Open Thread – Tues 25 Oct 2022


The Seven Works of Mercy, Caravaggio, 1607

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Roger
Roger
October 25, 2022 12:01 pm

You’re an hour early!

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 12:02 pm

30 House Dems Urge Dramatic Shift In Biden’s Ukraine Policy: ‘Get Serious About Diplomacy Or Risk Nuclear Miscalculation’

In a wholly unexpected development, given that until just yesterday any prominent person wishing to talk Ukraine peace plan possibilities or who expressed hope for a negotiated end to the war was denounced and shouted down as a ‘Kremlin agent’, a group of 30 House Democrats is now urging the Biden administration to pursue a diplomatic track with Moscow.

The Washington Post, which detailed the contents of a letter sent to President Biden by the Congressional Dems, underscored they are calling for the US to “dramatically shift” its strategy on the Ukraine war for the first time, with the grinding conflict now reaching the eight-month mark.

“The longer the war in Ukraine goes on, the greater the risk of escalation — to widespread, devastating effect,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who is leading the efforts for a comprehensive strategy shift, told the Washington Post. “We should have no illusions about the challenge ahead of us, but … my colleagues and I are urging the Administration to engage in a proactive diplomatic push in an effort to seek a realistic framework for a ceasefire.”

DrBeauGan
DrBeauGan
October 25, 2022 12:02 pm

Good morning.

calli
calli
October 25, 2022 12:02 pm

Fresh! And merciful!

Roger
Roger
October 25, 2022 12:04 pm

Medibank now says their data breach is wider than first thought.

Amid the talk of increasing fines and boosting cybersecurity, the question must also be asked, are Australian businesses required by government to record too much customer data and to keep it for too long?

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 12:08 pm

Dan Andrews’ sales pitch for renewables plan appears doomed

The Victorian premier clearly envisages a new career for himself as an infrastructure funds manager, even though he has none of the requisites for success.

Karen Maley Columnist

OK, let’s start with the positives.

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews intends to spend $1 billion of the state’s money to develop its renewable energy assets. That’s great news for Victorian taxpayers because it means their potential losses from the ill-conceived scheme should be capped at $1 billion

If Andrews were proposing to stump up the tens of billions of dollars that would be required to replace what he calls, “polluting, privately-owned coal, with clean, government-owned renewables” Victorian taxpayers would probably be nursing much heftier losses.

Now, there’s little doubt that Andrews is painfully aware that his $1 billion won’t go very far in funding new renewable energy projects, such as wind and solar, let alone new transmission.

And that’s why he’s talking a big game about getting private investors – particularly the big industry super funds – to invest alongside the Victorian government.

But Andrews’ investment pitch to them is far from enticing.

The Victorian premier is proposing to set up a new State Electricity Commission – its predecessor was privatised during the 1990s as part of the Kennett Liberal government’s privatisation push – and give it a controlling stake in new renewable energy projects.

You can only imagine how enthusiastic the big industry funds will be to come in as junior partners with the same people who demonstrated their operational ineptitude by their spectacular bungling of the Victorian hotel quarantine program.

The big industry funds have all accumulated much more expertise in running complex infrastructure projects than the yet-to-be-formed State Electricity Commission, so it’s hard to believe that they’d agree to relinquish management or operational control of these projects.

Even if they were foolhardy enough to invest, say, $900 million to take a minority stake in the Andrews’ renewable energy scheme, that would still leave a gaping funding shortfall. After all, $1.9 billion doesn’t get you very far when it comes to developing new clean energy projects.

Perhaps Andrews has convinced himself that the big super funds will chip in the bulk of the funding, but leave it up to the newly hatched State Electricity Commission to build and operate the new clean energy projects.

After all, that model seems to work for leading global infrastructure managers such as Macquarie Capital and Brookfield Asset Management. Investors are more than happy for, say, a Macquarie to manage particular infrastructure projects even though it controls only a minority stake.

But even Andrews must realise there’s a massive difference. Fund managers such as Macquarie and Brookfield have real expertise and long and successful records in managing complex infrastructure projects.

Lack of experience

Why would anyone trust a newly formed arm of the Victorian government with absolutely no record to develop and operate complicated renewable energy projects?

Still, Andrews clearly fancies a new career for himself as an infrastructure funds manager, even though there’s little reason to believe he’s got the requisite attributes for success in this new endeavour.

After all, he has no experience as a successful operator of complex infrastructure projects.

If he and his government can’t devise a system to stop the spread of COVID-19 out of quarantine hotels, how can he possibly think that he might successfully manage the roll-out of massive new energy infrastructure across the state?

Another key attribute of a successful fund manager is the ability to pick which infrastructure projects are viable, and which should be ignored.

But it’s been decades since the Victorian government was last required to make these difficult judgments, or been called on to build a big infrastructure project.

One advantage the state government offers as a potential investment partner is its ability to push through new energy projects despite strenuous opposition from local communities.

But this is an extremely unpredictable advantage, given that the Andrews government will not want to antagonise voters in certain electorates by riding roughshod over their opposition to, say, having wind farms erected close to their properties.

What’s more, the industry super funds will also be acutely aware that the government’s main motivation to develop renewable energy projects is to benefit consumers.

Andrews’ pitch to them is that they should expect to earn “reasonable rates of return – not excessive rates of return” from investing in these new, clean projects.

The industry super funds are financially savvy enough to know that this simply won’t work for their members.

‘Reasonable’ returns

They know that they’ll probably end up investing in a range of projects – some of which will be extremely successful, while others will be less so.

The problem with the Andrews government’s targeting of investors is that the latter will end up earning only “reasonable” returns on the projects that work extremely well.

But the returns on their poorly performing projects – the ones where the revenue is way below expectations, or where the construction costs blow out – will fall well short of “reasonable”.

And you can be sure the Victorian government won’t be rushing in to top up the returns that investors receive on these less successful projects.

That means that, in aggregate, the industry super funds are guaranteed to earn less than the “reasonable” returns that Andrews is holding out, simply because profits they make from their successful projects won’t be sufficient to compensate for the inevitable mistakes.

They are politically astute enough not to contradict Andrews’ claim that it would be an “understatement” to describe them as being excited about this new investment opportunity.

But most have confined themselves to vaguely endorsing the idea while emphasising the need to generate strong long-term returns for their members

The big risk for Victoria is that the Andrews government’s decision to plough $1 billion into developing its own renewable energy assets is enough to disrupt investment by the private sector; it isn’t anywhere near enough to replace private sector investment.

Private investors will be worried that the new State Electricity Commission will be prepared to invest in projects that deliver paltry returns because the Victorian premier has clearly stated that his main focus is on consumers.

As a result, they are likely to pull back from Victorian renewable energy projects as they wait to see how the situation evolves. After all, no one wants to compete with a state-owned entity, with a lower cost of funding, and an explicit mandate to operate at an uneconomic level.

mem
mem
October 25, 2022 12:10 pm

Good afternoon.
Re the snake under the slab of my garden shed. I went for the solution involving filling the hole up with the quick drying cement and letting nature take its course.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 12:11 pm

Perhaps Andrews has convinced himself that the big super funds will chip in the bulk of the funding, but leave it up to the newly hatched State Electricity Commission to build and operate the new clean energy projects.

What the Columnist forgets is the Union Industry Super Funds controlled by Labor People who will big super funds will chip in the bulk of the funding

Carpe Jugulum
Carpe Jugulum
October 25, 2022 12:16 pm

Top Ten

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 12:17 pm

Political ‘Justice’ in America

written by daniel mcadams monday october 24, 2022

Josef Stalin’s top henchman famously said, “show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.” What it meant was that Soviet justice was about politics, not the rule of law. First decide who, for political reasons, is to be punished, and then the state will provide the crimes for which he will be charged.

This dark era of politicized “justice” has returned with former Trump campaign advisor Steve Bannon’s recent sentence to four months in jail for “contempt of Congress” over his refusal to appear before the House January 6th Committee.

How is it politicized justice for Bannon to be punished for ignoring a subpoena from the US Congress? Because many before him have been charged with contempt of Congress – including Democratic Party luminaries such as Eric Holder, Janet Reno, and Lois Lerner – and were never sentenced to jail time.

Bannon’s sentence is meant to convey a political message to America: if you support Trump you are a criminal and you may find yourself in a cell next to Steve Bannon.

And you do not have to support Trump to understand the danger in this. Everyone should be afraid of political justice. It cuts both ways and there is no guarantee that Republicans if they capture Congress will not also follow this precedent.

Sending your political opponents to jail is what happens in a banana republic. It is un-American. But here we are.

The goal of the January 6th Committee is not to seek justice for the “crime” of trespassing and putting feet on Pelosi’s sacred desk, but to make sure that Donald Trump is never allowed to run for President again. That is the reason hundreds have been unjustly arrested and held in terrible conditions for non-crimes. As they say, if you want to make an omelet you have to break some eggs.

Speaking of contempt of Congress, the real contempt is the existence of the January 6th Committee in the first place. It has been a partisan show trial from the beginning, where the only two “Republican” Members were not chosen by Republicans but by Nancy Pelosi. The purpose of the Committee has been to prop up the false narrative that somehow a few rowdy protesters who broke into the Capitol Building were the equivalent of the storming of the Bastille.

The US Administration is also involved in narrative control in other areas. The media reported last week that Tesla and Space-X chief Elon Musk has come under a “national security review” over, it seems, his on-again-off-again purchase of Twitter and perhaps even his proposing a peace plan for Russia and Ukraine that does not include a nuclear strike on Moscow.

Musk has also come under fire from the “cancel culture” Left over his repeated vows to return Twitter to a free speech platform once he is in charge. As we have seen in so many cases, including with former New York Times journalist Alex Berenson, Twitter has been working closely with the Biden Administration to silence and ban any users who dare challenge the “accepted wisdom” on Covid, Ukraine, and a number of other things.

When justice becomes tangled in politics, freedom and liberty go out the window. We are not so naïve to think this is something that just arrived with the Biden Administration, but there seems little doubt it is spreading like a cancer. We must reject political justice if the Republic is to survive.

Copyright © 2022 by RonPaul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 12:28 pm

Yarra Valley Caviar may not be ‘real’ but it packs a huge pop

The range of products from the Victorian producer is sustainably produced, innovative and comes gift-wrapped in time for party season

Pop! For many of us, it’s the sound of a champagne cork exiting a bottle, surely one of the defining sounds of spring.

For chef Jae Bang of Melbourne’s Freyja, however, “pop” is the sound of caviar bursting on the palate, one of the defining features of his restaurant’s hero starter of Freyja waffle with Yarra Valley trout roe, cold-smoked sour cream and mixed herbs.

Finding the right degree of “pop” was integral in the creation of the Nordic-leaning dish.

Originally, Bang planned to use imported caviar from sturgeon (often referred to as “true” or “real” caviar). But its prohibitive cost sent him down an alternative path – one much closer to his newly adopted home city.

