They literally have no marketable skills outside of pretending to be ‘conservative’ and steering 30% of the population into never ending dead ends on every issue.

The ABC has regular slots for token conservatives on The Dumb & Q&A.

There’s always that – being a human punchline .

rickw
rickw
November 4, 2021 11:58 am

If they didn’t know the difference between a live round and a dummy round they must be blind.

Even a blind person can feel for the hole in the side of the case or the missing primer!

incoherent rambler
incoherent rambler
November 4, 2021 11:58 am

I can see robot weeders having a future in hill country. Where tractors fear to tread.

Dot
Dot
November 4, 2021 11:59 am

I strongly agreed with Arky as well.

He loves to be hated.

rickw
rickw
November 4, 2021 12:00 pm

Comments remain closed, go chat among yourselves elsewhere.

Why not open them?

A related quote from my Dad:

“Nice bloke but not the sort you would want to take with you to settle a new country!”

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
November 4, 2021 12:02 pm

Hmmm, I wonder if there’s a bit of history behind that number. The old “forty acres and a mule” law. Four guys club together and you have a nice 160 acre field, thanks to General Sherman.

Forty acres and a mule wiki

John of Mel
John of Mel
November 4, 2021 12:02 pm
John of Mel
John of Mel
November 4, 2021 12:04 pm

Too many links?

I’ll try again.

Including this young woman with a slight accent.

John of Mel
John of Mel
November 4, 2021 12:06 pm

hahaha

Stephen L. Miller
@redsteeze
·
23h
Everything The Lincoln Project Touches Dies or is Under 18.

Roger
Roger
November 4, 2021 12:08 pm

Arky, such a passive-aggressive smartarsed way to conclude your otherwise excellent Cognac dissident post.

Speaking of which…Arky writes, “A complete disrespect for both the trades and the abilities required to fill those places…”

Is this a Melbourne thing?

It certainly doesn’t exist up here.

Discission on local radio this morning mentioned many aspiring apprentices but not enough masters willing to take them on.

Roger
Roger
November 4, 2021 12:09 pm

Republicans did well overall.

The normies are fighting back.

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
November 4, 2021 12:10 pm

It was completely dead and served to remind people how lucky they are not to live in Carnarvon.

Not much changed then…
Havent been there for a decade, a funny place, hard working core surrounded by welfare ticks and thieves was my last impression.

Once we went into town to get on the piss (roustabouts), I stopped to get some money from the hole in the wall teller.
Was beavering away when I heard a loud “Oi”! from across the road.
While Id been getting the money some aspiring rappers had stepped out of the alley next door and were about to roll me when the money came out.
Fortunately a brutal little thug we had working for us saw them and hopped out of the car and yelled out before they hit me.
Seeing a car full of only 1/2 pissed rousies they decided to walk on.

That may color my impressions of the place.

Top Ender
Top Ender
November 4, 2021 12:10 pm

Police meet with indigenous elders in Carnarvon amid concerns of unrest in Cleo Smith fallout

THEAUSTRALIAN

Extra police have arrived in the West Australian fruit-growing town of Carnarvon amid concerns of unrest and recriminations over the abduction of Cleo Smith.

West Australian police commissioner Chris Dawson convened an emergency meeting of about 20 Aboriginal elders in Carnarvon on Wednesday afternoon to ask for their support to maintain calm in the community.

As social media simmered with accusations and theories about the 36-year-old Aboriginal man in custody over Cleo’s abduction, Mr Dawson told the elders: “You are influencers in your community and you can talk to people who are more impressionable.”

“You can be that voice of reason,” he said.

Zatara
Zatara
November 4, 2021 12:12 pm

If they didn’t know the difference between a live round and a dummy round they must be blind.

Another sanity check on that theory is that dummies are inert. That makes their active use on a shoot-em-up movie set highly improbable for the simple reason that they don’t go bang, produce a flash, or create gun smoke (as blanks do).

This is a case of leftists playing on the ignorance of people who don’t know the difference between a blank and a dummy.

incoherent rambler
incoherent rambler
November 4, 2021 12:18 pm

Without the firearm checks, we could lose some Hollywood actors.

Can someone point out the downside?

Tom
Tom
November 4, 2021 12:19 pm

Police meet with indigenous elders in Carnarvon amid concerns of unrest in Cleo Smith fallout

Translation; the lowlife who allegedly abducted Cleo Smith is Aboriginal.

And, of course, the “news” media is out front in withholding the truth — the exact opposite of its job.

Razey
Razey
November 4, 2021 12:22 pm

Rickw,

So whats the plan now to remain a pure blood?

I have found out that I might be able to get my kid into an online school for year 11 & 12 so their mandates will mean shit. I need to get the school Principal to grant an exemption to being enrolled. Should be interesting. If I can get it, might stay in Vic. At the moment my company is not mandating as they are worried they’ll get sued. Plus I have enough funds to not need to work for 4 or 5 years – might be enough time to ride it out.

There is still an option to leave Aus without the clot shot, but need to apply for an ‘exemption’. Still looking at that option.

If the above 2 fail, then NSW would be the next bet.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
November 4, 2021 12:29 pm

Bacon is tasty.

Researcher traces concept of taste in literature to 16th century (3 Nov)

Turns out we can thank a guy named Bacon for the concept of “taste,” as in properly discerning the relative value of cultural goods.

The University of Kansas associate professor of English argues that a key shift occurred with Francis Bacon’s famous 1597 aphorism about eating books: “Some bookes are to bee tasted, others to bee swallowed, and some few to bee chewed and digested: That is, some bookes are to be read only in partes; others to be read, but cursorily, and some few to be read wholly and with diligence and attention.”

Just like bacon should be tasted. Bacon is amazing.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
November 4, 2021 12:33 pm

Hmmm, I wonder if there’s a bit of history behind that number. The old “forty acres and a mule” law. Four guys club together and you have a nice 160 acre field, thanks to General Sherman.

More to do with the “Homestead Act” of 1862 – any citizen could claim 160 acres of public land, provided they lived on that land, cultivated it and made improvements.

Roger
Roger
November 4, 2021 12:35 pm

First it was blackouts and now China is reportedly facing potential food shortages this winter with authorities urging people to stock up on essentials.

Xi really is turning the clock back to Maoist times.

Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Border Closure

Hmmm, I wonder if there’s a bit of history behind that number. The old “forty acres and a mule” law.

160 acre “typical” cornfields.

The origin of the numbers leaps off the screen.

Tom
Tom
November 4, 2021 12:37 pm

“We should blow them out of the sky right now!” declares the gungho American military commander about the extraterrestrials who’ve just landed on earth. The Sportsbet ad makes me laugh every time.

I hope Cats land a bet on Oaks day, which decides the 2021 three-year-old fillies championship in Victoria.

Zipster
Zipster
November 4, 2021 12:42 pm

Mr Dawson told the elders: “You are influencers in your community and you can talk to people who are more impressionable.”

Tatoo! tatoo! The vulnerables, the vulnerables, they are getting restless!!

Fair Shake
Fair Shake
November 4, 2021 12:54 pm

Self-Driving Farm Robot Uses Lasers To Kill 100,000 Weeds An Hour, Saving Land And Farmers From Toxic Herbicides

Could we not tune it to run through all public institutions to rid us of the green weeds.

Also please keep your pubics behind the yellow line.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
November 4, 2021 12:54 pm

Cleo Smith found: Det-Supt Rod Wilde’s implores public to stop spreading ‘wild theories’
Shannon Hampton
The West Australian
Thu, 4 November 2021 9:01AM

6:42 | The West Australian
Current Time 0:13
/

The lead detective behind the search for Cleo Smith has implored the community to refrain from circulating “wild theories” on social media in the wake of the four-year-old’s remarkable rescue.

Det-Supt Rod Wilde’s plea came as he confirmed a media report that the 36-year-old man in custody accused of abducting the little girl was “bashed black and blue” by another prisoner in a holding cell was “not true”.

“My understanding is the man in custody self-harmed,” he told 6PR this morning.

