Keir Starmer (+ his wife) and several senior members of his Cabinet have received thousands of pounds in gifts, mostly…
Open Thread – Wed 4 Oct 2023
- Open Thread – Weekend 21 Sept 2024
- Open Thread – Thurs 19 Sept 2024
- The Unnecessary War?
- Open Thread – Mon 16 Sept 2024
- No, Your Holiness, killing babies and border control are not the same
Hahaha! They thought they were immune to the greedy, grasping despots. And now you can see the teeth marks on…
I’m not a great one for watching podcasts but I make an exception for Kisin and that one was particularly…
No, I didn’t count them. I weighed 10 and and ended up with an average of 0.6 gram each and…
Harris is well-drilled on an easy, ancient trick- waving her hands in front of her face, tossing her head around…
Wakanda is onboard with Lidea
“Wankerandia” got it all wrong. With dyslexia, it is now “No Idea”.
Let me understand this. You think the 8 Republicans siding with every single Demons in the House to oust McCarthy was a good thing because all roads lead to Moscow, while forgetting that every single Demon who voted against the speaker supports support for Ukraine. This makes sense to you, Dover? It makes sense that 8 Republicans voted with Bug-Eyes and the rest of the squad including Pelosi.
I’ll say it again.
If the No campaign asked me to pick a team to lead the Yes campaign with the sole intent of nobbling it, I wouldn’t change much.
Maybe add a bit more Szubanski and a dash of FitzSimmons.
Perhaps a dash of Carleton, but I fussing over it now.
I’m sure if he asks nicely Stan Grant will tell him what formula he uses.
Their last poll in 2020 for PA was Biden +7.
Is anyone else a member of Defence Health?
Yes and a month ago spent nearly 2 hours on hold before I gave up.
Dunno what’s going on but it’s not very reassuring for a fund “that none others can match” (Not my words, words of a competing fund when I did shop around once).
Yeah I don’t are about Ukraine.
These GOP speakers have been duds.
My dislike of Levin is he talks a big game but his output is super small target stuff. I bought a book of his and I didn’t disagree but it was low energy.
It would be like having Senator Antic on the radio but then he ends up like Sue Boyce, totally useless and tepid.
“We just voted in Potts Point. “Yes” posters festooned the surroundings as far as the eye can see. It was the same when the Teals were favoured by the locals. Only one lonely brave No poster.”
I will vote tomorrow morning, also in the eastern suburbs, before I attend a medical appointment.
I tried to vote last night, thinking that pre-polling was open until 6.00 p.m. but I was informed prepolls closed at 5.30 p.m. I had arrived at St Mathias Church in Paddington at 5.45, after getting off the bus (more on the bus later), I walked across the road, and curiously, even at that late hour, there were still FIVE women milling around, wearing the ubiquitous teal coloured t-shirts emblazoned with ‘Wentworth says YES’ (or ‘Wentworth votes YES’) standing at the Oxford Street entrance to the church. I walked through, they ignored me, and I ignored them (despite a dimwit here accusing me of harassing people, for the record, I don’t harass people however if I am poked, prodded or harassed, I respond). Anyway, I walked into the polling station and the AEC man was packing up and he said polls were shut and that they open at 8.30 a.m. I said okay, thank you for letting me know, but oddly one of the YES women, wearing a teal coloured t-shirt, walked in behind me and waved to the AEC person and said “just letting you know that we’re leaving now”. I thought, how strange, I know party officials and campaigners etc aren’t allowed inside electoral stations wearing party/cause clothing and waving posters etc, question is, is that at all times or just during the hours that the polls are open?
Anyway, before the above, when I was on the bus leaving the CBD, someone I know hopped on the bus. This someone happens to be a very old chum of my mother and stepfather, he’s very well known in political and media circles. He’s in his late seventies. So, he squished down next to me, and we started chatting, firstly about the state of my stepfather’s and mother’s health etc. But then we got onto meatier stuff, and of course we talked about da Voice. He’s a conservative, and will be voting NO. He said to me how he’d voted the day before at St Mathias, and that after voting, he changed and helped out the two NO spruikers at the Church. He said that at the church that morning when he was helping out, at the one entrance, there were SIX YES spruikers, all middle aged and older women. Sitting on the bus he said, ‘you know Cassie, and I hope you won’t be offended by this’, to which I smiled and said “I won’t be offended”, and he then said how he observed closely these Wentworth women at the Wentworth polling booth, all of them middle aged or older, no doubt all of them wealthy or at least comfortable, and as he said, it was akin to being in a presence of a coven of witchy women, who all think the same, who all believe the same, who all speak the same. The really offensive thing is that they are trying to dictate to ordinary Australians, and they’re proud of it, they have zero self awareness. I agreed with him, and I said I find them repulsive, utterly repulsive.
