The Shipwreck on Northern sea, Ivan Aivazovski, 1875
When thieves fall out
Open Thread – Weekend 11 Feb 2023
- TULIP versus ruinous Labor
- Open Thread – Weekend 18 May 2024
- Bumtree #15
- Bumtree #14
- Open Thread – Thurs 16 May 2024
DMT. Once or twice…enlightening. Ten or twelve times…Terence Howard.
Well at least she wasn’t dragged through the streets of Flemington on the back of the HiAce. Hun: Premier Jacinta…
A guy was walking down the beach and stubs his toe on something in the sand. He looks down and…
knock over one statue and feel the WOKE pride ..! It is a sad thing, especially when Gen. Robert E.…
Robert Sewell says:
February 12, 2023 at 1:57 pm
Duncanm:
…if you google it, you’ll see it is located next to a well established caravan/camping site.
I wonder what a search of the registry and the owners of the caravan camping site would turn up?
Robert,
owned by Camping and Caravanning Club UK
https://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/campsites/uk/oxfordshire/chipping-norton/chipping-norton-camping-and-caravanning-club-site/
https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Chipping+Norton+Camping+and+Caravanning+Club+Site/@51.9169582,-1.5456757,657m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m17!1m7!3m6!1s0x4876d34126446883:0x2d6edf1f5dec20cf!2sDiddly+Squat+Farm+Shop!8m2!3d51.916249!4d-1.5415369!16s%2Fg%2F11ddxp7zy2!3m8!1s0x4876d3521a649381:0x30a28f2da35a29f1!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d51.9170952!4d-1.5419219!16s%2Fg%2F1tjthsfn
That wasn’t my point OldOzzie. But I outlined where his costs were going and his difficulties just breaking even. That’s BEFORE the money spent diversifying to make produce for the restaurant. And if you watch the show you see he isn’t flavour of the month with other farmers, when his new cows are running all over neighboring properties.
Quote fail- last comment was mine.
Makka says:
February 12, 2023 at 2:08 pm
Makka,
totally disagree – Clarkson is pointing out the reality that its B’Hard to make money out of Farming – his end profit at end Season 1, GBP 144.00
That wasn’t my point OldOzzie. But I outlined where his costs were going and his difficulties just breaking even. That’s BEFORE the money spent diversifying to make produce for the restaurant. And if you watch the show you see he isn’t flavour of the month with other farmers, when his new cows are running all over neighboring properties.
It is a sobering look at Farming
Gentleman farming. I suspect real farming is a damn sight harder.
Makka,
when you compare to OZ – couple thousand sheep with Lambs at foot, in large paddocks on Monaro Highway – No Vets assisting birthing – Hard enought to make a living in Australia – really UK Farms are not sized to be profitable, but reality is if they don’t produce, UK could be in Deep Merde if any external events occur.
No shit?
The ATO is all over tax leakage via employee/contractor arrangements and over the years has used litigation to complicate the relationship and set bear traps for the unwary.
So much so that they’ve currently stopped giving advice on what constitutes a contractor relationship.
My experience is that the bastards will be all over you, deeming their flinty little hearts out, if you spend too much time consulting to a single entity – notwithstanding any contractual arrangements.
The vast scale of Beijing’s high-tech balloon programme
There will no doubt be some tense moments in the boardrooms of western technology companies over the coming days after the revelation that the Chinese spy balloon shot down after traversing the United States had western-made components with English-language writing on them.
The finding was reportedly contained in intelligence briefings to US lawmakers and will almost certainly lead to still greater scrutiny of the sale to China of advanced ‘dual-use’ technology.
Investigators are continuing their efforts to recover the wreckage of the balloon and its payload of surveillance kit from shallow waters off the South Carolina coast but have already concluded that the craft was part of a fleet operated by the Chinese military with sensors capable of sniffing for electronic communications. The targets likely included data transmitted in and around US bases as well as between those bases and US satellites. Officials said the balloon’s surveillance equipment alone was the size of a regional jet, with solar panels capable of powering ‘multiple active intelligence collecting sensors’, with the data sent in real time to Chinese satellites orbiting above.
Spy balloons are no longer the clunky vehicles of yesteryear and information is starting to emerge about the vast scale of China’s research efforts into what it terms high-altitude ‘lighter-than-air vehicles’.
Officials say the programme is operated out of multiple sites in China. Satellite images published by the military-focused website ‘The War Zone’ show large hanger-like facilities in the country’s far western Xinjiang province, said to be part of the secret programme. Chinese academic papers describe the testing of a ‘stratosphere airship’, and a team at China’s National University of Defense Technology is studying advances in balloons. China has also boasted that high altitude balloons can be used as a platform to launch rockets and drones. As long ago as 2018, the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that a high-altitude balloon had launched test hypersonic missiles. Video footage posted at the time showing a missile-touting balloon similar to the one over the US has now been deleted. A 2020 article in the People’s Liberation Army Daily described near space as ‘a new battleground in modern warfare.’
China’s continuing claims that the balloon was an innocent weather balloon blown off-course – ‘The unintended, unexpected entry of the unmanned Chinese civilian airship into US airspace,’ as foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning put it this week – are looking increasingly absurd.
Ning also fell back on a bit of whataboutism, saying, ‘US aircraft and warships frequently conduct close-in reconnaissance around China, which seriously threatens China’s national security and undermines regional peace and stability.’ But there is a world of difference between missions in international air space or waters close to China and the balloon’s flagrant violation of sovereignty.
You have’t refuted anything I’ve stated OldOzzie.
Zulu, I meant farming in the UK.
26 August 2022 – Yahoo
To mark International Dog Day, Anthony Albanese shared a picture of his dog, Toto, on Twitter on Friday.
The picture seemed innocent enough, however, David Littleproud, the leader of the National Party, took offence to the tweet.
“So the Prime Minister can acknowledge his dog on International Day of the Dog but couldn’t bring himself to pay tribute to our Australian Veterans on Vietnam Veterans’ Day?” Mr Littleproud said on Twitter.
JCsays:
February 12, 2023 at 2:02 pm
And I like how you keep leading with the chin
Except I don’t post ridiculous and laughable excerpts from a fraudulent crook. You fat-mouthed buffoon. You ought to be deported on a dinghy.
How does it go again? Oh yea.
…………………………………………………………………….LO
LOL. And I do like how you have tried to get the owner of this Bog, I mean Berg, I mean Borg, I mean Blog to have my comments put into moderation every now and then. Italian fat head short arse. you are rather so silly. Melbum and Sictoria suits you. Bye. Enjoy the pizza for your fat arse and jeans…………………………………..
UK Farmers are subsidized to a level Australian farmers can only dream of – their argument is that security of food supply is a national asset.
Factcheck status: True.
Gin is an acquired taste. Not much acquiring required, but acquired nonetheless.
A good start is an occasional Gin & lemon squash on a hot day.
Graduate over a few years to Gin with bitter lemon.
Eventually you’ll dip a toe in the water & try a Gin & tonic…. that’ll put you off for a while.
… next thin you know you’re hoarding the stuff & taking photos of obscure bottles of gin so you’ll remember them.
We need to talk about Madonna’s face
You’ll forgive Madonna for taking a few days to respond to the concern over her latest facelift. After all, the singer was transmitting the message all the way from Mars with the rest of the shiny-faced extra-terrestrials.
While presenting the best pop duo award to Sam Smith and Kim Petras for their hit ‘Unholy’, Madonna took to the Grammys stage in what can only be described as Jigsaw cosplay, with alarmingly puffy, stretched-out skin that looked as if it could fling off at any moment.
When people online showed concern and sadness for what is clearly the 64-year-old’s desperate attempt to cling to her youth, she claimed that she was the victim of ‘ageism and misogyny.’ The singer wrote in a post on Instagram that she was living in ‘a world that refuses to celebrate women past the age of 45 and feels the need to punish her if she continues to be strong willed, hard-working and adventurous,’ blaming her appearance on a long-lens camera that would ‘distort anyone’s face.’
What’s more tragic than Madonna nipping and tucking her face into a real-life Instagram filter is the fact that she has resorted to this generation’s manipulative technique of claiming that she is being victimised. Instead of looking in the mirror, realising she looks absurd and getting on with it, she tells us this is our fault. We hate women. We despise older women.