“I tried all the Yarra Valley Caviar roes, and the trout roe was the one closest to actual caviar for this particular dish because of its size and mouthfeel,” says the chef, who hails from Seoul.

“I wanted more of the pop and to get that you need a certain quantity of roe.”

Presentation is key, too, so the trout roe is served in a silver tin nestled on a bed of ice, just like real caviar.

“Real.” “Actual.” Run the terms past Yarra Valley Caviar co-owner Nick Gorman over the phone and you can just tell he’s rolling his eyes at the prospect of another run-in with the authenticity police.

“We do get grief sometimes about [our product] not being ‘real’ caviar,” he says. “It is salmon caviar, but I usually call it salmon pearls, or salmon roe for preference anyway.”

In any case, Gorman makes it clear he’s too busy right now to waste time quibbling over semantics. With co-owner and fellow aquatic science graduate Mark Fox, Gorman has grown Yarra Valley Caviar from an annual output of two tonnes in 2006 to 25 to 30 tonnes now. It’s a figure achieved not by overstretching – or overstocking – the existing aquaculture farm in Thornton but by buying a second farm, in Murrindindi in north-east Victoria, in 2018.

Hello, smoked salmon pearls, bloody shiraz gin caviar, truffle-infused brook trout pearls, first-harvest salmon caviar …

Along the way, Yarra Valley Caviar’s range has expanded from the original freshwater salmon and rainbow trout to take in brook trout, polanco (a brand of farmed sturgeon caviar imported from Uruguay) and various gourmet riffs on the classics: hello, smoked salmon pearls, bloody shiraz gin caviar, truffle-infused brook trout pearls, first-harvest salmon caviar (“celebrating the first ever spawning of our young female salmon”), and even an intricate Japanese treatment, Ikura shoyu zuke, which involves a 48-hour marinade of the salmon pearls in soy sauce, bonito and saké “enhanced by hand-harvested wakame”.

Whatever; for anyone outside Yarra Valley Caviar’s 3000 member-strong online Caviar Club, the brand is mostly synonymous with the translucent golden orbs of the original product, with their distinctive saline pop.

https://www.yarravalleycaviar.com.au/product-category/salmon-caviar/

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
October 25, 2022 12:36 pm

The range of products from the Victorian producer is sustainably produced

Obviously they have yet worked out that whenever you skite that something is “sustainably produced” one third of your potential customer base flees.

Also it’s a demographic that has money.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
October 25, 2022 12:37 pm

“Haven’t yet worked out”, that should be.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 12:40 pm

James Griffin MP Member for Manly

It was fantastic to be back in NSW Parliament last week representing the people of Manly, in addition to securing some great outcomes at the National Environment Ministers meeting in Brisbane.

Aboriginal Languages to be taught in schools ???

Students of Manly will now be able to learn their local aboriginal language at school thanks to an exciting new syllabus from the Liberals and Nationals in government.

Learning Aboriginal languages in school will continue to strengthen connections to country, culture and identity for students who may speak an Aboriginal Language or Torres Strait Islander Language at home. This syllabus also supports the importance of language revitalisation and the continuation of learning of Aboriginal culture.

Local Aboriginal communities and knowledge holders will also be encouraged to get involved with the school community to implement the syllabus.

ENVIRONMENT MINISTER UPDATE

Successful National Environment Ministers Meeting

As the NSW Environment Minister it is great to work together with fellow Ministers around Australia to deal with some of the most pressing issues we face.

Last Friday I joined my counterparts at the National Environment Ministers meeting. We discussed some big challenges including stopping and reversing the loss of biodiversity across the country.

It was a positive and action focused meeting. Here are just three of the agreements we reached:

? We will create a national environmental protection agency to better protect nationally significant animals, plants, habitats and places.

? We will collectively better manage invasive species that are threatening protected biodiversity, including to advance the uptake of technologies for the control of feral cats.

?? We will reform the regulation of packaging by 2025, to ensure that all packaging available in Australia is designed to be recovered, reused, recycled and reprocessed safely in line with circular economy principles.

As your local Member of Parliament it was a pleasure to also bring to the national discussion some of the great environmental initiatives that had their genesis here in our community like Operation Crayweed.

Chris
Chris
October 25, 2022 12:45 pm

Morning all!
Orange slices anyone?

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 12:47 pm

Chrissays:
October 25, 2022 at 12:45 pm
Morning all!
Orange slices anyone?

Is it half time at the kids AFL/Soccer/NetBall/Rugby games?

Chris
Chris
October 25, 2022 12:51 pm

I was trying for the trainer support staff position but ended up at centre-half-back.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
October 25, 2022 12:53 pm

Caravaggio.

Sweet.

DrBeauGan
DrBeauGan
October 25, 2022 12:54 pm

Students of Manly will now be able to learn their local aboriginal language at school thanks to an exciting new syllabus from the Liberals and Nationals in government.

That will be so much more useful than learning maths, or science or reading and writing.

Boambee John
Boambee John
October 25, 2022 1:00 pm

Kneel

How would the US react to China having a military alliance with Mexico, and supporting it financially?
The answer is “badly”.

The Zimmerman telegram led to the US entry into WW I soon after.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 1:03 pm

Democrats oblivious to rising tide of unhappy voters may be shocked by Republican midterm wins

Inflation, crime and immigration drive frustration as Democrats disconnected to key voter concerns

The Democrats’ emphasis on January 6 and MAGA is also misguided. Biden’s Philadelphia speech where he attacked MAGA Republicans and called them “semi-fascists” stopped his momentum and made him look like a divisive rather than uniting figure. The January 6 committee’s multiple televised hearings have not shifted public opinion against Donald Trump either, and the Justice Department’s ramped-up investigation has only revived his popularity.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 1:09 pm

‘The View’ explodes after Ted Cruz calls out past Democrats on questioning election results

Cruz asked the hosts, ‘So it’s illegitimate when Republicans win, but not when Democrats win?’

“There are a lot of folks in the media that try to, any time a Republican is in front of a TV camera try to say, ‘the election was fair and square and legitimate.’ You know who y’all don’t do that to? You don’t do it to Hillary Clinton who stood up and said, ‘Trump stole the election.’ You don’t do it to Stacey Abrams who said the election was ‘stolen.’ They sat here and said it was illegitimate and you guys were fine with it!” he said.

Before Cruz could finish speaking, the hosts tried to talk over him.

Whoopi Goldberg said, “That’s right! It was!” after Cruz cited Clinton and Abrams’ statements about stolen races.

Cruz confronted Goldberg on her apparent hypocritical stance. “Oh, so it’s illegitimate when Republicans win, but not when Democrats win?” he asked before she cut in again.

Goldberg argued it was different for Democrats because they “don’t storm,” referring to the January 6 Capitol riot.

“We don’t do that,” she insisted.

Again, Cruz sought to flip the host’s accusations.

“Whoopi, did I miss an entire year of Antifa riots where cities across this country were burning and police cars were being fired upon?” he asked.

As he was speaking Goldberg denied knowing what the senator was referring to, saying “I don’t know what an Antifa riot is.”

“Your position is the left doesn’t engage in violence, really?” he scoffed.

The discussion continued to spiral out of control, with the hosts defending Clinton and Abrams, while Cruz quoted Clinton questioning the legitimacy of both the 2000 and 2016 election results.

Goldberg denied knowing what the senator was referring to, saying “I don’t know what an Antifa riot is.”

I knew Whoopi Goldberg was a Thick as a Brick – But did not realise she was that Dumb

Miltonf
Miltonf
October 25, 2022 1:13 pm

Goldberg is stupid and evil. Opened her legs for abortionist iirc

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 1:15 pm

Here Comes the Democrat Rout

We see inklings of this in how most Democrats will not allow the Biden n’ Kamala circus to stop in their towns. It’s remarkable how all these candidates discover something really important to do when their prezzy shows up in their state besides be seen with him. One rare exception was when Fetterman/Fetterman’s Wife/Fetterman’s Lump allowed itself to be photographed with the crusty president. In typical Biden fashion, he helpfully told the world that he thought Fetterman’s wife would make a great addition to the Senate. Rumor has it that Fetterman’s Lump was so insulted by the slight that it will be voting for Dr. Oz.

No, Democrat ideology has become a pagan religion where it was once merely a way to get power. Most candidates cannot back off from the stupidest Democrat policy planks even at the cost of their electoral lives. They cannot demand more drilling to get gas and oil prices down because that is heresy toward the angry weather goddess. They cannot support cops because that’s racist. They cannot come out against perverts in woman’s faces waving their junk in toddlers’ faces at “family friendly drag shows” because pedo-shaming is a no-go for libs. They are locked into insanity.

They cannot run. They cannot hide. They must figuratively die with their Birkenstocks on.

cohenite
October 25, 2022 1:18 pm

Katy Perry: clot shot? Or Bot, maybe lizard girl. So many possibilities. What a time to be alive, or semblance thereof.

local oaf
October 25, 2022 1:20 pm

I knew Whoopi Goldberg was a Thick as a Brick – But did not realise she was that Dumb

Whoopi learnt everything she knows from the media. Q.E.D.

John H.
John H.
October 25, 2022 1:20 pm

DrBeauGansays:
October 25, 2022 at 12:54 pm
Students of Manly will now be able to learn their local aboriginal language at school thanks to an exciting new syllabus from the Liberals and Nationals in government.

That will be so much more useful than learning maths, or science or reading and writing.

I was discussing related issues with a Maori in his mid-50s who has a very different attitude. Successful, married, and happy. He told me how in NZ he was learning their language and his father said to him why bother it’s a dead language. Imagine the ruckus in Aus. if that comment was made in the media media or even in the classroom.

I’m not opposed to preserving languages but teaching children those languages won’t preserve them. Nearly everyone forgets the language they learnt in high school. There is no need to teach a whole generation a language just to preserve it. We have these things called voice recorders etc. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is mostly wrong so forget the argument that we need to know the language to know their worldview.

calli
calli
October 25, 2022 1:24 pm

I knew Whoopi Goldberg was a Thick as a Brick – But did not realise she was that Dumb

She’s just lying and obfuscating and hoping no one will notice. A superpower of hers.

On Perry – perhaps her eyelash glue wasn’t dry? 😉

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 1:26 pm

cohenitesays:
October 25, 2022 at 1:18 pm
Katy Perry: clot shot? Or Bot, maybe lizard girl. So many possibilities. What a time to be alive, or semblance thereof.