He said he thinks Wentworth will vote YES but the referendum will go down. To which I said, we must pray.
Oh, my wordy, Lordy, yes.
Yes they do.
They see themselves as hairy chested entrepreneurs but they are protected by guilds limiting the supply of positions in the industry and almost their entire income is derived from government directly or mandated by government.
Tax eaters, in other words.
And their confidence in areas outside their specialty is not matched by ability.
Theory regarding the McCarthy/Gaetz situation.
Not mine, but discussed on locals & twitter.
RFK Jr will announce his Independent run over the next week.
He will drag votes away from Trump in states where he needs them.
The faction of the GOP voters that are attracted to RFK Jr are 100% on board with Gaetz blowing up McCarthy.
This may be a big spoiler of RFK Jr’s announcement.
Time will tell.
Or maybe Gaetz just wanted to blow McCarthy up.
This won’t be won or lost in Potts Point.
That was my point earlier.
They are retreating to their strongholds as a coping mechanism.
Any Potts Point Teals out West?
I think not.
There’s some real personal animosity there, that goes beyond the politics, I think.
It’s really long but a good read.
https://twitter.com/OcarinaJones/status/1709714675473015194
“This won’t be won or lost in Potts Point.”
Agree, just like it won’t be won or lost in Paddington/Woollahra. And thank God for that.
Cassie, that’s where I voted on Tuesday morning.
The Yes crew camped out closer to the bus stop.
The No crew further down the street past the church.
The Yes crew all old (boomer or boomer adjacent).
The No crew all very old.
I’m sure the mix will change on Saturday 14th.
Watching ‘brassed off ‘.
Reminds me, somewhat ironically, that it was the left who used to care about workers, and the Tories who closed coal mines.
Topsy turvy world we live in today.
Re the Mashed Potato crisis:
Could it be the type of potato?
I realise there are several, but is there one that mashes well?
Mr Panzer, on medical doctors:
And yet they manage to unnecessarily kill 18,000 people in this country every year.
Attention ‘doctors’:
You are people who have been to uni, and who can follow instructions on the internet.
You are not God Oracles.
I do hope all the flip-floppers and fence-sitters are not making up their minds until polling day.
Re: the Mashed Potato crisis,
I prefer the remake, Mashed Potato Crisis Tokyo 2040.
Better animation and cooler dialogue.
I think it’s more they will be immune or reap benefits from it.
Kenny is fuking insane; about the screech the guy is deadset nuts; it’s as though his brain is normal on every other issue but that section which deals with the screech has festered and rotted.
Fartin always struck me as typical soft handed pudgy meja parasite. Used to have a column in the North Shore Vomit iirc.
From the Spectator.
yeah
show em a plc for an aircon unit
wooden no wot they were lookin at
mongs
potato article
I just switched off Kenny.
He has never overcome his ABC roots.
Correct me, did he not also support the Covid outrage?
If he believes himself to be a kool contrarian, that is a complicated way of spelling D*ick He*ad.
There is no crisis.
Cook them as and when you need them.
Leftovers are no longer mashed potato.
They are input for bubble and squeak.
If the cost of electricity is a problem, sell off some iodine.
Another issue that McCarthy couldn’t address were the concerns that he wouldn’t use the Congressional Leadership fund to bankroll primaries against the MAGA or America First (yes there are differences) candidates.
The 8 GOP that voted with the DNC to oust him had a lot more cheering them on but not voting with them because they were scared.
The new speaker will only get the votes if there are real limitations on that electoral funding.
Which is something Gaetz doesn’t have to worry about as his family are minted so is self funding.
The Nancy Mace vote is something to dig deeper into.
MAGA & Trump went after her in the primaries yet she now votes with them?
I saw this live back in the day. Ray was always a douche bag.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vmvQfRsRHw
People can you stop maligning Ray Martin.
Bolt just mentioned him and an upcoming debate amongst Aboriginals on Ch 7 Sunday.
Will be Jacinta Price, the Labor Senator M from NT, Lydia Thorpe and drum roll Ray Martin.Martin it appears has a great great grand parent who was Aboriginal. I think this makes him 12% like Megan Davis.
I hope Jacinta has no mercy and asks if he will be entitled to reparations from his 88%.
This is why rule No 1 is don’t raise what Aboriginality is. I guess Marcus Stewart was unavailable for the debate.
Should be one to watch as could be interesting.
Expertise in Graft and Corruption for over 50 years and getting away with it.
Cronkite, can you be more specific?
Noel from Noosa.
Lol.
Spoken like a public service retiree with lots of time on their hands & not much idea of how to amuse themselves.
