Open Thread – Thurs 10 Aug 2023


Boulevard de la Madeleine, Edouard Cortes, early 1900s

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

1.1K Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Dot
Dot
August 10, 2023 12:07 am

Um…posted here again… 🙂

Looks like Liberland is almost a real country.

WOW!

We have some incredible news to share with you! We would like to announce the opening of our first border crossing with Croatia. This monumental achievement took place on August 6th, 2023, marking a significant stride towards international cooperation, freedom, and fairness.

President Vit Jedlicka expressed, “This small step for Liberland is a giant leap for humanity. It mirrors our dedication to building stronger global connections and fostering a spirit of mutual respect.”

We’re thrilled to inform you that Liberland is now accessible for visits. While planning your visit, kindly note that the border crossing is currently operational during daylight hours, as mutually agreed upon with the Croatian border police. The access point, situated in Zmajevac, allows both land and river traffic, but for now, only land traffic on foot is permitted into Liberland. The Liberty houseboat serves as the border checkpoint on the river.

To ensure a smooth entry and exit process, visitors are required to follow the procedure established by the Liberland Border Ranger team. This involves a police check by the Croatian border police and passport control by the Liberland Border Ranger team. Prior to your visit, please share your travel details including full name, passport number, current residence address, and arrival date and time at [email protected]. The Liberland team will then provide you with precise visitation information.

This momentous occasion comes in tandem with Liberland’s new Border Law, a comprehensive framework for immigration and border control. The Immigration and Border Service (IBIS) and dedicated Border Rangers will oversee these crucial aspects to ensure safe and secure border crossings.

At the same time, we’d like to invite you for Liberwalks in Liberland.

Dates:
– Thursday, August 10th
– Saturday, August 12th

Meetup Point: Liberland ARK Village.

Timing: Promptly at 10:00 AM.

– Transport: If you have a car, please consider sharing a ride with fellow Liberlanders. We’ll attempt to arrange cars based on a first-come-first-serve approach.
– Capacity: Limited spots available. RSVP early at [email protected]. Specify if you’re attending on Thursday or Saturday and if you can offer car space.
– Documents: Bring your passport. Ensure you can enter the Schengen area.
– Avoid: If visiting the Batina border crossing point, leave behind any Liberland memorabilia like flags or pins.
– Return Route: It’s recommended to pass back into Serbia via Erdut rather than Batina.
– Trip Duration: Can be a swift 4-hour trip or extend over 10 hours. Be ready for either!

Wow, just wow.

Barking Toad
Barking Toad
August 10, 2023 12:25 am

A tad of nepotism.

Victorian governor is spouse of Glyn Davis, parliamentary secretary of Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet.

One appointed by Andrews, the other appointed by Sleaze.

Jobs for bloke mate

Aaron
Aaron
August 10, 2023 12:55 am

Canada jumps the shark.

Justin/Justine has a gay old time.

billie
billie
August 10, 2023 1:07 am

When the No vote gets up, will it be, like Brexit, the voters were lied to.

The voters are so stupid, they believed lies rather than made up their own minds?

There seems to be the usual lack of understanding about how democracy works.

Like Brexit, I expect the losers, will demand another vote because reasons.

Albo will have his place in history, and an albatross around his neck and rightly so.

(Albo has called the 26 page version of the Uluru Heart, a QAnon conspiracy. His headspace is, worryingly, the demons of other countries. QAnon is a USA thing isn’t it, Tories is a UK thing? What is reverse projecting called, paranoia?)

Steve trickler
Steve trickler
August 10, 2023 1:20 am
Armadillo
Armadillo
August 10, 2023 3:50 am

When the No vote gets up, will it be, like Brexit, the voters were lied to.

The Brexit vote was voluntary. The Voice vote is mandatory.

It’s a stark difference.

Armadillo
Armadillo
August 10, 2023 4:03 am

The voters are so stupid, they believed lies rather than made up their own minds?

The quality of trolls @ “The Cat” has significantly decreased #Imisshammy

Beertruk
August 10, 2023 4:22 am

Top ten…
06:20 here in Ardernia Land /Un Zud…election coming up and Labor promising to spend big with money the country doesn’t have.

KevinM
KevinM
August 10, 2023 4:24 am

Beertruk
Aug 10, 2023 4:22 AM

Top ten…

06:20 here in Ardernia Land /Un Zud…election coming up and Labor promising to spend big with money the country doesn’t have.

Situation normal then as far as politicians go.

Johnny Rotten
August 10, 2023 4:57 am

Tom. Where are you?

Johnny Rotten
August 10, 2023 4:58 am

“YES” only edition of Q&A lowest rating ever.

Diversity celebrity Dan Bourchier’s rise and rise at the ABC continues.

He now holds the hotly contested record for the least watched edition of Q&A of all time.

93,000 people across Australia’s capital cities tuned in – a share of 4% of the available audience.

And who would be surprised?

The show was all “YES” supporters (including the host), broadcast at enormous expense from the Garma festival in the outback.

The ABC just keeps going further down the chute.

https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2023/08/yes-only-edition-of-qa-lowest-rating-ever-.html

Tom
Tom
August 10, 2023 5:10 am
Tom
Tom
August 10, 2023 5:11 am
Tom
Tom
August 10, 2023 5:12 am
Tom
Tom
August 10, 2023 5:13 am
Tom
Tom
August 10, 2023 5:15 am
Tom
Tom
August 10, 2023 5:16 am
Tom
Tom
August 10, 2023 5:17 am
Tom
Tom
August 10, 2023 5:18 am
Tom
Tom
August 10, 2023 5:19 am
Tom
Tom
August 10, 2023 5:20 am
Tom
Tom
August 10, 2023 5:21 am
Johnny Rotten
August 10, 2023 5:29 am

Thanks once again Tom.

Beertruk
August 10, 2023 5:47 am

Situation normal then as far as politicians go.

That’s it, ‘same shite, different country.’

Zatara
Zatara
August 10, 2023 6:45 am

We finally see a phenomenon that is likely to increase temps a bit, but it is a natural one, the Hunga-Tonga volcanic eruption, which sent perhaps 40 trillion gallons tons of high-altitude water vapor into the air and might warm the northern hemisphere by more than a degree over the coming years.

Other volcanic eruptions which spew more particulate matter into the atmosphere in minutes than mankind has in all of history get ignored by the activist ‘scientists’ with marxist agendas. Let’s see how much attention this one gets since it is mother Gaia doing the heating and can’t be blamed on humans.

2dogs
2dogs
August 10, 2023 6:45 am

I wonder what stream of non-answers could be obtained from here.

e.g. How will members of the Voice be chosen?

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
August 10, 2023 6:52 am

Well, sometimes it doesn’t pay to believe your own press.

NSW ex-plod Gary Jubelin was flogged up big-time in court for arresting a bloke called Spedding for historical child sex offence matters while trying to flip him in the William Tyrrell disappearance a couple of years back.

Jubelin thought Spedding would provide crucial mail into Tyrrell’s death, when faced with the prospect of being ‘outed’ as a peddler. Spedding said he didn’t know what Jubelin was on about.

Jubelin arranged for a film crew to cover Spedding’s arrest. Spedding spent 56 days on remand before being bailed, and ultimately acquitted after strenuously denying any involvement in both the offences he was arrested for, and any knowledge of the Tyrrell disappearance.

Jubelin was described, among other things, by the beak as ‘high-handed’ and ‘grandstanding’. Spedding is now $3.5 million richer after launching a malicious prosecution beef with NSW Plod, which lost the first case then appealed it.

Jubelin was described as a ‘rock star’ among the detective fraternity. Plenty of profile, which he actively sought, and plenty of sponsors further up the Tree of Brass. All of these things evidently developed into a mentality where nothing he did could have been doubted, let alone questioned.

Sacked by Big Plod for doing things including but not limited to breachng surveillance device legislation, he’s been pumping his yuuuuuge appetite for self-promotion by running a podcast called ‘I Catch Killers’ in which he routinely brings on local scrotes to attest his brilliance, and how ‘the machine’ did him wrong.

I have heard it said in certain circles that there are ways and means to progress investigations of the Tyrrell type. Publicly arresting local dodgy blokes in the hope of embarrassing either a confession or admissible evidence against ‘the real killer’ is not one of them.

Zatara
Zatara
August 10, 2023 7:15 am

I wonder what stream of non-answers could be obtained from here.

Amnesty freaking International? A left leaning international organization which “campaigns to end abuses of human rights”?

Go ahead mateys, tell the world that the Voice is an attempt to “end abuses of human rights”. See what the voter/taxpayers think of that.

Vicki
Vicki
August 10, 2023 7:16 am

Good morning Cats. Waking to more hysteria – this time the wildfires in Hawaii.

While we, as bushies, empathise with those fleeing the fires ( we suffered the Gosper Mt fires not too long ago) the absolute OTT coverage is part of the Fear epidemic current in the media. Yes – people are fleeing into the sea to escape fires – but so did Aussies on the NSW South Coast recently. Horrific – but part of living in country areas when conditions set the scene for fire.

Vicki
Vicki
August 10, 2023 7:22 am

BTW Zatara – you are exactly right re the influence of these deep water volcanic eruptions causing changes in high atmosphere & ultimately affecting weather. Ian Plimer has been explaining this in respect to the Tonga eruption for some time – but few listen.

calli
calli
August 10, 2023 7:24 am

It all feeds into the Narrative, Vicki. Also…no pictures, no story. The age of the smartphone means that anything can be uploaded without context for the world’s viewing pleasure.

Also, see Zatara’s 6:46 post on Hunga-tonga. We’re going to get some heat, but not because of us. Of course, you can’t tax a volcano.

Cassie of Sydney
August 10, 2023 7:32 am

“I have heard it said in certain circles that there are ways and means to progress investigations of the Tyrrell type. Publicly arresting local dodgy blokes in the hope of embarrassing either a confession or admissible evidence against ‘the real killer’ is not one of them.”

It’s curious how Jubelin ignored the idea that the person/persons behind William’s disappearance might have been standing right in front of him.

calli
calli
August 10, 2023 7:38 am

I did a little travelogue on SincCat when we were in Japan years ago. It was a beautiful, three week trip that barely scratched the surface of this wonderful country. Modernity, cultural gems, natural beauty…a sophisticated, respectful culture and a great contrast to all the other places we had visited over the years.

Because of my family history, in the back of my mind was always the niggling thought…what the hell went so wrong? How did they go from the modernisation of the Meiji period and their acceptance into the great outside world to the horrors of WWII? I came away without a simple answer, I doubt whether there is one.

On visiting Hiroshima, I wondered what emotions it would evoke in me. Honestly, I felt nothing.

Even as I type the tears come…not over the bomb, but the vision of a young teenager and her father waiting anxiously on their island in the Pacific. Who would arrive first – the US navy or the Japanese? Grandfather knew what their fate would be if it was the latter, and he had made preparations.

Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. It might be a good idea if our leaders heeded that, but they won’t. They think they can get away with anything.

Cassie of Sydney
August 10, 2023 7:50 am

“Other volcanic eruptions which spew more particulate matter into the atmosphere in minutes than mankind has in all of history get ignored by the activist ‘scientists’ with marxist agendas. Let’s see how much attention this one gets since it is mother Gaia doing the heating and can’t be blamed on humans.”

None. We now live in a post-science world, where the only currency that matters is hyperbole and hysteria, and yet, those same activists think they’re being scientific. We’re about to destroy our electricity grid in the name of junk science, actually, our electricity grid is already probably done and dusted In a meeting the other day I sat stony faced, listening to so called intelligent people talk hysterically about how the climate is changing for the worse, how the Northern Beaches will soon be covered with water (I kid you not), how this country is far too slow rolling out renewables, how we must increase trade with China (never mind the massive human rights violations in China), how we must hurry up the implementation of ESG across all businesses (and yes, they also mean small businesses, which will kill business).

All the while in such meetings I sit, my already white skin getting whiter, quietly grinding my teeth, my heart rate increasing, saying nothing. I sometimes think people here have no idea just how far this progressive Marxist ideology has taken root in companies and corporations. It’s over, they’ve won. People like us are now a minority. We will only see change when the load shedding begins, when the blackouts start, when people get stuck in elevators for hours because of power shortages, when people can’t buy groceries, in other words, when we end up living in like something from those pictures I used to see of life in Eastern Europe from the 1960s and 1970s. The only way these completely indoctrinated hysterical and hyperbolic zombies will begin to think outside the square is when they are forced to go without.

calli
calli
August 10, 2023 7:59 am

I expect the hyperbolic zombies will be the very last to go without.

