Open Thread – Tues 22 Aug 2023


Spring, Pieter Bruegel the Younger, 1632

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

2.2K Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
JC
JC
August 23, 2023 9:27 pm

Here’s the problem with the Vivmeister: Carlson asks him to comment about J6 and although Viv does get to some of the problems, he skirts the real issue. Nearly all the decent folks protesting J6 weren’t just there because they hated that there was censorship. That too, but they believed the election was stolen. He never said anything about this.

watch here.

JC
JC
August 23, 2023 9:28 pm

Annie

I think you’re right the first time.

Louis Litt
Louis Litt
August 23, 2023 9:31 pm

Indolent 23/8 @ 7:02pm

Thank you for the link to Malcolm Roberts.
Brave to speak his mind which to me is the truth.
Agree with everything he says.
What he says would be ridiculed but he soldiers on.
Good on you Malcolm.

Robert Sewell
August 23, 2023 9:39 pm

Indolent

Aug 23, 2023 7:02 PM
There’s been much talk about Hansen and Latham lately, and I have a high regard for both, but in my opinion the real star of the show at the moment is Malcolm Roberts. He is daily shedding light, in parliament, on the things that really matter.
Soviet-Style Rule in Australia Under Labor

Damn straight.

JC
JC
August 23, 2023 9:41 pm

Can someone inform CL at least her arms are covered. He’s always had a thing about those droopy arms showing.

All these exs. First it was Turnbuckle wanting to get into the groove with the Albanian. She looks really happy too.

Question of identity at BCA power bash

Nothing like the Business Council of Australia’s annual dinner to break off a snapshot of the ­nation’s corporate hierarchy, or measure the ego inflation of certain CEOs.

Cassie of Sydney
August 23, 2023 9:41 pm

So, the results are in, “one in three kids fails NAPLAN literacy and numeracy“. How utterly unsurprising, and don’t forget that we had almost nine years of a Coalition government.

JC
JC
August 23, 2023 9:48 pm

Louis Litt
Aug 23, 2023 9:31 PM

Indolent 23/8 @ 7:02pm

Thank you for the link to Malcolm Roberts.
Brave to speak his mind which to me is the truth.
Agree with everything he says.
What he says would be ridiculed but he soldiers on.
Good on you Malcolm.

According to an earlier commenter, he’s part of the elite and has differing morality. Roberts completed an MBA at University of Chicago which automatically would put him in club elite, so you’re not supposed to like him. 🙂

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 23, 2023 9:50 pm

According to an earlier commenter, he’s part of the elite and has differing morality. Roberts completed an MBA at University of Chicago which automatically would put him in club elite, so you’re not supposed to like him.

Book learnin’?
Say it ain’t so!

Dot
Dot
August 23, 2023 9:53 pm

cohenite
Aug 23, 2023 9:04 PM
No one and no group are more racist than stinking commies. They pick their victims and then create a mess for those victims so they can blame the West and justify its overthrow. It’s elementary and brilliant.

Quite correct, cohenite.

With thanks to the absolute legend John Ray.

http://marxwords.blogspot.com/

The evidence is piling up, just like the victims of communism, communalism, whatever fake name you want to give it!

“…the Communists everywhere support every revolutionary movement against the existing social and political order of things… They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions.”

– Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, The Communist Manifesto (Penguin Books, 1985, originally published in 1848), p.120.

It gets worse!

“We would be deceiving both ourselves and the people if we concealed from the masses the necessity of a desperate, bloody war of extermination, as the immediate task of the coming revolutionary action.”

– V.I. Lenin,” Lessons of the Moscow Uprising,” Proletary, No.2, August 1906 (as posted on Marxists.org).

As for violent antisemitism:

What truth is there in this argument? Marx’s essay, On the Jewish Question, originally published in 1844 contains the following:

What is the worldly religion of the Jew? Huckstering. What is his worldly God? Money.…. Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist. Money degrades all the gods of man – and turns them into commodities…. The bill of exchange is the real god of the Jew. His god is only an illusory bill of exchange…. The chimerical nationality of the Jew is the nationality of the merchant, of the man of money in general.

Marx argues that, “In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.” Larry Ray explains, “Marx’s position is essentially an assimilationist one in which there is no room within emancipated humanity for Jews as a separate ethnic or cultural identity.” Dennis Fischman puts it, “Jews, Marx seems to be saying, can only become free when, as Jews, they no longer exist.”

Communism is so incredibly close to National Socialism that it is hilarious the far left call their political enemies National Socialists.

Alamak!
August 23, 2023 9:54 pm

There should be a concerted effort to get schools 50 -50 male/female also.

It.will.never.happen. The teachers in my sons school were totally against the concept of boys doing better with male teachers and went the whole “he’s got ADHD and needs to be medicated” route.

I guess self-education at home or some communal groups focused on bare minimum (english, math, science) coverage taught to a high level might be the only way to avoid kids being brainwashed and illiterate..

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 23, 2023 9:56 pm

“Aboriginal souls will be crushed if the Voice is rejected…”

Only if your surname is Langton, Pearson and all the rest of the idiots. Think I will be fine.

JC
JC
August 23, 2023 9:59 pm

Roberts is likely to be the smartest dude in Parliament. You need a score of 730 in the GMAT to get into Chicago. That’s really high IQ.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 23, 2023 10:00 pm

Black Ball

Aug 23, 2023 9:56 PM

“Aboriginal souls will be crushed if the Voice is rejected…”

Only if your surname is Langton, Pearson and all the rest of the idiots. Think I will be fine.

So.
Only Aboriginal Ah-Souls will be impacted?

Robert Sewell
August 23, 2023 10:00 pm

GreyRanga

Aug 23, 2023 7:45 PM
RS would like going to the doctor if they took your temperature the same way as they do cats?

I’ll pass that one, thanks GR.

C.L.
C.L.
August 23, 2023 10:02 pm

Roberts is likely to be the smartest dude in Parliament.

Not Chris Bowen?

JC
JC
August 23, 2023 10:03 pm

Hey CL, at least the arms are nicely camouflaged this time.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 23, 2023 10:03 pm

JC

Aug 23, 2023 9:59 PM

Roberts is likely to be the smartest dude in Parliament. You need a score of 730 in the GMAT to get into Chicago. That’s really high IQ.

I done GMAT long time ago.
Not sure of my score.
I don’t fink it was 730.
That would be above P95 I would reckon.

JC
JC
August 23, 2023 10:08 pm

Yea, I reckon it’s there, Sanchez.

But CL has a fair point, that Bowen could be smarter.

MatrixTransform
August 23, 2023 10:09 pm

KD

if If the hand up ya actually allows you to turn yr head 180°,

check in a mirror to see if you also have a pull-string like a Woody Doll.

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 23, 2023 10:09 pm

Only Aboriginal Ah-Souls will be impacted?

Love it.

C.L.
C.L.
August 23, 2023 10:10 pm

I have a friend who did an MBA at Kellogg in the 1990s. It was close to number 1 at the time, IIRC.

MatrixTransform
August 23, 2023 10:12 pm

the clowns

they aren’t very creative are they?

does get a bit tiresome after a while

Crossie
Crossie
August 23, 2023 10:15 pm

There really is no saving Peter Dutton. What possessed him to go on Annabel Crabb’s kitchen cabinet to eat and be interviewed? All it did is provide his opponents with more ammunition to belittle him. She accused him of being racist and he apologised instead of refuting the charge.

Crossie
Crossie
August 23, 2023 10:16 pm

C.L.
Aug 23, 2023 10:02 PM
Roberts is likely to be the smartest dude in Parliament.

Not Chris Bowen?

Ha, ha.

JC
JC
August 23, 2023 10:17 pm

Cl

My kid did an MBA at the 11th I honestly dunno how the hell she stumbled in, but she did. I kept telling her not waste my money, get married and have a couple of kids. I was trying hard to motivate her. 🙂

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 23, 2023 10:32 pm

Only Aboriginal Ah-Souls will be impacted?

That’s a double Scotch and a new keyboard you owe me…

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
August 23, 2023 10:36 pm

Anyone familiar with that song “Sumer is Icumen In”, I have found the winter version.

Winter is icummen in,
Lhude sing Goddamm,
Raineth drop and staineth slop,
And how the wind doth ramm!
Sing: Goddamm.

Skiddeth bus and sloppeth us,
An ague hath my ham.
Freezeth river, turneth liver,
Damn you, sing: Goddamm.

Goddamm, Goddamm, ’tis why I am, Goddamm,
So ‘gainst the winter’s balm.

Sing goddamm, damm, sing Goddamm,
Sing goddamm, sing goddamm, DAMM.