Her cries of misogyny and ageism can be easily debunked when you look around and realise that female performers, especially older ones, have never been so celebrated.
Emily in Paris fans think Sylvie is ‘the only reason to watch’ the show — here’s why
That’s the argument of every farmer in every nation. Nothing new there.
The specific gripe of Clarkson and Brit farmers are that the current subsidy regime is about to end this year. Finito.
But UK Gov’t says hey, there will be new subsidies. Ok- How much? For what? How will they be applied? Gov’t says we don’t quite know yet but trust us (Yikes!).
That’s the issue in the show- which is all I’m referring to.
Makka says:
February 12, 2023 at 2:21 pm
You have’t refuted anything I’ve stated OldOzzie.
Zulu, I meant farming in the UK.
Makka,
You have’t refuted anything I’ve stated OldOzzie.
Not trying too – as I said to Monty – “We can agree to disagree – C’est La Vie”
“So the Prime Minister can acknowledge his dog on International Day of the Dog but couldn’t bring himself to pay tribute to our Australian Veterans on Vietnam Veterans’ Day?” Mr Littleproud said on Twitter.
In the year of the Rabbit, Elbow should be more respectful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGNojF9qKS0
What is Ryan and Rugg’s problem?
Ryan wanting to be Minister for everything instead of just representing her constituents?
What do her non political staffers do?
Teals could have divvied up some sort of portfolio arrangements but no.
Now it’s all tears before bedtime.
In the Weekend Australian Angela Shanahan has written an article, “Abolishing shared parenting will be a backwards step”. From the article I took away the message that a proposed amendment to the family law act will delete the principle of equal shared parenting where there is separation, and replace this with 6 new principles. Unfortunately the writer did not elucidate on what these new principles will be, only to say they do not include equal shared parenting as the guiding principle in separation involving children. I’m not able to provide a link to the article. So if someone could post it would be helpful. Are other Cat readers familiar with these proposed changes. Ms. Shanahan’s article raised a lot of red alerts for me as what exactly is being ushered in a very important part of our legal system involving parental rights and children’s welfare.
If you can damage a Merc by having sex on its bonnet it means German engineering is in a sad state of decline.
In the year of the Rabbit, Elbow should be more respectful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGNojF9qKS0
And this goes for that short arse italian/plonker from Melbum in Sictoria. So appropriate. Pizza and fat jeans,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,lol
You delusional limey scumbag. I’ve never spoken nor corresponded with the blog owner about you. Having said that, if it were my blog you would be out of your ear faster than I can say limey rat. Posting crap from an unrepentant ex-con. You low rent limey turd. You have no integrity.
Okay.
How’s the ladyboy?
……………………………………….LOL
How’s the ladyboy?
Ask that person yourself. I hear that it/she/whatever/whenever hangs around your place.
Old Ozzie:
What will happen – Winstons Scenario:
Next question?
‘Object’ Shot Down Over Canada Similar to Alaska One; Pilots Divulge More Concerning Info
There’s more breaking news about that “object” that was just shot down over the Yukon in Canada by USAF F-22 Raptor.
According to the description by the Canadian officials, the description of the object was very similar to that of the object downed over Alaska on Friday.
The official described it as “small, cylindrical,” and smaller than the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by the U.S. military last week.
It also appears to have penetrated some distance into Canadian territory before it was taken down.
NORAD is saying the object over Canada was also not detected until it had already penetrated U.S. airspace over Alaska late Friday night.
So again, what the heck? If it came in Friday night, why was it not detected and/or shot down until just now — Saturday night? This is getting more than a little concerning.
That’s making me think it isn’t the Chinese because why would they keep kicking the hornet’s nest with three different things? Unless they mean to launch some crazy things–or maybe something we don’t know.
The next piece of info about the object shot down over Alaska is making me get that alien feeling.
Some of the pilots said the object interfered with their sensors, and they couldn’t figure out how it was flying/what its propulsion system was.
Philippine L-B (Sylvie) is an emaciated old Frenchwoman.
Pitiful cause for celebration.
How’s the ladyboy?
Ask that person yourself. I hear that it/she/whatever/whenever hangs around your place.
ALL THE TIME……………………LOL
If you can damage a Merc by having sex on its bonnet it means German engineering is in a sad state of decline.
It must have been a really good couple of Fuchs……………………….
Walking through Darlinghurst and Surry Hills today, I spotted a lesbian couple with their children, they were all sporting t-shirts in rainbow colours with the slogan “love is love” emblazoned on each t-shirt.
Pity the children, they’re not just props but also billboards.
We live in sad times.
Bloody hell 20 secs on Google will show Ryan has a husband and kids.
Freudenberg was extremely popular and worked the electorate really well.He just couldn’t compete with the quasi religious fervour, Ryan and her followers generated.
No idea how she did it, Burnside couldnt do it but the battalions of older women were on a mission.
Might be smartest to go straight to the guys who run the cafeteria in NORAD – they would be so separated from the formal chain of command that Gen Millie and his equals would not have bothered trying to indoctrinate them.
If they had asked those guys when the first balloon wandered toward Alaska they would surely have said “You gotta blow dat teeing from da sky, jefe!” instead of spending a week worrying how the Chinese might feel about you interfering with their spying on your country.
Christine says:
February 12, 2023 at 2:47 pm
Philippine L-B (Sylvie) is an emaciated old Frenchwoman.
Pitiful cause for celebration.
Obviously, “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder”
6/16 – Sylvie’s Black Bikini on Emily in Paris
em>During a quick Saint-Tropez getaway, Sylvie rocks the hell out of this black two-piece featuring rings on the top and bottom.
Pulp Fiction – Dance Scene
Just turned on the Joe Rogan fight companion.
Eddie Bravo has packed on some weight.
Ed Casesays:
February 12, 2023 at 1:58 pm
dorothy
13 minutes ago
A generous and gracious hand has been offered to our Indigenous people over many, many years by nurses, doctors, legal entities, governments, schools and the population in general. Billions of dollars has been spent through programs run by Indigenous people
This is total insane bullshit.
All these programs have been designed to fail, yet it’s Aborigines fault?
Here’s the problem with these type of comments:
They give the No case a bad name.
Pliss essplain.
I’ve no idea how many there are.
I suppose I could stop the video and count them…
You have all seen that variety show vaudeville where someone draws a face on their torso, put lipstick around their belly button, then flex belly muscles to mimic singing?
With all her facelifts, Madonna can do that now.
Correct.
Going contracting with an unrelated employer should be OK.
Quitting Friday, collecting your super and turning up to the same desk as a contractor on Monday?
Might be a bit fraught.
My daughter did not want to finish her Sprite. Then I read the label
During a summer holiday take-away lunch, my daughter asked for a lemonade. Even though the only option – a bottle of Sprite – looked a little different, I’m sure you’ll agree that a minor rebrand bears little importance while navigating a busy bakery.
Ten minutes later, my daughter leaned across our pastry-strewn picnic table to ask whether she could share my water bottle. When I looked quizzically at her still half-full Sprite, she explained she didn’t want to finish it because she’d discovered it contained caffeine.
I needed my reading glasses to confirm she was correct. You see, the new version of this popular drink has Lemon+ in big lettering (which both she and I both took to mean extra-lemon flavour). Then, in far smaller writing – I estimate six-point font size, which is about two millimetres – is the word “caffeine”.
I almost needed a magnifying glass to read the even smaller font in the info panel that states. “Not recommended for children”.
Pardon? A lemon soft drink popular with kids keeps the same name but now contains caffeine? I haven’t seen any “not-for-children” messages reflected in marketing or in-store placement. What a sneaky move.
Once our holiday was over, I embarked on some research, starting with Coca-Cola’s website which, surprisingly for a company with such a huge marketing budget, doesn’t mention Sprite Lemon+ at all. A scattering of online news reports from last year say this new drink would replace Lift by the end of the year.
I then pulled up the calculator on my phone. My tapping reveals that Sprite Lemon+ contains 1.5 times more caffeine than Coke, enough to qualify it as a “formulated caffeinated beverage” according to Australian food standards and therefore requiring the “not for children” label.
Does this mean Sprite Lemon+ is an energy drink? I’d love to tell you, but I’ve found this surprisingly hard to find out, which is disappointing given this is a far more commonly used term than “formulated caffeinated beverage”.
