Open Thread – Mon 31 July 2023


Camille Monet in the Garden, Claude Monet, 1873

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Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 1, 2023 8:49 am

Daily Mail.

EXCLUSIVE: Bombshell texts appear to show Labor’s Katy Gallagher ‘read The Project’s transcript of Lisa Wilkinson’s interview with Brittany Higgins four days before the show was aired’

Texts suggest Katy Gallagher read a transcript of Ms Higgins’ interview
Previously said she wasn’t aware of the full allegations
She refused to say whether she had or hadn’t in the Senate

Indolent
Indolent
August 1, 2023 8:55 am

I’m sure we’ve heard about this before. It’s been an open secret for years (decades?) that he’s a crook. But the impeached Trump for a phone call.

HUGE! Devon Archer Testifies Joe Biden Met with Moscow Mayor’s Wife in Georgetown – She Then Wired $3.5 Million to Hunter – And Then Joe Biden Kept Her Off Sanctions List

shatterzzz
August 1, 2023 8:55 am

Time to eat some “humble pie” .. I expected the Matildas to get flogged last night following on from that debacle against Nigeria …..
Instead they were AWESOME .. probably, the best I’ve ever seen them play …..!

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 8:59 am

Hunter Biden’s business partner has testified that then VP Joe Biden kept the billionaire widow of a corrupt Moscow mayor off the US sanctions list after she invested in a Biden real estate project and paid a $3.5m commission to Hunter.

Presumably 10% went to the big guy.

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 9:01 am

Snap, Indolent.

Dot
Dot
August 1, 2023 9:03 am

Texts suggest Katy Gallagher read a transcript of Ms Higgins’ interview
Previously said she wasn’t aware of the full allegations
She refused to say whether she had or hadn’t in the Senate

Wong is the prize pig.

calli
calli
August 1, 2023 9:04 am

I am the traditional owner of my land. I paid for it. Cash. If anyone wants to own my property, they can offer me a price for it and I may, or may not accept it.

If we go down the route of “who owned the land first”, we might come up with some uncomfortable alternative facts.

Additionally, I don’t “own” the beach because I might fish on it. Nor do I “own” a piece of bushland because I camp on it. The notion of “ownership” is a construct of the hated white man, which all of a sudden is a desirable feature, along with nice houses, land cruisers and medical care.

Johnny Rotten
August 1, 2023 9:05 am

If all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion.

– George Bernard Shaw

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
August 1, 2023 9:06 am

sTan has ‘been silenced’.

Really? He chucked a tizz, citing burden beyond bearing – unless you are an indigenous ‘No’-case advocate. He has not been silenced. He walked off from a podium few others have access to – and certainly not the ‘No’ folks, or anyone who would criticise the industry. And it is not as if Q&A was watched by many people either. He still has exactly the same voice as anyone else.

Ah, but as the always insightful Thomas Sowell observed:

“When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination.”

calli
calli
August 1, 2023 9:06 am

Gallagher is a liar, Biden is corrupt.

I’m blindsided, shattered. My world has crumbled. 😀

Rosie
Rosie
August 1, 2023 9:11 am

The notion of “ownership” is a construct of the hated white man

That has always been my understanding, that Aboriginal connection to the land is a complex spiritual one, beyond colonialist ken.
It certainly didn’t involve any ‘paying the rent’.

calli
calli
August 1, 2023 9:11 am

Also…pondering the freshly minted word “blak”.

It’s for obviously white people who consider themselves to be black.

The missing “c”? Credibility.

johanna
johanna
August 1, 2023 9:12 am

The ‘yes’ vote is in big trouble. They are already lining up excuses for failure. The latest ones are ‘apathy and confusion’. 🙂

Apathy and confusion are emerging as one of the biggest challenges facing the Voice to Parliament as Indigenous leaders urge the community to at least make an informed choice.
Key points:

An Aboriginal leader is worried a lack of understanding about the Voice will lead people to vote No
The referendum must achieve a majority vote nationwide and across a majority of states to be successful
There are calls for social institutions to drive awareness and fill in the knowledge gaps

About 3 per cent of Australians are Aboriginal, which means the remaining 97 per cent of non-Indigenous Australians enrolled to vote will decide the result of the Voice referendum.

“A problem throughout Australian history is that people will often just vote No, not because they’re against it, but because they just don’t care or understand,” said Graeme Orr, from the University of Queensland’s School of Law.

The political law expert said confusion about how a Voice to Parliament would work, and how it would bring about meaningful change, have been at the forefront of discussions and were already being capitalised on by the No campaign.

“That’s why slogans like the one used by the No campaign, ‘If you don’t know, vote No’, can be effective because they’re turning apathy into a vote,” Professor Orr said.

Nah. It’s actual racism at work.

Just ask Marcia and Noel.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 1, 2023 9:13 am

The notion of “ownership” is a construct of the hated white man, which all of a sudden is a desirable feature, along with nice houses, land cruisers and medical care.

Aborigines always claimed o be the guardians of the land, they were “of” the land, but they did NOT own that land – that was a “whitefella” concept.

calli
calli
August 1, 2023 9:14 am

sTan has ‘been silenced’.

The most blaring “silencing” in history then.

Rosie
Rosie
August 1, 2023 9:16 am

All that suggests is that what was once aboriginal culture is no longer properly understood, by anyone.
Of course Pascoe’s insistence, without evidence, that Aboriginals were farmers implies a very different relationship with the land implied in ‘on country’.
A pity western desert Aboriginals could provide living testimony to support his theories.
As for those with a single 200 years ago apical ancestor, oh please.

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 1, 2023 9:16 am

The television tells me it is 30 years since someone smuggled a pig into the SCG and set it free on the ground, daubed with the number 4 and Plugger, after the great Tony Lockett.
Plugger had a good memory however, as the following year he kicked 11 and also did some cheap, fast, reconstructive surgery on Peter Caven’s face.

calli
calli
August 1, 2023 9:17 am

An Aboriginal leader is worried a lack of understanding about the Voice will lead people to vote No

It must be Opposites Day today.

The problem for “Yes” spruikers is that we understand all too well what it’s all about. And, suddenly, Australians might not be as apathetic as hoped.

Keep talking, YesMen. We need more dialogue.

flyingduk
flyingduk
August 1, 2023 9:17 am

If it comes to war, were not going to project naval power, way too small and it would be all over in minutes.

Bugger, no ‘punching above our weight’ then?

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 9:18 am

Vegan raw food diet influencer Zhanna D’Art dies of starvation

Speaking of vegans, Rishi Sunak’s mother in law has reportedly decreed that cutlery that has come into contact with a hard boiled egg is unclean.

I didn’t know vegans ate cutlery but there you go.

calli
calli
August 1, 2023 9:19 am

Ahaha! I slipped a few comments in before the Eye of Sauron spied me! Nah, nah! 😛

Rosie
Rosie
August 1, 2023 9:22 am

The yes campaign refuse to provide details so yes it’s not surprising Australians aren’t going to agree to a nebulous contract where all rights are granted to one side and all we get is exchange is a massive perpetual invoice and, highly likely, loss of property rights.
If only only Aboriginals could vote in the inVoice referendum.
We must vote yes out of Love and Sorrow for the Sins of the Past isn’t cutting it.

flyingduk
flyingduk
August 1, 2023 9:23 am

Additionally, I don’t “own” the beach because I might fish on it. Nor do I “own” a piece of bushland because I camp on it. The notion of “ownership” is a construct of the hated white man, which all of a sudden is a desirable feature, along with nice houses, land cruisers and medical care.

I have posted on this before, but there are various arguments about what constitutes ‘ownership’ of land. Some claim merely being the first to ‘find’ it, or walk over it does. I prefer the argument that ownership of anything is an extension of ownership of your own body – you own your body, and by extension, you own the products of your labour. By this metric, you gain ownership of land by ‘melding your labour with the land’, ie by doing something to the land – building fences on it, making dams, cultivating it etc, not just by wandering about upon it and leaving no trace.

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 9:26 am

Of course Pascoe’s insistence, without evidence, that Aboriginals were farmers implies a very different relationship with the land implied in ‘on country’.

A cynic might aver that that is the point of his endeavours.

A relationship to the land that included agriculture and aquaculture has more standing in international law than hunting and gathering.

This then raises fundamental questions about the legality of Britini’s settlement of the Australian continent.

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 1, 2023 9:27 am

The problem for “Yes” spruikers is that we understand all too well what it’s all about. And, suddenly, Australians might not be as apathetic as hoped.

They are none too bright calli. Only need look over west to see it in action right now. George Orwell’s imagery of a boot on the face, forever, comes to mind.
They’ve tried the racisty racist card if you don’t vote yes, the we’ll get back to you with the detail card, the repercussions card if you vote no, the international community will hate us if we vote no card. Hasn’t had the desired result.
I’ve always maintained that this referendum will be defeated but at this rate, I can see Albo calling it off completely. No referendum to vote on.

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 9:28 am

“Britini”…aaargh!

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 9:31 am

I can see Albo calling it off completely. No referendum to vote on.

If I were a betting man I’d ask for odds.

GreyRanga
GreyRanga
August 1, 2023 9:33 am

So according to the intelligentsia we’re going to vote No because we don’t understand. I’ve got news for you sunshine out your bum, we’re going to vote No because we do understand.