Annie
Annie
August 23, 2023 10:44 pm

:

Yes, I had a brain block after posting originally.

Cassie pretty well put into words what I think about Pauline Hanson. I really like Pauline. It’s a pity Mark Latham was a little too ‘descriptive’ (shall we say?) as he normally has plenty of really sensible ideas about education. I like him too.

Is there, or has there been, another Annie on this blog? I’ve seen a ‘double’ in The Australian comments sections and have seen references to ‘Annie’ on a couple of comments here, which comments rang no bells for me. I’m from North Central Victoria.

JC
JC
August 23, 2023 10:50 pm

There was an Annie at the old blog who listed a little too much to one side mental-wise and departed. She called herself Anne as a nameplate, some people referred to her as Annie.

Salvatore, Iron Publican
August 23, 2023 10:50 pm

It’s a pity Mark Latham was a little too ‘descriptive’ (shall we say?)

Keep in mind Mark Latham was responding to being called, in writing, “A disgusting human being“, for attending a Catholic church in western Sydney & addressing the congregation.

P
P
August 23, 2023 10:51 pm

Just received photos and reports of the Western Sydney Forum on ‘The Voice’ – Blacktown Workers Club.
Western Sydney forum ‘Say No to The Voice’ with special guests Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Senator Kerrynne Liddle, Warren Mundine AO, The Hon Alex Hawke MP and Melissa McIntosh MP

I have a photo of my 16yr old grandson with Warren Mundine’s arm on his shoulder.
He encouraged him to follow his political ambitions.

Another photo with Alex Hawke MP – Federal Member for Mitchell. Alex was very keen to chat to my grandson as he has been selected to participate in the Mitchell Leaders Forum for Y12 School Leaders. Alex was looking forward to catching up with him at the forum.

Grandson was talking to the adults at the meeting, and they couldn’t believe how a 16 yr old could be so switched on. They said they’d all vote for him ?
He told them there will be a shift back to the right, which he called the Conservative Youth Revolution.

JC
JC
August 23, 2023 10:54 pm

Dover, how much to you estimate will be the cheat factor in 24?

Bruce in WA
August 23, 2023 10:57 pm

Cheer X
Gillette X
Samsung X
Now who else can I vent my spleen on? Suggestions please.

– McCain … ah, McCain, you’ve done it again (bringing Chinese food in via NZ, that is)

– And the 40+ Australian wine labels actually owned by China, including:

– 1847 Wine
– Chateau Yaldara
– Burge Family Winemakers
– Kilikanoon
– Ferngrove
– Knappstein

– Ben and Jerry’s ice-cream (anti-gun, anti-2A, anti-right screaming leftists)

– Quaintarse, if I can possibly avoid it

– For WA, Kailis Bros fish (90% of company sold to the Chinese)

Crossie
Crossie
August 23, 2023 10:58 pm

He told them there will be a shift back to the right, which he called the Conservative Youth Revolution.

P, I’m getting the same vibe from the young people I know. They are all sick of the woke nonsense they are continuously made to contemplate and adhere to.

C.L.
C.L.
August 23, 2023 10:58 pm

I have a photo of my 16yr old grandson with Warren Mundine’s arm on his shoulder.
He encouraged him to follow his political ambitions.

Wonderful, P.

Crossie
Crossie
August 23, 2023 11:00 pm

Western Sydney forum ‘Say No to The Voice’ with special guests Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Senator Kerrynne Liddle, Warren Mundine AO, The Hon Alex Hawke MP and Melissa McIntosh MP

I am pleasantly surprised that Melissa McIntosh was in attendance. Good on her.

C.L.
C.L.
August 23, 2023 11:03 pm

One of the neocons’ favourite gaslighting lines about the indictments is that the Democrats want Trump to be the nominee.

Greg Sheridan wheels it out whenever he mentions Trump.

Very ably demolished by Sarah Hoyt:

https://instapundit.com/599384/

Arky
August 23, 2023 11:03 pm

Do it, and reveal your scores.
https://www.mba.com/gmat-mini-quiz
I dropped one answer, didn’t read the question careful enough.

JC
JC
August 23, 2023 11:08 pm
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 23, 2023 11:09 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC-gAiPjn5g

The Angels – “Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again…”

Louis Litt
Louis Litt
August 23, 2023 11:13 pm

CL 23/8 @7:56

Douglas McGregor clip was brilliant. Understood everything he said. Total clarity.
Thank you.

P
P
August 23, 2023 11:18 pm

My 16yr old grandson had open heart surgery with the Ross Procedure eight months ago.
It is indeed wonderful to see the photos of him tonight at the Blacktown Workers Club.

Indolent
Indolent
August 23, 2023 11:25 pm
JC
JC
August 23, 2023 11:30 pm

Dover

Baris was really optimistic in 2020, but the cheating was an issue. In 2022, I vaguely recall him suggesting the majority would be larger than it ended up in the house. Don’t recall what he said about the senate. Is he reliable, you think?

Indolent
Indolent
August 23, 2023 11:30 pm
JC
JC
August 23, 2023 11:38 pm

it’s like a shadow.

JC
JC
August 23, 2023 11:43 pm

He was actually bearish 2020 for national, and quite good in accuracy, particularly for the states. In 2022, he was thereabouts on the generic Congressional was predicting 220 +-5.51/52 for Senate as most likely.

24 is going to be seriously ugly.

JC
JC
August 23, 2023 11:57 pm

Oh I think I get it now. The first rumblings about mask wearing is about the 24 election. If they’re able to frighten people into believing there’s a new wave coming and mask wearing is mandatory or highly advised because of this dangerous new mutation, they’ll try to finagle a way of doing mass mail-in voting in a similar way to 2020

Viva
Viva
August 24, 2023 12:21 am

Must admit I have never been a fan of Liz Storer (the smug drawl grates) and her performance on tonight’s Late Debate on Sky confirmed my dislike. In shouty tones she insisted that the Spanish coach’s brief kiss on the lips of the winning team captain amounted to an assault.

In vain James Macpherson tried to get her to understand it was an expression of joy in the moment but was drowned out. She would have none of it and finally you could see Macpherson would have none of her.

Is there such a thing as a right wing fright bat? Maybe Tim Blair knows.

Tom
Tom
August 24, 2023 4:00 am
Tom
Tom
August 24, 2023 4:01 am
Tom
Tom
August 24, 2023 4:02 am
Tom
Tom
August 24, 2023 4:04 am
Tom
Tom
August 24, 2023 4:05 am
Tom
Tom
August 24, 2023 4:06 am
Tom
Tom
August 24, 2023 4:07 am
Tom
Tom
August 24, 2023 4:08 am
Tom
Tom
August 24, 2023 4:09 am
Tom
Tom
August 24, 2023 4:10 am
Tom
Tom
August 24, 2023 4:11 am
Tom
Tom
August 24, 2023 4:12 am
Tom
Tom
August 24, 2023 4:13 am
KevinM
KevinM
August 24, 2023 4:15 am

Rumor has it; Jevgenyij Prigozsin the Wagner chief is dead, aircraft accident in Russia.

It’s disputed as he was reported being in Niger, Africa a couple of days ago.
Why would he go to Moskau?

Johnny Rotten
Johnny Rotten
August 24, 2023 4:49 am

Thanks Tom.

Johnny Rotten
Johnny Rotten
August 24, 2023 5:08 am

Money and corruption are ruining the land, crooked politicians betray the working man, pocketing the profits and treating us like sheep, and we’re tired of hearing promises that we know they’ll never keep.

– Ray Davies

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 24, 2023 5:11 am

Quality Leak.

Johnny Rotten
Johnny Rotten
August 24, 2023 5:12 am

Rumor has it; Jevgenyij Prigozsin the Wagner chief is dead, aircraft accident in Russia.

Just saw it on DW News – Seems to be true –

A good ‘rule of thumb’ is – “To be careful who you fly with.”

JC
JC
August 24, 2023 5:28 am

Feeling good after a slash there, Bern? 🙂

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 24, 2023 5:39 am

LOL, I’m not that old JC.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 24, 2023 5:45 am

Leak only has to drop in an Albo “why would I bother” every one or two weeks to keep that stupidity alive.
Just think how long the line “I don’t hold a hose, mate” haunted ScoMo.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 24, 2023 5:48 am

Just saw it on DW News – Seems to be true –

DW news plays a straighter bat than the ABC or BBC.
A lot of mini doco’s on their various YT channels that don’t confirm to the group think.
Apart from climate change.
They are all in on that.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 24, 2023 5:51 am

Tulsi Gabbard via Jimmy Dore has made a great point about why aren’t more US military assets being deployed in response to Maui.
The US Pacific fleet deploys assets to natural disasters in the region at the drop of a hat.
But when it comes to Maui, they are being slow walked.

