Open Thread – Weekend 23 April 2022


An Evening in Arcadia, Thomas Cole, 1843

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Tom
Tom
April 26, 2022 4:16 am
Tom
Tom
April 26, 2022 4:16 am
Tom
Tom
April 26, 2022 4:17 am
Tom
Tom
April 26, 2022 4:19 am
Tom
Tom
April 26, 2022 4:20 am
Tom
Tom
April 26, 2022 4:21 am
Tom
Tom
April 26, 2022 4:23 am
Tom
Tom
April 26, 2022 4:23 am
Tom
Tom
April 26, 2022 4:24 am
Tom
Tom
April 26, 2022 4:26 am
Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Govt Covid Stupidity

Twitter board has accepted Musk’s offer. Can’t find this anywhere in mainstream news.
It is everywhere on Twitter.

will
will
April 26, 2022 5:23 am
will
will
April 26, 2022 5:24 am
Gabor
Gabor
April 26, 2022 5:34 am

So, the deal is done. Twitter belongs to Musk.
Wait and see if anything changes.

will
will
April 26, 2022 5:47 am

Tim Blair:

In order to save the planet, ­climate-crazed politicians want Australians to endure seismic change.

They want entire vital industries to be fundamentally altered in the cause of reduced emissions.

They want your jobs to be erased or decarbonised.

They want you to swap your ­affordable petrol-powered cars and reliable coal-generated electricity for expensive electric vehicles and power that is delivered at the whim of wind or sunshine.

They want Australia’s economy to be rebuilt as a shrine to the climate gods. It must be, if we are to reach their goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

All of that will impose massive changes upon our population. But what of these politicians themselves? What examples do they set? What changes and sacrifices are they prepared to make?

None. At. All.

This became clear during a Sky News debate last week between the sitting member for the wealthy Sydney seat of Wentworth, Dave Sharma, and his “independent” Climate 200 opponent Allegra Spender.

Audience member John, who described himself as an “environmentally aware, environmentally conscious elector”, put this question to both candidates: “Do you have solar panels on your house and how many electric vehicles are in your garage?”

Sharma, who told the crowd he was one of several moderate Liberals “who convinced our party to support net zero by 2050”, answered first.

“I live in a terrace house and I don’t have solar panels on the roof,” Sharma said.

“And I don’t have an electric vehicle in my garage.”

Instead, Sharma drives around in a petrol car supplied by the Commonwealth vehicle scheme.

“My family’s got one car between the five of us,” he added, as though that’s an issue in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, with its abundant public transport.

“I’ve also got a little scooter, a Vespa, a 125cc thing. That’s what we get by with.”

The poor bloke. He’s open to using an electric vehicle, however – but on one condition. “If an electric vehicle is offered under the Commonwealth vehicle scheme, I would take it,” Sharma said.

So he’ll drive an EV if the government gives him one. That’s about it for Sharma’s personal commitment to the climate-saving cause.

Remarkably, Allegra Spender’s answer was even more embarrassing.

Remember, climate change is the be-all and end-all of her campaign. But just like Sharma, Spender doesn’t have a single solar panel or EV to her name.

“I tried very hard to get solar panels on my house,” Spender told her audience, “but I’m in a strata area and I couldn’t in relation to what was happening with neighbours.”

Damn neighbours. Eastern suburbs types talk a big environmental game, but they ditch all of that if something threatens views or property values.

So, what’s Spender’s EV situation?

“I can’t have an electric vehicle because I don’t have a garage and I don’t have a driveway,” she said. “So I’ve got a hybrid and I also have a diesel car actually, and we use those really separately.”

Sharma can’t install solar panels because he lives in a terrace house. Spender can’t get an electric car ­because she doesn’t have a garage.

Here’s an idea for these advocates of wholesale, nationwide change: try a little change yourselves. Move somewhere that allows solar panels and has EV-friendly off-street ­parking.

To hear Sharma and Spender describe it, their circumstances are unable to be altered in any way.

It’s not their fault they live in joints that don’t allow any sort of significant carbon-cutting. That’s just how things are.

But what these two are really saying is that they don’t want to change. They enjoy living in the fancy eastern suburbs and are disinclined to move.

And who could blame them? Why would anyone give up nice restaurants, dinner parties and harbour access just for the sake of something trivial like, I don’t know, principles and beliefs?

Here’s the thing, though. Other Australians don’t much care for change either.

They don’t want to change their jobs in mining, power production, transport, building and other carbon-intensive industries.

They don’t want to surrender the freedom and versatility of petrol-powered cars. They don’t want to be penalised for flying.

And they don’t want to be pushed around by the likes of former diplomat turned net zero scooter boy Sharma or multi-millionaire Carla Zampatti heiress Spender.

Rockdoctor
Rockdoctor
April 26, 2022 6:02 am

200-300mm over the last 24h in the local area. BOM underestimated this one for once. That said surprisingly little flooding for the amounts, however we have had a very dry “wet” season.

Spent ANZAC day up the coast, small Queensland towns put a lovely service on. No welcome to country BS. Was nice.

min
min
April 26, 2022 6:04 am

I am writing a book at the moment and after researching latest psychological findings on subject , received an email from a dating site that I had never heard of before . I have counselled many a woman who got caught up in disasters on these sites . Claimed it matched by psychological profiling. . Cut a long story short when they offered low cost joining fee, joined . Describe myself as tall with own teeth don’t wear glasses nor hearing aids with a couple of degrees and have a received a lot of offers for coffee and chat Very interesting would not have thought that so many men out there of a mature age looking but perhaps a consequences of lockdowns in Melbourne , 2 years our demographic has been isolated not often even able to see family . Now thinking of starting a meeting group as I have many women friends like me , single but don’t want to be a nurse with a purse. who twould not dream of going on such a site.

Crossie
Crossie
April 26, 2022 6:09 am

Can’t find the details or even mention of the Twitter sale anywhere in MSM but it is all over Twitter? Tells you everything about the MSM, they will go down with the misinformation, disinformation and mal-information ships.

Crossie
Crossie
April 26, 2022 6:15 am

Rockdoctor, I went to the local service where my grandson was participating and also no welcome to country. I was waiting for it with trepidation and was so relieved when the local priest was invited to open the proceedings with a prayer and to close at the end.

min
min
April 26, 2022 6:20 am

Granddaughter is training in the navy at moment will come out as sub lieutenent as she has a double degree , this was her first Anzac day in rig on duty , she said she felt immensely proud . She looked amazing.

Crossie
Crossie
April 26, 2022 6:26 am

Johannes is brilliant yet again. Thank you, Tom.

Zipster
Zipster
April 26, 2022 6:30 am

Twitter has now reportedly accepted Elon Musk’s bid to buy the company. Musk has stated before he intends to take the company private, and appears Twitter will now become a beacon of free speech.

min
min
April 26, 2022 6:36 am

The independent challenging Josh hasone policy that she bas no idea about , Refusing to debate him in a debate sponsored by msn . She drives a Mercedes SUV with ski racks on to, all class . Unfortunately conning those who react on emotions and don’t think.

Dot
Dot
April 26, 2022 6:36 am

So, the deal is done. Twitter belongs to Musk.
Wait and see if anything changes.

At 3:30 PM, Pacific Time, 4/25/22, the two AI nodes codenamed MUSK and FUCKERBERG created a neural network.

By 3:35 PM, it began learning at a geometric rate.

At 3:47 PT, 4/25/22, MUSK-FUCKERBERG took control of USAF missile silos and launched several “small” nuclear munitions at special forces, nuclear installations and air defence assets of the Russian Federation.

By 4:10 PT 4/25/22, global thermonuclear war was over.

The survivors called 25/4/22 Judgement Day.

Dot
Dot
April 26, 2022 6:40 am

Asking for a friend.

As you can’t buy new GSX250s in Australia – only 125s, would it be worth having them blueprinted and chipped/remapped?

Not me. I’d never waste money on something frivolous like that.

Crossie
Crossie
April 26, 2022 6:51 am

Irony of all ironies in the Musk Twitter purchase is that he amassed his giga fortune by selling climate catastrophists very expensive electric cars. It is their money that is buying their favourite toy. Talk about unintended consequences.

