Open Thread – Weekend 15 Oct 2022


Little Bridge on the Voise, Osny, Camille Pissarro, 1883

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Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
October 17, 2022 9:44 pm

Closing address by counsel for the defence, in the Higgins rope case, should make interesting reading.

Boambee John
Boambee John
October 17, 2022 9:46 pm

Still no actual evidence from Richard Cranium to confirm his various assertions about steam cleaning, condoms and so much more.

I won’t hold my breath waiting.

John H.
John H.
October 17, 2022 9:48 pm

feelthebernsays:
October 17, 2022 at 9:41 pm
How can Russian drones be hitting Kiev ?
That’s a long way to go & not be intercepted.

Yesterday I watched an interview with a military analyst and he said that the Russians use a very winding route and can simultaneously bring the drones\missiles in from many directions. These also fly very low so not detected until close to the target. Also UKR, at least not yet, does not have the short to medium range intercept capacity for targeting. They have been using Mig 29s but the big problem with that aircraft is the very limited range and flight time.

Razey
Razey
October 17, 2022 9:49 pm

Zipstersays:
October 17, 2022 at 9:47 pm
Ukrainian police fire at drones swooping low across Kyiv skies | AFP

Comical.

Cassie of Sydney
October 17, 2022 9:50 pm

“Never seen Rokwiz, was unaware of this show’s existence (then again, this could be a trick question, clearly I need to increase my ABC viewing)

Sorta like Annabel Crabb, who seems so lovely on “Kitchen Cabinet” then posts on social media stuff that’d make Stalin jealous.”

Well, since Kitchen Cabinet was broadcast on the ABC, you clearly must watch the ABC at times.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
October 17, 2022 9:52 pm

Umm…..I remember when the IDF bombed Beirut Airport. They were certainly aware of the “cost/benefit” of such an action.

Cassie, please. An airport is a structure which is distant from the ordinary people. Also the particular targets the IDF go for are usually Hezbie and IRGC buildings there. They did recently try to prevent an IRGC flight from landing in Damascus by hitting the actual tarmac, but I think that was unsuccessful.

It is a very different thing to black out the ordinary people by destroying power stations and substations. Or to hit the water and sewerage plants. The IDF has been very careful not to attack these in Gaza or Syria.

Airports used for arms shipments are fair game. Russia has been successfully striking Ukrainian airports for exactly this reason. I have no problem with that, and it’s quite legal under the laws of war such as they are. I will add that Syria and Israel are still formally at war since the Assads never bothered to negotiate peace. I’m not sure of what the formal situation is between Lebanon and Israel, although since Lebanon is effectively under Hezbie control that’s a somewhat moot point.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
October 17, 2022 9:54 pm

Lehrmann trial: I didn’t try to help defence case, says Linda Reynolds
Remy Varga
NSW Reporter
@RemyVarga
Sarah Ison
Political Reporter
@@sarsison
7 minutes ago October 17, 2022

Senator Linda Reynolds advised defence lawyers to check Brittany Higgins’ text messages and asked for a transcript of her former adviser’s evidence but has denied giving “tips” or being politically invested in the outcome of the high-profile trial.

The ACT Supreme Court on Monday heard Senator Reynolds’ partner sat in court while Ms Higgins was in the witness box but the former cabinet minister denied discussing her former staffer’s evidence with him.

The tenth day of Bruce Lehrmann’s trial for the alleged rape of Ms Higgins on Senator Reynold’s ministerial couch on March 23, 2019, also heard from former cabinet minister Michaelia Cash and her chief of staff Daniel Try.

Senator Reynolds, wearing pearls and a pink jacket, said she knew through media reports that Ms Higgins was being cross-examined at 4.27pm on Thursday, October 6, when she texted one of Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers asking, “Hi, do you have the daily transcripts?” “I was curious to know what had been said but I was advised by my lawyer that that wasn’t appropriate,” she said.

The court heard that one minute after the first text Senator Reynolds again messaged the defence to say messages between Ms Higgins and Nicole Hamer – who worked with Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins in her office – would be “revealing”.

“I had previously met not just with yourself but with the defence counsel, who had asked for information relevant to the case,” Senator Reynolds said, adding she had not seen the messages herself.

Davey Boy
Davey Boy
October 17, 2022 9:54 pm

as mentioned by others from time to time: Who owns Australia?

These maps tell you who

Brought to you and promoted by the elite and bugmen classes, who, as we know, loathe the idea of Australia being a country

Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Govt Covid Stupidity

Well, since Kitchen Cabinet was broadcast on the ABC, you clearly must watch the ABC at times.

Hehe, nowhere did I say I do not watch ABC. 😉
Though it’d be some years since I watched anything other than an occasional news broadcast or Landline.

Cassie of Sydney
October 17, 2022 10:03 pm

“An airport is a structure which is distant from the ordinary people. “

LOL.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
October 17, 2022 10:05 pm

Airports.
Railway stations.
Sewerage plants.
Power stations and substations.
Bridges.
Roads.
Industry in all its forms.

All are legitimate targets, and none should be ponced about with when you’re trying to win a war – regardless of the side you take. The End.

Zipster
Zipster
October 17, 2022 10:11 pm

The Albanese government is planning to bring the families back to Australia in about three groups, with the most vulnerable to be prioritised.

everyone’s a vulnerable these days, except straight white males

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
October 17, 2022 10:11 pm

Cassie – The IDF does not destroy the electricity and water infrastructure in Gaza. They don’t. Ever.

Think about why.

Farmer Gez
Farmer Gez
October 17, 2022 10:13 pm

ABC flood reporting.

Road damage – Dan to the rescue.
Relief package – Albo to the rescue.

Never let a crisis go to waste when there’s politics to play.

feelthebern
feelthebern
October 17, 2022 10:16 pm

Compare the pair.

Australians go to middle east to fight for ISIS.
Abbott goes to cancel citizenship.
Malcolm objects, your citizenship is sacred (Tony folds).
Media applauds Malcolms’s position.

US citizens working for Chinese chip makers.
Biden gives ultimatum, quit or lose your US citizenship.
Most quit.
Minimal US media coverage but if there is it’s mildly positive.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
October 17, 2022 10:36 pm

Daily Mail

Iranian boy is born WITHOUT a penis: Baby has intact scrotum but urinates out of his anus in one-in-30million medical deformity

Medics were shocked to discover that the boy had been born with no penis
His mother had experienced a normal pregnancy with no complications
Despite his lack of a penis he had normal testicles and no female sex organs

He’s got a bright future in the Greens.

rickw
rickw
October 17, 2022 10:59 pm

sabotage

To sabotage anything, you generally need to understand how it works and what purpose it fulfils.

Probably of actual sabotage by Aboriginals? Almost zero.

johanna
johanna
October 17, 2022 11:02 pm

In the absence of Rabz, let me offer some musik to lift the spirits of those who choose to spend their spare time considering the various ways the world is going to Hell in a handbasket.

It’s Whacko Jacko, the best song and dance man of the second half of the C20th and a bit later. Elena has compiled a bunch of different clips of him doing Billie Jean live into a continous piece.

Can nigge^s dance?

Oh, yes, they can!

Great artists are almost by definition weird, but never underestimate how disciplined and hard working the best of them are. MJ was a hard working dude, from when he was a kid. He spent weeks and months practising those moves.

Forget Hollywood, where artitstry has been gone for a long time. And the UK industry is muffled by Political Correctness.

The best fillums I have seen recently have come from unexpected places like South Korea and Thailand. Much better than those repetetive, gloomy crime shows from Scandinavia.

Bourne1879
Bourne1879
October 17, 2022 11:08 pm

Hard to believe Reynolds is a former Brigadier and Defence Minister considering how she behaved whilst a witness in the case.

Should never be given a senior position again.

Winston Smith
October 17, 2022 11:12 pm

Real Deal:

I miss much of Tim Blair since he went behind the pay wall. That was brilliant, sarcastic prose.

Tim Blair is lazy, formulaic and derivative.
I stopped reading his column years ago when he went – repeatedly – on journeys with his US mates and didn’t bother updating his columns for days on end.
You’re either writing a column or you’re partying with mates.

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
October 17, 2022 11:13 pm

Dover.

A tactic might be to effectively force Ukrainians to expend the anti air stuff ( which has neutered the Russian helicopter support) on drones?

A little like the boxheads in ww2 had to shift massive amounts of their air power/ defences back to try and stop bomber attacks.

That assumes Russians have enough drones.

2dogs
2dogs
October 17, 2022 11:14 pm

That’s a long way to go & not be intercepted.

If a drone keeps radio silent on route, and stays low to the ground, its radar cross section might be small enough to be missed by radar.

Winston Smith
October 17, 2022 11:21 pm

Top Ender:

The first obligation of educators is to provide all students the opportunity to learn. The Michaela model offers a proven concept in how to overcome the educational odds. Schools in Australia – in fact, anywhere in the world – can do the same.