People here are already suffering, our little food and essentials charities are constantly assisting people who can’t afford groceries and business (if you could call it that) is booming.

The well heeled can afford their useless little environmental hobbies and indulgences. Others…not so much.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 10, 2023 8:05 am

Yes, Cassie. Sometimes at our coffee group, a floating population of around 15 with a core of regulars, a woman can surprise me by suddenly being so very woke on some climate or gender issue whereas she is normally not so. The zeitgeist rules for some of them. For group harmony, the core members who are skeptics don’t directly attack but the lack of a warm reception to such mouthings can be noted. Silent disapproval can work, so keep on doing it. And small murmurings in the opposite direction will soon be picked up and the leftist one/s will get the message.

It’s like a religion for some and hard to fight with rationality. I’m not sure even blackouts would change the true believers. They’d see it as doing their bit for the planet.

Johnny Rotten
August 10, 2023 8:09 am

Every institution, including the judiciary has its share of black sheep and corrupt judges.

– Prashant Bhushan

Johnny Rotten
August 10, 2023 8:13 am

The only way these completely indoctrinated hysterical and hyperbolic zombies will begin to think outside the square is when they are forced to go without.

Yes and ‘Crash and Burn’ works. The Phoenix rises from the ashes.

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 10, 2023 8:17 am

That’s your mistake right there Cassie. You are a treasure here because you write exactly what you feel. Should have done the same with the climate spruikers. In no uncertain terms.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 10, 2023 8:18 am

Victoria Nuland will be Pleased!

SECRET PAKISTAN CABLE DOCUMENTS U.S. PRESSURE TO REMOVE IMRAN KHAN

“All will be forgiven,” said a U.S. diplomat, if the no-confidence vote against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan succeeds.

THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT encouraged the Pakistani government in a March 7, 2022, meeting to remove Imran Khan as prime minister over his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a classified Pakistani government document obtained by The Intercept.

The meeting, between the Pakistani ambassador to the United States and two State Department officials, has been the subject of intense scrutiny, controversy, and speculation in Pakistan over the past year and a half, as supporters of Khan and his military and civilian opponents jockeyed for power.

The political struggle escalated on August 5 when Khan was sentenced to three years in prison on corruption charges and taken into custody for the second time since his ouster.

Khan’s defenders dismiss the charges as baseless.

The sentence also blocks Khan, Pakistan’s most popular politician, from contesting elections expected in Pakistan later this year.

One month after the meeting with U.S. officials documented in the leaked Pakistani government document, a no-confidence vote was held in Parliament, leading to Khan’s removal from power.

The vote is believed to have been organized with the backing of Pakistan’s powerful military.

Since that time, Khan and his supporters have been engaged in a struggle with the military and its civilian allies, whom Khan claims engineered his removal from power at the request of the U.S.

The text of the Pakistani cable, produced from the meeting by the ambassador and transmitted to Pakistan, has not previously been published. The cable, known internally as a “cypher,” reveals both the carrots and the sticks that the State Department deployed in its push against Khan, promising warmer relations if Khan was removed, and isolation if he was not.

The document, labeled “Secret,” includes an account of the meeting between State Department officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, and Asad Majeed Khan, who at the time was Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S.

The document was provided to The Intercept by an anonymous source in the Pakistani military who said that they had no ties to Imran Khan or Khan’s party.

The Intercept is publishing the body of the cable below, correcting minor typos in the text because such details can be used to watermark documents and track their dissemination.

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 10, 2023 8:24 am

Cats and Kittehs called it early. Hun:

The ex-husband of the woman who cooked a deadly mushroom lunch that claimed the lives of three people alleges she had previously tried to poison him.

A source close to the family told the Herald Sun that Simon Patterson believed his ex-wife Erin Patterson had tried to poison him through an “ingested toxin”.

“Simon suspected he had been poisoned by Erin,” the friend said.

“There were times he had felt … a bit off and it often coincided when he spent time with her.”

The Herald Sun is not suggesting Ms Patterson did attempt to poison Simon, only that he has made allegations to that effect.

The Herald Sun revealed on Tuesday that Simon battled a mystery gut illness in May last year that left him fighting for life and in an induced coma for 16 days.

The source said Simon thought he had ingested the poison through nightshade plants – a family of herbs, shrubs and trees which includes tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes and peppers.

Nightshade plants can be fatal as they can contain poisonous alkaloids.

It comes as his mother Gail, father Don and aunt Heather Wilkinson died after eating what police believe were wild death cap mushrooms at a lunch cooked by Erin in Leongatha on July 29.

Sole survivor Ian Wilkinson, a pastor at Korumburra Baptist Church, was on Wednesday night in a critical condition awaiting a liver transplant.

On Wednesday, police returned to a rubbish tip in Koonwarra to request CCTV footage after a dehydrator was found discarded at the site.

The Herald Sun previously revealed one theory being investigated was whether a food dehydrator was used to prepare the meal and then disposed of a day after the lunch.

Police are believed to be carrying out forensic testing on the appliance.

Dehydrators can be used in cooking to preserve or intensify certain flavours.

Simon shared details of his illness in a social media post, with the father of two saying he almost died.

“My family were asked to come and say goodbye to me twice, as I was not expected to live,” he said.

Simon collapsed at home and was placed in an induced coma. He later underwent multiple surgeries to remove some of his necrotic bowel.

Following his recovery, Simon told his family and friends about his suspicions of being poisoned.

It’s understood authorities were also alerted to his claims.

The source close to the family said Simon and Erin separated years ago but he had tried to keep the relationship stable for the sake of their children.

“I think he was really trying to facilitate a healthy co-parenting arrangement,” the source said.

“Basically all of his choices and everything he was doing was to keep things stable for the kids.”

When asked earlier in the week about police treating her as a suspect in the tragic lunch deaths, Erin maintained her innocence.

“I didn’t do anything,” she told the media on Monday.

“I loved them and I’m devastated they are gone.

“They were some of the best people I’ve ever met.”

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 10, 2023 8:24 am

Cassie of Sydney
Aug 10, 2023 7:50 AM

We will only see change when the load shedding begins, when the blackouts start, when people get stuck in elevators for hours because of power shortages, when people can’t buy groceries, in other words, when we end up living in like something from those pictures I used to see of life in Eastern Europe from the 1960s and 1970s.

The only way these completely indoctrinated hysterical and hyperbolic zombies will begin to think outside the square is when they are forced to go without.

The Australian today on the Front Page under Editorial

“Time to go Nuclear before We Run Out of Usable Power”

Reasonable to question energy-IQ of those leading the transition.

Paywalled

Perhaps the Penny is Starting to Drop?

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 10, 2023 8:28 am

The Australian today on the Front Page under Editorial

“Time to go Nuclear before We Run Out of Usable Power”

Reasonable to question energy-IQ of those leading the transition.

Paywalled

Perhaps the Penny is Starting to Drop?

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 10, 2023 8:29 am

Black Ball, Cassie was at work. It’s sometimes not possible in a woke organisation to shout out, although other forms of disagreement, facial expression, rolling of eyes upward and exasperated sighs etc, can be used.

In our coffee group some of us, including me, will say outright that they think climate responses are exaggerated (to say the least), or that gender-based messing around with children’s bodies is abhorrent (again, to say the least). There’s something of an unspoken agreement not to rock the boat too much though, as this is a dance-focussed group and politics is thought to be a private matter. It is tacitly recognised who is leftist (often the ex-teachers) and who is not. Happy to say that the leftists are far fewer than those towards the right. We do have two women on the right who are firmly outspoken no-nonsense types and good on them. They tend to set the tone.

bons
bons
August 10, 2023 8:32 am

The screening of Openheimer brings to mind one of the many anecdotes about GEN Groves the bulldozer who drove the Manhattan Project to completion.
When he was building his huge cyclotrons in Tennessee and his reactors in Oregon he decided that copper was an inadequate conducter. He needed silver. But silver was in very short supply due to all of the solder being consumed by the massively expanded electronics production.
He confronted Sec Tres Morgenthau. The august gentleman agreed to help and asked Groves how much silver he needed.
“15,600 tons”. The shocked Sec replied: ” Young man in Treasury we account for silver by the troy ounce”.
The. bureaucrats were horrified and attempted to impose all kinds of accounting bureaucracy and hinderences. Groves flicked them off. At the end of the project he returned all of the silver except for 200 lbs consumed in chemical reactions.
In typical fashion he had accounted for every ounce.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 10, 2023 8:34 am

In defense of the mushroom lady, it may be that she prided herself on her cooking and had special recipes she used when she wanted to impress, and that these involved mushroom flavourings. That said though, you’d think if her husband had such serious gut problems that she might have looked at what she’d fed him and had some doubts. But nevertheless, innocent till proven guilty.

Indolent
Indolent
August 10, 2023 8:36 am

The voters are so stupid, they believed lies rather than made up their own minds?

The quality of trolls @ “The Cat” has significantly decreased #Imisshammy

I rather think you misunderstood.

davefromweewaa
davefromweewaa
August 10, 2023 8:36 am

Cassie @ 7.50 am
Cassie, my fear is that when load shedding does come it’ll be for the productive and the poor and not the gullible city slickers who voted for net zero.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 10, 2023 8:36 am

March 7, 2022 Pakistani Diplomatic Cypher (Transcription)

The Intercept is publishing the body of the cable below, correcting minor typos in the text because such details can be used to watermark documents and track their dissemination.

The Intercept has removed classification markings and numerical elements that could be used for tracking purposes.

Labeled “Secret,” the cable includes an account of the meeting between State Department officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, and Asad Majeed Khan, who at the time was Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S.

I had a luncheon meeting today with Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Donald Lu. He was accompanied by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Les Viguerie. DCM, DA and Counsellor Qasim joined me.

At the outset, Don referred to Pakistan’s position on the Ukraine crisis and said that “people here and in Europe are quite concerned about why Pakistan is taking such an aggressively neutral position (on Ukraine), if such a position is even possible. It does not seem such a neutral stand to us.”

He shared that in his discussions with the NSC, “it seems quite clear that this is the Prime Minister’s policy.” He continued that he was of the view that this was “tied to the current political dramas in Islamabad that he (Prime Minister) needs and is trying to show a public face.” I replied that this was not a correct reading of the situation as Pakistan’s position on Ukraine was a result of intense interagency consultations. Pakistan had never resorted to conducting diplomacy in public sphere.

The Prime Minister’s remarks during a political rally were in reaction to the public letter by European Ambassadors in Islamabad which was against diplomatic etiquette and protocol.

Any political leader, whether in Pakistan or the U.S., would be constrained to give a public reply in such a situation.

I asked Don if the reason for a strong U.S. reaction was Pakistan’s abstention in the voting in the UNGA. He categorically replied in the negative and said that it was due to the Prime Minister’s visit to Moscow.

He said that “I think if the no-confidence vote against the Prime Minister succeeds, all will be forgiven in Washington because the Russia visit is being looked at as a decision by the Prime Minister.

Otherwise, I think it will be tough going ahead.” He paused and then said “I cannot tell how this will be seen by Europe but I suspect their reaction will be similar.”

He then said that “honestly I think isolation of the Prime Minister will become very strong from Europe and the United States.”

Don further commented that it seemed that the Prime Minister’s visit to Moscow was planned during the Beijing Olympics and there was an attempt by the Prime Minister to meet Putin which was not successful and then this idea was hatched that he would go to Moscow.

I told Don that this was a completely misinformed and wrong perception. The visit to Moscow had been in the works for at least few years and was the result of a deliberative institutional process.

I stressed that when the Prime Minister was flying to Moscow, Russian invasion of Ukraine had not started and there was still hope for a peaceful resolution.

I also pointed out that leaders of European countries were also traveling to Moscow around the same time. Don interjected that “those visits were specifically for seeking resolution of the Ukraine standoff while the Prime Minister’s visit was for bilateral economic reasons.”

I drew his attention to the fact that the Prime Minister clearly regretted the situation while being in Moscow and had hoped for diplomacy to work. The Prime Minister’s visit, I stressed, was purely in the bilateral context and should not be seen either as a condonation or endorsement of Russia’s action against Ukraine. I said that our position is dictated by our desire to keep the channels of communication with all sides open. Our subsequent statements at the UN and by our Spokesperson spelled that out clearly, while reaffirming our commitment to the principle of UN Charter, non-use or threat of use of force, sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, and pacific settlement of disputes.

