1,634 thoughts on “Open Thread – Weekend 4 Feb 2023”
Areff, I think Jim Cairns did the market circuit – Prahran, Camberwell, South Melbourne.
I distinctly remember it, because he was parked on the Eastern side, not far from the dimmie stall on a Sunday. People were interested in getting a hangover curing dimmie, talking about yesterday’s footy or waiting to snap up a tray of something cheap just before closing.
Not much time for Jim’s tired politics.
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And top ‘o de page to yez all.
OldOzziesays:
February 5, 2023 at 1:21 pm
dopey says:
February 5, 2023 at 12:11 pm
The aborigines never seeded their land….but Bruce Pascoe saw them doing just that, surely.
Page 21 & Page 35 – Native Tribes of Central Australia
Spencer, Baldwin, Sir (1860-1929)
Gillen, Francis James (1856-1912)
Thanks for that. Haven’t seen that one. Once again the point is: 3rd nations were some of the toughest hunters & gatherers ever; but so what. Why does that entitle them to anything other than the enormous benefits Western democracy gives them?
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The aborigines never seeded their land….but Bruce Pascoe saw them doing just that, surely.
There may have been an isolated example or two – but I doubt it. They were “hunters and gatherers”, & the attempt to portray them as “farmers” requires acrobatics in semantics. I simply don’t think there is solid evidence for the planting of “yams”. Sure, they did construct elaborate fish traps in Brewarrina, but other examples are fairly basic. We believe we may have the remains of one in our creek, which was possibly added to by early settlers.
I suppose, again with some acrobatics, you could argue that “cool burns” facilitated easier killing of kangaroos. But again, it is a stretch to call it “farming.”
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duncanmsays:
February 5, 2023 at 1:07 pm
Getting the surface clean is the hardest part.
fortunately, Sika sticks like shit to the proverbial blanket.
Unless I really have to, I don’t use anything which isn’t water soluble.
Quickly grabbed a tube of silicone for a job a couple of weeks ago and only realised after it started to go tacky on my hands that it wasn’t water clean up. By this stage I had the stuff everywhere.
Same with paint.
Putting rust protection, primer and two coats of paint on wrought iron. All thinners/oil based. Bought a box of $3 brushes from Bunnings. As soon as I finished a coat or the brush got tacky, straight in the bin.
2
Eric, my pants just exploded, Swalwell and Fang Fang:
Hugo Soto-Martinez, a trade union activist and member of the Democratic Socialist party,
Just like when “Democratic” appears in a nation’s name, when you see the word “Democratic” up in lights you can safely assume it is anything but.
6
Following the RC into ROBODEBT and what sticks out is the end result of what can happen when folk who have ever worked in the “real” world are put in charge of things ..
these folk are professional ‘troughers” AKA politicians .. they’ve grifted their way thru various political & union positions until squirming into Parliament and slithering into the big bucks of a ministry job ….. for most it isn’t a problem as professional public serpents do the “nuts & bolts” backroom shenanigans that makes them look proficient and worth their, lazy, $half million + freebies a year …!
But, occasionally, things don’t work out and the political “hacks” are left exposed as has happened with ROBODEBT .. introduced without the proper checks & balances, probably, because some PS figured , “We is only targetting welfare folk and who cares if we get it, slightly, wrong .. the “wukka” will only say .. serves ‘em right sooo let ‘er roll and furgulate the consequences .. And besides BRADBURY wants a WIN”! ..
1st off we have Christian Porter a man who comes across as considering the average ‘wukka” in the same way he does getting something nasty on his shoe and needing cleaning yet was appointed Minister for Social Services a position overseeing the “welfare” system and folk, welfare recipients, who he wouldn’t dream of socializing with or even understanding .. ROBODEBT to him was just another instruction that he was happy to have overseen by an underling ministry (Human Services) .. a joke of a name for an organization that shows little humanity and expects recipients to jump thru hoops to qualify for it’s services ..
Human Services was being run by Alan Tudge, who’s main claim to fame was being a “yes” man and ‘tonguing” BRADBURY, at every opportunity, had eventually secured a ministerial position tho for him the elevation not only meant more money but allowed him to indulge himself with the “hired’ help and for a trougher with the personality of a “cardboard cut-out” this was nirvana!
For those victims of ROBODEBT it was fast becoming a nightmare ,, Porter”s attitude to the small folk was, “Let them eat cake” whilst Tudge was too busy dallying so left it all to his senior public serpents, folk who were more interested in their careers and promotion than ensuring the legality and honesty of ROBODEBT and had no intention of disagreeing or querying the “boss” to the detriment of their careers ….
And so ROBODEBT completely out of control was barrelling along the track destroying and in some cases ending ordinary folks lives whilst those in the engine room had a panel full of green lights and the blessing of BRADBURY for doing a good job!
To put ROBODEBT into perspective it was a scheme designed to detect fraud in welfare payments using computer programming .. it was hounding folk for, perceived, debts from $10 thru to $umpteen thousands without a, genuine, appeals system in place ….
They (PS) say it raked in about $3 000 000 out of $10 000 000 it identified over several years .. Unfortunately, most of the “raked in” was unproven .. yet many welfare recipients suffered undue hardship, anxiety & death because of this “illegal” money gathering ..
In contrast Christian Porter quit politics and walked away with his multi million dollar pension and being a magnanimous sort of fellow has since, actually, admitted he got it wrong ..
Soo brave of him .. no punishment or anxiety for Christian … just “sorry” .. sarc!
Then we has Tudge .. still sitting in Parliament, still “troughing” tho as a backbencher in Opposition .. drawing $210K + freebies despite the fact that the taxpayer had to cough-up $650 000 to compensate his work-place dalliance ..
The main public serpent involved has since been promoted into a different dept and is now copping around $ 900 000 a year for not using due diligence cos it might have upset the “minister” and her career!
Eventually we’ll get a result from the multi-million dollar cost of the Royal Commission but you can guarantee other than some harsh words and maybe a coupla “naughty corner” public serpents that’ll be the end of it ………!
And anyone who sez CRIME DOESN’T PAY has never worked in the Public Service!
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‘Strong dissatisfaction’: China’s fury over US shooting down balloon
By ADAM CREIGHTON
Beijing has blasted the Pentagon’s decision to shoot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon spotted flying over North America, accusing the United States of “clearly overreacting and seriously violating international practice”.
“China expresses strong dissatisfaction and protests against the use of force by the United States to attack the unmanned civilian airship,” Beijing’s foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that it would “reserve the right to make further necessary responses”.
China mounted “the largest intelligence operation in the history of the human race” against the US and Australia, a former top US intelligence official has warned, as the US military shot down a Chinese spy balloon as it neared the Atlantic coast above the Carolinas.
A missile from a US fighter jet shot down the Chinese spy balloon, about the size and weight of three school buses, above Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Saturday afternoon (Sunday morning AEDT), ahead of attempts to salvage what’s left of the device from the ocean.
The debris fell in relatively shallow water about 14 metres deep and was spread out over at least 11 kilometres, according to defence officials.
“I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible,” President Joe Biden said after landing in Maryland on Saturday (Sunday AEDT). “I want to compliment our aviators that did it”.
Defence secretary Lloyd Austin in a separate statement said the authorities had waited until the balloon was over ocean before shooting it down to avoid “undue risk to people across a wide area”, and thanked Canadian authorities for their help in tracking the balloon.
“Today’s deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the safety and security of the American people first while responding effectively to the PRC’s unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Mr Austin said in a statement.
Douglas Wise, a former Deputy Director of the US Defence Intelligence Agency, told The Australian China already sees itself “at war” with the US and Australia even if we don’t, dismissing Beijing’s claim the balloon was a civilian weather aircraft that had drifted off course.
“What they did with the balloon is provocative, [the risk of being found out] is not worth the intel value, there has to be other value to it,” Mr Wise speculated, suggesting the Chinese could have been testing “a potential weapons delivery or advanced sensor systems”.
US authorities shut down airports and the airspace above North and South Carolina on Saturday (Sunday AEDT), where the balloon, which authorities had determined to be “manoeuvrable”, had travelled, fuelling speculation the US was intending to shoot it down.
“We‘re going to take care of it,” Mr Biden had earlier told reporters on Saturday when he landed in New York, without providing any further detail.
When it was first observed floating around 18 kilometres above Montana – near where the US maintains intercontinental ballistic missile operations – the Pentagon dissuaded President Biden from ordering the balloon, for fear of potential losses to life and property on the ground.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned trip to China on Friday (Saturday AEDT), telling Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi the incident was “a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law”.
Mr Blinken’s trip, where he was due to meet President Xi Jinping to discuss a wide variety of matters including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, would have been the first trip by a secretary of state to China since 2018, and part of an attempt to improve relations between the two superpowers who have fallen out of a range of political and economic issues.
“China’s decision to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have,” Mr Blinken, who also said he still intends to visit China “when conditions allow”, said at a news conference on Friday afternoon.
Mr Wise, who spent decades in the CIA and DIA before retiring in 2016 said Australia “should be seriously concerned [about China’s intelligence gathering efforts]”.
“Given the scale, intensity, and magnitude of the Chinese intelligence operation against Australia and the United States, we must be extra vigilant and work as hard as we can to penetrate and gain insight and into the details of that,” he said.
“The Chinese have patience, that is unlimited… they are dangerous because they don‘t have accountability and they don’t operate under rule of law or a moral frame of reference”.
Deputy prime minister Richard Marles, speaking on Friday (Saturday AEDT) to reporters in Washington after news of the balloon broke, said it had “raised a lot of questions”. “And we’ll await the answers to those questions from China,“ he added.
. US Navy and Coast Guard vessels are securing the perimeter off the coast of South Carolina where a fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon . A proper salvage vessel, however, won’t be on the scene for days, officials said
. They added that the downed balloon had a debris field of seven-miles wide and fell into waters of about 47 feet deep
1
Re the polio vaccines: the Salk Vaccine used the traditional method which killed the virus before making the vaccine. The Sabin Oral vaccine is regarded as superior because it can be left at 37 degrees for two days, requiring less refrigeration, which makes it easier to administer in the third world. It is also more effective. However, the Sabin vaccine contains a live virus, which has been ‘attenuated’ to make it basically inactive in humans. Regrettably, and rarely, sometimes it does activate in a vaccinated individual, and sometimes it can transfer the attenuated virus from the vaccinated to other individuals.
Vaccinating against polio has saved countless thousands of lives, and saved so much horrible ongoing cruelty and distress for the lives of poliio-affected children that not vaccinating is a risk most parents would not wish to take. The anti-US and anti-Polio vaxx campaigns by some Mullahs in Pakistan has seen a rise in polio deaths and morbidity amongst children there, as well as the slaughter of health workers giving the vaccinations. Not something I’d endorse.
Couple of
90% of ‘trans’ kids end up accepting their body as-is by 18.
80% of ‘trans’ kids end up being gay
So if you mutilate kids, what does that mean for the gay lobby?
and the ‘devouring mother’.
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Old Jim Cairns used to set out his little table at Monash University.
Absolutely apropos for the situation spinning in the turbine industry, only they didn’t back into it by mistake – they ran into it full tilt, with their corporate hands out. Now the entire industry is hitting headwinds they hadn’t counted on and it could spell disaster.
The European wind industry has warned of continued difficulties in 2023 as high materials costs and slow approvals for new wind power projects drag back profitability, despite rising demand for renewable energy.
…The effects of the Russian war on Ukraine drove up prices for energy and important raw materials such as steel last year, creating a perfect storm for the European wind sector.
Despite escalating demand from governments and customers for renewable energy as a result of the energy crisis, the slow EU and UK approval processes have created a backlog of projects and delayed new turbine orders.
German manufacturer Siemens Gamesa, one of the premier turbine providers in the renewables game, reported an almost billion-dollar loss for the Oct-Dec quarter of last year! So guess what they want?
Global green energy company Siemens Gamesa reported Thursday that it had lost a staggering $967 million during the three-month period from between October to December.
The Germany-based company, which dubs itself as “the global leader in offshore power generation,” noted the wind industry has faced various unfavorable pressures leading to negative growth in recent months and years, in its earnings report for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 released Thursday morning. The company added that governments would need to further assist the industry to ensure future positive growth.
If you guessed “a bailout,” you’re right!
What isn’t in that report was another season for the disastrous returns – they make a crappy product? Their loss doubled because of warranty claim payouts.
Beleaguered wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa (SGREN.MC), soon to be delisted and folded into parent Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE), said on Thursday its first-quarter net loss more than doubled on higher warranty provisions as a result of faulty components.
…The company last month flagged increased failure rates of unspecified components of its installed onshore and offshore wind turbines, triggering higher warranty provisions that have also plagued Danish rival Vestas (VWS.CO).
“The negative development in our service business underscores that we have much work ahead of us to stabilize our business and return to profitability,” said Siemens Gamesa Chief Executive Jochen Eickholt, who joined from Siemens Energy last year.
It sounds like the Danish company Vestas isn’t exactly a sterling production model either. Their warranty claims exceeded their revenue target (am I reading that right?)? Disaster
Disaster.
Here in the U.S., General Electric was humming along in its financials except…*sad trombone*…when it got to their turbine business. Ooo, they took a hit, too. Really fugly numbers.
…The company’s renewable energy business has been facing challenges due to inflation and supply chain pressures. The unit reported a loss of $2.2 billion in 2022.
GE is reducing global headcount at the onshore wind unit by about 20% as part of a plan to restructure and resize the business.
What a surprise. Look who GE is counting on to save the windy day! Tax credit bailout.
…Culp said the onshore business is expected to get a boost following the restoration of the tax credit for wind projects.
It’s not just manufacturing, although their woes are feeding into these problems. Offshore wind projects that were touted as saving the world just a few months ago are on shaky pedestals. The company that is fighting off accusations of whale killing for the prep work going on off the New Jersey coast has just taken a massive write-off on a project underway in the waters off New York state.
…Denmark’s Orsted (ORSTED.CO), the world’s No. 1 offshore wind farm developer, late on Thursday announced a writedown on a large U.S. offshore wind project and an earnings forecast for 2023 that fell short of analyst estimates.
…Orsted shares tumbled by more than 7% on Friday after it announced a 2.5 billion Danish crown ($366 million) writedown on its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York, citing changes to its earnings projections.
It said earnings at the prices it had agreed for the project – due to become fully operational in 2025 – will be squeezed by significant inflationary pressures and higher interest rates now faced across the sector.
In an interesting turn of events in New Hampshire, a company contracted with the state for an offshore wind farm is embroiled in a major tussle with the state’s department of utilities. Avangrid has told the state they can’t afford to move forward, so “we’re not building it anymore.”
The state says differently.
Renewables have had plenty of time and bazillions of tax dollars already to stand on their own. We are all dealing the same inflationary pressures and Ukraine, etc – they aren’t suffering any industry peculiar hardships other than the fraud the “Green” industry is founded on.
Time to kick those tax training wheels out from under these bad boys and see how they twirl.
PS Disaster
My Daddy, after being summarily booted from the Marine Corps in their post-Korean War downsizing, went on to fly for Eastern Air Lines for 30-plus years. He was the loveliest person, a natural in the cockpit (soloing in an Indiana cornfield at the age of 12), and dearly loved truly awful puns. “Wind turbines” reminded me of one of his most excruciating funnies and the first time he sprung it on us:
Daddy: There was a horrible accident at work – a stewardess backed into a turning propeller!
Family: OMG! How is she?!
Daddy: DISASTER
*laughs uproariously*
GROAN Still cracks me up.
5
Albanese accuses Voice critics of trying to start a culture war.
Right.
This is the sort of crap you get after allowing the left to pretend to be legitimate participants in government.
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This is the sort of crap you get after allowing the left to pretend to be legitimate participants in government.
I just see the Albanese Government as being an action reply of the Whitlam fiasco.
7
That’s as bad as:
Person One “Didi you hear about that actress getting stabbed … Reece …”
Person Two “Witherspoon?”
Person One “No, with a knife of course!”
6
Jim Cairns became a pathetic old hippie. I saw him at a rock concert I attended in the Canberra region in the late seventies. He was a sad and deluded and rather broken aging man. Years later Junie was still breast-feeding their six year old son, as I recall.
4
Boambee John says:
February 5, 2023 at 1:21 pm
re Gray Connolly tweet Buried lede from the former French CJ: “As to litigation, there is always the possibility that someone, someday will want to litigate matters relating to the Voice.”
Wasn’t French on the Native Title Tribunal before going to the High Court?
Yes. Chairman of the National Native Title Tribunal (1994–1998).
Also
No scope for Voice litigation: ex chief justice afr.com –
Michael Pelly – Legal editor
Albanese accuses Voice critics of trying to start a culture war.
Right.
The people who are critics were content with the status quo (at least as far as Voices go) and the voice advocates are the ones who have set them as lives against the status quo.
So, Albo is saying the people who have done nothing have ‘declared war’, and the people who have launched a campaign are the hapless peaceable victims of an attack.
Damn he is stupid, and he has gathered around himself a stupid army in case occasionally his own stupidity is not enough.
15
Jimmy was well liked amongst the Labor Rank & File.
Went one vote short of ousting Whitlam in 1968.
Might have made a good P.M., but, alas, the lure of the bearded clam did him in, courtesy The Spooks.
He did foresee Q.E., though, but printing money to get outtava hole was a No/No in those days.
1
Lizzie @ 2:47…..
Years later Junie was still breast-feeding their six year old son, as I recall.
Correct – regularly seen at shops in Kambah Village with a fully grown kid hanging off the saggy dugs.
The kid probably I expect grew to a man with a tit fetish.
Ed Casesays:
February 5, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Damn he is stupid, and he has gathered around himself a stupid army in case occasionally his own stupidity is not enough.
Hang on a flash?
Are you saying that FECCA is leading an Army of Stupids?
Not very Multicultural of you.
FECCA orf Richard Cranium.
3
It seems like Tennis Albo’s latest pitch is “Da Voice won’t do nafink”.
Which will enrage the Lidia Thorpe revolutionaries.
New research has revealed that the process of ‘peopling’ the entire continent of Sahul—the combined mega continent that joined Australia with New Guinea when sea levels were much lower than today—took 10,000 years.
…
The ancestors of Aboriginal people likely first entered the continent 75,000–50,000 years ago from what is today the island of Timor, followed by later migrations through the western regions of New Guinea.
I’d only quickly scanned the article as I’m not that interested in this area, but I’ve put it up for those Cats who may want to read it more closely.
4
It seems like Tennis Albo’s latest pitch is “Da Voice won’t do nafink”
Remember love is love? No real big changes they said.
Then came the LGBTQI+ onslaught
8
Robert Sewellsays:
February 5, 2023 at 9:56 am
RS,I knew you knew but stating the obvious has always been my weakness, I put it down to myopia.
Remapping the superhighways traveled by the first Australians reveals a 10,000-year journey through the continent (Phys.org, 3 Feb)
New research has revealed that the process of ‘peopling’ the entire continent of Sahul—the combined mega continent that joined Australia with New Guinea when sea levels were much lower than today—took 10,000 years.
…
The ancestors of Aboriginal people likely first entered the continent 75,000–50,000 years ago from what is today the island of Timor, followed by later migrations through the western regions of New Guinea.
The definitive study on when the the first peoples came to Australia is here:
The Mega Fauna extinction by humans commenced about 47000 years ago. The extinction of that Genus is the biggest man made extinction. Of course there may have been humans before then but they would have been latte sipping vegans of the pascoe variety.
10
Okay, here’s some of the answers I was looking for last evening.
A thought provoking essay by Robert Kagan on the likelihood of China believing it can defeat the West led by the USA.
Challenging the U.S. Is a Historic Mistake
Like Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, today’s China is a rising power determined to dominate its region and convinced that American strength is waning. It runs the risk of experiencing a similar fate if it attacks Taiwan.
Chinese foreign policy under Xi Jinping rests on certain basic assumptions: that in a just world, China should be hegemonic in East Asia, the center of a system in which the other regional powers pay their respect and take direction from China, as was the case for two millennia prior to the 19th century; that regions once considered by Beijing to have been part of China should be “reunified” with it; and that a revived China should have at least an equal say in setting the norms and rules of international life. These goals are achievable, Mr. Xi asserts, because the world is undergoing “great changes unseen in a century,” namely, the “great rejuvenation” of Chinese power and the decline of American power. “Time and momentum are on our side,” according to Mr. Xi.
There is no denying that China has acquired substantial global power and influence in recent decades. Even if this is “peak China,” as some suggest, it is already East Asia’s economic hegemon and, were it not for the U.S., would likely become the region’s political and military hegemon as well (though perhaps not without a conflict with Japan). Left to itself, a modernizing China could one day dominate its neighbors much as a unified, modernizing Germany once dominated Europe and a modernizing Japan once dominated China and the rest of East Asia. Those powers also believed that “time and momentum” were on their side, and in many respects they were right.
Yet those examples should give Chinese leaders pause, for both Japan and Germany, while accomplishing amazing feats of rapid expansion for brief periods of time, ultimately failed in their ambitions for regional hegemony. They underestimated both the actual and potential power of the U.S. They failed to understand that the emergence of the U.S. as a great power at the beginning of the 20th century had so transformed international circumstances that longstanding ambitions of regional hegemony were no longer achievable. At this moment of high tension over Taiwan and the Chinese spy balloon detected this week over the U.S., Xi Jinping runs the risk of making the same historic mistake.
The world entered a new phase when the U.S. emerged as a great power at the beginning of the 20th century. As Theodore Roosevelt observed in 1900, the U.S., due to its “strength and geographical situation,” had become “more and more the balance of power of the whole globe.” This was no metaphor. As Germany discovered in World War I, the U.S. could determine the outcome of any major regional conflict by bringing its vast wealth, population and productive capacity to bear on one side or the other. Although the Germans correctly calculated their military and economic superiority over their neighbors, the additional millions of fresh American troops and billions of American dollars’ worth of supplies quickly made their situation untenable. As one top German general put it, “We cannot fight the whole world.”
In World War II, Germany and Japan may have correctly judged their chances of success against their regional opponents. By early 1942, well over half the planet’s productive capacity was under the control of the Axis powers—Germany, Japan and Italy. Yet even then the entry of the U.S. into the war marked the beginning of the end for all three powers and their regimes. As an exasperated Hitler observed, the Americans and British together had “the world at their disposal.” In addition to America’s size, wealth and productive capacity, it enjoyed something close to invulnerability from foreign invasion. Hitler once remarked that Germany had as much a chance of conquering America as America had of conquering the moon, and he admitted soon after the U.S. entered the war that he had no idea how to defeat it.
Victims of aggression, especially those with liberal regimes, came to expect sympathy and eventual support from America. The problem was not just America’s power and relative invulnerability. Prior to the emergence of the U.S., regional hegemons could generally count on their weaker neighbors to accommodate their rising power. But the arrival of the U.S. as a power with global influence at the start of the 20th century changed the equation. Would-be victims of aggression, especially those with liberal regimes, came to expect sympathy and eventual support from liberal America. As Winston Churchill put it after Dunkirk, the British would fight on until “in God’s own time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”
The expectation of eventual American support proved a critical factor in Europe before and during World War II. As Hitler remarked ruefully to his generals in January 1941, hope for America’s help “keeps Britain going.” In 1934, Tokyo blocked any further Western assistance to the Chinese, correctly believing that it discouraged the Chinese from accepting Japanese rule. Let Asia be for the Asians, was the Japanese slogan, which in practice meant letting Japan manage relations with its neighbors without American interference. Hitler, too, promised to leave “America for the Americans” if the U.S. would just leave “Europe for the Europeans,” which was to say, for Germany.
The critical role the U.S. played in the decision-making of others was best demonstrated over the course of the 1920s and ‘30s. For the first decade and a half after the end of World War I, as the U.S. stepped away from direct involvement in Europe, the European powers did indeed try to settle their own problems in the only way left to them—by accommodating the rising power and growing ambitions of Germany. America’s policy of deliberate disinterest—codified in the neutrality laws of the mid- and late-1930s—played a critical part in convincing Britain’s Neville Chamberlain to pursue appeasement. The agreement at Munich to give parts of Czechoslovakia to Germany was the result of a domino effect that began with the U.S.: The Czechs, though prepared to fight the Germans, could not do so without the support of Britain and France, but the British and French would not offer their support if they could not count on the U.S. to back them up.