Definitely a BOT

Austin finds out Vanessa is a femmebot – Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me 1999

and

Austin powers fem bot YouTube

Lysander
Lysander
October 25, 2022 1:26 pm

Dr Oz now up 49-45 on Fetterman’s lump.

cohenite
October 25, 2022 1:26 pm

Net Zero Watch latest:

1) Flop 27: Global climate summit is heading for a geopolitical hurricane
Bloomberg, 23 October 2022

2) Eight million households will fall behind on energy bills this winter
The Daily Telegraph, 21 October 2022

3) Dozens of climate models wildly exaggerate extent of global warming
Chris Morrison, The Daily Sceptic, 24 October 2022

4) Michael Shellenberger: The quiet desperation of woke fanatics
Michael Shellenberger, 18 October 2022

5) Scott Tinker: Reducing energy options doesn’t work. Just ask Europe — and the U.S. states where gas prices are rising
Forbes, 18 October 2022

6) An interview with top climate scientist Bjorn Stevens
Climate Etc, 22 October 2022

Lysander
Lysander
October 25, 2022 1:27 pm

maybe lizard girl.

St Ruth will know 😛

/sarc

Arky
October 25, 2022 1:31 pm

He told me how in NZ he was learning their language and his father said to him why bother it’s a dead language.

It isn’t the same thing at all John:
..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOXiOu–Ak8

calli
calli
October 25, 2022 1:32 pm

She’s only a lizard if she licks her eye. Pressing on the temple is not enough evidence, peoples!

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
October 25, 2022 1:32 pm

Students of Manly will now be able to learn their local aboriginal language at school thanks to an exciting new syllabus from the Liberals and Nationals in government.

It wasn’t long ago that the Left was going off about teaching Latin and Greek in schools. Dead languages and all that. At least Latin and Greek could be used to read the classics and the Bible, but then I suppose that’s why the Left didn’t like it.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 1:32 pm

Politico: Stacey Abrams’ voting rights lawsuit against Georgia sure was expensive

After Stacey Abrams lost the 2018 election for governor in Georgia she set up a new voting rights group called Fair Fight Action. Abrams campaign manager, Lauren Groh-Wargo took over as the CEO of that group which promptly filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Georgia claiming the election had been unfair in various ways.

Last month, after years of delay, Fair Fight Action lost that lawsuit on all counts. Today, Politico reports that in just 2019 and 2020, Fair Fight Action paid one smallish law firm more than $9 million to handle that failed case. The person in charge of the lawsuit for the firm was Stacey Abrams’ close friend, Allegra Lawrence-Hardy.

So you had Abrams’s former campaign manager collecting about $61 million in 2019 and 2020 with Abrams herself as the person driving the fundraising. And more than a third of that money (around $25 million) ended up going to a law firm run by one of her closest friends.

If that all sounds pretty chummy, well, some observers say the close personal connection creates a clear conflict of interest.

Abrams raised millions on the grounds that she’d been cheated out of the election and in the end the judge wrote, “Here, plaintiffs have not provided direct evidence of a voter who was unable to vote, experienced longer wait times, was confused about voter registration status.”

From the moment the decision was announced, Brian Kemp said Abrams had used this case to raise money and make a name for herself. Maybe he forgot to add and pour money into her friends’ pockets as well.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
October 25, 2022 1:34 pm

27m ago
Senate refers Thorpe to privileges committee
Jess Malcolm
JESS MALCOLM

Embattled Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe has declared she is not “going anywhere”, vowing to remain in the Senate while under investigation by a privileges committee over her links to an ex-bikie boss while sitting on the law enforcement committee.

Her declaration comes after Labor’s Anthony Chisholm’s motion to refer her to the privileges committee was accepted by the Senate on Tuesday.

Speaking in the Senate, Senator Thorpe completely rejected suggestions she had breached confidences of the law enforcement committee but accepted she should have disclosed her relationship with ex-bikie boss Dean Martin to Greens Leader Adam Bandt and to the committee.

She reiterated that she “briefly dated” Mr Martin after meeting through “black activism” and that the pair remained friends.

“All confidential information I received … was treated in confidence,” Senator Thorpe said. “I strongly reject any suggestion that I would do anything other than comply with the committee’s requirements. I note: nobody has offered any evidence to the contrary.

“I’m not going anywhere, especially while we don’t have a treaty in this country which I will continue to fight for.

“Having now given this explanation to the Senate, I turn my attention to important portfolio work, especially fighting for first nations justice.”

Real Deal
Real Deal
October 25, 2022 1:35 pm

News.com.au has another piece on Mrs Botox Bandana. I won’t post the whole thing but here’s the heading and first paragraph:-

Backlash flares over Lisa Wilkinson’s netball comment
Popular TV host Lisa Wilkinson and her husband are facing a social media backlash as the script flips in netball’s swirling scandal

Two things.
Firstly, yesterday’s “truth bomb” from Lisa is now reduced in status to a “netball comment”.

Secondly and more importantly, Wilkinson is described as a “popular TV host”. “Popular” and “Project host ” does not compute.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 1:36 pm

OldOzziesays:
October 25, 2022 at 1:26 pm
cohenitesays:
October 25, 2022 at 1:18 pm
Katy Perry: clot shot? Or Bot, maybe lizard girl. So many possibilities. What a time to be alive, or semblance thereof.

Definitely a BOT

Whatever, BUT – Really, Really Creepy

Tom
Tom
October 25, 2022 1:38 pm

White House mouthpiece Karine Jean-Pierre makes me laugh out loud — the lesbian Kewpie doll from central casting sent to mouth the lies of the Marxist ferals running the presidency and the senile puppet they chose to look like someone who they fantasise middle America would vote for.

The only way the Dems can win on November 9 is to do the only thing they excel at and what they did in 2020 – industrial-scale cheating.

I’m looking forward to Roger Franklin’s reconnaisance in Quadrant from the campaign trail. Go, Areff!

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
October 25, 2022 1:39 pm

“I’m not going anywhere, especially while we don’t have a treaty in this country which I will continue to fight for.

“Having now given this explanation to the Senate, I turn my attention to important portfolio work, especially fighting for first nations justice.”

Why do so many people, not exclusively on the left, seem to think being “spokesmongs” for a “noble cause” allows them to be turds in other parts of their life?
Being a lump of shit is fine, its what you are, no one expects any better of you.
Being a lump of shit who has a “noble cause’ just smears that cause with shit, not ennobles your corn flecked exterior with respectability.

duncanm
duncanm
October 25, 2022 1:41 pm

I wonder what sort of hold-out nut(s) are insisting there is no doubt about Lehrmann’s guilt ?

duncanm
duncanm
October 25, 2022 1:43 pm

Popular TV host Lisa Wilkinson and her husband

Bandana will be upset. Relegated to ‘her husband’.

CrazyOldRanga
CrazyOldRanga
October 25, 2022 1:46 pm

What? Roger Franklin is Areff? RF. Wow who knew 🙂

Top Ender
Top Ender
October 25, 2022 1:46 pm

Mrs TE wants to “break the flight” in a trip to Europe next year by stopping for two days in Doha.

Is there anything of interest there for a chap who’s not interested in modern buildings built on sand or Mussie museums? Or should I fiercely resist?

Roger
Roger
October 25, 2022 1:48 pm

“Having now given this explanation to the Senate, I turn my attention to important portfolio work, especially fighting for first nations justice.”

The Sacheen Littlefeather of Australian public life.

calli
calli
October 25, 2022 1:49 pm

Tom! You unmasker you!

In other news, “popular” appears to have taken on a whole new meaning.

calli
calli
October 25, 2022 1:50 pm

Lidia Littlefeather.

I can go with that.

cohenite
October 25, 2022 1:51 pm

Reading a paper on climate predictions; this from the graphs:

The second panels (red) represent “climate change” time series, in which the climate changes are consistent with the globally averaged temperature, obtained by decadally filtering the time series and regressing it against a similar low-frequency filtered time series of globally averaged temperature

My stats are at an undergraduate level, but that is fucked. The old saying of lies, damned lies and statistics is now: lies, damned lies, statistics and climate statistics.

Tom
Tom
October 25, 2022 1:51 pm

I wonder what sort of hold-out nut(s) are insisting there is no doubt about Lehrmann’s guilt ?

I’m guessing several jurors decided Lehrmann was guilty before they heard any evidence and they haven’t changed their mind, even though Blind Freddie could tell them Britnah was so pissed on the night of the “rape” she has zero idea what happened.

So the rest of the jury is trying to get the holdouts off the ledge, from which they’re threatening to jump.

Rafiki
Rafiki
October 25, 2022 1:52 pm

Duncann
My guess is that it those who fear the consequences for their family, social and economic life if they are known to have acquitted Lehrmann.
This is is the ACT.

calli
calli
October 25, 2022 1:54 pm

Resistance is futile, TE. If she likes textiles, she’s probably spotted the Souk Waqif.

You are doomed.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
October 25, 2022 1:55 pm

The Sacheen Littlefeather of Australian public life.

Pay that one!

duncanm
duncanm
October 25, 2022 1:58 pm

Rafiki – that had certainly crossed my mind. Which is a pretty fucked up situation for someone in the dock.
When did people lose all their moral fibre?

lotocoti
lotocoti
October 25, 2022 1:59 pm

In other news, “popular” appears to have taken on a whole new meaning.

Not really.
Popular covers a lot of things.
viz. Not falling into the primary settling tank at the sewage plant is popular.

Megan
Megan
October 25, 2022 2:00 pm

“Having now given this explanation to the Senate, I turn my attention to important portfolio work, especially fighting for first nations justice.

Yaaaawwwwwnnnn.

duncanm
duncanm
October 25, 2022 2:00 pm

Tom – I concur with your assessment – which again is crazy, given the complete lack of evidence and hostile self-serving sideshow actions by Britnee..

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 2:02 pm

An in-depth analysis of the F1® United States GP 2022
24/10/22

Thanks to Versor, the official AI Partner of the Australian Grand Prix.

One consistent factor through the analysis performed this year is the superior straight-line speed of the RB18. Our analysis has shown that on the straights and through the speed traps, the RB 18 is routinely faster since the very first GP in Bahrain, where Verstappen’s Red Bull was 25km/h faster than Leclerc’s 302.6km/h top speed. This gap in straight-line speed has not been bridged as the season has progressed. Choosing Austin, Saudi Arabia and France as a sample to focus on top speed deltas rather than averages, Verstappen’s top speed was 6.7, 7.1, 6.1 km/h faster than Leclerc and 7.9, 35.2, 27.2 km/h faster than Hamilton respectively.

Straight-line speed can be determined mathematically through a combination of power and aerodynamic drag. The physics of aerodynamics drag are very well understood and mathematically defined as a function of the properties of the fluid (air), the size, shape, and speed of the object. Importantly, in a simplified model, the aerodynamic drag is proportional to the velocity for low-speed flow and the square of the velocity for high-speed flow. The faster a Formula 1 car travels, the greater the resistance due to aerodynamic drag – proportional to the square of the speed. If the speed of the car doubles, drag quadruples.