Vicki
Vicki
August 1, 2023 9:38 am

Aborigines always claimed o be the guardians of the land, they were “of” the land, but they did NOT own that land – that was a “whitefella” concept.

Absolutely. It is only in modern times that “ownership” became contentious. That doesn’t mean that clan groups did not have territory that was acknowledged hunting grounds. They did. But they did not have concepts of “ownership” that colonists brought with them. It was the contradiction between these two ideas that caused early skirmishes.

But the territorial and political claims that are now being advanced by Aboriginal groups are not consistent with those early cultural norms.

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 9:40 am

‘Job Listing For Obama’s New Personal Chef Receives Zero Applications’

‘Girl Pretends Her Successful Lawyer Barbie Is A Mommy’

‘Are You At A Nursing Home Or The U.S. Senate Chamber? 9 Clues To Look For’

The Bee

calli
calli
August 1, 2023 9:41 am

I liked Britini.

It has a Cool Britania/Spice Girls ring to it. A match for our shallow times, when even Cook’s Cottage faces demolition because hurties.

calli
calli
August 1, 2023 9:45 am

I’m sure even Langton and Pearson respect the title deeds to their many properties and expect me to do the same. They are no different to my title deeds, not even with a special black edge to them.

johanna
johanna
August 1, 2023 9:47 am

I am old enough to remember (maybe 20 years ago) that Aborigines claimed that they do not own the land, the land owns them. That was the essence of the spiritual connection.

Now that mining and tourism have entered the picture, suddenly they very much do own the land.

It is just like the black rights movement in the US – every time there is a concession, the goalposts shift. Nothing is ever enough.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 1, 2023 9:50 am

I actively work as an anti recruiter, especially for young men.

You are doing good work Dot.
The Chickenhawks must be defeated.

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 1, 2023 9:51 am

You just get the sense Roger that if the poll in support of the referendum keeps going south, it will land at 20% come the hour of reckoning. Then Albo will do an Andrews and cancel it.
Yes I realise that Parliament voted to hold the referendum and there would be legalities around that, but Albo has a legacy to build I tells ya, and a failed referendum would see him take many knives to the back.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 1, 2023 9:51 am
Bruce
Bruce
August 1, 2023 9:52 am

Regarding churnalists and “shoddy, defamatory “reporting”:

I am old enough to remember the”old” rules for defamation.

These laws were written with some “creativity”.

Essentially, even if something were palpably true, unless the “publisher” could prove that the release of such stories was “in the public interest” AND that the “public wanted to know”, they were in trouble, because, by law, the truth was no defence..

Of course, as in all legal matters, money talks. Societies “minnows” were easy to crush with this bit of “Napoleonic Code” style law. A couple of decades ago, they system ‘changed”. Is the “new and improved” law any “better? And for whom?

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 1, 2023 9:53 am

The Australian military now exists to put money into the pockets of US military contractors.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 1, 2023 9:55 am

I am old enough to remember (maybe 20 years ago) that Aborigines claimed that they do not own the land, the land owns them. That was the essence of the spiritual connection.

That goes with my experience – this “Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land” is a new concept.

I wonder how they would reconcile that, with their forebears who were prepared to accept white settlers in exchange for settlers beef, flour, tea, sugar and tobacco?

billie
billie
August 1, 2023 9:56 am

*fix Defence Spending and it’s other problems .. for a start, move it out of Canberra, the swamp. I have observed so many people just move from department to department in Canberra, zig zagging up the career staircase. (one person in a key niche highly technical and specialist defence role, and I asked her, what did you do before this (as she appeared to have bugger all idea what was going on) she worked for a paint company on “tints”, clearly perfect for a role in defence!

I have to ask, the recent knee jerk decision to buy HIMARS, Multiple Launch Rocket System artillary whose idea was that? We just spent years buying mobile artillery systems, after even cancelling the program once because the Germans, whose gun we wanted pulled out of the process as our DMO at the time just quibbled and carried on for so long, and kept dicking with the price – the Germans got sick of it.

The project should have been awarded to the other preferred tenderer but wasnt, defence took their bat and ball and went home. Then a couple of years later, started it all up again, because we STILL NEEDED mobile artillary. Eventually it was awarded to a South Korean company, the company that was the other preferred tenderer in the first round.

It took years, wasted $10s of Ms, wasted everyone’s time, cost more and now suddenly we want HIMARS? WTF? Stinks of a political interference based directive from the new Labor government.

I am always impressed by the straight faces they keep when announcing things like that. Should be on the stage .. oh, I guess they are aren’t they, The Swamp of Canberra.

Our MSM of course, ask no questions at all about the obvious elephant in the room.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
August 1, 2023 9:56 am

‘Twas always a part of his blood,
‘Twas why he physically shook
He was only a race-baiting dud,
When the Grant-man began to sook.

His career had been in a decline,
So he’d carved out a racialist nook
From whence he would white men malign,
Ere the Grant-man began to sook.

With complaints so strident and shrill,
He read the victimhood book.
A great whining light on the hill,
When the Grant-man began to sook.

He opted to preach to the crowd,
Through media owned by the State.
But not many people were wowed,
When the Grant-man began to sook.

The truth did not hit him at once,
But last could not be mistook,
In the class he was the dunce,
And indeed he had not what it took
That the Grant-man began to sook.

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 9:57 am

Albo has a legacy to build I tells ya, and a failed referendum would see him take many knives to the back.

In true Whitlamesque fashion, Albanese’s model is crash through or crash.

And he’ll likewise spend the rest of his life berating Australians for his crash.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 1, 2023 10:01 am

That the Grant-man began to sook.

That’s E.M.T. and a new keyboard you owe me!

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
August 1, 2023 10:02 am

They are already lining up excuses for failure. The latest ones are ‘apathy and confusion’.

Pretty sure Apathy and Confusion are two of the Seven Dwarfs Diverse Companions in the upcoming Snow White movie.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
August 1, 2023 10:06 am

He opted to preach to the crowd,
Through media owned by the State.
But not many people were wowed,
When the Grant-man began to sook.

Oh man!

I really should look back when I type.

Try

He opted to preach to the crowd,
With a trademark venomous look.
But not many people were wowed,
When the Grant-man began to sook.

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 10:07 am

I’m sure even Langton and Pearson respect the title deeds to their many properties and expect me to do the same.

And, perhaps more to the point, their relatives.

Chris
Chris
August 1, 2023 10:10 am

I am old enough to remember (maybe 20 years ago) that Aborigines claimed that they do not own the land, the land owns them. That was the essence of the spiritual connection.

Now that mining and tourism have entered the picture, suddenly they very much do own the land.

It is just like the black rights movement in the US – every time there is a concession, the goalposts shift. Nothing is ever enough.

Absolutely johanna.
However I suggest that that is what ‘THEY’ said… ie THEY are whoever was writing, repeating the catchphrases of the ‘narrative’ without attribution to a reliable source.
I have contact with a lady who is something senior in the WA public service who repeated the standard claim that aborigines were treated as ‘flora and fauna’. I called bullshit; she heard what I said about it being a false claim , came back after 20 minutes alone with her phone to say I was right. I had a further diatribe about stolen generations and the fact that the people engaging with aborigines in the past were people working in the public sector with good will towards aborigines doing the best they could for them, just like now.
The thing is she got the false claims from a paid aboriginal consultant running courses for public sector people. The narrative. Truth claims are not validated AT ALL.
Same for that ‘the land owns blackpelas’, it was probably 80% noble savaqe projection by a white writer.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 1, 2023 10:11 am

And he’ll likewise spend the rest of his life berating Australians for his crash.

Berating Australians of being unworthy of his inspired leadership…

areff
areff
August 1, 2023 10:17 am

BlackBall: I reckon Albo will cancel — “postpone” — the vote much sooner than that. It’ll go like this:

“Men and women of Australia, we put to you a simple proposition to amend the Constitution as a courtesy to our wonderful First Nations. Sadly and disgracefully, this initiative in the pursuit of justice has become a magnet for far-right extremists and the white supremacists ASIO has been warning about.

“The atmosphere is now so poisoned, so redolent with the right’s hatred, that the threat of violence makes the Voice a subject too dangerous to consider right now.

“We will now focus instead on my government’s pending legislation against mis- and dis-information.

“When these news rules for respectful and fact-based discourse have settled in, the intention is to relaunch the Voice initiative.”

Just you wait and watch.

Bruce
Bruce
August 1, 2023 10:19 am

“Spiritual connections” to the land? How long does it take to “develop”?

I ask because several strands of my family, and those of friends, have been “on the land”, here in Oz, since the mid 1800s.

They are also well traveled and read, so, it is interesting to hear them talk about “home”.

They welcome visitors, as long as they leave the gates the way they found them, and do not disturb the livestock or crops. They are also the “custodians” of a lot of local history, including that of the earlier transient occupants. Ceremonial rings and other “sites” and artifacts are carefully photographed and mapped, but for obvious reasons, NOT reported. Part of their “fierce” lin=k to the land is to hand this personal obligation to the next generation, not just sell it off to someone less “caring”, like a broad-acre cotton conglomerate, or the government.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 1, 2023 10:20 am

An Aboriginal leader is worried a lack of understanding about the Voice will lead people to vote No

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
August 1, 2023 10:21 am

I am old enough to remember (maybe 20 years ago) that Aborigines claimed that they do not own the land, the land owns them. That was the essence of the spiritual connection.