My point is that, thanks to the tiny labelling of Sprite Lemon+, even a coke-tolerant kid might get an anxiety-spike because of the increased caffeine levels, or from unintentionally consuming more than one caffeinated drink during a day.
Unsurprisingly, Sprite Lemon+ also contains a big hit of sugar: a whopping 39 grams or nearly eight teaspoons worth in a 600ml bottle. Most people know soft drink contains sugar (there is a zero-sugar version of Sprite Lemon+ if you don’t mind artificial sweeteners) but, when a kid is addicted to drinking it because of the caffeine it contains, that’s also bad news for their sugar intake.
Coca-Cola’s inclusion of caffeine in their rebranding of Sprite is, at best, sneaky. At worst, it’s a deliberately devious ploy designed to addict a new generation to their products. Parents and anyone wanting to avoid caffeine, be warned.
‘Shocking evidence’: A former Australian prime minister is part of a plan to jail Vladimir Putin
Miserable Ghost takes his gaze of vengeance away from the Liberal Party.
Notice the echoing silence from Team Putin about this terrible setback.
One of the reasons I am now quite against the death penalty.
UFO ace – nearly.
Mother Lodesays:
February 12, 2023 at 2:59 pm
Might be smartest to go straight to the guys who run the cafeteria in NORAD – they would be so separated from the formal chain of command that Gen Millie and his equals would not have bothered trying to indoctrinate them.
If they had asked those guys when the first balloon wandered toward Alaska they would surely have said “You gotta blow dat teeing from da sky, jefe!” instead of spending a week worrying how the Chinese might feel about you interfering with their spying on your country.
Too late. Dribbling Joe is the Manchurian Candidate. Game over USA.
Where did the 10% limit come from?
“Morsiesays:
February 12, 2023 at 2:58 pm
Bloody hell 20 secs on Google will show Ryan has a husband and kids.
Freudenberg was extremely popular and worked the electorate really well.He just couldn’t compete with the quasi religious fervour, Ryan and her followers generated.
No idea how she did it, Burnside couldnt do it but the battalions of older women were on a mission.”
It was the same here in Wentworth with Princess Allegra. And your description “quasi religious fervour” is 100% accurate. The Teal movement in Wentworth was a religious movement, a combination of the messianic religious bulldust “save da cliiiiimaaaaaate” fervour combined with lots of dosh, and it was the dosh that got them over the line. Money talks. Sharma and the Liberals could not compete against the dosh. I have never seen such money thrown about at an election as I did in Wentworth last year. It was startling and left me gobsmacked. The fervour began in December 2021 and it continued until election day when it reached a Wagnerian operatic Teal crescendo. The movement was ninety-percent female led, of uber wealthy women, and I remain convinced that many men only voted Teal because they were nagged into it. I know for a fact that there was bullying going on in many families here in Wentworth, people were shouted at “if you don’t vote for Allegra you’re going to destroy the planet” and another line thrown about was that the “Liberals under Morrison were far-right” (that one always made me roar with laughter). Anyway, I don’t believe the movement will be repeated, but I could be wrong and we will see in 2025. I think what gave it some impetus was also that people wanted Morrison gone. As for the next election, I believe there’s a good chance Daniel and Ryan will be gone. Not sure about Spender because she’s keeping a low profile.
Madonna can do that now.
She used to be able to do it down lower.
I love Madonna. And Chrissie Amphlett (RIP).
Thanks Bruuu 12/2
Just got back from the opening of an overpass near our home in Prospect.
Thanks for Kens Kingdom, it will take me a few reads to understand this.
It hits home when you mention the cyclical upswings. I wonder if they were the years of reduced sun spot activity.
Greatly appreciated Bruce
Why I go Vodafone $5 a Day International Roaming
Two-factor authentication overseas: SMS security issue catches out Australian travellers overseas
After researching the costs of international roaming for a five-week family trip to Europe, Jacob Murray-White settled on a European SIM card – its £10 ($17.50) a month plan being significantly cheaper than the $10 a day charged by his telco.
Despite the financial benefit, the decision proved problematic from the get-go.
“On day-one, we climbed up Edinburgh Castle and got to the entry and noticed a sign saying you have to buy your tickets online,” said Murray-White.
The Melbourne-based IT director tried to do so on his phone, but after adding his credit card details he was prompted to enter a confirmation code – which was sent to his Australian phone number.
“Credit cards are fine when you’re travelling around and you want to pay for a pint or for lunch, but if you’re forced to do an online purchase – all the museums, musicals, tourists sites – you can’t do it,” said Murray-White of the fraught two-factor security SMS authentication process.
The traveller described the SMS ordeal as “a nightmare”, recalling how he was forced to ring a family member in England to make purchases for him at various times.
Melbourne retiree Kairen Harris, 63, found herself in the same predicament last year when visiting family in the United Kingdom over three-and-a-half months.
“Mostly I was borrowing cash from family to avoid the saga of my card being rejected,” said Harris.
Her bank, ING, explained there was no workaround for this – customers needed an Australian mobile number to receive SMS security codes, or to phone the bank each time they put through a transaction.
“To resolve this, my sister lent me her UK credit card for all real-time payments required. When I went to transfer funds to her from Australia [via online banking], I couldn’t do that either as SMS verification was required for new payee,” said Harris. “She had to wait more than three months for reimbursement.”
Both Murray-White and Harris had advised their banks of their travel plans. This can help to avoid some, but not all, transactions being stopped. The fraud detection controls set by financial institutions that trigger SMS codes are kept under wraps for security reasons.
Two-factor authentication is considered best practice from a cyber security standpoint. Its use has become ubiquitous in the wake of a number of large scale data breaches in recent times.
Dr Cassandra Cross, associate professor at the School of Justice with Queensland University of Technology, said given the prevalence of data breaches and cyber security conversations happening, there’s more awareness of two-factor authentication.
“More people are taking up the option, and many companies are now mandating its use, when previously it was a choice,” said Cross.
This added security screen is particularly pertinent while abroad.
“People are more open to using unsecured WiFi spots when overseas compared to when we’re at home and have control over that,” said Cross.
Few banks allow customers to update verification channels to a foreign SIM. ANZ customers can do so via their internet banking profile, or within the app.
So what is the solution if you have an upcoming trip overseas?
One alternative is to request a bank authentication token – a small device that generates a one-time password (OTP) in place of SMS code. They tend to be hard to come by, mostly offered in exceptional circumstances.
Authenticator apps can receive verification codes with a foreign SIM, though banks tend to mandate SMS code verification over this. Email verification is rarely an option.
Some currency cards do allow email verification, however an analysis of a host of popular travel money cards by comparison website Canstar Blue found that none of those examined offer this.
Some local providers offer global roaming packs that let you keep your Australian phone number while travelling overseas. Australian Post’s International Roaming Plan starts from $5 valid for 30 days but only includes 500MB data. Felix Mobile’s roaming pack includes 4GB data valid for 365 days from $20. Vodafone lets customers on an ongoing plan access roaming for $5 daily for a maximum of 90 days per calendar year.
Canstar finance expert Steve Mickenbecker said despite this option being more costly than a foreign SIM, it does pose the safest solution.
“It resolves the dual problem of allowing financial transactions whilst overseas and at the same time controlling telco costs,” said Mickenbecker.
The money was a large contributing factor Cassie. Also, the message fell on very fertile ground – alluring to people used to privilege, wealth and not nearly enough to do.
Indeed. Kissinger said it best: To be an enemy of the US is dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal.
The next piece of info about the object shot down over Alaska is making me get that alien feeling.
They discovered that it was Elon’s Tesla coming back from the future?
And I agree with your thoughts on the Libs – unless the focus their thoughts on the needs and aspirations of western Sydney, they are finished.
The wealthy, once “Blue Ribbon” electorates are dead to them. They have gone woke because the need to virtue signal is the last unsatisfied need they possess.
Dr Faustus…
Die vermeintliche Sabotage-Enthüllung ist substanzlos headline on your first link, unless my German has really deteriorated could be translates literally as “the supposed sabotage revelation has no substance” which sets the tone for the whole article.
Quickly checks with google translate… Yep pretty much agrees with me … The alleged sabotage revelation is insubstantial.
Paraphrased “it’s ok to ignore it, it’s not true, he made it up”
They have gone woke because the need to virtue signal is the last unsatisfied need they possess.