At high altitude circuits, such as Mexico, where the air is thinner, there is less aerodynamic drag as the air is less dense – which is why Valtteri Bottas currently holds the record for the highest speed in an F1 race, reaching an astounding 372.5km/h in 2016.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 2:06 pm

Explained

Europe now has a natural gas oversupply (if you include ships waiting to unload)

But as good as this looks, the situation could turn very quickly. That’s because Europe’s gas storage needs continual resupply. So if the weather suddenly turns cold, the surplus could disappear in a matter of days or weeks. Unfortunately, there’s no telling what things will look like a month from now. Here’s the cautious view from a commodities analyst.

bons
bons
October 25, 2022 2:07 pm

I am comprehensively banned from even contemplating transit through Dubai after Madam was thoroughly touched-up by a crow during a supposed random security check in Transit.
The business lounge was on fire with very forthright Aussie women declaring “never a fucking gain”.
Emirates slipped in a line in the usual endless onboard babble referring to the importance of keeping us safe. The ladies were having none of it and busily scribbled responses on the website. The cocktail bar appeared to attract more than usual custom.
Dubai, a town best left to Brit banker wankers.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
October 25, 2022 2:13 pm

My guess is that it those who fear the consequences for their family, social and economic life if they are known to have acquitted Lehrmann.

Most likely, one would think.

After all, Loghario Lehrmann has been found thoroughly guilty in the court of public opinion (MSM Division) – with verdict delivered in Parliament by Scummo.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
October 25, 2022 2:15 pm

“Senator Thorpe is an incredible fighter ….who has important work to do on First Nations justice, including on progressing truth-telling, treaty and voice, and I want her to be able to do that work.”
1 hour

Adam Bandt emerges, looking even more of a wimp then usual.

Bear Necessities
Bear Necessities
October 25, 2022 2:19 pm

After all, Loghario Lehrmann has been found thoroughly guilty in the court of public opinion (MSM Division) – with verdict delivered in Parliament by Scummo.

I don’t know how he could have a fair jury trail in the ACT after Morrison’s speech in Parliament.

Cassie of Sydney
October 25, 2022 2:22 pm

““Senator Thorpe is an incredible fighter ….who has important work to do on First Nations justice, including on progressing truth-telling, treaty and voice, and I want her to be able to do that work.””

Hypocrisy and double standards on steroids. Imagine, for one brief second, if this had had been a Liberal or National Senator. Oh we know, they’d already be gonski.

Cassie of Sydney
October 25, 2022 2:23 pm

“I don’t know how he could have a fair jury trail in the ACT after Morrison’s speech in Parliament.”

Correct.

Boambee John
Boambee John
October 25, 2022 2:23 pm

Miltonfsays:
October 25, 2022 at 1:13 pm
Goldberg is stupid and evil. Opened her legs for abortionist iirc

They should have kept the baby in preference. Almost certainly a nicer human being.

Boambee John
Boambee John
October 25, 2022 2:34 pm

Tomsays:
October 25, 2022 at 1:51 pm
I wonder what sort of hold-out nut(s) are insisting there is no doubt about Lehrmann’s guilt ?

I’m guessing several jurors decided Lehrmann was guilty before they heard any evidence and they haven’t changed their mind, even though Blind Freddie could tell them Britnah was so pissed on the night of the “rape” she has zero idea what happened.

A link was posted yesterday to a photo of Mizz Higgins in “the” dress, meeting Scummo. I had thought that a “cocktail” dress was shortish (above the knees), but the photo showed a dress reaching well below the knees, and fairly form fitting. I am struggling to comprehend how it could have ended up bunched around her waist, as she described, without her assistance, or without being torn if she was unconscious.

Can any Kittehs assist?

Johnny Rotten
October 25, 2022 2:35 pm

“I’m not going anywhere, especially while we don’t have a treaty in this country which I will continue to fight for.”

I do not believe it is possible for Australia as a Sovereign Nation to have a Treaty with a so called “First Nation” as there is and never was any “First Nation”. In 1788 the Aborigines were tribal and nothing has changed right up to today.

Johnny Rotten
October 25, 2022 2:41 pm

Sweden Will Not Meet Agenda 2030

From Armstrong Economics –

“New Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is not heeding to the Green agenda. He promptly eliminated the entire Ministry of Climate and Environment, marking the first time in 35 years that Sweden does not have a specific climate ministry. People are crying that the world will crumble without funding bureaucrats who pretend they have the ability to alter the weather cycle with enough funding.

Klaus Schwab’s plans for Agenda 2030 are in jeopardy. “Environmental issues are going to be given a disadvantage at the same time when we have a huge challenge in Sweden when it comes to biodiversity and forestry,” stated Stockholm University professor Karin Bäckstrand. “We won’t meet the Agenda 2030 goals on biodiversity.”

Democratic leader Ebba Busch will serve as the new Minister for Energy, and 26-year-old Liberal Romina Pourmokhtari will serve as the Minister of Climate and Environment, The Nationalist Sweden Democrats do not support the goal of achieving net zero emissions.

Instead, the new government is prioritizing nuclear power initiatives that will make it increasingly difficult to shut down existing plants while using €36 billion to build new nuclear power stations. The new government is also considering reopening two nuclear power plants that discontinued operations in recent years. Yet another example of how Agenda 2030 and Schwab’s plan to alter the world will fail.”

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/politics/sweden-will-not-meet-agenda-2030/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS

Johnny Rotten
October 25, 2022 2:44 pm

A Michigan State trooper pulled a car over on US 23 about 2 miles north of the Michigan/Indiana State line.

When the trooper asked the driver why he was speeding, the driver said he was a Magician and Juggler and was on his way to Ft. Wayne, IN to do a show at the Shrine Circus. He didn’t want to be late.

The trooper told the driver he was fascinated by juggling and said if the driver would do a little juggling for him then he wouldn’t give him a ticket.

He told the trooper he had sent his equipment ahead and didn’t have anything to juggle. The trooper said he had some flares in the trunk and asked if he could juggle them. The juggler said he could, so the trooper got 5 flares, lit them and handed them to him.

While the man was juggling, a car pulled in behind the patrol car. A drunken good old boy from Michigan got out, watched the performance, then went over to the patrol car, opened the rear door and got in.

The trooper observed him and went over to the patrol car, opened the door asking the drunk what he thought he was doing.

The drunk replied “You might as well take my ass to jail, cause there ain’t no way I can pass that test!”

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
October 25, 2022 2:45 pm

Daily wail, but geez, if the people supplying you with hardware want out, its probably best to humor them at least.

Ukraine slams Emanuel Macron over move to broker peace talks with Vladimir Putin

‘It is more important for Macron to understand the soul of the Ukrainian people and know that they will never get on their knees for Russia,’ Mr Podolyak said.

‘If he wants to see children dying, and waiting before giving extra help, OK let him wait. But Ukraine will still resist.’

The 50-year-old former journalist accused the French president of making the same mistakes as his predecessors, Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande, in dealing with Putin. Both men tried to broker peace deals after Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014, which failed to dissuade Putin from launching the war against its neighbour.

‘It’s very strange behaviour by the French,’ Mr Podolyak said. ‘Macron cannot depart from this conservative, traditional European mentality.

‘Any continuation of the negotiating process with Russia will only mean the continuation of war in the future and intensifying the war,’ he added. Mr Macron told a conference in Rome that any talk of peace should not be taken as a sign of appeasement to Russia.

Hes got a point about Russian containment, but flat refusal for any sort of agreement seems unwise.

Johnny Rotten
October 25, 2022 2:46 pm

The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.

– Confucius

Eyrie
Eyrie
October 25, 2022 2:50 pm

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-wants-break-taiwans-chip-hub-shield-supply-chains-event-china-invasion
After the strike against the West Taiwan chip industry a few days ago by the US the West Taiwanese might want to hurry up their takeover of the island. If your own chip industry is screwed you can try to takeover and gain the Taiwanese one and if it gets destroyed you’ve made sure the rest of the world’s is also.

Top Ender
Top Ender
October 25, 2022 2:51 pm

Sleep Joe doubles down!

President Joe Biden has backed “gender identity bathrooms” in a rare sit-down interview with trans woman and TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney, blasting Republican states that have made it harder for trans women to compete in women’s sports.

Two weeks out from increasingly knife-edge midterm elections, where cultural issues are playing a major role, the US president said he supported “every single solitary right” for America’s rapidly growing trans community, “including use of your gender identity bathrooms in public”.

Ms Mulvaney, a 25-year-old social media star with more than 8 million followers, who has chronicled her transition publicly, asked Mr Biden, 79, whether states had the right to ban “gender-affirming care”, which includes high powered medicine to block puberty and genital altering surgery.

“I don’t think any state, or anybody, should have the right to do that, as a moral and legal question I just think it’s wrong,” Mr Biden said, wading into a simmering political debate over the rights and responsibilities of trans children, their parents, schools, and trans athletes, and states’ rights more broadly.

“Sometimes they try to block you from being able to access certain medicines, being able to access certain procedures and so on, none of that should be available, I mean, you know, no state should be able to do that in my view,” Mr Biden said.

An analysis by the Washington Post found the volume of legislation in Republican-controlled states seeking to clarify or restrict trans rights has soared since North Carolina’s controversial 2016 “bathroom bill”, which required individuals in public to use the bathroom of their biological sex.

Oz

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
October 25, 2022 2:57 pm

“I don’t know how he could have a fair jury trail in the ACT after Morrison’s speech in Parliament.”

Shouldn’t Counsel for the defence have directed the jury to ignore said speech?

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 2:57 pm

Real Clear Politics – North America Goes South: The Plan To Dismantle USA

People are starting to realize that the collapse of the American border is not an accident. It can’t be. When the vice president of the United States says the border is “secure” at the same time that illegal border crossings have surged to more than a million a year, then one of two things must be true.

Either the vice president and the rest of the Biden administration have to be delusional, or they are lying. And while there is plenty of evidence that President Biden is cognitively challenged, there is no reason to believe that he or his handlers are out of touch with reality.

So they must be lying. But why? A lie is usually told to cover up some kind of bad behavior, some unacknowledged guilt or secretive misdeeds. Yet if there were an ulterior motive behind the Democratic policy of importing millions of unvetted immigrants into the interior of the country, what could it possibly be?

Unfortunately, there was no way to determine what the Biden administration was up to – until now. Two weeks ago, we learned that Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken is actively engaged in a campaign to break down all barriers between the United States and Mexico. In other words, the huge influx of Mexicans and other foreigners across the U.S. border is just the first stage in a globalist effort to blur the lines between not just the United States and Mexico, but also Canada.

It’s called the North American Union, and the idea has been around for three decades. I wrote about it extensively between 2006 and 2008 when President George W. Bush was pushing it. In a March 2007 column, I snarkily suggested that Bush’s visit to Mexico was something of a homecoming:

That idea never went away; it just went underground, and it emerged last month when Blinken quietly proposed to the president of Mexico that it was time to start working toward “consolidation” of the continent.