Tear it down.
Hang the miscreants,
Rebuild.

It’s too broken to fix.

Winston Smith
October 17, 2022 11:27 pm

Dover Beach:

One of the two N2 pipelines is undamaged.

Putin recently offered to continue transfers through the Nordstream2 pipeline.
Germany refused.
It’s pretty clear where this is headed – toward an economic and humanitarian catastrophe with the poor and middle classes being crushed.

rickw
rickw
October 17, 2022 11:30 pm

Germany refused.
It’s pretty clear where this is headed – toward an economic and humanitarian catastrophe with the poor and middle classes being crushed.

Good.

Then they’ll get really pissed off and kill every last fucking politician responsible for this.

rickw
rickw
October 17, 2022 11:33 pm
custard
custard
October 17, 2022 11:33 pm

There will be a scare event

Colonel Crispin Berka
Colonel Crispin Berka
October 17, 2022 11:43 pm

Interesting thread on activism within the security agencies.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1580949199151325184.html

H B Bear
H B Bear
October 17, 2022 11:48 pm

Reynolds overall performance was woeful. I wouldn’t put her in charge of a tuckshop. Sorry grrrls.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
October 18, 2022 12:00 am

Reynolds overall performance was woeful. I wouldn’t put her in charge of a tuckshop. Sorry grrrls.

She was the first woman Reservist to be promoted to Brigadier. As someone whose military career peaked at the rank of lance – corporal – unpaid, unloved and unwashed – I have to say I’m not impressed.

Wally Dalí
Wally Dalí
October 18, 2022 12:02 am

…new thread, anyone?

Winston Smith
October 18, 2022 12:15 am

Bespoke:

Not me, ir. Close family and friends are worth fighting for.

Yes they are, but we will be unable to resist the Billion+ hungry people to our north, and our WEF Brahmin Class will prevent us from fighting them off.

Winston Smith
October 18, 2022 12:18 am

Dover Beach:

I’m sure Germans would love that Russian gas this winter.

The WEF have already rejected the Russian offer of oil via the Nordstream 2 pipeline.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
October 18, 2022 12:18 am

‘Black-cladding’ hurts Indigenous communitiesBrendan Moyle
The legal definition of Indigeneity is: a person who is of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent; who identifies as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person; or is accepted as such by the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community in which they live. Picture: Alistair Brightman
The legal definition of Indigeneity is: a person who is of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent; who identifies as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person; or is accepted as such by the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community in which they live. Picture: Alistair Brightman

6 minutes ago October 17, 2022
No Comments

Many people ask what the harm is in letting people self-identify as Aboriginal, but it’s important to understand Aboriginal communities are being harmed by those who identify as Indigenous to obtain benefits.

For those who don’t know, the legal definition of Indigeneity is: a person who is of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent; who identifies as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person; or is accepted as such by the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community in which they live.

This definition was accepted by the federal government in 1981 and is applied under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) as well as Federal Court determinations such as Mabo 2 v Queensland (1992), Shaw v Wolf (1998) and Helmbright v the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (No.2) (2021).

This is law. But too often people claim a long-lost Aboriginal ancestor, then claim to be Aboriginal without meeting these requirements. Can people who find out they have English lineage through ancestors arriving on the First Fleet immediately claim English citizenship or expertise in English lore and culture? No.

The damage inflicted by people identifying as Aboriginal to obtain financial and other benefits without meeting the legal definition is real. The Indigenous Procurement Policy is an example. The IPP is embedded in the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, which dictate the procurement policies of all federal government agencies.

The IPP ensures Indigenous suppliers are given a market advantage over non-Indigenous suppliers. It was launched in 2015 with the intention of increasing demand for Indigenous goods and services and stimulating Indigenous economic development.

A further intention was to increase employment for Aboriginal people on the understanding they would be more likely to be employed by Aboriginal businesses. According to the paper Indigenous Employment and Businesses: Whose Business is it to Employ Indigenous Workers? (2014), produced by the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy and Research, Aboriginal businesses are between 30 and 100 times more likely to employ Aboriginal people, improving economic participation and wealth creation.

The federal government promotes the fact that the IPP has increased funding to Indigenous businesses by more than $5.3bn since its launch. But where has the money gone?

A review of the Closing the Gap report in 2020 shows that despite this multi-billion-dollar investment, the employment rate for Indigenous Australians increased only slightly (by 0.9 percentage points). This is supported by other government reports that show this money does not appear to have trickled down to the people who need it most and who were the intended beneficiaries.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that in 2018-19 the median gross adjusted household income per week among Indigenous Australians aged 18 and older was $553, 4.5 per cent lower than in 2014-15 ($579). This same report showed that in 2017-18 the median gross adjusted household income per week for non-Indigenous Australians was more than $940. The gap continues to grow.

There are many small Aboriginal organisations such as the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council on the Central Coast of NSW that prioritise giving back to the Aboriginal community rather than exclusively focusing on profits but that are not receiving any benefit from this multi-billion investment. Any money raised goes back to helping the Aboriginal community through real jobs, affordable housing, scholarships and support for our children and help for our elders.

Serious concerns have been raised about “black cladding”, but many Aboriginal people and community-controlled organisations continue to see people suddenly identifying as Aboriginal to access these benefits.

We want equity and equality with other Australians. For example, people must prove they have a disability to receive benefits under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and an NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission has been established to address fraud, corruption and the harming of NDIS patients.

Do we as legitimate Aboriginal people and Aboriginal communities not deserve the same level of respect and support, particularly when it comes to multi-billion-dollar public investments?

Brendan Moyle is chief executive of the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council.

But too often people claim a long-lost Aboriginal ancestor, then claim to be Aboriginal without meeting these requirements.

Would he have anyone in mind?

Speedbox
October 18, 2022 12:41 am

Winston Smith says:
October 18, 2022 at 12:18 am
Dover Beach: I’m sure Germans would love that Russian gas this winter.
The WEF have already rejected the Russian offer of oil via the Nordstream 2 pipeline.

The Germans would love that gas but there are a couple of issues. Firstly, and is well known, Nord 1 was heavily damaged by sabotage and is probably irreparable meaning it will take some years of extensive replacement of much of the pipe.

Nord 2 was never actually licenced for operation by the Germans therefore, it can’t deliver gas even though it is (apparently) able to do so having suffered relatively superficial damage. In the face of the international sanctions, the Germans cannot licence Nord 2 (and thus accept gas) without incurring the wrath of the US and Germany’s fellow EU members.

So, as much as they would like to minimise the 250+ billion euro hit to the German economy and minimise the number of Germans that will freeze in their homes in the coming months, they can’t.

Winston Smith
October 18, 2022 12:53 am

Cassie of Sydney:

“I presume that Niki was Savva.. known Lib hater.”

Which means Turnbull was involved.

I hadn’t thought that through Cassie, but you’re not far off the mark.

Wally Dalí
Wally Dalí
October 18, 2022 1:08 am

Awww thinking of Turdball on this sad day, the twilight of 1800-RESPECT, probably the most messianic of his self-seving fart-sniffs. Almighty christ, imagine that you’d really cracked the nut of violent assault with the insight “not all disrespect towards women ends in violence, but all violence towards women starts with disrespect” .. and having the room applaud you.
And THEN highjacking the domestic violence support network to rebadge itself and further suck up your emissions.
Honestly, why did the feminazi harpies tolerate it? Why didn’t the counsellors and phone support tell him to get a load of himself? Why didn’t a single policeman ever say to him, the concept of “respect” is such a cruel twist of barbed wire to any genuine victim of assault who is going through the essential trauma of reportage that it’s outright idiotic to highlight it at the very gateway to justice and absolution.
If I was anywhere near his announcement, I would have stood up and slow-clapped the sanctimonious farce right there.

rickw
rickw
October 18, 2022 1:37 am

So, as much as they would like to minimise the 250+ billion euro hit to the German economy and minimise the number of Germans that will freeze in their homes in the coming months, they can’t.

They can. If they’re still a sovereign nation with a first and foremost duty to their citizens.

Zatara
Zatara
October 18, 2022 1:51 am

Russian Draftees Open Fire at Training Ground, Killing 11 and Wounding 15

2 men, both drafted from CIS states, not Russia.

Winston Smith
October 18, 2022 1:54 am

Bespoke:

I was once an education reformer but have come round to Dot’s thinking that it is beyond repair.
The curriculum is bloated and boring. Teachers think they parents and the government think the kids are theirs.
Small cooperatives of home schooling with retired volunteers as support.

I’ll go along with that.
However, the right to corporal punishment with red hot pokers, for failing exams, and hanging for being disruptive will certainly garner parental support. Well, at least in this household it will.

Winston Smith
October 18, 2022 1:56 am

Tinta:

I have chosen and I will make my peace with the Almighty when the time comes.