More efficient use of time is to cook in bulk, a week, or month, in advance.
A couple of hours each day prepping & cooking is such a misuse of time that could be far better spent.
test internal server error irritation
duncanm
Oct 5, 2023 7:59 PM
Watching ‘brassed off ‘.
King Coal is still King Coal. We need that export money to pay for all the Welfare here.
Am at a loss. I cant post a comment. No naughty words so unsure what the problem is.
Good solid olde fashioned Anglicans, hooked closely into Moore College.
I doubt they have much time for that Welby chap.
(I might’ve been a congregant once. 😀 )
Dependency Alert.
Lizzie:
I’ve been arguing with iinet since the 24th about my new account with them. It has become fairly obvious that they send the emails I send, back to somewhere in Asia, or perhaps Mars where they sit in someone’s in tray for them to notice them.
I am bombarded with emails asking ridiculous questions, and have been given a number that Telstra reuses to connect to. I’ve tried to be a bit cunning by answering their emails they send me complaining that I don’t talk to them about problems. The problem is that they all return to an unattended mailbox and no one reads them.
Or, I can ring their 1300 number and sit on the phone for half an hour.
I ran into the very same problem with ABC Bullion a month or so ago.
The details are no longer relevant but so many answering service react to a fault, by removing you from the human stream into a “Computer Says No” dialogue. And it gets way out of hand with threats of legal cases and court, credit ratings adjustments etc. All it takes is one human in the algorithm to sort it out – or in the case of ABC – three people to work out what has gone wrong and fix it. The problem with ABC was that I was talking with techies who either couldn’t understand the problem, or were determined I was the problem and talking loudly would fix it.
And this is the cohort our National Service Officers are going to be sourced from?
These 35 year olds have no problem solving capability, but have all the self confidence in the world.
Is anyone else a member of Defence Health?
Yes, but for the first time I am concerned.
Their new interim CEO is publishing ‘used car’ blurbs addressing issues that are irrelevant to her customer base, but are obviously important to her.
70 year old veteran’s wife will be overjoyed that the Fund will support her gender reassignment (OK exaggeration, but the vibe is there).
I’m a fraud member consequent upon my little time as a Nasho, but I have always been happy, becacuse you never had to think about Defence Health. They were always focused upon their members and safe.
I’m wondering, I’m wondering.
I’m surprised Lidia Thorpe was there – what’s her claim to Aboriginal ancestry based on – an Aboriginal great grandmother?
No.
Indigenousness does not confer sainthood, nor a licence to preach.
“Pearson told the Press Club that once the gap had been closed,
The only gap that I can see is between his two ears with nothing in the way. FFS.
I’m very surprised to hear it takes a couple of hours to make mashed potatoes.
Is cooking and freezing mashed potatoes really that economical?
Another forecast strike in the books. Legend!
—-
dutchsinse:
5,841 views Premiered 99 minutes ago
The dutchess makes a rare voice appearance towards the end of this video, unfortunately her debut on the channel is under duress and extreme circumstances which required her to speak.
As for this update, the areas which were warned a few days ago (Nepal, Japan, Taiwan, Philippines) have all been struck by near M6.0 level or greater activity . Japan M6.6, Nepal M6.0 (M5.7), Taiwan M5.7, Philippines M6.4.
Japan also had a minor tsunami watch issued by the Japanese Met agency which was soon canceled. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ne…
This update covers activity expected on each continent except Australia and New Zealand (ran out of time and internet got cut while live!)
Warnings issued in this update cover each region, several new warnings issued. Hopefully each location gets less than expected!
10/05/2023 — Large M6.6 Earthquake in Japan — Nepal M6.0 — Philippines M6.4 = Seismic Unrest
I didn’t have “Mashed Potato wars” either. For those playing at home – Royal Blue with a ricer. If you want to impress someone leave the skin on when boiling. Definitely not a month in advance.
Not the Voice
“The details don’t matter”, said Ray,
As he gave us a wet lettuce spray,
With bluster and rant –
And some overdone cant,
Coz we’re not for their cause –
we’re now “dickheads and ‘saurs”,
But gaslighting works not on us nays.
“Keep going”, I now say to Ray,
The insults won’t make us obey,
Though it’s claimed we’re malformed-
Without treaties as norms,
But no Voice will augment –
What our nation has meant,
Australia is made for us all.
bons
Good to hear your rello has escaped relatively unscathed.
Just a thought.
You mentioned two things.
Firstly, that Workcover are after him, and secondly that you don’t know how it happened (although I thought you said something about welding).
Now, welding accidents are rarely equipment failure and almost invariably operator error.
What he tells Workcover is his business.
But what he admits to himself is something else. If he continues to brush it off as a freak accident, it is destined to repeat.