Now the Biden policy of permitting unlimited entry to the United States across the southern border starts to make sense. It is just the first step in “Building a North American Community” – namely, “people flowing freely” across borders. But for now the free flow of people only goes in one direction. That’s because, as long as the United States has a thriving economy, a safe environment, and a well-educated population, there is no way to sell the idea of a continental union to the American people. Take it from George Bush. He certainly tried.

But once you envision the collapse of the U.S. border as an intentional strategy rather than incompetence, it all starts to make sense. Think of it as a plan to first devalue the United States by importing crime, drugs, and cheap workers, so that when the North American Union is ultimately proposed, it will be more palatable. After all, the cartels will already be controlling large swaths of both countries by then, and large streams of the U.S. economy will have been drained into Mexico.

Lysander
Lysander
October 25, 2022 2:57 pm

Looks like the Higgins jury are still enjoying free cups of tea coffee and cucumber sandwiches…

At first, I thought it a good sign they were taking a while. But now that it has taken this long I am seriously beginning to worry about our legal system. Because it is HE said Vs SHE said without a skerrick of evidence… even if he did it and he’s an absolute monster, there’s still no evidence!

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
October 25, 2022 2:59 pm

Bidens pet tranny.

https://www.dylanmulvaney.com/

Eye bleach, eye bleach alert…

Its totally not a fetish, and is completely normal you sexist bigots, If s/he were a man you wouldnt be slagging her off like this…

Anchor What
Anchor What
October 25, 2022 3:01 pm

Bowen demonstrating his sole skill – being supercilious – in the parliament, again.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 3:02 pm

Top Endersays:
October 25, 2022 at 2:51 pm
Sleep Joe doubles down!

President Joe Biden has backed “gender identity bathrooms” in a rare sit-down interview with trans woman and TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney, blasting Republican states that have made it harder for trans women to compete in women’s sports.

Meanwhile

NHS says most trans kids are going through a ‘phase’ – media

England’s National Health Service (NHS) has warned doctors about the risks of “an inappropriate gender transition” and said that “in most cases” self-association with another sex is just a “transient phase” in child development.

In new draft guidance, released last week and seen by the Daily Mail, the NHS urges medical professionals to consider the risks of so-called “social transitioning” – in which a child lives as a gender other than their biological sex but without taking puberty blockers or hormones. This should be a “last resort” even for older children, it says.

“The clinical approach has to be mindful of the risks of an inappropriate gender transition and the difficulties that the child may experience in returning to the original gender role upon entering puberty if the gender incongruence does not persist into adolescence,” the guidance says, as quoted by the media outlet.

The guidance, according to the newspaper, was released as part of the NHS’ plan to close the controversial Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust’s clinic – the only children’s gender identity clinic in the UK.

The draft advice emphasizes that “social transitioning” should not be viewed as a “neutral act” because it might have serious implications for a child’s psychology.

“Social transition should only be considered where the approach is necessary for the alleviation of, or prevention of, clinically significant distress or significant impairment in social functioning and the young person is able to fully comprehend the implications of affirming a social transition,” the guidance reportedly says.

Gender incongruence doesn’t typically persist into adolescence, says new draft guidance by England’s National Health Service

Plus

DeSantis War Room ? #Florida
@DeSantisWarRoom

15-year-olds can’t get a tattoo in the state of Florida — why should they be able to get an elective double mastectomy? Let kids be kids, instead of pressuring them to make life-altering decisions that they will likely regret.

Anchor What
Anchor What
October 25, 2022 3:04 pm

important work to do on First Nations justice
That would be tribal justice, where important work was sharpening the spears.

duncanm
duncanm
October 25, 2022 3:04 pm

there’s still no evidence!

no evidence, and no corroborating witnesses. Nothing. Zip. Zilch.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
October 25, 2022 3:05 pm

I do not believe it is possible for Australia as a Sovereign Nation to have a Treaty with a so called “First Nation” as there is and never was any “First Nation”

From memory, there’s an international protocol that lays down who can enter into a valid treaty.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
October 25, 2022 3:07 pm

6 minutes ago
Court set to reconvene in Lehrmann trial
Remy Varga
REMY VARGA

The jury deliberating on the guilt of Bruce Lehrmann, accused of raping former ministerial staffer Brittany Higgins, will reconvene shortly.

The ACT Supreme Court said the court would reconvene in ten minutes in an email sent at 2.50pm.

Mr Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual intercourse without consent and recklessness towards whether Ms Higgins was consenting.

Ms Higgins alleges she awoke to find Mr Lehrmann raping her on the couch in the ministerial suite of then defence industry minister Linda Reynolds in the early hours of March 23 in 2019.

The pair had been drinking together with colleagues on March 22 in 2019, first at The Dock in Kingston and then at the 88mph club.

Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins shared an Uber to Parliament House.

Ms Higgins said Mr Lehrmann said he needed to pick up something while Mr Lehrmann has said at various times he needed to collect his keys, fetch documents, drink whiskey and that he worked on question time briefs.

The pair are captured on CCTV going through security before being let into the suite of Senator Reynolds.

Mr Lehrmann left Parliament House at about 2.30am while Ms Higgins was found in a state of undress on the couch in the ministerial office by a security guard at about 4.15am on March 23 in 2019.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 3:07 pm

WHO IS OUR PRESIDENT?

Joe Biden’s mental decline is obvious to everyone, to the point where Joe himself has acknowledged that it is “legitimate” to worry about his fitness for office. That was big of him.

The latest in Biden’s long string of senior moments (to use a phrase that, in this context, is unfair to seniors) came when he told an interviewer that the forgiveness of student debt that he purported to implement by executive order was narrowly passed by Congress. First the video, then a larger point:

Like so many recent video clips, this one shows a shocking mental degeneration. Does Biden really not remember that loan forgiveness didn’t pass the Congress–it never could have–and that he himself circumvented Congress, and the law, by signing an executive order? Apparently not.

But that raises a more basic question: did Biden ever understand that he signed such an order? Charitably, one might imagine that Biden knew what he was doing at the time, but then forgot. But why should we assume that? Based on the evidence of our eyes, it seems equally likely, if not more so, that there was never a time when Biden understood that loan forgiveness couldn’t pass Congress; that it was deemed helpful to Democrats’ election chances; and that he therefore should sign an (illegal) executive order.

Who carried out that analysis? Who came up with a legal justification, to the extent there was one? Who prepared the executive order? Who told Joe Biden to sign it? Was Biden in the loop at all? Does Biden know anything about the order, other than what he may have read off a teleprompter at the time?

Who, in short, is acting as president?

I don’t know the answer to that question, but I don’t think it is Joe Biden.

From the Comments

– It is frightening to think this guy could start a nuclear war. He is capable of going to the nearest convenience store to check his powerball numbers, only to find out he was trying to use the nuclear codes to win the big one.

Here’s another question. Whose idea was it to put Dylan Mulvaney, the 25 year old man who pretends to be a 14 year old girl, on that panel? When polled, an overwhelming majority of Americans are against the trans agenda and even a majority of Democrats are against hormone treatments and “affirming” surgery for children.

I find it incredibly creepy that a 25 year old man who dresses like a little girl is an “influencer” on Tik Tok apparently influencing young teens. But what’s worse is the President of the United States legitimizing the guy. Enough is enough with these crazy people!

Indolent
Indolent
October 25, 2022 3:10 pm
H B Bear
H B Bear
October 25, 2022 3:10 pm

If Thorpe plans to tough it out Sarah Hyphen-SeaPatrol will have to lean on her so Bandt is not seen as the impotent soy boy he is.

Anchor What
Anchor What
October 25, 2022 3:11 pm

That’s four bathrooms we need now!
Male, Female, Can’t Decide, and Disabled/Wheelchair.

Indolent
Indolent
October 25, 2022 3:12 pm
Anchor What
Anchor What
October 25, 2022 3:12 pm

Genetically modified humans? Also known as Zombie Left.

flyingduk
flyingduk
October 25, 2022 3:14 pm

too good to die at the end of the old thread:

More on the vax fraud in this excellent piece at Jo Nova where Mathematics Professor Norman Fenton shows how classifying the vaccinated as ‘unvaxxed’ until 2 weeks after the shot (or the 2nd shot, or the booster etc) could easily generate a 93% effective claim for the vax, even if it was 100% ineffective – must see clip.

https://joannenova.com.au/2022/10/how-to-create-the-medical-stats-you-need-to-get-rich-quick/

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 3:14 pm

Ouch – Penfolds Bin 149 Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 Gift Box 750 mL – $225.00

Though I suppose the Grange is $1,000.00

BIN 149 CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2019 GIFT BOX

Penfolds Bin 149 Cabernet Sauvignon seeks out Northern Hemisphere excellence via meticulous vineyard and block selection, reinforced by flagship-worthy South Australian cabernet sauvignon. The result is distinctive, and of distinction. Bin 149’s name is derived from the percentage of South Australian cabernet sauvignon synergistically woven into the blend. Napa Valley regional sourcing seeks to showcase strong tannic foundations, dark fruit intensity but with the added dimension of a unique “worldly” disposition. Matured in French and American oak, this release highlights Penfolds commitment to quality and winemaking approach.

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
October 25, 2022 3:15 pm

asked Mr Biden, 79, whether states had the right to ban “gender-affirming care”, which includes high powered medicine to stunt normal growth and castration/sterilization..

One of the effects of starting hormone mutilation early is the side effect of not having enough formed genital tissue to construct the organs you think you want.
https://www.genderhq.org/trans-youth-side-effects-hormone-blockers-surgery
A. Hormone blockers to cross-sex hormones stunt genital growth in males & may permanently damage sexual function

When young dysphoric males are given hormone blockers at the onset of puberty, it stops genital growth (“micro penis”) and this becomes permanent if the youth goes on to cross-sex hormones. There isn’t any evidence available as to whether all of these effects on sexual function in a pubertal male are “fully reversible,” if the youth stops blockers and resumes a “normal puberty.” If the youth does not want to go through life with an 11-year-old’s penis, the youth will now have to have a portion of their colon or peritoneal lining around the stomach extracted, along with skin from the abdomen, in order to make a “neovagina” (rather than inverting a penis, which is how it is done on adults).

There is a confirmed case of this happening to a trans teen television celebrity who has a reality show (we view this as exploitation). The teen mentioned having little sexual desire, never having had an orgasm at age 16, has a penis the size of an 11-year-old’s, and has had to have an extra graft and painful surgery in order to make a “neovagina.”

H B Bear
H B Bear
October 25, 2022 3:16 pm

Popular TV host Lisa Wilkinson and her husband
Bandana will be upset. Relegated to ‘her husband’.

Wonder who gets priority in the remainder bins?

Indolent
Indolent
October 25, 2022 3:22 pm

Susan Sarandon making sense. I’m not sure what she intended but this statement is indisputable.

H B Bear
H B Bear
October 25, 2022 3:22 pm

Bowen demonstrating his sole skill – being supercilious – in the parliament, again.