“Obviously in modern police stations there’s CCTV in all the cells and everything else. That’s what the understanding was, he was taken to hospital, when he’s declared fit to interview, that’s what we will do.”

miltonf
miltonf
November 4, 2021 12:55 pm

Is this a Melbourne thing?

No.

Top Ender
Top Ender
November 4, 2021 12:57 pm

Even when using dummy/blank whatever rounds on a movie set, the armourer is responsible for gun safety. That includes making sure the idiot actors who handle the weapons don’t point them at each other, unless necessary for a piece of filming.

And in that case many more precautions would apply.

The armourer on a movie set where that isn’t the practise would usually resign – out of their own professionalism.

Roger
Roger
November 4, 2021 1:03 pm

The lead detective behind the search for Cleo Smith has implored the community to refrain from circulating “wild theories” on social media in the wake of the four-year-old’s remarkable rescue.

Cast your net a little closer to shore, detective.

Some local spun a yarn to a journo who swallowed it hook, line and sinker.

miltonf
miltonf
November 4, 2021 1:06 pm

Comments remain closed, go chat among yourselves elsewhere.

Odious.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
November 4, 2021 1:09 pm

This is a case of leftists playing on the ignorance of people who don’t know the difference between a blank and a dummy.

No, I think the terminology is correct.
“Bullets” or “live ammunition” are the real thing.
“Blanks” make noise, flash and smoke.
“Dummies” are inert but designed to look like the real thing, for close up scenes of loading and for eagle-eyed cinema goers who will spot empty chambers in revolvers.
It sounds like the scene wasn’t a “firing” scene, so dummies would be the go.

Roger
Roger
November 4, 2021 1:14 pm

The armourer on a movie set where that isn’t the practise would usually resign – out of their own professionalism.

The problem seems to be that the professionals charge too much for the producers’ liking.

Pedro the Loafer
Pedro the Loafer
November 4, 2021 1:15 pm

Carnarvon is an unusual WA town in that it has a hard core of fruit growers and fishermen, mostly of European ethic origin, lots of drive in – drive out mine workers, about 20% aborigines, and a large underclass of drug fuelled ferals.

Lots of hard workers with nice homes, plenty of wealthy residents surrounded by houso hovels and petty criminals.

Maybe not so petty criminals in some cases.

C.L.
C.L.
November 4, 2021 1:17 pm

Why are comments turned off for the Arkinator’s post??

Zatara
Zatara
November 4, 2021 1:18 pm

It sounds like the scene wasn’t a “firing” scene, so dummies would be the go.

Perhaps, but the round in the chamber wouldn’t have been visible dummy or not.
The weapon was quick drawn, cocked, and the trigger pulled which sounds like a firing scene to me.
If it was just for drill the weapon should have been unloaded completely.

Slim Cognito
Slim Cognito
November 4, 2021 1:24 pm

the lowlife who allegedly abducted Cleo Smith is Aboriginal.

Surely he will be described as a “proud xxxx man” by the media, as they always do.

calli
calli
November 4, 2021 1:26 pm

Comments remain closed, go chat among yourselves elsewhere.

And here we are having a chat.

It’s a good rant though, with some excellent points. Maybe the comments can be back on next time.

Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Border Closure

The problem seems to be that the professionals charge too much for the producers’ liking.

Mr. Baldwin now knows why this is so.

Carpe Jugulum
Carpe Jugulum
November 4, 2021 1:29 pm

Surely he will be described as a “proud xxxx man” by the media, as they always do.

You mean “Aspiring Rapper”

calli
calli
November 4, 2021 1:30 pm

Learn something new every day here.

I thought blank rounds were “dummy” rounds. Seems they’re not.

Zipster
Zipster
November 4, 2021 1:31 pm

First it was blackouts and now China is reportedly facing potential food shortages this winter with authorities urging people to stock up on essentials.

the CCP could not give a crap about its people, how much of this is orchestrated to spread financial chaos through the west?

Gilas
Gilas
November 4, 2021 1:32 pm

Self-Driving Farm Robot Uses Lasers To Kill 100,000 Weeds An Hour, Saving Land And Farmers From Toxic Herbicides

One simple fact seems to be missing..
Am I the only one wondering about the price of one of these things?

Looking at Googs, all reports seem to be a marketing con, IPO in the offing?

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
November 4, 2021 1:33 pm

Surely he will be described as a “proud xxxx man” by the media, as they always do.

I’ve never seen anyone described as a “dispirited” or “dejected” xxxx man.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
November 4, 2021 1:39 pm

I thought blank rounds were “dummy” rounds. Seems they’re not.

Sancho Panzer is quite correct.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
November 4, 2021 1:44 pm

Thanks, HD.

Pedro the Loafer
Pedro the Loafer
November 4, 2021 1:46 pm

“Drill rounds”, “snap caps” and “dummy rounds” are all inert, i.e. they don’t go “bang” when loaded into a real gun and the trigger is pulled. They are usually colour coded, have holes drilled in the side of the case or have a recess at the rear of the case where the primer would be in a live round

“Blank rounds” have a powder charge but no projectile, and will will go “bang” when loaded into a gun and the trigger is pulled. Brass blank rounds have a distinctive crimped case end instead of a projectile. Plastic blank rounds are usually coloured and would be impossible to mistake for a live round.

“Live rounds” are usually a brass case with a lead or copper projectile. You would need to be pretty careless to either mix live, dummy or blank rounds together or mistake live ammunition for blank or dummy.

I have no knowledge of showbiz armourers responsibilities, but I would have thought that all firearm safety issues would be the direct responsibility of that one person.

The actor is just a stooge who is told what to say, where to stand and what to do by other people.

Roger
Roger
November 4, 2021 1:49 pm

…the CCP could not give a crap about its people

No doubt, but it needs to keep them submissive.

Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Border Closure

Concur 200% with Pedro.

Zipster
Zipster
November 4, 2021 1:51 pm
Zipster
Zipster
November 4, 2021 1:52 pm

No doubt, but it needs to keep them submissive.

If they were any more submissive they would rust

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
November 4, 2021 1:52 pm

Lots of hard workers with nice homes, plenty of wealthy residents surrounded by houso hovels and petty criminals

Thats about it.

Im wondering how the weeders with frikkin lasers on their heads go for starting fires?

bespoke
bespoke
November 4, 2021 1:53 pm

Am I the only one wondering about the price of one of these things?

No and Lasers are high maintinence. They should have a ‘miss’ or ‘misses’ as a worning in front of the name.

Dot
Dot
November 4, 2021 1:56 pm

Why are they high maintenance? Apart from being high powered? No moving parts?

????

Baba
Baba
November 4, 2021 1:58 pm

Pregnant women were made a priority in the vaccine rollout in July, after global research found mRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna were safe and effective for women at all stages of their pregnancy.
******
Today, chair of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Professor Caroline Homer renewed the call for pregnant women to make sure they were fully vaccinated.
****
“So to all the pregnant women out there please go and get vaccinated, it’s absolutely critical not only for you but also for your baby and your family.”

bespoke
bespoke
November 4, 2021 2:00 pm

Don’t last long, expensive and fragile Dot.

Roger
Roger
November 4, 2021 2:02 pm

If they were any more submissive they would rust

That’s because they’ve been having it reasonably good for 30 years via the social contract the authorities initiated with the people post-Tiananmen: the government delivers economic and social benefits via growing prosperity and in return the people remain politically compliant. In the course of that China has gone through the “political transition zone” – the level of per capita income where authoritarian regimes are reformed either from within or wihout – with its government intact. But not necessarily secure. If things start going backwards economically and socially the contract is in danger of becoming void and the people restive. At that point Mr Xi would need a distraction to rally the Chinese people behind him. Hello, Taiwan!

struth
struth
November 4, 2021 2:04 pm
calli
calli
November 4, 2021 2:04 pm

Yes, Dover.

I’m just glad he’s posting. Everyone responds to pressure differently. And some of you guys are really under the pump.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
November 4, 2021 2:08 pm

One simple fact seems to be missing..
Am I the only one wondering about the price of one of these things?

Looking at Googs, all reports seem to be a marketing con, IPO in the offing?