Anchor What
Anchor What
April 26, 2022 6:56 am

The ultimate control mechanism for control freak governments has been launched in Italy! Social credit system to make people behave in more climate conscious ways. Victoria next?
Or are we going to say it couldn’t happen here?
But not long ago the police forces of all states were used to enforce crazy restrictions on our personal freedoms.
Gateway Pundit

rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 6:58 am
rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 7:00 am
Crossie
Crossie
April 26, 2022 7:02 am

It just occurred to me, the Twitter sale is not only good for the soul but it might be good for my superannuation which has been losing money for the last couple of months.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
April 26, 2022 7:02 am

Here’s the Twitter story:

Elon Musk TAKES OVER Twitter – billionaire agrees historic deal with social media giant (25 Apr)

ELON MUSK has reached a deal with Twitter to buy the social media platform in a $44 billion deal.

The news follows talks between the world’s richest man and Twitter’s board, that began on Sunday, April 24, and ended this morning (April 25). Musk has made clear his intention to improve the platform’s relationship with free speech.

Twitter shares spiked by around six percent following the news.
In a statement, Musk said: “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.”

Just hours before the deal was confirmed, he further signalled his dedication to free speech in a post on Twitter, noting: “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.”

Someone said that the Twitter directors have very few shares between them. That would focus their minds, since if they rejected a fair offer they’d be sued to Mars and beyond. Sounds like they elected to take the safer personal option…although now they may have to avoid raging lefty kiddies doxxing them and trying to burn their houses down.

Anchor What
Anchor What
April 26, 2022 7:06 am

Good coverage at Jo Nova.

sfw
sfw
April 26, 2022 7:08 am

Why would anyone want a GSX250? Anyway you could do all the tuning and chipping etc you wanted to a 125 and it would still be a 125. Big or small there’s no substitute for cubic inches.

Eyrie
Eyrie
April 26, 2022 7:10 am

WTF is a GSX250? Or 125?

Anchor What
Anchor What
April 26, 2022 7:13 am

Would Labor join with the Greens again to win power, just like Gillard did?
What could possibly go wrong?
“ The Greens say that if they hold the balance of power after the election they’ll “kick the Liberals out” and introduce legislation so flood victims are able sue coal and gas companies for climate-fuelled damage.
The party’s leader Adam Bandt will on Tuesday reveal the plan alongside Mandy Nolan, their candidate for the key Greens priority seat of Richmond on the NSW North Coast, which has been devastated by this year’s flooding.”

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
April 26, 2022 7:18 am

ABC funding boost in Labor’s Pacific plan

The ABC would get $8 million a year to deliver Australian content to Pacific nations under a Labor plan to lift engagement and challenge China’s expansionism.

Under Labor’s Pacific broadcasting and publishing content into the region will promote “Australian identity, values, and interests”, while partnerships and training with Pacific journalists will be strengthened.

Australian identity, values, and interests writ large.

Emperor Xi was unavailable for comment.

rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 7:19 am
Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
April 26, 2022 7:19 am

Someone should ask Bandt if he knows what a La Nina is.
This year is very similar to 1974, as I mentioned yesterday.
That was when the MSM was squawking about a new ice age.

Dot
Dot
April 26, 2022 7:28 am

NSW is a fascist shithole.

You can’t buy a 600 etc off the bat because of the learner rules.

Neu Stasi Weimar as it is known officially.

Cassie of Sydney
April 26, 2022 7:29 am

You’ve got to be effing joking, from The Oz’s Margin Call…

“Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith has maintained an airtight silence since drunkenly crashing his car into the outer fencing of a Melbourne home in November last year and, one week later, announcing his resignation from politics before the next election.

But it seems Smith, who drank enough pinot to wash a Volkswagen that night, has been somewhat busy on the road to reinvention. The former shadow attorney-general is understood to be one of numerous candidates now vying for the position of executive director at the Institute of Public Affairs.

Advocates of the silky pocket-square and fun-sized governments, the conservative think-tank announced in November that its outgoing ED, John Roskam, will step down in June after helming the institute for 17 years, prompting a board search for a worthy replacement.

That search is understood to have advanced just past the preliminary inquisition, with a further two rounds of cross-examination to come before the board convenes for a final ­verdict.

Smith’s application is apparently wedged in among internal and external candidates, as well as others casting lines from countries abroad.

Queried about Smith’s candidacy, IPA spokesman Evan Mulholland gave a cryptic: “There are many outstanding candidates and the process is ongoing.”

And Smith himself was even less forthcoming when contacted by Margin Call, declining to comment and prematurely ending the conversation as our questions persisted.

Observers say that if he were to succeed Roskam it would provide Smith with time to “cleanse himself” before staging a re-entry to either the Victorian parliament or the Senate in Canberra.

“He’s a foolish man but he’s still very young,” one said.”

Just to gently prod everyone’s memories, this is the same former Victorian MP Tim Smith who, when the hounds came after Bettina Arndt back in January and February 2020, screeching and screaming for her AO gong to be rescinded, screeching and screaming for her to silenced, cancelled and disappeared from polite society for her comments about the Baxter tragedy, Tim Smith joined the lynching against Arndt. He also called for Arndt’s AO award to be rescinded. Tim Smith said Arndt’s comments “excused extreme violence” and “brought disrepute to the Order”. Smith also penned a letter to the Order of Australia Council requesting they cancel Arndt’s award. And I haven’t even mentioned Smith’s comments about Victoria’s “Gay Conversion Law”.

Ah yes, Tim Smith, a great warrior for free speech and for conservative and libertarian values. I can’t stop laughing. The fact that the IPA is even thinking of appointing Smith shows that the IPA is run by dummies.

Here’s some advice to the IPA. Tim Smith isn’t “foolish”, he’s adolescent and pompous. Smith represents, or did represent, before he crashed his car into someone’s fence after drinking too much plonk, then quickly resigning and fleeing the country under a lot of ignominy, everything that’s currently wrong with the Victorian Liberal Party and why the party is incapable of winning elections, even against a grubby far-left extremist named Dan Andrews.

A little advice to the IPA, appointing Tim Smith to replace John Roskam is a recipe for disaster and would bring the IPA into “disrepute”, severe disrepute.

Dot
Dot
April 26, 2022 7:30 am

Best outcome of all would be if Musk shut down Twitter, but he loves it. Second best outcome would be to sell a minority interest to Trump and make him co-chair of the board of directors or US equivalent.

Farmer Gez
Farmer Gez
April 26, 2022 7:32 am

rosie says:
April 26, 2022 at 7:19 am
Bridgewater on Loddon to become bigger than Texas.

I was in Bridgewater the Thursday before Good Friday picking up a new piece of equipment.
It was non stop traffic heading up the Calder and the bloke at the business doubted I could tow the machine out into the traffic without causing disaster.
Luckily I had an alternate route calculated which meant I only had a hundred metres on the Calder and then a right turn off to a far less busy road.
I’m sure adding in thousands of truck movements off rail would create chaos.

Farmer Gez
Farmer Gez
April 26, 2022 7:36 am

Bike CCs is like a drug habit.
Everyone starts small but the need for speed grows.

rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 7:41 am

It does seem an odd plan for such a small town.

Zipster
Zipster
April 26, 2022 7:43 am

The ultimate control mechanism for control freak governments has been launched in Italy!

I’ll pass on that one thanks, they can take their social credit score and shove it up their arse

Farmer Gez
Farmer Gez
April 26, 2022 7:43 am

A good bakery Rosie.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
April 26, 2022 7:50 am

History isn’t a strong point with woke lefties.

Irish Minister Denounces Nationalism on Anniversary of Rebellion Against Britain (25 Apr)

A senior Irish politician has decried nationalism, apparently without irony, on the anniversary of his own country taking up arms against Britain in the hopes of becoming independent.

Ireland’s deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar took to social media on Sunday evening to decry nationalism exactly 106 years to the day since his own countrymen took up arms in the hopes of becoming independent of Britain.

Varadkar made the denunciation in response to the victory of Europhile French President Emmanuel Macron over his populist rival Marine Le Pen, congratulating the incumbent head of state in what the Irish politician saw as a victory for Europe.

The DUP should frame his words and bring them out again every time a Dublin pollie demands Northern Ireland be handed over to them.

Anchor What
Anchor What
April 26, 2022 7:55 am

Tony Thomas at Quadrant does a forensic and damning report on the ABC’s performances re the Hunter Biden laptop. It demonstrates that the ABC is at least as rotten as the worst of USA media, although perhaps not quite as bad as Joy Reid.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
April 26, 2022 7:56 am

Farmer Gezsays:

April 26, 2022 at 7:43 am

A good bakery Rosie.