I wonder what a year or so of higher interest rates & grand parents paying the school fees will do to the virtue signallers.
Sancho Panzersays:
February 12, 2023 at 3:23 pm
Bruce of Newcastlesays:
February 12, 2023 at 1:33 pm
As I understand it, once you in ATO-spik “formally retire” and thus can access your super after the preservation age (which I did) you can only work 10% of full time equivalent.
Where did the 10% limit come from?
Mrs Stencho Pantyhose, with just about everything else in your limited world. You don’t know the rules. Another T.W.A.T…………Darwin is waiting for you…………….lol
Japan’s former PM Abe confronted the US at his peril
Former Japanese Prime Minister Abe described in his memoirs how Obama called on the G7 to impose sanctions against Russia.
Abe and European leaders were against Obama’s project on anti-Russian sanctions in 2014.
The leaders of Japan, France, Germany and Italy were against the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions at the G7 meeting in 2014, according to the book of memoirs of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The book was published this week, the memoirs were recorded by a group of journalists in the form of interviews from October 2020 to October 2021. The summit they are talking about was held in Brussels, and not in Sochi, as planned. The reason was the situation around the Crimea, which became part of the Russian Federation following the results of the referendum, and the exclusion of Russia from the G8.
“The G7 positions itself as a platform uniting (countries) with common values, Russia was introduced into the membership and for many years met with the leaders of the leading countries (G8). But if due to the fact that an unacceptable situation has occurred, it will be impossible to expel the one (who did it), it will be impossible to solve the problem,” Abe writes.
He recalls that at a meeting in Brussels, US President Barack Obama took a tough stance against Russia and personally handed out to the participants a document containing several points of sanctions against Russia. Usually Sherpas do this in advance, so “when suddenly the US president personally took out the papers, everyone was surprised.” “Each of the European countries is connected with Russia economically, so the sanctions were treated cautiously,” Abe said, recalling that France was supposed to supply Russia with Mistrals, and Germany was buying oil. “Chancellor Merkel asked me: “What will Japan do with sanctions?”, I replied: “We have negotiations with Russia on the territorial issue, so sanctions are impossible. Why not criticize the change of the status quo with the help of force, giving it the form of a document?”. And we decided to go in this direction,” Abe recalls.
After French President Francois Hollande expressed a very cautious attitude towards Obama’s document, Merkel asked Abe to speak. Then he suggested to all those gathered to avoid a split in the “seven”, which “will mean its end”, to issue a joint statement criticizing Russia, and to work out the issue of sanctions for each country separately in a working order. “Everyone exhaled. Matteo Renzi, the Prime Minister of Italy, was sitting next to me, he held out his palm to me (with a gesture) “high five”. I doubted whether it would be offensive to Obama, but I still held out my hand to him… Merkel told Obama: “Wouldn’t it be better to collect these papers with sanctions?”, and I remember how Obama hurriedly bypassed the leaders and collected the papers,” Abe writes.
Abe said in his memoirs that his visit to Russia in 2016 caused Obama’s anger
According to the politician, this was due to the desire of the United States to preserve the unity of the Group of Seven countries in the issue of sanctions pressure on Moscow after the reunification of Crimea with the Russian Federation
Barack Obama, who held the post of US President in 2016, was extremely dissatisfied with the visit of then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Russia for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but the trip took place contrary to the position of the American administration. This is described in the memoirs of the former head of the Japanese government published this week.
“US President Barack Obama was against my trip to Sochi (in May 2016 – approx. ). In March of the same year, when I visited the United States to participate in the nuclear security summit, I told him that I would meet with Putin in Sochi. Obama replied that if he were in my place, he wouldn’t do it,” Abe recalls. In his opinion, this was due to the desire of the United States to preserve the unity of the Group of Seven countries in the issue of sanctions pressure on Moscow after the reunification of Crimea with the Russian Federation.
“I told him that Japan does not have a peace treaty with Russia and that I have to change this situation. It ruined the atmosphere. After that, Obama apparently got angry, and the US Foreign Ministry also opposed my visit. Thus, the visit to Sochi went against the wishes of the United States,” the former prime minister said.
On May 6, 2016, Abe visited Sochi, where he was received by Putin. Within the framework of this meeting, Abe proposed an eight-point plan to intensify cooperation with Russia aimed at developing energy, small and medium-sized businesses, expanding the export base, cooperation in the field of advanced technologies and humanitarian exchanges. This plan has been the basis for the development of economic cooperation between Tokyo and Moscow for several years.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Abe was shot dead on July 8, 2022 during an election rally. On July 12, a private Buddhist funeral ceremony was held in Tokyo’s Zojoji Temple for family members, close friends and associates. Abe’s body was cremated.
As I understand it, once you in ATO-spik “formally retire” and thus can access your super after the preservation age (which I did) you can only work 10% of full time equivalent.
If you’re going to do anything re your super speak to your accountant.
If you’re going to retire, speak to your accountant.
The other things punters in transition might want to do is speak to their accountant about the governments home equity access scheme.
I think what gave it some impetus was also that people wanted Morrison gone.
I think the Liberal Party – and many of its supporters – still don’t compute the damage Morrison did to the Party. They thought they were getting “a safe pair of hands”. But Morrison was no John Howard. I don’t think he ever really understood the Liberal philosophy. He certainly did not respect the tenet of individual freedom, and the responsibility he had to protect it.
Howard understood personal freedom? Bullshit.
Every day a Liberal, Labor & Teal voter dies.
Every day a Greens voter is born.
Unless you’re bringing in 250k Asian students a year who end up being permanent residents & then citizens, the future is Green.
Calli, Cassie and Vicji
Fully agree re the Lieborals. Look to the aspirational outer suburbs, not the self-satisfied rich inner suburbs.
Labor will discover this to its cost, as more of its safe seats go GangGreen.
feelthebernsays:
February 12, 2023 at 3:48 pm
Every day a Liberal, Labor & Teal voter dies.
Every day a Greens voter is born.
Unless you’re bringing in 250k Asian students a year who end up being permanent residents & then citizens, the future is Green.
Until the lights, fridge and stove don’t work, the EV, laptop and phone can’t be charged, and there is no food in the shops.
Vicki, not Vicji!
Until the lights, fridge and stove don’t work
No, then the Green’s will be more vindictive.
They have gone woke because the need to virtue signal is the last unsatisfied need they possess.
yes certainly seems to be the case- incredibly stupid too. Bored with their privilege but indifferent to the struggles of those less well off. An Abbottsleigh-Shore mindset.
Someone made reference to Fuchs. I presume that was Ernst Fuchs, Austrian artist and designer. I have a couple of his etchings, bizarrely erotic. Here’s a sample. https://arthive.com/ernstfuchs/works/258663~The_AntiLaocoon
I really don’t understand this comment.
The provisional tax thing didn’t happen to you, right? Because you state you accessed super after preservation age.
And are you sure it was “provisional tax”, not simple PAYG? If you are a member of a retail or industry fund they will deduct any tax before making payments based upon what you tell them. If you tell them wrong stuff, you might get a back tax bill.
If, on the other hand, you are a gifted amateur running an SMSF, and you make payments to yourself without remitting any tax, then you will get a back-tax bill there as well.
If your accountant is asking you to pay “provisional tax” well in advance of withdrawals, change accountants.
The upside of consulting on daily rate to a single entity for many years is … LSL.
Howard understood personal freedom? Bullshit.
Howard purported to understand personal freedom. The Trumble-Morrison sh*t show was very much thanks to Howard. The mass migration and assault on property rights under Howard was completely at odds with the branding.
Vicki, can you check your email and respond yea or nay?
Why are you paying tax on SMSF payments to yourself if the fund is in retirement phase?
There’s a garbo strike in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Rubbish bins weren’t emptied on Friday morning and the rubbish is piling up on the street, festering and fermenting in the humid heat. I can smell it when I go outside. I just went outside and squashed some rubbish in. I fully expect to see some rodents within a day or two. I shall report back.
Colonel Crispy, sure, our small concerns amount to something akin to a hill of beans in the grand schema. I love the way Humphrey delivers that line. Told you all I watched Casablanca for the umpteenth time on Asiana Airlines BC as the only watchable thing on offer on the flight from Heathrow to Korea.
It’s goodbye sweetheart from him.