Versions are on the market now.
There is a cost, but my croppin’ nephews tell me the pay-back in chemicals saved might be around 1-3 seasons.
No, they are not foolproof, but neither is blanket spraying.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
November 4, 2021 2:10 pm

Arky’s post:

For years only the most troublesome and disruptive students were herded towards TAFE as high schools used the vocational stream to rid themselves of the difficult and the stupid. This reflected the attitudes of the middle class teachers themselves: anyone “good” should aspire to a nice, clean indoor job that required a university degree. Anyone who they found annoying should be relegated to manual labour.

If this was the case, and the bunch of fit-looking blokes sitting by the side of the road also happened years ago, wouldn’t they haver been likely to identify the problem with the car, and not been helpless?

Not having a go. Just trying to understand the point of that bit. Maybe it’s about soft-handed rich blokes, but if it is it’s hardly a new concept. Every, and I mean every generation’s had them.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
November 4, 2021 2:11 pm

dover0beachsays:

November 4, 2021 at 1:59 pm

I think Arky is finding closed comments at the moment conducive to maintaining an even keel.

Doesn’t want debate?

Top Ender
Top Ender
November 4, 2021 2:13 pm

That whole movie set sounds dysfunctional.

Anyone who’s served in professional armed forces, especially on deployment, knows how professionals behave with weapons. What’s called “muzzle awareness” being shabbily treated often results in threats of physical violence unless the recalcitrant one mends their ways. And a good thing too.

It sounds rather odd that a whole movie set of people were so slack. “Plinking” for fun with the actual weapons employed looks more than careless. But as I said before, to continue working in such an environment makes it look like amateur hour. And responsibility therefore must go all the way to the top to those who allowed it to be like that.

rosie
rosie
November 4, 2021 2:19 pm

My sons’ Catholic secondary has sent off many boys to apprenticeships in recent years.
Not surprisingly my younger son who was one of the many to do so, has many mates are who are also tradies.
A couple have even already gone into business for themselves, a year or two out from completing their apprenticeships.

incoherent rambler
incoherent rambler
November 4, 2021 2:21 pm

Im wondering how the weeders with frikkin lasers on their heads go for starting fires?

Cylons. I wonder if they could be reprogrammed to target greens and labs.

** I respect and acknowledge arky’s right of unidirectional conversation.

P
P
November 4, 2021 2:22 pm

Vatican to open contemporary art gallery in historic papal library
By Hannah Brockhaus – Vatican City, Nov 3, 2021

The Vatican’s historic library has created a new space for hosting temporary art exhibitions.

Pope Francis will inaugurate the gallery and visit its first exhibit on Nov. 5.

The Vatican’s librarian Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça said in a Nov. 3 press release: “The Vatican Apostolic Library inaugurates a new exhibition hall to support the culture of encounter.”

“Our challenge is to strengthen the cultural role of the Vatican in the contemporary world,” he added, describing the contrast between ancient works and contemporary art as “history meet[ing] the present.”

bespoke
bespoke
November 4, 2021 2:24 pm

Two of my elder brothers went to TAFE for there apprenticeships. You need high marks to get a trade. I bet they could point Australia on a map unlike many Un students.

bespoke
bespoke
November 4, 2021 2:26 pm

Ini

Vicki
Vicki
November 4, 2021 2:30 pm

Maybe I linked to this blog through New Catallaxy, but if not, this is SO well worth visiting:

https://eugyppius.substack.com/p/stupid-and-evil-in-equal-measures

For example, the author speculates:

The Pandemic Doctrine was not a slow burn, like climate change or the campaign against carbohydrates. It was a massive explosion. The bureaucrats will never de-convert, but they will more and more turn their attention to other things, as success against Corona even on their own terms proves impossible.

incoherent rambler
incoherent rambler
November 4, 2021 2:33 pm

Im wondering how the weeders with frikkin lasers on their heads go for starting fires?

One of these robots reprogrammed for health bureaucrats, would take how long?

/NADT

Vicki
Vicki
November 4, 2021 2:37 pm

A post from the blog I mentioned above…..applicable to bureaucracies anywhere in the world:

VeryVer
I work in a large govt bureaucracy — we are beyond incompetent. It’s hardly even possible to describe to outsiders the level of stupidity that we operate within. People don’t believe it. I often describe it as a merry-go -round that can never stop turning, and no one is in charge of it. People jump on and off of it, people add things to it while it is turning, and sometimes things fall of it, but it can never be improved, or corrected, because it was broken from the beginning and no one can stop it. And the odd thing is that, individually, we are all aware of the problems (most of us) and all we feel frustrated with the system, but no one seems able to change anything, at any level of the power structure. A bureaucracy is like a cancer, it grows and grows, but without actually a plan or a leader. There is of course a “leader,” but this person sits on the organization like a hat — usually appointed from a completely different realm, with no real interest or ability to change anything or make waves. Occasionally this person tries to change something, but will meet with resistance from the rest of the organization. The only way to really change it is to fire large groups of people (remove the tumor) and start over, but no one wants to do that, either. So it sits and grows and grows. Because of where I work I have zero faith in the FDA or CDC to be doing their job of “protecting” us. They have every incentive to lie and cover their asses, and zero incentives to actually help. They know that the vax doesn’t kill everyone immediately, and that’s good enough for them. As long as the blame can pushed away from them personally, that’s all that matters.

struth
struth
November 4, 2021 2:39 pm
struth
struth
November 4, 2021 2:44 pm

Topher Field.

History won’t remember our names, but it will remember whether or not we stood.
Win or lose, let history show that we stood.
To say ‘I won’t do anything yet because it’s not that bad yet’ is to condemn some future generation to have to stand when it IS ‘that bad’.
To say nothing, risk nothing, to give nothing in our generation, is to condemn our children to risk everything, to give their all to win back what we lost.
I will not betray my children like that.
This is not a moment for fearful hearts and small lives, content to try and keep what little of our freedom is left.
This is history in the making. And like all great moments in history we need stout hearts, stern faces, bold action, and nothing less than victory.
This is not like the history you read in books and already know the ending.
Rather this is what it was like for them as they WROTE the history that we now read.
We are now the authors of that future history book that some child will read with eyes wide, marvelling at the deeds done, the courage shown, the sacrifices made.
It’s our turn to write a chapter of history.
Let us together write a chapter our descendants will read with pride in their hearts.

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
November 4, 2021 2:44 pm

Vickisays:
November 4, 2021 at 2:30 pm

Thats a well written piece.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
November 4, 2021 2:45 pm

It sounds rather odd that a whole movie set of people were so slack. “Plinking” for fun with the actual weapons employed looks more than careless. 

The beer can massacre might be OK, but it requires the armourer to take tight control.
Quarantine and clear all weapons when returned, and control the loading and unloading of weapons, to the point that every casing and round is accounted for at the end.
Live ammo then securely locked away.
Remember, this is the USA. The chance of other ammo making it on to the set is not negligible.
And positively no emptying of the aluminum targets prior to or during the shoot.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
November 4, 2021 2:45 pm

I was speaking to a friend earlier who is tired of the people pushing her to get vaccinated. She truly does not want Pfizer (or AZ). She wants to wait for Novavax, if she must have it (and even that will just further cement her disgust with the Libs).

She does not trust Pfizer because she is not comfortable with the mechanism. Traditional vaccines she has no problem with.

Dim Parrotted could probably hit 99% in a week if they allowed Novavax. He won’t win friends or votes, but he won’t shed further the votes of people who are sick of this farcical production.

How about Dom Photittet. Photios likes being in the background and his minions pretend to be their own people. Shine a light on him and he will be as uncomfortably exposed as a cockroach when the light is turned on, just without the saving ‘scurrying’ instinct.

People will just see a grotesque operator from whom and whose they can recoil.

incoherent rambler
incoherent rambler
November 4, 2021 2:49 pm

Quick question about the weeding robot.

As they are doing their job, do they say: “Exterminate. Exterminate. …”

calli
calli
November 4, 2021 2:54 pm

Long ago, in the quiet of the world, most men knew how to change a spark plug. And check the oil, some knew how to replace filters and other tricky stuff. Everyone, including ladies, knew how to change a tyre. It was just a given, maybe because cars were simpler back then, maybe because the NRMA was hard to get because no mobiles.