Tintarella di Luna
Tintarella di Luna
August 24, 2023 5:54 am

Cl

My kid did an MBA at the 11th I honestly dunno how the hell she stumbled in, but she did. I kept telling her not waste my money, get married and have a couple of kids. I was trying hard to motivate her.

. So like Mary Harrinton’s grandmother said: Mary, why don’t you grow your hair and get married — interpreted by Mary as ‘be normal’ which Mary said was not something she’d tried. And it worked for her apparently. (Mary Harrington is author of Feminism Against Progress)

Lovely interview with Andrew Klavan and Mary Harrington — . though Mary does speak rather quickly.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
August 24, 2023 6:14 am

Quality Leak.

Oh yes.

‘Why would I?’ has the potential to join ‘No child will live in poverty’ and ‘There will be no xxxxx tax from a government I lead’ in the pantheon of idiotic statements from troughers.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
August 24, 2023 6:17 am

The Indian spacecraft successfully completed its journey to the moon, according to the picture wireless.

Early reports are that it arrived on time, its interior was immaculate, complimentary mints were available and it got a five-star rating.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 24, 2023 6:20 am

The Indian spacecraft successfully completed its journey to the moon, according to the picture wireless.

Was the craft designed to allow one to evacuate their bowels via a slot in the floor when they return with a manned mission?

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
August 24, 2023 6:20 am

The Wagner chief is brown bread.

Evidently some sort of Yamamoto-style arrangement.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
August 24, 2023 6:22 am

Was the craft designed to allow one to evacuate their bowels via a slot in the floor when they return with a manned mission?

Hey, it’s a long way between roadhouses out there.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 24, 2023 6:24 am

Things I won’t be watching.
The first GOP debate.
I look forward to the hot takes from various commentators.
Fun fact, if you want to watch the debate live on-line you have to watch via Rumble who have the exclusive streaming rights.
They must be pissed that Trump is not a starter.

132andBush
132andBush
August 24, 2023 6:24 am

Early reports are that it arrived on time, its interior was immaculate, complimentary mints were available and it got a five-star rating.

Have they opened a Metro yet?

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 24, 2023 6:25 am

The Wagner chief is brown bread.

Nah, he’s in Argentina with Hitler.

Johnny Rotten
Johnny Rotten
August 24, 2023 6:26 am

Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don’t vote.

– William E. Simon

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 24, 2023 6:29 am

Space Exploration Technologies, Elon Musk’s rocket company, is working with Cloudflare to boost the performance of SpaceX’s satellite internet service Starlink, with the goal of delivering faster network speeds to its customers. Such improvements could help overcome one obstacle to Starlink’s long term growth, as future bandwidth-hungry applications become commonplace.

Wow.
Current Starlink in Oz is awesome compared to the alternatives (as I’ve been told by many, many fries..I mean users) and they are working on upping the speeds?

Beertruk
August 24, 2023 6:32 am

Not everyone’s cup of tea but some hilarious insights, especially on
steroids and soccer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOjRw_yUcMM

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 24, 2023 6:33 am

The Wagner chief is brown bread.

Evidently some sort of Yamamoto-style arrangement.

Yeah, I said yesterday he’d resurfaced in Africa, since he’d apparently posted a Telegram vid of himself from there. Today he’s cactus in a plane crash near St Petersburg. Gets around. Not so easy to fly from Africa to Russia, have to go the long way as Russian flights can’t go over Europe. Well whatever happened we’ll find out eventually.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
August 24, 2023 6:39 am

Quenthland news:

Two women armed with makeshift weapons – including a glass bottle and rubber thong – bashed and stole from an unsuspecting pair in a Surfers Paradise park.

Southport District Court was told Juanita Gaye Kathleen Appo, 45, and Andrea Dianne Duncan, 33, set upon the man and woman on February 11 last year.

The pair refused Appo’s demands for a mobile phone and bank card, with Appo splashing liquid from the bottle she was carrying onto the man during their escalating confrontation.

Crown prosecutor Bernard Berger said Appo then swung the bottle into the woman’s head three times – causing it to smash – before grabbing her collar and landing another four punches to her face.

And:

Duncan punched, kicked, and stomped on the man – even repeatedly slapping him with her rubber thong as she dragged him away from the fight.

How wonderful. There’s no skank like a Quenthland skank. From court:

It was heard both women experienced traumatic childhoods and were struggling with drug addiction and homelessness at the time of the assault.

Ah, no. They were homeless because of their drug addictions, and their consequent behaviour.

Big difference, often ignored by hand-patters.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 24, 2023 7:01 am

Looks like the neo-nazi Dmitry Utkin was in the crash as well.

Wagner founder and hitman Dmitry Utkin ‘killed alongside Prigozhin’ in plane crash (23 Aug)

The Russian Aviation Agency – Rosaviatsia – has shared the full list of people aboard the Embraer-135 private jet.

The passengers named by the official agency were:

Propustin Sergey;
Makaryan Evgeniy;
Totmin Alexander;
Chekalov Valeriy;
Utkin Dmitry;
Matuseev Nikolay;
Prigozhin Evgeniy.

Apart from Prigozhin and Utkin I don’t know who the others are.

Cassie of Sydney
August 24, 2023 7:05 am

“The Wagner chief is brown bread.”

I hate to be an oracle yet again, although clearly I missed my calling in life, but did I not predict this? I predicted that Yevgeny Prigozhin, after his bizarre attempted coup only two months ago, was a dead man walking. It was only a matter of time before Putin’s tentacles dealt with him. Nobody threatens to march on Moscow and lives to tell the tale.

Anyone else remember how Monty, just two months ago, was feverishly excited at the thought that Prigozhin was going to take Moscow in hours, terminate Putin, broker a peace treaty, install Zelensky as the new tsar in the Kremlin, and capitulate to everything Washington says.

Further to “termination”, this war could have been terminated last year, instead we have the West continuing to use Ukraine as a proxy in a dirty war against Russia, and western neocon media mouthpieces, such as Dribbler Sheridan and Andrew Blot, feverishly mouthing the Washington line.

Meanwhile Mrs Zelensky, in the style of Eva Peron, swans around Europe, attending coronations, and frequently photographed with European royals.

Pity the Ukrainian people.

Rosie
Rosie
August 24, 2023 7:07 am

Not quite apartments.
Obviously someone thinks international travel will continue to be a thing.
Indonesians to convert vacant Sydney office tower into luxury hotel

Zatara
Zatara
August 24, 2023 7:17 am

This video went from nil to millions of hits overnight. If it doesn’t touch your soul you better check to see if you have one.

‘Rich Men North of Richmond’

(Washington DC, New York, etc. are north of Richmond)

Buccaneer
Buccaneer
August 24, 2023 7:18 am

There is no space for the Spanish coach to make an admittedly bizarre mistake, apologise and move on. Yet, the same media outlets constantly run interference for Joe Biden’s repeated and unwelcome harassment of women and children.

Salvatore, Iron Publican
August 24, 2023 7:19 am

Current Starlink in Oz is awesome compared to the alternatives

Able to confirm this.

Indolent
Indolent
August 24, 2023 7:19 am
Indolent
Indolent
August 24, 2023 7:20 am
Indolent
Indolent
August 24, 2023 7:21 am
Indolent
Indolent
August 24, 2023 7:22 am
cohenite
August 24, 2023 7:28 am

JC
Aug 23, 2023 11:08 PM
This is where the the left is going with the “insurrection”.
Judge Luttig: Secretaries Of States Will Decline To Place Trump On The Ballot, Argue He Is Unqualified

Yep. As I said I’m easing back on the assassination solution the demorats will employ for Trump. They have learnt that they can do any indictment, no matter how absurd and most of the msm and sheeple won’t care or understand, so confecting an ineligibility for POTUS will be nothing.

Best toons:

355046_image.jpg (720×531) (creators.com)
Varvel

354949_image.jpg (720×526) (creators.com)

Gorrell

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 24, 2023 7:40 am

Take down that wall!

Vatican Slams ‘Inhuman’ U.S. Southern Border Fence (23 Aug)

I don’t mean the border fence, I mean the Vatican Wall. It’s enormous. The irony is it was built to keep out muslims, who’re now flooding into the US and EU via uncontrolled migration. Not going to end well.

Johnny Rotten
Johnny Rotten
August 24, 2023 7:42 am

Current Starlink in Oz is awesome compared to the alternatives

Able to confirm this.

Compared to the NBN. No contest.