The fix is in. Lazlo’s gonna win.
“feelthebernsays:
February 12, 2023 at 3:54 pm
Until the lights, fridge and stove don’t work
No, then the Green’s will be more vindictive.”
True, and that’s when civil unrest will begin. Oh wait, this is Australia in 2022, we like vindictive politicians and governments.
“Fully agree re the Lieborals. Look to the aspirational outer suburbs, not the self-satisfied rich inner suburbs.
Labor will discover this to its cost, as more of its safe seats go GangGreen.”
When Plibbers and Sleazy go, both their seats will fall to the Greens.
Tenet was actually a documentary
Casablanca always reminds me of Australia’s own spy scandal involving a woman and a flight.
She stays! exclaimed the headlines in 1954 as Mrs. Petrov, whose lost shoe on the tarmac as she was hustled to a soviet future by two Russian thugs roused Australians to fury and led to holding the good lady in our land.
no you dont, I have never ever paid provisional tax, period. get a good accountant that works for you and not the ATO. also just dont pay it, it washes out anyway
Oh yes, it did. It made it impossible to subsequently remove aboriginal kids from abusive homes.
Miltonfsays:
February 12, 2023 at 3:56 pm
I would suggest they may have entered into the realm of a Faustian bargain. Faustian bargains are by their nature tragic or self-defeating for the person who makes them, because what is surrendered is ultimately far more valuable than what is obtained, whether or not the bargainer appreciates that fact.
I have never really understood why UK farms aren’t more profitable.
Grain offtakes are extraordinary compared to Australia. Animal carrying capacity is basically unlimited.
It’s not Normandy with tiny little paddocks. Fields are generally large and obstruction free.
I have been to a few field days in Essex and Linconshire. Different to broadacre obviously but leading edge technology, and techniques.
Pom farmers do seem to invest heavily in only the best capital equipment and probably turn it over more often than here. I’m not sure that there us a lot of in-house maintenance.
People I have spoken to say that compliance costs and local government impositions are the killers.
Still, when you see a grain field with massive heads densely packed, it is a puzzle.
Dr Faustussays:
February 12, 2023 at 3:21 pm
‘Shocking evidence’: A former Australian prime minister is part of a plan to jail Vladimir Putin
Miserable Ghost takes his gaze of vengeance away from the Liberal Party.
Notice the echoing silence from Team Putin about this terrible setback.
I think he should go to Russia immediately and confront Putin. I would then like to nominate Mr Putin for the highest civilian honour we can muster based on the likely outcome and benefit to our country*.
* I’m hoping for gulag or disappearance.
Every day a Liberal, Labor & Teal voter dies.
Every day a Greens voter is born.
Unless you’re bringing in 250k Asian students a year who end up being permanent residents & then citizens, the future is Green.
What?
Asians vote Green/Labor, the Liberal Party might as well write them off now and chase the White Vote, they won’t lose anyone.
There’s a garbo strike in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Rubbish bins weren’t emptied on Friday morning and the rubbish is piling up on the street, festering and fermenting in the humid heat. I can smell it when I go outside. I just went outside and squashed some rubbish in. I fully expect to see some rodents within a day or two. I shall report back.
What is Mzz Spender’s stance on this Cassie? Is she going to haul arse on a truck and collect, you know, for the environment?
I know it’s not in her remit but surely she cares? I will see myself out.
Know the feeling. Lost a mirror when some plonker pushed my bike over. Got summoned by the cops but it went nowhere.
Nothing new at all, what a bunch of ahistorical, incurious knobs are the presstitutes , Mike ‘the fake christian’ Baird and Luke ‘Aloysius’ Foley prior to the NSW election in 2015 in a church in Glebe.
You probably need a couple of those free cappuccinos after the MB dealer gives you a quote on a wing mirror.
Sabcho – Yes the provisional tax thing happened to me when I took my super as a lump sum after reaching the preservation age.
My tax return was such a shock I rang up the ATO for the one and only time in my life. And talked for an hour with a young lady who was trained to be an utter anal bastard. Serious passive aggression. It was funny. In the end, after I ‘d asked for an exemption from having to do the wretched provisional tax thing (nope), I gave up and did it for 18 long months. Many tens of thousands to the ATO only for it to all come back again in the eventual refund. Totally stupid. This on top of a 17% tax hit too.
I learned a bit during that period. Now afterwards and in light of the global warming rubbish and the covid stuff my regard for homo governmentii is at a very low ebb.
I can’t remember where I saw the 10% limit but it was on one of the many web pages at the the ATO about super and tax implications. Not one of which ever mentioned that taking your super would cause you to have to do stupid provisional tax rubbish for a year and a half.
“Morsie trumpetss:
Obvious Lezzo.
Frydenberg kept losing Primary support, which indicates he wasn’t real popular.
Burnside was a spoiler for Frydenberg, who was under threat from Oliver Yates.
Basically, Burnside ate Yates’s lunch, then gave the preferences to Frydenberg. Labor also ran dead, which helped Frydenberg.
Monique Ryan couldna won without:
#1. Massive financial support
#2. GetUp ran her campaign
#3. Labor & Greens tactical voting and preferencing
#4. Dissatisfaction with Frydenberg
#5. The protest vote against the Morrison Government from women angry at the treatment of Brittany Higgins.
Frydenberg can probably win Kooyong again, but he’ll need covert assistance from Labor and The Greens to do it.
Has been for some time. If you plan on having sex on the bonnet get a Volvo 240.
I’m picturing a pied piper cavorting around the ES right now…rats, rats, we’ve got to get rid of the rats!
And following his rollicking, irresistible tune a line of councillors, Clover at the front. Bringing up the rear a Teal or two.
Off up Old South Head Road, past Macquarie lighthouse and the signal station and….whoops! Bye, bye.
Sounds like a rev head cocktail.
You were doing surprisingly well till then Groogs. Keep it up.
The National Museum of Australia fail to interrogate the iconography of Mrs. Petrov’s shoe.
A fuller account is here. A non-fiction book ensued called Mrs. Petrova’s Shoe and a play also called Mrs. Petrov’s Shoe was produced, along with other cultural usages of the icon. Wikipedia also offers a fuller account.
I do wonder if she kicked it off deliberately, as a symbol full of resistance.
When she was finally taken off at Darwin airport she walked out in some black suede courts given to her by a sympathetic air hostess.
Shoes have always been culturally significant. Being barefooted can be seen as a sign of barbarism as well as poverty. Shoemakers feature in many folk tales, as in Pinocchio. In Middle Eastern cultures to hit someone with your shoe is a great insult, as is to show the underside sole of your shoe when seated.
Sancho – It was provisional, as I had experience the system for many years as a sole trader consultant and investor. They added my super balance to my annual income of that year when I took it as a lump sum. Then offset it. But that meant the next year I was paying provisional tax based on a sky high “estimate”. It was really nasty, and completely unexpected.
They really really don’t want you to get your super out of their clutches.
Fwit Chalmers says electricity will only go up 23% this year, that is because of labor’s intervention!
They promised yearly savings of $275.00, and prices have gone up and up and up since they were elected.
who do you think is going to pay for all the subsidies being paid to coal and gas producers, santa or the tooth fairy or YOU. you only get three guesses!
Just so you know, the more renewables the higher the price.
Anyone who believes that electricity prices will ever come down please contact me, I have a perfectly good bridge in Sydney to sell.
First time I realised Madge had undergone one facelift too many was when I saw her third eye in the middle of her forehead and the curly goatee she was sporting.
Morrison’s problem was and still is…cowardice. While the, “that’s brave, Prime Minister, very brave” taunt holds true, the road of appeasement is just as fraught.
And Morrison is an appeaser. He tried to take the line of least resistance and got trampled by both events and his enemies.
His legacy is the National Cabinet. It will be this country’s ruin, taken over by unaccountable and morally withered control freaks. There is nothing so permanent and dangerous as a temporary stop gap installed by weak politicians, and rubber stamped by power hungry ones.
Good thread and article.
Whaaat? Trumble taking a leaf out of BlowJob’s book? The new cause de jour for failed, incompetent has beens it seems.
Asians vote Green/Labor
Which cohort?
Which country of origin?
The biggest pushback at Joeys against Marist woke bullshit is coming from Chinese parents.
I will ask Hairy if our bins got done on Thursday, which is our nite. That’s his department, not mine.