I also told Don that Pakistan was worried of how the Ukraine crisis would play out in the context of Afghanistan. We had paid a very high price due to the long-term impact of this conflict. Our priority was to have peace and stability in Afghanistan, for which it was imperative to have cooperation and coordination with all major powers, including Russia. From this perspective as well, keeping the channels of communication open was essential. This factor was also dictating our position on the Ukraine crisis. On my reference to the upcoming Extended Troika meeting in Beijing, Don replied that there were still ongoing discussions in Washington on whether the U.S. should attend the Extended Troika meeting or the upcoming Antalya meeting on Afghanistan with Russian representatives in attendance, as the U.S. focus right now was to discuss only Ukraine with Russia. I replied that this was exactly what we were afraid of. We did not want the Ukraine crisis to divert focus away from Afghanistan. Don did not comment.

I told Don that just like him, I would also convey our perspective in a forthright manner. I said that over the past one year, we had been consistently sensing reluctance on the part of the U.S. leadership to engage with our leadership. This reluctance had created a perception in Pakistan that we were being ignored and even taken for granted.

There was also a feeling that while the U.S. expected Pakistan’s support on all issues that were important to the U.S., it did not reciprocate and we do not see much U.S. support on issues of concern for Pakistan, particularly on Kashmir.

I said that it was extremely important to have functioning channels of communication at the highest level to remove such perception. I also said that we were surprised that if our position on the Ukraine crisis was so important for the U.S., why the U.S. had not engaged with us at the top leadership level prior to the Moscow visit and even when the UN was scheduled to vote. (The State Department had raised it at the DCM level.) Pakistan valued continued high-level engagement and for this reason the Foreign Minister sought to speak with Secretary Blinken to personally explain Pakistan’s position and perspective on the Ukraine crisis. The call has not materialized yet. Don replied that the thinking in Washington was that given the current political turmoil in Pakistan, this was not the right time for such engagement and it could wait till the political situation in Pakistan settled down.

I reiterated our position that countries should not be made to choose sides in a complex situation like the Ukraine crisis and stressed the need for having active bilateral communications at the political leadership level. Don replied that “you have conveyed your position clearly and I will take it back to my leadership.”

I also told Don that we had seen his defence of the Indian position on the Ukraine crisis during the recently held Senate Sub-Committee hearing on U.S.-India relations. It seemed that the U.S. was applying different criteria for India and Pakistan. Don responded that the U.S. lawmakers’ strong feelings about India’s abstentions in the UNSC and UNGA came out clearly during the hearing. I said that from the hearing, it appeared that the U.S. expected more from India than Pakistan, yet it appeared to be more concerned about Pakistan’s position. Don was evasive and responded that Washington looked at the U.S.-India relationship very much through the lens of what was happening in China. He added that while India had a close relationship with Moscow, “I think we will actually see a change in India’s policy once all Indian students are out of Ukraine.”

I expressed the hope that the issue of the Prime Minister’s visit to Russia will not impact our bilateral ties. Don replied that “I would argue that it has already created a dent in the relationship from our perspective. Let us wait for a few days to see whether the political situation changes, which would mean that we would not have a big disagreement about this issue and the dent would go away very quickly. Otherwise, we will have to confront this issue head on and decide how to manage it.”

We also discussed Afghanistan and other issues pertaining to bilateral ties. A separate communication follows on that part of our conversation.

Assessment

Don could not have conveyed such a strong demarche without the express approval of the White House, to which he referred repeatedly.

Clearly, Don spoke out of turn on Pakistan’s internal political process.

We need to seriously reflect on this and consider making an appropriate demarche to the U.S. Cd’ A a.i in Islamabad.

Cassie of Sydney
August 10, 2023 8:40 am

“In defense of the mushroom lady, it may be that she prided herself on her cooking and had special recipes she used when she wanted to impress,”

Lizzie, except those “special recipes” she didn’t partake of herself!

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 10, 2023 8:40 am

Righto Lizzie thank you. Still think if you can’t air your concerns, which are afforded to anyone, then what hope do we have?
I know of some people who work in parliamentary offices who are voting no to Teh Voice but cannot say so because of fear of unemployment. I would hope this is not the case with Cassie.

Rabz
August 10, 2023 8:42 am

Cats, I’ve become increasingly reluctant to comment on the dangerous mass stupidities that beset us in this so called modern world, purely so as to avoid unnecessarily elevating my blood pressure.

The increasingly unhinged gerbil worming hysteria probably annoys me the most, although the screeech and the staggering incompetence corruption and sheer unrelenting idiocy of the so called governments blighting this country come a close second.

Catastrophic human induced climate change is a anti-scientific fact and evidence free crock of shite. I’ve been aware of this indisputable fact since the ice age hysteria back in the seventies.

Of recent note, how do you explain for example, the bloody minded overreach and disgusting marxist lunacy of those labore imbeciles in WA?

Property rights have been not so subtly under attack in this country since that stinking little mongrel hoWARd and now they’re seemingly being grabbed wholesale, all at once.

We face a deliberately engineered cost of living crisis exacerbated by incredibly stupid collectivist government “policies” that do nothing except reduce our quality of life and further increase inflation.

Everywhere you look, collectivist stupidity, corruption and the blatant self interest of our “elites” abounds. For example, just look at this headline grab from the Oz and note the sheer arrogance and block headedness evident:

HOUSING
Migration alert to hit home, say employers
The national failure to free up housing supply must not be used as a ‘scapegoat’ to reduce the ­migrant intake, warns the Business Council of Australia.

In other words proles, you will have millions more non English speaking third world migrants shoved down your throats, whether they can find anywhere to live or not, so our profits are guaranteed.

This is barely the tip of the iceberg, Cats. There are obvious solutions to the monumental stupidity besetting this country (and the rest of the world) but they are invariably howled down by the seething mass of collectivist crackpots that infest our societies. Nuclear reactors for example, are a simple workable solution to the staggering idiocy of replacing base load generating capacity with hideously expensive, unworkable wind and solar.

But no, it’s not about going greenfilth, it’s about going without. This is the ultimate agenda – the vast bulk of humanity existing in grinding poverty, denied everything that makes life worth living, while monitored 24/7 by a monstrous high tech surveillance state that even Orwell couldn’t have envisioned in his worst nightmares.

This is our futures, Cats. Collectivist totalitarian tyranny never results in the betterment of humanity, but the exact opposite. Every. Single. Time.

Rant over/>

Zatara
Zatara
August 10, 2023 8:42 am

Yes – people are fleeing into the sea to escape fires – but so did Aussies on the NSW South Coast recently.

Vicki, in this case the wind was blowing down from the mountains inland toward the Lahaina Roads channel. The town of Lahiana is on the shoreline downwind.

IMO the chances of this being a naturally caused “wildfire” are close to nil. It is a developed area consisting of golf courses, condos, hotels, and the beautiful historical whaling town. Not forest or dry fields.

As hateful as it sounds, my money is on an arsonist being involved and it is absolutely heartbreaking.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 10, 2023 8:43 am

Victoria Nuland, Washington’s ‘regime change Karen’, wants to speak to the manager in Niger

Famous for her puppeteering during the 2014 Ukraine coup, the thinking behind this choice of envoy couldn’t be clearer

Rachel Marsden is a columnist, political strategist, and host of independently produced talk-shows in French and English.

France has been kicked out of Niger by its new military government, by extension placing US interests there in peril. Who would ever have thought that the US footing the bill for training Nigerien soldiers would result in a net gain for Russia and China? Apparently not the US State Department.

Enter Victoria Nuland with demands to speak to those in charge. Officially the acting US deputy secretary of state, Nuland should really change her title to ‘Regime Change Karen’. In modern parlance, a ‘Karen’ is a middle-aged woman “who uses her privilege to get her way or police other people’s behaviors.” Karens can often be spotted at the customer service desks of big box stores demanding to speak to the manager – or in this case, the military leaders now in charge of Niger.

Nuland rocked up to Niger and demanded to speak to the ousted president, but was refused the opportunity. Instead, she got to meet with one of the coup leaders – the new army chief of staff, Brigadier General Moussa Salaou Barmou, who not only trained at Fort Benning and at Washington’s National Defense University, but was photographed alongside US Special Operations in Africa Commander Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga just a few weeks ago at a US drone base in Niger.

In a State Department teleconference on Monday, Nuland said that she was in Niger “because we wanted to speak frankly to the people responsible to this challenge to the democratic order.”

That didn’t actually require a foreign trip, though. She could have just stayed home and called a staff meeting.

You made this mess yourselves, guys.

Washington and Regime Change Karen here are unabashed control freaks.

Nuland was long obsessed with Europe’s Nord Stream pipeline of cheap Russian gas – until it was mysteriously blown up.

She was spotted in Ukraine back in 2014, handing out cookies to anti-government protesters and caught discussing the potential roles of Ukrainian opposition leaders post-regime change.

That recording leaked, featuring Nuland expressing just how much she values US allies and international law when they don’t quite align with Washington’s agenda for Kiev once US-friendly puppets are installed. “So that would be great, I think, to help glue this thing, and have the UN help glue it, and you know… F**k the EU,” Nuland told US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt.

At a Senate hearing earlier this year into “Russian aggression in Ukraine and beyond,” Nuland demonstrated that she couldn’t even resist keeping her hands off neighboring Belarus, underscoring that the US was “working intensively with the Belarusian opposition.”

Regime Change Karen has her nose in everyone’s business. It seems to run in the family, as her husband, Robert Kagan, is a prominent neoconservative interventionist whose biography on the State Department website describes him as an expert on “NATO expansion.” He also co-founded the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) think tank, which set out the blueprint for endless US regime change wars against countries that didn’t adhere to Washington’s agenda.

In Niger, that agenda includes keeping the door unlocked so that Washington can come and go as it pleases, like it has in Ukraine, up to and including the point of being able to exploit the country’s resources or use it as a crash pad for operations against its geopolitical foes.

Which would explain why the CIA set up a drone base in Niger for its African operations in the wake of the Benghazi fiasco in Libya, after which Washington lost its foothold there. It’s likely not a coincidence that Libya is right next door.

Washington apparently did not foresee that Nigerien troops would take their US-funded training and use it to start defending themselves against what they perceived to be Western interference. Regime Change Karen seems miffed that they didn’t follow the usual path of getting trained up by the US to subsequently be used and exploited to fight Washington’s war

Rabz
August 10, 2023 8:45 am

although other forms of disagreement, facial expression, rolling of eyes upward and exasperated sighs etc, can be used

Newspeak had a term for that, Lizzie and it was monitored ruthlessly by the Party.

facecrime

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 10, 2023 8:46 am

Not going to produce the article but the sub heading should give a clue as to why:

If you hate air turbulence, you’d best buckle in for the long haul and it’s all because of climate change.

Is there anything it can’t do?

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 10, 2023 8:47 am

Rabz Avatar
Rabz
Aug 10, 2023 8:42 AM

Rant over/>

Rabz,

sensible Rant, but our “I would prefer to be Overseas on my 24th Trip” Prime MInister Elbosleezy is more concerned that the Voice is 1 page rather than 26 Pages

As for “Labor will reduce your Electricty Bills by $275 per Year – Sucker Australian Taxpayers can Go Jump

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 10, 2023 8:49 am

She might have disposed of the food dehydrator after that disastrous lunch in a panic of guilt and worry about police charges. It doesn’t necessarily mean that she was a deliberate poisoner.

Another one of those interesting cases where the forensics and the motivations will await a Court decision. That’s if police decide to prosecute, which depends on their evidence and assessment.

Indolent
Indolent
August 10, 2023 8:51 am
OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 10, 2023 8:51 am

Germany buys scrapped tanks for Ukraine

Berlin has acquired 49 Leopard 1 tanks from a Belgian arms dealer

German defense giant Rheinmetall has purchased 49 mothballed Leopard 1 battle tanks from a Belgian arms dealer for use in Ukraine, a spokesperson for the company told The Guardian on Wednesday. The vehicles are reportedly in such poor condition that many will be suitable only for spare parts.

The spokesperson said that 30 of the tanks would be recommissioned and given to Kiev, with the rest presumably cannibalized for parts.

A German government spokesperson said that they would form part of a military aid package announced by Defense Minister Oscar Pistorius during a NATO summit in Lithuania last month.