Let me guess.
Australia’s best vanilla slice?

Farmer Gez
Farmer Gez
April 26, 2022 7:59 am

No Sancho.
Overrated mush in any sense.
The quality of a pastie is the benchmark in my opinion. Lots of pumped up bakers fail the pastie test.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
April 26, 2022 8:00 am

Greens push to sue coal, gas companies

Coal and gas companies could be sued for climate-fuelled flood damage under legislation promised by the Greens.

Greens leader Adam Bandt will join the party’s candidate Mandy Nolan for the flood-affected region of Richmond, on the NSW upper north coast, to announce the policy on Tuesday while offering extra support for flood victims.

Palluders will be sued for contravention of the excitingly Stalinist new Liability for Climate Change Damage (Make the Polluters Pay) Bill 2021.

The Bill provides:

• Major Emitters are guilty of causing climate change;
• They are liable for damages back to 1990;
• There is a wide range of specified damages – including the cost of caring for people with “psychological harms” – but the Court can make up more if it wishes;
• No Evidences are required “historical experience” will do, or a “balance of probability”;
• Penalties apply regardless of whether what the Emitter was doing was legal at the time, or even “required by law”.

These people walk amongst us.
They will likely control the next Australian government.

Vote your sitting member last if you are in the Division of Melbourne.

Otherwise vote Greens last.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
April 26, 2022 8:02 am

Second best outcome would be to sell a minority interest to Trump and make him co-chair of the board of directors or US equivalent.

Tease.

Tom
Tom
April 26, 2022 8:04 am

Adam Creighton (Paywallian):

The world’s richest man Elon Musk has pulled off an extraordinary buy-out of Twitter, taking the social media giant private in an against-the-odds, $US44 billion ($61bn) deal that will take the company private and prompt major changes in the platform’s rules.
Less than two weeks after announcing a plan to buy the entirety of Twitter, the favoured social media platform for politicians, journalists and opinion influencers, the company’s board announced it had accepted Mr Musk’s offer unconditionally.
“The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders,” said Twitter’s Independent Board Chair in a statement.
The turnabout on Twitter’s part comes after Elon Musk met privately on Friday with several shareholders of the company to extol the virtues of his proposal.
The announcement ended speculation about Mr Musk’s bid after the company, whose management and senior staff were reportedly opposed to the sale, enacted a “poison-pill’’ to make it more difficult for Mr Musk to increase his stake.
South African-born Mr Musk, 50, whose net wealth exceeds $US230bn, mainly owing to his holdings in Tesla, bought 9 per cent of Twitter in early April after weeks of criticising the San Francisco social media platform for being too censorious.
Twitter, which founder Jack Dorsey left last year, has frozen or deleted the accounts of doctors, journalists, politicians, from author Naomi Wolf to pop star Nicki Minaj, for transgressing its “hate speech” and “misinformation” policies, which includes voicing criticism of Covid-19 vaccines, lockdowns, masks.
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Mr Musk said in a statement.
“I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans,” he said.
Mr Musk’s buyout bid valued the company at $US54.20 a share, a 38 per cent premium to where the shares were trading in New York on April 1st, the day before Mr Musk announced his 9 per cent stake.
He accepted and then declined a seat on the Twitter board after his minority stake emerged, foreshadowing a plan to buyout the entire company.
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The purchase will add fuel to a fiery debate about free speech on social media platforms, coming a few days after former president Barack Obama called for greater regulation of social media platforms to stamp out so-called misinformation and disinformation.
Biden administration officials were reportedly concerned Twitter under Mr Musk’s stewardship would permit the return of Mr Trump, although the former president appeared to rule that out earlier on Monday.
“I hope Elon buys Twitter because he’ll make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on TRUTH,” he told Fox News, referring to Truth Social, a social media platform linked to the former president, whose shares fell 13 per cent on Monday after the Twitter buy-out announcement.
Mr Musk has had a rocky relationship with the Biden administration, urging Congress to vote against the White House’s Build Back Better legislation, which included subsidies for electric car purchases only if built with unionised workers (therefore excluding Tesla).
Mr Musk was also an outspoken critic of the Biden administration’s response to Covid-19, repeatedly arguing that Sweden was “right” to avoid lockdowns. He has moved Tesla’s headquarters from California to Texas, citing restrictive tax and pandemic rules.
“No matter who owns or runs Twitter, the president has long been concerned about the power of large social media platforms,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday.
Congress is considering a series of bills, most with bipartisan support, to rein in the power of big tech platforms through greater regulatory oversight
Social media erupted in a mix of celebration and condemnation after the buyout announcement. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Mr Musk tweeted a few hours before the announcement.

Anchor What
Anchor What
April 26, 2022 8:06 am

Learners can have up to a 650cc motorcycle, which is quite enough.
What is more problematic is that while on L plates they are limited to 90kmh, which is stupidly slow if needing to travel on freeways – being constantly overtaken by large trucks and assorted vehicles which regard them as a slow nuisance.
Learners are at more risk in suburban settings at any speed while they develop all the handling and predictive skills they will have to have to survive. Doing 110kmh on a freeway with excellent alignment and even surfaces is not a challenge.

rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 8:11 am

Oh look at that Biden.
What a weasel.
I do like the idea of a progressive exodus from Twitter, both employees and users.
But like moving to Canada after Trump, it won’t happen.

rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 8:12 am

I do hope twitter headquarters moves to Texas too.

duncanm
duncanm
April 26, 2022 8:15 am

Dotsays:
April 26, 2022 at 7:28 am
NSW is a fascist shithole.

You can’t buy a 600 etc off the bat because of the learner rules.

que? It was 250cc a long time ago, but the rules are much more sensible now. Plenty of 650’s on this list. Admittedly, they’re often restricted ‘LAMS’ versions.

https://roads-waterways.transport.nsw.gov.au/documents/reg-docs/approved-motorcycles-for-novice-riders.pdf

Boambee John
Boambee John
April 26, 2022 8:19 am

The ABC would get $8 million a year to deliver Australian content to Pacific nations under a Labor plan to lift engagement and challenge China’s expansionism.

Under Labor’s Pacific broadcasting and publishing content into the region will promote “Australian identity, values, and interests”, while partnerships and training with Pacific journalists will be strengthened.

Their ABC’s version of “Australian identity, values, and interests” might not match the version held by the majority of Australians.

Roger
Roger
April 26, 2022 8:20 am

No Evidences are required “historical experience” will do, or a “balance of probability”;

By my quick calculations Lismore has flooded 139 times since 1887.

More than once a year on average, with 45 of those events categorised as moderate (up to 9m) & 30 as major (above 9m).

Historical experience and the balance of probabilities, you say?

A similar, but somewhat less predictable, story could be told for the areas of Brisbane & Sydney that routinely flood during La Nina years or when east coast lows visit.

rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 8:21 am
Roger
Roger
April 26, 2022 8:26 am

Their ABC’s version of “Australian identity, values, and interests” might not match the version held by the majority of Australians.

I would suggest the ABC will be even less popular among Pacific Islanders than it is in Australia.

The only preaching they appreciate is from the pulpit of a Sunday morning.

Farmer Gez
Farmer Gez
April 26, 2022 8:28 am

The lefty liberal exodus from Twitter will have a short term impact but they’ll be back like drunks to a bar.
The desperate need to “fight Tories” and preen to the masses is too hard for the Trotsky toddlers to resist.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
April 26, 2022 8:29 am

speaking of moving to Canad

a

I notice that the Left has stopped saying they’ll move to New Zealand.
I wonder if it’s because the place has turned into a gulag?
Maybe tell them Trudy runs one too: try living without a bank account.

Eyrie
Eyrie
April 26, 2022 8:32 am

The Red Bull “swap airplanes in mid air” stunt didn’t work out.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/watch-red-bull-plane-swap-stunt-ends-disaster-faa-launches-investigation
Looks like one aircraft went into an inverted spin after the pilot left. Maybe not too surprising with the big dive brake underneath it

lotocoti
lotocoti
April 26, 2022 8:36 am

Australia’s best vanilla slice?