He said once he saw a huge rat in a tree on our property. Sure it wasn’t a possum? I ask.
Nope. Definitely a rat. Never seen any since, but with Calli having them piped up right into our neck of the woods I expect to see some soon, on their way to extinction at The Gap perhaps.
BofN
Sounds like a public ruling. Technically not the law but very expensive to prove otherwise. Arguing with the ATO is like a motorbike rider arguing about right of way as they lift his bike off him.
Wheat yields of nine to ten tonnes to the hectare, as opposed to 1.5 to 2 tonnes per ha in Australia. Machinery is complicated by the fact that it is possible to get a Government grant to buy plant.
I was thinking the two legged rats.
The four legged ones can be easily dispatched via Jack Russell. A business opportunist would be hiring them out for sport and profit.
Fwit Chalmers says electricity will only go up 23% this year, that is because of labor’s intervention!
Chalmers has no idea.
He is guessing.
What the electricity & gas retailers do this quarter & next quarter is a function of wholesale prices in the last quarter of 2022.
His legacy is the National Cabinet. It will be this country’s ruin,
Definitely has accelerated the debt cycle.
Zero transparency = zero accountability.
Keep in mind Albo has backtracked on his open government pre-election pledge.
As Rex Patrick has found out by having to lodge about 20 FOI requests.
If you want an account of how Madonna’s face became so hideous, then check out this surgeon’s account of the ‘work’ she has had done over the years. It is true that continual cosmetic surgery can become an addiction.
I am not against subtle facial nips and tucks or alternative cosmetic enhancements, although completely against cosmetic plastic surgery on the body, but this sort of extremism, and starting so young, shows just how far the fetish of appearance has gone in America. Men too are joining in to it, as the faces of many aging actors display.
I will also add…Albanese is also weak. And that makes him very dangerous.
“I was thinking the two legged rats.”
Been out with a few of those.
A mate was leasing a place on the banks of the Seine. Reckoned a stick would grow if you poked it in the ground. Bit of a change from WA sand.
Albo has rat cunning.
“The four legged ones can be easily dispatched via Jack Russell.”
Australian terriers are great ratters.
Bear – It never bothered me as I didn’t intend to work much anyway. I love being retired, there’s so much fun stuff to do! I can’t see how anyone could be bored in this age of incredible stuff. And anyway my profession has now gone so woke that I’d be hard pressed to find a customer who was realist enough I could work for them in good conscience. I can’t for example get into the lithium or rare earths sectors, which are sucking everyone into them now – that would be unethical for me since the whole industry is based on lies.
Much better understanding of clays and stuff for gardeners but not much help for the broadacre guys.
Feelthebern at 3:42
That is exactly where I was headed.
Split this thing into two distinct pieces (maybe three).
.1 Get accounting advice on the tax implications of any change.
.2 Maybe get investment advice as to what you do with your withdrawals. One option might be to leave it mostly where it is, apart from immediate needs (if you are retired over 60 super is zero tax on earnings and withdrawals). Remember, most advisors will be looking to get their hands on your cash, to tip it into something which gives them an earn. Which means they will often encourage unnecessary withdrawals.
.3 If you are approaching old age pension age (which is not the same as super preservation age) maybe seek advice there too if you are near the threshold cut-offs.
That was kind of what I was suggesting as a DIY measure. If you are within a couple of years of preservation age, set up some head room on your mortgage borrowings. It might be way cheaper to drawdown borrowings and pay interest for a year or two than rip money out of super just prior to preservation age.
….
This is a potted version and each individual circumstance will be a little different.
So … seek your own advice.
That two step verification for cc transactions.
Cba does them via their netbank website, so hasn’t been a problem for me.
I’ve only been asked once, when I booked plane ticket with Air Malta.
“Fwit Chalmers says electricity will only go up 23%”
Only.
Chalmers:Let them eat cake (shit).
Considering the government has effective banned the aged/aging from getting loans against unencumbered property, the home equity access scheme is a Godsend for some.
One of the few times government has filled the hole that it made in the market.
Yes. I did get that.
But the thought of Clover and some Teals being piped into oblivion was just so appealing.
BofN – I never got too groovy with tax. Know the rules, run up against the limits and leave it at that. I was PAYG all my working life which limits scope dramatically. Super used to be OK for a while but is clearly in the sights now. Careful timing of buying/selling the principal place of residence with a big redraw facility probably your best bet now.
Perplexed
I think he should go to Russia immediately and confront Putin.
I believe that the correct expression is “shirtfront Putin”.
Read carefully.
I was talking about someone who might be in a transition to retirement phase (past preservation age, but still working).
That was the only circumstance where you might have to remit tax.
If you are in a retail or industry fund, they will do it for you.
If you are running an SMSF, you would have to remit PAYG as trustee.
In BoN’s case, I agree with Zipster.
Get an accountant with sharp elbows and put in a variation. Every time they send a bill, you reply with “this is subject to a variation request”.
You used to be able to vary provisional tax pretty easily, but the onus was on you to get your forward estimate right (which would be dead easy for a retiree).
Gin has changed somewhat during the subsequent half century.
Likewise the quality & readily available standard of rum, whisky, whiskey, wine, & tequila readily in Australia has changed somewhat.
Exactly. Spotify is like being able to borrow nearly every record ever made and the Internet gives you access to your States complete library service.
Oh, and Wodney Wottenhead.
Don’t interrupt the adults when they are having a serious discussion.
Go supervise the Thai lady-boy.
I Thought I Was Saving Trans Kids. Now I’m Blowing the Whistle.
They force you to put more into super.
They plan to continue to raise that amount you have to contribute.
Then they plan to tax the amount you have over a certain limit more.
Taxing super really is the magic pudding for a greedy government.
I don’t understand how their taxing on super modelling hasn’t leaked.
Last night, after being at Mum’s all afternoon, I stayed in and watched some old episodes of Seinfeld on Netflix. They always make me roar with laughter. Now, just two weeks ago I was confronted with the scene of Sleazy the Word Slusher at the AO, munching into a magnum ice cream and I remember thinking how it reminded me of something but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Well last night it all came back to me, watching again the Seinfeld episode “The Lip Reader” where George is at the US Open in NYC and is filmed, without his knowledge, munching into an ice cream sundae and his whole face becomes covered with chocolate and ice cream. Sleazy and Georgie, both shallow characters, both fabrications.
I remember early attempts at distilling single malt in Australia – I do believe they added kerosene to improve the flavor.
Richard Cranium
Basically, Burnside ate Yates’s lunch, then gave the preferences to Frydenberg.
Voters decide their actual order of preferences (which might or might not be the same as on the Party HTV card). Did the Greens really give Josh a higher HTV preference position than the Liars? Really?
So we were originally promised priced would fall, now that they will only go up 23% – thanks to
Big BrotherLabor.They really should start hammering Chalmers and Labor with their price caps, making reference to the chocolate rations in 1984, where all the good news relied upon forgetting previous promises but responding to the temper of the announcement.
“I am not against subtle facial nips and tucks or alternative cosmetic enhancements, although completely against cosmetic plastic surgery on the body, but this sort of extremism, and starting so young, shows just how far the fetish of appearance has gone in America. Men too are joining in to it, as the faces of many aging actors display.”
Agree Lizzie, it stems from pornography and Hollywood. I’ve noticed how more and more young women, even here in Oz, are getting lip implants and surgery on their buttocks to make them look like Kim Kardashian. They look rather repulsive.
On the piping…maybe not a parti-coloured Grimm style one but a stylishly kilted Scottish gent.
And the “Gay Gordons” over the cliff to celebrate Mardi Gras.
Being Sydney and all.
callisays:
February 12, 2023 at 4:51 pm
I was thinking the two legged rats.
The four legged ones can be easily dispatched via Jack Russell. A business opportunist would be hiring them out for sport and profit.‘
Interesting segment covering ratting/gambling in The Great Train Robbery with Sean Connery.
You’ve lost me there.
How does that translate into Liberal votes?
feelthebernsays:
February 12, 2023 at 5:14 pm
They force you to put more into super.
They plan to continue to raise that amount you have to contribute.
Then they plan to tax the amount you have over a certain limit more.
Taxing super really is the magic pudding for a greedy government.
I don’t understand how their taxing on super modelling hasn’t leaked.