Moderns give no credence to the metaphysical claims of Christianity (or Judaism for that matter). The transubstantiation is hocus pocus, prayer a coping mechanism for feeble people, and God is ‘the sky-fairy’. A person who chooses to keep a special needs kid rather than having them aborted citing religious reasons is a crank.

But, when it is Aboriginal stuff it is a mystical realm that only a bigot would refuse to acknowledge – and that through wilful blindness.

Respect stories of the Rainbow Serpent. God, on the other hand, is a joke.

Our elites will swear they can sense indigenous magic – I would think in the same way Greta Thunberg sees CO2 – if you are convinced something is there, and you stare long and intently enough, you will discover that you can see something.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 1, 2023 10:22 am

I have contact with a lady who is something senior in the WA public service who repeated the standard claim that aborigines were treated as ‘flora and fauna’

Lady who works in the “industry ” here, says the pisswreck tribal elders are telling the “young warriors” that they weren’t citizens before 1967, and they weren’t counted in the census “and “how would you feel, living in a society that didn’t think enough of you, to count you in the census.”

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
August 1, 2023 10:30 am

An Aboriginal leader is worried a lack of understanding about the Voice will lead people to vote No

The constant dichotomy of leftist politics.

There is their side.

And there are racists/misogynists/white supremacists/racists (again – they are quite the thing now)/Islamophobes/TERFs/racists…

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
August 1, 2023 10:31 am

Driven off the Remarks ski area by blizzard conditions and winds gusting up to strong enough to blow Mrs F over.

Queenstown is massively changed since I last was here 25 years ago. Cheap holiday shacks everywhere and all the signs of big Chinese investment in snow tourism.

UnZud appears firmly in the grup of Chinese wun-wun-wun diplomacy – strong incoming investment, student flow, and a special skilled trade visa path (which may explain some of the shite construction on display).

Also signs that Chrus Hupkuns’ Government is taking Beijing guidance on its defence relationships. Keep clear of the White Devils of NATO and don’t fall for the original sin of AUKUS.

I expect that Pinny Wong is all over this.

Alamak!
August 1, 2023 10:32 am

It would be a fair vote if you had to sign over your land title and/or a contract to pay reparations in perpetuity. Nothing like seeing the real costs to make people consider their choices.

bons
bons
August 1, 2023 10:32 am

Bloody dogs!
The idiot found her way into the normally locked fertiliser bin and had a great helping of blood and bone.
If I sell the horses I may be able to afford the vet bill.
And it is only 10am. What’s next?

GreyRanga
GreyRanga
August 1, 2023 10:34 am

Bern I think that is the only reasoonwe have never seen the use of nuclear weapons since WWII. The shock horror of 100,000 dying at once is too much for politicians to handle in the blowback from voters but the same number after years of conflict is acceptable. Not in my book. Not enough money in re-election campaign funds from nuclear but plenty in conventional warfare weaponry. The US has proved it can’t win a war in the last 64 years with conventional weapons. Don’t bother mentioning Granada. A few angry Kittah’s could have cleaned up that lot.

GreyRanga
GreyRanga
August 1, 2023 10:37 am

I thought the same of Queenstown UnZud. What a dump.

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 10:38 am

Our military hardware purchases have more to do with preserving the alliance than the quality/ price of the hardware.

If you’re not willing to defend yourself there’s no other choice.

Colonel Crispin Berka
Colonel Crispin Berka
August 1, 2023 10:45 am

Rosie Aug 1, 2023 9:11 AM

That has always been my understanding, that Aboriginal connection to the land is a complex spiritual one, beyond colonialist ken.
It certainly didn’t involve any ‘paying the rent’.

Hark! Is that the sound of Pascoe’s keyboard chattering?
By next week you will find that rent is a broad concept which encompasses some aspects of pre-historic native inter-tribal relations…

Robert Sewell
August 1, 2023 10:45 am

[Save it for very late evening or not at all. This is for all those concerned in this fracas.]

bons
bons
August 1, 2023 10:45 am

Sad reports about Queenstown.
It had an almost Edwardian character that I found to be most attractive especially in its spectacular mountain location.

calli
calli
August 1, 2023 10:53 am

I was in Queenstown about 15 years ago. It was beautiful.

There are people in this world who will ruin anything for money. And then demand you to respect them for it.

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 10:59 am

If you’re not willing to defend yourself there’s no other choice.

Without approving of all he says, Huw White asks the right questions and provides some answers in his book on defending Australia. It’d be churlish to dismiss it because of his Labor-aligned background.

johanna
johanna
August 1, 2023 11:04 am

Saw this morning that not even the UN is prepared to call The Little Reef That Could ‘endangered.’ The local pressitutes immediately said it was because of government actions – presumably otherwise the Reef would be a goner.

FMD.

Lying Liars and so on. 🙁

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 1, 2023 11:05 am

areff
Aug 1, 2023 10:17 AM

Yes areff superb quality post.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 1, 2023 11:05 am

UnZud appears firmly in the grup of Chinese wun-wun-wun diplomacy – strong incoming investment, student flow, and a special skilled trade visa path

Must be six years ago now (Hairy’s not up yet to ask the actual date) that we did a quick ten-day cruise around New Zealand and I blogged here about how much all of the timber industry seemed to be run by Chinese – actual Chinese, not just the funding by Chinese. Chinese planted plantations on Chinese land, felled by Chinese labour, brought by Chinese logging trucks to Chinese-owned storage wharves, where it was stacked up ready to be carried on Chinese ships to paper mills in China. Apparent not just on one wharf but on many that we called into on that cruise. I said then that NZ was being purchased in a job lot by China. Seems things have only got worse since then.

John H.
John H.
August 1, 2023 11:08 am

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Aug 1, 2023 9:55 AM
I am old enough to remember (maybe 20 years ago) that Aborigines claimed that they do not own the land, the land owns them. That was the essence of the spiritual connection.

That goes with my experience – this “Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land” is a new concept.

I wonder how they would reconcile that, with their forebears who were prepared to accept white settlers in exchange for settlers beef, flour, tea, sugar and tobacco?

Given Pascoe’s claims why didn’t their forebears steal the cattle, sheep, and seeds to start food production? Other cultures often appropriate innovations from Them but the indigenous here remained remarkably unable to copy let alone innovate. Losers.

JC
JC
August 1, 2023 11:12 am

Cassie of Sydney
Aug 1, 2023 7:27 AM
I am an oracle……about some things!

A goddess oracle. An Oracoless?

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 1, 2023 11:13 am

Without approving of all he says, Huw White asks the right questions and provides some answers in his book on defending Australia. It’d be churlish to dismiss it because of his Labor-aligned background.

The Labor-aligned can change their spots. Notable is Gary Johns, who has written sense on many issues for a long time now. I can certainly approve of all he says in his latest book: ‘The Burden of Culture: How to Dismantle the Aboriginal Industry and Give Hope to its Victims’. Many here have previously been Labor-aligned. Hairy and I were both once solid members of the inner-city left, but no more, not since the 1980’s.

Old Lefty
Old Lefty
August 1, 2023 11:13 am

There’s a British version of Roger’s joke about the nursing home and the US Senate.

‘Frank: Do you believe in life after death?

Ernest: No.

Frank: Then you should visit the House of Lords.’

JC
JC
August 1, 2023 11:14 am

Why seek asylum in Hungary, Dover?

Russia would be better value, no?

Gonzo could be another Russian general manning the barricades. They’re running out of Gs.

johanna
johanna
August 1, 2023 11:16 am

It’d be churlish to dismiss it because of his Labor-aligned background.

Yep, and I’d add the late Des Ball, a patriot despite being a leftie. I knew him for decades, and he loved this country with a passion. He was the top Australian strategic studies expert of his generation.

Strategic studies is not like local politics, although it does need to be reined (note the spelling) in from time to time.

The danger, as Le Carre put into the mouth of one of his characters, is that one can be hypnotised by technique.

Old Lefty
Old Lefty
August 1, 2023 11:16 am

I too, Lizzie, was once Labor-aligned, as my on-line moniker implies. I still remember the moment when that began to change: Whitlam’s recognition of Soviet sovereignty over the Baltic states.

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 11:18 am

The local pressitutes immediately said it was because of government actions…

It is to the extent that the Albanese & Palaszczuk governments have begun to or promised to urgently implement the dozen or so recommendations that followed from a UNESCO visit in 2022. These recommendations amount to a curtailing of various human activities on and adjacent to the reef, including tourism, fishing, agriculture and mining.

Australia is not being governed for Australians.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
August 1, 2023 11:18 am

It had an almost Edwardian character that I found to be most attractive especially in its spectacular mountain location.

Exactly what I thought.
The location is still absolutely stunning – you can see why so much of Lord of the Rings was shot around here.

It’s also a theme park for geological wonks interested in glaciation. The sharply defined modern landforms tell the story of a huge climate shift that removed the last of the most recent glaciation only a few thousand years ago.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 1, 2023 11:18 am

We got home around 7pm last nite to a joyous welcome by a smooching Attapuss.

This morning though he was full-on complaint, wailing up and down the hallway at six even though he had plenty of food down. I got up to console him for a while but when I went back to bed he started up again, so I shoo’d him off with two sharp handclaps; that always works, he hates the sound, takes the message, and shuts up. Status: normal.