Well done Malcolm TurnBullShit. Another $50 Billion South Pacific pesos down the plug hole.

Crossie
Crossie
August 24, 2023 7:43 am

I watched a bit of Tucker’s interview with Colonel MacGreggor and I have a problem with his numbers. The colonel says that Ukraine has had 400,000 soldiers killed and has 50,000 amputees. The ratio looks wrong, in every other war the killed to wounded numbers would be reversed to those he provided.

General Keen on Bolt’s program was giving a different opinion to MacGreggor’s so I wonder if the truth is somewhere in between.

Razey
Razey
August 24, 2023 7:45 am

Dunno what all the fuss is about Sleazy, he was elected to lead, not to read.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zQ55S-DJsM

Crossie
Crossie
August 24, 2023 7:47 am

Rosie
Aug 24, 2023 7:07 AM
Not quite apartments.
Obviously someone thinks international travel will continue to be a thing.
Indonesians to convert vacant Sydney office tower into luxury hotel

They might be able to fill the hotel with guests if out government didn’t restrict airlines other than Qantas from flying them here.

Crossie
Crossie
August 24, 2023 7:48 am

Rosie
Aug 24, 2023 7:09 AM
this ‘influencer’ flies somewhere nearly every weekend. Do all all her followers also clamour for climate action now.

She flies every weekend so you don’t have to.

Wally Dalí
Wally Dalí
August 24, 2023 7:53 am

So… has anyone asked AI to model a sculpture of the Matildos yet?

Crossie
Crossie
August 24, 2023 7:54 am

Razey
Aug 24, 2023 7:45 AM
Dunno what all the fuss is about Sleazy, he was elected to lead, not to read.

Ha, ha! (Instead of an uptick)

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
August 24, 2023 7:55 am

The Indian spacecraft successfully completed its journey to the moon, according to the picture wireless.

Ground control, India: 3, Control. Telemetry looking good.
Chandrayaan-3: Control, 3. Confirm green across the board.
GCI: 3, Control. We are getting an anomalous reading from your navigational computer. Can you verify?
C-3: Control, 3. We aren’t seeing anything.
GCI: 3, Control. It could be a problem. You may have been hacked. We are going to send you a link so we can take over your computer…

Pogria
Pogria
August 24, 2023 7:56 am

There are things out there that can still surprise.
Basically, a giant, paper slinky. Pretty awesome.

https://twitter.com/TheFigen_/status/1693327697152274598

Dot
Dot
August 24, 2023 8:05 am

GCI: Actually, sir, TeamViewer is totally safe, is your internet working?

Dot
Dot
August 24, 2023 8:08 am

Crossie Avatar
Crossie
Aug 24, 2023 7:43 AM

I watched a bit of Tucker’s interview with Colonel MacGreggor and I have a problem with his numbers. The colonel says that Ukraine has had 400,000 soldiers killed and has 50,000 amputees. The ratio looks wrong, in every other war the killed to wounded numbers would be reversed to those he provided.

General Keen on Bolt’s program was giving a different opinion to MacGreggor’s so I wonder if the truth is somewhere in between.

The Ukrainian numbers for Russian casualties always had a far more realistic ratio.

It’s a stalemate, a massive withdrawal after a repelled decapitation strike and Vlad still reckons he’s only lost 5,000 – 10,00 troops, tops.

Such BS.

feelthebern
feelthebern
August 24, 2023 8:12 am

GCI: 3, Control. It could be a problem. You may have been hacked. We are going to send you a link so we can take over your computer…

Bwahahaha

Dot
Dot
August 24, 2023 8:12 am

C-3: Control, 3. Do the needful!

Dot
Dot
August 24, 2023 8:13 am

Rosie
Aug 24, 2023 7:09 AM
this ‘influencer’ flies somewhere nearly every weekend. Do all all her followers also clamour for climate action now.

She flies every weekend so you don’t have to.

Has anyone tagged the sponsor?

calli
calli
August 24, 2023 8:17 am

Lovely story about P’s grandson. Nothing like watching them becoming the people you hoped and dreamed they would become. It’s one of life’s greatest satisfactions. Possibly the greatest.

Johnny Rotten
Johnny Rotten
August 24, 2023 8:18 am

It’s a stalemate, a massive withdrawal after a repelled decapitation strike

If that’s a stalemate, then don’t ever play Chess with Putin.

Arky
August 24, 2023 8:21 am

Imagine being such a dope as to take the side (over your own) of the psychotic douche who felt comfortable taking out the pilot and other passengers in this assassination:
..

Seven passengers and three crew were on board a private jet flying in the Tver region, northwest of Moscow, that crashed about 6pm Wednesday, Moscow time (1am Thursday, AEST).

Dot
Dot
August 24, 2023 8:21 am

Yes.

It’s a stalemate.

That’s why no line has moved in any meaningful way for roughly a year.

How else do you define a stalemate, genius?

calli
calli
August 24, 2023 8:26 am

On the “influencer” and the howwid, mean fine – I expect there’s a lot more to the story.

Many…many trips would flag her immediately. This is not difficult stuff.

Then there’s the next layer. She’s dressed as “Barbie”. Hellooooo…we have a live one here. Questions about occupation and salary are pretty standard, hardly intrusive.

Rosie
Rosie
August 24, 2023 8:30 am

I notice Breibart and its fond readers never miss an opportunity to have a dig at the Catholic Church, a pity the story didn’t link to the English edition of L’osservatore romano but then why would they?
Perhaps the observation that razor wire is inhumane is perfectly reasonable.

calli
calli
August 24, 2023 8:30 am

Was the private jet part of the Wagner fleet or a hire? Not that it makes a huge difference, apart from the expectations of those caught up in the downing. If you’re a mercenary, you put yourself in harm’s way daily.

Rosie
Rosie
August 24, 2023 8:32 am

I can’t say her story resonated with me either Calli.
I didn’t know a rose was a plant.
Okay.

Rosie
Rosie
August 24, 2023 8:35 am

On the other hand maybe just arriving on an international flight holding a rose was enough for her to get pulled aside.
WA is particularly fussy about unwanted organic material.

Dot
Dot
August 24, 2023 8:36 am

I notice Breibart and its fond readers never miss an opportunity to have a dig at the Catholic Church

It’s pathetic.

Cut them off. Andrew Breitbart is dead and they’re grifting off Trump.

[Hey. At least think for yourself and vet your links or sources.]

PS. Coffee time! It is 8:35 AM!

flyingduk
flyingduk
August 24, 2023 8:39 am

Rumor has it; Jevgenyij Prigozsin the Wagner chief is dead, aircraft accident in Russia.

Died suddenly eh ?

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
August 24, 2023 8:40 am

Apparently Trump’s campaign has created a website describing the Fox News debates as ‘2024 Vice Presidential Debates’.

The guy is a past master at trolling.

Rabz
August 24, 2023 8:40 am

Branco and Varvel today, bloody hilarious.

Boambee John
Boambee John
August 24, 2023 8:41 am

Crossie
Aug 24, 2023 7:43 AM

I watched a bit of Tucker’s interview with Colonel MacGreggor and I have a problem with his numbers. The colonel says that Ukraine has had 400,000 soldiers killed and has 50,000 amputees. The ratio looks wrong, in every other war the killed to wounded numbers would be reversed to those he provided.

Usually, wounded are around three to four times the number of dead. MacGregor is referring only to amputees, but not everyone wounded loses a limb.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 24, 2023 8:46 am

[Hey. At least think for yourself and vet your links or sources.]

PS. Coffee time! It is 8:35 AM!

Bwah ha ha ha.
“I was just putting it out there.
Might be right.
Might be wrong”.

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 24, 2023 8:50 am

Andrew Bolt:

Two anecdotes about Chris Bowen, our hot-gospelling minister for climate change and energy, help explain why Australia’s power supplies face a catastrophic crisis.

The first is from last year, when Bowen, visiting the United States, posed with a cheesy grin with an EFord150 – an electric ute he thinks Australians should drive instead of our hugely popular petrol-driven ones.

This electric vehicle, he tweeted, had a “range of around 500km, can tow boats & caravans & goes like you wouldn’t believe,” but was “not currently available in Australia due to poor policies”.

Bowen would fix that! He’s now working on policies to make us buy more electric cars by imposing emissions standards that will knock many petrol utes out of the market.

But there’s a reason why Australian motorists don’t share Bowen’s passion for electric cars like the EFord150, and it’s not just that this particular model costs $110,000 – 50 per cent more than our top-range HiLux, which goes twice the distance.

Jim Farley discovered that reason two weeks ago.