Because the Treasury modelers are on a different scheme? No skin in the game?
Zulu Kilo Two Alphasays:
February 12, 2023 at 5:16 pm
Likewise the quality & readily available standard of rum, whisky, whiskey, wine, & tequila readily in Australia has changed somewhat.
I remember early attempts at distilling single malt in Australia – I do believe they added kerosene to improve the flavor.
Corio 5 Star = Commonwealth Oil Refineries Number 10.
Watched that Madonna surgery video. She clearly started way too early. And way too much. So many seem to.
My 91 year old mum – her old face has very few wrinkles, she was blessed with high cheek bones and a face like Ingrid Bergman. She is still beautiful, though her beauty is perched on an old, frail body.
I take after Dad. 😀
Which cohort?
Which country of origin?
You said import 250,000 Asian students/year or the Government will go Green.
I’m assuming you mean Chinese.
I’ve got news for you.
Young Chinese vote Green/Labor, older ones vote Labor.
Importing 250,000 of these cash economy workers every year to forestall Green Government isn’t one of your better ideas.
Loved the series but appreciated it even more later having lived in NYC for a few years. A lot of the dialogue involves characters and references uniquely American or local to NYC that you otherwise miss.
Brief history of plastic surgery
From my understanding ‘plastic surgery’ has its origins in the reconstruction of WW1 veterans faces/bodies due to hideous deformities which occurred. Unfortunately or fortunately it is now used by the vain and insecure.
I don’t understand at all who Little Tony expects to impress or influence by making a spectacle of himself at the ‘Faggot Festival’.
Voting practices in that space are locked in and won’t changeas a result of him becoming an international laughing stock.
In normal family Australia however he is only on a loser with this clumsy bluster.
As knowledgeable folk like to say, hubris is always the killer of Labor governments.
You’ve lost me there.
How does that translate into Liberal votes?
Yes.
That’s a memory that still makes me shudder!
If you think Chinese grads are working in the cash economy, you really are brain damaged.
That’s the point.
Set it up while you are still working.
Even if you are 58 and planning to retire on your 60th birthday, make like you are going to work until you are 70.
Since most intern programs got rid of their official/unofficial permanent resident criteria should see what kind of change that had.
But you knew that of course didn’t you Grigs?
How long before Grigs forgets to change sock puppets again & respond with “huh” again?
A bold, bold prediction given that Bowen electricity is 0% to 70% weather and time of day, backed up by policy-induced chaos.
The Beloved still works…for free.
Some people just can’t stop. Grifters and grafters, lifters and leaners. You just have to decide which one you are. But always leave a bit of time for golf.
Uh huh.
How did the nail technicians and massage therapists end up here if it wasn’t thru dodgy degrees?
Corio whisky: the memory brings shudders.
Then there was Chateau Tanunda brandy. A wine merchant I knew used to call it distilled cardboard.
Someone else I knew once acquired a bottle of red from Vietnam. The fine print on the label read ‘made in the No.8 Fertilizer Factory’.
Cambridge’s King’s College Chapel is no place for solar panels
If Cambridge colleges were entitled to register protected characteristics, there is no doubt what they would be in the case of King’s College.
For at least a century its members have taken pride in its left-wing credentials. Whether Ho Chi Minh ever read the telegrams of support sent to him by the King’s College Students’ Union at the height of the Vietnam War is very doubtful, but at least they made the college’s Marxist student leaders feel important. And fifty years ago Edmund Leach, the atheist Provost of King’s, was muttering that King’s College Chapel should be hived off as a separate institution. It makes a dent in this rich college’s finances, but less so now that a gift shop full of gewgaws and a hefty admission fee of £11 (as much as £8.50 for a child) generate income.
So it comes as no great surprise that the lead roof of the Grade I listed chapel is to be graced with solar panels, as a gesture towards the climate crisis.
This decision has been vigorously supported by the Diocese of Ely and Cambridge City Council. (The involvement of Ely is odd, since the college is a ‘peculiar’, or enclave, of the see of Lincoln, and as official Visitors of the college past bishops of Lincoln constantly had their patience tried by conflicts between the Provost and the Fellows). Nearly 500 solar panels are to be installed, and the existing lead roof will be melted down. The college, along with Cambridge City Council, sees this as an opportunity to ‘send a message’ about the climate emergency. Yet both Historic England and the city planning officers are opposed, arguing that the appearance of Cambridge’s most important building would be seriously affected, and that the real but small environmental advantages are outweighed by the harm caused to the building. Astonishingly, they were overruled by the city councillors, who seem not to have an interest in aesthetics.
A lead roof already existed by 1512. The present roof is only 150 years old, but it matches the shape of the previous one, to judge from surviving images. It is true that there has been extensive restoration work in the chapel during the last six decades. Visitors will not generally be aware that its pinnacles have been renewed and that many of the armorial sculptures have been re-carved. They are not necessarily looking at real fifteenth-century objects. Nonetheless, work was carried out as faithfully as possible and fulfils the exact meaning of the term ‘restoration’. Much more controversial was the lowering of the floor at the east end, unexpectedly and unpleasantly exposing the graves of ancient Fellows. The area was redesigned in the 1960’s to accommodate Rubens’ painting of the Adoration of the Magi, newly presented to the college and vaingloriously installed as the altar-piece, where it simply looks out of place. Still, there is plenty more to admire: the soaring late Gothic ceiling, the superb stained glass windows created by Flemish craftsmen, the extraordinary wooden choir screen bearing the initials of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, not to mention a world-famous chapel choir.
King’s Chapel is easily the most magnificent building in Cambridge or Oxford. Tampering with it is something that needs to be considered with enormous care. One of the characteristics of ecclesiastical buildings is that additions are made over time. These buildings are not museums; they develop organically. Tombs, furnishings, panes of glass are added over the centuries. Changes need to be in harmony with the rest of the building. The west end of Canterbury Cathedral is now decorated by two charming sculptures of the late Queen and Prince Philip. The point is that they are not out of place. They respect the overall character of the facade.
I tried to redpill ChatGPT. I failed.
Eric Clapton: “I can’t sleep because of the pain…the vaccine took my immune system and just shook it around”
If King’s Chapel is to be Wokefied by solar panels, then the same must apply to every heritage listed building in the country. Not to do so would be un-Woke and WrongThink.
Start with the dome of St Paul’s.
Screams heard all the way to Mars.
Biden quietly releases al Qaeda terrorist Majid Khan to Belize after 16 years in CIA custody in Guantanamo Bay as US was focused on Chinese spy balloon: Terrorist who was radicalized by 9/11 says: ‘I promise I’ve changed’
Little Tony expects to impress or influence by making a spectacle of himself at the ‘Faggot Festival’.
Please tell me he got sodomised! Fags you had one job to do!!
I’m never ever going to tell people how they should look, but there’s nothing sadder for me than the sight of a ‘trout pout’ installed on an otherwise healthy and attractive woman.
I do not get it.
Having ordered a glass of red wine, over lunch at a cafe in Ha Noi, I can believe that!
Ad Network Owned by Microsoft Is Using Foreign Disinformation ‘Experts’ to Blacklist Conservative Media Companies
Very crappy connection here, went and crashed at a hotel. Next stop Indonesia.
Ugliness Awaits Many Boomers Nearing Retirement
The West thought oil sanctions would cripple Russia, here’s why the plan backfired
The G7 and EU believed that tightening the screws would mortally wound Moscow, but the plan has failed
By Joydeep Sen Gupta, Asia editor
In late December, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to the price cap imposed by Western nations on Russian seaborne crude oil by signing a decree banning its supply from February 1 to nations that support the curb.
The US-led measure, which prohibited countries from paying more than $60 per barrel of Russian oil, came into effect in December. Putin’s response was an unequivocal declaration that Russia would not bow to sanctions pressure. His decree, however, includes the possibility of “special permission” to supply to countries that come under the purview of the ban – potentially a window of hope for some of those 27 EU members that are believed to have been coerced into supporting the price cap.
Redirecting supplies
The West’s cumulative bid to choke the Russian economy has not had the desired effect so far, as latest figures show. Russia’s budget revenues from the oil and gas industry grew 28% last year, amounting to $36.5 billion. Oil production in Russia rose 2% last year to 535 million tonnes, while exports of the fuel increased by 7.5%.