You didn’t have to have done a motor mechanic trade, or similar. All the boys used to pour over a mate’s new car – bonnet up, oohs and ahhs and spanners at the ready. Mainly also because the cars were wrecks and needed work.

And, in my little lower north shore cohort at least, all the mums and dads wanted their sons to “work clean”, regardless of family background. This was in the late 60’s to late 70’s. It became particularly desirable when uni fees were waived. Of course TAFE still proceeded to turn out tradies, but over time courses were dropped or dumbed down. Even my own area suffered, I was in the last group to go through under the old regime – you needed to be proficient in trig for instance. Not any more.

My own New Broom, after a start at uni, dropped out and into a trade. Best thing he ever did. Not a “dumbo” at all, just couldn’t see a lifetime of project management instead of hands-on, outdoors and for him, satisfying work. At one stage he was the most expensively educated trench digger in the Sydney basin! 😀

Pretty much all his school mates have done degrees and are now either polishing office chairs or working from the dining room table. I don’t think many of them could work out why their cars failed to proceed either.

Chris
Chris
November 4, 2021 2:58 pm

This is a case of leftists playing on the ignorance of people who don’t know the difference between a blank and a dummy.

As far as I have been able to tell, the whole story is victim to journalists who can’t tell the difference between words and reality.
The extreme over-use of the words ‘prop gun’ for a start; once we know its a single action we know that its an unmodified, working revolver being used to act the movie. The only reason for the words ‘prop gun’ becomes to distinguish it from a private concealed-carry gun or criminal’s gun brought onto the set, OR perhaps to imply some lower level of culpability because ‘it’s a prop, it shouldn’t hurt people’.
Not a helpful term, in my opinion.

calli
calli
November 4, 2021 3:00 pm

Dim Parrotted could probably hit 99% in a week if they allowed Novavax.

It looks like a commercial decision from the Federal government, if the PM is to be believed (yes, I know).

They must have contractual arrangements with the others, possibly because of delays in Novavax production. Why they need so many pre-bought doses of P and M is beyond me, as research and testing for optimum products is ongoing.

bespoke
bespoke
November 4, 2021 3:01 pm

all the mums and dads wanted their sons to “work clean”, regardless of family background.

Bloody Boomers!!

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
November 4, 2021 3:02 pm

Vicki,

That quote just up above is a cracker. As you mention, it could apply in varying degrees to almost any organisation I’ve ever worked in, or with.

Gab
Gab
November 4, 2021 3:05 pm

Everyone, please make sure you’ve signed the petitions Dover has place on the top right of the NewCat page. And share them around as each petition needs 100,000 signatures for it to be tabled in Parliament.

Thank you.

JC
JC
November 4, 2021 3:12 pm
calli
calli
November 4, 2021 3:13 pm

The parents weren’t Boomers. They were mostly Silent Generation, with some older ones (Greatest) who had seen active service in WWII. One of my friend’s father was a inmate of Changi.

They wanted their children to have degrees, or at least office work diplomas (Accounting, for instance). Girls had a pretty clear choice – teachers’ college, nursing or clerical. The completely unskilled went to the factory floor or retail, sometimes after or during a stint at TAFE – hairdressing, for instance. A few of the best went on to the HSC and uni, but that was a tithe of the girls who inhabited the Fourth Form and left at 16.

Boys must have been in a similar boat, but I expect more stayed on. Their career prospects were always better and more varied.

Girls met Mr Right, resigned from their jobs, reapplied for a short stint, resigned again and produced babies.

Then they started burning their bras instead. Some of the greatest social upheavals start in the silliest ways.

Indolent
Indolent
November 4, 2021 3:17 pm

This is the text of an email from Martin Geddes headed “This is Agony and it will Pass”. It sets out very clearly where we are at the moment. I’m not quite sure where his confidence that it will pass comes from.

The chicken dinner was nice. My reclining seat is comfortable. The music on my headphones is pleasant. The heating is working fine. It’s a lovely laptop in front of me.
On the surface, information warfare is easy. There is none of the blood, mud, and guts of the WW1 trenches here. Nobody is screaming in pain, no bombs are exploding, no corpses are rotting.
Yet I feel that I am involved in one of the most gruesome and depraved conflicts in all of history. The essence of its cruelty is that everything is so close to “normal”, yet so far away from anything that ought to be normalised.
A tiny piercing of the human skin, and a few millilitres of liquid labelled with the brand of a reputable major pharmaceutical company — and universally endorsed by media and government. How bad can that be?
We already know the answer: horrific neurological injuries, destroyed immune systems, cardiovascular catastrophe, infertility, maiming, and death. And that’s before we begin to unravel the horrors of transhumanist technology: hijacking of consciousness, zombification of humans, and deletion of spirituality.
The essence of this genocidal war is a nightmarish scheme designed to break the strongest human onlooker. Our love for our family and friends is weaponised against us, as we are forced to endure watching them suicidally self-harm using gene therapy and nanotechnologies. Behind that is a barbaric system of mind control and social engineering instituted over the last century and more.
I only know how to speak from my heart; I can’t stand games like chess or bridge where I use my mind to outwit others. (At the most I am willing to use my intellect to “antiwit” the plotters and schemers, but without my heart feeling engaged, the pursuit of winning for its own sake is cold and uninteresting to me.) The predictable disaster meted out to those we care about is an agony in my core, and its endless deceit is emotionally exhausting to endure.
One of my daughters is “woke” and has turned against me. The other one is wavering; still engaged in relating, but only just. Their mother is caught up in the cult of death, her rationality still present, but her conscience seems lost. The only metric of morality left in operation is whether you conform enough that your reputation is unsullied by rebellion. No authoritative facts or appeals to ethics have the slightest effect.
An old friend has betrayed me and led my daughters down a dangerous path of submission to tyranny, usurping my position as a parent. My own parents have endorsed this institutionalised child abuse, and we barely communicate now as a result. My brother has stabbed himself with the serum of slavery, and I dare not inquire what’s happening to my nieces. A much-loved lover… jabbed too.
I know many of you face similar situations and profound sadness. The nature of unrestricted and unconventional warfare — those “silent weapons for quiet wars” — is in some ways more harrowing than mustard gas and nuclear weapons. The battlefield is not “over there” on foreign soils with young men being blown apart. It is small children right here being “exploded” in front of our eyes at a cellular level, and with the complicity of our most trusted institutions.
We know that for many a “wailing and gnashing” awakening is coming, and it won’t be pretty. We do not know how many will perish, what nature will throw at us, or what “special help” we have (the ambiguity is purposeful!). We watch and wait, and in the meantime many of us suffer in anticipation. There is a toll on us economically, socially, psychologically, physically, and spiritually from an all-enveloping conflict.
The superficial daily comfort denies us the “official” participation of a “proper” kinetic war by the metrics we have been offered in movies. Memetic war — waged in the mass media and via reprogramming biology — lacks the noise, bravado, and machinery of its explosive opposite. We are gaslit constantly and told there is no war, and that anyone who says there is must be a dangerous extremist or under-medicated madman.
The crux of this conflict is children. They aren’t just on the battlefield, they are the battlefield. This is what makes this the most horrific war in history, for no lower boundary of moral conduct seems to exist. Quite the opposite: the Satanic method demands revelry in the maximisation of sadism and transgression. There is the rape and sacrifice of infants, the trafficking in child sex slaves, and the theft of our genetic inheritance.
We will have to face up to many being orphaned, and perhaps the most tear-inducing will be the children of the indicted. Their parents may still be alive (if not executed for treason), but in remote military prisons for their own safety and security. These innocent children will be in a state of shock and limbo, unable to grieve properly, and tarnished by the crimes of their ancestors. Parenting skills for the traumatised are going to be in high demand.
It has been a trying time recently. I have been overstressed, overstretched, and overwhelmed. Years and years of voraciously ingesting data and sorting it to see patterns has left me with “autist fatigue”. Doing simple admin is getting hard, focusing on complex projects is beyond me, and all kinds of notional dues and duties have had to fall the side. Burnout is a thing, and I have to recognise my own finite capacity and capability limits.
I know that when I am censored it isn’t just an attack on my work. It is also an implicit threat against me as a person. So far I have been OK, and I assume that I have some kind of unseen cover or protection as a result of my forthrightness. I do what I can to maintain some basic operational security, and hope for the best. I refuse to cower in fear, and carry on my life regardless. I am hopeful for truth, justice, and prosperity; and realistic of the hardship to get there.
Somehow we all know that we cannot buckle or bend the knee; to have come so far and fallen now would be a tragic waste. If there is one thing that energises me to carry on in the darkest moments, it is the knowledge that I may be needed to help a child. No matter how difficult the present may feel, we can take solace in the possibility that someday young eyes may look up to us in gratitude for passing through this distressing experience.
We cannot let the children down.
No, we must not.

miltonf
miltonf
November 4, 2021 3:21 pm

And, in my little lower north shore cohort at least, all the mums and dads wanted their sons to “work clean”, regardless of family background. This was in the late 60’s to late 70’s.