Turtlehead is the weakest link. R-G—R personified.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 3:24 pm

Thorpe confirms she is ‘still friends’ with ex-bikie boss as committee investigates

Thorpe also confirmed on Tuesday she is still friends with Martin, with whom she had a relationship in 2021 while she was a member of the joint parliamentary law enforcement committee.

Greens leader Adam Bandt also revealed the Department of Finance was conducting a separate review into Thorpe’s office and the Greens were reviewing their processes after a former staffer complained about the way their complaint about the senator had been handled.

The Senate on Tuesday voted to refer Thorpe to the Senate privileges committee as she denied any suggestions she had breached confidences while she was on the committee and dating Martin.

Thorpe opted to refer herself to the committee and Labor and the Coalition supported the motion.

Prior to the Senate vote, Thorpe said she and Martin had met through “black activism and briefly dated”.

“We remain friends and have collaborated on our shared interests advocating for the rights of First Nations people,” she said. “All confidential information I received as part of the joint committee on law enforcement was treated in confidence.

“I strongly reject any suggestion that I would do anything other than comply with the committee’s requirements and I note no one has offered any evidence to the contrary.”

But Thorpe accepted that she “should have disclosed this connection with Mr Martin to my leader and also the joint committee on law enforcement on which I was a member”.

flyingduk
flyingduk
October 25, 2022 3:27 pm

In the Oz ‘Dangerous: ‘Hybrid cyclone’ to smash three states’

can someone with a subscription log on and tell me when I’m going to die this time?

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 3:27 pm

Price parity between petrol and electric cars years away – expert

Rising electric-car battery production costs have ensured petrol-powered vehicles remain significantly more affordable to buy than plug-in alternatives, according to one high ranking automotive industry executive.

The CEO of French car-maker Renault claims the price gap between petrol and electric vehicles may not reach parity until next decade due to the rising cost of the precious minerals that go into battery packs.

In an interview with Automotive News Europe at last week’s Paris motor show, the global boss of Renault, Luca de Meo, said: “I do not see this parity getting close.”

As reported by Drive last week, the new BMW iX1 electric SUV is $17,000 more than the flagship petrol-powered X1 – an increase of about 26 per cent.

Likewise, the Genesis Electrified GV70 incurs a $45,000 premium compared to the previous most-expensive petrol-powered version of the mid-size SUV – a 55 per cent price increase.

According to Mr de Meo, in 2014 the automotive industry had expected the per kilowatt-hour cost of an electric-car battery to be approximately $US100 by 2019.

A report by news agency Reuters found the average per kilowatt-hour cost of a battery was close to $US115 in April 2022, and is expected to rise to about $US120 by 2023.

Research conducted by US financial consulting firm AlixPartners found the price of raw materials such as lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt increased by more than 140 per cent between March 2020 and June 2022.

According to Mr de Meo, the cost of raw materials accounts for 80 per cent of an electric-car battery’s overall price.

“(Renault) can come up with better battery chemistry and better power electronics, but these gains would be erased when the price of cobalt doubles in just six months,” Mr de Meo told Automotive News Europe.

“From an environmental point of view, having vehicles with batteries of 150kWh to 200kWh is simply environmental nonsense.”

While Renault is reportedly still aiming this target, Mr de Meo says it will be customers – not car companies – who decide when petrol cars will die.

??“I am taking the company there, but ultimately it will be the market, the customers, who will decide if they want to be electric-only,” de Meo said.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
October 25, 2022 3:28 pm

Students of Manly will now be able to learn their local aboriginal language at school thanks to an exciting new syllabus from the Liberals and Nationals in government.

Brilliant stratagem.

Instead of having to explain away why our kids’ score so low among OECD countries for English, they will be able to respond that Australia comes in first for Nyulnyulan, Djeragan, Bunaban, Tiwi etc. Moreover, they have learned the alphabets and read all the traditional literature.

We’ll be a powerhouse – and that word will need a new meaning once they have stamped out fossil fuels.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
October 25, 2022 3:30 pm

Dr Oz now up 49-45 on Fetterman’s lump.

The unspoken risk for Fetterman is that the lump might split his vote.

After that it will merely be a matter of MSM talking heads all over the US declaring the election invalid and calling for an investigation into Oz.

Indolent
Indolent
October 25, 2022 3:32 pm

Yes, their leadership absolutely is

2022.10.24 The Americans Are Evil

Farmer Gez
Farmer Gez
October 25, 2022 3:33 pm

Still no verdict.
Cruel bunches of idiots.

bons
bons
October 25, 2022 3:34 pm

Dover. All that you say is correct. The issue threatening the future of conservatism is, as you say, “at the party level”. But that is the killer.
With conservative parties all falling under the control of fifth columnists, and the usual donors now mendicant to socialist dictatorships, there is no identifiable path to a conservative party revival.
NSW liberals for example cannot be reformed. Even in opposition morally corrupt Lib pollies will continue to dudd their constituents. It is all about career and enrichment.
Funding, organisation and publicity are all lacking. It is not a genius insight to predict that Sky and the Speccie will both be nobbled before the next Fed election.
The deathblow was the failure of the ‘minors’ at the last election. Well intentioned people see no benefit in becoming active supporters if nothing can be achieved.
There will be no Teal revolution for the conservatives.
The only glimmer of hope comes from rural Australians who are well used to supporting communal action and who may, in self interest, organise to seize back the Nats constituency.
Go Gez.

Bruce in WA
October 25, 2022 3:34 pm

The jury has informed the judge they have been unable to reach a decision in the trial for the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins in Parliament House.

The court reconvened just after 3pm today after the jury sent a new note to ACT Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucy McCallum.

“You have told me in a note you are unable to reach a unanimous verdict,” she told the jury.

Chief Justice McCallum said that experience has shown juries can “often reach a verdict if given more time”.

She directed the jury to go back out and continue their deliberations to see whether they can reach a unanimous agreement.

The jury is in its fourth full day of deliberations for the man accused of raping Ms at Parliament House.

The group have, so far, not come up with a verdict on whether Bruce Lehrmann is guilty or not guilty of one count of sexual intercourse without consent against Ms Higgins.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The jury, which is made up of eight women and four men, have been deliberating since Wednesday afternoon.

duncanm
duncanm
October 25, 2022 3:35 pm

can someone with a subscription log on and tell me when I’m going to die this time?

http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/charts/4day_col.shtml

Maybe they’re talking about that low coming across SA on Sat. Looks like plenty of moisture, and it is hooking up with that front down in the bight.

duncanm
duncanm
October 25, 2022 3:36 pm

The jury has informed the judge they have been unable to reach a decision

fuck me.. how much more absence of evidence do they need?

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 3:36 pm

One Simple Question Republicans Can Ask for Victory in November

Rasmussen Reports, in a recent survey of likely U.S. voters found that: “Republicans have a seven-point lead in their bid to recapture control of Congress.” They also observed: “The GOP lead is up three points from last week, when they led 47% to 43%.”

Republicans should not break out the champagne quite yet as the GOP, also known as the “stupid party,” is fully capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

One example is in my state of Colorado where the Republican Senate candidate Joe O’Dea made these remarks on CNN:

“I don’t think Donald Trump should run again,” O’Dea said in an interview Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I’m going to actively campaign against Donald Trump and make sure that we’ve got four or five really great Republicans right now.”

Is that a smart move for a GOP Senate candidate? Even in blue state Colorado? CNN reluctantly acknowledged a month ago: “Yes, the former president is, without question, the favorite to win the Republican nomination for a third time.” Running against Trump now, when he is not on the ballot next month, may lead many MAGA Republicans to not vote for Trump-bashing Republican candidates or else vote for the Democrat out of spite.

I am not endorsing this strategy, as control of the Senate is vitally important. I would rather hold my nose and vote for a Joe O’Dea as I did for Mitt Romney and John McCain than risk Congress fully in control of the Democrats, accelerating America’s destruction.

In contrast, are there any Democrats announcing that they will “actively campaign against Joe Biden” should he last until 2024 and seek a second term as president? Democrats circle the wagons around their candidates, even if they wish the candidate was someone else. Republicans on the other hand are quick to throw their most promising candidates under the bus, infuriating their base, all but guaranteeing their defeat.

Wake up, Republican candidates, and just keep it simple. Ask the question,

“Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”

cohenite
October 25, 2022 3:38 pm

OldOzziesays:
October 25, 2022 at 2:57 pm
Real Clear Politics – North America Goes South: The Plan To Dismantle USA

It might be ok; in old Meckico they know how to deal with dissenters. I reckon blinken, winkum and nod would look good against a wall as the firing squad got ready.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
October 25, 2022 3:38 pm

he’s only a lizard if she licks her eye. Pressing on the temple is not enough evidence, peoples!

Yup.

Pressing the temple is only meant to reset the servos.

Doesn’t seem to be working so I think the problem might be a faulty software update.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 3:41 pm

duncanmsays:
October 25, 2022 at 3:35 pm
can someone with a subscription log on and tell me when I’m going to die this time?

http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/charts/4day_col.shtml

Maybe they’re talking about that low coming across SA on Sat. Looks like plenty of moisture, and it is hooking up with that front down in the bight.

https://www.ventusky.com/?p=-37.5;121.6;3&l=rain-3h

going forward with precipitation for the next couple of days shows as. usual – possibly something around the 30th November 22

Indolent
Indolent
October 25, 2022 3:47 pm

Gonzalo Lira has put out another clip to expand on his earlier warning about Ukraine, with the backing of the US, exploding a dirty bomb at Mykolaiv with data points on the indications.

2022.10.24 Why I Think This Is An American Plan

John H.
John H.
October 25, 2022 3:51 pm
Black Ball
Black Ball
October 25, 2022 3:51 pm

Anytime Thorpe and Bandt get up to speak in Parliament, there should be motions and censures flying left, right and centre to have them silenced. Anything they speak of now, if indeed it ever were, is now invalid.
Pauline Hanson in her first act on resumption of Parliament should be this. And every day afterwards.

Lysander
Lysander
October 25, 2022 3:53 pm

Wow – that Ventusky site is da BOM! (well not the B.O.M. but you know what I mean) 😛

bons
bons
October 25, 2022 4:01 pm

The interactive chart shows a 987 low in Bass Strait and Tassie on Friday followed by a 990 low racing across the Bight Coast into Southern Vic on Sunday then dropping to a 983(-) in the Strait and Tassie on Sunday and Monday.
Weeeel, I’m not suggesting that the BOM would ever overstate the case, but Ceduna to Tassie in 12 hours is impressive.
However, if it is realistic, take care folks. I have never seen anything like that.

mem
mem
October 25, 2022 4:10 pm

Sounds like it will be cold and wet for the Cup. Nothing unusual in the scheme of things. I remember wearing gum boots one year. They had pink and yellow polka dots on them and matched my handbag and brollie.