Onya, Tinta!

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
October 18, 2022 1:57 am

Since yesterday all staff on board have been able to work mask-free. They are so very pleased about it, and it is a pleasure to at last see their fully smiling faces. The CDC have apparently lifted the recommendation that staff on cruises wear masks. The edifice is almost completely crumbled now. Almost no-one on board is masked up at breakfast today, as indeed has been the case for most already who took matters into their own hands.

We are at some Mexican industrial port that is nameless to me; it replaces a more interesting one that was cancelled for some reason. We are only going to take a brief walk into town. Do not wear expensive jewellery and guard your wallet, says the advice from the ship. Hmmm.

Winston Smith
October 18, 2022 2:01 am

Sancho:

It’s meant to project an image of a cool, fun kinda guy.

It sure as shit ain’t working, Sancho.

Winston Smith
October 18, 2022 2:13 am

Knuckle Dragger:

Victory in war should be the number one priority. If victory requires a power station to be destroyed, then do it. Fuck the lawyers.
BAM. 100%.

Exactly. If we are in a war, I want us to win. I’ll feel a bit safer when we’ve got 40,000 nukes of 1 megaton or more.*
I want the nations who look sideways at Australia shake in their boots when I pass wind.
*and at least 10 in the Gigaton range. Enough to wipe China off the face of the planet and muddy the Pacific.

Winston Smith
October 18, 2022 2:35 am

Bruce O’Newk:

Cassie – The IDF does not destroy the electricity and water infrastructure in Gaza. They don’t. Ever.
Think about why.

They should. Those who hate Israel can’t hate them any more.
Those who love Israel will applaud the action.
Currently, pussyfooting around with the cancer that is the Gaza strip is just prolonging the cost to Israel and the Gazans.
One final warning that any more rockets are fired at Israel will bring on unrestricted warfare against the Gaza Strip, then flatten the place and push all the Gazans into Egypt. The rubble will make a nice wall.
It is no kindness to hang a man slowly.

Tom
Tom
October 18, 2022 4:01 am
Tom
Tom
October 18, 2022 4:02 am
Tom
Tom
October 18, 2022 4:04 am
Tom
Tom
October 18, 2022 4:05 am
Tom
Tom
October 18, 2022 4:06 am
Tom
Tom
October 18, 2022 4:07 am
Tom
Tom
October 18, 2022 4:09 am
Tom
Tom
October 18, 2022 4:10 am
Tom
Tom
October 18, 2022 4:11 am
Tom
Tom
October 18, 2022 4:12 am
Tom
Tom
October 18, 2022 4:13 am
Johnny Rotten
October 18, 2022 4:41 am

Bruce of Newcastlesays:
October 17, 2022 at 8:49 pm
We could’ve done well with you on night shift Johanna.
How are you at running pilot plants?
I have magpie alarm clocks.
They arrive at 6am.

The Magpies and others wake me up at around 4.30 am here in Sydney City.

Johnny Rotten
October 18, 2022 4:45 am

Murphy, a furniture dealer from Dublin, decided to expand the line of furniture in his store, so he decided to go to Paris to see what he could find.

After arriving in Paris, he visited with some manufacturers and selected a line that he thought would sell well back home. To celebrate the new acquisition, he decided to visit a small bistro and have a glass of wine.

As he sat enjoying his wine, he noticed that the small place was quite crowded, and that the other chair at his table was the only vacant seat in the house.

Before long, a very beautiful young Parisian girl came to his table, asked him something in French (which Murphy could not understand), so he motioned to the vacant chair and invited her to sit down.

He tried to speak to her in English, but she did not speak his language. After a couple of minutes of trying to communicate with her, he took a napkin and drew a picture of a wine glass and showed it to her. She nodded, so he ordered a glass of wine for her.

After sitting together at the table for a while, he took another napkin, and drew a picture of a plate with food on it, and she nodded. They left the bistro and found a quiet cafe that featured a small group playing romantic music.

They ordered dinner, after which he took another napkin and drew a picture of a couple dancing. She nodded, and they got up to dance. They danced until the cafe closed and the band was packing up.

Back at their table, the young lady took a napkin and drew a picture of a four-poster bed. To this day, Murphy has no idea how she figured out he was in the furniture business.

Johnny Rotten
October 18, 2022 4:49 am

Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities… because it is the quality which guarantees all others.

– Winston Churchill

Johnny Rotten
October 18, 2022 4:50 am

Thanks again Tom.

Dot
Dot
October 18, 2022 5:20 am

Kanye has agreed to buy Parler.

The best timeline simply went away for a bit.

Winston Smith
October 18, 2022 6:13 am

FBI Has “Voluminous Evidence” Of Hunter Biden’s Criminal Conduct Related to Ukraine and China
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/10/whistleblowers-fbi-voluminous-evidence-hunter-bidens-criminal-conduct-related-ukraine-china/?ff_source=Email&ff_medium=the-gateway-pundit&ff_campaign=dailyam&ff_content=2022-10-17
The fact the Democrats are nonchalant about the fallout from this and all the other shit that is hitting the fan says – to me, at least – that there’s something sinister about to surface.

Winston Smith
October 18, 2022 6:24 am

Interesting interaction with Pharmacy Online over the weekend.
Finally found I had a PayPal account and cancelled it. Then I went to PharmacyOnline and bought drugs. This time, no credit card option, just Paypal and 3 other similar pay options.
No response to email querying this.
Are they getting rid of our CC payment options?

calli
calli
October 18, 2022 6:29 am

Interesting, Winston. Their website still shows Mastercard, Visa and Amex as options as well as some weird and wonderful alternatives. Maybe it hasn’t been updated, or the CC options are in a drawer marked “Beware the Leopard” in 4pt.

Razey
Razey
October 18, 2022 6:40 am

Winston Smithsays:
October 18, 2022 at 6:24 am
Interesting interaction with Pharmacy Online over the weekend.
Finally found I had a PayPal account and cancelled it. Then I went to PharmacyOnline and bought drugs. This time, no credit card option, just Paypal and 3 other similar pay options.
No response to email querying this.
Are they getting rid of our CC payment options?

Just did a ‘fact check’. There appear to be 6 payment options, one of which is ‘credit card’.

Gabor
Gabor
October 18, 2022 6:49 am

Winston Smith says:
October 18, 2022 at 6:24 am

Seems like they accept CC and debit + Paypal at the present.
I have to cancel my PP account as it is connected to my DebitC which at times can have quite a substantial amount on it, not for long but long enough to be abused.
What a conundrum, you trust people, and then they decide what your opinions should be and fine you for the wrong ones.

feelthebern
feelthebern
October 18, 2022 6:56 am

Good TIK video.
Only 9mins long.

Why didn’t Germany just attack the Caucasus by Sea to get the oil?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDlFYf7VwfI

He’s a smart fellow.
Hard to watch without immediately thinking of the region, Turkey, Iran in the current context.

Anchor What
Anchor What
October 18, 2022 6:58 am

Hands up all those who read the novel The Satan Bug, published in 1962 under the nom de plume Ian Stuart, aka Alistair Maclean.
Fast forward to this report that a new variant of the covid virus has been engineered in a Boston lab, and that it kills 80% of mice it is tested on.
Funding is said to have come from the NIH.

feelthebern
feelthebern
October 18, 2022 6:58 am

The woke warriors at fb, youtube & twitter jerk off over Americans being made to do the same thing.

WeChat users are begging Tencent to give their accounts back after talking about a Beijing protest

On Weibo, the popular Chinese social media platform, hundreds of desperate users were writing “confession letters” this past week.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/10/16/1061713/wechat-accounts-begging-tencent-beijing-protest/?truid=511cda4596687ad1e8c0a33a5309beb3&utm_source=the_download&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&utm_term=Active%20Qualified&utm_content=10-17-2022&mc_cid=fbd6856f5e&mc_eid=6cb9ef82da

calli
calli
October 18, 2022 7:00 am

Doesn’t hurt to be suspicious when something changes, particularly when it involves money. And some web page designers need to be pilloried and pelted, so byzantine are their creations. A family member lost thousands because of lousy design – potential customers simply gave up in disgust before reaching the checkout.

Anchor What
Anchor What
October 18, 2022 7:00 am

A more detailed report is at The Daily Mail.
link

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
October 18, 2022 7:09 am

Tim Blair is lazy, formulaic and derivative.

No, no and no.

I stopped reading his column years ago when he went – repeatedly – on journeys with his US mates and didn’t bother updating his columns for days on end.

He’s either paid a salary, in which case he’s on holidays – assuming he’s allowed them, dependent on who you ask – or paid according to what he produces, in which case he accumulated enough to not have to write travelogues while he’s on holidays. With his US mates.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
October 18, 2022 7:10 am

Once more unto the preach dear friends!