Yes that was certainly my experience and observation. I’m not sure if it’s the circles I move in now or society has changed, but being a tradie or learning a trade seems to be much more highly regarded now than in the past.

John of Mel
John of Mel
November 4, 2021 3:24 pm

Quick question about the weeding robot.
As they are doing their job, do they say: “Exterminate. Exterminate. …”

No, they sing it.

calli
calli
November 4, 2021 3:24 pm

And that’s before we begin to unravel the horrors of transhumanist technology: hijacking of consciousness, zombification of humans, and deletion of spirituality.

Where is this happening? I get the “spirituality” part as it relates to Christianity. Is he being literal or metaphorical? It’s hard to tell.

Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Border Closure

Historic ruling: minimum wage victory for fruit pickers

From The Australian.
The FWC has just priced marginals out of a job & forced those who prefer an easy day, or their own schedule, to work to the beat of the boss’ drum.

The Fair Work Commission has ruled that fruit pickers must be guaranteed a minimum wage under the Horticulture Award, finding a significant number of vulnerable farm workers were paid below award wages

In a major win for workers and the union movement, a commission full bench, headed by president Iain Ross, found existing pieceworker provisions were “not fit for purpose’ and did not provide a fair safety net as required by federal workplace laws.

The Australian Workers Union said the “historic industrial win” means that every worker on every farm would be entitled to take home the minimum casual rate of pay, currently $25.41 per hour.
AWU national secretary Daniel Walton said the commission ruling was one of the most significant industrial decisions of modern times.
“I believe this decision ranks among the great victories of our union’s 135-year history,” Mr Walton said.

“Fruit pickers in Australia have been routinely and systemically exploited and underpaid. Too many farmers have been able to manipulate the piece rate system to establish pay and conditions far beneath Australian standards.

“The changes our union proposed, and that the FWC has now accepted, will put a safety net under fruit pickers to ensure they get what every worker in Australia deserves: a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.”

Under its decision, a commission full bench said it was satisfied the insertion of a minimum wage floor with consequential time recording provisions in the piecework clause was necessary to ensure that the Horticulture Award achieved the modern awards objective.

The full bench said the seasonal harvesting workforce was “vulnerable” to exploitation because a substantial proportion were engaged on piece rates and more than half were temporary migrant workers.

Under the horticultural and wine industry awards, an employee can agree with their employer to be paid a piecework rate or an hourly rate. Under the piecework rate, earnings are based on the amount picked, packed or pruned.

The rate must allow the ‘average competent employee’ to earn at least 15 per cent or 20 per cent more than the hourly rate established under the horticulture or wine award respectively.
But the full bench said there was widespread noncompliance with the award, with pieceworker rates set unilaterally by the grower and presented to the employee on a ‘take or leave it’ basis.

“Some pieceworkers earn significantly more than the ‘target rate’ for the average competent pieceworker … but the totality of the evidence presents a picture of significant underpayment of pieceworkers in the horticulture industry when compared to the minimum award hourly rate,” it said.

The AWU application was supported by the state governments of Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia and the Australian Council of Social Service but opposed by the Australian Fresh Produce Alliance, the Australian Industry Group, and the National Farmers Federation.

Mr Walton said manipulation of the current system had led to widespread examples of workers getting paid as little as $3 an hour.

“Now it will be easy for workers — even if they don‘t have good English language skills or Australian connections – to understand if they’re being ripped off. From now on if you’re making less than $25 an hour fruit picking in Australia your boss is breaking the law and stealing from you,” he said.

“I expect the federal government will join the NFF in fear mongering about this decision. After all they have just hatched a plan to bring in even more easily exploited workers from South East Asia. But now those workers can at least know if they‘re being exploited. A clear floor has been put in place.”

bespoke
bespoke
November 4, 2021 3:41 pm

Nothing wrong with wonting better for next generation as for tradie’s they may grumble but they would be hardest hit by deregulation and lower immigration. Outer city suburbs are full of tradie’s gearing up to build the next.

feelthebern
feelthebern
November 4, 2021 3:43 pm

The stories out of the US elections this week show how brittle the big tech, big pharma, wall street, corporate media, DNC coalition is.
If you don’t fight for state house seats in Texas, you end up with a latino GOP congressman.
If you think you have Seattle sown up, a GOP ballbreaking bird DA gets in.
It’s not much, but means people a have reason to be a little less black-pilled today than they were last week.
The more the narrative from the cabal is broken, the better.

feelthebern
feelthebern
November 4, 2021 3:45 pm

I’ve been to Oaks day twice.
Otherwise known as ladies day.
From what I witnessed, there were no ladies at ladies day.

feelthebern
feelthebern
November 4, 2021 3:48 pm

Today I celebrated Diwali.
By having a 400gram rib-eye.

Armadillo
Armadillo
November 4, 2021 3:51 pm

Long ago, in the quiet of the world, most men knew how to change a spark plug. And check the oil, some knew how to replace filters and other tricky stuff. Everyone, including ladies, knew how to change a tyre.

Mrs A did a couple of years of schooling in England (our equivalent of years 8 and 9). All of the above was part of the compulsory school curriculum. That and learning how to do some electrical wiring (lights and power points).

Armadillo
Armadillo
November 4, 2021 3:53 pm

I’ve never been a fan of Russell Brand, but he makes some pretty good points here about “Let’s Go Brandon”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkL-KzaYxuw

Vicki
Vicki
November 4, 2021 3:53 pm

Wow – the Martin Geddes email is quite horrific, & very powerfully written.

It reflects the experience of many of us dissidents. It really is a war with very clear battle lines, defections, betrayals, ambushes. But the most grievous injuries are those invoking families. And I am not talking about vaccine injuries – although those are unbearable – but about the damage within families.

For once in my life, I actually realised that there must be neutral territory within which we could engage normally and without positions to defend. But territory was nevertheless increasingly lost. It began when my son-in-law decided that his job required vaccination. He had AZ & despite a severe one day reaction, his health seemed unaffected. My daughter then succumbed (Pfizer), as she argued the teenage kids would bring the virus home. Grandson, 18, despite a friend’s mother dying after a Pfizer shot, decided to have AZ “so that he could go to the pub”. Thank God he didn’t have Pfizer (a great danger to very athletic teenage males). Most recently, granddaughter (16) received a Pfizer shot because she said the school would not allow her to attend otherwise (wrong – but who is to argue). She currently is experiencing bleeding, which is being investigated.

Throughout all of this my family have understood that my husband and I refused to be vaccinated. Whilst I suspect both daughter and son-in-law have largely put this down to my known eccentricity, neither have denounced it in the way others have experienced. And for this I am grateful, as it is hard enough to defy almost the whole of society without being abandoned by your family as well. Actually, I suspect both grandchildren are fondly amused by our intransigence.

Having discussed the vaccination issue with the senior members of the family, it is clear that they have limited knowledge of the nature of the vaccines or the unprecedented global controversy it has caused in scientific, medical & research communities. For this reason, and because of the need for the preservation of family, I have not pressed any of the issues.