Appeasement ended after 1938 not just because Hitler reneged and took the rest of Czechoslovakia but because it became clear to everyone that the Americans, led by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, were finally changing their minds about the importance of Europe. Even this flicker of hope was enough to make them resist. Hitler blamed the U.S. both for Poland’s rejection of his territorial demands in 1939 and for Britain and France’s decision to declare war after he invaded Poland that year.
In both world wars, the aggressors believed that the U.S. would not try to stop them.
America’s unpredictability itself posed a problem for would-be aggressors, for in each crisis the aspiring hegemonic powers badly misjudged both American capabilities and, perhaps more importantly, American intentions. In both world wars, the aggressors believed that the U.S. would not try to stop them and that, even if it did try, it lacked the wherewithal to make a difference in time.
Such miscalculations were understandable. The American military in both 1917 and after 1939 was not remotely prepared for industrial warfare on a global scale. In 1917 the Americans could not deploy more than 25,000 troops abroad for any length of time and lacked a navy capable of operating with effect in both the Pacific and the Atlantic theaters at the same time. In 1939 the Luftwaffe had 8,000 new aircraft; the U.S. Army Air Force had 1,700 mostly outdated planes. The German army had 2,000 new tanks; the U.S. had 325, many of World War I vintage. Meanwhile, the Imperial Japanese Navy had more and better warships than anything the Americans could put in Pacific waters, especially once the war in the Atlantic heated up.
Nor did the U.S. in 1939 possess the industrial plant required to boost weapons production quickly. Arms manufacturers, hounded by congressional investigations and starved of government contracts, had shut down production lines. Any significant buildup would require retooling factories and a transformation of the national economy that would take at least two years.
It was not just that the Americans were physically unprepared for war. They also insisted they would not, in fact, go to war. The neutrality legislation that barred the U.S. from even embargoing an aggressor persisted well into 1939. As late as 1941, Roosevelt was still promising not to send American soldiers overseas. It was clear to foreign observers like the Nazi leader Joseph Goebbels that, while Roosevelt might be prepared for war, the American public still wanted peace. “What is America but beauty queens, millionaires, stupid records and Hollywood?” Hitler remarked, while the great Japanese naval strategist, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, regarded the American people as “self-indulgent weaklings.”
Neither could imagine that the U.S. of 1939 would become the U.S. of 1942, producing weapons and materiel at a rate that defied all past experience. Between the summer of 1940 and the summer of 1945, American shipyards produced 141 aircraft carriers, eight battleships, 807 cruisers, destroyers, and destroyer escorts, and 203 submarines. American auto manufacturers and other industries converted their assembly lines to produce 88,410 tanks and self-propelled guns, 257,000 artillery pieces, 2.4 million trucks, 2.6 million machine guns and 41 billion rounds of ammunition. The budding American aviation industry eventually produced 170 aircraft per day for a total of 324,750 over the course of the war.
And who could have anticipated the furious blood lust that seized Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor? Walter Lippmann once observed that Americans were “too pacifist in time of peace and too bellicose in time of war.” The racially charged hatred for the “Japs,” compounded by the “infamy” of the attack on Pearl Harbor, turned a generally pacifist America into a bloody-minded America. The would-be hegemons of Europe and Asia, looking at the U.S. in peacetime, could not imagine the powerful fury of which Americans were capable in wartime.
Chinese leaders today may be making the same error as past aspiring hegemons. And China, for all its growing might, starts from a less formidable position. At their peak in 1941, the Axis powers had a combined GDP larger than that of the U.S. and only a little smaller than the combined GDP of the U.S. and Britain. Today the U.S. and its allies and partners (which includes most of Europe, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and others) produce over 50% of the world’s wealth, while China and Russia together produce a little over 20%.
The Chinese military, though large and growing, also remains untested by battle. On paper Vladimir Putin’s military looked formidable—more formidable than China’s—yet its performance has not matched its reputation. Despite billions of rubles spent on modernization, Russian technology still lags behind that of the U.S. and its allies. Nor have Russia’s nuclear weapons been of any real use in this conflict, except as a bluff. One of the great myths today is that nuclear weapons have changed all military calculations, but as the conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated, conventional war involving nuclear powers is still very possible.
China has begun its drive for regional hegemony from a much weaker starting point than past would-be hegemons. China has also begun its drive for regional hegemony from a much weaker starting point than past would-be hegemons. By the time the U.S. began to rouse itself to deal with the German challenge in World War I or with the aggressions of Germany and Japan in World War II, those great powers had already acquired both military and economic hegemony in their respective regions. Even the Soviet Union started the Cold War with hegemony over half of Europe, though in the end it could not preserve it.
China, on the other hand, does not even control all the territory in the region it regards as its own: notably, Taiwan and some islands in the East and South China Seas. It is surrounded by powerful neighbors—an India that is about to surpass China in population; a Japan that has the third largest economy in the world and could become a powerful nuclear state overnight if it chose; a South Korea that wields substantial economic and military power; and, of course, Australia. All of these countries are fearful of China’s rising power and are either allied to the U.S. or look to it to help defend themselves.
Mr. Putin, facing similar obstacles in Europe, has discovered the resilience of the American-led system and his neighbors’ willingness to resist superior Russian power when protected by it. Would the people of Ukraine, for all their courage and heroism, still be fighting Russia today without the support of the U.S. and its allies? Or would they have had to accept their fate as the neighbor of a powerful, aspiring hegemon, as the Czechs did in 1938? Who knows how well the Czechs might have fared against an untested German military had they been given the minimal support they needed? And who knows what might have become of Hitler if he, like Mr. Putin, had failed to achieve a rapid success?
Beijing faces a parallel problem in Taiwan. For most of the past three decades governments in Beijing have hoped that the people of Taiwan would gradually yield and agree to unification with the mainland. Instead, the Taiwanese have been able to defy Chinese pressure because of the support and commitments they receive from the U.S. The Chinese are bitter about this. They believe that the “One China” policy, dating from the Nixon administration, was supposed to reduce American support for Taiwan to the point where the Taiwanese would feel they had to accept Beijing’s offer of union. Things have not turned out that way. Nazi Germany defeated France, the strongest land power in Europe at the time; China has not been able to compel a small, isolated island less than one-fiftieth its size to knuckle under.
That the Germans and Japanese achieved more, and by force, does not mean they were more inherently aggressive than the Chinese might be, or than Mr. Putin has proven himself to be. They found themselves in a temporarily permissive environment when the U.S. turned inward after World War I. China’s environment has not been as accommodating because of the strength of the American-led liberal world.
Even if the Chinese did succeed in forcing Taiwan to “reunite,” either by military assault or naval blockade, would China then be in a position to exercise hegemony across East Asia? Or might that be the beginning of the end for this Chinese regime? The attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent destruction of American forces in the Philippines and the western Pacific were astonishing victories over the U.S., but they were also the beginning of the end for Imperial Japan. Beijing may well be able to take Taiwan, and the U.S., typically slow to prepare and respond, may not be able to prevent it. But what then?
Perhaps Mr. Xi believes that the U.S., Japan and the other powers in the region will simply adjust to the new reality. Many Americans may now think the same. There would certainly be voices in the U.S. calling for restraint. But while an attack on Taiwan would not have the same effect on Americans as the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. is already very anxious about the threat of China, even when an attack on Taiwan is only prospective. It would be foolish for the Chinese to assume that such an attack would not prompt the American public to support a far more aggressive approach.
Whether the ensuing conflict is hot or cold, China would have to expect to face the full weight of the American-led liberal world order. Japan, which has already modified its pacifist constitution to allow greater military cooperation with the U.S., would likely militarize further and might even start producing nuclear weapons. India would become more concerned about China, as would all of China’s neighbors other than Russia. Even Europe is likely to view a Chinese act of aggression as yet another threat to the democratic order they are defending in Ukraine. And all will look to the U.S.
Xi may believe American power has declined dramatically, but as Putin has discovered, the contrary is true. Mr. Xi may believe American power has declined dramatically, but as Mr. Putin has discovered, the contrary is true. The ability of the American-led order to defend itself is far greater than it was in the first half of the 20th century. In 1917 and 1939, the U.S. had no overseas allies; today it has more than 50 allies and strategic partners across the globe. Prior to 1945, the U.S. had no significant overseas military presence outside the Western Hemisphere; now it has the world’s only true blue-water navy and military bases throughout the world. In the 1930s the American peacetime military was incapable of taking on other great powers; now it has a large, highly equipped and battle-tested force superior to all other militaries. And it exercises, with its rich allies, a remarkable degree of control over the global economy, with sanctions and other financial weapons that did not exist until the last three decades—as Mr. Putin has also discovered.
Is the U.S. still able to outproduce an adversary as it did in the two world wars and during the Cold War with the Soviet Union? We don’t know what a more fully mobilized 21st-century America would look like, but there is reason to think it would be formidable. This year the U.S. will spend less than 4% of its GDP on defense. That is a peacetime military budget and a comparatively low one. In Dwight Eisenhower’s last budget in 1960, the U.S. spent 9% of GDP on defense; in the Reagan years it spent just under 7%. If the U.S. spent 7% of GDP on the military today, it would amount to annual defense spending of almost $1.6 trillion, compared with the slightly over $800 billion it currently spends.
As for the technological competition, the Chinese have certainly kept up with and perhaps even rivaled the U.S. in some areas of weapons development. But would a U.S. fully geared for confrontation and possible war not be able to match China? Today, the technological superiority of American weaponry on the battlefield is evident in Ukraine. It’s possible that the Chinese could surpass the U.S. in innovation and development in an all-out, head-to-head competition, but it seems unlikely.
Are Americans as a people up to a major confrontation with another great power, whether in immediate conflict or a protracted Cold War-like struggle? It would be dangerous for a potential adversary to assume they are not. Whatever condition the American political system may be in, it is not appreciably worse than it was during the 1930s. That, too, was a deeply polarized America, including on the question of whether to intervene in the world’s conflicts. But once the U.S. found itself at war, dissent all but disappeared. If ever there could be a cure for American political polarization, a conflict with China would be it.
Can it possibly be worth it for Xi Jinping to bring on such a confrontation? Consider Mr. Putin’s attempt to conquer Ukraine. Even if Russia were to prevail—which looks increasingly unlikely—Ukraine’s neighbors would arm themselves to the teeth, the U.S. would increase its forward presence, and a new iron curtain would fall along the western borders of Ukraine. Mr. Putin’s overall objective of regaining Russian hegemony in eastern and central Europe would still be far off and likely unreachable. The U.S.-led liberal world order would still be intact and capable of blocking further Russian advances. Mr. Putin has made a very expensive investment for what in the best of circumstances must be a relatively small payout.
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would pose the same problems. Beijing might achieve a significant strategic victory, but it would come at the price of alarming the whole world, pushing American allies into a closer embrace with Washington and frightening the American public into an all-out effort to contain and weaken China.
China’s fundamental problem, after all, is not Taiwan’s continuing de facto independence. It is the unfavorable configuration of power in the world, of which Taiwan’s defiance is only a symptom. The Chinese will likely always chafe at the liberal global hegemony that American power sustains. They will be uncomfortable relying for the security of their shipping on the goodwill of the U.S. Navy. They will be unhappy having their historic ambitions frustrated. China is the latest “have not” great power. Like Germany and Japan in the years leading up to World War II, it wants vast wealth and power, a large sphere of influence, control of the seas and a seat at the head table setting the rules of international affairs.
But what Xi Jinping’s China wants and what it can have are two different things. China is succumbing to a common malady of rising powers—an inability to be satisfied with “good enough.” The unification of Germany in 1871 was analogous to China’s recovery and success during the reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping. The German-speaking population spread across central Europe had been weak and divided among its many small states and principalities. For Otto von Bismarck and his generation, unification was an immense, historic achievement. The Germany they created was big, rich and relatively secure—more so than at any time in the history of the German-speaking people.
Under Bismarck, Germany was a satisfied power, likely to become the hegemon of Europe simply by being the continent’s biggest economy and most populous nation. Indeed, he feared that any further German expansion or signs of ambition would lead the other European powers to gang up against it. His strategy was to balance Germany’s competitors against one another, and he was content to let Britain rule the seas and to preserve a rough balance of power in Europe with Russia and France.
The next generation of German leaders had greater ambitions, however, commensurate with their greater power. And they feared that they would be prevented from their fair share of global influence by Britain, France and Russia. Fear of being contained and denied drove Germany to precisely the end it most feared. As the historian Michael Geyer describes it, “a catastrophic nationalism” led Germans into a “real-life disaster in order to avoid mythical catastrophe.”
Japan pursued much the same tragic course. The Japanese had accomplished amazing feats by the end of the 19th century. From a position of near complete isolation, Japan emerged after the Meiji revolution in the late 19th century as the strongest power in East Asia, defeating China in 1895 and Russia a decade later. The old oligarchs of the day warned that it would be dangerous to seek more. As the respected Japanese statesman Ito Hirobumi put it in the late 1880s, “The high tree encounters strong wind.”
But younger generations of Japanese leaders were not satisfied. The Japan that emerged from World War I was stronger than ever but uncomfortably dependent on the two Anglo-Saxon powers. Many Japanese believed that their country could not keep up in the competition, win the respect it deserved and acquire the land it needed to expand unless it became an empire. Japan’s ambitions were not unreasonable for a rising power; it just turned out that those ambitions could not be accomplished without conflict with the U.S.
Modern Chinese thinking is not so different. China’s leadership sees further growth, power and expansion as necessary to its survival. They believe that the U.S. and other powers seeking to constrain China are bent on its destruction—or, more specifically, on the destruction of the Chinese Communist Party. The goal of the U.S. and its allies, Mr. Xi told a party conference early in his tenure, is “to vie with us for the battlefields of people’s hearts and for the masses, and in the end to overthrow the leadership of the CCP and China’s socialist system.”
Ideology is now also a major obstacle to China’s further “unification.” China’s crackdown on democratic institutions and forces in Hong Kong has greatly increased Taiwan’s hostility to the idea of One China, just as U.S. support encourages the Taiwanese to resist Beijing’s pressures. The two together are a disaster for Chinese ambitions.
Can Xi Jinping reconcile himself to these limits, to a world that will continue to be defined by the liberal hegemony of the U.S.?
The Japanese faced just this dilemma in 1941. By that point, leading Japanese military officials believed ultimate victory against the U.S. was unlikely. Yet the option of backing down and accepting “Little Japan” was too humiliating. It meant giving up the dream of a new Japanese-led Asian order. For Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, as for other Japanese leaders in 1940 and 1941, war was more honorable than accepting an American-imposed peace, even a losing war.
As Tojo put it, “Occasionally, one must conjure up enough courage, close one’s eyes and”—in the Japanese expression for taking the plunge—“jump off the platform of the Kiyomizu [temple].” Xi Jinping, too, may decide to take the leap. If so, he is likely to join Vladimir Putin, the Soviets, and the Axis leaders of World War II in bringing a tragedy upon his people and the world.
Mr. Kagan is the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Senior Fellow with the Project on International Order and Strategy at the Brookings Institution.
UKR: 157,000 KIA
RUS: 18,480 KIA
(another tidbit, it says 2,458 foreign fighters are dead)
People know my feelings on the numbers already so can take this as they like.
Baron of the Taiga
@baronitaigas
Long story short: the Ukraine number could be more or less bang on. I think the Russian one is undercounted, perhaps by as much as 25,000. Foreigners dead is almost impossible to estimate so I won’t try.
Of course, the paper could be lying, or the Israelis could be clueless.
Another estimate floating around.
6
I don’t know how many known aboriginal languages still exist here in Aus. Some sites state 10 are still spoken.
They do though seem to be able to find a word when they want to for renaming a place etc.
In my searches I’ve yet to find an aboriginal word for homosexual on the www.
6
Trailer FIXED I think – despite the wheel apparently spinning freely, binding, I backed off the brake adjuster and just did a 50km test run: both sides now running mid 20C range; 🙂
Will console self with ‘the bearing looked ok when i pulled it’
9
Mother Lode:
He’ll probably get it too, being a subgroup of a minority. In this house anyway.
1
I don’t know how many known aboriginal languages still exist here in Aus. Some sites state 10 are still spoken.
Anyway, Albo is a racial slur of Albanians, and it gets worserer from there on down.
Happy reading.
“In my searches I’ve yet to find an aboriginal word for homosexual on the www.”
Not quite words for homosexual but still it is a start.
Brotherboy and Sistergirl: Terms used by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to describe trans people. Brotherboy typically refers to masculine spirit people who may be assigned female at birth, Sistergirl typically refers to feminine spirit people who may be assigned male at birth.
Found here. Trannies are not traditional indigenous adornments so it must be new language.
CHAMPIONS FOR LGBTQIA+ YOUTH
Minus18 is Australia’s charity improving the lives of LGBTQIA+ youth
Nothing creepy going on with this place, nope; nothing creepy at all.
Brotherboy and Sistergirl: Terms used by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to describe trans people.
I suspect that this is an invention of the Alphabet People. From my experience “sister” – for example – is a term colloquially used by Aboriginal men for a woman or girl – but who is not a “sister” in our familial sense.
3
Anyway, Albo is a racial slur of Albanians, and it gets worserer from there on down.
Happy reading.
Crotchless is 3rd nations for antisemite.
3
I don’t know how many known aboriginal languages still exist here in Aus. Some sites state 10 are still spoken.
That would be an underestimate.
I can’t be absolutely certain – but I am fairly sure that more than 10 languages are still spoken in various communities. In colonial times, I think it was well over 300. Clan groups in fairly close geographical proximity not infrequently had difficulty in communication.
The proliferation of languages in early times makes a mockery of this “First Nations” nonsense.
8
Vickisays:
February 5, 2023 at 4:11 pm
Cheers. It is a very real threat driven by ideology not necessity.
Cat is 3rd Nations for Mr Sulu.
The proliferation of languages in early times makes a mockery of this “First Nations” nonsense.
How so?
Nations are distinguished by their own languages, right?
Vicki says:
February 5, 2023 at 4:11 pm
A thought provoking essay by Robert Kagan on the likelihood of China believing it can defeat the West led by the USA.
Challenging the U.S. Is a Historic Mistake
Vicki,
thanks for that, a compreshensive & interesting assessment
My only question in today’s America, is that its ethnic makeup has changed a lot from the 30s/40s. and would there still be the cohesion to fight?
4
Meow.
3
Years later Junie was still breast-feeding their six year old son, as I recall.
Decades ago, living in Bondi, I had a neighbour who breast-fed her daughter until the girl was about seven years old. The little girl had bad speech problems. I often wondered if these speech problems were caused by the fact she was being breast-fed years past an appropriate age.
There’s also a woman on a bus I catch, who last year in full view of everyone on the bus, whipped out her droopy breast for her daughter, who was about six years old and who was still being pushed in a pram, to suckle on. You could see everyone on the bus, myself included, grimace.
3
Mr. Kagan is the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Senior Fellow with the Project on International Order and Strategy at the Brookings Institution.
Yawn, 100 years ago Rah Rah Rah.
The people of the US today are no longer the people of their forefathers.
In the olden days, you could make tanks and planes in a repurposed railway workshop. Today? Any slipway large enough could build a submarine, or a destroyer. Today? How many slipyards are there big enough? Home hobbyists and small workshops with a lathe could make parts for weapons. Today?
I see no evidence the US is preparing itself for war in the same manner as it did in 1939 as per this talk on the preparation for war by the Chieftan. https://youtu.be/siG939PqkkY
4
Perhaps 65,000 yrs or whatever could not have been achieved with ‘freeloaders’, whether it be aged or those not contributing to the birth rate.
1
In my searches I’ve yet to find an aboriginal word for homosexual on the www.
Buma Buma, or, try that Chat GTP ‘thingy’ and see how you go………………….
3
Perhaps 65,000 yrs or whatever could not have been achieved with ‘freeloaders’, whether it be aged or those not contributing to the birth rate
The present Aborigines are of White European descent and haven’t been here 65,000 years or anything like that.
Before 1788, they weren’t exposed to Alcohol or Vaccines and that made a huge difference to their overall health, as the first explorers commented on their appearance.
Psays:
February 5, 2023 at 4:11 pm
I don’t know how many known aboriginal languages still exist here in Aus. Some sites state 10 are still spoken.
They do though seem to be able to find a word when they want to for renaming a place etc.
Given the absence of written records, a made-up word is quite adequate for such purposes.
5
Ed Casesays:
February 5, 2023 at 4:25 pm
Just found, by accident,
Suuuuuure it was “by accident”, we all believe you.
Incursions into territory and other dekiberate ongoing ‘provocations’ made by commumist nations are a feature not a bug when it comes to communism. Ask the South Koreans about this, as I’ve mentioned re our DMZ visit.
You could also ask the Israelis, for the left runs cover for Palestine re provocations too.
4
Pogriasays:
February 5, 2023 at 4:38 pm
I would be very happy if I received this bouquet for Valentines Day.
I see it is from the Boing-Boing shop.
1
Cassie
There’s one solution to avoiding those grimacing scenes. Avoid public transport at all costs in Australia. I have, and in fact, I have only taken a tram in the last 30 years. Never buses nor trains.
There’s also a woman on a bus I catch, who last year in full view of everyone on the bus, whipped out her droopy breast for her daughter, who was about six years old …
If they’re old enough to ask for it, they are too old for it.
4
“JCsays:
February 5, 2023 at 5:13 pm
Cassie
There’s one solution to avoiding those grimacing scenes. Avoid public transport at all costs in Australia. I have, and in fact, I have only taken a tram in the last 30 years. Never buses nor trains.”
LOL…you’re like my sister!
I don’t have a car so it makes sense to use public transport. I live in the inner-city.
I haven’t driven in years although I keep my license up to date. I wouldn’t mind doing some driving. Yesterday, my sister picked me up in her new Volvo and I suggested that perhaps I could drive it to my nephew and his wife’s new abode. The look I got back from my sister put paid to that idea.
8
Philip Pilkington
@philippilk
As a result of the sanctions, Russia’s economy is expected to grow faster than Germany. Everyone knows these policies have failed miserably. Can we stop pretending?
Bullshit. It may have grown, but we don’t know as the figures could be played with. But to suggest that living standards are rising with rising production is moronic nonsense when the Russians are on a war footing and producing war material as fast as they can.
Producing humungous amounts of bullets doesn’t do a thing to rise living standards.
The consumer is not better off considering the sanctions, etc. That’s all that really counts in a decent economic scenario, and the likely gouging going on from their southern ally would be huge and debilitating to the Russian consumer. Russian didn’t live by bread alone.
Oh dear. Plane’s delayed in Oz.
And I said the ‘f’ word about it so am in moderation. Hairy says it has now cleared the Torres Straits so it is on its way a/c to travel tracker.
2
There’s also a woman on a bus I catch, who last year in full view of everyone on the bus, whipped out her droopy breast for her daughter, who was about six years old …
Certain bogan princesses in this part of the world whip out a droopy tit to feed Junior, and any male who happens to glance in their general direction is branded a pervert…
3
ChatGPT
Question: number of aboriginal languages in australia
Response: There were approximately 250 indigenous languages in Australia prior to European settlement, but today many of these languages are endangered and only around 120 are still actively spoken.
Question: What are the 120 aboriginal languages still spoken actively today
Response: There is no exhaustive list of the 120 aboriginal languages that are still spoken actively in Australia today, but some of the more commonly known language groups include:
Warlpiri
Arrernte
Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY)
Tiwi
Pitjantjatjara
Yolngu
Bundjalung
Gamilaraay
Kala Lagaw Ya
Wangkangurru
Yankunytjatjara
It’s important to note that the list is not exhaustive and that the number of speakers for each language can vary greatly, with some having only a handful of speakers and others having thousands.
list all the commonly known aboriginal language groups
Here is a list of commonly known indigenous language groups in Australia:
In Australia there are more than 250 Indigenous languages including around 800 dialects. Languages are living things that connect people to Country, culture and ancestors.
In some areas like Arnhem Land, many different languages are spoken over a small area. In other areas, like the huge Western Desert, dialects of one language are spoken.
In the Torres Strait three main languages are spoken:
Kala Lagaw Ya is spoken on the western islands of Mabuiag and Badu.
Meriam Mir is spoken throughout the eastern islands of Erub (Darnley Island), Ugar (Stephen Island) and Mer (Murray Island).
Yumplatok, also known as Torres Strait Creole, is spoken in the Torres Strait and in some parts of Cape York Peninsula.
As of 2006 it was estimated that there were just over 200 Meriam Mir speakers.
Warlpiri is a central Australian language spoken primarily in the communities of Yuendumu, Lajamanu, Nyirripi and Willowra.