From the Comments

Ukraine, now the world’s largest garbage compactor…

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 10, 2023 8:53 am

Nuclear reactors for example, are a simple workable solution to the staggering idiocy of replacing base load generating capacity with hideously expensive, unworkable wind and solar.

I present you this Rabz, Andrew Bolt:

Global warming believers must put on their adult pants and make a hard choice to keep the lights on.

Which fake scare do they give up? The global warming “crisis” or nuclear-will-kill-us fraud?

Can’t have both, guys. Not with the Albanese Government’s plans for renewable energy already running years late and billions over budget.

And now Opposition leader Peter Dutton is inching towards a go-nuclear policy that will test the government’s grip on reality.

Dutton’s energy spokesman Ted O’Neill noted countries like the United States are investing in new small modular reactors that can be hooked up to our existing transmission lines and produce near-zero-emissions electricity night and day.

Wind and solar power can’t match that. Worse, the government’s plan to build more than $20bn of transmission lines to hook up the new wind and solar plants we’ll need is drowning in higher costs, workforce shortages and fierce resistance from landowners.

So choose. Give up the warming scare?

Why not? The small warming we’ve seen has actually helped produce record cereal crops and full dams. We’ve had fewer cyclones. But fine, if global warming is your religion, then give up the nuclear scare. After all, you were wrong to think there’s no safe level of exposure and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster killed 30,000 people (in fact, more like 65).

Time to face sober facts: Nuclear power costs more than coal but at least we can build reactors where old coal-fired generators are, and use the same wires to give us electricity as climate-friendly as wind and solar, but around the clock.

Some Labor figures know the jig is up with the nuclear hysteria.

Peter Malinauskas, South Australia’s premier, last December said “the ideological opposition … to nuclear power is ill-founded” and “for someone like myself, who is dedicated to a decarbonisation effort” nuclear made sense.

But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a Midnight Oil fan, retorted that nuclear was “irrelevant”. He’s claimed nuclear is too expensive and would take too long to set up.

Too long! Labor’s said that for longer than it takes to build a dozen reactors. The United Arab Emirates has, in just three years, got three new nuclear plants, producing almost as much low emissions electricity as the wind and solar plants Denmark has built over 25 years.

Roger
Roger
August 10, 2023 8:53 am

As for “Labor will reduce your Electricty Bills by $275 per Year – Sucker Australian Taxpayers can Go Jump

And another thing that the media appears to have consigned to the forgettery –

Mr. 32%’s campaign promise to reduce immigration and fund the upskilling of locals.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 10, 2023 8:55 am

facecrime

Well, I’ll employ it as long as I can, Rabz.

Being retired is a wonderful things when it comes to political opinion. Only then do you feel really free, and even then, if you want to have a harmonious social life it can sometimes make you self-monitor and censor more than you feel you should. That’s where the subtle disagreement signals can be useful. Even silence, disengagement and refusal to speak at all about some things.

Ultimately though, self-censoring is emotionally damaging and you have to let rip. Keeping it civil, of course.

Johnny Rotten
August 10, 2023 8:56 am

Part of the secret of a success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.

– Mark Twain

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 10, 2023 8:57 am

The Propaganda Garbage Continues

Quit gas, electrify everything and save up to $4320 a year

A new report calls for policies to ensure all households can share in the financial benefits of electrification, which requires upfront investments.

Ben Potter – Senior writer

A fully electrified, energy-efficient home with solar panels, battery and electric cars could save its owners $3500 a year by 2030 and $4320 by 2050 compared with a household using gas appliances and petrol vehicles, a new report says.

The report, by Energy Consumers Australia based on modelling by CSIRO and consultancy Dynamic Analysis, calls for policies to ensure all households can share in the financial benefits of electrification, which requires upfront investments that not everyone can afford.

The savings include about $500 a year from energy efficiency measures such as insulation, $660 a year in 2030, rising to $820 a year in 2050, from quitting gas appliances, $1420-$1520 a year for switching to electric vehicles, and $1250-$1470 off power bills for typical households with solar panels and batteries.

The savings are annual averages over the 20-year lives of appliances, vehicles, solar panels and batteries installed in the years specified.

But the report notes that low-income households, renters and apartment dwellers may struggle to access these savings because of their cost, landlords’ reluctance to invest in solar panels, batteries or energy efficiency, or inability to persuade body corporates to disconnect gas and electrify.

The share of income devoted to energy bills can be as high as 12 per cent for households bringing in less than $20,000 a year, and as low as 1.5 per cent for those earning more than $150,000.

“All households should be able to access these savings – not just those that can afford the upfront cost or own their own home,” the report says. It calls for financial incentives for low-income households, education for households and other policies to manage decarbonisation, including winding down the domestic gas sector.

Current policies are limited to the ACT’s $15,000 interest-free loans for household electrification and Victoria’s recent ban on gas connections in new homes, which NSW Premier Chris Minns quickly shot down as an option for his state, and other Victorian incentives.

The modelling assumes 65 per cent of households have solar panels, and most homes also have batteries and electric heating and cooking by 2050, based on the Australian Energy Market Operator’s Step Change scenario in its 2022 Integrated System Plan.

It warns gas bills for households that can’t afford to electrify and are forced to continue using gas will soar, as the costs of maintaining large residential gas distribution networks fall on fewer and fewer households.

A typical household’s annual gas bill is expected to rise steadily to $1750 a year by 2050, with network costs accounting for 70 per cent, from less than $1000 now.

“This creates a vicious cycle for gas networks and their remaining customers. As more customers leave, the network prices progressively rise, leaving those who may be unable to make the switch to electricity with higher bills,” the report says.

Gas pipeline companies such as Jemena argue that green biogas or hydrogen can be substituted for methane to keep their residential networks in business. But the report assumes that “neither … will be a suitable alternative to decarbonise most Australian homes”, and says this is consistent with the ISP’s step change and many independent studies.

“Governments have an important role in ensuring that the transition is fair and that those with the least resources aren’t left to bear the burden of the costs or poor service,” the report says.

Australia The Stupid Country with Loads of Gas!

Zatara
Zatara
August 10, 2023 8:59 am

The evolution of a lie.

Jeff Carlson @themarketswork

First: “Joe never discussed business w/Hunter”
Then: “Joe never talked w/Hunter’s business partners”
Next: “Joe never discussed business w/Hunter’s business partners”
Now: “You can’t prove the $20mil going through 20 different Biden shell companies was actually paid to Joe”

Indolent
Indolent
August 10, 2023 9:00 am

FBI agents shoot, kill Provo suspect connected to Biden threats

Apparently 200lb. and disabled. In his late 70s.

Just for context

I don’t recall any of them being

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 10, 2023 9:02 am

Dutton’s energy spokesman Ted O’Neill noted countries like the United States are investing in new small modular reactors that can be hooked up to our existing transmission lines and produce near-zero-emissions electricity night and day.

In his recent speech to the IPA which I attended, where he unveiled in a terrific speech his nuclear ambitions, he also said that so many countries were now in the line up to purchase small modular reactors that we had better get a move on and get in that line fast, like yesterday, or we were likely to be at the back of a very long queue.

What an irony if we agree to go nuclear and then find we can’t. No places left in the queue for years to come. And too late to save our industries. Our only hope would be to crank up whatever gas and coal fired power stations we hadn’t destroyed. And build a million local generators using local oil (which is where? and when?)

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 10, 2023 9:03 am

Talking about Dutton’s speech in my comment above.

Roger
Roger
August 10, 2023 9:04 am

That’s if police decide to prosecute, which depends on their evidence and assessment..

The woman reportedly stated to police that she purchased the mushrooms at a local shop.

That (as unlikely as it sounds given there hasn’t been a spate of poisonings in the area) is going to be fairly easy to check and is where she may come undone if she is trying to conceal a crime.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 10, 2023 9:05 am

Australian Labor Party Scrapes the Bottom of the Barrel with this Incompetence

Blocking flights ‘could cost $500m’, but minister says it saves jobs

Ayesha de Kretser – Senior Reporter

Blocking Qatar Airways from adding flights will cost the economy more than $500 million a year in tourism revenue, according to industry modelling, but Transport Minister Catherine King told parliament the decision was made to protect local jobs.

Numbers from airline industry sources seen by The Australian Financial Review detail a cost of between $540 million and $788 million annually in incremental economic activity, based on approximately 50 per cent of the seats being sold to overseas visitors.

Virgin Australia, which had planned a “strategic alliance” with Qatar Airways, is also expected to suffer as a result of the decision because it will no longer be able to fly the Middle Eastern carrier’s extra international passengers to domestic ports across Australia.

Ms King, who has previously not clearly explained her decision to block Qatar Airways from expanding flights to Melbourne and Sydney, told parliament on Wednesday that she did so to protect the national interest.

“We only sign up to agreements that benefit our national interest, in all of its broad complexity, and that includes ensuring that we have an aviation sector, through the recovery, that employs Australian workers,” she said.

“The government has determined that agreeing to the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority request for additional services is not in our national interest, and we will always consider the need to ensure that there are long-term, well-paid, secure jobs by Australians in the aviation sector when we are making these decisions.”

The latest industry modelling backs similar estimates by Airline Intelligence and Research, who’s chief executive Tony Webber reckons the average spend by additional tourists from Europe from the extra flights sought could amount to $500 million a year.

Qantas, the main beneficiary of the Qatar decision, has angered unions by illegally sacking baggage handling staff, outsourcing jobs to New Zealand on its newly reinstated service from Sydney to New York, and wet-leasing aircraft from FinnAir, complete with Finnish crews.

Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine said rebuilding the aviation sector “needs urgent attention and has become incredibly complex following the mass exodus of skilled workers during the pandemic, including the illegal outsourcing of 1700 Qantas ground and fleet presentation workers”.

“Protecting Australian aviation jobs is important. Ensuring those jobs are well paid and secure is even more important, which is why we’ve been calling on Qantas management to reverse its destructive business model to fragment the workforce into 38 different employing entities with declining standards at each,” Mr Kaine said.

The explanation prompted disbelief from some corners, after Virgin Australia boss Jayne Hrdlicka told an event last week that bringing tourists back – at a time when the weak local currency makes us an attractive destination, but high airfares are putting international visitors off – should be the government’s number one priority.

Australian Airports Authority chief executive James Goodwin said more flights would result in more tourists and that was good for the recovery.

“More flights into Australia will simply mean more jobs in the tourism and aviation sector. That is something we should all be striving for,” he said.

Industry sources also blasted suggestions Qatar Airways had acted nefariously in flying empty planes from Adelaide to Melbourne to get around limits on the number of flights they can land in popular east coast airports.

“It just shows the government’s rules are not fit for purpose if Qatar is exploiting a loophole to bring tourists here,” said one source.

Together with Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand, Qatar Airways maintained services into Australia for passengers and high-valued exports when there were caps on arrival numbers that severely curtailed the economics of flying.

Senator Bridget McKenzie asked Tourism Minister Don Farrell on Wednesday what advice he had given the government or taken from airlines, but he dodged the questions. It is understood Senator Farrell supported the expansion, backed by both tourism operators and high-value exporters.

Singapore Airlines has applied for approval to add 4700 seats a week to and from Australia, which would give increasingly frustrated travellers another option to reach destinations in both Asia and Europe.

United Airlines is also seeking approval to add flights to Brisbane.

Mr Goodwin said the government’s lack of solid justification would prompt wariness from overseas entities looking to expand.

“The Qatar situation sends a really bad signal for anyone wanting to do business in Australia. People are getting nervous now,” he said.

“If this was a really big decision and the minister has paused every other decision for the white paper, why wasn’t this part of that paper? Why did she rush out and block it?”

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 10, 2023 9:06 am

“I have heard it said in certain circles that there are ways and means to progress investigations of the Tyrrell type. Publicly arresting local dodgy blokes in the hope of embarrassing either a confession or admissible evidence against ‘the real killer’ is not one of them.”

And they’re still at it.
Moved on to about their third “strong suspect”.
If you want to see some ‘Chamberlaining’, that’s it, right there.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 10, 2023 9:06 am

A typical household’s annual gas bill is expected to rise steadily to $1750 a year by 2050, with network costs accounting for 70 per cent, from less than $1000 now.

Electric Air-fryers on the Christmas list for two of my sons having financial problems coping with gas and electricity bills, which we help out with. These are great, easy to cook with, and use far less energy than heating up an oven, whether electric or gas.