I feel so sorry for Geddes. He is by nature a warrior for the truth and that always comes at a terrible price.

bespoke
bespoke
November 4, 2021 3:55 pm

Salvatore
Last time I worked on a crew we had a big mouth chick complaining she wasn’t getting the same. The fact she came late left early and spent all her time gossiping about others didn’t register.

Fat Tony
Fat Tony
November 4, 2021 3:57 pm

incoherent rambler says:
November 4, 2021 at 2:49 pm
Quick question about the weeding robot.

As they are doing their job, do they say: “Exterminate. Exterminate. …”

There’s the possibility that they say “Delete! Delete! “

twostix
twostix
November 4, 2021 3:58 pm

They must have contractual arrangements with the others, possibly because of delays in Novavax production. Why they need so many pre-bought doses of P and M is beyond me, as research and testing for optimum products is ongoing.

If a pip-squeak country wants access to these companies products it agrees to their terms, not the other way around.

Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Border Closure

My accountant had his 2nd shot yesterday.
Didn’t turn up for work today.

Had a message from him timestamped 5am:
He’d not been able to sleep, unable to rest, unable to concentrate (eg perform small tasks to keep his mind occupied & pass the time), he won’t be in to work for today at least, & if he gets any worse he’ll get his wife to take him to hospital.

calli
calli
November 4, 2021 4:01 pm

I missed something after “optimum products”. And it’s obvious.

Reliable treatments should also be in the mix.

bespoke
bespoke
November 4, 2021 4:05 pm
Dot
Dot
November 4, 2021 4:12 pm

Bespoke what does he say?

He’s usually right but probably wrong this time.

Zipster
Zipster
November 4, 2021 4:16 pm

The Australian Workers Union said the “historic industrial win” means that every worker on every farm would be entitled to take home the minimum casual rate of pay, currently $25.41 per hour.

plus super, misc loadings and the usual overheads.

bespoke
bespoke
November 4, 2021 4:18 pm

Much the same what has been said here, Dot. Unrealistic expectations leading to job vacancies. The US has had a truck driver shortage for years.

Boambee John
Boambee John
November 4, 2021 4:18 pm

Today, chair of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Professor Caroline Homer renewed the call for pregnant women to make sure they were fully vaccinated.

Perhaps “Professor” Homer might link us to the research which confirms the safety of this recommendation?

Dot
Dot
November 4, 2021 4:22 pm

Much the same what has been said here, Dot. Unrealistic expectations leading to job vacancies. The US has had a truck driver shortage for years.

He’s wrong. It’s the other way around.

Dot
Dot
November 4, 2021 4:24 pm

Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Border Closuresays:
November 4, 2021 at 4:00 pm
My accountant had his 2nd shot yesterday.
Didn’t turn up for work today.

Had a message from him timestamped 5am:
He’d not been able to sleep, unable to rest, unable to concentrate (eg perform small tasks to keep his mind occupied & pass the time), he won’t be in to work for today at least, & if he gets any worse he’ll get his wife to take him to hospital.

Oh that’s just a conspiracy theory.

cohenite
November 4, 2021 4:25 pm

FMD, piers morgan replacing Jones at Sky.

Indolent
Indolent
November 4, 2021 4:28 pm

And that’s before we begin to unravel the horrors of transhumanist technology: hijacking of consciousness, zombification of humans, and deletion of spirituality.

Where is this happening? I get the “spirituality” part as it relates to Christianity. Is he being literal or metaphorical? It’s hard to tell.

Calli, this is where it comes from, and it is real, at least in their minds.

Razey
Razey
November 4, 2021 4:29 pm

Boambee Johnsays:
November 4, 2021 at 4:18 pm
Today, chair of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Professor Caroline Homer renewed the call for pregnant women to make sure they were fully vaccinated.

Perhaps “Professor” Homer might link us to the research which confirms the safety of this recommendation?

In my experience ‘professors’ are usually the dumbest of the lot with Zero practical experience.

bespoke
bespoke
November 4, 2021 4:30 pm

He’s wrong. It’s the other way around.

No he’s not.

shatterzzz
November 4, 2021 4:33 pm

Realised one, regular, expense that has virtually disappeared from my spending during BAT FLU! .. so obvious I’d forgotten it whenever mentioning saving money by being locked down .. Public transport costs .. Pre- BAT FLU I’d travel on trains/buses upwards of 3 x a week yet for 2021 I can count on one hand how many times I’ve travelled on PT .. all thanx to GLADYS and now her boy, dum parrot-head!

bespoke
bespoke
November 4, 2021 4:36 pm

You’re traitor and communist stooge if you use public transport.

cohenite
November 4, 2021 4:38 pm

Avi interacting with some fucking vegans.

Fair dinkum I get up in the morning, feel good, then I watch Avi, Salty, Greg Kelly, The Five, a few others and my brain turns to mush at the sheer stupidity of people. But then I do some good workouts, motivated by that stupidity so it’s not all bad

Cassie of Sydney
November 4, 2021 4:38 pm

“cohenitesays:
November 4, 2021 at 4:25 pm
FMD, piers morgan replacing Jones at Sky.”

If Sky cancel Outsiders then I’ll cancel Sky.

miltonf
miltonf
November 4, 2021 4:41 pm

FMD, piers morgan replacing Jones at Sky.

If that’s not enough proof that pay tv is a waste of money I don’t know what is. Anyway I hope this cancelling of anyone with half a brain by the legacy meja will accelerate its well deserved demise.

Dot
Dot
November 4, 2021 4:42 pm

No he’s not.

Not only is he wrong, he fails to recognise why he is wrong.

They have more in common with Chinese young adults lying flat.

What legacy are boomers like Joe Biden leaving them?

Anyone now insisting on site appearance for jobs not involving retail sales or hands on STEM or trades work is a boomer or Gen X psycho.

They want to avoid those arseholes, as we all wish to.

miltonf
miltonf
November 4, 2021 4:42 pm

Morgan – what a blowhard, waste of space, deadshit.

JC
JC
November 4, 2021 4:43 pm

feelthebern says:
November 4, 2021 at 3:48 pm

Today I celebrated Diwali.
By having a 400gram rib-eye.

400 gram? Dude!

Tom
Tom
November 4, 2021 4:45 pm

Today I celebrated Diwali.
By having a 400gram rib-eye.

Bern, I haven’t eaten red meat (apart from lamb) for six weeks. My brother is shouting me dinner at the local pub this evening: eye fillet/porterhouse/rump here I come. Mmmmm.

shatterzzz
November 4, 2021 4:47 pm

You’re traitor and communist stooge if you use public transport.

Neither, just someone who doesn’t drive .. LOL!

shatterzzz
November 4, 2021 4:49 pm

Morgan – what a blowhard, waste of space, deadshit.
The make-up girl(s) gonna be flat out earning their wages .. LOL!

cohenite
November 4, 2021 4:50 pm

Some really good examples of wokeism and general leftie fucking imbecility; eg, dinosaurs were racist, self driving cars more likely to run over blacks and the world owes fat slobs accessibility:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57VoeNHqtiY

JC
JC
November 4, 2021 4:51 pm

Cronkite

Do you like Shellengberger?

Top Ender
Top Ender
November 4, 2021 4:52 pm

Zealots presume racism as knee-jerk reactions snuff out dissent

THE MOCKER

Follow @Oz_Mocker

Quinton de Kock is officially non-racist, I am delighted to say, the South African cricketer joining his teammates in taking the knee on Saturday at the Twenty20 World Cup clash against Sri Lanka. What began as a troubled week ended on a pleasing note when de Kock apologised for initially doubting the importance of players performing gratuitous and feel-good gestures that have absolutely nothing to do with sport.

“If me taking a knee helps to educate others, and makes the lives of others better, I am more than happy to do so.” Educate others? Well in one sense de Kock is correct. Pay attention boys and girls, because his humiliation is an example of what can happen when you exercise independent thought.