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 1, 2023 11:19 am

Someone last night mentioned Megan Davis, full article from the Hun, Sophie Elsworth:

Key voice to parliament architects have accused the media of “driving sentiment” towards a no vote while conceding their own messaging needs to be positive.

Numerous polls in recent months have shown declining support for a yes vote at the upcoming referendum and advocates Megan Davis and Noel Pearson are among those to criticise the mainstream media’s coverage of the debate.

Professor Davis, the Balnaves chair in constitutional law at the University of NSW, lambasted the media last week and said she had seen significant support for a yes vote while visiting communities across the country, which was at odds to negative media coverage showing falling support.

“We are having deep conversations with Aussies and we are not picking up, nor is Yes23, the kind of sentiment that we are seeing in the media, where they are driving the sentiment … downwards, to no,” she told ABC presenter Phillip Adams on his Late Night Live program last week.

“We don’t believe it will be a no, we believe it will be a yes. We absolutely believe in the fundamental decency of Australians to understand the voice and the exigency of the voice and why this is one of our last chances at change.”

Prof Davis criticised politicians leading the voice debate including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price while taking a veiled swipe at the media.

“All (people) are hearing is Albo, Jacinta, Dutton, politician, politician, politician,” she said.

“The Uluru Statement from the Heart was issued to the Australian people because we know how the media behave and we know how retail politics happens in Australia.”

Mr Albanese has yet to set a date for the referendum and this month admitted the yes campaign must “be stronger” in putting forward its arguments.

Mr Pearson was careful in his criticisms of the media when he addressed a La Trobe University online event last week but said the yes campaign had to be positive.

“Well it is what it is, there’s not much I can do about that (the media) and not much anyone can do about that other than to persist with our case with dignity, with perseverance, with not shying away from our objective, we have got to be positive,” he said.

“There’s a lot of reason for grief and discombobulation but I just think we have got to keep our eyes on the prize, we have got to keep going.

“I’ll leave it to the historians to tell us about how the media covered this campaign.”

Mr Pearson sparked fury last year after he accused Senator Price of being trapped in a “redneck celebrity vortex” and using right-wing think tanks including the Centre for Independent Studies and Institute of Public Affairs to “punch down on other black fellas”.

Mr Pearson doubled down on these comments in an opinion article published in The Australian in May and said Warren Mundine and Senator Price were “glove puppets” for the think tanks. “The fists inside the puppets punching down on Indigenous people are white,” he wrote.

Constitutional lawyer Shireen Morris, a yes campaigner, moderated the La Trobe event and said they had constantly had to deal with “lies” said about the voice.

“We have to answer the lies with facts, we have to deal in the truth,” she said.

This month The Australian reported on another voice architect, Thomas Mayo, who condemned the media for publishing “negative headlines” on “positive stories” about the voice saying it was harming the yes campaign.

Indigenous lawyer Teela Reid – an adviser on the Indigenous voice to parliament – also criticised social media and said people without authority in the Aboriginal community were getting traction when they shouldn’t be. (WTF does that mean? Dissenting opinion must be crushed?)

“Often, especially around social media … what you’ll find is that there are the most popular voices (that) get traction or the most controversial opinions go viral and they are often not those people with authority in our community,” she said on a recent episode of her podcast, Blak Matters, (settle calli!) on Southern Cross Austereo’s LiSTNR platform.

Lies! No platform are all lying!
Exactly how remains curiously unmentioned, but what has been said on the record by the bolded proponents may give a hint as to why the Yes campaign is on the rocks.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 1, 2023 11:24 am

UnZud appears firmly in the grup of Chinese wun-wun-wun diplomacy – strong incoming investment, student flow, and a special skilled trade visa path (which may explain some of the shite construction on display).

Unzud gets an unwanted gong:

British expats will find ‘prices just go up’ in world’s most expensive country (31 Jul)

Expats in New Zealand found the country extremely expensive and it was ranked the priciest destination in the world.

However, it might not be so bad for British expats as the UK also ended up in the most expensive three.

Flights to New Zealand are very expensive from the UK so expats could rack up heavy bills if they want to travel back and forth.

Another expat said: “One of the things I dislike most about New Zealand is the high cost of living. Prices go up but never come down.”

Almost 65 percent of expats said they struggled with the country’s high cost of living and they also found housing hard to afford.

However, expats did love the country’s natural beauty and nearly all of them were happy with its air quality.

We came in at no. 10 on the costliest list, which surprised me. I thought we’d be higher.

eric hinton
eric hinton
August 1, 2023 11:24 am

I am old enough to remember (maybe 20 years ago) that Aborigines claimed that they do not own the land, the land owns them. That was the essence of the spiritual connection.

Not quite that long ago, I read an article by a cognitive scientist on the language structure of Aborigines on the west coast of Cape York. Rather than say something like, “the girl behind you is my sister” they would say, “the girl to the south of you is my sister.” Rather than say, “can you move the salt a bit closer to me” they would say, “can you move the salt a bit to the north west”…. Indicating a preference to locate everything in geocentric rather than egocentric coordinates.

Being prone to raw prawn theorizing, it made me wonder if this contributed to a tribal rather than individual identity and belonging to the land and not vice versa. But more importantly, whether it informed Dennis Cometti’s quip about Noongah footballers, that they “know their real estate.” Not sure it was his coin but.

Oh come on
Oh come on
August 1, 2023 11:26 am

More BS from the ABC that is desperately trying to bail out the sinking Yes ship:

A problem throughout Australian history is that people will often just vote No, not because they’re against it, but because they just don’t care or understand,” said Graeme Orr, from the University of Queensland’s School of Law.

The political law expert said confusion about how a Voice to Parliament would work, and how it would bring about meaningful change, have been at the forefront of discussions and were already being capitalised on by the No campaign.

“That’s why slogans like the one used by the No campaign, ‘If you don’t know, vote No’, can be effective because they’re turning apathy into a vote,” Professor Orr said.

This educated fool thinks don’t know = ignorance/ indifference. Don’t know also means a wariness of unintended consequences, which are inherently unknown. A No vote bearing the likelihood of unintended consequences in mind is a perfectly informed – and in fact, wise – decision.

Now, let’s say the ignorant and apathetic people this “political law expert” is referring to take his advice and inform themselves of the various Yes arguments, they will be more likely to vote No, given the Yes campaign’s platform looks like it’s been designed to turn the ‘ignorant/ indifferent No’ voter into a ‘concerned about unintended consequences No’ voter.

Incidentally, I’ve always thought the old referendum maxim ‘don’t know, vote no’ is a fundamentally sensible approach to such decisions. Everyone has to vote but it’s unreasonable to expect everyone to be across what are usually complex issues. Why should there be an expectation that someone who doesn’t understand the ramifications a constitutional change or doesn’t care about it vote for the change? Their default is of course going to be to reject the change. That is the wiser approach in such circumstances.

If No prevails, it will be the fault of the government and the Yes campaign because they couldn’t close the sale with the people. If a car dealer fails to sell you a car, no one thinks it’s your fault for not being persuaded. I don’t see how this is radically different.

cohenite
August 1, 2023 11:27 am

I too, Lizzie, was once Labor-aligned, as my on-line moniker implies. I still remember the moment when that began to change: Whitlam’s recognition of Soviet sovereignty over the Baltic states.

I was once the rising star of the liars. I met gough, he called me comrade and I had an epiphany, did a Latham and left the bastards. Gough was an arrogant piece of shit. He basically rooted Australia but rub and tug will beat his efforts.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 1, 2023 11:30 am

A few angry Kittah’s could have cleaned up that lot.

Or maybe a few of what Cohenite calls “cute owls”.

Johnny Rotten
August 1, 2023 11:31 am

The local pressitutes immediately said it was because of government actions…

Quite obviously, it was the 440 million dollars of hard earned (or likely borrowed) Taxpayer money that was donated to that GBR Environmental Mob by Malcolm TurnBullShit that did it. Nothing to do with anything else including Mother Nature. Sarc.

Dot
Dot
August 1, 2023 11:31 am

(one person in a key niche highly technical and specialist defence role, and I asked her, what did you do before this (as she appeared to have bugger all idea what was going on) she worked for a paint company on “tints”, clearly perfect for a role in defence!

Maybe because womanhood but perhaps they had inorganic chem or polymer chem knowledge?

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 1, 2023 11:32 am

Dover’s comment upthread about alliance partners reminds me of the conversation between Jim Hacker & Sir Humphrey and when Hacker would actually use a nuclear weapon.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 1, 2023 11:32 am

I met gough, he called me comrade

I threw a half eaten pie at him on one occasion, does that count?

Dot
Dot
August 1, 2023 11:34 am

He called everyone Comrade, champ.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 1, 2023 11:36 am

but perhaps they had inorganic chem or polymer chem knowledge?

Contrary to what the university industry will tell you, most roles can be filled after people have the right training.
Obviously that caps out at some level (surgeons, rocket scientists) but most jobs are simply a semi trained cog in a big process.

shatterzzz
August 1, 2023 11:36 am

one person in a key niche highly technical and specialist defence role, and I asked her, what did you do before this (as she appeared to have bugger all idea what was going on) she worked for a paint company on “tints”, clearly perfect for a role in defence!

Damn! .. missed out on the big money jerb again! .. I spent10 years with Berger Paints and knew a lot more about paint than just ‘tints” .. LOL!

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 11:36 am

Without approving of all he says, Huw White asks the right questions and provides some answers in his book on defending Australia.