Zatara
Zatara
August 10, 2023 9:06 am

BOOM! Ron DeSantis suspends another WOKE Soros backed DA and Leftists are BIG mad

“The practices and policies of her office have allowed murderers, other violent offenders, and dangerous drug traffickers to receive extremely reduced sentences and escape the full consequences of their criminal conduct.

The people of Central Florida deserve a State Attorney that will prosecute criminals and keep our communities safe.”

Video: No other Governor has ever removed a Soros prosecutor, Worrell will be DeSantis’ second.

No wonder Floridians want him to stay on as their Governor.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 10, 2023 9:09 am

Aha, Roger. But are those mushrooms the real culprit? Were there others add, or other sorts of enhancements which only complex forensics can uncover?

Rabz
August 10, 2023 9:10 am

A fully electrified, energy-efficient home with solar panels, battery and electric cars could* save its owners $3500 a year by 2030 and $4320 by 2050 compared with a household using gas appliances and petrol vehicles, a new report says.
The report, by Energy Consumers Australia based on modelling by CSIRO and consultancy Dynamic Analysis

Yet more cloud cuckoo land horse shite, replete with factlets plucked out of the authors’ fundaments.

*But won’t.

Boambee John
Boambee John
August 10, 2023 9:11 am

The savings are annual averages over the 20-year lives of appliances, vehicles, solar panels and batteries installed in the years specified.

A classic example of “let me make the assumptions, and the model will “prove” what I want”.

Does anyone in CSIRO seriously believe that current appliances, EVs, solar panels and batteries have a “20-year” useful life? How many of the modelers are living their electric dream, having disconnected from the grid?

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare
August 10, 2023 9:11 am

And could shop-purchased mushrooms also have a wild card mushie in amongst them?
Unlikely if from a mushroom farm, but if they were gathered then all bets are off. Or is there a deliberate poisoner targeting the shop and slipping in an odd mushie or two?

We can all be Agatha’s in cases like this.

calli
calli
August 10, 2023 9:12 am

Please stop taking swipes at my “Chamberlain” comment, Sancho. You know perfectly well that I was referring to the media, not commenters here.

Because I said so quite clearly.

Jorge
Jorge
August 10, 2023 9:15 am

When it comes to climate change, trans rights, migration, multi culti programs, women’s sports etc we are not able to choose our own path. Our politicians know that. Our country, as much as Niger or Pakistan, doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Its strings are pulled by the UN and other groups such as the WEF to produce compliance. Were we to go our own way and use our coal or gas for our own benefit the way the Chinese use it we would be treated as lepers. Tariffs. Penalties. Boycotts. Exclusion. Our politicians don’t want the grief. But we citizens are going to pay the price for their and our gormless, craven, pusillanimous surrender to our own diminution and loss.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 10, 2023 9:17 am

Memo shows Wrights knew they had no right over Hope Downs, court told
Jesinta Burton
By Jesinta Burton
August 9, 2023 — 5.53pm

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has attempted to deliver a fatal blow in the battle to guard its iron ore riches, unearthing a 34-year-old memo showing its rival mining dynasty knew it had no right to the royalties it is now demanding.

The explosive claims were delivered on Wednesday during the high-stakes West Australian Supreme Court civil case being waged by the descendants of mining pioneer Peter Wright over a mining tenement they claim he discovered alongside business partner Lang Hancock.

The showdown has pitted Hancock’s daughter Rinehart against the billionaire heirs to Wright’s empire, including his daughter Angela Bennett and his son Michael Wright’s children, Leonie Baldock and Alexandra Burt.

For 13 years, Wright Prospecting has claimed it is entitled to half of the royalties streaming out of the Hope Downs mines Hancock Prospecting co-owns with Rio Tinto under a 1980s “HanWright” partnership deal.

But Noel Hutley SC told the court it had evidence the controlling minds behind Wright Prospecting had known for more than three decades that they weren’t entitled to a single cent.

A 1989 memorandum addressed to and signed off by Peter Wright’s children, Angela and Michael, offered a breakdown of the partnership’s assets and their respective interests.

Hutley told the court any ambiguity over rights to the asset was laid to rest by the summary, which placed Hope Downs, including the half formerly known as East Angelas, squarely in the hands of Hancock Prospecting.

“A memorandum has gone to the controlling mind of Wright Prospecting,” he said.

“One would expect if he, Mr Michael Wright, was of the view that these individuals who created this were attributing ownership to Hancock Prospecting of assets which he understood his company had a 50 per cent interest, you’d expect there would be some response expressing dissatisfaction with what might be called a dangerous disregard of the proprietary interests of Wright Prospecting.”

And the document, according to Hutley, left not a shred of doubt about whether Wright’s descendants would ever be entitled to a royalty.

“Interestingly, you’ll see that the royalty listed under Hope Downs 1 to 3 and East Angelas is zero,” he told the court.

“There’s nothing. There’s no royalty due and payable in respect of it.

“That is wholly at odds with the contention advanced by Wright Prospecting in this case.”

Hutley said this was contemporaneous evidence that Hancock Prospecting’s reading of the 1987 agreement was correct.

The following week, a proposal was floated to bring East Angelas under the control of the “Hanwright” partnership.

But Hutley said that went nowhere, and now served as powerful evidence that neither Wright Prospecting nor Hancock Prospecting regarded it as jointly owned.

The memorandum appears to contradict evidence tendered by Wright Prospecting, which it said showed the Pilbara iron ore site that has netted Hancock Prospecting billions of dollars was always meant to be shared.

Wright maintains it is entitled to a half-share of the royalties from Hope Downs, now home to four operational mines deemed the country’s most successful, because it never relinquished its partnership interest in the asset.

Hancock’s refusal to produce these royalties, Wright alleges, leaves it in breach of its duties to the partnership agreements inked between 1978 and 1987, Wright argues.

The claims followed several hours of argument over whether Wright Prospecting’s right to relief was time-barred and whether they should have access to profits borne only out of the risks Hancock Prospecting took in bringing the mine to fruition.

Hutley told the court reports assessing the deposit’s commercial viability showed it was a risk-rich development, and insisted Hancock should not be denied the benefits taking those risks afforded it.

“One cannot stand by with knowledge of the facts while another person takes all the entrepreneurial risk and then seek to deprive the person of the entrepreneurial benefit,” he told the court.

Hancock Prospecting is expected to conclude its opening submissions on Friday.

Wright’s descendants aren’t Rinehart’s only legal opponents, with her eldest children, John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart, also expected to argue their claim for a stake in the legacy on Monday.

The heirs to the company of her father’s former business associate Don Rhodes are also hoping to get a slice of the asset.

The trial continues.

Boambee John
Boambee John
August 10, 2023 9:17 am

Blocking Qatar Airways from adding flights will cost the economy more than $500 million a year in tourism revenue, according to industry modelling, but Transport Minister Catherine King told parliament the decision was made to protect local jobs.

Which will be destroyed by the massive increase in immigration?

Indolent
Indolent
August 10, 2023 9:20 am
Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
August 10, 2023 9:20 am

In defense of the mushroom lady…
…nevertheless, innocent till proven guilty.

Not sure that particular standard holds water in Victoria.

Indolent
Indolent
August 10, 2023 9:20 am
OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 10, 2023 9:21 am

Boambee John
Aug 10, 2023 9:11 AM

The savings are annual averages over the 20-year lives of appliances, vehicles, solar panels and batteries installed in the years specified.

A classic example of “let me make the assumptions, and the model will “prove” what I want”.

Does anyone in CSIRO seriously believe that current appliances, EVs, solar panels and batteries have a “20-year” useful life?

How many of the modelers are living their electric dream, having disconnected from the grid?

SIL living in Mackay had to replace Inverter and Solar Panels after 8 years – $10K cost

Dot
Dot
August 10, 2023 9:23 am

SIL living in Mackay had to replace Inverter and Solar Panels after 8 years – $10K cost

That will cruel the NPV projections.

Zatara
Zatara
August 10, 2023 9:30 am

Gaetz wants to call special counsel Jack Smith to account for his actions and to offer Trump immunity by having him testify before Congress as a whistleblower.

This isn’t complicated. If House Republicans take action, Jack Smith could be the first prosecutor to bring a case while under criminal contempt himself. [Attorney General] Merrick Garland could be subject to impeachment if he refuses to enforce that criminal contempt,” he said.

“Speaker [Kevin] McCarthy could set up a Select Committee tomorrow, bring President Trump in for testimony, and grant him immunity,” Gaetz concluded.

Dead simple and it will work like a to immunize Trump if the Rep Congress has the cajones to do it. The fact that it’s exactly the sort of tactic the progressive marxists would use is the olive in the martini.

Rabz
August 10, 2023 9:32 am

Australia and New Zealand must urgently wake up! | Winston Peters

And install more illegitimate collectivist imbeciles in government.

Oh wait, they already have.

hzhousewife
hzhousewife
August 10, 2023 9:36 am

Why did he replace his inverter and solar panels? Hopium?

Roger
Roger
August 10, 2023 9:37 am

Ms King…told parliament on Wednesday that she did so to protect the national interest.

“We only sign up to agreements that benefit our national interest…”

How about a review of our international treaties and covenants then?

To ensure they’re all in the national interest.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
August 10, 2023 9:45 am

Test post

calli
calli
August 10, 2023 9:47 am

Grrrr…in a week’s time the surgeon will be having at me with his angle grinder and chainsaw.

Just to add to any pre-op nervousness, I’ve just been told I have to produce a negative RAT on admission. So after xrays, blood letting and all the other palaver, plus the good fortune in getting an early surgery date, it might all come to nothing because dodgy “test”.

And I kid you not, but the phone admissions admin was named…Karen. 😀

H B Bear
H B Bear
August 10, 2023 9:48 am

Litigating? “I’ll have $20 on Gina for the win thanks.”

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
August 10, 2023 9:48 am

Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator at [email protected] to inform them of the time this error occurred, and the actions you performed just before this error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

While posting a perfectly innocent piece, referring to:

Voice conspiracy theory rubbished as Coalition continues to question length of Uluru Statement from the Heart

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
August 10, 2023 9:49 am

Voice conspiracy theory rubbished as Coalition continues to question length of Uluru Statement from the Heart

Professor Megan Davis, one of the architects of the statement and a co-chair of the Uluru Dialogue, part of the Yes campaign in the Voice to Parliament, has labelled the theory about a secret 25 additional pages “bizarre” and criticised the proliferation of the claims online and in the media.

“It is like whack-a-mole, nobody is fact checking it’s astonishing,” she told ABC Radio Melbourne.

“We have asked Australians to read the one pager and the ‘Our Story’ that follows and the summary of decision-making and many other documents contained in the report,” she said.

Fact Check: The 25 pages – Our Story – are a succinct summary of the expectations of the First Nations authors of the Uluru Statement.

Our Story forms part of the same document that contains the one pager “Statement from the Heart“.

These expectations make clear that the Voice is not expected to be “advisory” but a tool to develop Treaty and self-determination/self-government for indigenous people.

‘Our Story’ appears to be “secret” because it was not published and required an FOI application to be revealed to the Australian people.

Neither Albanese nor the rest of the Yes Industry are prepared to be up-front that either:

a) The Referendum process is a segue into a split statehood; or
b) The Government intends to shortchange First Nations expectations of self-determination and compensation.

Note to the Opposition: floundering around in the weeds on what is and what isn’t the Uluru Statement – and failing to focus on the above – will lose you this point.
Australia is being humbugged by its political leadership.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
August 10, 2023 9:50 am

In Over the Target news:

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 10, 2023 9:51 am

A couple of items of interest from the Daily Telegraph.

Une:
Woman charged with intent to murder after alleged domestic violence incident at Schofields
A female driver has been charged with intent to murder after allegedly swerving off the road and hitting a man known to her in Sydney’s west.

Deux:
Closing remarks heard in Private Maya Rose Mitchell’s sexual blackmail trial
A military court tribunal has heard how a male colleague felt like his career could have been ended by a female private who allegedly blackmailed him for sex at a NSW army base.

Trois:
Rugby World Cup: Wallabies drop Michael Hooper, Tate McDermott to lead squad
Michael Hooper is a high-profile victim of Wallabies coach Eddie Jones’ pivot to youth for the 10th Rugby World Cup.