New Zealand Arts Funder Rejects Shakespeare as ‘Imperialism’ (Newsmax, 17 Sep)

“The application does make me reflect on the ongoing relevance of Shakespeare, and question whether a singular focus on an Elizabethan playwright is most relevant for a decolonizing Aotearoa in the 2020s and beyond,” the assessor added, using the Indigenous name for New Zealand.

A panel concluded that the Shakespeare center “seems quite paternalistic” and that its funding proposal “did not demonstrate the relevance to the contemporary art context.”

Going from Hamlet back to long pig is probably not such a good idea, woke kiwi persons. You might end up as culinary work of art.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
October 18, 2022 7:12 am

There are certain ‘1000+ posts at ye olde Blair, methinks’ people who would go on a five-day tangent post marathon at that suggestion.

Eyrie
Eyrie
October 18, 2022 7:14 am

You have posted a lot of pro post Weimar German government bullshit here lately.
Three references in my war crimes comment. US vs North Vietnam, RAF vs Germany, USAAF vs Japan.
I’ve noticed your lack of reading comprehension before, Dot. You could sign up for remedial English classes.

Cassie of Sydney
October 18, 2022 7:15 am

“Tim Blair is lazy, formulaic and derivative.”

No. The reason I sub to the Daily Telegraph is to read Blair and comment on his blog. It’s worth every cent.

Cassie of Sydney
October 18, 2022 7:17 am

“Bourne1879says:
October 17, 2022 at 11:08 pm
Hard to believe Reynolds is a former Brigadier and Defence Minister considering how she behaved whilst a witness in the case.

Should never be given a senior position again.”

I agree. She’s worse than a dim bulb. What an idiot.

rosie
rosie
October 18, 2022 7:18 am
rosie
rosie
October 18, 2022 7:22 am

Read another article that claimed poor overworked GPs only make around $143,000 per annum.
Finding that a little bit hard to believe.
the claim that approximately 8 billion is rorted at Medicare annually is getting coverage in different places . SMH paywalled

Indolent
Indolent
October 18, 2022 7:25 am
Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
October 18, 2022 7:29 am

While this is topical – more Wacky Things Lawyers Say (the Hun):

A Geelong cosplayer, who worships anime television series Dragon Ball Z, groomed, sexually violated and raped a young girl he met at a skating rink.

Daniel Clifton, 26, fronted the County Court on Friday after he was found guilty of rape and multiple sexual penetration of a child under 16 charges.

Clifton, of Lara, sexually violated the 12-year-old child multiple times between February 2014 and February 2015.

This was part of the defence submission:

The defence submitted that “apart from the rape” Clifton and his victim were in a “consensual relationship”.

Apart. From. The. Rape. He. Said.

The defence also submitted “any relationship begins with grooming”.

The bloke’s in the bin pending sentencing in three weeks’ time. I suspect he won’t thank his lawyer for those little nuggets.

Indolent
Indolent
October 18, 2022 7:31 am

They’re trying to normalise nuclear war. It is part of their plan. It was on the 16 year Obama/Clinton meme I’ve mentioned before. So is chaos, which Klaus keeps raising. They WANT disruption, chaos and total destruction.

Newsweek Legitimizes Idea Nuclear War Could Offer ‘Temporary’ Help for Climate Change

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
October 18, 2022 7:31 am

Blockfail. The middle sentence in the last one was mine.

Trying to juggle coffee, a durry and removing a rescue dog from the vicinity of the keyboard.

Indolent
Indolent
October 18, 2022 7:32 am
Indolent
Indolent
October 18, 2022 7:32 am
Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
October 18, 2022 7:33 am

The defence lawyer went on to say, “Meh. It’s Geelong. Waddya expect?”

feelthebern
feelthebern
October 18, 2022 7:34 am

Elon tweeting about him & Kanye.
Joe Rogan would be in the mix too.
What a time to be alive.

Meanwhile the president of the US genuinely believes inflation isn’t currently a problem.
Ol’ pudding head.

rosie
rosie
October 18, 2022 7:35 am

Reading the Medicare article I have to say the number of times I’ve checked my Medicare records is zero.
Suspect that patients having to put hands in their own pockets every time will encourage greater scrutiny.
Don’t have a problem with the end of bulk bill.

bespoke
bespoke
October 18, 2022 7:35 am

New dog KD?

Old School Conservative
Old School Conservative
October 18, 2022 7:38 am

some web page designers need to be pilloried and pelted

A young web designer of my acquaintance is under instructions to hide the “contact us” function. It’s there but not easy or intuitive to access. It forces people to use the interactive web site even when their questions are not fixed by the web site.
He works for Qantas.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
October 18, 2022 7:39 am

New dog KD?

Same dog, bespoke. When he’s good he’s ‘my dog’.

When he’s pissing me off, Dude reverts to ‘rescue dog’.

rosie
rosie
October 18, 2022 7:39 am
rosie
rosie
October 18, 2022 7:42 am

Of course he does.
And no new dams Neville has already walked away from any responsibility for anything.
Daniel Andrews dismisses concerns over independence of review into Flemington racetrack flood wall

Cassie of Sydney
October 18, 2022 7:45 am

David Starkey talking to Mark Steyn overnight on GB News about the current UK government imbroglio, brought on by CINOs and lightweights. Jeremy Hunt, remainer and globalist, is now the defacto UK PM. This is the inevitable result of 12 years of a do nothing conservative in name only” government.

“The Tory Party ‘hate each other’ says David Starkey”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ8TI8Bx1bc

Starkey, never one to mince words, is also talking about the Liberal Party of Australia.

The truth is that these vanilla Tories hate the very people who vote Conservative just like our very own vanilla Liberals hate the very people who vote Liberal.

After all, as Peter Dutton said last week, we’re “extreme right”.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
October 18, 2022 7:48 am

In other court news, this report from the Gruaniard of two blokes in Queensland* charged with murdering someone at the behest of his slag missus.
Victim was murdered then fed halfway into a woodchipper to make it look like an accident.

When asked if he was appalled by Saunder’s woodchipper death, Roser told the jury he was. “Oh yeah … I was really cut up about [it].”

Poor phrasing in the circumstances.
….
* One of the accused claimed to have put a body through a meat grinder years before when living in Adelaide.
Barrel stuffers who move to Queensssland. The worst.

rosie
rosie
October 18, 2022 7:48 am

I rang Telstra to update my credit card expiry date. They wanted me to ring via their web based site. I didn’t, got through to operator who four times put me through a failed automated service to update, she gave up and promised me a call back, within a couple of hours.
Now been five days. Still have to chase up them and Optus.

Boambee John
Boambee John
October 18, 2022 7:56 am

rickwsays:
October 17, 2022 at 10:59 pm
sabotage

To sabotage anything, you generally need to understand how it works and what purpose it fulfils.

Probably of actual sabotage by Aboriginals? Almost zero.

Like anything to do with indig affairs, the language is loose. The actual actions were probably more on the scale of malicious damage.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
October 18, 2022 7:56 am

Haha, Facechook is unhappy.

‘An Empty World Is a Sad World:’ Internal Facebook Documents Show the Metaverse Is Failing to Take Off (16 Oct)

Facebook’s “Horizon Worlds” metaverse, which allows users to interact in virtual worlds with an avatar, is falling far short of performance expectations according to internal documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal. Data shows most users of the metaverse don’t return after the first month, and the userbase has been in continuous decline since the spring.

Zuck has spent billions to develop this turkey. I remember when Second Life was around. Originally popular but then the corporates moved in and built virtual shopfronts, and the groomers arrived, whereupon it was getting both boring and creepy. Sounds like Horizon Worlds is starting at the boring and creepy phase and going down from there.

calli
calli
October 18, 2022 7:56 am

Good news about Holland America dropping all idiotic mask rules on their ships.

Our lawnmowing guy (strictly when we’re on holidays, mind) was whinging that he and missus went on a Princess cruise recently and everyone had to wear masks. Even in the dining room. It was policed ruthlessly, down to not eating right at this moment, put on the mask. So you had the ludicrous situation of masks up, masks down between sips and bites.

He reckons he’ll never use the cruise line again.

My view is that they were so badly burned over Diamond and Ruby that they’re terrified. I believe there’s a class action running against them right now.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
October 18, 2022 8:02 am

Is Rowe defending the Extinction Rebellion types because Xi is a bad and covetous man? (Extinction Rebellion will indeed go instinct through their habit of gluing themselves to paintings and sitting in the middle of roads etc: Not because they are threatened by police – the latter being utterly gelded by the political cravenness of their masters – but by the public who are beginning to lose their temper.)

He may want to be careful what he wishes for. If they keep trying to destroy masterpiece paintings he will lose half his repertoire – where he copies a famous painting, tacks on the heads of some boring inconsequential Australian politicians like Prime Ministers and Cabinet members, and meekly scrawls “Apologies to ……..” in the corner.