The 2006 Census recorded just over 2500 speakers, making it one of the most spoken languages in Australia in terms of number of speakers.
While languages may have been lying dormant they are never lost. By drawing on the memories of Elders and historical records, languages are being recovered and revitalised for future generations.
For almost a century, the Ngunnawal language had not been spoken fluently. Today the Ngaiyuriija Ngunawal Language Group, comprised of a number of Ngunawal family groups are revitalising their language, finding words thought lost, rediscovering language through journals, tapes and the few words held and shared by Elders.
In Port Headland, Western Australia, the Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre preserves, promotes and maintains around 31 Aboriginal languages across the Pilbara.
Today it holds a unique and diverse cultural collection including 5000 recordings of Pilbara languages in its archives.
For many years AIATSIS has been looking after Arthur Capell’s archive of more than 230 reels of language recordings. Among these are around 160 reels of recordings of non-Australian languages which AIATSIS has donated to the Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures.
‘Arthur Capell was a foundation member of our Council and his early work inspired our referencing system for Australian languages which is still used by linguists and collections staff today.’ — Russell Taylor, former AIATSIS CEO.
Preparation of this donation reminded me of an ongoing presence of Arthur Capell’s work at AIATSIS. Arthur Capell was a foundation member (1961-1968) of the Council of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS, now AIATSIS).
Among the significant contributions Capell made to the study of Australian languages was the introduction of language codes.
In his Linguistic Survey of Australia (1963), which Capell wrote for AIAS, he assigned a language code to each Australian language.
Each code consists of a letter and a number. The letter represents a region where the language is located. Australia is divided into eleven regions with each region represented by the first letter of the region name (Capell attributes David Moore for these divisions).
Arthur Capell’s language classification
Why was there need for language codes?
Australian languages were not written languages and it was only after the arrival of Europeans that people started writing down Australian languages. Since there was no standard orthography, different people (often with different language backgrounds) wrote the name of the same language in different ways.
Imagine saying a Japanese word to a group of people and asking them to write down what they have heard using the English alphabet. They will probably come up with different spellings, especially if each of them has a different language background.
To illustrate the variety of spellings that can be given to a language name see the section below on Yuwalaraay in Capell’s linguistic survey (more alternative spelling of this name can be found in Austlang).
Language codes are unique identifiers and are used to manage variations of spellings and names. AIATSIS adopted this referencing system but only the alphabets, not Capell’s own numbering. For example, the AIATSIS code for Yuwalaraay is D27, while Capell’s is D26.
These language codes are still in use by AIATSIS as a unique identifier in Austlang, a database of Australian languages.
Even today, many Australian language names do not have a standard spelling and there is no standard list of Australian languages. So don’t be surprised if you see the name of a language spelt differently, just think about which language code goes with it!
Why was there need for language codes?
Australian languages were not written languages and it was only after the arrival of Europeans that people started writing down Australian languages. Since there was no standard orthography, different people (often with different language backgrounds) wrote the name of the same language in different ways.
Imagine saying a Japanese word to a group of people and asking them to write down what they have heard using the English alphabet. They will probably come up with different spellings, especially if each of them has a different language background.
To illustrate the variety of spellings that can be given to a language name see the section below on Yuwalaraay in Capell’s linguistic survey (more alternative spelling of this name can be found in Austlang).
This is the Homer Paxton view of understanding and explaining economics. Years ago, that idiot Homer was peddling Keynesian economics, and of all the examples he raised, the daft moron brought up Nazi Germany in the 1930s. The idiot suggested that German GDP rose a lot from the time Hitler took over to just before the war.
It likely did so, but the production was forced and went directly towards stocking up on war material. And here’s the clincher, despite the increase in production, German living standards didn’t rise throughout this period. To some extent, the same thing applied to the US. Despite the mammoth increase in production during the war years. It was massive; American living standards did not rise until the late 1940s. The production significantly increased GDP… for the war effort, but did nothing to help consumers. War is and will always be economically destructive. This is all we need to keep in mind about this subject. Wars reduce living standards.
5
The numbe rof 251 languages is infinite! .. all you have to do is make one up like 90% of these plac enames no one else has ever heard before ..
Pascoe University has an entire 4 storey block for the languages dept. .. only qualification is to identify yourself as at least a 1024th .. Luigi funds it all via the one universal 251 word .. CentreLink ..
2
There’s also a woman on a bus I catch, who last year in full view of everyone on the bus, whipped out her droopy breast for her daughter, who was about six years old …
Times like that, you say to yourself, is this reality?
The result is degenerate weebs like Mike Rowe. (47 second clip of him on late night shopping network with a very strange segue…)
The look I got back from my sister put paid to that idea.
Does this hint at there being more to the story about your not currently driving?
2
Cassie
With one exception. Catching a ferry in Sydney is wonderful outside peak hour. 🙂
Brotherboy and Sistergirl: Terms used by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to describe trans people.
No it isn’t. Complete nonsense.
9
Ed Casesays:
February 5, 2023 at 4:25 pm
Just found, by accident, The Racial Slur Database.
these are making me LoL.
1
This line they’re running now with the Voice, that it’s ‘above politics’ is what lefties/ liberals always say when they want to silence their opponents by making them fear that opposing it is beyond the pale. However, it’s also curious that the people that argue that the ‘personal is political’ will here argue that X or Y is above or beyond politics. These people are third-rate hucksters. Frauds.
22
dover0beachsays:
February 5, 2023 at 5:07 pm
Philip Pilkington
@philippilk
As a result of the sanctions, Russia’s economy is expected to grow faster than Germany. Everyone knows these policies have failed miserably. Can we stop pretending?
Economic Sanctions have always worked. BUT, not as intended.
1
OldOzzie says:
February 5, 2023 at 5:32 pm
Thanks OldOzzie.
I only asked the question re ‘homosexual’ because 40yrs ago I was in contact with an academic who was doing his PhD in compiling a dictionary of the Dharug language. He told me at that time that there was no word in that language for homosexual or same sex relationships.
2
“These people are third-rate hucksters. Frauds.”
It is axiomatic, they are frauds if they are on TV. Understanding modern politics is best done with a copy of the DSM V on hand by way of a psychological bird spotting manual. The left seems to collect bunny boilers at a higher rate than mere chance would suggest.
4
Bullshit. It may have grown, but we don’t know as the figures could be played with. But to suggest that living standards are rising with rising production is moronic nonsense when the Russians are on a war footing and producing war material as fast as they can.
It’s failing, JC. You just have to watch the videos of people in stores (packed shelves) or reports from visitors to see that the sanctions have largely failed. They have either replaced departing companies with their own or substituted them with parallel imports through various countries. IMF is even forecasting growth above 2% in 2024.
6
Economic Sanctions have always worked. BUT, not as intended.
The flow of goods from the West and its allies has basically stopped. Financial flows have stopped. Russia can access goods from China and India, but the cost is very high as they are being gouged. A dear friend recently sent me a macro piece from a large bank stating that China is now reducing its purchases of crude oil from Russia via sea transport because the Chinese cannot access freight insurance, and the shippers are gouging too. Wodney Woddenhead, just stick to posting that crap from the Leavenworth ex-con and stop thinking. Thinking is harmful to your health because it can lead to a massive stroke. STFU.
3
I agree Aldi is more egalitarian in Australia, it’s just my observation of the location of lidls in Europe, the range of goods and the people who’ve been shopping there when I visited.
People here more likely go to markets and speciality shops, butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers, etc of which there seem to be infinitely more than in Australia.
1
It’s failing, JC. You just have to watch the videos of people in stores (packed shelves) or reports from visitors to see that the sanctions have largely failed. They have either replaced departing companies with their own or substituted them with parallel imports through various countries. IMF is even forecasting growth above 2% in 2024.
Oh yeah, perhaps you’re too young to recall pictures of those Soviet stores brimming with consumer goods.
The only way to shut up ChatGPT from telling me I needed gender equality in a building labouring firm was to tell it that giving legal advice was illegal.
3
These people are third-rate hucksters. Frauds.
You’re being too polite. I prefer psychopaths, narcissists and/or grifters.
2
It’s not 1980 anymore JC. The stores there in 2023 are full of wares.
“JCsays:
February 5, 2023 at 5:50 pm
Cassie
With one exception. Catching a ferry in Sydney is wonderful outside peak hour. ?”
Two weeks ago I had a work lunch at Manly. I caught the fast ferry across from Circular Quay and the slow ferry back. It was divine. As mentioned before, I don’t particularly like work lunches but the ferry ride there made it bearable. The journey across was quite rough, particularly when the ferry passed the heads and it was choppy on the way back with lots of spray but when you’re sitting on the ferry you see a sublime harbour and foreshore that you don’t see from the land. On the ferry I thought of James Cook who no doubt, no doubt whatsoever, viewed the harbour, and of the First Fleet sailing in eighteen years later.
It was a real treat.
12
This line they’re running now with the Voice, that it’s ‘above politics’…
Come on down and play the game…Dom Perrottet!
Your question…What is the price of integrity?
3
rosiesays:
February 5, 2023 at 6:33 pm
Didn’t Jim Cairns live in Hawthorn and sell signed copies of his books at Camberwell Market on weekends?
Does/did Fat Boy know him? (Not in the biblical sense, of course.)
He told me at that time that there was no word in that language for homosexual or same sex relationships.
There’s no word for Homosexuality in the Hindu language, but, …
My reading of the works of the Anthropologists is limited but I believe the
Aborigines copulated and defecated in the open but ate alone.
So, perhaps there wasn’t the opportunity for the Neuroses and Psychosis that was common among the English and Irish to develop?
As a result of the sanctions, Russia’s economy is expected to grow faster than Germany.
I am not an economist, but to me the situation seems to be this:
Trade occurs when both parties come out ahead. It is not a zero-sum. If I have 10 loaves of bread but no water, and I meet a guy with 10L water but no bread, we are both better off after the deal. (This is what Chalmers doesn’t understand. He believes in the zero sun and thinks only government can do it ‘fairly’)
Point is that when Germany lost out with their sanctions, the Russians were not left richer, but poorer.
If they have been able to sell gas to someone else, they can’t have been as good customers as the Germans otherwise they would have preferred them to the Germans already.
5
Sanctions hurt both countries.
1
“Rogersays:
February 5, 2023 at 6:35 pm
This line they’re running now with the Voice, that it’s ‘above politics’…
Come on down and play the game…Dom Perrottet!
Your question…What is the price of integrity?”
Isn’t a funeral “above politics”? So where was Dominic, Chris and Anthony, all three supposed Catholics? Oh that’s right, attending a funeral takes integrity.
9
Superbowl is next Monday, and we have a guy in it.
Australia has one big stake in the Super Bowl. It’s Jordan Mailata, or the ‘tsunami of power’ as some call him. From NRL rejections to car explosions on NFL Draft night, it’s some journey.
“Jordan Mailata is the son of Samoan immigrants to Australia. Mailata was born in Bankstown, Sydney … Mailata was then offered the opportunity to join the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ U20s team in 2017. The South Sydney Rabbitohs offered Mailata a one-year contract worth $5000 to play for the North Sydney Bears. … After seeing video clips of him playing rugby league, NFL executives invited Mailata to try out … Mailata was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 233rd overall pick in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft … On 31 August 2021, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni named Mailata the starter at left tackle for the 2021 NFL season … On 11 September 2021, Mailata signed a four-year, USD$64 million contract including $40.85 million guaranteed … On 21 December 2022, Mailata was named an NFC Pro Bowl alternate … His success has seen him frequently described by the media as a human “wrecking ball”.”
Wow, from Aussie $5000 in 2017 to one hundred million in 2023. Samoan Aussies are ace, a friend of mine in a Samoan Aussie with a PhD. He’s built like a brick outhouse, quite like Mr Mailata. I hope Mr Mailata goes well in the Superbowl!
Baron of the Taiga
@baronitaigas
????: RezidentUA claims that Reznikov will be removed from his post as defense minister on request of the Biden administration. SBU head Kirill Budanov is the likely successor.
We shall see.
3
The aborigines never seeded their land….but Bruce Pascoe saw them doing just that, surely.
Phrasing.
1
dover0beachsays:
February 5, 2023 at 6:18 pm
Here is a mall walk through in 2023.
It’s a signature Moscow mall and it’s basically empty of shoppers. Moscow has always historically been relatively better serviced than the regions even during the comparable commie period.
You’re telling us that 40% of the world’s economy has essentially stopped trading with Russia and everything is hunky dory. It’s had no impact much.
I’ve always wanted a Chinese car. That’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid. 🙂
This is where things go from bad to worse. The embargo has presumably stopped high-tech products and equipment from going from the West to Russia. A Russian hospital has issues with its CT equipment. It can neither replace the parts nor buy the latest, fancy CT scanner. How about parts for its airline fleet that aren’t Russian-made? You’re dreaming if you think the war and sanctions have little to no impact. These are a couple of top of my head examples.
Brotherboy and Sistergirl: Terms used by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to describe trans people.
Chur, chur. The Vikings also had trans teens, amirite?
PS
Wouldn’t it be brothergirl and sisterboy???
3
Parrothead may have done the No Case a big favor by announcing for Yes, given that his endorsement isn’t worth much.
Obviously, it’s a NonWhites v White Australians Push, so the longer
Peter Dutton can string Albanese along with legit questions about The Voice, the more likely the Aussie in the Street will see the Referendum for the massive power grab that it is.
The WEF is promoting digital ID’s & digital passports on clothing.
It’s always been about control.
3
I highly doubt Joebama is capable of calling the shots anywhere, even at home sinking battleships whilst Dr Jill makes fish and chips for her best crackhead son.
It’s not that Ukraine doesn’t have a history of poor governance. It is the idea of the phantom handshaker organising a car boot let alone a colonial military office is hilarious.
3
Heirloom McLaren Vale Alaska Grenache is very good.
Not just the grape needing Shiraz and Mataro to make it acceptable in your GSM.
Fun too: if you thought GSM was the delicious experimenting of irreverent Australian vignerons and oenologists then think no more: it is just the mix for Chateauneuf du Pape but we cannot use the French name.
1
Fun too?
I typed ‘Fun fact’.
Auto-corrupt is becoming increasingly…strange.
I see Camberwell Market has already been discussed.
I knew Cairns lived on Wattle Rd in Hawthorn, in a nice old Victorian.
Google now tells me he moved to Narre Warren in the early 80s so he must have driven in to sell his books.
1
Google now tells me he moved to Narre Warren in the early 80s so he must have driven in to sell his books.
Huh, I took a look at Google earlier to see who Junie M was and it said they moved to French Island and the house was up for sale in 21.
Far, far too expensive for most of our politicians.
Integrity costs.
6
One of the Australian media’s most famous annual bashes appears to have disappeared from the calendar – at least for 2023. Peter FitzSimons and Lisa Wilkinson’s Australia Day party was not held last month, leaving the pair’s nearest and dearest wondering whether it is now off for good.
Confidantes of the couple confirmed the bash fell victim to what they said – borrowing from the late Queen Elizabeth – an “annus horribilis” for the republican couple.
“They feel they’ve had the worst year of their lives: Fitzy with the controversy over his Jacinta Price interview, and Lisa, who felt she was unfairly targeted by sections of the media during the whole Brittany Higgins affair,” the friend said.
“So, as a result, they’re not having a party.”
Parties at FitzSimons and Wilkinson’s harbourside mansion in Cremorne have been a favourite of this column and its readers, with tales of A-list attendees such as PM Anthony Albanese, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, NSW premier-in-waiting Chris Minns and actors Simon Baker, Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward.
The highlight last year was an Indigenous performer reciting the Uluru Statement by heart.
But one notable omission got tongues wagging last year – the banishment of Stan Grant. The ABC’s Q+A host had ruffled the couple’s feathers in 2021 when he wrote a chapter for The Australian’s summer novel, Oh Matilda: Who Bloody Killed Her?
Grant made headlines by describing Fitzy and Lisa’s annual Australia Day bash in the novel as “a woke lefty love-in”, full of “journos, actors, writers, a couple of ex-Wallabies, a few washed-up politicians … and a former managing director of the ABC”.
One of Grant’s lines particularly irritated the couple by describing alleged contents of their house: “There were dot paintings on the wall, a photo with their arms around Cathy Freeman at Sydney Olympic Stadium and a framed copy of Paul Keating’s Redfern Statement signed by the last great Australian Prime Minister himself.”
Wilkinson is in the midst of her longest break at Ten since she joined the network five years ago, after announcing her shock departure from The Project in November. Diary understands that while she is still on leave, she is weighing up her next ‘project’ with the network.
With Wilkinson unlikely to put her hand up for Ten’s reality tentpoles like The Bachelor or jungle duty on I’m A Celebrity, her most likely next move is said to involve some form of interview special for Ten.
While she weighs up her future, she continues to collect a rumoured seven-figure salary under the watertight contract renewal she signed with Ten back in 2021.
The poor sap killed was an ER doc specialising in treating black victims of crime.
6
The highlight last year was an Indigenous performer reciting the Uluru Statement by heart.
Good lord they’re laying it on thick. Are they going to give their assets away to the nearest Aboriginal Land Council? No? Okay then.
7
That sort of squares up, Gwen is alone at Wattle Rd 1976 or a little before, then in 1981 it’s back together at Narre Warren.
Just so we make sure the record is correct. DOCTOR Jim Chalmers doesn’t have an economics degree. He doesn’t even have a political economy degree, which is just communism. DOCTOR Jim Chalmers, has a degree in political science and a PhD on Paul Keating (as we all knew). He’s spent his entire working life in politics. In other words, big ears is basically a no-nothing imbecile.
Far, far too expensive for most of our politicians.
Integrity costs.
Yes, indeed.
But it also strikes a deep, resonant chord that most people are pre-tuned to respond to.
And it can’t be faked.
3
Heirloom McLaren Vale Alaska Grenache is very good.
I’m sipping some St Hallett “Lore of the Land” 2021 shiraz, which was on special so I thought I’d try it. Very decent.
I like GSMs a lot. Last week I saw someone has a riesling-shiraz blend out, which intrigued me, but I wimped out and didn’t try it. Shiraz-viognier is yummy though.
1 mn+ a year for Wilkinson? That is utterly bonkers. Give some young stud or beauty queen with an IQ above 100 a chance. Time to take the amphibian out to the lily pond upstate.
1
Is there a Doctorate in Spivology? Or is it On the Job training like TAFE?
2
I took my chances last night. Random white house wines at the pub. One rule, no chardonnay. I think the Prosecco was best.
Lisa, who felt she was unfairly targeted by sections of the media during the whole Brittany Higgins affair,
Hahahahaha! Lucky the cloth-eared-bint isn’t in jail!
9
DOCTOR Jim Chalmers, has a degree in political science and a PhD on Paul Keating (as we all knew). He’s spent his entire working life in politics. In other words, big ears is basically a no-nothing imbecile.
He wrote a PhD on Paul Keating and learned nothing.
That’s a special kind of imbecility.
John Spooner is on to it…he draws Chalmers’s eyes as small, vacant black dots.
8
Mother Lode says:
February 5, 2023 at 6:52 pm
Heirloom McLaren Vale Alaska Grenache is very good.
Not just the grape needing Shiraz and Mataro to make it acceptable in your GSM.
Fun too: if you thought GSM was the delicious experimenting of irreverent Australian vignerons and oenologists then think no more: it is just the mix for Chateauneuf du Pape but we cannot use the French name.
I have a Chinese friend who was never much of a drinker: just made her feel unwell.
But through the persevering of my vices she has settled upon Riesling as eminently drinkable.
I am gladdened that she can now, in social situations (which happens a lot in business) choose a drink to sip on rather than feeling like the awkward teetotaller
She is a Design Manager on projects who learned her craft in the Construction industry so she can swear with the best of them. Now she can vent with grog too.
4
Is there a Doctorate in Spivology?
Oi! My first job I stained my feet black for a week because of the copper concentrate I was sloshing around in. One Christmas night I was up to my neck in magnetite slurry repairing a tank agitator. Another Christmas I dug out a roaster in a silver suit. I’m allowed a bit of spivitude now in my old age.
5
Bruce of Newcastle says:
February 5, 2023 at 7:11 pm
Heirloom McLaren Vale Alaska Grenache is very good.
I like GSMs a lot. Last week I saw someone has a riesling-shiraz blend out, which intrigued me, but I wimped out and didn’t try it. Shiraz-viognier is yummy though.
2020: showing the cool late year, black pepper and spice plenty of graphite like tannins, needs a couple of years in the cellar to show it’s best 2026+
Tried 1 Bottle so far & definitely could taste Black Pepper
1
Lisa, who felt she was unfairly targeted by sections of the media
Oh dear.
Look at me! Look at meeeee! LOOK AT ME!
How DARE you look at me!
12
But through the persevering of my vices she has settled upon Riesling as eminently drinkable.
Well done ML! Next step, reds.
2
In other words, big ears is basically a know-nothing imbecile
Which is blindingly obvious as soon as you see him, much less hear him try to string a sentence together.
It is quite frankly impossible to take any of the spiteful z-grade mediocrities in the current labore goat rodeo even remotely seriously. Deeply stupid obnoxiously obstinate staggeringly ignorant dunderheads. The thought of them being in government for more than one term is the stuff of nightmares.
12
Oh you mean Jim Chalmers. As you were.
6
Integrity costs.
Usually by getting in the way of what you want.
2
In other words, big ears is basically a know-nothing imbecile
. He may look like Gomer Pyle but not as smart
9
Oh you mean Jim Chalmers. As you were.
It’s times like this Dover definitely needs the roaring with laughter emoji.
4
He may look like Gomer Pyle but not as smart
Is he a flamer?
2
So, … there is a Doctorate in Spivology?
““They feel they’ve had the worst year of their lives:”
Don’t you just love the narcissism? Prejudicing a trial, not getting charged for prejudicing a trial when anyone else would have been charged, and she’s claiming to be the victim! The epitome of chutzpah! In any event, I bet the Amphibian’s year hasn’t been as bad as Bruce Lehmann’s year.
14
Lisa, who felt she was unfairly targeted by sections of the media during the whole Brittany Higgins affair,
She inserted herself into the whole sordid affair, presented herself as a champion of the cause, a tournament knight ready for combat to defend Brittany’s honour – until someone said “OK. Let’s do this.” At which moment she suddenly transformed into a victim.
Comically stupid woman.
22
Did Tintarella wanna know that Gomer was a Flamer?
I think not.
Definitely one in So-ology.
1
Lisa played a big part in getting Albanese over the line.
Without her Higgins interview, Scotty woulda got up.
1
The highlight last year was an Indigenous performer reciting the Uluru Statement by heart.
Given that nobody has probably ever read the Uluru Statement, said performer could recite any old rubbish..pulling the legs of gullible whitefellas is considered fine sport by the indigenous…
8
““They feel they’ve had the worst year of their lives”
Would make a good case study in narcissism.
5
Brittany soon became a ticking pass the parcel, to mix a metaphor. And the real fun hasn’t even begun. A few people will be doing the walk of shame before this is over I predict. Albrechtsen’s story on the judge chairing the inquiry suggests he isn’t one to be trifled with.
My only question in today’s America, is that its ethnic makeup has changed a lot from the 30s/40s. and would there still be the cohesion to fight?
I think the cohesion may be there but I wouldn’t count on it.
The wild card will be the 7 million who have come across the borders. The Democrats think they’ve been clever with subverting the Republicans, but the last laugh hasn’t been uttered on that one yet. The US may just have inherited a very large amount of young men – 5 million + who may just seize the chance for a life they dreamt of, and would be happy as hell with a citizenship for return of service deal. And may just be damn unhappy with any troublemakers who threaten that offer.
The issue is with the industrial infrastructure and the lead time. Our planners have forgotten how quickly modern warfare eats up complex systems like missiles and tanks, aircraft and circuit boards.
Look at the shortfall of anti tank missiles as well as air to air weaponry. Even though the need to replenish inventory is there and obvious, no one seems to be moving – the bureaucracy continues with an antiquated system of contracts for 100 of this and 10,000 of that and until the paperwork is signed, nothing is moving. The artillery lines should be running – not flat strap – but at least at a sustainable 3 shift a day rate that will refill the empty 155mm bunkers.
No, the production war is where it will be won or lost and the Chinese will have been stocking up the basics for at least a decade. Just like the Russians. And I bet they won’t have sold down their strategic reserves of oil and copper, aluminium and cobalt, lathes and milling machines.
5
The epitome of chutzpah!