Last one very chortle worthy. First two very serious.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 10, 2023 9:51 am

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare

Aug 10, 2023 8:49 AM

She might have disposed of the food dehydrator after that disastrous lunch in a panic of guilt and worry about police charges. It doesn’t necessarily mean that she was a deliberate poisoner.

I’ll file that under “P” for “Possible”.
Let’s see how the “I bought them at a local shops” thing plays out.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
August 10, 2023 9:52 am

The wording at 9:50 appears to have been the offensive bit.

bons
bons
August 10, 2023 9:53 am

The wondeful Jacinta is gracing our little town next week.
I can’t wait. What a star.
I saw her at CPAC a few years ago when she was still a little uncertain, but now – wow.
No wonder none of the barely literate union thugs is prepared to debate her.

calli
calli
August 10, 2023 9:56 am

Megan Davis’ bio here.

Clearly a victim of systemic racism.

lotocoti
lotocoti
August 10, 2023 9:58 am

…what the hell went so wrong?

Probably got a bit confused by nearly seven decades of the United States’
Manifest Destiny for Me, Not for Thee.
Also: When Admiral Perry held a gun to their heads and said “Trade or die.”
He forgot to add “Trade is us selling and you buying.”

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

If you hate air turbulence, you’d best buckle in for the long haul and it’s all because of climate change.

Is there anything it can’t do?

Well, if it is able to cause volcano eruptions (we have already heard that if can cause earthquakes) bouncing your plane about would be a piece of cake.

shatterzzz
August 10, 2023 10:02 am

In defense of the mushroom lady…
…nevertheless, innocent till proven guilty.

That is sooooooooooo 2019-ish! …… LOL!

Roger
Roger
August 10, 2023 10:03 am

“It is like whack-a-mole, nobody is fact checking it’s astonishing,” she told ABC Radio Melbourne.

And yet there it is on-line, talking about invasion, resistance, sovereignty never being ceded, indigenous warriors being acknowledged, Makarrata and treaty.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 10, 2023 10:03 am

Megan Davis’ bio here.

Clearly a victim of systemic racism.

https://www.dark-emu-exposed.org/home/the-megan-davis-story-part-2-zf7a9

H B Bear
H B Bear
August 10, 2023 10:04 am

Mmmm, does have a Moe pigs head vibe going on. I’m sure VicPlod are on top of it.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 10, 2023 10:05 am

dover0beach

Aug 10, 2023 9:59 AM

Dr F, can you email me what you have in the comments box that gets that error. Cheers.

I had that twice yesterday but couldn’t for the life of me see what might have blocked it.
I didn’t call anyone a mong or a wanker or anyfink.
I think the comment eventually went through but I can’t remember if I edited it.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 10, 2023 10:08 am

In defense of the mushroom lady…
…nevertheless, innocent till proven guilty.

Quite so.
That doesn’t preclude a little bit of Clouseau of the Champignon Squad sleuthing.
(If anyone reading this is likely to be in the Korrumburra and Leongatha jury pool, look away now).

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 10, 2023 10:12 am

H B Bear

Aug 10, 2023 10:04 AM

Mmmm, does have a Moe pigs head vibe going on. I’m sure VicPlod are on top of it.

Well, the Dandenong slug got away on them, so I’m not confident.
Further to KD’s post yesterday considering the “malicious – stupid” dichotomy, “stupid” is now paying $1.01 on Ladbrokes.

H B Bear
H B Bear
August 10, 2023 10:13 am

Courts and the common law have historically had an uneasy relationship with that whole spearing the leg thing. I think it has been parked for the time being. In polite company at least.

Cassie of Sydney
August 10, 2023 10:19 am

“Let’s see how the “I bought them at a local shops” thing plays out.”

Indeed. I watched a Youtube Talk Radio clip this morning from overnight. The mushroom story has gone viral, it’s now global. They had on News Corp journalist Jenna Clarke from Oz (Zac Cockup’s girlfriend) who gave a background as to where the poisoning happened, an Australian woman who is expert mushroom forager, and an American pathologist who’s examined dead bodies poisoned by mushrooms. The foraging expert said, rightly, that it would be impossible for anyone to buy such mushrooms from the shops. It would NEVER happen.

The woman who cooked the mushrooms (and didn’t eat them) either picked them herself or someone else picked them, as the foraging expert said, either option is highly dangerous. I buy my mushrooms for the supermarket, there’s no way I’d go picking and there’s no way I’d even buy mushrooms from a farmer’s market.

The pathologist said that after eating such mushrooms, you don’t get sick immediately, it takes 12 hours or longer for the body to start displaying the symptoms of the poison……exactly what happened to the four, three of whom are now dead, one fighting for his life in hospital.

Whilst there might be no malice involved, there most certainly is gross irresponsibility and recklessness.

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

H B Bear

Aug 10, 2023 10:13 AM

Courts and the common law have historically had an uneasy relationship with that whole spearing the leg thing. I think it has been parked for the time being. In polite company at least.

It has only happened at The Club when a scoundrel broke into another chap’s locker and used his squash racquet.
And that was back in the 1970’s.

Shy Ted
Shy Ted
August 10, 2023 10:20 am

Believe all women poisoners.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
August 10, 2023 10:21 am

In Trooble at t’Mill news:

Author of NT government’s renewables road map criticises regulation of solar farms amid calls for further investment

The NT Labor government came to power in 2016 promising to increase the territory’s renewable energy generation from 4 to 50 per cent by 2030.

But seven years on, four Top End solar farms are sitting idle, waiting to be commissioned to the Darwin to Katherine energy grid.

Chair of the government’s 2017 report into achieving the renewables target, Alan Langworthy, said the idle solar farms had been hamstrung by strict generator performance standards.

The new standards were implemented by the NT Utilities Commission after the solar farms were built in 2020.

“Those generator performance standards are demanding a very high level, and in many ways, an unrealistic level of control,” he said.

“It means those solar farms have to put in large batteries … to be able to meet the generator performance standards, and that is just unrealistic, because of the expense.”

I doubt anyone on the Cat is wonky enough to want to see the NT GPS, but suffice to say, NT UtiliCom wants Australian Standard electricity to come out of the wall socket at 240v 50hz whenever the customer asks for it.

The real problem is that the NT electricity system is heavily ‘islanded’, with three non-connected networks and about 80 standalone local diesel generators. A quick dab of finger paint on the butchers’ paper tells us that dropping large scale asynchronous and intermittent solar into the mix without battery support stuffs things up bigly.

Whoever commissioned the four stranded PV stations only had to ask.

In good hands.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 10, 2023 10:29 am

Whilst there might be no malice involved, there most certainly is gross irresponsibility and recklessness.

The “bought them at the shops” line could be a clincher.
I was prepared to consider the possibility of a market stall, but regular shops sourcing from accredited growers?
Nup.
Leongatha and Korrumburra are very small towns. It would take all of ten minutes to check that story.
As you say, it takes a while for the effects to take hold, and the poisoning process goes through stages. A key question is, when did she “find out” they had fallen ill with suspected food poisoning?
If she had cried “OMG! The mushrooms!” immediately, OK.
But did she wait days until Plod informed her it looked like Death Caps and suddenly “remember”?
Knowing exactly what the nature of the toxin was immediately might have helped.

H B Bear
H B Bear
August 10, 2023 10:33 am

A few dried porcini never goes astray. But get them from a bag.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 10, 2023 10:33 am

‘The most secure election in history.’

Here you go Dover.

A New Day, a New Type of Election Fraud (8 Aug, via Lucianne)

We found, for instance, dupe registrations all over Michigan and Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, not only did we find 187,000 apparently duplicate registrations, we testified to their legislature about how their election commission inserted hidden codes into voter ID numbers.

Meet the “shape shifters.”

The excellent Wisconsin team, with whom we collaborate, found citizens who moved from all over the state to a single state rep district for a primary. They moved a couple of months before the election.

They all voted. Now the good part.

They moved back shortly after the election — to their original homes!

Michigan and Wisconsin were both states with a mysterious and just big enough vote dump before dawn.

The article is actually very positive – the author has a team working to provide election analysis software so that frauds can be easily outed. But the darker aspect is it’s clear that the whole electoral apparatus is compromised by the Left in a highly organized and industrial way. Of course even when such things are detected nothing ever happens since they also control the legal and justice systems.

Cassie of Sydney
August 10, 2023 10:35 am

“I was prepared to consider the possibility of a market stall, but regular shops sourcing from accredited growers?
Nup.”

The foraging expert was adamant it just wouldn’t happen from a regular supermarket.

Also, the mushroom varieties we buy from the supermarket are grown differently.

H B Bear
H B Bear
August 10, 2023 10:37 am

Chair of the government’s 2017 report into achieving the renewables target, Alan Langworthy, said the idle solar farms had been hamstrung by strict generator performance standards.

Dirty clean power.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 10, 2023 10:40 am

“It means those solar farms have to put in large batteries … to be able to meet the generator performance standards, and that is just unrealistic, because of the expense.”

Sounds like NTUC has been spooked by that cloud.

Oopsie solar-battery fail? Cloud causes System Black event at Alice Springs affecting thousands (2019)

Welcome to the new complexified energy grid where a cloud can cause a system black event — knocking out power for as much as nine hours.

How dare holy solar providers be required to prevent system black whenever a cloud goes over their sacred panel-farm!

H B Bear
H B Bear
August 10, 2023 10:42 am

Hope meets physics.

Pogria
Pogria
August 10, 2023 10:44 am

What will bring the Funghi Fatty undone, if she has pulled a Lucretia Borgia, will be her electronic history. The Police are very likely right now combing through her online history. If she has been stupid enough to have really tried to take out the people who have been nothing but kind to her, she is stupid enough not to have carefully wiped her search history.
Many killers have been brought undone this way.

Will add, I have collected and eaten wild mushrooms for forty years. Never been sick.
You have to be shown by an experienced forager and the first lesson taught is, “if in doubt, toss it”.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
August 10, 2023 10:44 am

dover0beach
Aug 10, 2023 9:59 AM
Dr F, can you email me what you have in the comments box that gets that error. Cheers.

Done.

Cassie of Sydney
August 10, 2023 10:47 am

You have to be shown by an experienced forager and the first lesson taught is, “if in doubt, toss it”.”

Yep.

Roger
Roger
August 10, 2023 10:51 am

Will add, I have collected and eaten wild mushrooms for forty years.

Apparently a popular pastime in Leongatha; even the mayor picks them.

The plot thickens.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
August 10, 2023 10:53 am

H B Bear Aug 10, 2023 10:42 AM
Hope meets physics.

Tears before bedtime.

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 10, 2023 10:54 am

In news that will shock no-one, Courier Mail:

Captain Jason Chambers from the Cairns based reality TV show Below Deck Down Under has taken to social media to address the termination of two crew members following alleged sexual misconduct.

During the events of episodes six and seven of Season 2, which aired on Monday, filmed in Cairns, crew member Luke Jones was dismissed after a drunken escapade led him to climb into stewardess Margot Sisson’s bed, naked, without her consent.

Good looking people, alcohol, 15 minutes of fame. Not a great recipe

H B Bear
H B Bear
August 10, 2023 11:02 am

… crew member Luke Jones was dismissed after a drunken escapade led him to climb into stewardess Margot Sisson’s bed, naked, without her consent.

Stick to the script. This would never happen on MAFS.

H B Bear
H B Bear
August 10, 2023 11:06 am

Must have thought he was on a 3 day P &O cruise. Hopefully she wasn’t dead.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
August 10, 2023 11:07 am

On Wednesday reporters were hounding local police officers, who by all accounts seemed annoyed word of poisonous mushrooms had ever been made public.

Victoria Police has closed down a running commentary on what it is doing.

The Commonwealth Games Committee.
In the Sacristy.
With the vaccine.

thefrollickingmole
thefrollickingmole
August 10, 2023 11:08 am

Look at this characterization.
Look and laugh…
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/aug/09/fiasco-podcast-leon-neyfakh-1984-subway-shooting-new-york

On 22 December 1984, Goetz, a 37-year-old electronics engineer, was riding the subway when four Black teenagers asked him for money

H B Bear
H B Bear
August 10, 2023 11:08 am

My audition applications keep getting knocked back.

Tintarella di Luna
Tintarella di Luna
August 10, 2023 11:09 am

I am sure all Cats will be thrilled to know that Kevin Rudd’s Official portrait will be unveiled tomorrow, and, like Claire O’Neill, can’t wait. — I wonder will it really look like a rat peering through a toilet brush —as in the accompanying photo H/T Michael Smith News

Roger
Roger
August 10, 2023 11:11 am

Labor’s faceless factional operatives are struggling to keep a lid on several contentious issues ahead of next week’s national conference in Babylon by the Brisbane.