Just a thought borne out of being close to a few “industrial mishaps”.
Lidia has a fair bit of indigenous heritage on her mother’s side.
Both her maternal grandparents are/were part aboriginal.
As for Ray, a late discovery.
who do you think you are
JC Avatar
JC
Oct 5, 2023 8:15 PM
cohenite
Oct 5, 2023 8:07 PM
Cronkite, can you be more specific?
Kenny is so emotionally invested in the screech he cannot entertain any negative opinion about it. He’s even praised the Trilby wearing POS pearson; he barely criticised thorpie justifing her latest rant because of the usual Nazi BS. He even had some bint called amada rose on who likes thorpie. Amanda’s a looker but has a brain which has been chewed on by rats.
Noel Pearson is intellectually bankrupt.
Crikey, ever mashed a few spuds? It takes ages to mash the skin!
Noel from Noosa.
Yep, we have seen him at Woolies occasionally. Surely he must have a personal shopper!
My lady leaves ugly bruises to my arm when I start voluably pronouncing about Pearson’s Cape York scams.
We need a better word than despicable.
Maybe Albanesable.
Noel Pearson is intellectually bankrupt.
But because of the taxpayer, not financially so.
Rockdoctor
Oct 5, 2023 8:21 PM
Am at a loss. I cant post a comment. No naughty words so unsure what the problem is.
Just type “Jer Cough Cretin” and you will have no problem.
Guillaume Brahimi goes as far as running through a tamis but I regard that as a mere French affectation and can be safely omitted.
Or maybe Gaetz just can’t fellate Trump enough.
A week with frozen meals is doable but mashed potato for a month? Frozen scrambled eggs made a month in advance?
You can get seasonal fresh food cheaply.
Why on earth are you treating your selves to North Korean political prisoner’s food?
God help you.
an upcoming debate amongst Aboriginals on Ch 7 Sunday. Will be Jacinta Price, the Labor Senator M from NT, Lydia Thorpe and drum roll Ray Martin
Disappointing. Where is Geoff Clark these days? As the former supremo of ATSIC he would have a lot of insight to offer.
Hang on! Here’s the ol’ boy : “Geoff Clark outside the Warrnambool court complex. He’s pleaded not guilty to about 370 fraud related charges.” Just to make it a tribal thing: “wife Trudy Clark and son Jeremy Clark” will be joining him in the dock.
More here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11071533/Geoff-Clark-ex-ATSIC-chief-facing-2million-fraud-charges-threatens-senator-Jacinta-Price.html
Put ’em in a dark place
And cover them with shit,
They’re only little mushrooms,
They won’t mind a bit.
In 2023 why should it matter to anyone but him?
He’s not living in a humpy by a creek on the outskirts of town.
That’s to be celebrated.
It will be tinned peas next. Actually got served these when we broke down and got rescued by a Main Roads grader crew. Not too bad at a push. That was a long day.
So many grifting thugs
bons at 8:22.
#metoo.
I’ve been a Defence Health member forever and I have also always regarded it as a good, solid fund. Reasonable premiums for good cover and never a glitch on payouts in the past when required.
Except one.
Last year Mrs P bought daily use contact lenses and, at the time, I thought the rebates were extraordinarily generous.
Sure enough, we eventually get a letter saying they had overpaid, but weren’t looking to recoup. OK, we were beneficiaries, but it was a sign all was not well.
I too am wondering.
Not going to bail, because it is too good.
But I am going to pay a lot more attention.
The crepes with cream, the ceasar salad, & the cocktail onions skewered with a slice of parmesan stuffed olives, they’re a bit tricky.
1. cut a potato into bits
2. put into plastic container with some water and some butter
3. microwave for four minutes
I have no idea why Cats have a fetish about mashing them.
The Cat is full of discerning types whose delicate palates appreciate fine foods.
Hence the discussion on pommes de terre, moulin-ized.
try the Dutch Cream
Tom Petty said it best.
You don’t have to live like a refugee.
Funny as.
Just saw a picture on Soshul Meeja.
Jacinta Price holding up a biscuit shaped like a dinosaur, with bright green icing.
Brilliant.
It’s in the Rats of Tobruk tradition.
Take an insult and adopt it as a badge of honour.
Kenny just had Amada Stoker on who ripped the screech another arse. Kenny is not game to interrupt her.
It might help if you cook them first.
You’re welcome.
Lidia Thorpe’s latest antics must be annoying Albo – I can hear him now –
“ Falcon Maltese “
Amanda Stoker had been doing great work tearing down Chris Kenny’s constant dissembling that there’s nothing risky about the voice; pity she wasn’t so committed to arguing for conservative values when she was in parliament.
It’s tips like this that make the Cat worthwhile.
sovereign, she said
Atoning for past sins, so to speak.