Chutzpah maybe (chutzpah is admired regardless, yes?), but definitely hubris.
Nemesis awaits…
5
Frank says:
February 5, 2023 at 7:33 pm
Is he a flamer?
Eddersly, is he?
1
2020: showing the cool late year, black pepper and spice plenty of graphite like tannins, needs a couple of years in the cellar to show it’s best 2026+
Tried 1 Bottle so far & definitely could taste Black Pepper
You can save time by buying a bottle of tequila and ground black pepper.
Also how can you tell the difference ibn taste between black, white and green pepper, asking for a friend.
2
It’s a signature Moscow mall and it’s basically empty of shoppers. Moscow has always historically been relatively better serviced than the regions even during the comparable commie period.
It’s as busy as Chadstone or Southland on a workday. If the shit was hitting the fan you’d see more kids, the unemployed, etc. loitering around, and far less cleanliness. You’ve also be given reports by Speedbox from the foothills of the Caucauses that shelves are full down there too.
You’re telling us that 40% of the world’s economy has essentially stopped trading with Russia and everything is hunky dory. It’s had no impact much.
No, the IMF reported a small hit last year of about 2%, with a small recovery forecast this year, and above 2% growth next year. That is consistent with the evidence so far.
This is where things go from bad to worse. The embargo has presumably stopped high-tech products and equipment from going from the West to Russia.
I’m sure they can source most of these from China or by other means. If they can still access Western goods what is preventing them from purchasing high tech goods as well?
11
Will raise Glass to you Mother Lode & Cat Bloggers
Much appreciated.
Well done ML! Next step, reds.
She is unaccountably less than enamoured with anything ‘Red’. She has friends back in China, but she has clearly picked out which country is home.
4
Albrechtsen’s story on the judge chairing the inquiry suggests he isn’t one to be trifled with.
You mean it won’t turn out like John Durham? Remember him?
2
More than 18.1m border crossings have taken place out of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, according to data from the UN.
Does it exist anymore? IIRC their pre war population was about 44 million.
2
Also how can you tell the difference ibn taste between black, white and green pepper, asking for a friend.
They can’t. Too many wine producers have proved it to themselves (using cleanskins matched to previous reviews) that wine reviewers are cretins.
3
He told me at that time that there was no word in that language for homosexual or same sex relationships.
I believe there is a sign-language indication, including waggling eyebrows and a one-hand-on-hip, one forward with limp wrist.
Seriously though folks-
A good friend of mine was from Yamatji stock, and she taught me a lot of non-verbal hand and arm signals which are used, both in normal interactions and to convey meaning in “sorry business” areas. Having been tuned in, I am always interested to see them creeping in to a lot of the ABC/SBS/Film Commission productions from city folk like Thornton and Ms Perkins.
3
Top selling records each month from the 1960s. Sorta renews your faith; a little bit. Boy Elvis was big:
““They feel they’ve had the worst year of their lives:”
Comprised wholly of unforced errors.
6
“(chutzpah is admired regardless, yes?),”
Not really. Chutzpah can mean “destructive and ugly or vital and fantastic”, but it’s never in-between. In the Amphibian’s case, it’s destructive and ugly, very very ugly.
3
IIRC their pre war population was about 44 million.
No one knows their pre-war population. They haven’t done a census for over 20 years. The last official UKR estimate was 37.5M in the government- controlled area.
4
Let’s put it this way:
Was Rock Hudson a Flamer?
It’s as busy as Chadstone or Southland on a workday. If the shit was hitting the fan you’d see more kids, the unemployed, etc. loitering around, and far less cleanliness. You’ve also be given reports by Speedbox from the foothills of the Caucauses that shelves are full down there too.
How do you know it’s a workday? No, you wouldn’t necessarily see unemployed hanging around because there may not be high unemployment as a consequence of the war. With men called up and the war production effort there is likely to be lots of work. I don’t know how you rationalize this. The place is cut off from the West and you appear to believe all is well with the Russian economy because a signature Moscow mall is open. This doesn’t mean that living standards aren’t impacted. They are.
No, the IMF reported a small hit last year of about 2%, with a small recovery forecast this year, and above 2% growth next year. That is consistent with the evidence so far.
For war production!
I’m sure they can source most of these from China or by other means. If they can still access Western goods what is preventing them from purchasing a high tech goods as well?
Personally, what would you hit a Russian buyer for as a gouge if say they came to you looking for high tech parts etc?
200% or 300%?
Just to be clear the current Federal Treasurer’s sexual proclivities is of no concern to me, what is concerning is his arrant stupidity and incompetence.
12
Then the Beatles took over.
1
Do any star-gazer Cats know what time of night the green comet will be visible in Oz?
2
Not really. Chutzpah can mean “destructive and ugly or vital and fantastic”, but it’s never in-between. In the Amphibian’s case, it’s destructive and ugly, very very ugly.
Right…context!
1
There will be a few bottles of champagne being cracked at Channel Nein. Just like when one of the bank customers you had been trying to manage out the door refinances.
2
his arrant stupidity and incompetence
Combined with the diabolical twist of knowing…just knowing, he’s right. Regardless of every piece of crushing historical evidence that he is not.
6
rosiesays:
February 5, 2023 at 6:33 pm
Didn’t Jim Cairns live in Hawthorn and sell signed copies of his books at Camberwell Market on weekends?
He might have.
But I definitely remember him at South Melbourne market too.
Zipstersays:
February 5, 2023 at 6:34 pm
Bill Maher
@billmaher
If you’re part of today’s woke revolution, you need to study the part of revolutions where they spin out of control.
A Woke Revolution
A very good rant. Dissects it nicely.
3
Just to be clear the current Federal Treasurer’s sexual proclivities is of no concern to me, what is concerning is his arrant stupidity and incompetence.
Uh, there’s been some flamin’ confusion.
Jim Nabors announced himself Gay years ago.
So, if he’s still alive, yes, he’s a Flamer.
Jimmy Chalmers is a dangerous dope who believes he’s saving the World.
No suggestion he’s a Flamer, but there was a brief article
in the Courier Mail last year about some Academic from UQ named Chalmers facing serious Child Abuse Pornography related charges.
1
Diogenes:
Home hobbyists and small workshops with a lathe could make parts for weapons. Today?
That reminded me of Albert Speers distributed manufacturing plan. IF you still had a lathe or a milling machine, or a former, and it hadn’t been requisitioned previously, you could machine up little blocks of metal that fit into the engine of a DB601, or that little bit of metal that held the driving bands in place on a 75mm A/T shell. A horse drawn cart would drop around once a week and take away the finished pieces. Well, that was the plan, anyway.
Or in 1984, Julia volunteers Winston to give up one of his evenings putting fuses into grenades which seems a little dodgy to me. Perhaps fuses into compartments of boxes of grenades perhaps.
There’s a lot of piece work and very simple assembly that the individual can do that not only helps fill out production lines but involves the civilian sector in the war effort.
1
“Vaccines work” “I’m absolutely pro-vaccines” “science is important”
Are Fitzsimian and the Can Toad on Twatter? If they are, can you ask them how much voluntary land rent they are paying to the local indigenous Land Council.
4
Combined with the diabolical twist of knowing…just knowing, he’s right. Regardless of every piece of crushing historical evidence that he is not.
In that respect, a typical product of modern education.
Doctrinaire, incurious and – barring a road to Damascus experience – unteachable.
They were at the 1974 ALP conference at Terrigal. My lasting memory of the alp from that time was that they were the scenes which didn’t make the final cut for Don’s Party.
2
How do you know it’s a workday? No, you wouldn’t necessarily see unemployed hanging around because there may not be high unemployment as a consequence of the war. With men called up and the war production effort there is likely to be lots of work. I don’t know how you rationalize this. The place is cut off from the West and you appear to believe all is well with the Russian economy because a signature Moscow mall is open. This doesn’t mean that living standards aren’t impacted. They are.
I listened to the guy doing the video. You’re trying to convince me with hypotheticals that contradict reports from people actually living in Russia. How is this at all convincing?
For war production!
For God’s sake, they’ve have replaced McDonald’s, for example, with a Russian knock off. Is that war production?
Personally, what would you hit a Russian buyer for as a gouge if say they came to you looking for high tech parts etc?
200% or 300%?
It doesn’t really matter.
9
Do any star-gazer Cats know what time of night the green comet will be visible in Oz?
“Visible” is the word. You probably will need binoculars. From what I can see it may be visible on the northern horizon right after dusk, maybe up to an hour after sunset, just below Capella.
I’m amused that the start of The Day Of The Triffids occurs when everyone is awed by green meteors.
Franksays:
February 5, 2023 at 7:33 pm
He may look like Gomer Pyle but not as smart
Is he a flamer?
Pretty sure that Jim Nabors (Gomer Pyle) was, not sure about the nitwit.
1
Zulu Kilo Two Alphasays:
February 5, 2023 at 7:39 pm
The highlight last year was an Indigenous performer reciting the Uluru Statement by heart.
Given that nobody has probably ever read the Uluru Statement, said performer could recite any old rubbish..pulling the legs of gullible whitefellas is considered fine sport by the indigenous…
I hope that they had a hand talker. It would be sooooo non-inclusive if they didn’t.
4
callisays:
February 5, 2023 at 8:10 pm
his arrant stupidity and incompetence
Combined with the diabolical twist of knowing…just knowing, he’s right. Regardless of every piece of crushing historical evidence that he is not.
Enough about Fitzsiminan’s doorstoppers. AKA, historically based novels, badly written.
3
French Island farm linked to Jim Cairns and Junie Morosi for sale
‘One Agency Peninsula’s Michael Phoenix is handling the sale and said with solar panels, wind turbines and a generator, as well as extensive water supply, the property was completely off the grid.
The island address is also free of local government, meaning no council rates.
No. 72 The Rest, French Lane, has a $3m-$3.3m asking price.’
The vendor will share 10% with the local aboriginal corporation to, you know…pay the rent…right?
3
BlackBall
Thanks for the article. I find it unusual that some one fudge his text messages.
Why would anyone go after him – he offers no motivation or reason why this was done.
Rowan Dean endorsed Trump for 24. Dean showed an excerpt from Trump’s policies dealing with the gender industry and their exploitation of vulnerable kiddies. Trump will pass into law that there are only 2 genders and that medical shits and others who profit from the exploitation of minors can be sued and criminally charged.
Now, who should be Trump’s VP?
12
Now, who should be Trump’s VP?
Not Tulsi Gabbard. Not Ron de Santis.
3
Interesting:
G’day VSF Community,
Over the last two weeks, we have been contacted by members and families of the Special Forces community expressing concerns about the new Stan Australia Movie – Transfusion. From Director Matt Nable and starring Sam Worthington.
These concerns focused on the depiction of the two SAS operators within the movie and the perceptions of perpetuating negative themes and stigmas including mental ill-health, criminal activity and extreme violence. These have been specifically highlighted as causing real concerns within the context of what has been an extremely difficult period for many SAS personnel and their families post the Brereton report and the ongoing trail by media and some agendas therein.
VSF Managing Director, Heston Russell, submitted a formal complaint to Stan Australia seeking a conversation to discuss the concerns that have been raised and provided to us.
Stan Australia responded immediately and in the week since there have been numerous conversations resulting in the following actions as expressed directly from Stan Australia:
1. “The programming team are preparing a warning title card to play at the beginning of the film. It involves going back into the master files and going again through the delivery and upload process – they have estimated that in a week the warning card version will be live on Stan, so please do assure your members that we are taking steps to address their concerns.”
2. “Matt Nable has supplied a statement that he is happy for you to share with any of your members if you feel it would be helpful – please find it attached.”
From the Oz. I’ve posted the whole article. Constitutional recognition and the voice will make all the vooking difference, won’t it?
Bashings, killings, rapes: Jacinta Nampijinpa Price on living in the ‘hellholes’ of Alice Springs
EXCLUSIVE
By LIAM MENDES
Reporter
@liammendes
8:26PM February 5, 2023
No Comments
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was just 12 when she lay all night with her baby cousin after her parents rescued the one-and-a-half year-old boy away from alcohol-fuelled violence.
The Country Liberal senator recalls driving into the Inarlenge town camp – also known as Little Sisters – outside Alice Springs with her parents to “rescue” the baby, as her aunty and uncle were caught up in “mob … all fighting”.
“That night I wanted to just protect him,” she said through tears. “I remember we were driving in there and everything was going on and him being handed over to us and then driving away.
Read Next
“I remember holding him in my arms all night, putting him to sleep next to me, and he just slept next to me all night.”
The toddler’s father, a man she “loved deeply”, died from excessive alcohol consumption.
Watching loved ones succumb to grog, the horrific murder of her aunt, and the sexual assault “in some way, shape or form” of every woman in her family are among the standout childhood memories for Price.
As she leaves her troubled hometown for Canberra and the first sitting week of the parliamentary year, Price says these memories will drive her fight to restore sweeping alcohol bans to Alice Springs and its surrounding communities.
The senator – with the Coalition’s backing – will move to present a bill this week that would immediately reintroduce the restrictions that existed under the lapsed Stronger Futures legislation.
Her bill will force grog bans in communities until they develop alcohol management plans with the help of the federal government. Labor has not said whether it will back the bill.
Price’s legislative push comes as a secret report about the issues in Alice Springs, held tight between Anthony Albanese and senior Northern Territory government ministers, is set to be released by the end of the week.
In an interview with The Australian about the violence in Alice Springs and her plan to stop it, Price could not hold back tears as she remembered scenes from the town camps, where many of her family still live and struggle.
She has one word for the central Australian town camps many of her relatives were brought up in and in which many of her closest family members have died: “hellholes”.
Her aunt was “killed and bashed and stabbed to death” by women in a town camp. “These are some of the things that go on,” Price said. “I witnessed people in violent situations, a woman stabbing herself in the leg because she was drunk, she was yelling at everyone and screaming and wanted attention or things weren’t going her way, so she stabbed herself in the leg,” Price recalled.
“I remember her little boy, who must have been about four or five, clambering over us all to get away from her and to get into safe arms.
“I know of a cousin who was living in a town camp when she was a young mother and she had a little baby girl and she just thought every night she thought ‘this could be the night that I could be stabbed to death by my boyfriend, and I gotta get out of this situation’.”
Price has lost dozens of relatives to alcoholism and said her sober relatives had died from the stress and conditions they would go through living in the town camps “day in and day out”, which have become the talking point of the nation as Alice Springs battles a youth crime wave and alcohol abuse problems among its Indigenous population.
Born in Darwin in 1981, Price moved to Alice Springs with her mother Bess, a former Northern Territory politician and her Anglo-Celtic father Dave when she was two.
While she didn’t live in one of the many camps dotted along the outskirts of Alice, many of her relatives did, and she has seen the trauma her family and other locals experience today.
The earliest camps, established in the 1970s and ’80s were initially areas set aside for Aboriginal people who were visiting towns for short periods from “out bush” but quickly became permanent homes for many.
Price said for decades perpetrators have been threatening victims and witnesses into silence.
“You’ve got that threat looming over you constantly, you don’t want to talk about those things,” she said.
Rampant child sexual abuse was occurring in the communities and a “complete overhaul” of child protection systems was required.
“I think it’s criminal that we’re allowing for the abuse, the sexual abuse, in horrific circumstances to occur to Aboriginal children in this country, to any kid, but it’s predominantly Aboriginal children,” she said.
“That, to me, is where the racism lies. It’s that lowering of standards, all because and I hate to say it, but many who are a result of the Stolen Generation are controlling the large organisations.
“They’ve benefited from an education. Humans are capable of overcoming adversity, but they can’t do that unless they have the opportunity at gaining an education and having their needs met and these kids aren’t getting any of that.
“So to suggest that their culture, and somehow this romantic idea of a connection to land is more important than upholding their human rights is completely and utterly wrong.”
She said people in the camps were too ashamed to talk about the sexual abuse they lived through.
“It’s shame, and it’s probably traumatic for them,” Price said.
“There’s not a woman in my family who hasn’t been sexually assaulted in some way, shape or form, whether it’s when they were children or in their teenage years, or as adults. It’s that prevalent. Kids are preyed upon by sexual predators, pedophiles, that have easy access to those kids in town camps because homes aren’t safe.”
In December, Price lost her cousin Regina France, a 42-year-old non-drinker who lived her whole life in a town camp, two days after Christmas.
“I believe it’s because of the stress and the conditions of living in a town camp, they are hellholes,” she said.
“Drunken family, even people that didn’t even know them, would turn up in their house and just go through their fridge, eat everything, so they’d never have food.
“They could never ever, ever, really just live a life that was about themselves, it was always people drinking at night, people drunk at night, and violence and so you never got a good night’s sleep.
“Having sat by the hospital bed those last few days in the palliative care unit with my cousin, she was happy to die. She was so ready to be at peace because that was really the only peace she was ever going to get, is to ultimately die.
“The sad thing is, that’s their normal … an everyday Australian living on the northern beaches or something in Sydney, it’s a complete and utter world away. It’s like Beirut … you could never fathom unless you actually lived there.
“That’s why when authorities decide, even the Stolen Generation decide, have made these policies that impacts the lives of these kids here, they wouldn’t leave their own kids in those circumstances.”
10
Why anyone would pay the slightest attention to Robert Kagan these days is mystifying.
1
Bashings, killings, rapes: Jacinta Nampijinpa Price on living in the ‘hellholes’ of Alice Springs
By LIAM MENDES
REPORTER
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was just 12 when she lay all night with her baby cousin after her parents rescued the one-and-a-half year-old boy away from alcohol-fuelled violence.
The Country Liberal senator recalls driving into the Inarlenge town camp – also known as Little Sisters – outside Alice Springs with her parents to “rescue” the baby, as her aunty and uncle were caught up in “mob … all fighting”.
“That night I wanted to just protect him,” she said through tears. “I remember we were driving in there and everything was going on and him being handed over to us and then driving away.
“I remember holding him in my arms all night, putting him to sleep next to me, and he just slept next to me all night.”
The toddler’s father, a man she “loved deeply”, died from excessive alcohol consumption.
Watching loved ones succumb to grog, the horrific murder of her aunt, and the sexual assault “in some way, shape or form” of every woman in her family are among the standout childhood memories for Price.
As she leaves her troubled hometown for Canberra and the first sitting week of the parliamentary year, Price says these memories will drive her fight to restore sweeping alcohol bans to Alice Springs and its surrounding communities.
The senator – with the Coalition’s backing – will move to present a bill this week that would immediately reintroduce the restrictions that existed under the lapsed Stronger Futures legislation.
Her bill will force grog bans in communities until they develop alcohol management plans with the help of the federal government. Labor has not said whether it will back the bill.
Price’s legislative push comes as a secret report about the issues in Alice Springs, held tight between Anthony Albanese and senior Northern Territory government ministers, is set to be released by the end of the week.
In an interview with The Australian about the violence in Alice Springs and her plan to stop it, Price could not hold back tears as she remembered scenes from the town camps, where many of her family still live and struggle.
She has one word for the central Australian town camps many of her relatives were brought up in and in which many of her closest family members have died: “hellholes”.
Her aunt was “killed and bashed and stabbed to death” by women in a town camp. “These are some of the things that go on,” Price said. “I witnessed people in violent situations, a woman stabbing herself in the leg because she was drunk, she was yelling at everyone and screaming and wanted attention or things weren’t going her way, so she stabbed herself in the leg,” Price recalled.
“I remember her little boy, who must have been about four or five, clambering over us all to get away from her and to get into safe arms.
“I know of a cousin who was living in a town camp when she was a young mother and she had a little baby girl and she just thought every night she thought ‘this could be the night that I could be stabbed to death by my boyfriend, and I gotta get out of this situation’.”
Price has lost dozens of relatives to alcoholism and said her sober relatives had died from the stress and conditions they would go through living in the town camps “day in and day out”, which have become the talking point of the nation as Alice Springs battles a youth crime wave and alcohol abuse problems among its Indigenous population.
Born in Darwin in 1981, Price moved to Alice Springs with her mother Bess, a former Northern Territory politician and her Anglo-Celtic father Dave when she was two.
While she didn’t live in one of the many camps dotted along the outskirts of Alice, many of her relatives did, and she has seen the trauma her family and other locals experience today.
The earliest camps, established in the 1970s and ’80s were initially areas set aside for Aboriginal people who were visiting towns for short periods from “out bush” but quickly became permanent homes for many.
Price said for decades perpetrators have been threatening victims and witnesses into silence.
“You’ve got that threat looming over you constantly, you don’t want to talk about those things,” she said.
Rampant child sexual abuse was occurring in the communities and a “complete overhaul” of child protection systems was required.
“I think it’s criminal that we’re allowing for the abuse, the sexual abuse, in horrific circumstances to occur to Aboriginal children in this country, to any kid, but it’s predominantly Aboriginal children,” she said.
“That, to me, is where the racism lies. It’s that lowering of standards, all because and I hate to say it, but many who are a result of the Stolen Generation are controlling the large organisations.
“They’ve benefited from an education. Humans are capable of overcoming adversity, but they can’t do that unless they have the opportunity at gaining an education and having their needs met and these kids aren’t getting any of that.
“So to suggest that their culture, and somehow this romantic idea of a connection to land is more important than upholding their human rights is completely and utterly wrong.”
She said people in the camps were too ashamed to talk about the sexual abuse they lived through.
“It’s shame, and it’s probably traumatic for them,” Price said.
“There’s not a woman in my family who hasn’t been sexually assaulted in some way, shape or form, whether it’s when they were children or in their teenage years, or as adults. It’s that prevalent. Kids are preyed upon by sexual predators, pedophiles, that have easy access to those kids in town camps because homes aren’t safe.”
In December, Price lost her cousin Regina France, a 42-year-old non-drinker who lived her whole life in a town camp, two days after Christmas.
“I believe it’s because of the stress and the conditions of living in a town camp, they are hellholes,” she said.
“Drunken family, even people that didn’t even know them, would turn up in their house and just go through their fridge, eat everything, so they’d never have food.
“They could never ever, ever, really just live a life that was about themselves, it was always people drinking at night, people drunk at night, and violence and so you never got a good night’s sleep.
“Having sat by the hospital bed those last few days in the palliative care unit with my cousin, she was happy to die. She was so ready to be at peace because that was really the only peace she was ever going to get, is to ultimately die.
“The sad thing is, that’s their normal … an everyday Australian living on the northern beaches or something in Sydney, it’s a complete and utter world away. It’s like Beirut … you could never fathom unless you actually lived there.
“That’s why when authorities decide, even the Stolen Generation decide, have made these policies that impacts the lives of these kids here, they wouldn’t leave their own kids in those circumstances.”
Doctrinaire, incurious and – barring a road to Damascus experience – unteachable.
Invincible ignorance.
2
Snap Zulu!
3
Jim Nabors was married, to a dude. Safe to say he was gay. I was enquiring about Chalmers since the question seemed pertinent, given the way the guy looks.
3
Great minds, Top Ender.
2
JC at 7:08.
DOCTOR Jim Chalmers, has a degree in political science and a PhD on Paul Keating (as we all knew). He’s spent his entire working life in politics. In other words, big ears is basically a no-nothing imbecile.
So, if I churn out a 60,000 word tongue bath of the Clock King.
What odds that my PhD supervisor isn’t going to tick that off?
BTW, have you ever seen Jim Chalmers and Lex Greensill in the same room?
Those ears.
Separated at birth.
3
Mavis has rung in. He wants to know where his honorary doctorate is?
BTW, have you ever seen Jim Chalmers and Lex Greensill in the same room?
With the caveat that everything is relative, Greensill is a helluva lot smarter than Chalmers.
1
Bongino has an interesting take on the chunk balloon. He reckons the chunks have been playing the yanks for suckers for yonks; everything from Swalwell and Fang Fang, intellectual property, running their own police force in the US (victoristan too), owning numerous pollies, including biden. So the balloon was symptomatic of what the chunks think of the yanks: that they’re gutless, stupid and ridiculous so they send the most low tech spying device to show how little they think of the yanks.
7
Would the MSM tell us if Jim Chalmers was a Flamer?
Hell, no.
The only reason I say Jim Cairns was a Flamer is that the Melbourne Truth ran a story in 1973 about him being bashed almost to death in his own home by someone who wasn’t a burglar or a family member.
Reading between the lines …
Unsure if The Sun or The Age even covered what was a huge story.
Things are really serious in Ukraine. I believe Ukraine have asked this of all European countries.