AUKUS being one.

The party’s membership is now dominated by the Left, which will attempt to use its numbers to shift policy and gain dominance on the National Executive, giving them control over pre-selections.

Comrades.

H B Bear
H B Bear
August 10, 2023 11:11 am

Mole, perhaps they were collecting for their church charity. Teh Grauniad really is beyond parody, much like Lord Waffleworth himself. It’s fun trying though.

H B Bear
H B Bear
August 10, 2023 11:15 am

Liar national conference has trouble sticking to the script too. The Legover Man got away with it.

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 10, 2023 11:18 am

Via Tim Blair comes 2 items of note from Mike Carlton and Thomas Mayo

Real Deal
Real Deal
August 10, 2023 11:22 am

It has only happened at The Club when a scoundrel broke into another chap’s locker and used his squash racquet.
And that was back in the 1970’s.

And it wasn’t so much a spearing for a punishment. More likely the chap had three squash balls inserted in him to teach him a lesson. Two yellow dots followed by a red dot. He will never re-offend.

Boambee John
Boambee John
August 10, 2023 11:25 am

Cassie

Also, the mushroom varieties we buy from the supermarket are grown differently.

In NSW, some are grown in abandoned railway tunnels, some of which were used to store mustard gas during the Second World War. Adds to the piquancy!

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 10, 2023 11:26 am

Haha.

So, how are you all surviving the Hollywood strike? (8 Aug)

A hundred days and counting. I saw somewhere that late night ‘comedians’ weren’t doing live shows on the US free to air networks because they had no writers for their ‘gags’. So the networks ran old repeats instead. Nobody noticed.

As to Hollywood not having writers to write woke movie scripts, well that’s a fine thing!

Maybe they could try something different? Like writing unwoke indie shows for the half of the population who aren’t green-progressives? Just might work. Or they could always learn to code I suppose. Joe Biden suggested it once.

billie
billie
August 10, 2023 11:29 am

lotocoti
Aug 10, 2023 9:58 AM
…what the hell went so wrong?

Probably got a bit confused by nearly seven decades of the United States’
Manifest Destiny for Me, Not for Thee.
Also: When Admiral Perry held a gun to their heads and said “Trade or die.”
He forgot to add “Trade is us selling and you buying.”

Ha, years ago, when the FTA, Free Trade Agreement, came in between Australia and the USA, one of our smart young TV reporter/entertainers was interviewing a US Congressman about it.

He asked, “do you think the FTA will be good for Australian farmers?”

The US Congressman was clearly confused, “what do you mean?” he says.

Reporter tried to explain, but it was clear the US Congressman saw the FTA as a one way street and had not for one second considered trade going the other way.

Indeed, why should they. The US has forgotten more about protectionism than we’ll ever know.

We’re all so naive, when dealing with the USA.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 10, 2023 11:31 am

Via Tim Blair comes 2 items of note from Mike Carlton

Was the third item not sufficiently noteworthy?

Mike Carlton lets it ALL hang out on public beach (Daily Tele, 5 Aug, paywalled)

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 10, 2023 11:36 am

4m ago
Voice ‘would entrench victimhood in constitution’: Abbott
Paul Garvey
Paul Garvey

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has invoked the spirit of US civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr and late Labor legend Bob Hawke in his attack against an Indigenous voice to parliament.

Speaking at an Institute of Public Affairs event in Perth on Wednesday night, Mr Abbott said a successful referendum on the voice would “entrench victimhood in our constitution forever”.

“The past isn’t perfect, but our responsibility is to make the present and the future as good as we humanly can. This generation of migrants and the descendants of migrants are not oppressors. This generation of Indigenous people are not victims.

“Citing … the wonderful words of Bob Hawke back on Australia Day in 1988, we are a country with no hierarchy of dissent. We are a country with no privilege of origin. Citing the immortal words of Martin Luther King from an earlier generation, I want to live in a country where my four children are judged not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.

“My absolute desire is that we can go forward as one equal people and that’s why I’ll be voting no. Because I absolutely reject any suggestion that there is something fundamentally wrong with this great country, Australia.”

He said the upcoming referendum – which he said would be held on October 14 – would also give Australians an opportunity to cast judgement on “some of the crazy things that have been happening in our country over the last few years”.

“I’ll be voting no to a few things. I’ll be voting no to the voice, sure, but I’ll be voting no to the climate cult, I’ll be voting out of the virus hysteria, I’ll be voting no to the gender fluidity crisis, I’ll be voting no to the ‘Magic Pudding’ economics. And I’ll be voting no to this crazy cultural self-loathing that afflicts this country along with so many other countries of the English speaking world, which should know better. And I say thank God that we the people are finally getting our say.”

Mr Abbott’s visit to Perth follows the backflip earlier this year by the Western Australian Cook government on the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act. The act, which had only been in place for less than six weeks, is now being repealed after a strong backlash from WA farmers.

The former prime minister said an Indigenous voice to parliament would be like the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act “on steroids, right across a system of government”.

“If you actually read the lengthy documents that stand as part of and behind the one page Uluru statement, they are permeated by a sense of anger, grievance, entitlement and sovereignty,” he said.

“The essential thesis of the people who put together the Uluru statement and are pushing so hard for this voice, is that what happened in 1788 and subsequently was essentially illegal, unfair, unjust, and as far as is humanly possible needs to be atoned for and reversed.”

He said while Australia’s history had “many blemishes” and that efforts by the Crown to protect Aboriginal people “didn’t always work out”, the country’s history compared favourably to other colonised nations.

“For all the faults of the people of those times, and for all the faults of the system of those times, would it have been better if Australia had been settled by Spain and turned out like Argentina? Would it have been better if Australia had been settled by Portugal and it turned out like Brazil? Would it be better if Australia had been settled by France and turned out like Algeria? Would it have been better if we’d been settled by the Belgians and turned out like the Congo? You only have to ask the question to have an answer,” he said.

Mr Abbott received a standing ovation from the 250 attendees in the room.

Dot
Dot
August 10, 2023 11:40 am

Have I found struth’s true calling?

https://tollbusterbobjarvis.weebly.com/

Zatara
Zatara
August 10, 2023 11:41 am

Democrat J6 Committee failed to preserve records and has no data on Capitol Hill security failures

18 months, 17+ million dollars, 800 pages of propaganda, major national disruption, and you just “failed to preserve” the evidence so your work couldn’t be checked?

Pull the other one, it’s attached to a claymore.

Dot
Dot
August 10, 2023 11:42 am

I discovered there is part of the Australian Constitution that makes the current charging of Tolls by the States illegal. Chapter V “The States”, Section 115 “a State shall not coin money nor make anything but gold and silver legal tender in payments of debts”.

Fuel Excise is a tax charged by the Federal Gov. for building roads, tunnels and bridges – also for the maintenance of these constructions. Back in 1979 Fuel Excise replaced Road Tax. Every time you buy fuel for your car, truck, lawn mower or boat you pay 38.4 cents per litre Fuel Excise.

When you pay your vehicle Registration or Drivers Licence’s – part of those charges goes towards roads, bridges and tunnels.

The Australian Constitution “AC” states that “once a TAX is placed on anything by the Federal Gov. – no other TAX can be charged by any other Gov. State, Local Councils or otherwise even if that tax is removed by the Feds.

Therefore all Roads, Bridges and Tunnels are paid for by the Australian People. Therefore my logic says, as a result, the people own the Roads, Bridges and Tunnels.

Boy I bet GST on tolls makes his blood boil.

Roger
Roger
August 10, 2023 11:44 am

“Citing … the wonderful words of Bob Hawke back on Australia Day in 1988, we are a country with no hierarchy of dissent.

Abbott needs a proofreader.

Although the way things are going it could be read that way.

Dot
Dot
August 10, 2023 11:45 am

I became the “Tollbuster” by accident because I successfully defended my right to pay tolls in gold and silver coins as per the constitution, when coin payment options on tollroads were removed. This also led me to realise that Fuel Excise tax is charged for the building and upkeep of roads (therefore tolls are double dipping taxes).

Australia has not issued gold coins since 1931 and we have not used silver since 1968 IIRC.

Dot
Dot
August 10, 2023 11:48 am

WHEN The Voice gets up, the wave of First Nations sovereign citizenry will be wild.

Popcorn Time!

Roger
Roger
August 10, 2023 11:49 am

The Voice is a suppository of indigenous wisdom.

Bend over, Australia.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
August 10, 2023 11:49 am

Kevin Rudd: “…like a rat peering through a toilet brush…”

Thank you.

Rosie
Rosie
August 10, 2023 11:49 am

An unkind mind might conjecture the mushrooms were dried for the purpose of disguise.

shatterzzz
August 10, 2023 11:50 am

Somedayz I luv living the OAP dream …..! Painting rooms with the only VOICEs, Conway, George & Merle full blast in the background ….
reminds me of my yoof … Mikie up on the scaffold doing his angelic thing wiv the ceiling and down below, unheralded, the apprentice turning the skirting boards of the Cistene Chapel into, unnoticed by history, workx of art …..

Rosie
Rosie
August 10, 2023 11:50 am

Also if the family suspected there was an attempt to poison ex husband previously why would they ever eat there again?
I’d be all sure we can have lunch, at the local Cafe.

Dot
Dot
August 10, 2023 11:51 am

The Australian Constitution “AC” states that “once a TAX is placed on anything by the Federal Gov. – no other TAX can be charged by any other Gov. State, Local Councils or otherwise even if that tax is removed by the Feds.

I’d like to believe that last part, but that just isn’t true.

He seems to be a GST extremist. GST invalidates stamp duty for all time, even if the GST is abolished?

What a cool superpower the ANTS Act has!

Rosie
Rosie
August 10, 2023 11:51 am

Oh and you are the children aren’t eating this?
I’ll have what you’re having.

shatterzzz
August 10, 2023 11:53 am

“Citing … the wonderful words of Bob Hawke back on Australia Day in 1988, we are a country with no hierarchy of dissent. We are a country with no privilege of origin.

And there wuz me thinkin’ Bobby’s best wuz, ” NO child shall live in poverty” .. LOL!

Tintarella di Luna
Tintarella di Luna
August 10, 2023 11:53 am

Kevin Rudd: “…like a rat peering through a toilet brush…”

Thank you.

Isn’t it a perfect description —
I wish ’twere mine but I pinched from a Clever Cat on here- sorry meant to give credit but the trigger-post finger was just too quick

Buccaneer
Buccaneer
August 10, 2023 11:54 am

Not satisfied with irrational government intervention to hike energy prices, this supermarket wants to add an irrational and by its own admission non-scientific levy to products it doesn’t want its customers to consume so it can redistribute money to its favoured (and not transparent) beneficiaries.

If those products are so evil, why not stop selling them?

Rosie
Rosie
August 10, 2023 11:56 am

Looks like all those products will end up on the ‘reduced for quick sale’ shelf.
Wankers.

Tintarella di Luna
Tintarella di Luna
August 10, 2023 11:57 am

Not satisfied with irrational government intervention to hike energy prices, this supermarket wants to add an irrational and by its own admission non-scientific levy to products it doesn’t want its customers to consume so it can redistribute money to its favoured (and not transparent) beneficiaries.

I suspect only a millennial could come up with such a stupid idea.

Roger
Roger
August 10, 2023 11:58 am

If those products are so evil, why not stop selling them?

Do your wurst, Penny!

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 10, 2023 12:00 pm

Given her photo I think she should ask Stan Grant what formulation he uses.

Thorpe blows up at Labor for ‘whitesplaining’ on Indigenous affairs (Sky mainpage headline, 10 Aug)

Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe has accused the Labor government of “whitesplaining” in speeches about Indigenous affairs as she once again affirms her support for the Coalition’s inquiry into Aboriginal Land Councils.

Um, lady, I don’t think you’ll like what the proposed inquiry will find…

Barking Toad
Barking Toad
August 10, 2023 12:00 pm

Mr Abbott received a standing ovation from the 250 attendees in the room.

100+ upticks.

Thanks for posting that ZK2A @11:36

Dot
Dot
August 10, 2023 12:02 pm

Rosie Avatar
Rosie
Aug 10, 2023 11:56 AM

Looks like all those products will end up on the ‘reduced for quick sale’ shelf.
Wankers.