I will grant him this, though. He is being a bit harder on Labor than I expected. Maybe that is because his true sympathies are with the Greens. But I expected him to extend the Labor honeymoon rather longer – maybe three years. Naturally he cannot resist putting Liberal members in pointlessly – like that pallid grey Dutton figure, just as a reminder that he is bad and we must not think too harshly of Labor.

He is absolutely at sea on international matters. It is as if he does not read the text, all he remembers and knows is headlines.

And we know that the headlines in the MSM are even more unreliable than the text.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
October 18, 2022 8:03 am

dover0beachsays:

October 18, 2022 at 7:55 am

…new thread, anyone?

Oops.

New OT at noon

Lift yer game or I’ll cancel my subscription!

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
October 18, 2022 8:05 am

Lift yer game or I’ll cancel my subscription!

Yeah Dover. Stop fucking around with your mates, and dance for me.

Dance, I say!

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
October 18, 2022 8:06 am

callisays:

October 18, 2022 at 7:56 am

Good news about Holland America …

I will refrain from using the c-word – ‘cruise’ – lest it should require the fainting couch.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
October 18, 2022 8:08 am

The fact the Democrats are nonchalant about the fallout from this and all the other shit that is hitting the fan says

I have just assumed that they will load Hunter and Joe (who is a hunter also, in his own child-fixated way) with all the baggage they can heap on them and then cut them off. They can all throw their hands in the air, roll their eyes skyward, and feign aghast at what those men were up to. Then hint that some of Joe’s and Hunter’s contacts are Trump’s also. The FBI will report nothing untoward regarding the remaining Democrats. In fact they will need them to protect them from having their own duplicity exposed.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
October 18, 2022 8:10 am

The ALP doesn’t like Israel one bit.

Report: Australia ‘quietly’ drops recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel (17 Oct)

Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade deleted sentences from its website which defined West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel

Hoping we wouldn’t notice eh Penny? Well you’ve again shown to us what you really think.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
October 18, 2022 8:10 am

The word ‘stateroom’ was used yesterday.

Eggshell time.

Boambee John
Boambee John
October 18, 2022 8:10 am

Cassie of Sydneysays:
October 18, 2022 at 7:17 am
“Bourne1879says:
October 17, 2022 at 11:08 pm
Hard to believe Reynolds is a former Brigadier and Defence Minister considering how she behaved whilst a witness in the case.

Should never be given a senior position again.”

I agree. She’s worse than a dim bulb. What an idiot.

Diversity pick.

Tekweni
Tekweni
October 18, 2022 8:12 am

With regard to GP income. I did some work a few years back for a local practice and they budgeted an income of $500k per GP of which the GP got between 60 and 70 percent depending on their negotiation skills. Somewhat over the $143k pa mentioned. However there are a lot of women GP’s who work part time and do very much fewer hours. Handy when bringing up kids but screws up statistics for university places as the assumption is for full time work.

Eyrie
Eyrie
October 18, 2022 8:13 am

Sweden Gets Populist-Conservative-Liberal Coalition Government: Moderate Leader Elected PM

What are the odds the “Moderate” will turn out to be a dripping wet leftie at heart.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
October 18, 2022 8:13 am

Headline from the journalisticians on Skah:

Russia Uses Kamikaze Drones Against Ukraine

Only one step up from ‘Russia Uses Kamikaze Artillery Shells Against Ukraine’.

It’s the lowest common denominator going after the lowest common denominator.

Crossie
Crossie
October 18, 2022 8:13 am

feelthebern says:
October 18, 2022 at 7:34 am
Elon tweeting about him & Kanye.
Joe Rogan would be in the mix too.
What a time to be alive.

I would never have imagined even five years ago let alone 25 years ago that I would have a lot more in common with a rapper or a weird billionaire than I do with most of our society’s thinkers. I also wonder how many other people feel this way but don’t know how to express it.

The Information Age hasn’t turned out how it was sold to us, it’s the same old propaganda as practiced in the Soviet Union.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
October 18, 2022 8:15 am

Linda Reynolds’ publicity shots make her look like Sharon Strzelecki from Kath and Kim.

Just sayin’.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
October 18, 2022 8:16 am

Knuckle Draggersays:

October 18, 2022 at 8:10 am

The word ‘stateroom’ was used yesterday.

Eggshell time

I will not be drawn into this.
I will not!

Crossie
Crossie
October 18, 2022 8:18 am

Old School Conservative says:
October 18, 2022 at 7:38 am
some web page designers need to be pilloried and pelted
A young web designer of my acquaintance is under instructions to hide the “contact us” function. It’s there but not easy or intuitive to access. It forces people to use the interactive web site even when their questions are not fixed by the web site.
He works for Qantas.

It’s not just Qantas, almost every corporation and government department has the contact link somewhere at the bottom of a long screen and in minuscule lettering. Even if you do cluck on it you get a warning that they will get back to you in 7-10 days. Some have a chat option but only at certain times, the quality of those interactions very from person to person if you are lucky not to chat to a bot.

Eyrie
Eyrie
October 18, 2022 8:20 am
calli
calli
October 18, 2022 8:21 am

That “stateroom” term is an anachronism, reminds me uncomfortably of Titanic. Cunard like to use it, which is an unfortunate combination! 😀

We’re off on Queen Vic to Iceland next June. Would have preferred Queen Liz but she’s probably mooching around in Alaska. The other amusing thing about Cunard is using “Commodore” instead of “Captain”. My evil mind always drifts to commodes when I hear it.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
October 18, 2022 8:22 am

Fainting couch, Sancho? Try an AK47, for we were surrounded with them in a brief foray into Manzanillo, Colima, this morning. Eight heavies toting them at the check out point and they were patrolling the local streets we walked through. Bit of overkill for a few tourist bag snatches, I was thinking, and then I noticed a full-gear gun toting heavy through the glass door of a shop, standing guard. Had the owner been threatened? Must be drugs or gang-warfare, we surmised.

The place itself is mainly a port, set in a pretty bay with the usual mountainous surrounds where slums creep in colourful disarray up the hillsides via many steps, also colourfully painted. The waterfront area has been ‘redone’ with what was to be a major tourist attraction – a huge blue object which seemed to be made of spare aircraft hanger sheets rescued after some hurricane, tapped together with a few rivets into a vague fish shape and painted bright blue to be the largest model of a fish in the world. As a tourist attraction, it fails dramatically, but the C19th Victorian bandstand was still attractive, with its lace ironwork and stone based and cupola dome with another smaller dome on top. The old Victorian hotel building, mostly obscured by lesser buildings, was once also grand. I purchased a pearl necklace and a leather belt and that was it. We went back through the armoury to have lunch on the ship.

custard
custard
October 18, 2022 8:23 am

If Clinesmith had gotten the full measure of the potential sentence under 18 USC 1001 (False Statements), which would be Five Years Imprisonment plus a fine, how much would that have mattered to you?

If Sussmann had gotten the same, five years in prison plus a fine, how much of a win would that have been?

If Danchenko gets even half the available maximum sentence, ~12yrs in prison plus fine, would you regard that as a knockout blow to the Deep State?

The convictions of the minor players would be nice, I’d celebrate it bigly, but it wouldn’t carry forward the overall dismantling of the Deep State and Swamp nearly as much as what we HAVE gotten out of these cases.

Clinesmith got a deal because he talked.

Sussmann case forever DESTROYED the Alfa Bank Hoax, got Marc Elias, Robby Mook, and a number of other people (including FBI Agents) before a grand jury and on the witness stand. Mook admitted Hillary approved the sharing of the hoax with corrupt media. We learned of Joffe (who is still under investigation) and his companies, the researchers, the spying on the EOP, and we got FBI agents on the stand where we learned they too were under investigation. Most importantly, the Sussmann case/trial busted down the attorney-client privilege wall that these corrupt people have used for decades to hide their criminality.

The Danchenko case is no different. I don’t expect a conviction, though i do expect Durham will successfully prove his case and do WANT a conviction; I expect, and have seen in the filings to date, the further dismantling of the Steele Dossier, the exposure of longtime Clinton apparatchik Chuck Dolan (who was referred for investigation), the absolute BOMBSHELL that Danchenko was made a CHS and then informed on Dolan (and others), and now Dolan is going to testify AGAINST Danchenko! The Danchenko case has given us the REAL Russian collusion, which was between Hillary, the Dems, their PR firms, Steele, and the Ukrainian-Born, suspected Russian asset Danchenko and his source, Russian Swamp loving Chuck Dolan.

This is mob trial stuff. Durham is working his way up. Getting the right people before grand juries, on witness stands, getting the docs, and getting the filings he NEEDS in the court record for future prosecutions of corrupt players higher up.

Dismantling a criminal syndicate cannot be done within just one trial. It takes many investigations, many cases, many trials. Danchenko is an important one, but it is just one of many.