That said, it would be wrong to suggest anything but positive factors were responsible for de Kock’s backflip. Cricket South Africa officials would have explained to him that their directive to kneel in support of the Black Lives Matter movement was about tolerance and making the world a better place. And if de Kock was still opposed to taking the knee, well that was entirely his prerogative. All it took for them to change his mind was gentle persuasion and an appeal to reason, something along the lines of “You’re out on your arse if you don’t go along with this, and you’ll be lucky to get a job as a Joburg bus conductor” I imagine.

Snuffing out dissent

As they say, all’s well that ends well. “The team is feeling much better than we were a couple of days ago,” said Proteas captain Temba Bavuma. “Quinton is in a much better state.” He is cured of his illness, you see. All it took was the snuffing out of dissenting thoughts and a grovelling capitulation.

“Maybe some people don’t understand that we were just hit with this on Tuesday morning, on the way to a game,” said de Kock, who comes from a bi-racial family. “When you are told what to do, with no discussion, I felt like it takes away the meaning. If I was racist, I could easily have taken the knee and lied, which is wrong and doesn’t build a better society. I am deeply sorry for all the hurt, confusion and anger that I have caused.”

Some of his critics will need more convincing, including former West Indies cricketer Michael Holding, who said it was “dumb” of de Kock not to have complied with the directive in the first place. “There’s a worldwide movement going on,” he said. “The entire world has accepted a specific gesture, a specific action of supporting that movement.”

That BLM has the support of the entire world is incontrovertible. I challenge you to find a reasonable person who opposes the tenets of this benevolent movement, whether it be wanton destruction of public property, desecration of cultural icons, mass revisionism of education curricula, or the imposition of Marxism. Despite labelling de Kock’s apology as “confused,” Holding has announced he will give him the “benefit of the doubt”. The man is a prince, I tell you.

Purity porn

Likewise, it cannot be doubted that BLM has relieved the suffering of the oppressed. Each day we hear of another spectacular achievement in the fight against racism. For example, as the ABC reported yesterday, Ella Rowe, an Australian-Papua New Guinean woman, has established a salon in Melbourne for the purpose of “decolonising hair”.

And can I just say as a cricket fan I look forward to the pious spectacle of players kneeling beforehand being a permanent fixture. Great as the game is, it is incomplete without this magnificent and edifying display of woke purity porn – oh enough of this drivel.

Taking the knee is by no means the only virtue ritual that is replete with self-indulgence, cant, and insincerity. I was reminded of this recently with the retirement last week of Melton City Council chief executive Kelvin Tori. As the Herald Sun reported in June, he mandated that all council employees include the rainbow flag in their emails. “No variations to the endorsed standard are to be applied,” decreed Tori, whose taxpayer-funded salary was approximately $400K per year.

Sounds inflexible and rigid, wouldn’t you say? Now compare that with an interview Tori gave to The CEO Magazine in 2019. “My overriding philosophy is that one size fits only one,” he said. “The one-size-fits-all is not applicable in local government. You must treat every individual as an individual; you can never assume they’ll be like everyone else.”

To put it politely, many of us are familiar with the overriding philosophy behind such claims; you could say we have a nose for it. And talk about rich. “Kelvin’s favourite piece of advice is to be yourself, don’t try to be someone that you’re not,” read the magazine profile. “‘That really stuck with me,’ he says. ‘I don’t try to be things I know I’m not’.” As in an apolitical local government CEO, perhaps?

Presuming racism

The simplistic and binary mentality of wokeism is nothing new. To the zealot, one is either for or against the cause; there is nothing in between. What is new, at least in modern Western society, is the increasing susceptibility of institutions to this intellectually bereft notion.

One example of this was the reaction by ABC sports journalist Tony Armstrong to the de Kock story. “For him to not do that, all that I think ‚ is how racist do you have to be, to not just take a knee and do that in conjunction with your teammates to show support, to even pretend to show support,” he said.

How narrow-minded do you have to be to presume racism, one could retort. Appearing on ABC News Breakfast on Friday following de Kock’s apology, Armstrong tempered his comments but tried to justify his original remarks. “What you saw in me was the direct impact of what racism can do,” he said. No, what we saw was an example of a journalist going off half-cocked. As for his statement that de Kock could at least have pretended to show support by kneeling, I can only say he has inadvertently happened upon the true value of this exercise.

Malleable simpletons

On second thoughts, why don’t we just apply the principles of express refutation to all facets of life? If you are a male who declines to participate on White Ribbon Day, you must be a wife-basher. You failed to turn off all the lights in your house for Earth Hour? Clearly your aim is to destroy the environment. If you decline to begin an address by acknowledging the local Indigenous clan and their incredibly gifted elders whose wisdom we can learn from, you must be a racist. You declined to dress accordingly on Wear it Purple Day? That is all the proof we need that you are a homophobe. It is nonsensical.

When asked to take part in these activities, I respectfully decline. That does not necessarily mean refusing to give an explanation as to my reasons, for I welcome discussion and even robust debate. But if the person making the request is not interested in my reasons and automatically assumes ill-intent on my part, then I will apply my own default logic. I will assume he or she is an authoritarian git or a malleable simpleton. Actually, I will assume both.

THE MOCKER

The Mocker amuses himself by calling out poseurs, sneering social commentators, and po-faced officials. He is deeply suspicious of those who seek increased regulation of speech and behaviour.

incoherent rambler
incoherent rambler
November 4, 2021 4:52 pm

The make-up girl(s) gonna be flat out earning their wages .. LOL!

I’m not sure whether that is a double entendre or two meanings.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
November 4, 2021 4:54 pm

bern:

From what I witnessed, there were no ladies at ladies day.

Because they are well outnumbered by blokes attempting to snag a ladeee at Ladeeee’s Day.

Otherwise known (and marketed by some workplace social clubs) as Bloaks Day.

feelthebern
feelthebern
November 4, 2021 4:56 pm

It was on the bone, so there’s 80/100 grams right there.
But still, twas a mighty cut with carrots on the side.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
November 4, 2021 4:56 pm

My brother is shouting me dinner at the local pub this evening: eye fillet/porterhouse/rump here I come. Mmmmm.

Tom, your keyboard is misbehaving.

It is showing slash (/) instead of ampersand (&).

I mean after six weeks, surely.

shatterzzz
November 4, 2021 4:57 pm

We really do elect the BEST & BRIGHTEST into Parliament, don’t we? .. LOL!
The Member for the Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall had said that regional areas need to prepare for a dramatic rise in the cases of covid due to the opening up of the state for double vaxxed city folk to travel.

bespoke
bespoke
November 4, 2021 4:58 pm

Anyone now insisting on site appearance for jobs not involving retail sales or hands on STEM or trades work is a boomer or Gen X psycho.

Well I think its sitting on your ass collecting the doll has more to do with the high vacancies.

Rowe was just being polite.

feelthebern
feelthebern
November 4, 2021 4:58 pm

eye fillet/porterhouse/rump here I come. Mmmmm.

One of each Tom, you deserve it for living under Dan’s reign of terror.

incoherent rambler
incoherent rambler
November 4, 2021 4:59 pm

eye fillet/porterhouse/rump

Wrapped in bacon with a half kilo of prawns as an entree?

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
November 4, 2021 5:01 pm

As for his statement that de Kock could at least have pretended to show support by kneeling, I can only say he has inadvertently happened upon the true value of this exercise.

Oh yes.

feelthebern
feelthebern
November 4, 2021 5:02 pm

Snap ML.

Dot
Dot
November 4, 2021 5:03 pm

Well I think its sitting on your ass collecting the doll has more to do with the high vacancies.

We’ve had welfare for DECADES.

This is different.

Why work 70 hour weeks in Australia to pay off a mortgage on a house you only sleep in?

Reminds me of Fight Club.

Dad. I’m 25. What do I do next?

Kev
Kev
November 4, 2021 5:04 pm

Mr Walton said manipulation of the current system had led to widespread examples of workers getting paid as little as $3 an hour.

Really? Sounds like Union propaganda to me. Bespoke…comment?

JC
JC
November 4, 2021 5:04 pm

What do people like as their best meat cut? Personally, t-bone or porterhouse are magical cuts.

Dot
Dot
November 4, 2021 5:05 pm

Then there is the angle we should be parasites if the whole thing is going to collapse.