Correction: Hugh White.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 1, 2023 11:36 am

What a waste of half of a pie.

cohenite
August 1, 2023 11:38 am

I threw a half eaten pie at him on one occasion, does that count?

Gough was a caviar and Crêpes Suzette man like all elite commies.

Anyway by popular demand, a cute owl of the sort you need as a backup when the rubber hits the road: cute owl. A kick up the arse from those quads and you’ll be shitting out the top of your head.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 1, 2023 11:38 am

Ex-childcare worker charged with abuse of 91 children

By david murray
National Crime Correspondent
and mackenzie scott
Reporter
Updated 11:29AM August 1, 2023, First published at 11:00AM August 1, 2023

A former childcare worker has been charged with the horrific abuse of 91 children in Brisbane, Sydney and overseas over a 15-year period.

The Gold Coast man, 45, has been in custody in Queensland since August last year when the AFP arrested and charged him initially with two counts of making child exploitation material and one count of using a carriage service for child abuse material.

He has been charged with 1623 offences, including rape and 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10.

AFP assistant commissioner Justine Gough, Queensland Police assistant commissioner Col Briggs and NSW Police assistant commissioner Michael Fitzgerald are holding a joint media conference in Brisbane.

The accused man and the childcare centres involved cannot be named.

It includes 87 child victims from Australia.

All families at the centres have been involved, the AFP says.

The case is scheduled for mention in Brisbane Magistrates Court on August 21.

Give him a fair trial, and have him shot at dawn.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 1, 2023 11:39 am

White asks the right questions and provides some answers in his book on defending Australia.

Need to be like Ice Cube rebuffing the DNC.
“What’s in it for me”.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 1, 2023 11:39 am

“We are having deep conversations with Aussies and we are not picking up, nor is Yes23, the kind of sentiment that we are seeing in the media, where they are driving the sentiment … downwards, to no,” she told ABC presenter Phillip Adams on his Late Night Live program last week.

Sounds like the only deep conversation she’s having is with herself, via the lefty echo chamber. The number of ordinary people listening to Phillip Adams show will be tiny. Maybe she should get a bit down and dirty by going on 2GB and talk with Ray Hadley or Ben Fordham, and take some calls from listeners.

The Voice is apartheid, nothing more nothing less.

Dot
Dot
August 1, 2023 11:45 am

Obviously that caps out at some level (surgeons, rocket scientists) but most jobs are simply a semi trained cog in a big process.

The best piece of advice we can possibly give to Year 10, 11 and 12 students and even TAFE and uni students is thus: learn MS VBA. Unless you’re in a traditional profession (law, medicine, pharmacy) or trade without progression to a corporate office as a construction/project manager (so a residential brickie or plasterer instead of an industrial shotcreter or rail signals technician) this will put you so far beyond your peers.

You will rise up the corporate ladder it will look like you have found the secret to anti-gravity.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 1, 2023 11:46 am

learn MS VBA.

Dot, won’t AI plug-ins cover that?
In time?

Robert Sewell
August 1, 2023 11:47 am

A pleasant little video about a dehydrated hummingbird trapped in a garage overnight….

Dot
Dot
August 1, 2023 11:49 am

You need APIs thus far to run them. The APIs are inexpensive and can be customised.

The future skill would be in building the AI/automation.

John H.
John H.
August 1, 2023 11:51 am

JC
Aug 1, 2023 11:14 AM
Why seek asylum in Hungary, Dover?

Russia would be better value, no?

Gonzo could be another Russian general manning the barricades. They’re running out of Gs.

I saw Gonzalo on a podcast with some military analysts. Way out of his depth. Kept interrupting, kept making unprovable claims. What a dick.

Boambee John
Boambee John
August 1, 2023 11:52 am

Rosie
Aug 1, 2023 8:23 AM
The army, based on my observations treats low ranks like rubbish.
Poor quality housing in high rent locations, rubbish pay, moving from state to state putting enormous pressure on families
I wouldn’t recommend it as a career.

It is over 20 years since I left the Department, but at that time the housing standard was quite good, and rents were highly subsidised. The houses were (generally) provided by DHA, and are turned over to stay up to date.

Also, at that time, a PTE (E), when initial training (recruit and initial employment training) was completed, received a Military Salary (salary plus Service Allowance) that was very close to the median national AWOTE level. This was not bad for a teenager possibly only six months out of high school.

Things might have gone backward since then, but that would surprise me.

Cassie of Sydney
August 1, 2023 11:52 am

So, Scumbag Morrison is crying that he’s “a victim of political lynching from the Robodebt report”.

Well, I don’t like to wish bad things on people but….but…..but……I don’t feel sorry for Scumbag, it must be hard for him to be on the receiving end of a lynching, however I remember how he participated in one or two lynchings of his own, I wonder if he remembers these names….

George Pell
Christian Porter
The Catholic Church
SAS soldiers
Christine Holgate
Bettina Arndt
Bruce Lehrmann

ALL LYNCHED.

not to mention those in your own party you dumped on, siding with the left…

Craig Kelly
Andrew Laming
Alan Tudge
George Christensen

ALL LYNCHED.

I’m reminded of that old proverb….”what goes around comes around“.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 1, 2023 11:55 am

The future skill would be in building the AI/automation.

Low code, no code AI businesses.
The quicker everything gets to a drop & drag situation the better.

Tom
Tom
August 1, 2023 11:55 am

Hooray! Back from internet jail. Hopefully cartoon service can resume tomorrow.

In the meantime, today’s excellent John Spooner.

JC
JC
August 1, 2023 11:55 am

Dover

We were told the war would last 2 weeks and now 2 years in you’re suggesting the side that was supposed to be gone in a couple of weeks isn’t doing well with its offensive attack.
That’s not ironic, just a smidgeon?

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 1, 2023 11:55 am

Or is that drag & drop?

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
August 1, 2023 11:55 am

A problem throughout Australian history is that people will often just vote No, not because they’re against it, but because they just don’t care or understand,” said Graeme Orr, from the University of Queensland’s School of Law.

So is he saying they cared more and understood more at beginning of the campaign?

I am pretty sure people know now what they knew then, and have learned more besides, and are better informed and feel stronger now that before.

Not one to reflexively point at lawyers as evil, but it is a simple fact that lawyers’ bread and butter is legal process rather than outcome. I have a feeling Mr Orr sees a reliable income stream with lots of legal conundrums to muse over and pick at.

Muddy
Muddy
August 1, 2023 11:55 am

bons
Aug 1, 2023 10:32 AM

Good luck with the dog/s, Bons. Expensive creatures they are, but for some of us … worth it.

Boambee John
Boambee John
August 1, 2023 11:56 am

bons
Aug 1, 2023 8:36 AM
The demise of Defence was so visible. It commenced when the PS bribed senior officers with obscene salaries. Careerist conformity became the only pathway to the big bucks.

The Remuneration Tribunal, not the PS, did the “bribing” at the higher levels, and remuneration of lower ranks used to be very firmly in the hands of military personnel.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 1, 2023 11:57 am

Cassie, agree with the sentiment but he is right.
The public service withheld critical information.
If the same thing happened to Rudd (it was the opposite with the insulation program, the public service said big issues buddy but Krudd ran over the top of them) I would be supportive of him in that instance.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 1, 2023 11:59 am

I am pretty sure people know now what they knew then, and have learned more besides, and are better informed and feel stronger now that before.

I’m better informed by the utterances of Linda Burney, Thomas Mayo and Noel Pearson on the subject.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 1, 2023 12:00 pm

Hahaha, laugh out loud headline of the day!

‘Making a real difference’: Albanese hails climate policies as UN decides against listing Great Barrier Reef ‘in danger’ (Sky News, 1 Aug)

The Prime Minister declared a draft UNESCO decision on the Great Barrier Reef showed his government was making progress on tackling climate change.

Wind turbines saved Da Reef. Sure Albo. Ok, since you’ve clearly saved us all with your glorious climate policies we can stop doing anything else then.

lotocoti
lotocoti
August 1, 2023 12:03 pm

…now suddenly we want HIMARS

They’re this week’s must have in high precision rocket artillery.
Apart from area GPS jamming reducing them to
over-priced low precision rocket artillery.

Foxbody
Foxbody
August 1, 2023 12:08 pm

Motherlode at 10.06 –
Superb work.
As for the optional line – would
“With his trademark browned-off look”
work?

Colonel Crispin Berka
Colonel Crispin Berka
August 1, 2023 12:09 pm

Dot.

Most of law is the application of a database of rules onto a set of determined case facts to make a conclusion. You don’t even need AI to automate that, which was why the CSIROs’ Data51 mob were touting machine-readable legislation for “smart contracts” and regulatory-compliance-as-a-service just a few years ago.
Throw AI into the mix and it will take over most of lawyering hours about as fast as any other job you mention there. Probably faster as the risk of a wrong decision in the worst case is an innocent person going to jail, but the worst case risk in medicine is a lot less reversible.

Which supports (and may explain?) your enthusiasm for learning how to call APIs?

John H.
John H.
August 1, 2023 12:15 pm

JC
Aug 1, 2023 11:55 AM
Dover

We were told the war would last 2 weeks and now 2 years in you’re suggesting the side that was supposed to be gone in a couple of weeks isn’t doing well with its offensive attack.
That’s not ironic, just a smidgeon?