Anchor What
Anchor What
October 25, 2022 4:14 pm

Sky Daytime continues to soft pedal Labor while giving the coalition a tough time.
Isn’t it about time they switched to keeping Labor/Green/Teals honest?

Cassie of Sydney
October 25, 2022 4:15 pm

Bruce Lehmann should be found not guilty.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
October 25, 2022 4:17 pm

Outstanding. There should be much, much more of this (the Hun):

Catfisher Lydia Abdelmalek has earned herself an extra year in jail over a failed appeal after posing as Home And Away hunk Lincoln Lewis to lure in women over the internet.

The 32-year-old, who stalked five women in a four-year campaign of harassment, leading one victim to suicide and another to flee from her home, has copped at least 11 months extra jail time.

County Court judge Claire Quin said during sentencing on Tuesday that she’d repeatedly warned Abdelmalek that her appeals could mean more time behind bars.

But she persisted with her failed bids – first to appeal her conviction, and second to appeal her minimum jail term of one year and nine months.

You go grrl.

C.L.
C.L.
October 25, 2022 4:17 pm

I’m guessing several jurors decided Lehrmann was guilty before they heard any evidence and they haven’t changed their mind, even though Blind Freddie could tell them Britnah was so pissed on the night of the “rape” she has zero idea what happened.

This slipped under the radar yesterday:

Today Show producer is found not guilty of raping a woman in her sleep after a night out after jury deliberated for just two hours.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
October 25, 2022 4:20 pm

In the Oz ‘Dangerous: ‘Hybrid cyclone’ to smash three states’

Lucky I got me some iodine.

Zipster
October 25, 2022 4:21 pm

looking at the garbage that passes for modern art, Caravaggio is a genius

Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Govt Covid Stupidity

In the Oz ‘Dangerous: ‘Hybrid cyclone’ to smash three states’

Lucky I got me some iodine.

?????

flyingduk
flyingduk
October 25, 2022 4:25 pm

“You have told me in a note you are unable to reach a unanimous verdict,” she told the jury. Chief Justice McCallum said that experience has shown juries can “often reach a verdict if given more time”. She directed the jury to go back out and continue their deliberations to see whether they can reach a unanimous agreement.

Place your bets, hung jury or not guilty? … It would seem hung jury is the favourite.

Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Govt Covid Stupidity

Place your bets, hung jury or not guilty

Hung.

bons
bons
October 25, 2022 4:33 pm

Guilty.
It’s the ACT.
The holdouts must be copping an unsustainable battering from the Public Service pink haired sheilas?.

incoherent rambler
incoherent rambler
October 25, 2022 4:35 pm

It’s the ACT.

The ACT is most unpleasant.
Burning at the stake awaits.

Lysander
Lysander
October 25, 2022 4:37 pm

Well hung.

bons
bons
October 25, 2022 4:40 pm

Clever oh great Spartan.

Johnny Rotten
October 25, 2022 4:40 pm

Anchor Whatsays:
October 25, 2022 at 3:11 pm
That’s four bathrooms we need now!
Male, Female, Can’t Decide, and Disabled/Wheelchair.

Bathrooms is North American talk. Shit house is proper English.

Zipster
October 25, 2022 4:43 pm

Russia is not gonna lose
Jeffrey Sachs

Vicki
Vicki
October 25, 2022 4:45 pm

It would seem hung jury is the favourite.

I thought that from the beginning, and I suspect the judiciary did too.

Zipster
October 25, 2022 4:45 pm

Increasing number of ads with gays. It’s all out war on normal lifestyle. Many ads will have you thinking we are an afrtica nation or morbidly obese.
this is what civilisation collapse looks like

bons
bons
October 25, 2022 4:47 pm

Yes, there is a path, hopefully. However, I am not sure that I have adequate morale to rejoin my local branch and be sneered at again by the McGrath headquarters clique cronies.
I retain my belief that reform will have to emerge from the Bush.

Johnny Rotten
October 25, 2022 4:50 pm

Zipstersays:
October 25, 2022 at 4:45 pm
Increasing number of ads with gays. It’s all out war on normal lifestyle. Many ads will have you thinking we are an afrtica nation or morbidly obese.
this is what civilisation collapse looks like

There is no normal anymore and there is no afrtica…………………there is obese though and Fat Bastards.

Delta A
Delta A
October 25, 2022 4:51 pm

Dover, you might want to do some deep-cleaning on the old OT at 2.00 pm today.

duncanm
duncanm
October 25, 2022 4:58 pm

C.L.says:
October 25, 2022 at 4:17 pm
I’m guessing several jurors decided Lehrmann was guilty before they heard any evidence and they haven’t changed their mind, even though Blind Freddie could tell them Britnah was so pissed on the night of the “rape” she has zero idea what happened.

This slipped under the radar yesterday:

wow – and that one was a claimed rape at 7am the morning after.

She said she froze during the assault, fell asleep and then caught an Uber in tears about 7am, telling the inquisitive Uber driver she felt she’d been raped.

Zipster
October 25, 2022 4:59 pm
duncanm
duncanm
October 25, 2022 4:59 pm

If hung – that then leaves it up to the DPP whether they’ll pursue another trial.

Boambee John
Boambee John
October 25, 2022 5:02 pm

Anchor Whatsays:
October 25, 2022 at 4:14 pm
Sky Daytime continues to soft pedal Labor while giving the coalition a tough time.
Isn’t it about time they switched to keeping Labor/Green/Teals honest?

No. They have been focusing on the government for nine years, time to see what the opposition is up to.

Johnny Rotten
October 25, 2022 5:03 pm

A man dies and goes to heaven. As he arrives there an angel is waiting for him to give him a tour. They enter through the golden gates and go inside a big bright building. There were a big number of clocks running at different speeds and the man was puzzled. He asked the angel what they were. The angel said: “Here are the clocks of every country, they measure corruption. The more corrupt the country is the faster the clock goes!” Amazed, the man wanders around the room but he notices something and asks the angel: “Where is the Ukraine clock?” And the angel says: “Oh, God is using it as a ceiling fan in his office!”

Boambee John
Boambee John
October 25, 2022 5:04 pm

flyingduksays:
October 25, 2022 at 4:25 pm
“You have told me in a note you are unable to reach a unanimous verdict,” she told the jury. Chief Justice McCallum said that experience has shown juries can “often reach a verdict if given more time”. She directed the jury to go back out and continue their deliberations to see whether they can reach a unanimous agreement.

Place your bets, hung jury or not guilty? … It would seem hung jury is the favourite.

Though the Chief Justice seems to be dropping a strong hint.

Zipster
October 25, 2022 5:06 pm

Body Language: Hu Jintao, Former Secretary General of CCP
Body Language Ghost

very good point, why would the chinese allow this to be released. who is it really aimed at

Johnny Rotten
October 25, 2022 5:06 pm

Wisdom, compassion, and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men.

– Confucius

And Women……………………….I think………………..

Fair Shake
Fair Shake
October 25, 2022 5:06 pm

Looking like a hung jury. I would have thought there was reasonable doubt in her story. Very drunk, poor recollection, no corroborating evidence…
Unfortunately if it did happen she needed to help the justice process and go to the cops as soon after it allegedly happened as possible.
But hey it’s only the law. TV hosts are the judge and Judy. (Intentional misspell for a change).

Johnny Rotten
October 25, 2022 5:12 pm

Delta Asays:
October 25, 2022 at 4:51 pm
Dover, you might want to do some deep-cleaning on the old OT at 2.00 pm today.

Dover could do plenty of cleaning with the shit on this site – JC and Mrs Stencho Pantyhose for a start. And please shut up MontyPox Virus, Head Case and that St Ruth idiot who keeps banging on about……………………..

JC
JC
October 25, 2022 5:13 pm

Zipster says:
October 25, 2022 at 5:06 pm

Body Language: Hu Jintao, Former Secretary General of CCP
Body Language Ghost

very good point, why would the chinese allow this to be released. who is it really aimed at

I think the dude was ill. What’s the point of exiting him out of there when the more dramatic thing would have been not have him attend and leave an empty chair there. The dude looked yellow as in sick – not yellow as in Chinese. Chinese don’t like in your face drama.

JC
JC
October 25, 2022 5:15 pm

Dover could do plenty of cleaning with the shit on this site – JC and Mrs Stencho Pantyhose for a start.

Jeez. Rotten, you’re just passing through?

duncanm
duncanm
October 25, 2022 5:15 pm

“Hit the gym, walk the dog,” McCallum told them. “Do whatever you need to do to have a bit of respite from this arduous task.”

how about go have a good hard look at yourselves in the mirror..

JC
JC
October 25, 2022 5:17 pm

Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Govt Covid Stupidity says:
October 25, 2022 at 4:23 pm

?????

+2 1/2

Johnny Rotten
October 25, 2022 5:18 pm

JCsays:
October 25, 2022 at 5:15 pm
Dover could do plenty of cleaning with the shit on this site – JC and Mrs Stencho Pantyhose for a start.

Jeez. Rotten, you’re just passing through?

No you Tosser JC. I am here to stay…………………………………

calli
calli
October 25, 2022 5:20 pm

It would seem hung jury is the favourite.

Ruin someone else’s life rather than ruin their own.

Just spent an excellent hour tidying up the shadehouse and found two beautiful orchids about to bloom! Life is good.

bons
bons
October 25, 2022 5:21 pm

This would be the DPP who had no proveable grounds for bringing the issue to trial but just went along with the traditional legal practice of hit and hope.
Of course they will plumb for a retrial. The Canberra Village Council will not be denied their public auto-da-fe.
Morrisson will provide the matches.

Dot
Dot
October 25, 2022 5:22 pm

mixed-economy types on the economic dimension

That was Mikey Go To Baird.

JC
JC
October 25, 2022 5:23 pm

No you Tosser JC. I am here to stay

Passing through means you’re a turd, you idiot. For someone posing as a joke connoisseur you don’t exhibit much of a sense of humor.

calli
calli
October 25, 2022 5:24 pm

Also found the first spike on this. I’ll plant it by the pond and everyone who passes can go Ooh Ahh!

Who said Aussie natives are ugly? 🙂

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
October 25, 2022 5:25 pm

The Man Who Saw The Future

Perhaps less famously, another man who saw the future was journalist John Pilger. This article of his from 2014 is new to me. Perhaps it’s new to you too. I’ve posted a brief comment about it afterwards which relates to my previous post.

Authored by John Pilger at The Guardian

In Ukraine, the US is dragging us towards war with Russia
John Pilger

Washington’s role in Ukraine, and its backing for the regime’s neo-Nazis, has huge implications for the rest of the world

Lysander
Lysander
October 25, 2022 5:29 pm

Federal budget is most likely to benefit disabled indigenous female lesbians in TAFE in Victoria with a kid.

calli
calli
October 25, 2022 5:29 pm

Gardeners are essentially optimistic people. I planted a Cape Chestnut eight years ago and it is finally producing its glorious pink flowers. I told it that if it didn’t do its thing I’d rip its limbs off.