That’s what she said.
Another pot-shot at Johanna?
Nepal
Makes Sinse
Small spuds, yes. Bigger ones require a bit more DEW to soften up.
Wait!
Wut?
Are you saying these things happen, like, regularly?
More Frontline – oh no, hang on, it’s the National Broadcaster (the NT News):
There’s a Dominos at the shopping centre car park in question, which has been subject to the usual all sorts of drinking, terrorising normies and laying grogans all over the bitumen.
That car park has actual parks on two sides, which the drinkers use to pass out in after buying grog from the shopping centre.
The mail – very good mail – is the ABC crews from Ultimo were quite blatant about it, not expecting to have questions asked by people they assumed were yokels. Evidently they wandered into the shop and bought a pile of vouchers, paid for by company card.
They also apparently hired a minibus, and collected about 20 drinkers from parks and local houso joints, luring them in with the vouchers. Naturally, by the time they got there the drinkers were both shitfaced and hungry.
Nice, ABC. Real nice.
At last people in WA can contribute to potato conversations beyond someone trapped behind a 1950s Soviet style iron curtain. Praise be Emperor Barney for delivering us into the sunlit potato uplands.
Not forgetting our hirsute Spudshed freedom fighter.
Robert,
the best mashing potato is Pontiac. No others come close. Dutch Cream is an all-rounder, not too bad, not too good. You won’t find Pontiacs in Supermarkets. A good Green grocer or Farmer’s Market is a safe bet.
I used to make mash and froze it in measured batches when I had my Baker’s Stall. the mash was a major ingredient of my gluten-free quiche pastry. Sold a few dozen quiches every Saturday. Also baked empty shells for customers who wanted to make their own fillings.
The four best potatoes are;
Pontiac for mashing, gratins.
King Edward for roasting.
Spunta, hands down THE BEST CHIPPER.
Salad Rose, waxy spud for salads and soups.
The WA Potato Marketing Board.
Man, that used to cause Infidel Tiger to pop his circuit breakers.
We are. Same issues. They claim it’s a massive systems upgrade but they must be using a single geriatric hamster wheel to power the servers.
We have claims we can’t submit online, we can’t access digital downloads so we can snail mail the claim and we have twice left messages that they promise to call you back and Nada. The Prince is furious…he’s had three 2 hour plus waits for no result.
Next step might be a visit to Head Office. I’d quite enjoy a day in town.
PHRASING.
Thanks, Rosie.
The pontiac one seems best for here.
I think the potato type was the issue.
Early voting…
Spud mashing…
Sky News…
Youse are all a bunch of old f*rts
The Five with Watters, Gutfeld and the Judge is compulsory viewing. These guys are genuine conservatives. They have an aggressive leftie on named jessica tarlov who they regularly rip apart. Tarlov personifies the left: supercilious, insanely and destructively virtuous and implacably hateful of conservatism.
Saw them at a club in London in, I think, the early 90s.
Bit too punk for my taste.
Four Corners is doing a very good Frontline impression. You would have thought they would be on their best behaviour after the Woodside CEO debacle.
watching a Wes Anderson film at the moment
not anywhere near as bizarre as the OT today
If you’re a bit sh1tfaced Dominos is a good option. Particularly if you’ve got a voucher.
We all struggled in our way.
So exotic, so sophisticated, so urbane.
Makes me feel so…. yokel-ish, for the the shops here sell…. potatos.
Might do a little guest post on what purchasing a house is like at the moment.
It could be summed up in one word, but I’ll pad it a bit.
Let’s put it this way, 90% of houses under $300,000 are being brought immediately by investors. No inspections, and unless it’s an absolute pig pit, it has 5 offers before lunchtime.
This is in a large regional town .
Rentals for a town of 30,000 are in the single/ low teens as far as availability goes.
Rental is at least $300 per week.
There was 2 units available for less, that’s it.
I think the obvious answer is to import 600,000 more people while allowing another billion in real estate to be brought by overseas people.
Working well so far.
“calli
Oct 5, 2023 7:20 PM
No Pogs. More a shin kick and shove in the playground.
Later, much later and where required, an hour’s notice.
Good times.”
Calli,
when in High School, did select boys receive a dose of “The Pole?”
I have often wondered since then if any of those poor boys were ever able to father children.
No love for the kipfler?
… while simultaneously restricting the importation of temporary entry skilled workers into the regions.
Workers that would be housed by their employer & go home after a 4-yr stint.
There’s nothing so simple the ALP cannot far kit up.
Here’s the email we got on August 9th. TWO freaking months later and nothing’s happened. A lot of negative online chatter in the usual places…Whirlpool forums, Product Review, Google etc.