This was achieved in no small part, thanks to Moscow’s decision to redirect its supplies to India and China, while at the same time incentivising them to buy Russian energy with hefty discounts. While the country’s net energy export revenues declined by $172 million per day in December, supply quantities to Beijing and New Delhi have surged to an all-time high. Most of the decline came not from oil export revenues, but from pipeline natural gas exports that were eliminated by the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
China imported record quantities of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in November – 852,000 tonnes, which is double the amount in the previous year, according to Chinese customs data. Sales of Russian crude oil and coal also surged.
Overall purchases of energy by China, including oil products, hit $8 billion in November, from a revised $7.8 billion a month earlier, meaning Russia overtook the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to make it China’s largest supplier. Coal imports from Russia, including brown coal, rose 41% to 7.2 million tonnes of which 2.1 million tonnes (twice the amount a year ago) was coking coal for the Chinese steel industry.
Similarly, India, which is the world’s third-biggest crude importer, bought a record amount of Russian oil in December, importing a whopping 33 times more than a year earlier. It purchased an average of 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Russia in December 2022, compared to just 36,255 bpd in December 2021, according to data from Vortexa Ltd, an energy intelligence firm. Imports from Iraq and Saudi Arabia over the same period were about 1M bpd each. In the year before March 2021, 0.2 per cent of India’s oil purchases came from Russia. Currently, it’s over 25% of the total.
Interestingly, the US, the prime mover behind the G7 shenanigans, has all along been a big consumer of a refined Russian product called virgin gas oil (VGO).
More sanctions, more pain – but for whom?
On February 5, the EU’s additional ban on Russian petroleum products, especially diesel fuel, came into effect. At the same time, the G7 instituted a global price cap – $100 on premium petroleum products such as diesel and $45 on products such as fuel oil. The stated goal behind these new sanctions is the same – to deprive Russia of one of its most important sources of revenue in a bid to choke off its ability to finance the conflict in Ukraine.
However, analysts have questioned the sanctions’ efficiency, predicting that Russia could simply redirect its supplies like it did with crude oil. The Western ban on refined products may even boost Russian crude supplies to China, which is a large refiner itself.
The measure could also prove to be more disruptive for Western European nations, which relied on Russia for about 40% of their refined product imports. Perhaps most importantly, Russian diesel made up for a deficit in their own production.
Diesel is primarily used for truck transport in ferrying massive consignments to consumers and to run agricultural machinery. The EU has deliberately shut down over 1 million bpd of refining capacity in the past few years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and global climate change concerns, and it remains to be seen how the bloc will replace nearly 500,000 bpd, which it used to import from Russia.
“Squeal like a pig..”
Yep the regulatory risk for Super has always been high. While the Boomers were such a big voting group it was basically off limits politically. That period is coming to an end as they drop off the twig. Howard basically bought off the wrinklies for one of his electoral wins. The rest of us are still paying for that one.
I disagree. The Radcliffe Camera is pretty special too.
*Idea*
Let’s put solar panels on the Bodleian! And an array in Christ Church meadow!
Roseanne Tackles Cancel Culture, Gender Insanity, in New Comedy Special
That was said of me in my youth and I still have very few wrinkles. Your mum gives me hope on the march up to 91. I will be 81 in July, six months time. Lycra and the exercise you do in it keeps me going, so don’t diss that. I was still able to haul down 10kg cabin bags from the overhead lockers, because in Business Class Hairy’s carrell next to mine places him on the unhelpful other corridor.
Funny thing, some years ago in Business Class you would never have had to attend to your own luggage, especially if female. On Asiana they still tried to help but Korean hostesses are small, like me. But they did at least take your coat and hang it elsewhere, a BC courtesy Qantas and British Airways now no longer provide. The main advantage these days is getting your legs up for a sleep. Still worth paying for that. Otherwise though, it’s pretty no frills, and the food on Q and BA was pretty ordinary.
Wine in the tropics is inviting trouble. Better to stick to spirits and opium.
Roseanne still rocks. Love it.
Albo has rat cunning.
And the teeth to match.
Anything more then four hours, I fly business class.
There still is Chateau Chunda brandy.
For technical reasons connected with a son’s 21st, I have a bottle.
Chateau Tanunda started as a winery but was eventually reduced to producing a cheap brandy – but doubtless profitable because it was local.
Apparently it has been bought and is being rejuvenated. They probably have a prime location since there were not many other vineyards and their vines maybe very old with deep roots insulated to a degree from the vagaries of surface conditions.
I had a bottle of their Cabernet a few months ago. Very robust, dark, long time on skins to extract everything they could from the fruit – aiming for the big heavy meal. Well balanced once you dealt with skin tannins (which a heavy meal does).
They may do well!
The local whisky was called “Ho Chi Minh’s Revenge.”
Got to admire a guy who can lie this blatantly.
Chalmers: Labor’s plan takes ‘edge off’ electricity prices (Sky News mainpage headline, 12 Feb)
The chocolate ration has been increased!
No wonder your specialist subject is car bonnet shagging.
New paper: An estimated 13 million people worldwide killed by the COVID vaccines
Boambee John:
Careful, John. You’ll be accused of gloating and wishing for civil war, the end of civilisation, and the sweet meteor of doom.
Instead you’re supposed to continue whistling a happy song and ignoring the warning signs of the coming shit bomb around you.
“Cylindrical Object” Shot Down Over Canada… A New UFO Scare Has Begun!
Styxhexenhammer666
You can relive old times by buying a bottle – it is still around, probably as much as it ever was.
Chateau Tanunda Tawny port. Is it worth $85 a bottle? No. Is it nice? Yes.
And that’s all you need to know.
Someone talked about Seinfeld. It’s kind of contemporary nowadays. Anyone recall Newman and Kramer playing risk on the train episode.
Ukraine is weak
And I promise not to vote for the Libs.
New South Wales Government promises to deliver 30,000 electric vehicle charging stations if it wins at March election (12 Feb)
Stick your stupid electric golf carts up your fundamental orifice, you silly silly man. At least you’ll be gone after March.
calli
I always had a bit of a strained relationship with work. Enjoyed periods of it but not unhappy it is behind me. Don’t think I was ever a model employee.
International concern, excess deaths
Dr. John Campbell
You can bet they’re going to try.
Gonzalo Lira
@GonzaloLira1968
REGIME CHANGE COMING IN HUNGARY
She’s setting up the mechanisms to overthrow Viktor Orban—“Pro-democracy Non-Government Organizations” which are actually CIA contractors to recruit agents provocateurs.
Soon there’ll be riots in Budapest. You watch—they always do the same thing.
Kean. Here’s a tip.
We have no money.
Now bugger off.
Bear, he works to get away from me. He’s a smart man.
I’m really starting to hate the US
Robert Sewellsays:
February 12, 2023 at 6:11 pm
Boambee John:
Until the lights, fridge and stove don’t work, the EV, laptop and phone can’t be charged, and there is no food in the shops.
Careful, John. You’ll be accused of gloating and wishing for civil war, the end of civilisation, and the sweet meteor of doom.
Instead you’re supposed to continue whistling a happy song and ignoring the warning signs of the coming shit bomb around you.
My musical ability is limited to playing the bugle (only five notes, no need to learn to read music, the music sheets had numbers, not notes). My whistling makes bagpipes sound melodic. Best I stick to doom and gloom.
The slow creep of ugliness into the language of public debate is impossible to ignore | Neil Oliver
callisays:
February 12, 2023 at 4:51 pm
I was thinking the two legged rats.
The four legged ones can be easily dispatched via Jack Russell. A business opportunist would be hiring them out for sport and profit.
Dogs Catch 80 Rats and My Foot Catches a Big Rusty Nail…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKzFeWy4UTw&t
I was sacked from the last job I had for wages, because I wouldn’t join the “magic circle” that was “fiddling the till.”
“This is a big contract – over fifty million dollars. There’s enough in it for all of us! If you aren’t in with us, you’ll be out on your ear!” Two weeks later, I was “out on my ear.” Never worked for wages, again!
They had to leave the game on neutral territory, Jerry’s apartment, because neither trusted the other. Newman sneaking in and moving pieces from the fire escape. Very funny.
It’s white elephant stampede!
A Vaccine Tragedy with Hope for Others
Bespoke:
I’ve said my bit and will say no more about the Gender Affirming Treatment.