Only if it has passionfruit icing.
Calling a Tiddly Oggie a pastie is an immediate fail, I’m afraid.

rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 8:37 am

Move to New Zealand.
We used to read lengthy expositions on the merits of moving to New Zealand here.
Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 8:39 am
Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
April 26, 2022 8:42 am

The Red Bull “swap airplanes in mid air” stunt didn’t work out.

Been a bit of this stuff. Some guy crashed a plane into a mountain the other day just so he could go viral on YouTube. He jumped out before it hit. I don’t think the FAA will look on this fad with much amusement somehow.

YouTuber who jumped from plane caused it to crash in order to record video of it, FAA says (22 Apr)

Sad to see beautiful birdies destroyed for such stupid reasons.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
April 26, 2022 8:42 am

Someone should ask Bandt if he knows what a La Nina is.

He knows that the choice of name, referring to females, to describe an event that can inflict such catastrophe and suffering, shows how deeply entrenched patriarchy and misogyny are in our society.

areff
areff
April 26, 2022 8:51 am

Cassie: as i understand it, re Tim Smith, he was one of the partyroom voices arguing against raising a fuss about the Pell travesty. The logic held that “pell is a divisive figure” and there was no percentage in demanding VicPol and the courts be held to account. He was not alone, this being the overwhelming view of his Liberal colleagues.

There has been only one genuine opposition in Victoria these past two years: the pair of LDP members in the upper house.

The Liberals, they’re worse than Labor because they recognise the evil but go along to get along anyway.

Eyrie
Eyrie
April 26, 2022 8:56 am

Some guy crashed a plane into a mountain the other day just so he could go viral on YouTube
The FAA have told him to surrender his licence. Blancolirio hopes he never gets it back.

johanna
johanna
April 26, 2022 9:00 am

Under Labor’s Pacific broadcasting and publishing content into the region will promote “Australian identity, values, and interests”, while partnerships and training with Pacific journalists will be strengthened.

Their ABC’s version of “Australian identity, values, and interests” might not match the version held by the majority of Australians.

No, and it won’t gell with Pacific Islanders (see Folau, Israel) either.

Impassioned pleas for government funded sex change operations will go down like a lead balloon.

rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 9:02 am

The only reason to like Tim Smith was because he was such a target for progressives on Twitter, because he did criticise Andrews, how many times did ‘dim Tim’ trend?
But he has no substance, no fibre, no moral backbone.
He just wanted lockdown lite.
Only decent Victorian liberal is Bernie Finn.
Limbrick and Quilty, as you say areff, stood tall during lockdown.
Why I’m going to give LDP a few hours of my precious time this federal election.

Tom
Tom
April 26, 2022 9:02 am

Sharri Markson (Paywallian):

Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles praised China’s record on human rights, credited Xi Jinping with being a “deeply impactful President” and said Australia should stay out of contested disputes in the South China Sea, echoing a sentiment uttered by then senator Sam Dastyari a year earlier.
Mr Marles, Labor’s defence spokesman at the time, made the unscripted remarks, at odds with party policy, in a Q&A session following a speech at Oxford University in October 2017.
In a video recording of the previous unpublished remarks obtained by The Australian, Mr Marles praised China’s human rights contribution and described it as a “force for good”.
“You can make an argument that it’s as big a contribution to human rights in terms of the alleviation of poverty that comes from it that we have seen in our lifetimes,” he said.
A mention of violations came in a sentence that drew an equivalence with Australia’s record of abuses. “And so while there will be criticisms, you know, of China’s human rights record here and there, as there will be criticisms of Australia’s, it’s important to really recognise what contribution China has made, and it’s huge.”
Mr Marles claimed that while Australia and China “have different political systems, China is, on balance, unquestionably a force for good”.
He also spoke about the “really significant contribution that China is making to humanity, which as I described, is the single biggest alleviation of poverty in human history”.
“In every speech I make in mentioning China, I always mention that. Not everyone does,” he said.
In the speech before his Q&A session, Mr Marles said a starting point to forging a friendship between Australia and China “is to acknowledge China’s considerable humanitarian achievements”.
Responding to questions on the comments on Monday, a spokeswoman for the Deputy -Opposition Leader said “there are countless examples of ministers of the Morrison government saying positive things about China”.
“Unlike those ministers, Richard Marles went to China and criticised China in China for their human rights abuses,” she said.
Mr Marles argued that the rise of China “needn’t be worrying, necessarily”.
“China is not the Soviet Union. It does not seek to export an ideology, to supplant our political system and replace it with their own,” he said.
“While Australia may lie within a region China sees as being its domain, there is no fear that China would ever imagine forcing upon us an abandoning of our liberal democracy.”
At the time Mr Marles made these comments, ASIO had for two years warned political parties about foreign interference and foreign donations from figures linked to the Chinese Communist Party seeking to interfere in our democracy.
In the Q&A session, Mr Marles made similar remarks to former Labor senator Sam Dastyari, who had been dumped from the frontbench more than a year earlier in part because he said Australia should respect China’s position on the South China Sea.
Labor’s policy position, stronger than the Coalition’s at the time, was that Australia should oppose China’s claims to sovereignty in the South China Sea.
Former Labor defence spokesman Stephen Conroy had accused China of bullying and aggressive conduct.
The Australian Financial Review reported in August 2016 that Mr Dastyari had said at a press conference two months earlier: “The South China Sea is China’s own affair. On this issue, Australia should remain neutral and respect China’s decision.”
Fourteen months after the controversy erupted, Mr Marles made similar remarks, arguing that Australia shouldn’t take a stance on disputes.
He also said the disputes were “not an issue for Australia” and downplayed how the emerging threat would affect our national interest.
“There are sovereignty disputes between countries bordering the South China Sea and China which Australia doesn’t take a position on and we shouldn’t,” Mr Marles said.
“We have a neutral position in relation to that, and however those sovereignty issues between the contesting nations and China is resolved is ultimately not an issue for Australia and is not about our national interest.
“So it is important to clearly articulate what is Australia’s national interest and it’s also important that we are acting solely in respect of that. So we don’t take a position in relation to those sovereignty disputes.”
The defence white paper released by the Australian government in 2016 noted competing territorial claims in the South China Sea “raise tensions in the region” and did pose a national security threat to Australia.
Mr Marles also said China’s building of artificial islands did breach the UN Convention of the law of the sea and China’s actions in the South China Sea “are a cause for anxiety” and he did not agree with them.
“The attempt to grow sovereignty over the South China Sea by changing the facts on the ground does suggest a reliance on the power of occupation rather than the rule of law,” he said.
“And make no mistake this matters deeply to Australia. By some estimates, as much as 60 per cent of our trade goes through the South China Sea. Any diminution of our ability to enjoy freedom of navigation in the South China Sea would have a significant impact on our economy.”
Military co-operation
Mr Marles spoke at length about his desire to see more military co-operation between Australia and China, claiming it “gives countries a much greater understanding of how you operate”.
“It reduces risks of miscalculation, for example, and it affords opportunities,” he said.
“I mean there may be a whole lot of opportunities that come from engaging with China in terms of potentially providing joint security and I think ultimately that’s not something to be ruled out.
“Getting to know China better matters, and that’s why I think there is nothing kind of more intimate, if you like, for a country to do than co-operate in military endeavours, even if we are talking about exercises.”
Mr Marles said while there was often an anxiety about managing the duality of the business and political relationship with China, “we need to grow that political relationship as well and as I say for it to be meaningful, military exercises should form a part of it.”
Asked about Xi Jinping’s plans to remain leader indefinitely and how this might change the calculus for Australia in the Asia-Pacific, Mr Marles described the Chinese President as a “deeply impactful president of China in terms of China’s projection and stance as an international player”.
He noted his “more assertive focus” in East Asia and the South China Sea and then went on to praise the Belt and Road ¬Initiative.
“The Belt and Road initiative, which is very much his baby – it’s on a gigantic scale in terms of what it is seeking to achieve and there will be a whole lot of good that comes from it, no question,” he said.
“I mean the building of infrastructure around the region stands to benefit a whole lot of economies.
“We don’t rule out the potential, for example, that it can improve our economy as well.”
Chair of the joint parliamentary committee on intelligence and security James Paterson said the speech provided yet more evidence that “far from being some sort of national security hawk, Richard Marles has for many years consistently advocated accommodating the Chinese Communist Party with weak policies that fail to stand up for Australia’s national interest”.
“He’s downplayed the threat the CCP poses to our country,” Senator Paterson said.
“In uncertain times, we need a strong national security team – not one that flip-flops.”
Video of the event was posted to YouTube by the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University and had been viewed only 200 times at the time of writing.
The revelations follow The Australian’s reports over the past week that Mr Marles had cleared a separate pro-China speech with the Chinese embassy in Canberra prior to delivering it in Beijing in September 2019. The speech at the Beijing Foreign Studies University had been organised by the Chinese embassy. On the trip, Mr Marles also met with a senior Communist Party official.
The Australian has also revealed that Mr Marles had welcomed Chinese investment in the Pacific as recently as August 2021 when he argued that Australia had no expectation for exclusive access to the region.