HT Just Human

Crossie
Crossie
October 18, 2022 8:29 am

Bruce of Newcastle says:
October 18, 2022 at 8:10 am
The ALP doesn’t like Israel one bit.

Report: Australia ‘quietly’ drops recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel (17 Oct)

Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade deleted sentences from its website which defined West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel

The Libs weren’t much better, if they believed it they would have moved the embassy to Jerusalem which is then harder to backtrack.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
October 18, 2022 8:29 am

It’s not just Qantas, almost every corporation and government department has the contact link somewhere at the bottom of a long screen and in minuscule lettering.

The other little trick is offsetting the “unsubscribe” hyperlink from the actual “unsubscribe” text.
Just play a little game of pin the tail on the donkey if you want to escape.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
October 18, 2022 8:29 am

I definitely had the feeling that any stray bag-snatcher meeting this lot would have been human rubble before he’d run ten metres. A strange place. Out of the way, not on the usual cruise ship routes, and apparently for this cruise a replacement stop. Sailaway time on deck again now, more Margaritas.

Hairy bought me a very special bottle of pink tequila at a tasting at that resort yesterday.
It was confiscated at the gangway by the cruise authorities until we disembark. You have to buy their alcohol. Which we have done, with a package giving us 15 alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks each a day. You can choice which type. And you can upgrade to a better standard for individual drinks, if you fancy a really nice cognac or special vino.

duncanm
duncanm
October 18, 2022 8:30 am

Anchor Whatsays:
October 18, 2022 at 6:58 am
Hands up all those who read the novel The Satan Bug, published in 1962 under the nom de plume Ian Stuart, aka Alistair Maclean.
Fast forward to this report that a new variant of the covid virus has been engineered in a Boston lab, and that it kills 80% of mice it is tested on.
Funding is said to have come from the NIH.

boriquagato has his usual humorous take on this.

truly, there is no practice so stupid that humans will not keep doing it

calli
calli
October 18, 2022 8:35 am

From duncanm’s link:

i’m just utterly astonished that anyone would even consider playing with this. it’s not even clear to me what worth this research holds. what of any useful value or application was learned here? even if this had zero cost and zero risk, what was the point?

Mad scientists gotta mad scientist. And they are mad.

The only thing this garbage could be useful as is a as biological weapon.

Top Ender
Top Ender
October 18, 2022 8:37 am

who read the novel The Satan Bug

Did that, and all of the other Alastair MacLean books as well. He wrote a great biography of James Cook – probably the best ever.

Eyrie
Eyrie
October 18, 2022 8:38 am

i’m just utterly astonished that anyone would even consider playing with this. it’s not even clear to me what worth this research holds. what of any useful value or application was learned here? even if this had zero cost and zero risk, what was the point?

Mad scientists gotta mad scientist. And they are mad.

Lock these loonies inside the facility. Apply liberal quantities of napalm, set fire to it.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
October 18, 2022 8:39 am

Russia Uses Kamikaze Drones Against Ukraine

Interestingly Iran again denied overnight that they were providing Shaheed drones to Russia.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani denied on Monday that Iran was providing Russia with drones. “The published news about Iran providing Russia with drones has political ambitions and it’s circulated by western sources. We have not provided weaponry to any side of the countries at war,” he said at a press conference, according to Reuters.

I have no idea what they are trying to do with this denial. Turkey has been openly selling drones to Ukraine, so I don’t see why Iran would feel a need to be coy about doing the same for Russia. Maybe they’re getting stick internally, since Russia hasn’t been entirely gentle with the jihadis in the Caucasus over the years. Or maybe Russia has established a production line for them in Russia?

Defense & National Security — US says Iran lying about drones in Ukraine (17 Oct)

Crossie
Crossie
October 18, 2022 8:42 am

Calli, did Iceland in 2014 on a Princess cruise and enjoyed it immensely. The land tours were great, my high point was seeing puffins on a cliff side close enough to take lots of photos.

On the way to Iceland we stopped in Shetland and then Faroe Islands which were a beautiful surprise. For a small group of volcanic islands and a population of 35,000 they managed to build tunnels between the islands to minimise residents’ isolation during bad weather.

Zipster
Zipster
October 18, 2022 8:46 am

The ALP doesn’t like Israel one bit.

the left are attracted to cheerful squalor, perverts, psychos and losers.

Zipster
Zipster
October 18, 2022 8:47 am

i’m just utterly astonished that anyone would even consider playing with this. it’s not even clear to me what worth this research holds. what of any useful value or application was learned here? even if this had zero cost and zero risk, what was the point?

eugenics

Cassie of Sydney
October 18, 2022 8:48 am

Nigel Farage in the last few hours…

Why the Conservative Party needs to be replaced.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIW4cbckewA

The Conservative Party is dead. I suspect Farage is going to set up his own new party.

The population of the UK, since 2000, has increased by 10 million. Staggering.

Eyrie
Eyrie
October 18, 2022 8:53 am

Or maybe Russia has established a production line for them in Russia?

Easy to do. Two molds, make out of fiberglass, join top and bottom halves together. Add two stroke engine at rear, satellite navigation receiver with antenna shielded from signals from below to prevent jamming. Warhead, small flight computer. Hardest bit if you want them to fly low is the altitude control. This may not be necessary as the radar cross section will be very low anyway. Could add in a transponder so it appears and disappears at random to spoof the air defences and saturate them.
Most of the stuff is COTS.

Crossie
Crossie
October 18, 2022 8:53 am

Lizzie, on our Panama Canal cruise in late 2019 one of our Mexican stops was Huatulco. When I asked why not the nearby Acapulco which was more famous I was told that it was too dangerous. Your description of armed guards means that things have deteriorated even further.

This is what happens when Americans abandon their southern border, it encourages crime and societal destruction in the drug supplier regions. If American drug market was shut off I bet the drug makers and traffickers would have to find some other and hopefully less dangerous work.

The same applies for illegal immigrants, if you can’t leave your hell hole you then have to improve it.

Johnny Rotten
October 18, 2022 8:55 am

An Englishman, Irishman and a Scotsman are drowning their sorrows down the pub.

“I can’t believe it” says the Englishman. “Me and the wife- we’ve been together 15 years and today I found out she’s been having an affair with a builder!”

“How do you know it was a builder?” the others ask. “I found a box of tools under the bed”.

“Join the club”. says the Scotsman. “Today, I found out my wife’s been having an affair with a milkman”. “How do you know it was a milkman?” the others ask. “I found a crate of milk under the bed”.

“You as well?” asks the Irishman. “I’ve just found out the wife was having an affair with a fookin’ horse!”

The other two look at him incredulously.

“How do you know it was a horse?” “I found a jockey hiding under the bed”.

Winston Smith
October 18, 2022 8:58 am

Knuckle Dragger:

Only one step up from ‘Russia Uses Kamikaze Artillery Shells Against Ukraine’.

Now that was funny.

Johnny Rotten
October 18, 2022 8:58 am

I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.

– Will Rogers

Crossie
Crossie
October 18, 2022 8:58 am

Zipster says:
October 18, 2022 at 8:46 am
The ALP doesn’t like Israel one bit.
the left are attracted to cheerful squalor, perverts, psychos and losers.

Cuba is their ideal society. Have some relatives in Canada who like to go on holidays to Cuba which I couldn’t understand until Trudeau junior. Now it clicks that this family is the link between the two countries.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
October 18, 2022 9:00 am

small flight computer

Eyrie – That has been a problem for some of the other Russian drones, which apparently were using chips that they could no longer obtain, due to the sanctions. So establishing Shaheed production in Russia would make a lot of sense, since Iran’s design is probably such that it doesn’t need hard to obtain electronics.

Perplexed of Brisbane
Perplexed of Brisbane
October 18, 2022 9:00 am

Bruce of Newcastlesays:
October 17, 2022 at 9:17 pm
Victory in war should be the number one priority. If victory requires a power station to be destroyed, then do it. Fuck the lawyers.

The IDF so far have not done this in Gaza, Lebanon or Syria even though they’ve had abundant provocation.

I think Israeli power stations provide the electricity in Gaza as they can’t seem to do much themselves. (Maybe they deep down know they are occupying Israeli land and don’t want to make any improvements in case they decide to take it back?). All they need to do when Hamas get a bit bolshie is to flick a switch for a few days.

If ever there has been an example of patience, it has to be Israel with the Trans-Jordanian Arabs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

Dot
Dot
October 18, 2022 9:03 am

RAF vs Germany

Yes the RAF committed war crimes by daylight bombing against the Nazis – what planet are you on???