A war to stop the killing of Russians now resulting in more Russians and civilians being killed and civilians by a factor of 10. Increasing each week as the war drags on. I’ll stop the killing by killing many more. It’s crap, the war has other motivations. The NATO argument worked out really well, with Finland and Sweden joining the team. Will he declare war on those nations? Sweden and Finland are big issues because they can block the Baltic Sea. The Swedish military is specifically designed to address that. The Gotland submarine is perfect for that sea and the Gripen is designed to counter the Russian air force. It can carry AIM 120Ds and meteor missiles, effectively outgunning Russian air power. Sweden and Finland are far bigger threats than Ukraine because both are close to their major naval and missile facilities(Baltic, Kola). What ya gonna do Vladie?

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 1, 2023 12:15 pm

This lovely story about a dog who was simply paralysed with fear, but who recovered with gentle guidance and love, follows on from the humming-bird link above.

I thought of those poor traumatised aboriginal children whom we see on our TV screens, and think of how loving care could make such a difference to their lives, in a special hostel and then in a caring home. The sort of thing that used to take place before helping such children was seen as stealing them. No Voice will fix this, but removal of the worst cases and firm assistance to parents of some of the others will have a good effect. Australia can still do this, if the ‘culture’ imbuing this deleterious Voice, the one that Gary John’s analyses so well, is given a hefty short shrift.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 1, 2023 12:17 pm

link here, re the pooch

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 12:21 pm

Woke Quote of the Day (courtesy The Speccie):

‘The heartbreaking thing is we’re the most progressive city in the world and yet sexism and misogyny is rife in London.’

– Sadiq Khan

Seems the Capital of Woke is but a whited sepulchre.

(Don’t mention knife crime or the rampant shoplifting the Met no longer polices.)

Dot
Dot
August 1, 2023 12:21 pm

No, I’ve just seen this elsewhere. I’ve seen one early career lowest level line manager become a department head and another entry-level guy get promoted quickly too.

ROSS already took out a lot of lawyering, whilst it existed.

IMO anything outside the most serious criminal matters should be a fine or ADR, preferably collaborative law for complex or high-stakes cases.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 1, 2023 12:21 pm

Dumbest science headline of the day, by a long long way.

Sun ‘umbrella’ tethered to asteroid might help mitigate climate change (Phys.org, 31 Jul)

István Szapudi, an astronomer at the University of Hawai?i Institute for Astronomy, has proposed a novel approach—a solar shield to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth, combined with a tethered, captured asteroid as a counterweight. Engineering studies using this approach could start now to create a workable design that could mitigate climate change within decades.

Ok, yes, I can see where the poor guy is coming from. Great swathes of climate dosh have been pouring in to science faculties…all of them except astronomy. So why not come up with an idea to get some of the huge deluge to flow to deserving astronomers too?

He should send a proposal to Mr Bowen, who never saw a silly climate idea he didn’t want to jump into bed with immediately.

Boambee John
Boambee John
August 1, 2023 12:26 pm

Boambee John
Aug 1, 2023 11:56 AM
bons
Aug 1, 2023 8:36 AM
The demise of Defence was so visible. It commenced when the PS bribed senior officers with obscene salaries. Careerist conformity became the only pathway to the big bucks.

The Remuneration Tribunal, not the PS, did the “bribing” at the higher levels, and remuneration of lower ranks used to be very firmly in the hands of military personnel.

PS, and the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal had the final say on remuneration for the lower ranks, not the Department.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 1, 2023 12:26 pm

Our wallpaper guy, a big middle-years Aussie fellow of the old inner city, told us with real tears in his eyes that he was going to vote Yes for the Voice because he simply couldn’t stand seeing any more of those ‘poor aboriginal kiddies’ living in such a dreadful state. We gently suggested that the Voice would only make things worse, reinforcing the culture that meant these parents could continue to neglect their children rather than changing it. I hope now he reads the No case more carefully. I think he will.

billie
billie
August 1, 2023 12:27 pm

“Lies! No platform are all lying!”

Reminds me of the UK Brexit campaign, to this day the Remainers cry out that the fools who voted for Brexit were so stupid, they believed the lies they were told.

So what, they voted on it and in a Democracy, they won and Brexit happened.

If the No vote gets up and we don’t have to be Welcomed to our own homeland anymore through p*ssy spite (as we’ve been threatened), that’s a win I’ll take any day.

Frank
Frank
August 1, 2023 12:29 pm

AI would do a pretty good job of churning out that circular verbiage that therapists are known for.

Colonel Crispin Berka
Colonel Crispin Berka
August 1, 2023 12:30 pm

Dot,
Why say “while it existed” ?
If this is what you meant, they are still selling it for $80/month.
https://www.rossintelligence.com/what-is-ai

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 12:32 pm

Cassie, agree with the sentiment but he is right.
The public service withheld critical information.

Even if that were the case (and I doubt it), applying Churchill’s knowledge audit (which all government ministers ought to be aware of) means he isn’t absolved of responsibility.

He should have known to ask, as should his advisers.

Colonel Crispin Berka
Colonel Crispin Berka
August 1, 2023 12:33 pm

Frank.
AI was not needed for doing that in rudimentary form, which is why that was achieved decades ago.
https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/eliza-chatbot-history

Old Lefty
Old Lefty
August 1, 2023 12:35 pm

No comment from Louise Milligan on the Hold Coast childcare worker? I wonder why not?

She and Stan, by the way, are billed to have a live-in on the evils of the monarchy at the upcoming Canberra Wankers (sorry, Writers) Festival. Pass the sick bags please.

Old Lefty
Old Lefty
August 1, 2023 12:36 pm

Gold Coast!

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 1, 2023 12:37 pm

Crikey, look at me defending ScoMo.
I threw up in my mouth a little bit. h/t Dodgeball.

Dot
Dot
August 1, 2023 12:38 pm

The links are dead (no login, no help) and this is their 2nd to last blog post.

https://blog.rossintelligence.com/post/announcement

Or, I can’t use the intanetts.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 1, 2023 12:39 pm

Even if that were the case (and I doubt it)

That’s exactly what ScoMo and one of the other ministers said.
They asked their department heads & were told everything was sweet as bro.

calli
calli
August 1, 2023 12:39 pm

Comrade

When I see that word, my mind flies immediately to a sordid cellar in the Urals.

When I hear it, I want to give the speaker a rabbit killer across the throat.

Does that make me a bad person?

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 1, 2023 12:41 pm

Sweden and Finland are big issues because they can block the Baltic Sea.

There’s always Murmansk to Minsk.
I believe they call it the Rochelle, Rochelle corridor.

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 12:41 pm

Rub and tug is done: even waleed hates him

That’s the second time he’s received short shrift from The Project recently.

Why (feigning indignation)…it’s as though they have no respect for him.

calli
calli
August 1, 2023 12:44 pm

One of my children is overseeing a pay deal with a very militant union. They all call each other “Comrade”.

Creepy in the extreme. They’re also all acolytes of Sappho, ugly and festy ones at that.

Makes zoom meetings positively welcome.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 1, 2023 12:47 pm

Cassie of Sydney
Aug 1, 2023 7:27 AM
I am an oracle……about some things!

Yes, but do people shit their pants when you walk into the room?
I mean, not counting the Old Folks Home where they might be incontinent witj or without your Oracle presence.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
August 1, 2023 12:47 pm

“Will no one rid me of this meddlesome Nurse Betty?” It didn’t work out too well for Henry II, did it?

Henry II ruled not just England but a large part of continental Europe:

Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189) was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189. At various points in his life, he controlled England; substantial parts of Wales and Ireland; and a large part of France (including Normandy, Aquitaine and Anjou), an area that was later called the Angevin Empire. At times, Henry also held a strong influence over Scotland and the Duchy of Brittany.

During his previously unheard of 35-year reign, Henry dominated Thomas Becket so much Becket fled for years to Fwance. On his return Becket continued to mouth off, so was consequently killed in front of an altar in 1170.

Henry II lived and reigned for another nineteen years. Becket was regarded as a flog by comtemporaries throughout his life, but was brought up to martyrdom status by monks decades after his death because it was politically expedient and a challenge to the King after next, John.

Henry II kicked Becket’s arse before, at the time of and after his death.

Johnny Rotten
August 1, 2023 12:48 pm

Weather forecast for tonight: dark.

– George Carlin

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 12:50 pm

That’s exactly what ScoMo and one of the other ministers said.
They asked their department heads & were told everything was sweet as bro.

Then they didn’t ask the right questions forcefully enough.

bons
bons
August 1, 2023 12:50 pm

The Remuneration Tribunal has never been a truly independant arbiter. It is part of the system and responds to the guidance delivered before the Tribunal by the Government advocates.

The ADF cases are prepared within the Department and are heavily scrutinised and guided by the PS overlords.

Senior ADF salaries are devised in conjunction with the SES/secretarial mafia. The role of the DFRT in relation to senior ADV salaries is simply tokenistic. The fix is in before anyone appears before the Tribunal. The Tribunal does what it is told for senior appointments.

Less so for junior ranks where there is some semblance of genuine industrial advocacy and work value analysis.

Robert Sewell
August 1, 2023 12:52 pm

Link to Sky News for ZK2A’s article about the Dark Emu story.
Jul 31, 2023 8:56 PM
‘Documentary a biased set-up’: bitter Dark Emu feud turns personal.