Technology transformation update
You’re probably aware that we’ve made the move to the new Defence Health website and membership platform. The system is the first of its kind in Australia and sets us up for the long term to better serve our members.
Unfortunately, the transition caused significant disruption to our operations and a higher number of calls than anticipated. I’m truly sorry for the frustration members have had in trying to contact us, or to access the Member Portal.
We still have some features to add to the new system and when it is fully functional, it will give you greater control over your membership. The updated system also strengthens our protection of your personal information.
I want to assure you there are large and dedicated teams of people working to resolve the remaining technical issues; to answer your calls and emails; and to make outstanding benefit payments on claims. And we’re hiring additional people to improve response times.
I’m sorry if our service level let you down in recent weeks. It was not part of the plan. I sincerely thank you for your patience while we embed the new technology and I’m confident we’ll be back on track very soon.
Kind regards
Joanne Kadlecik
Chief Executive Officer
Incredible. Just incredible. But the wacism!
Get a load of the vid. Unreal
https://twitter.com/i/status/1709728378339705099
No love for the kipfler?
Wasn’t he in the American pie movies?
Bear,
once you’ve tasted Salad Rose, you won’t even remember the name Kipfler. 😀
Another vid
https://twitter.com/i/status/1709737693637140504
Legend has it that their wives are the worst.
Perhaps less focus on bragging about it being the first of its kind DownUnder and better attention to being the best of its kind would be more appropriate and better apprecoated by the punters whose premiums pay for your largish salary, Joanna.
You’re welcome.
Bolt just mentioned him and an upcoming debate amongst Aboriginals on Ch 7 Sunday.
Perhaps the old Q+A fred (that ran on the old catallaxy) could be revived as a one-off this Sunday.
That’s entertainment, for sure.
Guitarist of some sort, I think. Might have made a guest appearance.
Apprecoated: auld Scots word for looked upon suspiciously while wearing a coat.
Make of that what you will.
Mole,
didn’t you fancy Kipfler’s Mum?
Megan this arrived at 5pm tonight:
Dear XXXX,
I understand that the lack of service to our members has made things far from easy. There is no denying it has been difficult and frustrating for many members over the last few months. I want to extend my heartfelt apologies for this challenging period, which I must admit, stands as one of the most trying times in our 70-year history.
As we progressively fix issues in the system, we’re still receiving more calls than normal and call wait times are currently around an hour. Plus, we’re receiving an increase in emails, resulting in a cascading effect of delays beyond our usual response times to your queries.
The backlog of claims is another challenge we are actively addressing by adding more temporary agents to our normal claims team. The claims are in a queue and being processed and paid as quickly as possible. I know you depend on prompt payment of claims, and I am sorry for the significant delays. We anticipate clearing this backlog by the end of October. While we do want to talk to our members, if you call us now to check on your claims progress, unfortunately, you will still encounter extended wait times.
I’ve spoken with many members and heard your feedback. To make it easier for you to log in and make a claim, our team has created some helpful video tutorials which you can access by clicking below:
Register and log in
Make an Express Claim via the Member Portal
Once again, I want to express my sincere apologies for the immense frustration this situation has caused. We are committed to making things right and restoring your trust in the quality of service we provide. Your loyalty and patience mean the world to us as we work to resolve these issues.
Kind regards
Major General Gerard Fogarty, AO (Ret’d)
Acting Chief Executive Officer
Small comfort as we have claims we can’t submit.
I used to make a potato salad for lunch. It was a Christmas standby along with the original MasterChef guy’s freekah salad.
Ahahahahahahaha. Corporate code speak for “we have totally f*cked up a 70 year old, perfectly functional health fund and are drowning under an Uluru sized pile of claims/complaints and dead clients. We have absolutely no clue how we got here or how to fix it but we will call in the Major-Gen (Ret) to make it sound as if we have a fully functioning military style brigade on the march, bringing relief to you long suffering prisoners of our misfiring technology. A bit like the current ADF.”
Hilarious!
Ditto!
That would be Stifler.
I think I’ll try to buy a t-shirt with a dinosaur on it.
There’re houses for $300k? Anywhere?! I live in the second cheapest seats in Ncl and a house a short distance away is on market for 700-750. Only Windale is cheaper than my suburb.
The rental market, it seems , is even crazier than the owner occupier market. We live in an actual continent with pop of only 25 million yet we have the most expensive houses on the planet. Go figure.
‘Please don’t contact us, because we are drowning in a shitfight of our own making. By the way, keep paying up every fortnight.’
“That would be Stifler.”
Groan, and here I was, thinking BB understood the rules of the game. sigh…
😀
“Bar Beach Swimmer
Oct 5, 2023 9:47 PM
I think I’ll try to buy a t-shirt with a dinosaur on it.”