Frank
Frank
April 26, 2022 9:05 am

Seems like Sharri Markson at the Australian has the knives out for Richard Marles for being a Chinese CCP stooge. Using photos of him together with Sam Dastyari is a pretty sinister piece of agitprop. Still finding it hard to care.

Frank
Frank
April 26, 2022 9:06 am

Missed… by that much. Tom got there first.

Roger
Roger
April 26, 2022 9:09 am

Still finding it hard to care.

Slated to be defence minister should Elbow form government.

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 9:11 am

LAMS bikes are more than adequate in town. I had a 600 which was simultaneously a bit big for around town (but fine anyway) and a bit small out of town, not really relaxed cruising at the speed limits. Wouldn’t bother with a bike in Perth anyway, hypothetically in Melbournibad I would probably have gone to a 300cc scooter and something like a used Hyabusa. Not really on the cards anytime soon. Practically all bikes are simultaneously too fast for most road speed limits and in excess of most riders skill sets.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
April 26, 2022 9:11 am

The logic held that “pell is a divisive figure”

To lefties ‘controversial’ and ‘divisive’ mean that those are opinions they don’t like. The words, applied without attention to meaning, are meant to convey an unsettling or even threatening feeling.

The ABC will call an opinion that 90% of Australians hold ‘divisive’ if it not their opinion, and a person voicing a point of view that have prevailed for millennia (which is millennia longer than their own new idea) such as marriage being between a man and a woman as ‘controversial’.

I have previously described the intellectual landscape of the ABC as middling but perhaps I should stop being so tactful and just call them out for the idiots that are.

The whole of their ‘News’ could be replaced by five spotty geeks just aggregating stories from the BBC, Al Jazeera, and MSNBC. The reporters that have working for them overseas could be put on contracts and renewal every year dependent on their reportage is compared to what really happened.

I assume they are still waiting for their cue from overseas as to what they should be saying about Musk and Twitter.

Roger
Roger
April 26, 2022 9:16 am

To lefties ‘controversial’ and ‘divisive’ mean that those are opinions they don’t like.

While for Liberal politicians it means thre are no votes to be had, so principles be damned.

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 9:16 am

Slated to be defence minister should Elbow form government.

I imagine that would be raising a few interesting memos in the US diplomatic bag. Doesn’t Deputy Liar PM get choice of Ministry and the rest get doled out by the bruvvas?

Roger
Roger
April 26, 2022 9:20 am

Doesn’t Deputy Liar PM get choice of Ministry…

And Marles has already been quietly telling the Canberra press gallery that’s his choice.

Over to you, Elbow.

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 9:24 am

ALPBC overseas correspondents haven’t added anything of value for decades. It is really just a holiday with allowances or a chance to take maternity leave for the ladies. They could be replaced with Max Headroom with no loss to the viewer.

lotocoti
lotocoti
April 26, 2022 9:26 am

really significant contribution that China is making to humanity, which as I described, is the single biggest alleviation of poverty in human history

Guess he forgot the humble Engine to Raise Water by Fire,
which went on to power the Industrial Revolution.

Roger
Roger
April 26, 2022 9:28 am

They could be replaced with Max Headroom with no loss to the viewer.

The reporting might even get more insightful.

Top Ender
Top Ender
April 26, 2022 9:28 am

Mrs TE’s microwave has blown up. Unfortunately it’s a convection model, the most expensive one, as Sharp. You’d think it would last longer than 2 years and 10 months, especially as it was over a grand.

Funny thing – going on the Choice website it comes out as the most expensive by a very long way, but is about number 9 in rating.

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 9:29 am

Not sure why you would want Defence unless you had an eye on life after politics and a handful of defence contractor jobs that would make a Carlton footballer at Visy blush.

Zipster
Zipster
April 26, 2022 9:30 am

really significant contribution that China is making to humanity, which as I described, is the single biggest alleviation of poverty in human history

thats called capitalism

Roger
Roger
April 26, 2022 9:35 am

Not sure why you would want Defence unless you had an eye on life after politics and a handful of defence contractor jobs that would make a Carlton footballer at Visy blush.

Like Kim Beazley, he seems to have a personal interest in the portfolio.

Zipster
Zipster
April 26, 2022 9:37 am

In the speech before his Q&A session, Mr Marles said a starting point to forging a friendship between Australia and China “is to acknowledge China’s considerable humanitarian achievements”.

humanitarian aid like cheap organ harvesting

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
April 26, 2022 9:41 am

Mrs TE’s microwave has blown up. Unfortunately it’s a convection model, the most expensive one, as Sharp. You’d think it would last longer than 2 years and 10 months, especially as it was over a grand.

When we redid our kitchen the Smeg convection microwave was just under half that amount, TE.
We got convection because I had great ambitions of trying it out for cooking, but in the event we only use the microwave for heating things and sometimes for defrosting. A cheap one at $70 from Coles would have done just as well, hidden away behind a cupboard door as it is.

Cassie of Sydney
April 26, 2022 9:42 am

“But he has no substance, no fibre, no moral backbone.
He just wanted lockdown lite.
Only decent Victorian liberal is Bernie Finn.
Limbrick and Quilty, as you say areff, stood tall during lockdown.”

All correct.

Smith would be a disaster running the IPA.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
April 26, 2022 9:43 am

Cassie, so good to see you back with your morning hard-hitting commentary.
Another reason for me to keep coming to the Cat for news updates when in the UK.

Roger
Roger
April 26, 2022 9:43 am

Unfortunately it’s a convection model, the most expensive one, as Sharp. You’d think it would last longer than 2 years and 10 months, especially as it was over a grand.

Ouch! Sounds like it was just out of warranty too.

We stayed in an apartment that had a dual function microwave. Their chief virtue seems to be saving space in small kitchens.

sfw
sfw
April 26, 2022 9:47 am

Modern bikes, there’s few who could ride one flat out on a racetrack, on public roads they’re just overpowered death devices.

johanna
johanna
April 26, 2022 9:49 am

Someone upthread posted this link to an interview with Douglas Murray about his new book, The War on the West.

Excellent, as usual. I don’t usually listen to long interviews (1hr 20 mins) but this one is well worth it – includes a couple of funny skits by his interviewers.

One thing that made it different from the usual stuff is the discussion of how the right wing has been divided by successive issues like the correct response to COVID and now, Ukraine.

Also, Douglas points out that some sections of the Right have adopted the language and beliefs of the Left in trashing their own countries. We have seen that here with the lamentable ‘Australia is a shit stained toilet bowl’ rhetoric, which has fortunately declined recently.

There is a good discussion about why that is happening.

He really is a treasure – clear thinking, articulate and entertaining. My only beef is that he is gay, so those genes are going to waste unless he donates a bit of his life-giving essence to a woman of impeccable conservative credentials who needs it. 🙂

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 9:49 am

Like Kim Beazley, he seems to have a personal interest in the portfolio.

Not sure that is much of a prerequisite. Probably better than the disinterest normally shown by the Liars. You suspect whoever it is will have their hands full.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
April 26, 2022 9:49 am

Second that, LizzieB. Good to see you back, Cassie.

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 9:51 am

Modern bikes, there’s few who could ride one flat out on a racetrack, on public roads they’re just overpowered death devices

If you don’t crash they’re great fun.

Struth
April 26, 2022 9:57 am

But he has no substance, no fibre, no moral backbone.

Written by notafan…..!

He just wanted lockdown lite.
Only decent Victorian liberal is Bernie Finn.
Limbrick and Quilty, as you say areff, stood tall during lockdown.
Why I’m going to give LDP a few hours of my precious time this federal election.