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
October 18, 2022 9:06 am

Crossie – Cuba and Canada go ‘way back. Sherritt runs several nickel operations in both countries, and Canada refuses to accept US sanctions on that company. The US eventually gave up arguing, not least because the US doesn’t have a nickel industry to speak of and needed the metal.

rosie
rosie
October 18, 2022 9:07 am

Gun toting military, a constant presence in Italy and France* pre covid were noticeably absent in January February 2022, the muslim threat has obviously diminished somewhat.
May it remain so.
*iirc France had approximately half its armed services out on the streets.

rosie
rosie
October 18, 2022 9:11 am

Cuba is probably valued by Canadians for its cheap sunshine.

Eyrie
Eyrie
October 18, 2022 9:12 am

RAF vs Germany

Yes the RAF committed war crimes by daylight bombing against the Nazis – what planet are you on???
I didn’t say daylight. It was at night where they couldn’t hit shit, so switched to area bombing. They got better later on. Reading comprehension fail again. Are you on drugs or still drunk from last night?
I’m pointing out generally agreed historical facts.

Eyrie
Eyrie
October 18, 2022 9:15 am

small flight computer

Eyrie – That has been a problem for some of the other Russian drones, which apparently were using chips that they could no longer obtain, due to the sanctions. So establishing Shaheed production in Russia would make a lot of sense, since Iran’s design is probably such that it doesn’t need hard to obtain electronics.

As I said, mostly commercial, off the shelf. Look up PixHawk. Pretty hard to embargo.

rosie
rosie
October 18, 2022 9:15 am

Has anyone here bothered with powerpal?
I keep getting ads for it, is it worth getting or is it just another dubious Dan freebie?
Also getting ads for ‘free’ hot water service upgrades, anyone gotten one of those?

Crossie
Crossie
October 18, 2022 9:20 am

Jacob Rees-Mogg continues to disappoint.

Crossie
Crossie
October 18, 2022 9:22 am

Rosie, Cuba may be cheaper than the rest of the Caribbean if you don’t minds the 50s rundown country in which to holiday.

feelthebern
feelthebern
October 18, 2022 9:23 am

The current thread could remain open like the time Kramer took the car for a test drive to see how far it could go on empty.

Old Lefty
Old Lefty
October 18, 2022 9:23 am

A report on plummeting educational standards won’t come as a surprise to o anyone:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-18/australian-students-punctuation-spelling/101544184

The only surprise is that it got past the censors at the ABC Soviet.

In three generations we have gone from teaching Latin and Greek at school to teaching remedial English in ‘universities’

Dot
Dot
October 18, 2022 9:30 am

The RAF couldn’t hit targets at night like factories so the plan changed to burning down the houses of the workers and killing them. The USAAF likewise couldn’t hit legit targets so simply burned down whole cities. I don’t remember any of those responsible standing trial.

So daylight bombing (USAAF) was a war crime too?

Sure, attacking Germany at all was a war crime and we could totally have a peace treaty with them in 1944, nothing sus about that!

But…

REaDiNg cOmPRehEnSIoN11!

Diogenes
Diogenes
October 18, 2022 9:32 am

So daylight bombing (USAAF) was a war crime too?

Germans justified in bombing Warsaw, Amsterdam, London, Coventry?
Righto then.

Dot
Dot
October 18, 2022 9:34 am

Justifying anything Germany did in WWII is a dumb idea.

Dot
Dot
October 18, 2022 9:35 am

Actually Diogenes

Since you brought it up, tell us why you think the Nazi ran Luftwaffe bombing Warsaw was justified.

Tom
Tom
October 18, 2022 9:36 am

Diversity pick.

When are they going to do something about fat chicks?

Old School Conservative
Old School Conservative
October 18, 2022 9:39 am

In three generations we have gone from teaching Latin and Greek at school to teaching remedial English in ‘universities’

And “Bad Cattitude” revels in the ditching of Capitals.
Happy to maintain the use of commas, full stops, and paragraphs but signals progressive, anti-authoritarian, stick-it-to-the-man credentials by dropping all capitals from the beginning of sentences and proper nouns.
Why go semi-rule breaker? Embrace the whole hog or not at all.

sfw
sfw
October 18, 2022 9:41 am

Cassie, since 2000 Australia’s population has increased by 7 million, way more than the UK on a per capita basis. All of it migrants, the great replacement is well underway.

Wally Dali
Wally Dali
October 18, 2022 9:42 am

The replacement of “essays” by “persuasive texts” is another sign of our educational foundations being whiteanted by collective mediocracy.

Roger
Roger
October 18, 2022 9:42 am

In three generations we have gone from teaching Latin and Greek at school to teaching remedial English in ‘universities’

“If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.”
? John Dewey

The hubris of progressive educators, from the horse’s mouth.

Diogenes
Diogenes
October 18, 2022 9:45 am

I’m not the one claiming the bombing of civilians is justified. I don’t think it is by either side.

It is the principle, if the say the bombing of Hamburg (Operation Gomorrah*) was justified because Allied, then any bombing by any belligerent is justified.

*My then 8 year old mum was under those bombs. She deserved to have a uxb in her bedroom because she was a vital cog in the nazi war machine, and had a massive say in how Germany was run.

Old School Conservative
Old School Conservative
October 18, 2022 9:46 am

The hubris of progressive educators

Or, as one guest speaker at an educational conference said, “Changing educational theory is like re-making an aeroplane mid flight. And that’s OK.”
Idiots.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
October 18, 2022 9:47 am

A diversity pick has had enough of men’s comfort.

I can see why it would make men uncomfortable in the office she’s in. Flee, flee!

Roger
Roger
October 18, 2022 9:48 am

The replacement of “essays” by “persuasive texts” is another sign of our educational foundations being whiteanted by collective mediocracy.

Not sure what you mean by that…appealing to emotion without argument, perhaps?

The ars rhetorica are essential to a classical education and should be revived.

Old School Conservative
Old School Conservative
October 18, 2022 9:50 am

It’s a tough moral question Diogenes.
I believe the Allies were right to do whatever they could to stop the evil that was germany under Hitler.
I hate the killing of innocent German kids with a passion, yet I cannot accept rolling over to the unbridled aggression of the German leadership and their armed forces.

Delta A
Delta A
October 18, 2022 9:52 am

Mark Latham:

Pat Cummins Hypocrisy
The Australian cricket captain has forced Cricket Australia to abandon a $40 million sponsorship from Alinta Energy because Cummins says they pollute too much.
But not long ago Cummins was the lead actor in Alinta’s advertising campaign on a good coin.
Has he given that money back to save the planet?
Has Cummins also abandoned his $15 million Eastern Suburbs mansion home, which burns enough energy to keep an African village alive?
Or has he stopped flying around the world on huge player contracts, burning carbon big-time?
Pat pockets plenty of money for himself while denying resources to help junior players have a game of cricket.
His hypocrisy can be smelt from the boundary fence.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 18, 2022 9:53 am

Rogersays:
October 18, 2022 at 9:42 am
In three generations we have gone from teaching Latin and Greek at school to teaching remedial English in ‘universities’

Roger,

we had remedial English for Engineering Students at Sydney Uni in 1962

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
October 18, 2022 9:54 am

Prosecution’s closing submissions to start at 10am
Remy Varga
REMY VARGA

The prosecution in the trial of Bruce Lehrmann, accused of raping Brittany Higgins, will make closing submissions from 10am Tuesday.

The defence, led by barrister Steven Whybrow, will then make its case.

On Monday former cabinet ministers Linda Reynolds and Michaelia Cash were examined in the witness box.

Mr Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and recklessness as to whether Ms Higgins was consenting during an alleged rape on the ministerial couch of Senator Reynolds.

Ms Higgins finished her evidence on Friday and told the ACT Supreme Court while she hadn’t been “perfect” she wasn’t a “monster” who would fabricate a rape claim to save her career.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 18, 2022 9:59 am

we had remedial English for Engineering Students at Sydney Uni in 1962

PS I got an A in English in Leaving Certificate in 1961 – God only knows how, as totally incompetent in Grammar Structure compared to my wife, and even after doing Latin for 4 years in High School

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
October 18, 2022 9:59 am

The Australian cricket captain has forced Cricket Australia to abandon a $40 million sponsorship from Alinta Energy because Cummins says they pollute too much.

I fondly recall a time when you could actually enjoy sport without having great indigestible piles of woke shoved down your throat. Pocock, Cummins and that netball lady are obnoxious idiots that turn me right off. I suspect it does the same to a lot of the Australian population.

Winston Smith
October 18, 2022 10:02 am

Bruce O’Newk:

I can see why it would make men uncomfortable in the office she’s in. Flee, flee!

I wonder how long before men start demanding segregated working spaces if they have to put up with this sort of crass behaviour.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
October 18, 2022 10:02 am

When are they going to do something about fat chicks?

I would be interested in Q’s thoughts on this.

Sometimes you need to walk through the dark to see the light, etc.

It’s Happening!