Colonel Crispin Berka
Colonel Crispin Berka
August 1, 2023 12:56 pm

Dot.

Yep, I judged the site on appearances and had no idea they had stopped operations.

And due to lawfare, ironically. Is there no honour amongst lawyers? 😀

Steve trickler
Steve trickler
August 1, 2023 1:01 pm

Inconvenient truths.

Tony Heller:

NASA climate scientist Peter Kalmus says Biden should declare a “climate emergency.” He is using the good reputation of NASA to spread misinformation and baseless hysteria.

Climate Fakery Part 18

John H.
John H.
August 1, 2023 1:04 pm

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Aug 1, 2023 12:15 PM
This lovely story about a dog who was simply paralysed with fear, but who recovered with gentle guidance and love, follows on from the humming-bird link above.

I thought of those poor traumatised aboriginal children whom we see on our TV screens, and think of how loving care could make such a difference to their lives, in a special hostel and then in a caring home. The sort of thing that used to take place before helping such children was seen as stealing them. No Voice will fix this, but removal of the worst cases and firm assistance to parents of some of the others will have a good effect. Australia can still do this, if the ‘culture’ imbuing this deleterious Voice, the one that Gary John’s analyses so well, is given a hefty short shrift.

The tragedy is that the research on traumatised children points to an optimal intervention occurring before puberty. After that all bets are off. There is some fascinating physiology involved much of which is about the stress response axis. Our physiology is tuned by our developmental environment and in adulthood or even late teens that can be extremely difficult to change. I tire of those who think they know how to fix these problems. Traumatised children too often become damaged adulthood.

Some months ago a study argued that for mental health the initial best outcomes are about changing the person’s environment. Getting children out of damaging environments is not a choice it is an imperative. Not just for that child but for society as a whole. The long term pay offs are huge.

Rosie
Rosie
August 1, 2023 1:05 pm

Give it a rest Bob.
BRIAN was the one who said the call came from a particular university in Queensland.
And it was a superior officer who took the call, after all it was a complaint about him, not to him.

John H.
John H.
August 1, 2023 1:07 pm

Roger
Aug 1, 2023 12:50 PM
That’s exactly what ScoMo and one of the other ministers said.
They asked their department heads & were told everything was sweet as bro.

Then they didn’t ask the right questions forcefully enough.

It is obvious that the scheme was doomed to go wrong because Centrelink works on fortnightly income not yearly income. I can excuse ScoMo for not seeing the obvious. He is a bloody idiot. When he leaves Parliament the average IQ might hit 3 figures.

Frank
Frank
August 1, 2023 1:12 pm

When he leaves Parliament the average IQ might hit 3 figures.

SHY smiles.

Roger
Roger
August 1, 2023 1:15 pm

The Russians went in with a force to small to actually defeat and occupy Ukraine…

Their first mistake.

To achieve Putin’s stated (24/02/22) war goals, that is, to “demilitarise and denazify” Ukraine and hold those responsible for alleged atrocities in Donbas to account, presumably in Russian courts, an at least temporary occupation of Kyiv and much of Ukraine would have been necessary.

Did he really expect the Ukrainian military would “lay down its weapons and go home” as he requested in the same speech? Evidently.

As I’ve said from the beginning, Putin may have had moral justification for annexing those areas of the Donbas aligned culturally and linguistically with Russia, given Ukrainian provocations. That move would prbably have brought those hostilities to an end. But his overreach based on the above miscalculations leaves Russia with a hostile state on its south west border for generations to come. A much bigger problem.

Muddy
Muddy
August 1, 2023 1:15 pm

Bruce of Newcastle

Aug 1, 2023 12:21 PM
Dumbest science headline of the day, by a long long way.

…has proposed a novel [my bolding] approach…

Note the neutral adjective: ‘Novel.’ Not ‘controversial’ ‘experimental’ or ‘bizarre.’

We are *this* far from The Simpsons’ Escalator to Nowhere, aren’t we?
Or perhaps, inspired by South Park: Individual Collapsible Rectal Umbrellas.

calli
calli
August 1, 2023 1:20 pm

The Henry II vs Becket was a power struggle over who had judicial rights over the church, including the appointments of clergy. Probably had something also to do with all that juicy juicy Church land and income too, but I digress.

Henry liked power and lots of it. He knew he couldn’t just make mincemeat of his once friend, so he dropped a couple of handy hints that the realm would be better off without the Archbishop. Some knights obliged him with gusto.

They say that when Becket was stripped, he was wearing a hair shirt and that his accomodation was positively spartan, a great contrast to his earlier life of luxury and pleasure.

I’ve stood on the spot where he was murdered. There is an interesting memorial to him there, quite modern but symbolic.

Crossie
Crossie
August 1, 2023 1:21 pm

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Aug 1, 2023 8:49 AM
Daily Mail.

EXCLUSIVE: Bombshell texts appear to show Labor’s Katy Gallagher ‘read The Project’s transcript of Lisa Wilkinson’s interview with Brittany Higgins four days before the show was aired’

Which Liberal female MP will come forward this time to save Katy Gallagher’s job?

Chris
Chris
August 1, 2023 1:23 pm

Since I stopped paying for The Australian, I have had occasional recourse to news.com.au.
In important news they have discovered that people in their 20s are hard hit by rising cost of living.
I am just gobsmacked.

Tom
Tom
August 1, 2023 1:25 pm

That’s the second time he’s received short shrift from The Project recently.

LOL. Squabbles between mainstream radical revolutionaries (Elbow and the Liars) and fringe radical revolutionaries (Squalid Aly and the Greenfilth) are always entertaining.

Thankfully hardly anyone was watching as the Ten network, a US-owned tax dodge, chases milennials who don’t watch TV or buy stuff that TV advertisers advertise.

Steve trickler
Steve trickler
August 1, 2023 1:31 pm

Misinformation and disinformation predominately comes from MSM whores.

Mostly.

Freedom Media WA:

Slow Chat with Russell Broadbent MP on Labor’s Orwellian Misinformation Bill.

Bourne1879
Bourne1879
August 1, 2023 1:36 pm

Culture watch update.

The age of Aboriginal culture keeps getting longer. I noted it jumped to 65,009 amongst Yes campaigners but apparently that was not long enough.

It seems that Senator Pocock’s web site now says it is 80,000 years.

I think some people think the more years they claim the greater the culture. Well they would be wrong.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 1, 2023 1:43 pm

Woodside boss Meg O’Neill condemns Burrup protesters who trespassed on family home

The West Australian
Tue, 1 August 2023 10:15AM
Shannon Hampton

Woodside Energy boss Meg O’Neill has condemned “extremist protesters” who trespassed on her family home this morning in an act “designed to threaten me, my partner and our daughter in our home”.

A Woodside spokeswoman confirmed Disrupt Burrup Hub protesters descended on Ms O’Neill’s City Beach home on Tuesday morning.

“Camera crews accompanied the activists in what was an organised and deliberate act designed to intimidate Ms O’Neill and her family,” she said.

“This is an unacceptable escalation in an activity designed to threaten and intimidate by an extremist group that has no interest in engaging in respectful and constructive debate about Woodside’s role in the transition towards a lower-carbon world.

“Illegal protest activity like this only serves to distract from the real work being undertaken to achieve decarbonisation.”

Ms O’Neill thanked WA Police for their “swift response in acting to ensure the safety” of her family.

“This was not a ‘harmless’ protest,” she said.

“It was designed to threaten me, my partner and our daughter in our home.

“Such acts by extremists should be condemned by anyone who respects the law and believes people should be safe to go about their business at home and at work.”

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King also condemned the behaviour.

“Seeking to intimidate someone in their home or workplace is intolerable,” she said.

“Extreme acts like this are not legitimate protest activity.

“Such acts are violent and intimidating and I condemn it entirely.

“It would be a loss for all of us if Australia were to become the kind of place where public figures needed to surround themselves with security at all times.”

“Gutless ” and “cowards” are words that spring to mind.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
August 1, 2023 1:45 pm

It seems that Senator Pocock’s web site now says it is 80,000 years.

They lived in harmony with the land so they would leave no trace of habitation.

And latest research says that there is no trace of habitation going all the way back to the beginning of the Pleistocene – 2.5 million years ago.

Johnny Rotten
August 1, 2023 1:45 pm

Henry II kicked Becket’s arse before, at the time of and after his death.

That ‘Enery was small beer. Henry the 8th was the Man. He kicked the Pope’s arse and took all the loot.

John H.
John H.
August 1, 2023 1:50 pm

Bourne1879
Aug 1, 2023 1:36 PM
Culture watch update.

The age of Aboriginal culture keeps getting longer. I noted it jumped to 65,009 amongst Yes campaigners but apparently that was not long enough.

It seems that Senator Pocock’s web site now says it is 80,000 years.

I think some people think the more years they claim the greater the culture. Well they would be wrong.

The genetic data points to ~50,000 years but that tells us nothing about the culture. Most human societies have a culture that at best spans a few hundred years. How do we know it was a continuous unchanging culture? Why take pride in a moribund culture? These and other fascinating questions are never asked let alone answered because only wacist people ask such questions.

Robert Sewell
August 1, 2023 1:51 pm

Rosie:

Does this mean if the Liberal party got voted in again in Victoria native forest logging could return?