Farley is the head of Ford, which makes the EFord150, which he took for a test spin on Route 66 from Palo Alto to Las Vegas.

It didn’t go well. Recharging the car, tweeted Farley, was “pretty challenging”.

At one stop he had to use a slow charger, which took 40 minutes to get his battery to just 40 per cent. At another, he had to get up at 3am to get his car charged.

“It was a really good reality check of the challenges which our customers go through,” Farley said ruefully.

This is the car Bowen last year flogged as our future. But does he even register any news he doesn’t like?

Probably not, to judge by the second anecdote.

Paul Broad was the CEO of Snowy Hydro, and charged with building a new generator at Kurri Kurri to partly replace the Liddell coal-fired station that closed this year.

Bowen, the politician, insisted Kurri Kurri be fuelled by hydrogen, the miracle green fuel he’s been touting and funding. Broad, the expert, told him it couldn’t be done.

Broad said that advice “got Bowen’s back up”, and last year he was effectively forced out from Snowy Hydro, even though he was right. Kurri Kurri, now a year behind schedule, will be fuelled by natural gas instead.

But Bowen’s wider plan to go green are also in strife – particularly his plan to get rid of coal-fired power and get 82 per cent of our electricity from renewables like wind and solar in just seven years from now.

Broad, now free to say exactly what he thinks, says that target is “bulls–t”.

Even experts who cheered this disastrous green revolution, now warn Bowen’s plans for green power are in strife. Coal-fired plants are closing, with little to replace them.

On Monday, Tony Wood, Energy Program Director at the Grattan Institute, told me “we haven‘t been building what’s necessary to meet that sort of target.”

On Wednesday came more confirmation. The Clean Energy Council said just four renewable energy generation projects got financial backing in the first half of this year – the fewest since it started collecting data in 2017.

Now even the Victorian government, militantly green, realises it could need coal, after all. It’s agreed to pay AGL to keep open its huge Loy Yang coal-fired power station in 2035 to save the state from blackouts if the green revolution hit the wall.

The NSW Labor government says it could have to make a similar deal with Origin Energy to keep open the Eraring generator.

Indeed, Bowen’s plans to go green are springing leaks everywhere they make contact with reality. They are delayed, collapsed or way over budget.

For instance, farmers are now fighting against the massive transmission lines being built over their lands, further delaying the already troubled rollout of 10,000km of wires we’d have to build in just seven years to hook up all Bowen’s planned new wind and solar farms.

Meanwhile, Aboriginal activists at Portland, Victoria, have forced Bowen to order a planned offshore wind farm to be built further out to sea, putting it in doubt. Locals are trying to stop massive wind turbines being built near rainforest in Chalumbin, Queensland.

And all through this, our bills keep rising and our power supplies get more stretched.

But does Bowen even let himself see the iceberg ahead? His green religion has made him reject the most obvious solution – zero-emissions nuclear plants. Has he been blinded to this disaster he’s creating as well?

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 24, 2023 8:50 am

Arky

Aug 24, 2023 8:21 AM

Imagine being such a dope as to take the side (over your own) …

And which is “our own” side and why?

Arky
August 24, 2023 8:57 am

When to use quotation marks

It helps to break down rules for quotation marks by their function. So below, we list out the six main uses for quotation marks.

1 Quote a source directly

One of the most common uses of quotation marks is to indicate a direct quote, a passage that is copied verbatim from another source. If you’re using the same word, sentence, or phrase as another author, put those words in between quotation marks.

Roger
Roger
August 24, 2023 8:58 am

Was the private jet part of the Wagner fleet or a hire?

Reported as owned by Prigozhin.

7 Wagner members including Prigozhin’s right hand man and 3 crew returning from a meeting with defence officials in Moscow.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 24, 2023 8:58 am

Excellent work on the Indian spaceship, Cats.
The very well worn (but still very funny) reference to toilet holes in the floor.
The take on Indian call centres/scammers.
A bit of convenience store stuff.
Well done.
I think the only thing we could have done was something about it being a mission to sell the man in the moon a new electricity contract or replacement light bulbs.

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 24, 2023 8:59 am

Andrew Bolt 2:

I’ve never seen a country grow so stupid – and I’m not just talking about the NAPLAN results showing a third of our school students now perform below standard.

The adults are even worse, and it’s become a real wealth hazard.

See how we’re making ourselves poorer by inventing irrational taboos on things like coal, gas, oil and nuclear power.

The craziest example came just this week – the kind of thing Labor’s planned Voice to Parliament will just encourage.

Santos is trying to open the big Barossa gas field out in the Timor Sea north of Darwin, at a cost of $4.7bn, but has run into a bog of nonsense.

Last year the Federal Court ruled the project couldn’t go ahead. Santos had committed the sin of not consulting Dennis Tipakalippa, a traditional owner on Melville Island, more than 100km from the Barossa field.

Sure, it had consulted the Tiwi Islands Land Council, which supposedly represents the islanders, but it really should have talked to Tipakalippa and some other elders, too. And they said no.

I suspected Santos was in trouble when I saw the judge, who had once sought Labor preselection as a candidate from the party’s Left, going through a smoking ceremony before taking evidence at the island.

Now it gets even wilder, as Santos tries to save the project. Two more Aborigines, this time from Croker Island, even further from Barossa, say they don’t want the gas field either, and the Environmental Defenders Office, funded by the Albanese government, is backing them.

One of these two women – just two out of 300 islanders, says Santos – has said: “We also have our rainbow serpent, who protects us and our community – she cannot be disrupted or disturbed or harmed in any way. We live off the sea”.

So two people a long way from a project that’s way out at sea say they’re against it because of the rainbow serpent. Is that we must lose the jobs, the gas, and the billions of royalties, some of which will inevitably be used to prop up Tiwi Islanders, 58 per cent of whom aren’t in the workforce, and 27 per cent of those who are unemployed?

And this is a claim supported by an Environmental Defenders Office that the Albanese government decided to fund again, to now strangle our energy supplies in the name of a fussy magical serpent no one has seen. We deserve poverty.

Good and hard Australia. The Environmental Defenders Office. What on earth is this? Might have to have a look. What a world.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 24, 2023 9:00 am

You can take the “schoolteacher” out of the school …
………………………………………………………………………….LOL!!!!

Crossie
Crossie
August 24, 2023 9:01 am

Usually, wounded are around three to four times the number of dead. MacGregor is referring only to amputees, but not everyone wounded loses a limb.

I have thought of that but even if other wounded numbers are triple the amputees the ratios are still off.

Tom
Tom
August 24, 2023 9:01 am

I watched a bit of Tucker’s interview with Colonel MacGreggor and I have a problem with his numbers.

If Tucker Carlson has a weakness as a reporter, it’s that he can be too much of a contrarian, the otherwise essential component of good journalism.

Carlson’s excellent instinct was not to fall for the official propaganda about the Ukraine war so he set about collecting contrary opinions — and Colonel Doug Mcgregor is one of those contrarians.

As a military analyst and former battlefield strategist, Macgregor should be listened to as an important source of information about the Ukraine war, but he’s not a definitive source — which Carlson unfortunately promoted him as.

I really miss Carlson’s regular analysis of US politics. The sooner he sorts out his legal problems the better. He needs a new permanent home — where he will most likely be the boss, unaccountable to flaky liberals like the Mudrock kiddies.

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 24, 2023 9:03 am

Just wowee. Environmental Defenders Office here. Is there a teal hue strewn about the place?

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
August 24, 2023 9:04 am

I may have mentioned this before.

The Ukraine is a flirty pub slut in an on-again off-again relationship with a large boofy dude. Because the relationship is currently ‘off’, she’s sidled up to another bloke of approximately the same size in the same pub, and let him buy her free drinks for quite some time.

The blokes – both now keen for some sweet, sweet Ukraine Volks bonnet and aware of each other’s presence have headed out into the car park at closing time to sort it out.

The flirty pub slut’s got in between the squared-off blokes and is on the screech. She’s then copped left hooks and right crosses from both blokes, all aimed at the other.

The blokes will resort to an uneasy truce. The flirty pub slut, suitably battered will claim victim status and be back in the front bar at 10.30 the next morning, looking for another sugar daddy.

Crossie
Crossie
August 24, 2023 9:04 am

Mother Lode
Aug 24, 2023 8:40 AM
Apparently Trump’s campaign has created a website describing the Fox News debates as ‘2024 Vice Presidential Debates’.

The guy is a past master at trolling.

It’s not trolling when it’s true.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
August 24, 2023 9:06 am

Perhaps the observation that razor wire is inhumane is perfectly reasonable.

No it isn’t. It’s an intelligence test: you fail the test if you try to climb over it.