Culturally, maybe we should.

Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Border Closure

<<<My brother is shouting me dinner at the local pub this evening>>>

There should be more of this.
Your brother is a gentleman & a scholar, fair & just.

feelthebern
feelthebern
November 4, 2021 5:10 pm

Nothing beats a home bbq’d t-bone.
I find a grass fed rib eye the go to when I’m at a steak house.
It’s a safe bet.
Kingsley’s at Woolloomooloo used to do a pepper crusted NY strip, which was awesome but I haven’t been there for years.

Chris
Chris
November 4, 2021 5:15 pm

There should be more of this.
Your brother is a gentleman & a scholar, fair & just.

We did this last night, but I regret that we left it until I got a bit hangry with my beloved. Pro tip: Go to the pub for dinner before you are hungry.

Carpe Jugulum
Carpe Jugulum
November 4, 2021 5:16 pm

Personally, t-bone or porterhouse are magical cuts.

Porterhouse, new york cut that bleeds when i cut it

bespoke
bespoke
November 4, 2021 5:16 pm

Really? Sounds like Union propaganda to me. Bespoke…comment?

It is Kev. Realy good mony in picking and prunning if you put in hours and build the skills.

Bruce in WA
November 4, 2021 5:17 pm

What do people like as their best meat cut? Personally, t-bone or porterhouse are magical cuts.

Sirloin bone-in or tomahawk prime rib. Both to be cooked the way nature intended — nicely charred on the outside and still rare and juicy on the inside.

And to hell with my cardiologist! 😀

JC
JC
November 4, 2021 5:18 pm

Porterhouse, new york cut that bleeds when i cut it

Carpe please. Don’t remind us where it comes from.

JC
JC
November 4, 2021 5:19 pm

Sirloin bone-in or tomahawk prime rib.

Bruce, you need a volcanic crater for some of those tomahawks as they’re so freaking big. They’re enormous.

Carpe Jugulum
Carpe Jugulum
November 4, 2021 5:20 pm

Carpe please. Don’t remind us where it comes from.

But it is so damn good, add a side of grilled asparagus and grilled green beans and it is lush

bespoke
bespoke
November 4, 2021 5:20 pm

Please JC don’t cry over eating meat again. Very un-manly.

Chris
Chris
November 4, 2021 5:20 pm

What do people like as their best meat cut? Personally, t-bone or porterhouse are magical cuts.

JC, also wise and just in your choice of steaks.
But I am the spawn of a sheep farm, and the shank end of a lamb roast is the best to my taste buds. Home, family, good harvests, shearing done, hay carted and a tired but painless back are evoked by that amazing taste.

calli
calli
November 4, 2021 5:21 pm

What do people like as their best meat cut?

Rib eye, roasted on the bone to med rare, well rested. Sliced with mushroom sauce (shiraz base), sour cream mash, glazed roasted carrots. Maybe some peas.

Roast the bone again, use it yo make up some beef stock for next time. Mmmm. Give what remains of bone to Rover.

P
P
November 4, 2021 5:21 pm
Dot
Dot
November 4, 2021 5:21 pm

And to hell with my cardiologist!

Any doctor saying red meat is bad for you still in current year is a quack.

Treat them with utmost derision and contempt.

incoherent rambler
incoherent rambler
November 4, 2021 5:21 pm

Young koala, nailed to a tree in a bush fire.
With mustard.

Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Border Closure

Kevsays:
November 4, 2021 at 5:04 pm

Mr Walton said manipulation of the current system had led to widespread examples of workers getting paid as little as $3 an hour.

They get away with saying this all the time.

It is complete falsehood of course.

Nobody believes there are any employers writing employment contracts for $3 per hour.
(Never mind it being widespread)

Nobody believes there are payslips issued showing a pay rate of $3 per hour.
(Never mind it being widespread)

They’ve found a bone idle backpacker somewhere (probably French) who lay under a tree all day & picked about 4 buckets of apples for the week, and …. voila!….. an ‘8 hour day’ was worked by poor Pierre, for a pay of $24

Ergo, it is widespread that farmers are paying $3 per hour to fruit pickers.

That is exactly how the union arrived at that figure.

Somewhere I have the ‘report’ they commissioned that ‘proves’ this. The report has more holes in it than the Titanic.

bespoke
bespoke
November 4, 2021 5:21 pm

asparagus and grilled green bean

Just spoiled a good feed.

cohenite
November 4, 2021 5:22 pm

Do you like Shellengberger?

I’ve proposed to him. We’re considering a Spring wedding in Connecticut. You’re on the list of possible best men, depending on your pronouns.

Tom
Tom
November 4, 2021 5:22 pm

What do people like as their best meat cut?

Eye fillet! With chips, salad and Maille Dijon mustard!

Now I’m drooling.

calli
calli
November 4, 2021 5:23 pm

And those mushrooms…not the tasteless button ones. Big, fat, flat field mushies sliced thinly.

Carpe Jugulum
Carpe Jugulum
November 4, 2021 5:24 pm

Just spoiled a good feed.

Shutup and eat your mashed turnips heathen.

Old School Conservative
Old School Conservative
November 4, 2021 5:25 pm

And, in my little lower north shore cohort at least, all the mums and dads wanted their sons to “work clean”, regardless of family background.

Bloody hell – that’s my mum to a “T”.
Ensured I got a good private school education so I wouldn’t become a plumber.
Dad just wanted me to join the Fleet Air Arm.
Memories…..

JC
JC
November 4, 2021 5:28 pm

Yes, we know you have highly developed homosexual tendencies, Cronkite. But that’s not what I was asking.
What do you think about Shellenberger’s general views on the subject of gerbil warming and the solutions? Surely you’re not that incubated you don’t know who he is.

Delta A
Delta A
November 4, 2021 5:30 pm

asparagus and grilled green bean

…and roasted brussel sprouts.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
November 4, 2021 5:30 pm

Sal at 4:00.
Not dissimilar here.
I deliberately had my shot Saturday so I could see off any side effects by Wednesday (when I had a couple of immovable meetings).
When I didn’t have thumping headaches/light sensitivity and an arm I couldn’t lift much above the horizontal, I was dog tired and couldn’t focus.
Struggled through four hours of meetings yesterday. Hopefully the minutes will tell me what happened.
The other weird thing was the slight tingly sensation alternating with numbness in the hands.
Not pronounced, but it was sort of like touching things wearing thin gloves.

Old School Conservative
Old School Conservative
November 4, 2021 5:32 pm

most men knew how to change a spark plug. And check the oil, some knew how to replace filters and other tricky stuff. Everyone, including ladies, knew how to change a tyre.

Plus, lots of proud dads teaching their coming-of-age children these basics. A shared rite of passage into the adult realm of personal responsibility, cost savings, and pride of workmanship.

feelthebern
feelthebern
November 4, 2021 5:32 pm

It’s always funny seeing chefs/cooks destroying steaks on any of the Gordon Ramsay shows.
I get it that cooking something more exotic might throw you, but seriously how can you try out for those shows if you can’t cook a decent steak.

Tom
Tom
November 4, 2021 5:34 pm

Calli, the last time I had the tasty black field mushies that we used to pick as kids on our farm was 25 years ago at a hotel in Durban, South Africa.

They’ve evidently stopped growing them as the market now wants those tasteless little button thingies because they travel well in trucks.

Same with tomatoes. They’ve stopped growing tasty tomatoes because they’re more likely to spoil en route to market.

A travesty.

Carpe Jugulum
Carpe Jugulum
November 4, 2021 5:36 pm

Dad just wanted me to join the Fleet Air Arm.

My brother was FAA, he was ATWO

1 8 9 10 11 12 15
  1. Anyway, “Sliante” to you mob. I’m having an evening inhaling a couple of good single malts, reading John Terraine’s classic…

  2. Anybody seen any story about how fresh D.N.A. on a bandanna, may set one of Janine Baldings murderers free? What,…

  3. what is it with the apostrophe? It’s the septum ring of immaturity. That, and jealousy of Hawai’i. See also the…

3K
0
Oh, you think that, do you? Care to put it on record?x
()
x