3
The only reason I say Jim Cairns was a Flamer is that the Melbourne Truth ran a story in 1973 about him being bashed almost to death in his own home by someone who wasn’t a burglar or a family member.
Reading between the lines …
You’re an antisemite idiot crotchless. Cairns was a commie squelch who couldn’t count past 10 but he wasn’t a pillow biter or plunker puncher.
7
Is there anything sadder than beach photos on Port Phillip Bay on Instagram?
Now, who should be Trump’s VP?
Look – I wasn’t going to say anything, but I am waiting by my computer for the email.
10
Are you even at the beach?
The British Department for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities
Oh for lord’s sake these modern names are absurd.
2
Where’s Doris Bagshawe on Jim Chalmer’s “doctorate”?
Department for Leveling Up
I don’t even know what this could possibly mean.
1
Leveling Up is MinTru GoveSpeak for Leveling Down.
The only reason I say Jim Cairns was a Flamer is that the Melbourne Truth ran a story in 1973 about him being bashed almost to death in his own home by someone who wasn’t a burglar or a family member.
Reading between the lines …
Are you getting mixed up with the Peter Baldwin bashing in Sydney? It was in a similar timeframe. That was a factional dispute, the Liars factions play hard.
1
Alice is Hillary
Wonderland is Saud.
custardsays:
February 5, 2023 at 9:59 pm
Alice is Hillary
Wonderland is Saud.
Obviously.
And Biden is March Hare.
But who, oh who, is Queen of Hearts?
Jim Cairns was a far-left loonie: apart from his grotesque incompetence in economics, he returned from an official junket to Moscow in 1971 assuring the world that there was no dissent in the Soviet Union.
But he definitely wasn’t a flamer. Remember how he made a complete spectacle of himself over his infatuation for Junie Morosi?
1
Levelling up – always use a Paladin and only use Light-Light characters. Always use a mage and healing wizard as your allies.
Hence the typical Square Enix character set.
Almost as believable as Q Drops.
1
If there is a queen here Sancho it’s you
7
This blog is so unsophisticated that it has still failed to reconcile presidential executive orders 13818 and 13848
Until this blog does so, I will continue to call this blog on its ignorance.
Alice is Hillary
Wonderland is Saud.
Why not just say so?
This otherwise unnecessary use of coded language is only for the purpose of making the recipients feel as though the info they’re receiving is so dangerous that it can’t be explicitly disclosed. Of course, the ‘code’ is invariably disclosed as part of the communication (otherwise not even the most rabid Q believer would know what the hell it’s all about) but never mind that.
2
Trump isn’t President.
He may never be President again.
The Democrats might get away with the last 14 – 4 years of BS.
Get over it. Trudy isn’t under arrest and the SS isn’t going to start arresting Democrats and Epstein associates on 50,000 magical sealed indictments.
Nor will Muellerween ever be a thing. Stephen Colbert keeps on seeing his shadow.
I take it we’re still off the pace?
But, seeing as you’re here Custard …
The Donald?
Is he President as of 31st January 2023?
If not, why not?
1
Remember how he made a complete spectacle of himself over his infatuation for Junie Morosi?
“A Morosi – a loose screw that holds a Cabinet together.”
4
This blog is so unsophisticated that it has still failed to reconcile presidential executive orders 13818 and 13848
Do these contain an accounting error? Someone here knows double-sided bookkeeping, surely. Or maybe they have a spare copy of MYOB they don’t mind forwarding to custard.
Why is this blog unable to google (or something else) about presidential executive orders?
They are determinative.
They had sunset clauses.
They were renewed under the (so called) Biden administration,
That doesn’t make any sense.
Trump is President.
Or is he?
Vulnerabilities.
Ukraine.
The 1979 Grand Final being stolen from Collingwood.
And 2018.
Balloons.
When you lost your keys in 1995.
Worldwide arrests. Gitmo full.
A new virus.
What does it mean?
Connections.
3
But he definitely wasn’t a flamer. Remember how he made a complete spectacle of himself over his infatuation for Junie Morosi?
Cairns, Morosi and her husband David made an interesting trio.
But pretty sure both were attracted to Morosi.
For God’s sake, they’ve have replaced McDonald’s, for example, with a Russian knock off.
McDowells?
2
Sunday in Messina.
A bright but windy day.
Was too late for mass at the little Norman church. Reading the information sign it was built over with private buildings after the 1783 earthquake and was, perhaps as a consequence, one of the few survivors of the 1908 one. Fairly bare inside.
Round the corner t0 10.30 mass at the cathedral. Choir and organ were magnificent.
Nothing much open food wise, so I’ve settled for Hungry Jack’s in the rather sad Galleria Victor Emmanuel II.
Catania tomorrow then in a few days, Syracus, both look like being much more interesting than the ‘town without a history’.
Then hopefully a straightforward train to Pozzella and a ferry to Valletta.
Areff, I think Jim Cairns did the market circuit – Prahran, Camberwell, South Melbourne.
I distinctly remember it, because he was parked on the Eastern side, not far from the dimmie stall on a Sunday. People were interested in getting a hangover curing dimmie, talking about yesterday’s footy or waiting to snap up a tray of something cheap just before closing.
Not much time for Jim’s tired politics.
And top ‘o de page to yez all.
OldOzziesays:
February 5, 2023 at 1:21 pm
dopey says:
February 5, 2023 at 12:11 pm
The aborigines never seeded their land….but Bruce Pascoe saw them doing just that, surely.
Page 21 & Page 35 – Native Tribes of Central Australia
Spencer, Baldwin, Sir (1860-1929)
Gillen, Francis James (1856-1912)
Thanks for that. Haven’t seen that one. Once again the point is: 3rd nations were some of the toughest hunters & gatherers ever; but so what. Why does that entitle them to anything other than the enormous benefits Western democracy gives them?
The aborigines never seeded their land….but Bruce Pascoe saw them doing just that, surely.
There may have been an isolated example or two – but I doubt it. They were “hunters and gatherers”, & the attempt to portray them as “farmers” requires acrobatics in semantics. I simply don’t think there is solid evidence for the planting of “yams”. Sure, they did construct elaborate fish traps in Brewarrina, but other examples are fairly basic. We believe we may have the remains of one in our creek, which was possibly added to by early settlers.
I suppose, again with some acrobatics, you could argue that “cool burns” facilitated easier killing of kangaroos. But again, it is a stretch to call it “farming.”
Unless I really have to, I don’t use anything which isn’t water soluble.
Quickly grabbed a tube of silicone for a job a couple of weeks ago and only realised after it started to go tacky on my hands that it wasn’t water clean up. By this stage I had the stuff everywhere.
Same with paint.
Putting rust protection, primer and two coats of paint on wrought iron. All thinners/oil based. Bought a box of $3 brushes from Bunnings. As soon as I finished a coat or the brush got tacky, straight in the bin.
Eric, my pants just exploded, Swalwell and Fang Fang:
https://twitter.com/MikeyAdams420/status/1621564554332315648/photo/1
Just like when “Democratic” appears in a nation’s name, when you see the word “Democratic” up in lights you can safely assume it is anything but.
Following the RC into ROBODEBT and what sticks out is the end result of what can happen when folk who have ever worked in the “real” world are put in charge of things ..
these folk are professional ‘troughers” AKA politicians .. they’ve grifted their way thru various political & union positions until squirming into Parliament and slithering into the big bucks of a ministry job ….. for most it isn’t a problem as professional public serpents do the “nuts & bolts” backroom shenanigans that makes them look proficient and worth their, lazy, $half million + freebies a year …!
But, occasionally, things don’t work out and the political “hacks” are left exposed as has happened with ROBODEBT .. introduced without the proper checks & balances, probably, because some PS figured , “We is only targetting welfare folk and who cares if we get it, slightly, wrong .. the “wukka” will only say .. serves ‘em right sooo let ‘er roll and furgulate the consequences .. And besides BRADBURY wants a WIN”! ..
1st off we have Christian Porter a man who comes across as considering the average ‘wukka” in the same way he does getting something nasty on his shoe and needing cleaning yet was appointed Minister for Social Services a position overseeing the “welfare” system and folk, welfare recipients, who he wouldn’t dream of socializing with or even understanding .. ROBODEBT to him was just another instruction that he was happy to have overseen by an underling ministry (Human Services) .. a joke of a name for an organization that shows little humanity and expects recipients to jump thru hoops to qualify for it’s services ..
Human Services was being run by Alan Tudge, who’s main claim to fame was being a “yes” man and ‘tonguing” BRADBURY, at every opportunity, had eventually secured a ministerial position tho for him the elevation not only meant more money but allowed him to indulge himself with the “hired’ help and for a trougher with the personality of a “cardboard cut-out” this was nirvana!
For those victims of ROBODEBT it was fast becoming a nightmare ,, Porter”s attitude to the small folk was, “Let them eat cake” whilst Tudge was too busy dallying so left it all to his senior public serpents, folk who were more interested in their careers and promotion than ensuring the legality and honesty of ROBODEBT and had no intention of disagreeing or querying the “boss” to the detriment of their careers ….
And so ROBODEBT completely out of control was barrelling along the track destroying and in some cases ending ordinary folks lives whilst those in the engine room had a panel full of green lights and the blessing of BRADBURY for doing a good job!
To put ROBODEBT into perspective it was a scheme designed to detect fraud in welfare payments using computer programming .. it was hounding folk for, perceived, debts from $10 thru to $umpteen thousands without a, genuine, appeals system in place ….
They (PS) say it raked in about $3 000 000 out of $10 000 000 it identified over several years .. Unfortunately, most of the “raked in” was unproven .. yet many welfare recipients suffered undue hardship, anxiety & death because of this “illegal” money gathering ..
In contrast Christian Porter quit politics and walked away with his multi million dollar pension and being a magnanimous sort of fellow has since, actually, admitted he got it wrong ..
Soo brave of him .. no punishment or anxiety for Christian … just “sorry” .. sarc!
Then we has Tudge .. still sitting in Parliament, still “troughing” tho as a backbencher in Opposition .. drawing $210K + freebies despite the fact that the taxpayer had to cough-up $650 000 to compensate his work-place dalliance ..
The main public serpent involved has since been promoted into a different dept and is now copping around $ 900 000 a year for not using due diligence cos it might have upset the “minister” and her career!
Eventually we’ll get a result from the multi-million dollar cost of the Royal Commission but you can guarantee other than some harsh words and maybe a coupla “naughty corner” public serpents that’ll be the end of it ………!
And anyone who sez CRIME DOESN’T PAY has never worked in the Public Service!
‘Strong dissatisfaction’: China’s fury over US shooting down balloon
By ADAM CREIGHTON
Beijing has blasted the Pentagon’s decision to shoot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon spotted flying over North America, accusing the United States of “clearly overreacting and seriously violating international practice”.
“China expresses strong dissatisfaction and protests against the use of force by the United States to attack the unmanned civilian airship,” Beijing’s foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that it would “reserve the right to make further necessary responses”.
China mounted “the largest intelligence operation in the history of the human race” against the US and Australia, a former top US intelligence official has warned, as the US military shot down a Chinese spy balloon as it neared the Atlantic coast above the Carolinas.
A missile from a US fighter jet shot down the Chinese spy balloon, about the size and weight of three school buses, above Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Saturday afternoon (Sunday morning AEDT), ahead of attempts to salvage what’s left of the device from the ocean.
The debris fell in relatively shallow water about 14 metres deep and was spread out over at least 11 kilometres, according to defence officials.
“I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible,” President Joe Biden said after landing in Maryland on Saturday (Sunday AEDT). “I want to compliment our aviators that did it”.
Defence secretary Lloyd Austin in a separate statement said the authorities had waited until the balloon was over ocean before shooting it down to avoid “undue risk to people across a wide area”, and thanked Canadian authorities for their help in tracking the balloon.
“Today’s deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the safety and security of the American people first while responding effectively to the PRC’s unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Mr Austin said in a statement.
Douglas Wise, a former Deputy Director of the US Defence Intelligence Agency, told The Australian China already sees itself “at war” with the US and Australia even if we don’t, dismissing Beijing’s claim the balloon was a civilian weather aircraft that had drifted off course.
“What they did with the balloon is provocative, [the risk of being found out] is not worth the intel value, there has to be other value to it,” Mr Wise speculated, suggesting the Chinese could have been testing “a potential weapons delivery or advanced sensor systems”.
US authorities shut down airports and the airspace above North and South Carolina on Saturday (Sunday AEDT), where the balloon, which authorities had determined to be “manoeuvrable”, had travelled, fuelling speculation the US was intending to shoot it down.
“We‘re going to take care of it,” Mr Biden had earlier told reporters on Saturday when he landed in New York, without providing any further detail.
When it was first observed floating around 18 kilometres above Montana – near where the US maintains intercontinental ballistic missile operations – the Pentagon dissuaded President Biden from ordering the balloon, for fear of potential losses to life and property on the ground.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned trip to China on Friday (Saturday AEDT), telling Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi the incident was “a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law”.
Mr Blinken’s trip, where he was due to meet President Xi Jinping to discuss a wide variety of matters including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, would have been the first trip by a secretary of state to China since 2018, and part of an attempt to improve relations between the two superpowers who have fallen out of a range of political and economic issues.
“China’s decision to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have,” Mr Blinken, who also said he still intends to visit China “when conditions allow”, said at a news conference on Friday afternoon.
Mr Wise, who spent decades in the CIA and DIA before retiring in 2016 said Australia “should be seriously concerned [about China’s intelligence gathering efforts]”.
“Given the scale, intensity, and magnitude of the Chinese intelligence operation against Australia and the United States, we must be extra vigilant and work as hard as we can to penetrate and gain insight and into the details of that,” he said.
“The Chinese have patience, that is unlimited… they are dangerous because they don‘t have accountability and they don’t operate under rule of law or a moral frame of reference”.
Deputy prime minister Richard Marles, speaking on Friday (Saturday AEDT) to reporters in Washington after news of the balloon broke, said it had “raised a lot of questions”. “And we’ll await the answers to those questions from China,“ he added.
ADAM CREIGHTON
Race for the wreckage: US secures perimeter around spy balloon to stop China reaching it before navy salvage vessel which may not be on scene six miles off the coast of South Carolina for DAYS – as cockpit audio details moment it was shot down
. US Navy and Coast Guard vessels are securing the perimeter off the coast of South Carolina where a fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon
. A proper salvage vessel, however, won’t be on the scene for days, officials said
. They added that the downed balloon had a debris field of seven-miles wide and fell into waters of about 47 feet deep
Re the polio vaccines: the Salk Vaccine used the traditional method which killed the virus before making the vaccine. The Sabin Oral vaccine is regarded as superior because it can be left at 37 degrees for two days, requiring less refrigeration, which makes it easier to administer in the third world. It is also more effective. However, the Sabin vaccine contains a live virus, which has been ‘attenuated’ to make it basically inactive in humans. Regrettably, and rarely, sometimes it does activate in a vaccinated individual, and sometimes it can transfer the attenuated virus from the vaccinated to other individuals.
Vaccinating against polio has saved countless thousands of lives, and saved so much horrible ongoing cruelty and distress for the lives of poliio-affected children that not vaccinating is a risk most parents would not wish to take. The anti-US and anti-Polio vaxx campaigns by some Mullahs in Pakistan has seen a rise in polio deaths and morbidity amongst children there, as well as the slaughter of health workers giving the vaccinations. Not something I’d endorse.
A short clip of Jordan Peterson chatting to Joe Rogan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_dIaeNu0JI
Couple of
90% of ‘trans’ kids end up accepting their body as-is by 18.
80% of ‘trans’ kids end up being gay
So if you mutilate kids, what does that mean for the gay lobby?
and the ‘devouring mother’.
Old Jim Cairns used to set out his little table at Monash University.
Wind winding down?
Absolutely apropos for the situation spinning in the turbine industry, only they didn’t back into it by mistake – they ran into it full tilt, with their corporate hands out. Now the entire industry is hitting headwinds they hadn’t counted on and it could spell disaster.
The European wind industry has warned of continued difficulties in 2023 as high materials costs and slow approvals for new wind power projects drag back profitability, despite rising demand for renewable energy.
…The effects of the Russian war on Ukraine drove up prices for energy and important raw materials such as steel last year, creating a perfect storm for the European wind sector.
Despite escalating demand from governments and customers for renewable energy as a result of the energy crisis, the slow EU and UK approval processes have created a backlog of projects and delayed new turbine orders.
German manufacturer Siemens Gamesa, one of the premier turbine providers in the renewables game, reported an almost billion-dollar loss for the Oct-Dec quarter of last year! So guess what they want?
Global green energy company Siemens Gamesa reported Thursday that it had lost a staggering $967 million during the three-month period from between October to December.
The Germany-based company, which dubs itself as “the global leader in offshore power generation,” noted the wind industry has faced various unfavorable pressures leading to negative growth in recent months and years, in its earnings report for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 released Thursday morning. The company added that governments would need to further assist the industry to ensure future positive growth.
If you guessed “a bailout,” you’re right!
What isn’t in that report was another season for the disastrous returns – they make a crappy product? Their loss doubled because of warranty claim payouts.
Beleaguered wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa (SGREN.MC), soon to be delisted and folded into parent Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE), said on Thursday its first-quarter net loss more than doubled on higher warranty provisions as a result of faulty components.
…The company last month flagged increased failure rates of unspecified components of its installed onshore and offshore wind turbines, triggering higher warranty provisions that have also plagued Danish rival Vestas (VWS.CO).
“The negative development in our service business underscores that we have much work ahead of us to stabilize our business and return to profitability,” said Siemens Gamesa Chief Executive Jochen Eickholt, who joined from Siemens Energy last year.
It sounds like the Danish company Vestas isn’t exactly a sterling production model either. Their warranty claims exceeded their revenue target (am I reading that right?)?
Disaster
Disaster.
Here in the U.S., General Electric was humming along in its financials except…*sad trombone*…when it got to their turbine business. Ooo, they took a hit, too. Really fugly numbers.
…The company’s renewable energy business has been facing challenges due to inflation and supply chain pressures. The unit reported a loss of $2.2 billion in 2022.
GE is reducing global headcount at the onshore wind unit by about 20% as part of a plan to restructure and resize the business.
What a surprise. Look who GE is counting on to save the windy day! Tax credit bailout.
…Culp said the onshore business is expected to get a boost following the restoration of the tax credit for wind projects.
It’s not just manufacturing, although their woes are feeding into these problems. Offshore wind projects that were touted as saving the world just a few months ago are on shaky pedestals. The company that is fighting off accusations of whale killing for the prep work going on off the New Jersey coast has just taken a massive write-off on a project underway in the waters off New York state.
…Denmark’s Orsted (ORSTED.CO), the world’s No. 1 offshore wind farm developer, late on Thursday announced a writedown on a large U.S. offshore wind project and an earnings forecast for 2023 that fell short of analyst estimates.
…Orsted shares tumbled by more than 7% on Friday after it announced a 2.5 billion Danish crown ($366 million) writedown on its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York, citing changes to its earnings projections.
It said earnings at the prices it had agreed for the project – due to become fully operational in 2025 – will be squeezed by significant inflationary pressures and higher interest rates now faced across the sector.
In an interesting turn of events in New Hampshire, a company contracted with the state for an offshore wind farm is embroiled in a major tussle with the state’s department of utilities. Avangrid has told the state they can’t afford to move forward, so “we’re not building it anymore.”
The state says differently.
Renewables have had plenty of time and bazillions of tax dollars already to stand on their own. We are all dealing the same inflationary pressures and Ukraine, etc – they aren’t suffering any industry peculiar hardships other than the fraud the “Green” industry is founded on.
Time to kick those tax training wheels out from under these bad boys and see how they twirl.
PS Disaster
My Daddy, after being summarily booted from the Marine Corps in their post-Korean War downsizing, went on to fly for Eastern Air Lines for 30-plus years. He was the loveliest person, a natural in the cockpit (soloing in an Indiana cornfield at the age of 12), and dearly loved truly awful puns. “Wind turbines” reminded me of one of his most excruciating funnies and the first time he sprung it on us:
Daddy: There was a horrible accident at work – a stewardess backed into a turning propeller!
Family: OMG! How is she?!
Daddy: DISASTER
*laughs uproariously*
GROAN Still cracks me up.
Albanese accuses Voice critics of trying to start a culture war.
Right.
This is the sort of crap you get after allowing the left to pretend to be legitimate participants in government.
I just see the Albanese Government as being an action reply of the Whitlam fiasco.
That’s as bad as:
Person One “Didi you hear about that actress getting stabbed … Reece …”
Person Two “Witherspoon?”
Person One “No, with a knife of course!”
Jim Cairns became a pathetic old hippie. I saw him at a rock concert I attended in the Canberra region in the late seventies. He was a sad and deluded and rather broken aging man. Years later Junie was still breast-feeding their six year old son, as I recall.
Boambee John says:
February 5, 2023 at 1:21 pm
re Gray Connolly tweet
Buried lede from the former French CJ: “As to litigation, there is always the possibility that someone, someday will want to litigate matters relating to the Voice.”
Yes. Chairman of the National Native Title Tribunal (1994–1998).
Also
No scope for Voice litigation: ex chief justice
afr.com –
Michael Pelly – Legal editor
The people who are critics were content with the status quo (at least as far as Voices go) and the voice advocates are the ones who have set them as lives against the status quo.
So, Albo is saying the people who have done nothing have ‘declared war’, and the people who have launched a campaign are the hapless peaceable victims of an attack.
Damn he is stupid, and he has gathered around himself a stupid army in case occasionally his own stupidity is not enough.
Jimmy was well liked amongst the Labor Rank & File.
Went one vote short of ousting Whitlam in 1968.
Might have made a good P.M., but, alas, the lure of the bearded clam did him in, courtesy The Spooks.
He did foresee Q.E., though, but printing money to get outtava hole was a No/No in those days.
Lizzie @ 2:47…..
Years later Junie was still breast-feeding their six year old son, as I recall.
Correct – regularly seen at shops in Kambah Village with a fully grown kid hanging off the saggy dugs.
The kid probably I expect grew to a man with a tit fetish.
Kamala Harris impersonator teaches Tucker how to cackle
Not in the way most blokes like to perve on a good set but the need to suckle.
Damn he is stupid, and he has gathered around himself a stupid army in case occasionally his own stupidity is not enough.
Hang on a flash?
Are you saying that FECCA is leading an Army of Stupids?
Not very Multicultural of you.
They always accuse their opponents of exactly what they’re doing themselves.
And show not a skerrick of embarrassment that it’s so obvious.
Peter Thiel on ‘Anti-Anti-Anti-Anti Classical Liberalism’ | Oxford Union
That’s true, though Dutton hasn’t fallen into the trap.
So long as he can maintain the Softly, Softly approach Albanese and the MSM will have to become even more unhinged.
ML be fair. Luigi has to be good at something, in his case, stupidity. He’s got it down pat.
Now it comes out.
ChatGPT Boss Sam Altman Hopes AI Can ‘Break Capitalism’
Ed Casesays:
February 5, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Damn he is stupid, and he has gathered around himself a stupid army in case occasionally his own stupidity is not enough.
Hang on a flash?
Are you saying that FECCA is leading an Army of Stupids?
Not very Multicultural of you.
FECCA orf Richard Cranium.
It seems like Tennis Albo’s latest pitch is “Da Voice won’t do nafink”.
Which will enrage the Lidia Thorpe revolutionaries.
Paper yesterday mentions “later migrations”:
Remapping the superhighways traveled by the first Australians reveals a 10,000-year journey through the continent (Phys.org, 3 Feb)
I’d only quickly scanned the article as I’m not that interested in this area, but I’ve put it up for those Cats who may want to read it more closely.
Remember love is love? No real big changes they said.
Then came the LGBTQI+ onslaught
RS,I knew you knew but stating the obvious has always been my weakness, I put it down to myopia.
and sugar
Richard Vobes
NHS Worker who witnessed vaccinated Patients suffer
Biden’s economic lies show he’s either a deluded narcissist or a total fraud
Apparently, not the first time. I wonder why it’s been so blown up this time.
Yes, Chinese Spy Balloons Flew Over The U.S. When President Trump Was In Office Too
A WEF paradise: You eat bugs, bugs eat you
China Threatens Repercussions for Downed Spy Balloon, Reserves ‘the Right to Take Further Actions in Response’
Native Tribes of Central Australia
Paper yesterday mentions “later migrations”:
Remapping the superhighways traveled by the first Australians reveals a 10,000-year journey through the continent (Phys.org, 3 Feb)
New research has revealed that the process of ‘peopling’ the entire continent of Sahul—the combined mega continent that joined Australia with New Guinea when sea levels were much lower than today—took 10,000 years.