The logging industry will not return without solid cast iron guarantees about viability. It’s a matter of sovereign liability. No one will trust the government anymore to not change the rules and make any viable business proposition uneconomic.
Look what they did with the COVID laws – thousands of businesses went to the wall.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 1, 2023 1:53 pm

It seems that Senator Pocock’s web site now says it is 80,000 years.

Aborigines are the descendants of a cargo of African slaves, on a Portuguese ship, wrecked off the Western Australian coast in the early 1500’s….

Old School Conservative
Old School Conservative
August 1, 2023 1:53 pm

My old school just sent out an email to the whole school community with an obituary for one of the servicemen missing from the military exercise in Queensland with MRH-90 Taipan helicopters. He had been a student of the school until graduation in 2016, and school cadets had been a big part of his life.
A vibrant young man taken far too soon.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 1, 2023 1:53 pm

Here’s a blast from the past…

Putin thought Russia’s military could capture Kyiv in 2 days, but it still hasn’t in 20 (16 Mar 2022)

“It seems obvious Putin was sold a bill of goods by his intelligence services,” Michael Weiss, news director at New Lines magazine and director of special investigations at the Free Russia Foundation, told Insider. Lending credence to that theory is that, according to independent Russian news outlet Meduza, leaders of Russia’s foreign intelligence service have been placed under house arrest since the invasion.

The model was the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia, which took two days: Operation Danube. Putin’s advisors really believed that the “oppressed” Ukrainian people would welcome them in and that the AFU would refuse to fight. Such ideas are no different from the climate rubbish – the elites all agree to the same belief and all sing the same song to the boss.

Johnny Rotten
August 1, 2023 2:00 pm

No, obviously not. This is just silly. He went in as I said earlier with a force he thought would be sufficient to force Ukraine to the negotiating table. His ‘miscalculation’ was in thinking either Ukraine or NATO could be negotiated with.

FFS and you are so right. At the time of the fall of the Soviet Union, the UKR gave back all of its nukes to Russia. The UKR to be Neutral. The US/NATO promised not to expand eastwards. And what did they do? Expand eastwards.

Then with the Minsk Agreement around 2014, what did the US/NATO do? Reneged on the Agreement. Then some sort of civil war started in the Donbas region.

So, in February 2022, Putin said ‘Fark You’ and in he went to the eastern UKR.

And here we are now with the UKR having no chance whatsoever. It will be a Rump State indeed and a buffer zone between NATO and Russia dependent upon handouts (EU please help) as its Economy is ‘Farked’.

Poor bastards.

calli
calli
August 1, 2023 2:02 pm

Henry II was at war with everyone, most of all his family.

Unlike Henry VIII, he was able to produce copious numbers of sons, all inheriting the trait of wanting a piece of the action. A big piece. The daughters were all bartered off as bargaining chips for foreign influence, but those boys…what to do with them?

He made the mistake of having the eldest crowned as a co-ruler. Brilliant…not. But then he died. Another came to sticky (or rather winey) end in a barrel following a dodgy insurrection, the second eldest eventually became King but was too busy killing people and he forget to have children. Which left the youngest, a certain Mr Lackland who suddenly wasn’t. But then he had a run-in with his barons and other assorted nobility and ended up being forced to sign a particular document which is still rather pertinent today.

And then there was Henry’s missus, that most prodigious producer of children. Beloved until she wasn’t and then shipped off to somewhere safe…for Henry.

My favourite dramatisation of husband and wife has to be The Lion in Winter.

John H.
John H.
August 1, 2023 2:03 pm

Bruce of Newcastle
Aug 1, 2023 1:53 PM
Here’s a blast from the past…

Putin thought Russia’s military could capture Kyiv in 2 days, but it still hasn’t in 20 (16 Mar 2022)

“It seems obvious Putin was sold a bill of goods by his intelligence services,” Michael Weiss, news director at New Lines magazine and director of special investigations at the Free Russia Foundation, told Insider. Lending credence to that theory is that, according to independent Russian news outlet Meduza, leaders of Russia’s foreign intelligence service have been placed under house arrest since the invasion.

The model was the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia, which took two days: Operation Danube. Putin’s advisors really believed that the “oppressed” Ukrainian people would welcome them in and that the AFU would refuse to fight. Such ideas are no different from the climate rubbish – the elites all agree to the same belief and all sing the same song to the boss.

Bruce it makes sense because the last Putin wanted was a protracted war. The man is a murderous asshole but is intelligent. He was gambling on a quick win and possibly was thinking about securing Crimea hence the attack on Ukraine rather than just Donbas. It was no feint, a ridiculous argument mounted by some to defend the farcical failure of Russian military. How else to explain that idiotic tank drive to Kiev? It was a logistical and tactical nightmare for which they paid a huge price. I cannot believe Putin and the generals are that stupid. They must have thought they would roll in to cheers and accolades.

calli
calli
August 1, 2023 2:06 pm

Oh. I forgot something. Henry’s wife was once his father’s mistress.

Dysfunctional doesn’t do it justice.

Until you get to Richard II vs. Henry IV. Bolingbroke had Richard imprisoned and kept on short rations. Very short.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 1, 2023 2:13 pm

My favourite dramatisation of husband and wife has to be The Lion in Winter.

A dramatisation featuring Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn?

John H.
John H.
August 1, 2023 2:13 pm

Johnny Rotten
Aug 1, 2023 2:00 PM

And here we are now with the UKR having no chance whatsoever. It will be a Rump State indeed and a buffer zone between NATO and Russia dependent upon handouts (EU please help) as its Economy is ‘Farked’.

Poor bastards.

But for the remarkable incompetence, poor equipment, and poor training of the Russian military the UKR should have ceased to exist a year ago. Better for Ukraine to remain a rump state dependent on NATO handouts than spending several decades being looted and exploited by Russia.

Kneel
Kneel
August 1, 2023 2:13 pm

“You need APIs thus far to run them. The APIs are inexpensive and can be customised.

The future skill would be in building the AI/automation.”

Having created my share of automation, I would say that currently, embedded software developer with some hardware experience is hard to beat – don’t just “learn to code”, learn how the hardware and code interface to create an “appliance”. Be able to debug hardware as well as software. Very much in demand, and you can ask $150k+ with appropriate qualifications and minimal experience.

This is software for car engine management systems and ABS controllers, microwave ovens, TVs, washing machines, etc etc – not computers as appliances, but rather “appliances” that have a computer embedded into them.

It’s not an easy job, and is not something AI can do at this point in time. I suspect it will be a while before AI can drive sufficiently dexterous hardware and can interpret sufficiently complex situations to do that particular job – you need to understand what the software is trying to do, make sure it is telling the hardware to do the correct thing at the correct time, and also make sure the hardware is responding as expected and supplying any feedback to the software correctly (which goes “backwards” through the same process if you like). If that process is broken in any way, you need to be able to determine where it is broken, and that is often difficult when such systems tend to be “self correcting” or “self tuning”, so minor “out of spec” conditions tend to be “fixed” in real time and only become apparent to the end user (or developer!) when the device fails prematurely.

My $0.02.

Megan
Megan
August 1, 2023 2:14 pm

Robert Sewell f
@lunchtime yesterday…

Offer accepted, Megan.

I’m only just catching up on Cat News after a couple of days of dealing with insurance repairs. Thanks so much…I don’t mind you knowing my address but since you prefer it should be OK to mail to it C/- my local PO. It’s a wee one and they know everyone.

I’ll let DB know the requisite post office.

Jorge
Jorge
August 1, 2023 2:15 pm

Heard this morning on SEN breakfast from the amusing Tim Watson: Stand by for the AFL to announce in the next few weeks a Kevin Spacey Round.

Robert Sewell
August 1, 2023 2:23 pm

Calli:

The most blaring “silencing” in history then.

I just wish he’d shut up about his ‘silencing’.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 1, 2023 2:25 pm

The above should actually read: US intelligence thinks that Russian intelligence thinks or has at least advised Putin that it can capture Kiev in 2 days.

They did too. We got that message from day one that Western intelligence didn’t think Ukraine could survive against the mighty Russian Army for many days. I quoted that particular para specifically because the reported arrest of intel guys for screwing up suggests the Russian intel community thought so too. Given how Operation Danube went it would be an easy mistake to make.

US officials concerned Kyiv could fall to Russia within days: reports (25 Feb 2022)

Robert Sewell
August 1, 2023 2:27 pm

Black Ball:

The television tells me it is 30 years since someone smuggled a pig into the SCG and set it free on the ground, daubed with the number 4 and Plugger, after the great Tony Lockett.

Didn’t someone else get 4 piglets, painted ‘1’ ‘2’ ‘3’ & ‘5’ on their backs and let them loose in a shopping mall?
Management spent hours looking for the #4 piglet.

Johnny Rotten
August 1, 2023 2:28 pm

But for the remarkable incompetence, poor equipment, and poor training of the Russian military the UKR should have ceased to exist a year ago. Better for Ukraine to remain a rump state dependent on NATO handouts than spending several decades being looted and exploited by Russia.

Yes, and I can see all that poor equipment working every day against the ‘superior’ US/NATO stuff that is fast running out and being destroyed. LOL.

It appears that Putin doesn’t want the whole of the UKR or even the old Soviet Union put back or he would be trying to do that right now. And he isn’t. He is grinding down the UKR and the Western ‘help’.

Shouldn’t be long now before the US/NATO blinks and slinks away leaving an awful mess.

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