Israel has built an extensive wall, with razor wire, to defend herself. It works pretty well despite homicidal Palis continually trying to get through it. Which they have been doing, but it would be much worse if the wall wasn’t there.

IDF Chief: Israel in a Wave of Terror Not Seen in a Long Time (22 Aug)

Dot
Dot
August 24, 2023 9:07 am

Just a reminder.

FEMEN was founded in Ukraine and all men 16 – 60 were conscripted and can’t leave.

Marrying a gal from Ukraine would on average be a very bad idea.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 24, 2023 9:09 am

 The flirty pub slut, suitably battered will claim victim status and be back in the front bar at 10.30 the next morning, looking for another sugar daddy.

I think that is “our side” you’re talking about there.
Please feel free to correct any punctuation if you want to avoid the question.

Dot
Dot
August 24, 2023 9:12 am

Roger
Aug 24, 2023 8:58 AM

Was the private jet part of the Wagner fleet or a hire?

Reported as owned by Prigozhin.

7 Wagner members including Prigozhin’s right hand man and 3 crew returning from a meeting with defence officials in Moscow.

Putin’s totally not an evil psychopathic murderer though.

He’s the defender of Christendom and western civilisation. You can totally trust an “ex” KGB Lt. Col.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 24, 2023 9:14 am

Putin’s totally not an evil psychopathic murderer though.

Fact Check : True.

He’s the defender of Christendom and western civilisation. You can totally trust an “ex” KGB Lt. Col.

Fact Check : Not True on both counts.

Viva
Viva
August 24, 2023 9:15 am

Rumor has it; Jevgenyij Prigozsin the Wagner chief is dead, aircraft accident in Russia.

“He was a murderer from the beginning ….”

Boambee John
Boambee John
August 24, 2023 9:15 am

Crossie

Usually, wounded are around three to four times the number of dead. MacGregor is referring only to amputees, but not everyone wounded loses a limb.

I have thought of that but even if other wounded numbers are triple the amputees the ratios are still off.

From the beginning of the war to June 1918, 1,749 amputation cases arrived home in Australia, of which 1,165 were legs and 584 arms. All told, the number of limbless would rise to more than 3,000. A lesser number lost their sight from wounds – around 100, rising to 130 ten years after the war.

Some 155,000 Australians were wounded during the First World War, many more than once
https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/media-centre/media-backgrounders/overview-australias-involvement-first-world-war

calli
calli
August 24, 2023 9:15 am

My point was that the plane wasn’t full of innocent civilians, but mercenaries.

It’s the black belt level of stupid games and stupid prizes.

Boambee John
Boambee John
August 24, 2023 9:16 am

Crossie

Sorry, format fail, the last two paras come from my quick web search.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 24, 2023 9:19 am

I doubt the pilots were retired Ansett chaps, innocents abroad just looking to top up their super.
My tears are being held in reserve.

Dot
Dot
August 24, 2023 9:21 am

m0nty must be super upset, he was going to travel to St Petersburg and vote for Prigozhin, he was going to live blog it as well.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 24, 2023 9:24 am

Boambee John

Aug 24, 2023 9:16 AM

Crossie

Sorry, format fail, the last two paras come from my quick web search.

Try harder.
Correct punctuation matters.

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 24, 2023 9:28 am

Ace Of Spades with a fantastic read. Could also relate it to monty.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
August 24, 2023 9:28 am

m0nty must be super upset

Undoubtedly.

Prigozhin was said to be a long-time Hawthorn Football Club member.

And possibly a ranga.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
August 24, 2023 9:28 am

I think the only thing we could have done was something about it being a mission to sell the man in the moon a new electricity contract or replacement light bulbs.

I personally am waiting from the email from a Selenian* prince fleeing his world with the Royal fortune because the Prime Minister has led a revolution and killed the entire Royal family. He just needs a few thousand dollars to get to neutral Switzerland from which he will send me out of gratitude a sizeable portion of the wealth he brings with him.

* I think Selenian sounds better than plain old ‘Lunar’ in this case.

Roger
Roger
August 24, 2023 9:32 am

He’s the defender of Christendom and western civilisation.

By my reckoning, he’s liable to be prosecuted for the conspiracy and incitement to commit genocide in regard to four acts that contravene Art. II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide {1948).

Western Christians beguiled by Putin lack faith. Cf. Ps. 146, particularly verses 3-5.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
August 24, 2023 9:33 am

That, I suppose, must wait until the Nigerians get to the Moon.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 24, 2023 9:35 am

Spare a thought for real Nigerian princes.
Imagine how hard it must be to get banking details to pay for stuff they bought on-line.

Cassie of Sydney
August 24, 2023 9:36 am

I’m sure Monty would agree that Vlad had legitimate grievances to take down Prigozhin.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
August 24, 2023 9:38 am

m0nty must be super upset, he was going to travel to St Petersburg and vote for Prigozhin, he was going to live blog it as well.

Right after Malmo.

calli
calli
August 24, 2023 9:39 am

Isn’t it nice that a “developing nation”, with all the free passes that go with that classification, can go to the moon?

Yet here we are, we devilish profligates, looking down the barrel of energy rationing, on account of our “development”.

We are expected to believe this tripe.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 24, 2023 9:41 am

Prigozhin plane crash: What we know so far

The Wagner Group chief was traveling on board a private jet that crashed in Russia with no survivors

1. What details have been confirmed?

The Russian Emergencies Ministry confirmed that the jet plunged to the ground in Tver Region, and that all three crew and seven passengers on board were killed. The ministry said that the jet, an Embraer 135BJ Legacy 600, was traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg at the time of the incident.

Rosaviatsiya, the Russian federal air transport agency, said that Prighozhin was on board, along with several high-ranking Wagner commanders.

2. Was the crash caught on camera?

Several short clips of the crash have circulated on social media. Videos published by the Mash and Baza Telegram channels appear to show the jet plummeting toward the ground in a seemingly uncontrolled spin, leaving behind a trail of black smoke. It is unclear from the clips which part of the aircraft had caught fire.

Other clips purportedly shot at the crash site show flaming wreckage strewn across a grassy clearing.

3. Is Prigozhin definitely dead?

Although Rosaviatsiya said that Prigozhin’s name was on board, it did not explicitly pronounce the Wagner chief dead.

As of late Wednesday evening, Russian officials said that they had recovered eight bodies, though none had been named by that time. All were described as badly burned.

Some Russian outlets identified the plane’s tail number as RA-02795, which is believed to belong to Prigozhin.

According to flight-tracking site FlightRadar24, a second plane linked to Prigozhin with the tail number RA-02878 departed Moscow shortly after the first, but returned to land after news of the crash broke. None of these reports have been officially confirmed.

4. Who else was on board?

In addition to Prigozhin, Rosaviatsiya said Dmitry Utkin – a former Russian special forces operator and alleged co-founder of the PMC – was also traveling on the jet, as was Valery Chekalov, whom the US considers to be the deputy head of Wagner. The remaining passengers listed were Sergey Propustin, Evgeny Makaryan, Alexander Totmin, and Nikolay Matuseev, identified by Russian news outlets as Wagner

5. Who is Evgeny Prigozhin?

A successful businessman in the catering industry and a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin founded the Wagner Group, a private military company (PMC), in 2014. Although the Wagner Group was founded in 2014 and took part in hostilities in the formerly Ukrainian Donbass region, Prigozhin refused to confirm his role in the company until last year.

Wagner troops have operated in multiple African countries and in Syria, where they reportedly clashed with US forces in 2018.

With his troops fighting in the months-long battle for the city of Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine), Prigozhin made regular statements to the media and publicly feuded with the Russian Defense Ministry earlier this year, accusing top officials of mismanaging the conflict and denying him adequate ammunition.

Arky
August 24, 2023 9:42 am

Prigozhin utilizes a series of front companies to manage his luxury personal property to include three private jets and a yacht. Beratex Group Limited (Beratex), an entity registered in the Seychelles, owns and operates a private jet that until just recently flew under the tail number M-VITO. Beratex originally purchased M-VITO in 2012, and since then, photographs on social media accounts have shown that Prigozhin’s family have used the plane. Between 2017 and 2018, M-VITO conducted numerous flights throughout Africa, the Middle East, and Europe to include Sudan, the Central African Republic, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Armenia, Germany, Spain, and Russia. In addition to M-VITO, Beratex is also the registered owner of St. Vitamin, a yacht the company acquired in 2014. Prigozhin’s family has vacationed on St. Vitamin, as evidenced by photographs posted on social media accounts. Beratex is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661, E.O. 13694, as amended, and E.O. 13848 for materially assisting Prigozhin. M-VITO and St. Vitamin are being identified as property in which Beratex has an interest.