…
The ancestors of Aboriginal people likely first entered the continent 75,000–50,000 years ago from what is today the island of Timor, followed by later migrations through the western regions of New Guinea.
The definitive study on when the the first peoples came to Australia is here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312577659_Humans_rather_than_climate_the_primary_cause_of_Pleistocene_megafaunal_extinction_in_Australia
The Mega Fauna extinction by humans commenced about 47000 years ago. The extinction of that Genus is the biggest man made extinction. Of course there may have been humans before then but they would have been latte sipping vegans of the pascoe variety.
Okay, here’s some of the answers I was looking for last evening.
In a world of drones and satellites, why use a spy balloon anyway?
Weren’t they just part of the dog family and therefore still around as part of the DNA of pooches?
TexasLindsay™
@TexasLindsay_
1. Meet Miles.
Miles writes for Rolling Stone.
Weirdly, Miles once wrote a book about the very thing he himself has since become—a propagandist.
Whoops no they weren’t. It describes a loose familial connection between species. Forget that, Cronkite.
Chris Sky
@chrissaccoccia1
The CARBON SCAM EXPLAINED and EXPOSED, and, how its part of “15 minute cities” You NEED to see this!
Flying Duk:
We’ve uncovered a shill for “Big Epicurean”.
Probably wants a special voice in Parliament.
Biden Administration Tried to Hide Chinese Spy Balloon from American Public
A thought provoking essay by Robert Kagan on the likelihood of China believing it can defeat the West led by the USA.
Challenging the U.S. Is a Historic Mistake
Like Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, today’s China is a rising power determined to dominate its region and convinced that American strength is waning. It runs the risk of experiencing a similar fate if it attacks Taiwan.
Chinese foreign policy under Xi Jinping rests on certain basic assumptions: that in a just world, China should be hegemonic in East Asia, the center of a system in which the other regional powers pay their respect and take direction from China, as was the case for two millennia prior to the 19th century; that regions once considered by Beijing to have been part of China should be “reunified” with it; and that a revived China should have at least an equal say in setting the norms and rules of international life. These goals are achievable, Mr. Xi asserts, because the world is undergoing “great changes unseen in a century,” namely, the “great rejuvenation” of Chinese power and the decline of American power. “Time and momentum are on our side,” according to Mr. Xi.
There is no denying that China has acquired substantial global power and influence in recent decades. Even if this is “peak China,” as some suggest, it is already East Asia’s economic hegemon and, were it not for the U.S., would likely become the region’s political and military hegemon as well (though perhaps not without a conflict with Japan). Left to itself, a modernizing China could one day dominate its neighbors much as a unified, modernizing Germany once dominated Europe and a modernizing Japan once dominated China and the rest of East Asia. Those powers also believed that “time and momentum” were on their side, and in many respects they were right.
Yet those examples should give Chinese leaders pause, for both Japan and Germany, while accomplishing amazing feats of rapid expansion for brief periods of time, ultimately failed in their ambitions for regional hegemony. They underestimated both the actual and potential power of the U.S. They failed to understand that the emergence of the U.S. as a great power at the beginning of the 20th century had so transformed international circumstances that longstanding ambitions of regional hegemony were no longer achievable. At this moment of high tension over Taiwan and the Chinese spy balloon detected this week over the U.S., Xi Jinping runs the risk of making the same historic mistake.
The world entered a new phase when the U.S. emerged as a great power at the beginning of the 20th century. As Theodore Roosevelt observed in 1900, the U.S., due to its “strength and geographical situation,” had become “more and more the balance of power of the whole globe.” This was no metaphor. As Germany discovered in World War I, the U.S. could determine the outcome of any major regional conflict by bringing its vast wealth, population and productive capacity to bear on one side or the other. Although the Germans correctly calculated their military and economic superiority over their neighbors, the additional millions of fresh American troops and billions of American dollars’ worth of supplies quickly made their situation untenable. As one top German general put it, “We cannot fight the whole world.”
In World War II, Germany and Japan may have correctly judged their chances of success against their regional opponents. By early 1942, well over half the planet’s productive capacity was under the control of the Axis powers—Germany, Japan and Italy. Yet even then the entry of the U.S. into the war marked the beginning of the end for all three powers and their regimes. As an exasperated Hitler observed, the Americans and British together had “the world at their disposal.” In addition to America’s size, wealth and productive capacity, it enjoyed something close to invulnerability from foreign invasion. Hitler once remarked that Germany had as much a chance of conquering America as America had of conquering the moon, and he admitted soon after the U.S. entered the war that he had no idea how to defeat it.
Victims of aggression, especially those with liberal regimes, came to expect sympathy and eventual support from America. The problem was not just America’s power and relative invulnerability. Prior to the emergence of the U.S., regional hegemons could generally count on their weaker neighbors to accommodate their rising power. But the arrival of the U.S. as a power with global influence at the start of the 20th century changed the equation. Would-be victims of aggression, especially those with liberal regimes, came to expect sympathy and eventual support from liberal America. As Winston Churchill put it after Dunkirk, the British would fight on until “in God’s own time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”
The expectation of eventual American support proved a critical factor in Europe before and during World War II. As Hitler remarked ruefully to his generals in January 1941, hope for America’s help “keeps Britain going.” In 1934, Tokyo blocked any further Western assistance to the Chinese, correctly believing that it discouraged the Chinese from accepting Japanese rule. Let Asia be for the Asians, was the Japanese slogan, which in practice meant letting Japan manage relations with its neighbors without American interference. Hitler, too, promised to leave “America for the Americans” if the U.S. would just leave “Europe for the Europeans,” which was to say, for Germany.
The critical role the U.S. played in the decision-making of others was best demonstrated over the course of the 1920s and ‘30s. For the first decade and a half after the end of World War I, as the U.S. stepped away from direct involvement in Europe, the European powers did indeed try to settle their own problems in the only way left to them—by accommodating the rising power and growing ambitions of Germany. America’s policy of deliberate disinterest—codified in the neutrality laws of the mid- and late-1930s—played a critical part in convincing Britain’s Neville Chamberlain to pursue appeasement. The agreement at Munich to give parts of Czechoslovakia to Germany was the result of a domino effect that began with the U.S.: The Czechs, though prepared to fight the Germans, could not do so without the support of Britain and France, but the British and French would not offer their support if they could not count on the U.S. to back them up.
Appeasement ended after 1938 not just because Hitler reneged and took the rest of Czechoslovakia but because it became clear to everyone that the Americans, led by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, were finally changing their minds about the importance of Europe. Even this flicker of hope was enough to make them resist. Hitler blamed the U.S. both for Poland’s rejection of his territorial demands in 1939 and for Britain and France’s decision to declare war after he invaded Poland that year.
In both world wars, the aggressors believed that the U.S. would not try to stop them.
America’s unpredictability itself posed a problem for would-be aggressors, for in each crisis the aspiring hegemonic powers badly misjudged both American capabilities and, perhaps more importantly, American intentions. In both world wars, the aggressors believed that the U.S. would not try to stop them and that, even if it did try, it lacked the wherewithal to make a difference in time.
Such miscalculations were understandable. The American military in both 1917 and after 1939 was not remotely prepared for industrial warfare on a global scale. In 1917 the Americans could not deploy more than 25,000 troops abroad for any length of time and lacked a navy capable of operating with effect in both the Pacific and the Atlantic theaters at the same time. In 1939 the Luftwaffe had 8,000 new aircraft; the U.S. Army Air Force had 1,700 mostly outdated planes. The German army had 2,000 new tanks; the U.S. had 325, many of World War I vintage. Meanwhile, the Imperial Japanese Navy had more and better warships than anything the Americans could put in Pacific waters, especially once the war in the Atlantic heated up.
Nor did the U.S. in 1939 possess the industrial plant required to boost weapons production quickly. Arms manufacturers, hounded by congressional investigations and starved of government contracts, had shut down production lines. Any significant buildup would require retooling factories and a transformation of the national economy that would take at least two years.
It was not just that the Americans were physically unprepared for war. They also insisted they would not, in fact, go to war. The neutrality legislation that barred the U.S. from even embargoing an aggressor persisted well into 1939. As late as 1941, Roosevelt was still promising not to send American soldiers overseas. It was clear to foreign observers like the Nazi leader Joseph Goebbels that, while Roosevelt might be prepared for war, the American public still wanted peace. “What is America but beauty queens, millionaires, stupid records and Hollywood?” Hitler remarked, while the great Japanese naval strategist, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, regarded the American people as “self-indulgent weaklings.”
Neither could imagine that the U.S. of 1939 would become the U.S. of 1942, producing weapons and materiel at a rate that defied all past experience. Between the summer of 1940 and the summer of 1945, American shipyards produced 141 aircraft carriers, eight battleships, 807 cruisers, destroyers, and destroyer escorts, and 203 submarines. American auto manufacturers and other industries converted their assembly lines to produce 88,410 tanks and self-propelled guns, 257,000 artillery pieces, 2.4 million trucks, 2.6 million machine guns and 41 billion rounds of ammunition. The budding American aviation industry eventually produced 170 aircraft per day for a total of 324,750 over the course of the war.
And who could have anticipated the furious blood lust that seized Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor? Walter Lippmann once observed that Americans were “too pacifist in time of peace and too bellicose in time of war.” The racially charged hatred for the “Japs,” compounded by the “infamy” of the attack on Pearl Harbor, turned a generally pacifist America into a bloody-minded America. The would-be hegemons of Europe and Asia, looking at the U.S. in peacetime, could not imagine the powerful fury of which Americans were capable in wartime.
Chinese leaders today may be making the same error as past aspiring hegemons. And China, for all its growing might, starts from a less formidable position. At their peak in 1941, the Axis powers had a combined GDP larger than that of the U.S. and only a little smaller than the combined GDP of the U.S. and Britain. Today the U.S. and its allies and partners (which includes most of Europe, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and others) produce over 50% of the world’s wealth, while China and Russia together produce a little over 20%.
The Chinese military, though large and growing, also remains untested by battle. On paper Vladimir Putin’s military looked formidable—more formidable than China’s—yet its performance has not matched its reputation. Despite billions of rubles spent on modernization, Russian technology still lags behind that of the U.S. and its allies. Nor have Russia’s nuclear weapons been of any real use in this conflict, except as a bluff. One of the great myths today is that nuclear weapons have changed all military calculations, but as the conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated, conventional war involving nuclear powers is still very possible.
China has begun its drive for regional hegemony from a much weaker starting point than past would-be hegemons. China has also begun its drive for regional hegemony from a much weaker starting point than past would-be hegemons. By the time the U.S. began to rouse itself to deal with the German challenge in World War I or with the aggressions of Germany and Japan in World War II, those great powers had already acquired both military and economic hegemony in their respective regions. Even the Soviet Union started the Cold War with hegemony over half of Europe, though in the end it could not preserve it.
China, on the other hand, does not even control all the territory in the region it regards as its own: notably, Taiwan and some islands in the East and South China Seas. It is surrounded by powerful neighbors—an India that is about to surpass China in population; a Japan that has the third largest economy in the world and could become a powerful nuclear state overnight if it chose; a South Korea that wields substantial economic and military power; and, of course, Australia. All of these countries are fearful of China’s rising power and are either allied to the U.S. or look to it to help defend themselves.
Mr. Putin, facing similar obstacles in Europe, has discovered the resilience of the American-led system and his neighbors’ willingness to resist superior Russian power when protected by it. Would the people of Ukraine, for all their courage and heroism, still be fighting Russia today without the support of the U.S. and its allies? Or would they have had to accept their fate as the neighbor of a powerful, aspiring hegemon, as the Czechs did in 1938? Who knows how well the Czechs might have fared against an untested German military had they been given the minimal support they needed? And who knows what might have become of Hitler if he, like Mr. Putin, had failed to achieve a rapid success?
Beijing faces a parallel problem in Taiwan. For most of the past three decades governments in Beijing have hoped that the people of Taiwan would gradually yield and agree to unification with the mainland. Instead, the Taiwanese have been able to defy Chinese pressure because of the support and commitments they receive from the U.S. The Chinese are bitter about this. They believe that the “One China” policy, dating from the Nixon administration, was supposed to reduce American support for Taiwan to the point where the Taiwanese would feel they had to accept Beijing’s offer of union. Things have not turned out that way. Nazi Germany defeated France, the strongest land power in Europe at the time; China has not been able to compel a small, isolated island less than one-fiftieth its size to knuckle under.
That the Germans and Japanese achieved more, and by force, does not mean they were more inherently aggressive than the Chinese might be, or than Mr. Putin has proven himself to be. They found themselves in a temporarily permissive environment when the U.S. turned inward after World War I. China’s environment has not been as accommodating because of the strength of the American-led liberal world.
Even if the Chinese did succeed in forcing Taiwan to “reunite,” either by military assault or naval blockade, would China then be in a position to exercise hegemony across East Asia? Or might that be the beginning of the end for this Chinese regime? The attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent destruction of American forces in the Philippines and the western Pacific were astonishing victories over the U.S., but they were also the beginning of the end for Imperial Japan. Beijing may well be able to take Taiwan, and the U.S., typically slow to prepare and respond, may not be able to prevent it. But what then?
Perhaps Mr. Xi believes that the U.S., Japan and the other powers in the region will simply adjust to the new reality. Many Americans may now think the same. There would certainly be voices in the U.S. calling for restraint. But while an attack on Taiwan would not have the same effect on Americans as the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. is already very anxious about the threat of China, even when an attack on Taiwan is only prospective. It would be foolish for the Chinese to assume that such an attack would not prompt the American public to support a far more aggressive approach.
Whether the ensuing conflict is hot or cold, China would have to expect to face the full weight of the American-led liberal world order. Japan, which has already modified its pacifist constitution to allow greater military cooperation with the U.S., would likely militarize further and might even start producing nuclear weapons. India would become more concerned about China, as would all of China’s neighbors other than Russia. Even Europe is likely to view a Chinese act of aggression as yet another threat to the democratic order they are defending in Ukraine. And all will look to the U.S.
Xi may believe American power has declined dramatically, but as Putin has discovered, the contrary is true. Mr. Xi may believe American power has declined dramatically, but as Mr. Putin has discovered, the contrary is true. The ability of the American-led order to defend itself is far greater than it was in the first half of the 20th century. In 1917 and 1939, the U.S. had no overseas allies; today it has more than 50 allies and strategic partners across the globe. Prior to 1945, the U.S. had no significant overseas military presence outside the Western Hemisphere; now it has the world’s only true blue-water navy and military bases throughout the world. In the 1930s the American peacetime military was incapable of taking on other great powers; now it has a large, highly equipped and battle-tested force superior to all other militaries. And it exercises, with its rich allies, a remarkable degree of control over the global economy, with sanctions and other financial weapons that did not exist until the last three decades—as Mr. Putin has also discovered.
Is the U.S. still able to outproduce an adversary as it did in the two world wars and during the Cold War with the Soviet Union? We don’t know what a more fully mobilized 21st-century America would look like, but there is reason to think it would be formidable. This year the U.S. will spend less than 4% of its GDP on defense. That is a peacetime military budget and a comparatively low one. In Dwight Eisenhower’s last budget in 1960, the U.S. spent 9% of GDP on defense; in the Reagan years it spent just under 7%. If the U.S. spent 7% of GDP on the military today, it would amount to annual defense spending of almost $1.6 trillion, compared with the slightly over $800 billion it currently spends.
As for the technological competition, the Chinese have certainly kept up with and perhaps even rivaled the U.S. in some areas of weapons development. But would a U.S. fully geared for confrontation and possible war not be able to match China? Today, the technological superiority of American weaponry on the battlefield is evident in Ukraine. It’s possible that the Chinese could surpass the U.S. in innovation and development in an all-out, head-to-head competition, but it seems unlikely.
Are Americans as a people up to a major confrontation with another great power, whether in immediate conflict or a protracted Cold War-like struggle? It would be dangerous for a potential adversary to assume they are not. Whatever condition the American political system may be in, it is not appreciably worse than it was during the 1930s. That, too, was a deeply polarized America, including on the question of whether to intervene in the world’s conflicts. But once the U.S. found itself at war, dissent all but disappeared. If ever there could be a cure for American political polarization, a conflict with China would be it.
Can it possibly be worth it for Xi Jinping to bring on such a confrontation? Consider Mr. Putin’s attempt to conquer Ukraine. Even if Russia were to prevail—which looks increasingly unlikely—Ukraine’s neighbors would arm themselves to the teeth, the U.S. would increase its forward presence, and a new iron curtain would fall along the western borders of Ukraine. Mr. Putin’s overall objective of regaining Russian hegemony in eastern and central Europe would still be far off and likely unreachable. The U.S.-led liberal world order would still be intact and capable of blocking further Russian advances. Mr. Putin has made a very expensive investment for what in the best of circumstances must be a relatively small payout.
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would pose the same problems. Beijing might achieve a significant strategic victory, but it would come at the price of alarming the whole world, pushing American allies into a closer embrace with Washington and frightening the American public into an all-out effort to contain and weaken China.
China’s fundamental problem, after all, is not Taiwan’s continuing de facto independence. It is the unfavorable configuration of power in the world, of which Taiwan’s defiance is only a symptom. The Chinese will likely always chafe at the liberal global hegemony that American power sustains. They will be uncomfortable relying for the security of their shipping on the goodwill of the U.S. Navy. They will be unhappy having their historic ambitions frustrated. China is the latest “have not” great power. Like Germany and Japan in the years leading up to World War II, it wants vast wealth and power, a large sphere of influence, control of the seas and a seat at the head table setting the rules of international affairs.
But what Xi Jinping’s China wants and what it can have are two different things. China is succumbing to a common malady of rising powers—an inability to be satisfied with “good enough.” The unification of Germany in 1871 was analogous to China’s recovery and success during the reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping. The German-speaking population spread across central Europe had been weak and divided among its many small states and principalities. For Otto von Bismarck and his generation, unification was an immense, historic achievement. The Germany they created was big, rich and relatively secure—more so than at any time in the history of the German-speaking people.
Under Bismarck, Germany was a satisfied power, likely to become the hegemon of Europe simply by being the continent’s biggest economy and most populous nation. Indeed, he feared that any further German expansion or signs of ambition would lead the other European powers to gang up against it. His strategy was to balance Germany’s competitors against one another, and he was content to let Britain rule the seas and to preserve a rough balance of power in Europe with Russia and France.
The next generation of German leaders had greater ambitions, however, commensurate with their greater power. And they feared that they would be prevented from their fair share of global influence by Britain, France and Russia. Fear of being contained and denied drove Germany to precisely the end it most feared. As the historian Michael Geyer describes it, “a catastrophic nationalism” led Germans into a “real-life disaster in order to avoid mythical catastrophe.”
Japan pursued much the same tragic course. The Japanese had accomplished amazing feats by the end of the 19th century. From a position of near complete isolation, Japan emerged after the Meiji revolution in the late 19th century as the strongest power in East Asia, defeating China in 1895 and Russia a decade later. The old oligarchs of the day warned that it would be dangerous to seek more. As the respected Japanese statesman Ito Hirobumi put it in the late 1880s, “The high tree encounters strong wind.”
But younger generations of Japanese leaders were not satisfied. The Japan that emerged from World War I was stronger than ever but uncomfortably dependent on the two Anglo-Saxon powers. Many Japanese believed that their country could not keep up in the competition, win the respect it deserved and acquire the land it needed to expand unless it became an empire. Japan’s ambitions were not unreasonable for a rising power; it just turned out that those ambitions could not be accomplished without conflict with the U.S.
Modern Chinese thinking is not so different. China’s leadership sees further growth, power and expansion as necessary to its survival. They believe that the U.S. and other powers seeking to constrain China are bent on its destruction—or, more specifically, on the destruction of the Chinese Communist Party. The goal of the U.S. and its allies, Mr. Xi told a party conference early in his tenure, is “to vie with us for the battlefields of people’s hearts and for the masses, and in the end to overthrow the leadership of the CCP and China’s socialist system.”
Ideology is now also a major obstacle to China’s further “unification.” China’s crackdown on democratic institutions and forces in Hong Kong has greatly increased Taiwan’s hostility to the idea of One China, just as U.S. support encourages the Taiwanese to resist Beijing’s pressures. The two together are a disaster for Chinese ambitions.
Can Xi Jinping reconcile himself to these limits, to a world that will continue to be defined by the liberal hegemony of the U.S.?
The Japanese faced just this dilemma in 1941. By that point, leading Japanese military officials believed ultimate victory against the U.S. was unlikely. Yet the option of backing down and accepting “Little Japan” was too humiliating. It meant giving up the dream of a new Japanese-led Asian order. For Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, as for other Japanese leaders in 1940 and 1941, war was more honorable than accepting an American-imposed peace, even a losing war.
As Tojo put it, “Occasionally, one must conjure up enough courage, close one’s eyes and”—in the Japanese expression for taking the plunge—“jump off the platform of the Kiyomizu [temple].” Xi Jinping, too, may decide to take the leap. If so, he is likely to join Vladimir Putin, the Soviets, and the Axis leaders of World War II in bringing a tragedy upon his people and the world.
Mr. Kagan is the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Senior Fellow with the Project on International Order and Strategy at the Brookings Institution.
Another estimate floating around.
I don’t know how many known aboriginal languages still exist here in Aus. Some sites state 10 are still spoken.
They do though seem to be able to find a word when they want to for renaming a place etc.
In my searches I’ve yet to find an aboriginal word for homosexual on the www.
Trailer FIXED I think – despite the wheel apparently spinning freely, binding, I backed off the brake adjuster and just did a 50km test run: both sides now running mid 20C range; 🙂
Will console self with ‘the bearing looked ok when i pulled it’
Mother Lode:
He’ll probably get it too, being a subgroup of a minority. In this house anyway.
That would be an underestimate.
Just found, by accident, The Racial Slur Database.
Anyway, Albo is a racial slur of Albanians, and it gets worserer from there on down.
Happy reading.
“In my searches I’ve yet to find an aboriginal word for homosexual on the www.”
Not quite words for homosexual but still it is a start.
Found here. Trannies are not traditional indigenous adornments so it must be new language.
Nothing creepy going on with this place, nope; nothing creepy at all.
The kid probably I expect grew to a man with a tit fetish.
Well, despite Loudon III’s fears…
…Rufus didn’t.
…unless you count autogynephilia
I would be very happy if I received this bouquet for Valentines Day. 😉
Brotherboy and Sistergirl: Terms used by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to describe trans people.
I suspect that this is an invention of the Alphabet People. From my experience “sister” – for example – is a term colloquially used by Aboriginal men for a woman or girl – but who is not a “sister” in our familial sense.
Anyway, Albo is a racial slur of Albanians, and it gets worserer from there on down.
Happy reading.
Crotchless is 3rd nations for antisemite.
I don’t know how many known aboriginal languages still exist here in Aus. Some sites state 10 are still spoken.
That would be an underestimate.
I can’t be absolutely certain – but I am fairly sure that more than 10 languages are still spoken in various communities. In colonial times, I think it was well over 300. Clan groups in fairly close geographical proximity not infrequently had difficulty in communication.
The proliferation of languages in early times makes a mockery of this “First Nations” nonsense.
Cheers. It is a very real threat driven by ideology not necessity.
Cat is 3rd Nations for Mr Sulu.
The proliferation of languages in early times makes a mockery of this “First Nations” nonsense.
How so?
Nations are distinguished by their own languages, right?
Vicki says:
February 5, 2023 at 4:11 pm
A thought provoking essay by Robert Kagan on the likelihood of China believing it can defeat the West led by the USA.
Challenging the U.S. Is a Historic Mistake
Vicki,
thanks for that, a compreshensive & interesting assessment
My only question in today’s America, is that its ethnic makeup has changed a lot from the 30s/40s. and would there still be the cohesion to fight?
Meow.
Years later Junie was still breast-feeding their six year old son, as I recall.
Decades ago, living in Bondi, I had a neighbour who breast-fed her daughter until the girl was about seven years old. The little girl had bad speech problems. I often wondered if these speech problems were caused by the fact she was being breast-fed years past an appropriate age.
There’s also a woman on a bus I catch, who last year in full view of everyone on the bus, whipped out her droopy breast for her daughter, who was about six years old and who was still being pushed in a pram, to suckle on. You could see everyone on the bus, myself included, grimace.
Yawn, 100 years ago Rah Rah Rah.