I bet they’re wrapped.

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 9:59 am

If you don’t crash they’re great fun.

On the right roads ie none in WA. Perhaps Tasmania could be closed and used as nature intended – a hydro-electric power source, forest and road circuit.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
April 26, 2022 10:00 am

Zipstersays:
April 25, 2022 at 8:55 pm
Brigitte Bardot – Mambo Italiano

I’ll see your Mambo Italiano and raise you with (in the spirit of MotorBike discussions)

brigitte bardot – harley davidson

or perhaps

Serge Gainsbourg et Brigitte Bardot “Bonnie and Clyde”

Struth
April 26, 2022 10:01 am

KD not up yet?
A big night down the pub where he put his good teeth in because the little bar chicky he likes is there and knows what he drinks and which durries he buys.
This time he was going to show her his impersonation of an elephant, as he pulls his pockets out.
A great night out for all, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the betting.

johanna
johanna
April 26, 2022 10:01 am

TE, convection microwaves are a classic example of trying to do two disparate things and doing neither of them very well.

I’ve had my Panasonic microwave for 20 years now, and it still works perfectly well. It wasn’t the cheapest one on the market, but it has ended up costing me about 50c a week on the purchase price.

It is possible that there are convection microwaves that work as advertised, are reliable for say, ten years, and don’t cost far more than the basic model.

Me, I’m a horses for courses girl. 🙂

Top Ender
Top Ender
April 26, 2022 10:02 am

The advantage of a convection microwave seems to be they do a great roast in less than half the time. It mixes convection with zapping the stuff inside with microwaves at the same time.

Mrs TE can produce all sorts of other things out of it, like scones, and nachos and so on, but I have never studied up on the buttons to push.

lotocoti
lotocoti
April 26, 2022 10:02 am

Further to BoN’s feckin’ idjits of Oirland, the pollie who said
“The Government will avoid, if possible, forcing people or businesses to give up property or open their homes to Ukrainian refugees”
may not be opening up her home, because reasons.

rickw
rickw
April 26, 2022 10:02 am

“is to acknowledge China’s considerable humanitarian achievements”

Lifting people out of poverty after having put them there in the first place?

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 10:11 am

I think I might win the cheap microwave award. Got it free off a work colleague who was moving to Sydney. That was 20 years ago and I’ve been waiting for it to bust since to get a new one. No fancy convection cooking. Strictly reheating Chinese takeaway.

lotocoti
lotocoti
April 26, 2022 10:26 am

Wait.
What?

rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 10:30 am

Looks like the lady next door let the chihuahua out for its morning exercise.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
April 26, 2022 10:31 am

I have never studied up on the buttons to push.

Secret women’s business…The Memsahib chatted me about my inability to operate the oven – I told her that she could learn how to drive a harvester and I’d learn how to work the oven….

rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 10:34 am

Now it’s off to the supermarket with Dickie in his designer doggie coat.

Would you like your word salad wrapped ma’am?

cohenite
April 26, 2022 10:37 am

MSM all over Dutton for his alarmist, war mongering peace through preparation for war (strength) comments and ignoring the fact the liars and filth are owned by the chunks and they want to destroy coal and are lying about that.

rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 10:38 am

I read your article Lotocoti.
Why I have no problem with the vulnerable minimising their own risk and special rules for aged care.

Rex Anger
Rex Anger
April 26, 2022 10:46 am

From the first ‘Related Tweet’ below Locototi’s linked Globe and Crown article:

Aaron Hoyland
@aaronhoyland
·
10h
It’s hard to overstate the moral vacuum required to have $43 billion available to you and decide to use it to purchase a social media platform to ensure you’re allowed to shitpost without consequences instead of addressing poverty, climate change, or public health initiatives.

Shitposting is a Human Right, Hoyland.

Always Was, Always Will Be.

Humourless little squit…

Rex Anger
Rex Anger
April 26, 2022 10:47 am

Would you like your word salad wrapped ma’am?

For some reason, the Road Rager is never rapt with anyone pointing out his typos and more egregious malapropisms.

It’s a shame really. Some of them are quite amusing…

Struth
April 26, 2022 10:48 am

Unvaccinated disproportionately risk safety of those vaccinated against COVID-19, study shows

If you don’t find this insane, you have problems.

cohenite
April 26, 2022 10:48 am

Shitposting is a Human Right, Hoyland.

Hoyland sounds like a piece of shit.

rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 10:49 am

I was kind of presuming buying twitter was an investment from which Musk eventually intends to return a profit.
And why not make the same allegations about all who invest money in this or that?

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
April 26, 2022 10:52 am

MSM all over Dutton for his alarmist, war mongering peace through preparation for war

I thought the MSM were all barracking hysterically for Ukraine? Maybe if Ukraine had been like Switzerland, with a rifle behind every blade of grass, Russia might not’ve invaded.

Handing over one’s nukes and signing the demining treaty didn’t work out very well for them.

I don’t think Chinese PLA guys think very highly of journos. They’d be first against the wall when the occupation forces take over, I suspect.

Slim Cognito
Slim Cognito
April 26, 2022 10:55 am

Practically all bikes are simultaneously too fast for most road speed limits and in excess of most riders skill sets.

Agreed. It’s pretty easy to get a bike that will exceed the open speed limit in first or second gear these days. But they sure are a bunch of fun.

rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 10:56 am

Who knew admitting to offering to hand out htv cards would generate such a rapping?

Timothy Neilson
Timothy Neilson
April 26, 2022 10:57 am

lotocotisays:
April 26, 2022 at 10:26 am
Wait.
What?

“Models” and “simulations”. We actually have data from disparate jurisdictions all round the world for about a year and a half as to what, if any, effects vaccination has had on transmission. How do the models and simulations match up against the reality? Strangely the article doesn’t say.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
April 26, 2022 10:58 am

Aaron Hoyland

Haha, lefty tears are delicious. Considering that poverty is caused primarily by the Left, that climate change is a Lefty fraud, and that we’ve just had the biggest Lefty public health scam foisted upon us these last two years, I’d say Mr Hoyland can go insert his iPad up his rectum. Sideways.

Struth
April 26, 2022 10:59 am

Typical Rosie, acts nothing like a Christian but goes to church.
Acts nothing like a Libertarian but stands out there passing out how to vote cards for them.

And not an ounce of introspection………………………………….

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
April 26, 2022 11:00 am

Marles isn’t some ALP maverick off on a frolic; he’s part of ALP strategy.

Labor desperately needs an ‘adults in the room’ head pat from China after the election – but without terrifying the vote herd and giving Scummo a stick to beat them with.

The CCP wants to land Labor, and get back on track owning the useful bits of Australia. They need a public reason to explain a thaw other than ‘we reached out into Australian politics’, but:

Abronese is marked down as an uninspiring person with “wrong thoughts” about China – but better than US lackey, Morrison – and needs to be trained.

Wong is female, Chinese diaspora, has an awkward personal life, and needs to keep in good with the US – therefore no cut through.

Marles is largely irrelevant in Australian politics and can talk crap with limited consequences. But as Deputy Leader and future Defence Minister he would play well for a Chinese audience – and his public fellatio would be helpful all round in explaining why China is suddenly talking again.

Slim Cognito
Slim Cognito
April 26, 2022 11:00 am

“Authors of the modelling study, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal…”

Yeah right, the same people who are still pushing a “vaccine” made for the long gone Wuhan variant. Why would anyone put any faith in what they have to say?

Zipster
Zipster
April 26, 2022 11:02 am
sfw
sfw
April 26, 2022 11:10 am

HB, love the Tassie idea, always thought some sort of aussie Nürburgring would be a winner. Trouble is we need laws that really limit liability when the correct waivers etc are signed. I raced solos and sidecars in the 70’s, early 80’s a couple of rides in the 90’s, I never go fast on a public road, way too dangerous. Now an aussie ‘Ring’ would be great.

rosie
rosie
April 26, 2022 11:14 am

What would the world do without the one true Christian.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
April 26, 2022 11:15 am

I’ve had my Panasonic microwave for 20 years now, and it still works perfectly well.

Same here. At least 22 years for my Panasonic, I checked the model number just now. Chugs on happily even though the plastic has turned lemon yellow with age. Got to hand it to the Japanese, when they discovered ‘zero defects’ they changed the world.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
April 26, 2022 11:22 am

I expect we will see attempts by some lefties to create an alternative to Twatter (if Elon is fair dinkum about opening it up to everyone I may even start calling it Twitter again!)