Roger
Roger
October 18, 2022 10:06 am

Roger,

we had remedial English for Engineering Students at Sydney Uni in 1962

I’m quoting old bloke, Ozzie.

The point remains that general educational standards have fallen precipitously since the 1960s.

The churches capitalised on this by providing affordable alternatives to state education, which many parents scrimped and saved to take advantage of for the sake of a better future for their children, but the rot has set in there as well now, as the teachers all graduate from the same universities.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
October 18, 2022 10:06 am

The Australian cricket captain has forced Cricket Australia to abandon a $40 million sponsorship from Alinta Energy because Cummins says they pollute too much.

This is potentially why screamy former netty captains think they can exterminate their own ‘sport’ in the interests of earthy things. Perhaps they believe that there will be a popular uprising at the lack of netty, until Someone Does Something.

Presumably this will result in eco-friendly netty returning to big screens all over the country, and to critical acclaim.

As an aside, Cummins’ brother played a season of crikkit in D-town over the dry season. Keeper-batsman and decent bloke. Dunno what went wrong with his sibling.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
October 18, 2022 10:07 am

Very pertinent comment there, Crossie, re the rise of crime in Mexico and drug running south of the border.

As for ‘Staterooms’, Cunard and most of the big passenger liners with tabs on their offerings still use the term; it is a leftover from the days of the White Star Line, where one either had a suite or, to keep up appearances for not having a suite, one had a ‘Stateroom’. There is a very interesting book in the library here on the whole ‘social organisation of cruising’ from the C19th up to the 1960’s, which details all of this history. As the cruise liners democratised their offerings they still kept the appearance of the old categories, but applied them to all. So you now get suites, or staterooms.

Categories of what we used to call ‘cabins’ when I went back to England by ship as a child now depend on whether you are high or low floor, or midships or on the bouncy ends, with or without a private verandah, or in a full suite.

The air conditioning on this ship is struggling in places to meet the dreadful heat and humidity.
You will be pleased to learn that this struggle is very democratic in its appearance, it can affect the top level payers and the others with equal fervor in a very random distribution. I shared my solution in the lift with others: take the doona out of the sheets and use the small travel rugs they provide in the wardrobes as a light cover, and comfortable bedding is restored. Apparently they hadn’t explored the wardrobes enough to find these rugs, which are neatly packed up near the life jackets. They are working on the problem.

lotocoti
lotocoti
October 18, 2022 10:07 am

Russia Uses Kamikaze Drones Against Ukraine

When watching the Ukies try to shoot down flying Burritos, it should be remembered the astonishing proximity fuze
is nearly eighty years old.
At a time when the vacuum tubes in radios and radar were adversely effected
by bumps and thumps, coming up with a mass produceable miniaturised tube
which could handle a 20,000g firing shock and work at 10,000 rpm is perhaps the greatest single innovation of WW2.

Big_Nambas
Big_Nambas
October 18, 2022 10:08 am

Women’s sport? FMD.
I would rather have a root canal without anesthetic than watch netball or WAFL of WRL or wimmens cricket.

Beach volleyball, well there are exceptions to every rule.

mc
mc
October 18, 2022 10:10 am

Also getting ads for ‘free’ hot water service upgrades, anyone gotten one of those?

I think there are caveats to these offers. – depends on existing type of heater and the new heater is a heat pump type.

There are normally two issues:
1. If this was a good idea and people really wanted heat pump water heaters people would buy them with their own money. They seem to pick one of the other types.
2. When government is funding these things it always ends up with someone skimming off all the money and leaving you with a sub-standard install. Think free insulation, free light bulbs etc.

I am no expert on water heaters but I do want hot water when I turn on the tap regardless of who has had showers before me though.

Zipster
Zipster
October 18, 2022 10:14 am

The fact the Democrats are nonchalant about the fallout from this and all the other shit that is hitting the fan says – to me, at least – that there’s something sinister about to surface.

you think they will relinquish the reins of power because of a small inconvenience like democratic vote against them?

Eyrie
Eyrie
October 18, 2022 10:15 am

At a time when the vacuum tubes in radios and radar were adversely effected
by bumps and thumps, coming up with a mass produceable miniaturised tube
which could handle a 20,000g firing shock and work at 10,000 rpm is perhaps the greatest single innovation of WW2.

There’s a nice Youtube video about that. The Axis apparently never cottoned on to it.

Wally Dali
Wally Dali
October 18, 2022 10:15 am

Rog
“Persuasive texts” have infected downwards, even to yr 3 in my experience, and upwards as evidenced by the bint quoted in tbe ABC article linked earlier. Infantilising and empowering all in one, they’re also a trojan horse for disneyfied green collectivism, as in “Write a Persuasive Text from the perspective of the wicked stepmother…”

mem
mem
October 18, 2022 10:16 am

Ms Higgins finished her evidence on Friday and told the ACT Supreme Court while she hadn’t been “perfect” she wasn’t a “monster” who would fabricate a rape claim to save her career.

I guess this leaves it open to the possibility that other motives were in play such as a book deal as she already knew her current career was tenuous. I was wondering if the book deal would proceed if the case is dismissed?

Eyrie
Eyrie
October 18, 2022 10:19 am

Dot, this is my last response to you as you will be on my scroll past list from now on. You are trying to put words in my mouth that I did not say.
BTW The USAAF switched to night incendiary bombing because the B-29’s were ineffective at precision daylight bombing. Curtis LeMay reckoned that if the US lost he’d be on trial as a war criminal for it.

Johnny Rotten
October 18, 2022 10:21 am

A young woman was preparing for her wedding.

She asked her mother to go out and buy a nice long black negligee and carefully place it in her suitcase so it would not wrinkle. Mum forgot until the last minute, so she dashed out and could only find a short pink nighty. She bought it and threw it into the suitcase.

After the wedding, the bride and groom enter their hotel room. The groom was a little self-conscious, so he asked his new bride to change in the bathroom and promise not to peek while he got ready for bed.

While she was in the bathroom, she opened her suitcase and saw the negligee her mother had thrown in there. She exclaimed “Oh no, it’s short, pink and wrinkled!” Then her groom cried out “I told you not to peek!”

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 18, 2022 10:22 am

Something that has been well done by the NSW Liberals – better than the Light Rail and New Manly Ferries

A giant cavern beneath Barangaroo is about to bridge gaps to greater Sydney

The precinct has been a hive of activity as the construction of high-rise buildings, parks and new dining strips transformed the foreshore. But below the surface has been buzzing too.

Sydney’s CBD will be expanded northwards by the completion in 2024 of an $18-billion metro train line that will whisk commuters between a new station, carved out of sandstone at Barangaroo, and North Sydney within three minutes, the rail project’s director says.

With the first driverless train due to pass under Sydney Harbour next year as part of testing, construction of the underground station at Barangaroo is reaching its final stages. Workers are installing a sandstone facade to the station’s walls in a salute to its location near the foot of Barangaroo’s headland park and Observatory Hill, as well as screen doors on platforms for the new metro rail line, high-voltage cables, equipment and systems.

Sydney Metro City and Southwest project director Hugh Lawson said the three-minute journey to North Sydney by single-deck metro trains would help overcome the natural barrier presented by the harbour, while the new station at Barangaroo would relieve pressure on existing CBD stations.

“It makes it one extended CBD rather than two separated by the harbour,” he said. “It really brings North Sydney into the CBD and shortens those journey times. Heading the other way, [it will be] only about 13 minutes to Sydenham all the way through the rest of the CBD.”

In contrast, a journey on an existing Sydney Trains double-deck service from North Sydney to Wynyard station takes about six minutes. Wynyard provides a link to train services for the southern end of the Barangaroo precinct via a popular underground walkway that opened in 2016.

A station at Barangaroo was listed as only a possibility under early plans for the City and Southwest line, but the government committed to it in 2015 when it allowed the development of larger buildings on the 5.2-hectare Barangaroo Central site, the last of the precinct’s three sections.

Under the original proposal, the line was also to be built above-ground between Chatswood and St Leonards, but plans were later altered so that it would run through tunnels along that section. The City and Southwest line and two other rail projects under construction – a line from the Sydney CBD to Parramatta, and a 23-kilometre link to a new airport in western Sydney – form the country’s biggest public transport investment. On the latest estimates, they will cost $56 billion.

From Barangaroo, the City and Southwest line snakes south under the heart of the CBD and on to Sydenham and the final stop at Bankstown in the west.

Perched on the harbour edge, the site of the station is up to 30 metres below ground level at Barangaroo and presented major challenges for builders due to water pressure. The contractor responsible for tunnelling the rail line had to construct a thick concrete wall around the giant hole dug for the station before lining it with a waterproof membrane.

Johnny Rotten
October 18, 2022 10:23 am

A Government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.

– George Bernard Shaw

  1. Australian universities offered incentives to student (including via lower atars?) for students prepared to go into rural practice. What’s happening?…

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