Mum

Don’t blog angry!

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 10, 2023 12:03 pm

Document 14

ULURU STATEMENT FROM THE HEART – 114 Pages

We, gathered at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, coming from all points of thesouthern sky, make this statement from the heart:

Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations Australian continent and its adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs.

This our ancestors did, according to the reckoning of our culture, from the Creation, according to the common law from ‘time immemorial’, and according to science more than 60,000 years ago.

This sovereignty is a spiritual notion:

the ancestral tie between the land, or ‘mother nature’, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were born therefrom, remain attached thereto, and must one day return thither to be united with our ancestors. This link is
the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty.

It has never been ceded or extinguished, and co-exists with the sovereignty of the Crown.

How could it be otherwise? That peoples possessed a land for sixty millennia and this sacred link disappears from world history in merely the last two hundred years?

With substantive constitutional change and structural reform, we believe this ancient
sovereignty can shine through as a fuller expression of Australia’s nationhood.

Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people.

Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future.

These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness.

We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish.

They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.

We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution. Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle.

It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination.

We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.

Rosie
Rosie
August 10, 2023 12:03 pm

Particularly stupid as Penny is a discount supermarket chain.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 10, 2023 12:04 pm
Rosie
Rosie
August 10, 2023 12:05 pm

I’m all for an investigation of Aboriginal Land Councils and Corporations, no need to wait for an inVoice whitewash.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 10, 2023 12:09 pm

UNVEILING THE MYSTERY OF THE VOICE – THE ULURU STATEMENT IN FULL

By Harry Richardson – August 8, 2023

Please pass this on to anyone who is contemplating voting ‘Yes’ at the referendum and suggest they read the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, not just the one-page document PM Albanese has been spruiking.

It should make them see how divisive the Voice would be – and how much it will cost them and the rest of us.

Harry

Editor-in-Chief

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 10, 2023 12:11 pm

Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people.

Ummm, mostly incarcerated for crimes of violence against other Aborigines?

Delta A
Delta A
August 10, 2023 12:12 pm

I’m ambivalent about upticks on this site, but after

will it really look like a rat peering through a toilet brush

and

Do your wurst, Penny

my ticking finger is itching to strike.

Pretty please, Dover?

Roger
Roger
August 10, 2023 12:14 pm

Particularly stupid as Penny is a discount supermarket chain.

Never underestimate the stupidity of the Millenials from marketing.

Real Deal
Real Deal
August 10, 2023 12:16 pm

Can we have smiley emojis instead of ticks?

Roger
Roger
August 10, 2023 12:16 pm

Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people.

Ancient white man’s wisdom:

Don’t want to do the time? Don’t do the crime.

Miltonf
Miltonf
August 10, 2023 12:18 pm

A social worker from Ballarat. Doesn’t bear thinking about..

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 10, 2023 12:18 pm

A deliberate omission Bruce the Novocastrian.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 10, 2023 12:19 pm

Niger Mutiny: Another U.S.-Trained Military Officer Led Coup

U.S.-trained military officers have taken part in 11 coups in West Africa since 2008.

Troops from Niger ousted the country’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, last week.

One of the coup leaders had previously received training from the U.S. government, becoming the 11th coup in the region led by U.S.-trained officers.

This week on Intercepted, Nick Turse, investigative journalist and contributing writer with The Intercept, joins Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain to discuss the unfolding events in Niger and the Sahel region.

Turse outlines how Africa has seen elevated conflict and instability as the U.S. has increased its military involvement on the continent over the last two decades.

The United States has poured security aid in, supposedly to bolster these militaries, to make them more effective in protecting their people. But, every year over the last ten years, the number of terrorist attacks have gone up, the number of civilian fatalities has gone up.

And, basically, the only metric where the United States has been successful is training military officers who are able to overthrow their own governments. They’ve been unable to combat the jihadists in any kind of effective way.

We know in Niger, for example, the United States have run something called 127-Echo programs there for years, and these went on under the radar for a very long time, until October of 2017, when there was an ambush by Islamic State forces of U.S. troops. [They] killed four U.S. soldiers, two of them Green Berets, wounded a couple more U.S. troops, and killed a number of Nigerien proxies who were with them.

The United States came out and said this was an advise and assist mission, but really what it was and what came to light was that this was the United States operating under Section 127E of the U.S. Code, which allows U.S. forces to employ local Nigerien forces as proxies in the field.

They’re doing the United States’ bidding, they’re out there to achieve U.S. aims.

But rarely do these come to light. So, we know there are a lot of atrocities by Nigerien forces. Were they accompanied by the United States during these?

You know, it’s often impossible to tell.

The United States has played such a strong role in backing Nigerien forces over the years, there’s a good chance the United States is involved in one way or another, and this is something that often doesn’t come through in reports by human rights groups.

Just in almost every context you can look at where the United States has put real counterterrorism dollars into real significant numbers of U.S. troops, the conflicts have all worsened for the countries involved. And, especially, for the people that are living in these conflict areas. Things have just gotten exponentially worse over this time.

calli
calli
August 10, 2023 12:22 pm

Forget “smileys”.

I want this!

Beertruk
August 10, 2023 12:25 pm

OldOzzie
Aug 10, 2023 8:28 AM
The Australian today on the Front Page under Editorial

“Time to go Nuclear before We Run Out of Usable Power”

Reasonable to question energy-IQ of those leading the transition.

Paywalled

Perhaps the Penny is Starting to Drop?

Here you go:

Time to go nuclear before we run out of usable power
power
EDITORIAL
12:00AM AUGUST 10, 2023

In a properly planned energy transition, it would make sense to consider upfront all options to replace existing sources of generation with more efficient ones that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions using existing network infrastructure. The fact that nuclear is only now being put forward as a proposal by the Dutton opposition to replace coal-fired power plants when they are retired is an alarming reality, given the high costs and big risks being faced in our increasing dependence on intermittent technologies. The fact both sides of politics have been unwilling to support changing the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to allow nuclear to even be considered is testament to the political cowardice that has led to the situation we have today.

By any measure, the Albanese government’s decarbonisation agenda – which requires 82 per cent of power to come from renewable sources by 2030 – is already well off course. The transition is characterised by higher-than-expected costs and lower-than-promised returns. There can be little confidence that things will be turned around quickly, given the obstacles that keep appearing. This includes technical problems with big-ticket projects such as the Snowy 2.0 hydro-electricity scheme.

It is also apparent that community sentiment in favour of the renewable transition is sorely tested by proximity to the projects that will be required. Onshore wind farm developments are under pressure in Victoria because of the potential impact on protected brolgas. Queensland is revising its planning laws because many residents have decided the environmental cost and loss of amenity in wind farm developments in environmentally sensitive areas do not stack up. Offshore wind proposals can expect a similar fate to that being experienced by efforts to build the $20bn worth of high-voltage transmission lines that are needed to make the renewables-dependent electricity network function. It is for these reasons that the Coalition’s timid embrace of nuclear must be urgently considered.

Claims nuclear plants are too expensive and communities will not accept them must be put to the test. Opposition climate change and energy spokesman Ted O’Brien has provided evidence for the defence of nuclear in what is happening in other traditionally coal-dependent communities: Wyoming in the US and Poland in Europe. A Bill Gates-backed company, TerraPower, is building a small nuclear reactor in Wyoming that the Microsoft founder says can help “solve our climate goals” and “get rid of the greenhouse emissions without making the electricity system more expensive and less reliable”.

The TerraPower technology, called Natrium, is fully backed by the US Department of Energy and is designed to integrate into grids with high penetrations of wind and solar. A similar transition is under way in Poland and, contrary to what we were told would happen in Australia, local communities in the US and Poland are keen to be involved. Consultants working on the proposals say this is because workers in coal centres have a high energy-IQ; they understand why energy matters, and what the risks and opportunities are.

It is reasonable to question the energy-IQ of those leading Australia’s low-emissions transition. This is particularly so given the facts exposed by Claire Lehmann that put to the sword claims that renewables are the cheapest option – because they do not take account of the billions of dollars needed for firming, storage and transmission upgrades that will be spent prior to 2030.

By putting nuclear on the table for proper consideration, the federal opposition is doing what should have been done at the outset. Given the imminent risks, removing the legislative ban on considering nuclear energy should be a bipartisan priority.

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 10, 2023 12:30 pm

Nah bugger it Bruce. Here tis:

Commentator Mike Carlton does not back away from causing controversy, and this time northern beaches locals have a bone to pick with him.

They say the 77-year-old former Fairfax columnist and author has been getting his kit off at Whale Beach too many mornings to count — with “Avalonians” copping an eyeful.

Rain, hail or shine, they say, Carlton loves to be at one with nature while swimming laps or walking along the 600m-long beach.

When contacted by The Saturday Telegraph on Friday, a fiery Carlton responded to our query about why he swims in the nude by saying: “I’m not the slightest bit interested in talking to you. F**k off.”

The Saturday Telegraph wasn’t lucky enough to snap Carlton in his birthday suit when at Whale Beach on Friday, but instead spotted the father-of-three sunning his trim body in a fluoro blue budgie smugglers.

However, those who say they have witnessed his antics and seen him full-frontal describe it as a sight that’s hard to forget.

“I often go down to Whale Beach with my two teenage girls to do yoga early in the morning and the first thing we see is Mike Carlton getting out of the pool in the nude with everything on display,” one woman, who did not want to be named, said.

“All the locals talk about it, but he just loves it.

“One of the locals said something to him once and told him to put it away and he came back down in a pink G-string.”

Many regular Whale Beach-goers are “desensitised” by the act, which some describe it being as common as the sunrise.

Other say they were “shocked” and some a little “offended”.

“You know those people who have big characters? That’s him. It is like he is waiting for everyone to approach him. And so they purposely don’t,” said one neighbour.

Another Whale Beach regular, who also did not want to be named, said Carlton in the nude was known and accepted as “Mike being Mike”.

“All the clubbies who are the same age as him know and talk about it. It’s weird,” she said.

“It is just one of those things that everyone knows about and doesn’t like, but no one does anything about.

“It’s just Mike being Mike.”

Carlton, who is in the midst of relentlessly slamming Qantas airlines on Twitter, is no stranger to controversy.

In 2014 he resigned from Fairfax media after being admonished by his editors after sending abusive emails and tweets to Jewish readers following his column on the Gaza conflict.

In 2023 he came under fire after criticising body image campaigner Taryn Brumfitt on her 2023 Australian of the Year win by saying she had made “a buck out of saying it’s OK to be a bit fat”.

“My Australian of the Year would be a doctor or nurse working nights in intensive care or the ED, dealing with Covid and daily death. Real, compassionate work. NOT someone who makes a buck out of saying it’s OK to be a bit fat,” he said.

During his decades working in the media industry, Carlton worked in radio and television as a reporter, foreign correspondent and later as a talkback radio host for 2GB and 2UE.

He was also a columnist at The Sydney Morning Herald for many years before he resigned, and has also authored naval history books.

He has attained omnipresent supergalactic oneness,* mainly with himself it seems.
(*HT Ace Ventura)

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 10, 2023 12:31 pm

I want this!

Knuckle Dragger would use this often calli. He’s quite fond of that term lol

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 10, 2023 12:32 pm

A deliberate omission Bruce the Novocastrian.

BB – I couldn’t resist your quite excellent lead for the Mike Carlton beach story… 😀

Miltonf
Miltonf
August 10, 2023 12:36 pm

Carlton. Another Barker college alumnus. Like Garrett. Never wanted for anything.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 10, 2023 12:37 pm

Beertruk
Aug 10, 2023 12:25 PM

OldOzzie
Aug 10, 2023 8:28 AM
The Australian today on the Front Page under Editorial

“Time to go Nuclear before We Run Out of Usable Power”

Reasonable to question energy-IQ of those leading the transition.

Paywalled

Perhaps the Penny is Starting to Drop?

Here you go:

Beertruk,

Thanks – much appreciated

1 2 3 6
  1. That Phillip Adams and his ilk are today proclaiming the victory of ending the White Australia Policy tells you all…

  2. I haven’t heard about Halevi, but sneaking drones in under the radar (literally) has been a serial problem in the…

  3. A Christian pastor was arrested and detained for 13 hours by Avon and Somerset Police after street preaching about Christianity…

1.1K
0
Oh, you think that, do you? Care to put it on record?x
()
x