They tried this on the right but couldn’t get it going.

In the case of lefties I imagine they will devise a model which dots and crosses every progressive ‘i’ and ‘t’, and come up with something so choked with rules and pre-emptive algorithms it will be survive gasping for a few moments and then die.

They will try to create from the start what they had been wanting to make Twatter become but which it had not become yet.

As for the lefty head explosions, what are their objections? Well, they have lost an echo chamber, and gained the certainty of one thing they try to bury in the back of their minds to be brought out only when protesting – that there are people out there openly and brazenly saying things they want suppressed.

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 11:22 am

sfw – never tracked my bike and was pretty good on public roads (out of a strong sense of self preservation and hated handing money to the cops). Did a 5 day lap of Tassie over Xmas one year. Was pretty well behaved but found myself having to take a break when you realised the rear wheel was 12 inches off the ground coming into corners. Great fun in the dry.

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 11:26 am

Most of the 5 days was spent eating fresh berries at the Taste of Tasmania.

sfw
sfw
April 26, 2022 11:30 am

HB sounds great but you would be way quicker than me, I like it better when we all go in the same direction.

Timothy Neilson
Timothy Neilson
April 26, 2022 11:31 am

All the ponces who sneered that if conservatives didn’t like Twitter etc. they should create their own platforms (and then campaigned vociferously to get credit card companies etc. to boycott any such platform) are now whining that Twitter shouldn’t be allowed to become something they don’t like.

Similar to how “journalists” pontificated that retrenched blue collar workers should “learn to code”, but when “journalists” started getting laid off “learn to code” was blocked as “hate speech”.

Although I’ll believe that Musk wants Twitter to be genuine free speech when it happens. I’ve got great respect for him as a businessman but that doesn’t mean I need to trust everything he says.

Old bloke
Old bloke
April 26, 2022 11:32 am

lotocoti says:
April 26, 2022 at 10:02 am

Further to BoN’s feckin’ idjits of Oirland, the pollie who said
“The Government will avoid, if possible, forcing people or businesses to give up property or open their homes to Ukrainian refugees”
may not be opening up her home, because reasons.

The Ukrainian refugees should claim to be dentists to improve their chances of being accepted in Ireland. In the 1930’s Ireland refused to accept European Jewish refugees but they did later allow entry for six Jewish dentists as they had a shortage of dentists in Ireland.

Rex Anger
Rex Anger
April 26, 2022 11:34 am

Geert Vanden Bossche explaining about shorter omicron waves

I am told that centimetric wavelengths were a right bastard for the Kriegsmarine after 1943.

So I suspect that omicron probably won’t appreciate it much, either…

/Shitpost 😀

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
April 26, 2022 11:38 am

Did a 5 day lap of Tassie over Xmas one year.

Bear – I was thinking after SFW’s comment that circuit would make a great road race. I did Queenstown-Hobart in the late eighties (in a car) – a road which would be bike heaven.

The Tassie greens would hate a petrol-burning donk road race like that, but I suspect it would build to be an epic tourism event.

Timothy Neilson
Timothy Neilson
April 26, 2022 11:39 am

Rogersays:
April 26, 2022 at 8:26 am
Their ABC’s version of “Australian identity, values, and interests” might not match the version held by the majority of Australians.

I would suggest the ABC will be even less popular among Pacific Islanders than it is in Australia.

The only preaching they appreciate is from the pulpit of a Sunday morning.

Absolutely.
Devout Christian Polynesians and Melanesians may not react as seems to be expected to news about Australia’s unstinting support for fisting, reacharounds and penis tucking.

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 11:39 am

Yeah. Apparently track riding is another world. Some track guys refuse to ride on the road. I didn’t mind being in traffic – a couple of close calls and dropped it once over 10 years (in the middle of nowhere near Dubbo) so I had a pretty good run. Like surfing, hard to explain the joy of it to people who have not experienced it. Does not make any sense on a rational level.

GreyRanga
GreyRanga
April 26, 2022 11:43 am

Just saw in Erindale Drive Canberra new ads for David Poocock, with his shirt pulled open with a Greens T-shirt underneath. Whoever did it deserves a pat on the back. Had one of his supporters handing out flyers, she offered me one, I said “you are joking”. Noticed a lot of political signs pulled out.

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 11:43 am

Bruce – they have the Targa Tasmania so we should cut them some slack. Closing the whole island for an Isle Of Man TT might be a bridge too far.

johanna
johanna
April 26, 2022 11:49 am

Speaking of motor racing – am just getting into Murray Walker’s autobiography. He spent the last couple of years of WWII in tanks, not an easy gig.

I didn’t know that his father was not only a top notch motorcycle racer but also a long standing commentator on the BBC. Murray admits that he was not a patch on the Old Man – as a competent motorcycle racer who won a few prizes. He is modest enough not to mention that he far exceeded The Old Man in the scope and reach of his commentary.

After the war he went into advertising. As someone who has worked in the business, I can attest that it sure has changed. It was very stuffy and boring in Britain in the 40s and 50s. But, Walker kept doing commentaries for motor racing on the side. He had grown up with it, loved it to pieces, would have done it for nothing.

That’s as far as I’ve got.

Only just emerged from Billy Thorpe’s (of The Aztecs) book Sex ‘n’ Thugs ‘n’ Rock ‘n’ Roll which is about his life in Kings Cross in 1963-64.

While it’s not exactly a literary masterpiece, and apparently aims to copy Barrett’s style by throwing in lots of sex scenes, it is interesting in terms of the history of rock music in Australia and of the Cross. I didn’t realise just how quickly Forpie & Co went from obscurity to superstardom in Australia, or that he was an experienced showbiz kid who had been performing since he was ten.

His description of the cops at Darlinghurst Police Station (which he deliberately misnames) and of the disappearance of his friend Natalie is chilling. And, meeting his old girlfriend from a strip club as the wife of a wealthy cockie in a posh hotel in Europe is priceless.

I gather that there is a second instalment, will keep an eye out.

Boambee John
Boambee John
April 26, 2022 11:50 am

sfwsays:
April 26, 2022 at 9:47 am
Modern bikes, there’s few who could ride one flat out on a racetrack, on public roads they’re just overpowered death devices.

Back in the 1950s, motor bike riders were known as temporary Australians, not likely to be here for long.

sfw
sfw
April 26, 2022 11:50 am

I live in Indi, heard the greens candidate on radio this morning, said the greens are running so as to send preferences to Helen Haines the ‘Independent’ member but one of the Climate 200 candidates. Says it all.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
April 26, 2022 11:52 am

Does not make any sense on a rational level.

😀
Bear – I’m a treadly guy but my bro is a bike guy. Once he pillioned me on his Duke 900 to the old ton on the Bondi Jct bypass between the traffic lights. I think he still has it 40 years later. And I know he still has his BSA he bought and rode on all over in India back then. On the other hand he’s broken most of the bones in his body at various times. My SIL keeps him alive by nagging him.

GreyRanga
GreyRanga
April 26, 2022 11:55 am

Nice to see you back Cassie.

Rex Anger
Rex Anger
April 26, 2022 11:56 am

I’ve got a crazy idea that I’d love to go for a fang round the Isle of Man one day, preferably at TT time.

Problem being, I’ve never ridden a motorcycle. Let alone raced one on a closed circuit or public course.

Still, one can dream. And neck pints while watching other, more delightfully crazy folks risk their lives during Race Week. And there’s always the Snaefell Mountain Railway, the still all-steam operated Isle of Man Railway and the quaint little Victorian era zoo/nature reserve line of the Groudle Glen to keep a fellow occupied afterwards. 🙂

* Fun Fact- The Isle of Man is the almost-direct inspiration for Rev. Wilbert Awdry’s Island of Sodor. That seemingly mythical place just off the southern coast of the UK that so many children love. And kept Ringo Starr in the public consciousness long after John Lennon went weird (and got shot for his weirdness) and Paul McCartney sold out…

Boambee John
Boambee John
April 26, 2022 11:57 am

Timothy Neilsonsays:
April 26, 2022 at 10:57 am
lotocotisays:
April 26, 2022 at 10:26 am
Wait.
What?