It has now complied.

Farmer Gez
Farmer Gez
October 25, 2022 5:30 pm

Hung jury
A couple of stroppy old ewes who’ve got their head in the air and running the wrong direction.

Oh come on
Oh come on
October 25, 2022 5:31 pm

Of course there’s no way of knowing but I suspect the ‘hold out(s)’, having held out this long, won’t cave now. At some point during a sustained effort trying to bludgeon certain personality types into unanimity, continuing further becomes counterproductive as it hardens their position. I’d say we’ve comfortably passed that point.

The prosecution’s key takeaway for the jury was that Higgins was a credible witness. Problem is that she wasn’t. I’m sure she looked and sounded convincing in court, but that isn’t where witness credibility starts and ends. There are many, many actions she took subsequent to the alleged rape that undermine her story badly. Just one or two of the ‘slip ups’ that came out in court – okay, these alone would probably not be fatal to her testimony. But there’s a pile of them! They all point to a woman who did something regrettable, whose regret grew as days went by and the consequences that arose from the regrettable act seemed increasingly dire. There is a way for a young woman in her position to avoid responsibility for their actions, and she took it. And subsequently capitalised on it.

Simply going on the evidence (reported through gritted teeth) by the ABC, I don’t see how a fair-minded person overcomes the reasonable doubt standard. In a fair world, this evidence ought to prompt an investigation into whether she has engaged in criminal conduct in making the allegations that have brought us to this point.

Ed Case
Ed Case
October 25, 2022 5:32 pm

Looking like a hung jury. I would have thought there was reasonable doubt in her story. Very drunk, poor recollection, no corroborating evidence…
Hold on, Judge Jeffries.
Higgins said the Brucester offered her a lift home-that’s backed up by witnesses.
Higgins and The Bruce were alone in Reynolds Office from 1.40am to 2.35am-that’s backed up by witnesses
Brucey told 3 different stories about what he was doing there that morning-
at best, only one is true, and if you believe Higgins, then he’s lied to
1. The Cops
2. Fiona Brown
3. Linda Reynolds
4. His own Lawyers
Brucey left PH at 2.35am in a big hurry- attested to by PH security.
There’s plenty more.
No one gets a Not Guilty Verdict after 4 or 5 days of deliberation- most of them are looking to hang him and one or two of the women Jurors are holding out, in my opinion.

bespoke
bespoke
October 25, 2022 5:35 pm

Bird strike?

Jorge
Jorge
October 25, 2022 5:36 pm

I am so fed up with the Liberals in VIC that in the coming election I’ll vote Teal or Labor. I think the Libs as they currently exist have to be Hu Jin Taoed.

Ed Case
Ed Case
October 25, 2022 5:36 pm

I’m sure she looked and sounded convincing in court, but that isn’t where witness credibility starts and ends.

Are you serious?
Defence lawyers get a lotta leeway from Judges in a case like this.
If it was possible to destroy Higgins on the stand, Bruce’s guy woulda done it.

Oh come on
Oh come on
October 25, 2022 5:38 pm

I think the dude was ill. What’s the point of exiting him out of there when the more dramatic thing would have been not have him attend and leave an empty chair there. The dude looked yellow as in sick – not yellow as in Chinese. Chinese don’t like in your face drama.

Agree. If there was beef between Hu and Xi that was serious enough to cause Hu to act in the way he did, it seems spectacularly unlikely they would be allowed within a mile of each other at such a carefully stage-managed event – let alone be allowed to sit next to each other. Or is the theory that Hu decided to go rogue for some reason? That seems ridiculous.

duncanm
duncanm
October 25, 2022 5:38 pm

Ed Casesays:
October 25, 2022 at 5:32 pm

none of the dribble you’ve listed has anything to do with sexual intercourse

John H.
John H.
October 25, 2022 5:41 pm

bonssays:
October 25, 2022 at 4:47 pm
Yes, there is a path, hopefully. However, I am not sure that I have adequate morale to rejoin my local branch and be sneered at again by the McGrath headquarters clique cronies.
I retain my belief that reform will have to emerge from the Bush.

Joining the coalition will just see most ostracized because the power players there are deeply entrenched. Newcomers are scrutinized and assigned their place in the pecking order. If you don’t conform you stay at the bottom. Reforming from the inside is a pipe dream, the only exception is where the reformers have a power base. Better to start again but not like the disastrous Palmer Kelly fiasco. The National Party would be a possibility except it is married to the Liberals.

Lysander
Lysander
October 25, 2022 5:42 pm

in my opinion.

And who cares scrollable Ed.

Bruce
Bruce
October 25, 2022 5:43 pm

Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.

Harry S Truman

And this is the bloke who approved the nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Lysander
Lysander
October 25, 2022 5:43 pm

The National Party would be a possibility except it is married to the Liberals.

The Nats have green in their party colours for a reason.

Johnny Rotten
October 25, 2022 5:45 pm

Energy Rationing Arrives in America

From Armstrong Economics –

“Numerous European nations have already stated that energy would be rationed during the winter. The Northeast area of America will now be required to ration energy as well. Biden released 15 million barrels from the emergency reserves to aid the Democrats in the 2022 US midterm elections. He did not provide any oil to the Northeast home heating oil reserve that is currently experiencing a shortage.

Bloomberg reported that some wholesalers in Connecticut have already put a limit on the amount of available fuel and must ration their customers’ consumption. Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage is urging the current Democratic Gov. Janet Mills to beg Washington for assistance before it is too late.

“Today, just about an hour ago, we got information from a local oil dealer… oil right now, tonight at five o’clock, is $5.69. Kerosene is $6.69 a gallon. This is what we’re facing right now,” LePage said. Republican state rep nominee Mike Grant called the current issue a crisis. “As we enter home heating oil season, diesel prices are nearing $6 per gallon. This is a nothing short of a crisis for CT families. To make things worse, in 72 days, the CT Dems will begin taxing home heating fuel trucks for delivering your oil to you. More inflationary pressure!” he tweeted.

That’s right, the Democrats want to implement additional taxes on fuel amid an energy crisis. Some families will simply be unable to heat their homes this winter. People will be forced to choose between warming their homes or filling their refrigerators. Our emergency reserves are being used as a voting bargaining chip instead of for their intended purpose. Americans will soon see the full effect of the energy crisis AFTER the midterm elections when these ignored issues come to a head.”

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/markets-by-sector/energy/energy-rationing-arrives-in-america/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS

Johnny Rotten
October 25, 2022 5:48 pm

And this is the bloke who approved the nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

It stopped the War with Japan and had the Soviets thinking a little bit………………………………

Ed Case
Ed Case
October 25, 2022 5:51 pm

If Thorpe plans to tough it out Sarah Hyphen-SeaPatrol will have to lean on her so Bandt is not seen as the impotent soy boy he is.

Nup.
Labor/Green have closed ranks around Thorpey to prevent the perception that Peter Dutton had a win.
Very poor decision, Albanese, Bandt, and eventually, The Teals are hostages to Thorpey, Deano, and whatever Intelligence gets leaked to Dutton.

Lysander
Lysander
October 25, 2022 5:52 pm

When I encounter Leftards who argue with me that Israel should stop meddling in West Bank and Gaza, I wholeheartedly agree with them. So they’re usually happy.

But I add, “yes they should stop meddling in just those areas and seek further expansion into Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Egypt! Then they’re not so happy.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
October 25, 2022 5:53 pm

It stopped the War with Japan and had the Soviets thinking a little bit

Had World War Two lasted until the middle of 1947, as the Americans believed it would, anywhere between ten and fifteen million Japanese civilians would have died from starvation or disease.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
October 25, 2022 5:53 pm

Mr Rotten.

Shit house is proper English.

As in … “that was a shithouse Dad joke”?

Lysander
Lysander
October 25, 2022 5:54 pm

People will be forced to choose between warming their homes or filling their refrigerators

But I hear fentanyl is cheap given oversupply.

H B Bear
H B Bear
October 25, 2022 5:56 pm

Nup

Thanks Groogs. That is a ringing endorsement.

Razey
Razey
October 25, 2022 5:58 pm

And this is the bloke who approved the nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

It stopped the War with Japan and had the Soviets thinking a little bit

Wrong.

Japan surrendered only because they were shit scared of Soviet invasion.

JC
JC
October 25, 2022 5:59 pm

There’s not going to be rationing in the North East. If there was, we/ I would have heard about it. No one is going to go without heating oil or gas unless they can’t afford it. You cannot heat your home/apartment in the north eastern winter because the pipes could crack from the cold.
“Rationing” likely means folks won’t be able to panic stockpile.

If there was going to be rationing, I would have heard of it by now from our building superintendent. It’s bullshit.

Rotten, stick to rotten jokes.

m0nty
m0nty
October 25, 2022 5:59 pm

Buckley Carlson LOL.

Razey
Razey
October 25, 2022 6:02 pm

Oh come onsays:
October 25, 2022 at 5:38 pm
I think the dude was ill. What’s the point of exiting him out of there when the more dramatic thing would have been not have him attend and leave an empty chair there. The dude looked yellow as in sick – not yellow as in Chinese. Chinese don’t like in your face drama.

Agree. If there was beef between Hu and Xi that was serious enough to cause Hu to act in the way he did, it seems spectacularly unlikely they would be allowed within a mile of each other at such a carefully stage-managed event – let alone be allowed to sit next to each other. Or is the theory that Hu decided to go rogue for some reason? That seems ridiculous.

Pretty simple to work out what happened.

Senile Old Hu shit his pants and didn’t realise it. So Xi wanted him outta there.

Indolent
Indolent
October 25, 2022 6:02 pm
Ed Case
Ed Case
October 25, 2022 6:05 pm

While we’re still talking about Thorpey, has she ever been spotted wearing a dress with lines in it?

JC
JC
October 25, 2022 6:06 pm

On 22 Aug Henry Hub natural gas, which is the important US price marker for the American gas market reached 10 bucks MMBtu. As of this second, it’s trading at US$5.19. There’s no current shortage if natural gas in the US. It’s bullshit. Armstrong economics isn’t trustworthy.

Ed Case
Ed Case
October 25, 2022 6:06 pm

Is Rotten a Spook?

JC
JC
October 25, 2022 6:07 pm

Ed Case says:
October 25, 2022 at 6:06 pm

Is Rotten a Spook?

Possibly a flamer too.

Indolent
Indolent
October 25, 2022 6:08 pm
calli
calli
October 25, 2022 6:08 pm

Whichever way the Lehrman/Higgins verdict goes, there will always be a taint of browbeating jurors hanging around the verdict.

Five days of deliberations is enough to suggest “reasonable doubt” to all but the most rabid partisan. The judge is clearly waiting for a decision that’s acceptable, so has made herself part of the bullying process.

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