The people of the US today are no longer the people of their forefathers.
In the olden days, you could make tanks and planes in a repurposed railway workshop. Today? Any slipway large enough could build a submarine, or a destroyer. Today? How many slipyards are there big enough? Home hobbyists and small workshops with a lathe could make parts for weapons. Today?
I see no evidence the US is preparing itself for war in the same manner as it did in 1939 as per this talk on the preparation for war by the Chieftan. https://youtu.be/siG939PqkkY
Perhaps 65,000 yrs or whatever could not have been achieved with ‘freeloaders’, whether it be aged or those not contributing to the birth rate.
In my searches I’ve yet to find an aboriginal word for homosexual on the www.
Buma Buma, or, try that Chat GTP ‘thingy’ and see how you go………………….
Perhaps 65,000 yrs or whatever could not have been achieved with ‘freeloaders’, whether it be aged or those not contributing to the birth rate
The present Aborigines are of White European descent and haven’t been here 65,000 years or anything like that.
Before 1788, they weren’t exposed to Alcohol or Vaccines and that made a huge difference to their overall health, as the first explorers commented on their appearance.
Psays:
February 5, 2023 at 4:11 pm
I don’t know how many known aboriginal languages still exist here in Aus. Some sites state 10 are still spoken.
They do though seem to be able to find a word when they want to for renaming a place etc.
Given the absence of written records, a made-up word is quite adequate for such purposes.
Ed Casesays:
February 5, 2023 at 4:25 pm
Just found, by accident,
Suuuuuure it was “by accident”, we all believe you.
Incursions into territory and other dekiberate ongoing ‘provocations’ made by commumist nations are a feature not a bug when it comes to communism. Ask the South Koreans about this, as I’ve mentioned re our DMZ visit.
You could also ask the Israelis, for the left runs cover for Palestine re provocations too.
I see it is from the Boing-Boing shop.
Cassie
There’s one solution to avoiding those grimacing scenes. Avoid public transport at all costs in Australia. I have, and in fact, I have only taken a tram in the last 30 years. Never buses nor trains.
If they’re old enough to ask for it, they are too old for it.
“JCsays:
February 5, 2023 at 5:13 pm
Cassie
There’s one solution to avoiding those grimacing scenes. Avoid public transport at all costs in Australia. I have, and in fact, I have only taken a tram in the last 30 years. Never buses nor trains.”
LOL…you’re like my sister!
I don’t have a car so it makes sense to use public transport. I live in the inner-city.
I haven’t driven in years although I keep my license up to date. I wouldn’t mind doing some driving. Yesterday, my sister picked me up in her new Volvo and I suggested that perhaps I could drive it to my nephew and his wife’s new abode. The look I got back from my sister put paid to that idea.
Bullshit. It may have grown, but we don’t know as the figures could be played with. But to suggest that living standards are rising with rising production is moronic nonsense when the Russians are on a war footing and producing war material as fast as they can.
Producing humungous amounts of bullets doesn’t do a thing to rise living standards.
The consumer is not better off considering the sanctions, etc. That’s all that really counts in a decent economic scenario, and the likely gouging going on from their southern ally would be huge and debilitating to the Russian consumer. Russian didn’t live by bread alone.
Oh dear. Plane’s delayed in Oz.
And I said the ‘f’ word about it so am in moderation. Hairy says it has now cleared the Torres Straits so it is on its way a/c to travel tracker.
Certain bogan princesses in this part of the world whip out a droopy tit to feed Junior, and any male who happens to glance in their general direction is branded a pervert…
ChatGPT
Question: number of aboriginal languages in australia
Response: There were approximately 250 indigenous languages in Australia prior to European settlement, but today many of these languages are endangered and only around 120 are still actively spoken.
Question: What are the 120 aboriginal languages still spoken actively today
Response: There is no exhaustive list of the 120 aboriginal languages that are still spoken actively in Australia today, but some of the more commonly known language groups include:
Warlpiri
Arrernte
Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY)
Tiwi
Pitjantjatjara
Yolngu
Bundjalung
Gamilaraay
Kala Lagaw Ya
Wangkangurru
Yankunytjatjara
It’s important to note that the list is not exhaustive and that the number of speakers for each language can vary greatly, with some having only a handful of speakers and others having thousands.
list all the commonly known aboriginal language groups
Here is a list of commonly known indigenous language groups in Australia:
1. Arrernte
2. Koori
3. Dharug
4. Pitjantjatjara
5. Yolngu
6. Warlpiri
7. Kaurna
8. Wangkatha
9. Noongar
10. Anangu
11. Yanyuwa
12. Gumbaynggir
13. Tiwi
14. Gamilaraay
15. Gumatj
Note: There are many more indigenous language groups in Australia, but this list includes some of the most well-known.
Living languages
In Australia there are more than 250 Indigenous languages including around 800 dialects. Languages are living things that connect people to Country, culture and ancestors.
In some areas like Arnhem Land, many different languages are spoken over a small area. In other areas, like the huge Western Desert, dialects of one language are spoken.
In the Torres Strait three main languages are spoken:
Kala Lagaw Ya is spoken on the western islands of Mabuiag and Badu.
Meriam Mir is spoken throughout the eastern islands of Erub (Darnley Island), Ugar (Stephen Island) and Mer (Murray Island).
Yumplatok, also known as Torres Strait Creole, is spoken in the Torres Strait and in some parts of Cape York Peninsula.
As of 2006 it was estimated that there were just over 200 Meriam Mir speakers.
Warlpiri is a central Australian language spoken primarily in the communities of Yuendumu, Lajamanu, Nyirripi and Willowra.
The 2006 Census recorded just over 2500 speakers, making it one of the most spoken languages in Australia in terms of number of speakers.
While languages may have been lying dormant they are never lost. By drawing on the memories of Elders and historical records, languages are being recovered and revitalised for future generations.
For almost a century, the Ngunnawal language had not been spoken fluently. Today the Ngaiyuriija Ngunawal Language Group, comprised of a number of Ngunawal family groups are revitalising their language, finding words thought lost, rediscovering language through journals, tapes and the few words held and shared by Elders.
In Port Headland, Western Australia, the Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre preserves, promotes and maintains around 31 Aboriginal languages across the Pilbara.
Today it holds a unique and diverse cultural collection including 5000 recordings of Pilbara languages in its archives.
Arthur Capell and language codes
Tue, 11 Oct 2016
Dr Kazuko Obata
For many years AIATSIS has been looking after Arthur Capell’s archive of more than 230 reels of language recordings. Among these are around 160 reels of recordings of non-Australian languages which AIATSIS has donated to the Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures.
‘Arthur Capell was a foundation member of our Council and his early work inspired our referencing system for Australian languages which is still used by linguists and collections staff today.’ — Russell Taylor, former AIATSIS CEO.
Preparation of this donation reminded me of an ongoing presence of Arthur Capell’s work at AIATSIS. Arthur Capell was a foundation member (1961-1968) of the Council of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS, now AIATSIS).
Among the significant contributions Capell made to the study of Australian languages was the introduction of language codes.
In his Linguistic Survey of Australia (1963), which Capell wrote for AIAS, he assigned a language code to each Australian language.
Each code consists of a letter and a number. The letter represents a region where the language is located. Australia is divided into eleven regions with each region represented by the first letter of the region name (Capell attributes David Moore for these divisions).
Arthur Capell’s language classification
Why was there need for language codes?
Australian languages were not written languages and it was only after the arrival of Europeans that people started writing down Australian languages. Since there was no standard orthography, different people (often with different language backgrounds) wrote the name of the same language in different ways.
Imagine saying a Japanese word to a group of people and asking them to write down what they have heard using the English alphabet. They will probably come up with different spellings, especially if each of them has a different language background.
To illustrate the variety of spellings that can be given to a language name see the section below on Yuwalaraay in Capell’s linguistic survey (more alternative spelling of this name can be found in Austlang).
Language codes are unique identifiers and are used to manage variations of spellings and names. AIATSIS adopted this referencing system but only the alphabets, not Capell’s own numbering. For example, the AIATSIS code for Yuwalaraay is D27, while Capell’s is D26.
These language codes are still in use by AIATSIS as a unique identifier in Austlang, a database of Australian languages.
Even today, many Australian language names do not have a standard spelling and there is no standard list of Australian languages. So don’t be surprised if you see the name of a language spelt differently, just think about which language code goes with it!
Why was there need for language codes?
Australian languages were not written languages and it was only after the arrival of Europeans that people started writing down Australian languages. Since there was no standard orthography, different people (often with different language backgrounds) wrote the name of the same language in different ways.
Imagine saying a Japanese word to a group of people and asking them to write down what they have heard using the English alphabet. They will probably come up with different spellings, especially if each of them has a different language background.
To illustrate the variety of spellings that can be given to a language name see the section below on Yuwalaraay in Capell’s linguistic survey (more alternative spelling of this name can be found in Austlang).
This is the Homer Paxton view of understanding and explaining economics. Years ago, that idiot Homer was peddling Keynesian economics, and of all the examples he raised, the daft moron brought up Nazi Germany in the 1930s. The idiot suggested that German GDP rose a lot from the time Hitler took over to just before the war.
It likely did so, but the production was forced and went directly towards stocking up on war material. And here’s the clincher, despite the increase in production, German living standards didn’t rise throughout this period. To some extent, the same thing applied to the US. Despite the mammoth increase in production during the war years. It was massive; American living standards did not rise until the late 1940s. The production significantly increased GDP… for the war effort, but did nothing to help consumers. War is and will always be economically destructive. This is all we need to keep in mind about this subject. Wars reduce living standards.
The numbe rof 251 languages is infinite! .. all you have to do is make one up like 90% of these plac enames no one else has ever heard before ..
Pascoe University has an entire 4 storey block for the languages dept. .. only qualification is to identify yourself as at least a 1024th .. Luigi funds it all via the one universal 251 word .. CentreLink ..
Times like that, you say to yourself, is this reality?
The result is degenerate weebs like Mike Rowe. (47 second clip of him on late night shopping network with a very strange segue…)
https://youtu.be/mDBM8lwVmQo
Does this hint at there being more to the story about your not currently driving?
Cassie
With one exception. Catching a ferry in Sydney is wonderful outside peak hour. 🙂
Brotherboy and Sistergirl: Terms used by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to describe trans people.
No it isn’t. Complete nonsense.
these are making me LoL.
This line they’re running now with the Voice, that it’s ‘above politics’ is what lefties/ liberals always say when they want to silence their opponents by making them fear that opposing it is beyond the pale. However, it’s also curious that the people that argue that the ‘personal is political’ will here argue that X or Y is above or beyond politics. These people are third-rate hucksters. Frauds.
dover0beachsays:
February 5, 2023 at 5:07 pm
Philip Pilkington
@philippilk
As a result of the sanctions, Russia’s economy is expected to grow faster than Germany. Everyone knows these policies have failed miserably. Can we stop pretending?
Economic Sanctions have always worked. BUT, not as intended.
OldOzzie says:
February 5, 2023 at 5:32 pm
Thanks OldOzzie.
I only asked the question re ‘homosexual’ because 40yrs ago I was in contact with an academic who was doing his PhD in compiling a dictionary of the Dharug language. He told me at that time that there was no word in that language for homosexual or same sex relationships.
“These people are third-rate hucksters. Frauds.”
It is axiomatic, they are frauds if they are on TV. Understanding modern politics is best done with a copy of the DSM V on hand by way of a psychological bird spotting manual. The left seems to collect bunny boilers at a higher rate than mere chance would suggest.
It’s failing, JC. You just have to watch the videos of people in stores (packed shelves) or reports from visitors to see that the sanctions have largely failed. They have either replaced departing companies with their own or substituted them with parallel imports through various countries. IMF is even forecasting growth above 2% in 2024.
The flow of goods from the West and its allies has basically stopped. Financial flows have stopped. Russia can access goods from China and India, but the cost is very high as they are being gouged. A dear friend recently sent me a macro piece from a large bank stating that China is now reducing its purchases of crude oil from Russia via sea transport because the Chinese cannot access freight insurance, and the shippers are gouging too. Wodney Woddenhead, just stick to posting that crap from the Leavenworth ex-con and stop thinking. Thinking is harmful to your health because it can lead to a massive stroke. STFU.
I agree Aldi is more egalitarian in Australia, it’s just my observation of the location of lidls in Europe, the range of goods and the people who’ve been shopping there when I visited.
People here more likely go to markets and speciality shops, butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers, etc of which there seem to be infinitely more than in Australia.
Oh yeah, perhaps you’re too young to recall pictures of those Soviet stores brimming with consumer goods.
The only way to shut up ChatGPT from telling me I needed gender equality in a building labouring firm was to tell it that giving legal advice was illegal.
These people are third-rate hucksters. Frauds.
You’re being too polite. I prefer psychopaths, narcissists and/or grifters.
It’s not 1980 anymore JC. The stores there in 2023 are full of wares.
Haha!
It’s Official: Ugly People More Likely To Wear Masks – University Study (5 Feb)
Well that completely disproves the thought that masks are useless, as this study claims:
‘Little to no difference’: Massive mask meta-study undermines remaining COVID mandates (3 Feb)
There you go, masks don’t stop a virus but do make you look less ugly.
Here is a mall walk through in 2023.
Catch a Manly ferry and they have the Four Pines pissery going.
Didn’t Jim Cairns live in Hawthorn and sell signed copies of his books at Camberwell Market on weekends?
Bill Maher
@billmaher
If you’re part of today’s woke revolution, you need to study the part of revolutions where they spin out of control.
A Woke Revolution
“JCsays:
February 5, 2023 at 5:50 pm
Cassie
With one exception. Catching a ferry in Sydney is wonderful outside peak hour. ?”
Two weeks ago I had a work lunch at Manly. I caught the fast ferry across from Circular Quay and the slow ferry back. It was divine. As mentioned before, I don’t particularly like work lunches but the ferry ride there made it bearable. The journey across was quite rough, particularly when the ferry passed the heads and it was choppy on the way back with lots of spray but when you’re sitting on the ferry you see a sublime harbour and foreshore that you don’t see from the land. On the ferry I thought of James Cook who no doubt, no doubt whatsoever, viewed the harbour, and of the First Fleet sailing in eighteen years later.
It was a real treat.
Come on down and play the game…Dom Perrottet!
Your question…What is the price of integrity?
rosiesays:
February 5, 2023 at 6:33 pm
Didn’t Jim Cairns live in Hawthorn and sell signed copies of his books at Camberwell Market on weekends?
Does/did Fat Boy know him? (Not in the biblical sense, of course.)
He told me at that time that there was no word in that language for homosexual or same sex relationships.
There’s no word for Homosexuality in the Hindu language, but, …
My reading of the works of the Anthropologists is limited but I believe the
Aborigines copulated and defecated in the open but ate alone.
So, perhaps there wasn’t the opportunity for the Neuroses and Psychosis that was common among the English and Irish to develop?
As a result of the sanctions, Russia’s economy is expected to grow faster than Germany.
I am not an economist, but to me the situation seems to be this:
Trade occurs when both parties come out ahead. It is not a zero-sum. If I have 10 loaves of bread but no water, and I meet a guy with 10L water but no bread, we are both better off after the deal. (This is what Chalmers doesn’t understand. He believes in the zero sun and thinks only government can do it ‘fairly’)
Point is that when Germany lost out with their sanctions, the Russians were not left richer, but poorer.
If they have been able to sell gas to someone else, they can’t have been as good customers as the Germans otherwise they would have preferred them to the Germans already.
Sanctions hurt both countries.
“Rogersays:
February 5, 2023 at 6:35 pm
This line they’re running now with the Voice, that it’s ‘above politics’…
Come on down and play the game…Dom Perrottet!
Your question…What is the price of integrity?”
Isn’t a funeral “above politics”? So where was Dominic, Chris and Anthony, all three supposed Catholics? Oh that’s right, attending a funeral takes integrity.
Superbowl is next Monday, and we have a guy in it.
Inside story: Agent on how Aussie became $64m Super Bowl star (Tele, 5 Feb, paywalled)
So I look up his wiki. Fine reading!
“Jordan Mailata is the son of Samoan immigrants to Australia. Mailata was born in Bankstown, Sydney … Mailata was then offered the opportunity to join the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ U20s team in 2017. The South Sydney Rabbitohs offered Mailata a one-year contract worth $5000 to play for the North Sydney Bears. … After seeing video clips of him playing rugby league, NFL executives invited Mailata to try out … Mailata was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 233rd overall pick in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft … On 31 August 2021, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni named Mailata the starter at left tackle for the 2021 NFL season … On 11 September 2021, Mailata signed a four-year, USD$64 million contract including $40.85 million guaranteed … On 21 December 2022, Mailata was named an NFC Pro Bowl alternate … His success has seen him frequently described by the media as a human “wrecking ball”.”
Wow, from Aussie $5000 in 2017 to one hundred million in 2023. Samoan Aussies are ace, a friend of mine in a Samoan Aussie with a PhD. He’s built like a brick outhouse, quite like Mr Mailata. I hope Mr Mailata goes well in the Superbowl!
need for what exactly??
We shall see.
Phrasing.
It’s a signature Moscow mall and it’s basically empty of shoppers. Moscow has always historically been relatively better serviced than the regions even during the comparable commie period.
You’re telling us that 40% of the world’s economy has essentially stopped trading with Russia and everything is hunky dory. It’s had no impact much.
I’ve always wanted a Chinese car. That’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid. 🙂
This is where things go from bad to worse. The embargo has presumably stopped high-tech products and equipment from going from the West to Russia. A Russian hospital has issues with its CT equipment. It can neither replace the parts nor buy the latest, fancy CT scanner. How about parts for its airline fleet that aren’t Russian-made? You’re dreaming if you think the war and sanctions have little to no impact. These are a couple of top of my head examples.
Chur, chur. The Vikings also had trans teens, amirite?
PS
Wouldn’t it be brothergirl and sisterboy???
Parrothead may have done the No Case a big favor by announcing for Yes, given that his endorsement isn’t worth much.
Obviously, it’s a NonWhites v White Australians Push, so the longer
Peter Dutton can string Albanese along with legit questions about The Voice, the more likely the Aussie in the Street will see the Referendum for the massive power grab that it is.
Funerals delayed as increase in number of deaths puts mortuaries under pressure
New World Odor™
@hugh_mankind
When Fascism becomes fashionable. Literally.
The WEF is promoting digital ID’s & digital passports on clothing.
It’s always been about control.
I highly doubt Joebama is capable of calling the shots anywhere, even at home sinking battleships whilst Dr Jill makes fish and chips for her best crackhead son.
It’s not that Ukraine doesn’t have a history of poor governance. It is the idea of the phantom handshaker organising a car boot let alone a colonial military office is hilarious.
Heirloom McLaren Vale Alaska Grenache is very good.
Not just the grape needing Shiraz and Mataro to make it acceptable in your GSM.
Fun too: if you thought GSM was the delicious experimenting of irreverent Australian vignerons and oenologists then think no more: it is just the mix for Chateauneuf du Pape but we cannot use the French name.
Fun too?
I typed ‘Fun fact’.
Auto-corrupt is becoming increasingly…strange.
I see Camberwell Market has already been discussed.
I knew Cairns lived on Wattle Rd in Hawthorn, in a nice old Victorian.
Google now tells me he moved to Narre Warren in the early 80s so he must have driven in to sell his books.
Huh, I took a look at Google earlier to see who Junie M was and it said they moved to French Island and the house was up for sale in 21.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/french-island-farm-linked-to-jim-cairns-and-junie-morosi-for-sale/
Far, far too expensive for most of our politicians.
Integrity costs.
One of the Australian media’s most famous annual bashes appears to have disappeared from the calendar – at least for 2023. Peter FitzSimons and Lisa Wilkinson’s Australia Day party was not held last month, leaving the pair’s nearest and dearest wondering whether it is now off for good.
Confidantes of the couple confirmed the bash fell victim to what they said – borrowing from the late Queen Elizabeth – an “annus horribilis” for the republican couple.
“They feel they’ve had the worst year of their lives: Fitzy with the controversy over his Jacinta Price interview, and Lisa, who felt she was unfairly targeted by sections of the media during the whole Brittany Higgins affair,” the friend said.
“So, as a result, they’re not having a party.”
Parties at FitzSimons and Wilkinson’s harbourside mansion in Cremorne have been a favourite of this column and its readers, with tales of A-list attendees such as PM Anthony Albanese, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, NSW premier-in-waiting Chris Minns and actors Simon Baker, Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward.
The highlight last year was an Indigenous performer reciting the Uluru Statement by heart.
But one notable omission got tongues wagging last year – the banishment of Stan Grant. The ABC’s Q+A host had ruffled the couple’s feathers in 2021 when he wrote a chapter for The Australian’s summer novel, Oh Matilda: Who Bloody Killed Her?
Grant made headlines by describing Fitzy and Lisa’s annual Australia Day bash in the novel as “a woke lefty love-in”, full of “journos, actors, writers, a couple of ex-Wallabies, a few washed-up politicians … and a former managing director of the ABC”.
One of Grant’s lines particularly irritated the couple by describing alleged contents of their house: “There were dot paintings on the wall, a photo with their arms around Cathy Freeman at Sydney Olympic Stadium and a framed copy of Paul Keating’s Redfern Statement signed by the last great Australian Prime Minister himself.”
Wilkinson is in the midst of her longest break at Ten since she joined the network five years ago, after announcing her shock departure from The Project in November. Diary understands that while she is still on leave, she is weighing up her next ‘project’ with the network.
With Wilkinson unlikely to put her hand up for Ten’s reality tentpoles like The Bachelor or jungle duty on I’m A Celebrity, her most likely next move is said to involve some form of interview special for Ten.
While she weighs up her future, she continues to collect a rumoured seven-figure salary under the watertight contract renewal she signed with Ten back in 2021.
Oz
here JC, looks like the Cairns marriage in trouble in 1976 but they later reconciled.
Some voicing in the US:
Black Guy Runs Down & Kills White Guy While Screaming About Racism
The poor sap killed was an ER doc specialising in treating black victims of crime.
Good lord they’re laying it on thick. Are they going to give their assets away to the nearest Aboriginal Land Council? No? Okay then.
That sort of squares up, Gwen is alone at Wattle Rd 1976 or a little before, then in 1981 it’s back together at Narre Warren.
Just so we make sure the record is correct. DOCTOR Jim Chalmers doesn’t have an economics degree. He doesn’t even have a political economy degree, which is just communism. DOCTOR Jim Chalmers, has a degree in political science and a PhD on Paul Keating (as we all knew). He’s spent his entire working life in politics. In other words, big ears is basically a no-nothing imbecile.
A growing online conspiracy theory is using the tagline “died suddenly” to baselessly claim that COVID-19 vaccines are killing people
Yes, indeed.
But it also strikes a deep, resonant chord that most people are pre-tuned to respond to.
And it can’t be faked.
I’m sipping some St Hallett “Lore of the Land” 2021 shiraz, which was on special so I thought I’d try it. Very decent.
I like GSMs a lot. Last week I saw someone has a riesling-shiraz blend out, which intrigued me, but I wimped out and didn’t try it. Shiraz-viognier is yummy though.
1 mn+ a year for Wilkinson? That is utterly bonkers. Give some young stud or beauty queen with an IQ above 100 a chance. Time to take the amphibian out to the lily pond upstate.
Is there a Doctorate in Spivology? Or is it On the Job training like TAFE?
I took my chances last night. Random white house wines at the pub. One rule, no chardonnay. I think the Prosecco was best.
Hahahahaha! Lucky the cloth-eared-bint isn’t in jail!
He wrote a PhD on Paul Keating and learned nothing.
That’s a special kind of imbecility.
John Spooner is on to it…he draws Chalmers’s eyes as small, vacant black dots.
Mother Lode says:
February 5, 2023 at 6:52 pm
Heirloom McLaren Vale Alaska Grenache is very good.
Not just the grape needing Shiraz and Mataro to make it acceptable in your GSM.
Fun too: if you thought GSM was the delicious experimenting of irreverent Australian vignerons and oenologists then think no more: it is just the mix for Chateauneuf du Pape but we cannot use the French name.
Tonight Drinking Heirloom Vineyards
Heirloom Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
Nice Drop – Will raise Glass to you Mother Lode & Cat Bloggers – Sante!
The lack of it is even more expensive. You can’t be happy if deep down you despise yourself.
Merck’s Taxpayer-Subsidized COVID Pill Linked to New Virus Mutations, Study Finds
I have a Chinese friend who was never much of a drinker: just made her feel unwell.