..
-US Treasury dept.

GreyRanga
GreyRanga
August 24, 2023 9:46 am

Compare the pair. Putin, defends his country, hand in the till, citizens better off since he came to power. Albanese the Unbelievable, aka Luigi the Unbelievable. Belongs to the Liars whose well known for Aldi shopping bags ie. brought cheaply, willing to give country away for peanuts and citizens worse of since coming to power. As a leader I know who I prefer.

lotocoti
lotocoti
August 24, 2023 9:49 am

I have thought of that but even if other wounded numbers are triple the amputees the ratios are still off.
You shouldn’t forget the promiscuous use of anti-personal and anti-tank mines.

Crossie
Crossie
August 24, 2023 9:51 am

calli
Aug 24, 2023 9:39 AM
Isn’t it nice that a “developing nation”, with all the free passes that go with that classification, can go to the moon?
Yet here we are, we devilish profligates, looking down the barrel of energy rationing, on account of our “development”.
We are expected to believe this tripe.

Calli we, the developed west, are living in the age of unreason.

Crossie
Crossie
August 24, 2023 9:55 am

GreyRanga
Aug 24, 2023 9:46 AM
Compare the pair. Putin, defends his country, hand in the till, citizens better off since he came to power. Albanese the Unbelievable, aka Luigi the Unbelievable. Belongs to the Liars who’s well known for Aldi shopping bags ie. brought cheaply, willing to give country away for peanuts and citizens worse of since coming to power. As a leader I know who I prefer.

You have a point. This proves that corruption is present in every political system and everything depends on character.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 24, 2023 9:57 am

Analysis

Inflation hits home owners harder than renters, welfare recipients

Australians paying off mortgages have suffered cost increases 40 per cent higher than those incurred by renters over the past two years, the ANU calculates.

Ben Phillips

Cost-of-living pressures are acute for some, but in different ways for different types of household. The Australian Bureau of Statistics consumer price index has climbed 6 per cent a year for each of the past two years.

In the decade before that, it climbed by an average of only 1.8 per cent a year.

So, on the figures, cost-of-living pressures suddenly became acute, but if you had been paying attention to the media for those previous 10 years you would have thought Australia had been in a cost-of-living crisis the entire time.

Some people have been under financial pressure the entire time, but it’s instructive to look at whose living costs have increased the most.

The best guide is a different set of indexes to the consumer price index, also produced by the bureau.

Called selected living cost indexes, they are better because they include mortgage costs, which the consumer price index does not, measuring the cost of home ownership by the cost of purchasing a home instead of the upfront cost of building a new home.

The bureau presents living cost indexes based on the spending patterns of employees, beneficiaries on pension-like payments, beneficiaries on other payments including JobSeeker, age pensioners and self-funded retirees.

But it turns out the main factor that differentiates the new price pressures facing households is whether they have a mortgage, and in particular how recently they bought their first home.

Home owners hit

At the Australian National University, my team has used the Bureau of Statistics’ methodology and data to calculate cost indexes based on the spending patterns of different types of households including those headed by first home buyers and recent buyers who’ve bought in the past three years, all home owners with a mortgage, outright owners and renters.

Home owners with a mortgage turn out to have experienced a cost increase over the past two years of 17.5 per cent – much more than renters, who have had an average increase of “just” 10.8 per cent, and outright owners who’ve had 11.7 per cent.

First home buyers who bought within the past three years faced the biggest living cost increase, 20.5 per cent. Those who bought within the past three years but were “changeover” buyers had an increase of 18.4 per cent.

Younger Australians (under 35) are more likely to rent than have a mortgage. As a result, their costs increased by “only” 13.1 per cent over the past two years, whereas the living costs of older Australians (aged 50-64) increased by 15.1 per cent.

Perhaps for the same reason, the living costs of group households increased by “only” 13.1 per cent, while the living costs of couples with children increased 15.2 per cent.

Those on benefits are best protected

We found little difference in the percentage cost-of-living increase based on income level alone, and little difference based on gender. But the source of income mattered.

Households whose main income was wages suffered cost increases of 14.6 per cent, whereas households whose main income was government benefits had a lesser increase of 12.7 per cent.

Each of these increases was far more than the average increase in incomes of 4.7 per cent, but Australians on benefits received much bigger increases in incomes because their payments were linked to the consumer price index, meaning their incomes increased roughly in line with their costs.

Although in the past two years costs have turned against mortgage holders more than renters and outright owners, this isn’t the case in the longer term.

The first years of COVID-19, 2020 and 2021, were especially good for mortgage holders (and renters), with mortgage rates (and rents) cut to long-term lows after years of little growth.

Over the longer term, the living costs associated with all three types of housing have climbed more or less together, and have climbed by less than household income.

This isn’t to say those households whose living costs have climbed sharply over the past two years (mortgaged households) are suffering. Many have built up significant financial buffers in the years when interest rates were ultra-low, and many have high incomes and substantial wealth.

Nor is it to say that those households whose living costs have increased less sharply (renters) are not suffering.

Lower-income households, single parents and welfare recipients’ households were in the greatest financial stress five years ago, 10 years ago and 20 years ago, and remain in the greatest financial stress today.

Boambee John
Boambee John
August 24, 2023 9:58 am

calli
Aug 24, 2023 9:39 AM
Isn’t it nice that a “developing nation”, with all the free passes that go with that classification, can go to the moon?

Perhaps it is time to cease aid to countries with space and missile programs, nuclear weapons and large, well equipped military forces?

Jorge
Jorge
August 24, 2023 10:00 am

Marrying a gal from Ukraine would on average be a very bad idea

Not sure what to make of your sarcasm. Jockey Craig Williamson has family connections via his wife with the Ukraine and raises medical supplies and donations which he seems to enjoy delivering personally.

Just this morning he was on RSN saying ‘If Russia stops fighting the war stops; if Ukraine stops it disappears.’

For many, that sums it up. Not for others.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 24, 2023 10:01 am

In less than 1 hour – 0800PM ET

Watch: Donald Trump Interview With Tucker Carlson Coming During First Republican Primary Debate

Tucker Carlson
@TuckerCarlson
Here’s what’s happening at 8:55pm ET.

Former President Trump will be releasing a prerecorded interview with former FOX News host Tucker Carlson on Twitter on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m., exactly the same time the first Republican 2024 primary debate is scheduled to begin on FOX News Channel. Trump recorded the interview with Carlson last week at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club.

“MY INTERVIEW WITH TUCKER CARLSON WILL BE AIRED TONIGHT AT 9:00 P.M. ‘SPARKS WILL FLY.’ ENJOY!” Trump posted on Truth Social last night.

You will be able to watch the interview here very shortly after 9:00 p.m. or directly on Tucker Carlson’s Twitter page.

Arky
August 24, 2023 10:02 am

Seb Gorka (around 7 minutes)
..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lTHAgZHkLw

GreyRanga
GreyRanga
August 24, 2023 10:03 am

Another thing Crossie I have no wish to live in Russia, would like to visit. Australia is fantastic only let down by less than mediocre politicians and lazy people feeding off others endeavour.

Roger
Roger
August 24, 2023 10:03 am

Perhaps it is time to cease aid to countries with space and missile programs, nuclear weapons and large, well equipped military forces?

Aid is never about “aid.”

It’s about keeping their regimes well disposed towards us.

Realpolitik.

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
August 24, 2023 10:05 am

Daily Mail.

The sneaky trick that could stop your vote from counting in Anthony Albanese’s Voice referendum

Electoral commission boss admitted ticks will count as Yes
But he said crosses would not count as a No vote
The admission has triggered a storm of controversy

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 24, 2023 10:06 am

OPINION – WSJ MAIN STREET

David Weiss Should Resign

The Delaware U.S. attorney should never have been named special counsel for the Hunter Biden case.

In a better world, there would be no special counsels. Though not as constitutionally pernicious as independent counsels, special counsels come with some of the same conceits—namely the idea they enjoy some magical independence from the president.

But if a special counsel must be inflicted, David Weiss is uniquely unfit for the job.

Mr. Weiss, the Delaware U.S. attorney, has been investigating Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings. While there have been calls for a special prosecutor for years, Attorney General Merrick Garland named Mr. Weiss special counsel only this month, shortly after Mr. Weiss was publicly humiliated in a federal courtroom by the implosion of the plea deal he reached with Hunter Biden. The deal collapsed because prosecutors were unable to defend it when the judge asked some basic questions.