Swimmer,
a dinosaur with a dick on its head. heh
A great description of the leftie mindset (sic) which is destroying the West: Gutfeld: Luxury beliefs:
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/greg-gutfeld-social-justice-murder
Choose any photo, be my guest BBS! My dinos are excellent.
Yesterday did morning walk, the grey butcherbird male at the train station, who I befriended a couple months ago, brought his lady! So I handed him a chunk of mincemeat, then she also accepted a lump as well, for the very first time. They have a nest about a 100m from the train station in one of the gum trees.
Baris seems to agree with Bern. RFK would hurt Trump.
Democrats saying “The Border is Busted” is a cunning way to imply “Karmala Harris is Not Fit For Purpose”
BoN, I particularly like the butcher bird one. But unfortunately I can’t see it giving out the message a-la Ray Martin.
“Sliante.’
Memo to young ladies, in country hotels. If you must wear a mini skirt, wear matching coloured knickers, and don’t bend over to pick up anything less then a fifty dollar bill.
Now, THIS is a magnificently baiting t-shirt.
Just enough detail to reel in the unsuspecting pinko.
I really like The Late Debate on Sky but not with Joe Hildebrand filling in for Caleb Bond who is filling in for Sharri Markson. Hildebrand is just unwatchable, I will get back to that program if they get someone else to fill in.
I find kestrel potatoes the best for mashing, roasting and soups. They are not that great for salads. Kipfler is the other potato that is very tasty when roasted though only available at some greengrocers.
Speaking of fine dining, Mrs P booked a restaurant with a bunch of Michelin Stars in Kyoto.
The place would seat sixteen, maybe twenty, people tops.
There were four staff and four diners.
Fixed menu.
No wine list – “just tell us what you prefer and we will suggest something”.
The food was something else. Mr Michelin Star came out a few times to explain the dishes which was just as well because he had better English than a couple of the floor staff.
I was going to ask him about his mashed potato technique but it slipped my mind.
First they came for Tommy Robinson, and everyone shrugged their shoulders and said, oh well, it’s just Tommy Robinson.
Then they came for Katie Hopkins, and everyone shrugged their shoulders and said, oh well, it’s just Katie Hopkins.
Then they came for many others, men and women with names such as Kellie-Jay Keen, Graham Linehan, Caroline Farrow, Harry Miller, Julie Burchill and so on, yet we continued to think, oh well, they’re provocateurs and trouble makers. Here in Oz, they’ve came for Kirralee Smith, Moira Deeming, Mark Latham, Ross Cameron and many others.
Now, in one fell swoop (they’re getting good at this, forget about serials killers, we now have ‘serial cancellers’), they’ve come for Laurence Fox, Dan Wootton and Calvin Robinson, with the added bonus that Laurence Fox has been arrested. Do we still say, oh well, it’s just Lozza, Dan and Calvin? Or…do we stand up and say enough, you’re not coming for my free speech?
Well, now that you raise it, I did wonder about that.
Signed off …
I am always wary of (Ret’d)’s running around in civvy world using their military title.
If it is meant to impress it is an epic fail with me.
In fact, quite the opposite.
It screams “It’s a cock-up, but shut up, because pips on my shoulder”.
If only Liability Bob were here. He’d tell us which spuds were best.
I apologise Pogria lol.
One of the great lines in the fillum “suck me beautiful.” Still chuckle.
If Major General Gerard Fogarty, AO (Ret’d) has braid on his sleeves my fears will be assuaged.
JC, it makes perfect sense as well as being ironic that a clown attempting to cut a deal with the Dems over Ukraine so soon after the CR debacle would be thrown to the wolves by these same people at the earliest opportunity. Further, it wasn’t 8 Republicans that voted with the Dems, it was the other way around since Gaetz brought forward the motion. Moreover, it’s not all roads leading to Moscow but Kiev and for at least a decade. Lastly, it’s past time that Speakers contemptuous of their electorate was treated with rough justice. It will make the next Speaker more considerate.
As for the Squad, Gaetz simply reminds them and their supporters daily of what could have been re Pelosi but of which they lacked the courage to pursue.
Is Matt Le Tissier on the radar Cassie?
I am strangely comforted that others were also not comforted by Major General Gerard Fogarty, AO (Ret’d)’s “Take a Number” letter.
“Is Matt Le Tissier on the radar Cassie?”
Yes, he’s also been cancelled, as has Morrissey.
If one is using the preferred private-soldier’s spud-peeling technique, provided one’s bayonet is kept sharp, all those varieties should cube equally well.
He’s not.
So he won’t.
Don’t tempt fate.
Lokk at this. Just look at Major General Gerard Fogarty’s LinkedIn:
Is he now?