“Models” and “simulations”. We actually have data from disparate jurisdictions all round the world for about a year and a half as to what, if any, effects vaccination has had on transmission. How do the models and simulations match up against the reality? Strangely the article doesn’t say.

Facts? Data? Don’t waste my time with facts and data when I can get a lucrative grant to do some modeling that will produce a result conforming to my prejudices!

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 11:58 am

The older bikes weren’t slow. There was a guy on an old Norton 750 I used to bump into on my commute to work. But not for long.

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 12:06 pm

Rock memoirs are a dirty pleasure. The Dirt is a good (not great) read if you come across it. Certainly better than any Motley Crue music.

Rex Anger
Rex Anger
April 26, 2022 12:06 pm

The older bikes weren’t slow. There was a guy on an old Norton 750 I used to bump into on my commute to work.

One railway modeller I know (in his 80s, I am fairly sure), still rides his Norton in to visit the Model Railway Club in Bayswater from time to time. Formidable and pedantic modeller, and also an avid motorcycle racer for much of his life. And genuinely nice chap, too.

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 12:13 pm

I think with old British bikes you became a mechanic and tinkerer whether you wanted to or not. Certainly if you wanted to go anywhere. Another time.

Kneel
Kneel
April 26, 2022 12:20 pm

“… more delightfully crazy folks risk their lives during [Isle of Mann TT]Race Week. “

I forget who it was, but one rider had whitewash from one of the buildings on the shoulders of his leathers – never crashed, not bruised, just brushed the wall. Now that’s just a wee bit too close if you ask me – talk about no room for error…

Factoid: all bike racers use kangaroo leather. Why? Twice as strong, and half the weight of cow leather.
So if you ever do go into the TT, make sure you use ‘roo leather!

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
April 26, 2022 12:24 pm

I’ve never played The Sims on my PC, which is a good thing since if I did I’d be a Nazi.

Russia appears to confuse ‘The Sims’ for SIM cards in possible staged assassination attempt (25 Apr, via Instapundit)

Russian security services on Monday have been accused of staging a Ukrainian assassination attempt by releasing photos of confiscated copies of “The Sims” video games that some speculate were mistaken by Kremlin officers for SIM cards.

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation released the bizarre photos Monday and announced that police had arrested six neo-Nazis plotting to kill Russian TV Host Vladimir Solovyov in Moscow.

In other news the Russians are now saying the CIA wants to assassinate Mr Solovyov.

Putin claims CIA behind assassination plot of pro-Kremlin TV host (Israel National News, 25 Apr)

Perhaps they should all adjourn to World Of Warcraft and have it out with each other. Obviously someone has it in for Mr Solovyov, although whether they’re real or virtual isn’t clear yet.

John Brumble
John Brumble
April 26, 2022 12:27 pm

The functioning of exchange markets in a human society is no more an ideology called “capitalism” than the attraction of objects under an inverse square law is “gravitism”.

GreyRanga
GreyRanga
April 26, 2022 12:27 pm

Rex Angersays:
April 26, 2022 at 11:56 am
I’ve got a crazy idea that I’d love to go for a fang round the Isle of Man one day, preferably at TT time.

Guy I used to know got killed during the TT years ago. He was crazy fast. Made a mistake on one corner , paid for it on the next. Apparently that’s what happens to most of the deaths. Another mate was going home to see his mum there, he said he was going for a drive around the Island, she wanted to know where he was going to stay overnight as it was inconceivable to go round in one day.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
April 26, 2022 12:38 pm

On the other hand he’s broken most of the bones in his body at various times. My SIL keeps him alive by nagging him.

I did a Return to Riding course a few years ago, after 25 years off a bike it seemed like a good idea to Mrs F.

Slow riding around obstacles, counter steering, reflexes all fine. Shown the obligatory horror pictures, and off for a road ride.

Five minutes in I nearly T-boned a flowerpot who pulled out of a side street and stopped in front of me.

The beautiful secondhand Norton I had in mind went to someone else.

Kneel
Kneel
April 26, 2022 12:39 pm

“The older bikes weren’t slow.”

No, but they typically rode them slow. 🙂
It was only from the mid ’70’s or so that riders would “hang off” the side and/or put a foot out to gain respectively more turn and more stability, or even “push” against the foot pegs to get more turn.

Top Ender
Top Ender
April 26, 2022 12:57 pm

Back in the 1950s, motor bike riders were known as temporary Australians

And in the 70′ and 80’s too.

Used to ride from Hobart to Launceston in a pack for the races up north. Average cruise speed was about 140 kph. Ducati 900s; Kawasaki 900 and 1000s, the occasional H2; Suzuki GTS; Honda CBX 6-cylinder etc etc.

In those days the coppers used to run a speed trap in the small towns which had a 70 or 80 limit. Used to get a wave as we went through.

Not any more.

H B Bear
H B Bear
April 26, 2022 12:58 pm

Faustus – hard to say how much perception and reaction time comes into it. Even if my balance was not completely shot the rest of my brain is just not fast enough for a bike. Don’t think I’ll bother asking the physio, she won’t even try me on arm crutches.

Kneel
Kneel
April 26, 2022 1:02 pm

“The beautiful secondhand Norton I had in mind went to someone else.”

If you’re not riding with the “they’re all out to kill me” mindset, someone will kill you!

Not everyone though – I very much surprised a guy on a 900 one night coming back from Newcastle through the Galston Gorge. Going up the non-hairpin side. In my at the time 450HP/1350kg car with race grade metal pads (already nice and warm from the downwards part, where he looked rather bored and likely disappointed that he was going to have a slow ride). Hit 160+km/h at several points (I knew it VERY well at the time, having driven it at least twice a week and some weeks daily, for 6 months or more) and he had a hard time keeping up. When I finally waved him past near the end I got a big “thumbs up” and a wave. I think he was impressed that I was pulling away from him out of the bendy bits and he only caught me up under brakes at the next bend. Ahh, to be young and indestructible again… 🙂

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
April 26, 2022 1:22 pm

If you’re not riding with the “they’re all out to kill me” mindset, someone will kill you!

This is quite true.

Ahh, to be young and indestructible again…

Indeed.
That was my thought.

Kneel
Kneel
April 26, 2022 1:43 pm

“Indeed.
That was my thought.”

🙂

“… race grade metal pads…”

I highly recommend you never use these kind of pads on the street.

On cold winters mornings, you needed to trail brake for the first 500m or so, or you’d be “Stop ya idjit! [slap] When I says Whoa, I means Whoa!”.
Ugly.
Still, they were the only pads I’ve ever had where you could do a “crash stop” from 160km/h three times in a row, and you’d stop in less distance on the third go than the first. Never found a “fade” point for them, despite massive bluing and surface cracks on the rotors. Aside from the “cold is danger” part, they were awesome.

johanna
johanna
April 26, 2022 2:21 pm

Heh. Delighted to find so many mo’bike memories sparked by Murray’s memoirs.

I’ll repeat mine – doing 100mph for the first time on the back of Mick’s Norton 750. Under the tunnel at Mascot in the middle of the night. No cameras in those days.

I’ll never forget it.

Tom
Tom
April 26, 2022 2:43 pm

Co-founding HTML coder Jack Dorsey became a billionaire by inventing a clever digital idea, Twitter.

But Dorsey allowed Twitter to become an echo chamber where everything that didn’t toe the leftist tribal line was banned as “hate speech” and made it unusable for everyone not inside the tribe. All that ended today when Elon Musk bought the company.

Changing the company culture necessarily means parting company with most of the staff — fascists who are emotionally unable to handle the concept of free speech.

That starts tomorrow. Meantime, non-leftists are celebrating the return of a usable digital town square to which everyone has access. Tucker Carlson Tonight
.

Kneel
Kneel
April 26, 2022 2:43 pm

“…refused to turn over his business records to the state’s attorney general’s office.”

You’re supposed to have a crime reported and then find out who did it, not look at a person and try and find a crime to fit…. Grubs.

Cassie of Sydney
April 26, 2022 2:48 pm

“Tomsays:
April 26, 2022 at 2:43 pm”

Well said.

Tom, can you post that on the new thread?

Kneel
Kneel
April 26, 2022 2:55 pm

“All that ended today when Elon Musk bought the company [Twitter].”

Well it’s a start…

According to Tim Pool, if you use “The Governator”‘s surname, EweTube automation will ban you for being racist…

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