Here’s the dilemma: The plea deal is only the latest favor to Hunter. Arguably bigger was allowing the statute of limitations to lapse on offenses from 2014 and 2015 (think Burisma).

If Mr. Weiss now comes back and charges Hunter with more-serious offenses, the obvious question will be: Why was he willing to go along with a sweetheart plea deal in the first place?

By the Justice Department’s own measures, moreover, Mr. Weiss is a brazen pick.

“The Special Counsel,” the rules state, “shall be selected from outside the United States Government.” An outside prosecutor is needed because the whole grounds for a special counsel is that Justice has a “conflict of interest”—in this case, prosecuting the son of the attorney general’s boss, the president. Mr. Weiss’s own conflict is even more glaring.

“The real problem is the conflict Weiss has in investigating himself,” says David Rivkin, a constitutional lawyer who has served in the Justice Department and White House counsel’s office.

“He must investigate whether there was an earlier effort to obstruct the Hunter investigation, and he cannot do so because he was either involved in this obstructive activity or at least was a material witness to it.”

This includes questions about Weiss deputy Lesley Wolf. Two Internal Revenue Service agents testified how she undercut their investigation, once by tipping off Hunter’s team about a storage locker they planned to search. The New York Times just reported, without irony, that Ms. Wolf enjoyed a “rapport” with Hunter’s top defense lawyer. I’m sure she did.

The attorney general can waive the requirement that the special counsel come from outside the government, as Mr. Garland did here. But the choice of Mr. Weiss undermines rather than restores public confidence. Whenever he’s been asked about powers he had or sought, Mr. Weiss has given carefully parsed statements that raise more questions than they answer.

Count Andrew C. McCarthy among the skeptical. The former assistant U.S. attorney again points to Mr. Weiss’s failure to indict Hunter on charges dating from when Joe Biden was vice president. The appointment, he says, is a “joke”—but makes sense if you think it’s just the latest effort to make any substantive charges go away.

“Weiss has all along compliantly acted as the vehicle by which the Biden Justice Department protects the president, and thus the president’s son, from a credible investigation,” Mr. McCarthy writes in National Review.

In the most charitable interpretation of the obstruction to which the whistleblowers testified, Mr. Weiss was a decent guy who tried to do his job but ran into political interference at every turn.

But if Mr. Weiss believed his Justice Department superiors were making it impossible to do his job, the honorable response wasn’t to stand aside and let them have their way. It was to resign, and explain publicly why he did so. It would still be his most honorable course.

On Friday at Camp David, President Biden was asked for his reaction to the special counsel appointment. Right on cue he said, “I have no comment on any investigation that’s going on.” As many predicted, the special counsel gives Joe Biden cover to refuse to answer any questions.

The Republicans who’ve been calling for a special counsel have themselves to blame. But holding Hunter criminally liable for his actions isn’t the real challenge. It’s bringing political accountability by letting the public know whether the Justice Department was tipping the scales for the president’s son, and by exposing the full extent of Joe Biden’s involvement as vice president with his son’s business partners.

Rep. James Comer, notably, wasn’t among the Republicans calling for a special counsel. Instead, he has used his Oversight Committee to force into the open material the Biden White House would prefer remain buried. A proper use of congressional powers—subpoenas, contempt resolutions, impeachment inquiry—is still the best path to the transparency necessary to restore public trust.

No one should look to Mr. Weiss for a political resolution. But we still might get it from Congress, as frustrating and tedious as the oversight process can be.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
August 24, 2023 10:09 am

Yesterday evening Mrs Faustus decided we needed some double walled glasses.

• At 7:17pm she placed an order with Amazon Prime;
• At 2:09am Amazon confirmed the order was dispatched ex Sydney;
• At 5.25am the order was received at Amazon’s Pinkenba order processing centre;
• At ~8:30am the order was delivered to an address in the Meanjin CBD.

Cost: about 30% less than David Coles including ‘free’ delivery; better still, no farquing around parking and buying other suddenly necessary stuff.

All done without assistance from Dr Chalmers or the increasingly flabby Palacechook.

I realise that Bezos is a terminal weirdo who should be shunned by right-thinking people and Amazon has a “toxic work culture”, but if other parts of the Australian economy were as productive we’d be waving, not drowning.

Boambee John
Boambee John
August 24, 2023 10:11 am

Roger
Aug 24, 2023 10:03 AM
Perhaps it is time to cease aid to countries with space and missile programs, nuclear weapons and large, well equipped military forces?

Aid is never about “aid.”

It’s about keeping their regimes well disposed towards us.

Realpolitik.

I don’t know how much aid we give to China and Idioa, but I doubt if their politicians can be bought as cheaply as ours can.

Black Ball
Black Ball
August 24, 2023 10:11 am

Did anyone catch Zali Steggall’s Yes panel last night at Manly Leagues Club?

And with that I present you “Uncle” Neil Evers, from Daily Telegraph:

An advocate for the Voice has rejected claims from an Aboriginal land council that he’s “not Indigenous” – insisting he’s descended from the famous historical colonial-era figure “King Bungaree”.

Northern beaches resident Neil Evers, 81, also says he’s never called himself an “elder”.

He’s being promoted as a “Guringai elder” panellist at a pro-Voice community forum being held on Wednesday night in Manly alongside Independent MP Zali Steggall and novelist Thomas Keneally, but says that’s not a term he uses.

The Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council – the democratically elected representative body for Aboriginal people covering the northern beaches – has objected to his inclusion – saying he’s not Aboriginal and does not speak for them.

President Nathan Moran said the council members had knocked back Mr Ever’s 2011 application as he did not meet the criteria on the basis of not being able to verify his claim and there was no proof he was a descendant of King Bungaree.

“There is a website of the descendants of Bungaree and they spoken out against Mr Evers and others for claiming to be descendants when they are not, there is no proof or evidence.”

Dear oh dear.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
August 24, 2023 10:13 am

GreyRanga
Aug 24, 2023 10:03 AM

Another thing Crossie I have no wish to live in Russia, would like to visit

Australia is fantastic only let down by less than mediocre politicians and lazy people feeding off others endeavour.

Crossie,

Russia worth visiting – Young & Vibrant – Having done Volga Dreams River Cruise Moscow to St Petersburg

Aiming to do Volga Dreams

Moscow to Astrakhan River Cruise

Your River Cruise on the luxurious MS Volga Dream takes you from Moscow along Russia’s grand Volga River to the legend that is Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) and Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea.

Along the way, you’ll discover the treasures of Yaroslavl, the oldest city on the Volga, medieval Nizhniy Novgorod and beautiful Kazan, the ancient Tatar capital.

We plan our tour carefully to combine the very best of Moscow with a world-class Volga River cruise.

14 days from A$5,595 per person

Crossie
Crossie
August 24, 2023 10:15 am

Just this morning he was on RSN saying ‘If Russia stops fighting the war stops; if Ukraine stops it disappears.’

For many, that sums it up. Not for others.

It’s amazing how some people cannot see the obvious.

Arky
August 24, 2023 10:17 am

Gorka:
“He called up Mattis and said: ‘Turn them all into red mist now’.
(Around 6 minutes long).
..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcKj1s1tfU0

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
August 24, 2023 10:17 am

Breaking: Yevgeny Prigozhin installed as Patriarch of Moscow and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church after Kirill falls out of window.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
August 24, 2023 10:18 am

Arky

Aug 24, 2023 10:02 AM

Seb Gorka (around 7 minutes)
..

Shouldn’t the ellipsis be three dots?

Crossie
Crossie
August 24, 2023 10:21 am

Zulu Kilo Two Alpha
Aug 24, 2023 10:05 AM
Daily Mail.
The sneaky trick that could stop your vote from counting in Anthony Albanese’s Voice referendum
Electoral commission boss admitted ticks will count as Yes
But he said crosses would not count as a No vote
The admission has triggered a storm of controversy

The storm is not big enough yet, this is the first I have seen this. The thing is, who will count the votes? Will it be electorate based? Polling booth based?

JC
JC
August 24, 2023 10:22 am

Whatever happened to the over the hotel terrace trick? Proggsie must have been taking ground floor rooms.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
August 24, 2023 10:23 am

It’s about keeping their regimes well disposed towards us.

I miss upticks.

Roger
Roger
August 24, 2023 10:25 am

I don’t know how much aid we give to China and Idioa, but I doubt if their politicians can be bought as cheaply as ours can.

Boom…Tish!

I think China & India have long since dropped out of our recipients list, but obviously South Pacific nations feature strongly, as does Sri Lanka, chiefly for political reasons.

1 4 5 6 7 8 11
2.2K
0
Oh, you think that, do you? Care to put it on record?x
()
x