But through the persevering of my vices she has settled upon Riesling as eminently drinkable.
I am gladdened that she can now, in social situations (which happens a lot in business) choose a drink to sip on rather than feeling like the awkward teetotaller
She is a Design Manager on projects who learned her craft in the Construction industry so she can swear with the best of them. Now she can vent with grog too.
Oi! My first job I stained my feet black for a week because of the copper concentrate I was sloshing around in. One Christmas night I was up to my neck in magnetite slurry repairing a tank agitator. Another Christmas I dug out a roaster in a silver suit. I’m allowed a bit of spivitude now in my old age.
Bruce of Newcastle says:
February 5, 2023 at 7:11 pm
Heirloom McLaren Vale Alaska Grenache is very good.
I like GSMs a lot. Last week I saw someone has a riesling-shiraz blend out, which intrigued me, but I wimped out and didn’t try it. Shiraz-viognier is yummy though.
On Serrat Mailing List and have been purchasing Serrat Shiraz-Voigner since 2014 (stiil have 3 bottles left)
2020: showing the cool late year, black pepper and spice plenty of graphite like tannins, needs a couple of years in the cellar to show it’s best 2026+
Tried 1 Bottle so far & definitely could taste Black Pepper
Oh dear.
Look at me! Look at meeeee! LOOK AT ME!
How DARE you look at me!
Well done ML! Next step, reds.
Which is blindingly obvious as soon as you see him, much less hear him try to string a sentence together.
It is quite frankly impossible to take any of the spiteful z-grade mediocrities in the current labore goat rodeo even remotely seriously. Deeply stupid obnoxiously obstinate staggeringly ignorant dunderheads. The thought of them being in government for more than one term is the stuff of nightmares.
Oh you mean Jim Chalmers. As you were.
Usually by getting in the way of what you want.
. He may look like Gomer Pyle but not as smart
It’s times like this Dover definitely needs the roaring with laughter emoji.
Is he a flamer?
So, … there is a Doctorate in Spivology?
““They feel they’ve had the worst year of their lives:”
Don’t you just love the narcissism? Prejudicing a trial, not getting charged for prejudicing a trial when anyone else would have been charged, and she’s claiming to be the victim! The epitome of chutzpah! In any event, I bet the Amphibian’s year hasn’t been as bad as Bruce Lehmann’s year.
She inserted herself into the whole sordid affair, presented herself as a champion of the cause, a tournament knight ready for combat to defend Brittany’s honour – until someone said “OK. Let’s do this.” At which moment she suddenly transformed into a victim.
Comically stupid woman.
Did Tintarella wanna know that Gomer was a Flamer?
I think not.
Definitely one in So-ology.
Lisa played a big part in getting Albanese over the line.
Without her Higgins interview, Scotty woulda got up.
Given that nobody has probably ever read the Uluru Statement, said performer could recite any old rubbish..pulling the legs of gullible whitefellas is considered fine sport by the indigenous…
Would make a good case study in narcissism.
Brittany soon became a ticking pass the parcel, to mix a metaphor. And the real fun hasn’t even begun. A few people will be doing the walk of shame before this is over I predict. Albrechtsen’s story on the judge chairing the inquiry suggests he isn’t one to be trifled with.
The Impossible Dream
Vicki / Old Ozzie:
I think the cohesion may be there but I wouldn’t count on it.
The wild card will be the 7 million who have come across the borders. The Democrats think they’ve been clever with subverting the Republicans, but the last laugh hasn’t been uttered on that one yet. The US may just have inherited a very large amount of young men – 5 million + who may just seize the chance for a life they dreamt of, and would be happy as hell with a citizenship for return of service deal. And may just be damn unhappy with any troublemakers who threaten that offer.
The issue is with the industrial infrastructure and the lead time. Our planners have forgotten how quickly modern warfare eats up complex systems like missiles and tanks, aircraft and circuit boards.
Look at the shortfall of anti tank missiles as well as air to air weaponry. Even though the need to replenish inventory is there and obvious, no one seems to be moving – the bureaucracy continues with an antiquated system of contracts for 100 of this and 10,000 of that and until the paperwork is signed, nothing is moving. The artillery lines should be running – not flat strap – but at least at a sustainable 3 shift a day rate that will refill the empty 155mm bunkers.
No, the production war is where it will be won or lost and the Chinese will have been stocking up the basics for at least a decade. Just like the Russians. And I bet they won’t have sold down their strategic reserves of oil and copper, aluminium and cobalt, lathes and milling machines.
Chutzpah maybe (chutzpah is admired regardless, yes?), but definitely hubris.
Nemesis awaits…
Eddersly, is he?
You can save time by buying a bottle of tequila and ground black pepper.
Also how can you tell the difference ibn taste between black, white and green pepper, asking for a friend.
It’s as busy as Chadstone or Southland on a workday. If the shit was hitting the fan you’d see more kids, the unemployed, etc. loitering around, and far less cleanliness. You’ve also be given reports by Speedbox from the foothills of the Caucauses that shelves are full down there too.
No, the IMF reported a small hit last year of about 2%, with a small recovery forecast this year, and above 2% growth next year. That is consistent with the evidence so far.
I’m sure they can source most of these from China or by other means. If they can still access Western goods what is preventing them from purchasing high tech goods as well?
Much appreciated.
She is unaccountably less than enamoured with anything ‘Red’. She has friends back in China, but she has clearly picked out which country is home.
You mean it won’t turn out like John Durham? Remember him?
Does it exist anymore? IIRC their pre war population was about 44 million.
They can’t. Too many wine producers have proved it to themselves (using cleanskins matched to previous reviews) that wine reviewers are cretins.
He told me at that time that there was no word in that language for homosexual or same sex relationships.
I believe there is a sign-language indication, including waggling eyebrows and a one-hand-on-hip, one forward with limp wrist.
Seriously though folks-
A good friend of mine was from Yamatji stock, and she taught me a lot of non-verbal hand and arm signals which are used, both in normal interactions and to convey meaning in “sorry business” areas. Having been tuned in, I am always interested to see them creeping in to a lot of the ABC/SBS/Film Commission productions from city folk like Thornton and Ms Perkins.
Top selling records each month from the 1960s. Sorta renews your faith; a little bit. Boy Elvis was big:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDWPNgRNdHI
Comprised wholly of unforced errors.
“(chutzpah is admired regardless, yes?),”
Not really. Chutzpah can mean “destructive and ugly or vital and fantastic”, but it’s never in-between. In the Amphibian’s case, it’s destructive and ugly, very very ugly.
No one knows their pre-war population. They haven’t done a census for over 20 years. The last official UKR estimate was 37.5M in the government- controlled area.
Let’s put it this way:
Was Rock Hudson a Flamer?
How do you know it’s a workday? No, you wouldn’t necessarily see unemployed hanging around because there may not be high unemployment as a consequence of the war. With men called up and the war production effort there is likely to be lots of work. I don’t know how you rationalize this. The place is cut off from the West and you appear to believe all is well with the Russian economy because a signature Moscow mall is open. This doesn’t mean that living standards aren’t impacted. They are.
For war production!
Personally, what would you hit a Russian buyer for as a gouge if say they came to you looking for high tech parts etc?
200% or 300%?
Just to be clear the current Federal Treasurer’s sexual proclivities is of no concern to me, what is concerning is his arrant stupidity and incompetence.
Then the Beatles took over.
Do any star-gazer Cats know what time of night the green comet will be visible in Oz?
Right…context!
There will be a few bottles of champagne being cracked at Channel Nein. Just like when one of the bank customers you had been trying to manage out the door refinances.
Combined with the diabolical twist of knowing…just knowing, he’s right. Regardless of every piece of crushing historical evidence that he is not.
He might have.
But I definitely remember him at South Melbourne market too.
A very good rant. Dissects it nicely.
Just to be clear the current Federal Treasurer’s sexual proclivities is of no concern to me, what is concerning is his arrant stupidity and incompetence.
Uh, there’s been some flamin’ confusion.
Jim Nabors announced himself Gay years ago.
So, if he’s still alive, yes, he’s a Flamer.
Jimmy Chalmers is a dangerous dope who believes he’s saving the World.
No suggestion he’s a Flamer, but there was a brief article
in the Courier Mail last year about some Academic from UQ named Chalmers facing serious Child Abuse Pornography related charges.
Diogenes:
That reminded me of Albert Speers distributed manufacturing plan. IF you still had a lathe or a milling machine, or a former, and it hadn’t been requisitioned previously, you could machine up little blocks of metal that fit into the engine of a DB601, or that little bit of metal that held the driving bands in place on a 75mm A/T shell. A horse drawn cart would drop around once a week and take away the finished pieces. Well, that was the plan, anyway.
Or in 1984, Julia volunteers Winston to give up one of his evenings putting fuses into grenades which seems a little dodgy to me. Perhaps fuses into compartments of boxes of grenades perhaps.
There’s a lot of piece work and very simple assembly that the individual can do that not only helps fill out production lines but involves the civilian sector in the war effort.
“Vaccines work” “I’m absolutely pro-vaccines” “science is important”
‘You are wrong’: Dan Andrews heckled over vaccine mandates at press conference | 6 News Afternoons
JC
Are Fitzsimian and the Can Toad on Twatter? If they are, can you ask them how much voluntary land rent they are paying to the local indigenous Land Council.
In that respect, a typical product of modern education.
Doctrinaire, incurious and – barring a road to Damascus experience – unteachable.
Jim and Junie were a handsome couple.
They were at the 1974 ALP conference at Terrigal. My lasting memory of the alp from that time was that they were the scenes which didn’t make the final cut for Don’s Party.
I listened to the guy doing the video. You’re trying to convince me with hypotheticals that contradict reports from people actually living in Russia. How is this at all convincing?
For God’s sake, they’ve have replaced McDonald’s, for example, with a Russian knock off. Is that war production?
It doesn’t really matter.
“Visible” is the word. You probably will need binoculars. From what I can see it may be visible on the northern horizon right after dusk, maybe up to an hour after sunset, just below Capella.
I’m amused that the start of The Day Of The Triffids occurs when everyone is awed by green meteors.
How to spot the bright green comet you’ll never see again in your lifetime (7 News, 5 Feb)
Franksays:
February 5, 2023 at 7:33 pm
He may look like Gomer Pyle but not as smart
Is he a flamer?
Pretty sure that Jim Nabors (Gomer Pyle) was, not sure about the nitwit.
Zulu Kilo Two Alphasays:
February 5, 2023 at 7:39 pm
The highlight last year was an Indigenous performer reciting the Uluru Statement by heart.
Given that nobody has probably ever read the Uluru Statement, said performer could recite any old rubbish..pulling the legs of gullible whitefellas is considered fine sport by the indigenous…
I hope that they had a hand talker. It would be sooooo non-inclusive if they didn’t.
callisays:
February 5, 2023 at 8:10 pm
his arrant stupidity and incompetence
Combined with the diabolical twist of knowing…just knowing, he’s right. Regardless of every piece of crushing historical evidence that he is not.
Enough about Fitzsiminan’s doorstoppers. AKA, historically based novels, badly written.
‘One Agency Peninsula’s Michael Phoenix is handling the sale and said with solar panels, wind turbines and a generator, as well as extensive water supply, the property was completely off the grid.
The island address is also free of local government, meaning no council rates.
No. 72 The Rest, French Lane, has a $3m-$3.3m asking price.’
The vendor will share 10% with the local aboriginal corporation to, you know…pay the rent…right?
BlackBall
Thanks for the article. I find it unusual that some one fudge his text messages.
Why would anyone go after him – he offers no motivation or reason why this was done.
And who can forget The Harper Valley PTA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOZPBUu7Fro
Return to Harper Valley P.T.A.
Rowan Dean endorsed Trump for 24. Dean showed an excerpt from Trump’s policies dealing with the gender industry and their exploitation of vulnerable kiddies. Trump will pass into law that there are only 2 genders and that medical shits and others who profit from the exploitation of minors can be sued and criminally charged.
Now, who should be Trump’s VP?
Not Tulsi Gabbard. Not Ron de Santis.
Interesting:
G’day VSF Community,
Over the last two weeks, we have been contacted by members and families of the Special Forces community expressing concerns about the new Stan Australia Movie – Transfusion. From Director Matt Nable and starring Sam Worthington.
These concerns focused on the depiction of the two SAS operators within the movie and the perceptions of perpetuating negative themes and stigmas including mental ill-health, criminal activity and extreme violence. These have been specifically highlighted as causing real concerns within the context of what has been an extremely difficult period for many SAS personnel and their families post the Brereton report and the ongoing trail by media and some agendas therein.
VSF Managing Director, Heston Russell, submitted a formal complaint to Stan Australia seeking a conversation to discuss the concerns that have been raised and provided to us.
Stan Australia responded immediately and in the week since there have been numerous conversations resulting in the following actions as expressed directly from Stan Australia:
1. “The programming team are preparing a warning title card to play at the beginning of the film. It involves going back into the master files and going again through the delivery and upload process – they have estimated that in a week the warning card version will be live on Stan, so please do assure your members that we are taking steps to address their concerns.”
2. “Matt Nable has supplied a statement that he is happy for you to share with any of your members if you feel it would be helpful – please find it attached.”
file:///C:/Users/User/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/14I977UW/email.mht
From the Oz. I’ve posted the whole article. Constitutional recognition and the voice will make all the vooking difference, won’t it?
Why anyone would pay the slightest attention to Robert Kagan these days is mystifying.
Bashings, killings, rapes: Jacinta Nampijinpa Price on living in the ‘hellholes’ of Alice Springs
By LIAM MENDES
REPORTER
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was just 12 when she lay all night with her baby cousin after her parents rescued the one-and-a-half year-old boy away from alcohol-fuelled violence.
The Country Liberal senator recalls driving into the Inarlenge town camp – also known as Little Sisters – outside Alice Springs with her parents to “rescue” the baby, as her aunty and uncle were caught up in “mob … all fighting”.
“That night I wanted to just protect him,” she said through tears. “I remember we were driving in there and everything was going on and him being handed over to us and then driving away.
“I remember holding him in my arms all night, putting him to sleep next to me, and he just slept next to me all night.”
The toddler’s father, a man she “loved deeply”, died from excessive alcohol consumption.
Watching loved ones succumb to grog, the horrific murder of her aunt, and the sexual assault “in some way, shape or form” of every woman in her family are among the standout childhood memories for Price.
As she leaves her troubled hometown for Canberra and the first sitting week of the parliamentary year, Price says these memories will drive her fight to restore sweeping alcohol bans to Alice Springs and its surrounding communities.
The senator – with the Coalition’s backing – will move to present a bill this week that would immediately reintroduce the restrictions that existed under the lapsed Stronger Futures legislation.
Her bill will force grog bans in communities until they develop alcohol management plans with the help of the federal government. Labor has not said whether it will back the bill.
Price’s legislative push comes as a secret report about the issues in Alice Springs, held tight between Anthony Albanese and senior Northern Territory government ministers, is set to be released by the end of the week.
In an interview with The Australian about the violence in Alice Springs and her plan to stop it, Price could not hold back tears as she remembered scenes from the town camps, where many of her family still live and struggle.
She has one word for the central Australian town camps many of her relatives were brought up in and in which many of her closest family members have died: “hellholes”.
Her aunt was “killed and bashed and stabbed to death” by women in a town camp. “These are some of the things that go on,” Price said. “I witnessed people in violent situations, a woman stabbing herself in the leg because she was drunk, she was yelling at everyone and screaming and wanted attention or things weren’t going her way, so she stabbed herself in the leg,” Price recalled.
“I remember her little boy, who must have been about four or five, clambering over us all to get away from her and to get into safe arms.
“I know of a cousin who was living in a town camp when she was a young mother and she had a little baby girl and she just thought every night she thought ‘this could be the night that I could be stabbed to death by my boyfriend, and I gotta get out of this situation’.”
Price has lost dozens of relatives to alcoholism and said her sober relatives had died from the stress and conditions they would go through living in the town camps “day in and day out”, which have become the talking point of the nation as Alice Springs battles a youth crime wave and alcohol abuse problems among its Indigenous population.
Born in Darwin in 1981, Price moved to Alice Springs with her mother Bess, a former Northern Territory politician and her Anglo-Celtic father Dave when she was two.
While she didn’t live in one of the many camps dotted along the outskirts of Alice, many of her relatives did, and she has seen the trauma her family and other locals experience today.
The earliest camps, established in the 1970s and ’80s were initially areas set aside for Aboriginal people who were visiting towns for short periods from “out bush” but quickly became permanent homes for many.
Price said for decades perpetrators have been threatening victims and witnesses into silence.
“You’ve got that threat looming over you constantly, you don’t want to talk about those things,” she said.
Rampant child sexual abuse was occurring in the communities and a “complete overhaul” of child protection systems was required.
“I think it’s criminal that we’re allowing for the abuse, the sexual abuse, in horrific circumstances to occur to Aboriginal children in this country, to any kid, but it’s predominantly Aboriginal children,” she said.
“That, to me, is where the racism lies. It’s that lowering of standards, all because and I hate to say it, but many who are a result of the Stolen Generation are controlling the large organisations.
“They’ve benefited from an education. Humans are capable of overcoming adversity, but they can’t do that unless they have the opportunity at gaining an education and having their needs met and these kids aren’t getting any of that.
“So to suggest that their culture, and somehow this romantic idea of a connection to land is more important than upholding their human rights is completely and utterly wrong.”
She said people in the camps were too ashamed to talk about the sexual abuse they lived through.
“It’s shame, and it’s probably traumatic for them,” Price said.
“There’s not a woman in my family who hasn’t been sexually assaulted in some way, shape or form, whether it’s when they were children or in their teenage years, or as adults. It’s that prevalent. Kids are preyed upon by sexual predators, pedophiles, that have easy access to those kids in town camps because homes aren’t safe.”
In December, Price lost her cousin Regina France, a 42-year-old non-drinker who lived her whole life in a town camp, two days after Christmas.
“I believe it’s because of the stress and the conditions of living in a town camp, they are hellholes,” she said.
“Drunken family, even people that didn’t even know them, would turn up in their house and just go through their fridge, eat everything, so they’d never have food.
“They could never ever, ever, really just live a life that was about themselves, it was always people drinking at night, people drunk at night, and violence and so you never got a good night’s sleep.
“Having sat by the hospital bed those last few days in the palliative care unit with my cousin, she was happy to die. She was so ready to be at peace because that was really the only peace she was ever going to get, is to ultimately die.
“The sad thing is, that’s their normal … an everyday Australian living on the northern beaches or something in Sydney, it’s a complete and utter world away. It’s like Beirut … you could never fathom unless you actually lived there.
“That’s why when authorities decide, even the Stolen Generation decide, have made these policies that impacts the lives of these kids here, they wouldn’t leave their own kids in those circumstances.”
Oz
Invincible ignorance.
Snap Zulu!
Jim Nabors was married, to a dude. Safe to say he was gay. I was enquiring about Chalmers since the question seemed pertinent, given the way the guy looks.
Great minds, Top Ender.
JC at 7:08.
So, if I churn out a 60,000 word tongue bath of the Clock King.
What odds that my PhD supervisor isn’t going to tick that off?
BTW, have you ever seen Jim Chalmers and Lex Greensill in the same room?
Those ears.
Separated at birth.
Mavis has rung in. He wants to know where his honorary doctorate is?
With the caveat that everything is relative, Greensill is a helluva lot smarter than Chalmers.
Bongino has an interesting take on the chunk balloon. He reckons the chunks have been playing the yanks for suckers for yonks; everything from Swalwell and Fang Fang, intellectual property, running their own police force in the US (victoristan too), owning numerous pollies, including biden. So the balloon was symptomatic of what the chunks think of the yanks: that they’re gutless, stupid and ridiculous so they send the most low tech spying device to show how little they think of the yanks.
Would the MSM tell us if Jim Chalmers was a Flamer?
Hell, no.
The only reason I say Jim Cairns was a Flamer is that the Melbourne Truth ran a story in 1973 about him being bashed almost to death in his own home by someone who wasn’t a burglar or a family member.
Reading between the lines …
Unsure if The Sun or The Age even covered what was a huge story.
Defiant Welsh rugby fans sing Delilah after sport bosses tried to ban it for ‘glorifying domestic violence’
Things are really serious in Ukraine. I believe Ukraine have asked this of all European countries.
The only reason I say Jim Cairns was a Flamer is that the Melbourne Truth ran a story in 1973 about him being bashed almost to death in his own home by someone who wasn’t a burglar or a family member.
Reading between the lines …
You’re an antisemite idiot crotchless. Cairns was a commie squelch who couldn’t count past 10 but he wasn’t a pillow biter or plunker puncher.
Is there anything sadder than beach photos on Port Phillip Bay on Instagram?
Look – I wasn’t going to say anything, but I am waiting by my computer for the email.
Are you even at the beach?
Oh for lord’s sake these modern names are absurd.
Where’s Doris Bagshawe on Jim Chalmer’s “doctorate”?
I don’t even know what this could possibly mean.
Leveling Up is MinTru GoveSpeak for Leveling Down.
https://qalerts.app/?n=73
Richard Cranium
The only reason I say Jim Cairns was a Flamer is that the Melbourne Truth ran a story in 1973 about him being bashed almost to death in his own home by someone who wasn’t a burglar or a family member.
Reading between the lines …
Are you getting mixed up with the Peter Baldwin bashing in Sydney? It was in a similar timeframe. That was a factional dispute, the Liars factions play hard.
Alice is Hillary
Wonderland is Saud.
Obviously.
And Biden is March Hare.
But who, oh who, is Queen of Hearts?
Jim Cairns was a far-left loonie: apart from his grotesque incompetence in economics, he returned from an official junket to Moscow in 1971 assuring the world that there was no dissent in the Soviet Union.
But he definitely wasn’t a flamer. Remember how he made a complete spectacle of himself over his infatuation for Junie Morosi?
Levelling up – always use a Paladin and only use Light-Light characters. Always use a mage and healing wizard as your allies.
Hence the typical Square Enix character set.
Almost as believable as Q Drops.
If there is a queen here Sancho it’s you
This blog is so unsophisticated that it has still failed to reconcile presidential executive orders 13818 and 13848
Until this blog does so, I will continue to call this blog on its ignorance.
Why not just say so?
This otherwise unnecessary use of coded language is only for the purpose of making the recipients feel as though the info they’re receiving is so dangerous that it can’t be explicitly disclosed. Of course, the ‘code’ is invariably disclosed as part of the communication (otherwise not even the most rabid Q believer would know what the hell it’s all about) but never mind that.
Trump isn’t President.
He may never be President again.
The Democrats might get away with the last 14 – 4 years of BS.
Get over it. Trudy isn’t under arrest and the SS isn’t going to start arresting Democrats and Epstein associates on 50,000 magical sealed indictments.
Nor will Muellerween ever be a thing. Stephen Colbert keeps on seeing his shadow.
I take it we’re still off the pace?
But, seeing as you’re here Custard …
The Donald?
Is he President as of 31st January 2023?
If not, why not?
“A Morosi – a loose screw that holds a Cabinet together.”
Do these contain an accounting error? Someone here knows double-sided bookkeeping, surely. Or maybe they have a spare copy of MYOB they don’t mind forwarding to custard.
Why is this blog unable to google (or something else) about presidential executive orders?
They are determinative.
They had sunset clauses.
They were renewed under the (so called) Biden administration,
That doesn’t make any sense.
Trump is President.
Or is he?
Vulnerabilities.
Ukraine.
The 1979 Grand Final being stolen from Collingwood.
And 2018.
Balloons.
When you lost your keys in 1995.
Worldwide arrests. Gitmo full.
A new virus.
What does it mean?
Connections.
Cairns, Morosi and her husband David made an interesting trio.
But pretty sure both were attracted to Morosi.
McDowells?
Sunday in Messina.
A bright but windy day.
Was too late for mass at the little Norman church. Reading the information sign it was built over with private buildings after the 1783 earthquake and was, perhaps as a consequence, one of the few survivors of the 1908 one. Fairly bare inside.
Round the corner t0 10.30 mass at the cathedral. Choir and organ were magnificent.
Nothing much open food wise, so I’ve settled for Hungry Jack’s in the rather sad Galleria Victor Emmanuel II.
Catania tomorrow then in a few days, Syracus, both look like being much more interesting than the ‘town without a history’.
Then hopefully a straightforward train to Pozzella and a ferry to Valletta.