And now he’s Acting CEO. What?
A Non-Executive Director. An errand boy, then.
Oh my good God. I thought he said he was a soldier.
This has to be taking the piss. It just has to be.
Lokk.
Goodness me.
*Look* at this.
It’s not clear what you want us to do, Cassie.
I shall continue speaking my mind to anyone who will listen. The only alternative I can think of involves piano wire and lampposts; and a certain amount of clandestine organisation. Let me know if you’re up for the last.
Purity is great, Dover. Especially when it means the Demons win the house and senate in 24 because the Republicans appear like circus clowns.
You object to me signing myself “Lance Corporal (Unpaid, unloved, unwashed) Retired?
I give up, infernal error.
America’s biggest airlines ground planes as they launch desperate search for THOUSANDS of jet engine parts sold with fake safety certificates
Cassie, 10.17pm
They keep coming, but they are over-reaching now. It’s all getting beyond hubris into hysterical “arrest everyone” territory. You named the recent arrestees, and more to come, no doubt.
I have spent my entire life in media, and I know an argument is lost when people start smiling behind their hands, then smiling openly, and then making jokes and laughing. My husband made his career on just this as a cartoonist.
I have learned to be patient and wait for the cracks, they always happen, Slowly, then suddenly.
Some one is not happy with the AfD gaining significant public support in Germany.
Gabor, send me the comment.
Not yet Cassie. YouTube still has the Southampton legend up.
Sublime skill
The clown circus is the Republicans doing what they’ve done for decades and expecting their supporters to continue turning out because… Demons.
Why Laurence Fox was arrested.
It’s good to see other shitholes out shithole our shithole.
All the big clubs wanted him but he remained loyal.
The whole potato thing can be summed up this way: Eat what you like.
Russians have five vegetables that make up their diet: Carrots, cabbage, onions, beetroot and potatoes. Why? Because they can all be grown in the insanely short growing season that Russia enjoys and then stored in a sand cellar (literally a cellar filled with sand in which the vegetables are buried to preserve them.)
Borshch (there is no ‘t’ on the end – you’ve been lied to) is a gorgeous soup, full of flavour and goodness if made correctly. Russians never eat it on the first day. They are right. The flavour on day three is indescribable.
Beetroot caviar – cooked beetroot fried with onions and garlic, cooled and then slathered with mayonnaise and coated with chopped walnuts. The literal translation for walnuts from Russian is Greek nuts. I have no idea why.
Vinaigret – a salad of cooked, chopped vegetables – beetroot, carrot, potato, white onion, gherkins and tinned peas. Don’t ask me why but the peas must be tinned. It’s kind of a hangover from Soviet times when frozen peas simply didn’t exist.
Herring under an overcoat – a rather strange concoction which is rollmops covered with cooked potato, carrot, beetroot and mayonnaise. Sounds gastronomically repulsive but it works.
And dill. None of the above dishes is complete without lashings of dill. And the odd bay leaf.
Yeah, and in order to demonstrate the Republican circus, as you call it, they needed every single vote from the Demons. That sounds comic if it wasn’t so tragic,
And the next Speaker will of course be looking over his shoulder for any minority group in his party ready to side with the Demons to bring him down. Fund raising of course will be great for next year’s elections. As you said, brilliant.
The BBC. All the same old bullsh!t about Aborigines nor being counted in the census until 1971, and not having the franchise until 1962.
I am now intrigued by Potatonomics.
Assume I can cook two medium potatoes in, say, half a litre of water in a small saucepan vs cooking a dozen potatoes in three litres of water.
Does it take more energy to
(a) do small batches six times as required or,
(b) cook a big batch, divide it up into six portions and then reheat each small portion in a microwave as required?
Would you save anything overall?
I think we need a dedicated Potatonomics thread.
dover0beach
Oct 5, 2023 10:57 PM
Done.
Who cares if 208 Dems voted for this. If the 210 Reps voted ‘Yes’ would you still be complaining about it? The decision stands or fails on the merits no matter who voted for it.
Good. Keep your fellow Republicans and their constituents happy.
How did the fundraising for McCain and Romney work out?
How Much Energy Storage is Enough?
Speaking of which, it appears Melbourne FC (AFL) and Clayton Oliver have kissed and made up.
I got to thinking.
What if that was all a charade?*
Several other clubs have hinted about high profile players they might trade for Oliver. Now those players aren’t quite as loyal to their clubs, having just been put on a hook and dangled in the water.
…
* I don’t think so. I think Oliver has been a genuine Olympic standard dickhead.
Madness.
Say what you like about the Demz but they know how to organize and win. Even with an old duffer like Joe.
Aha! Planet raper!
Thought we wouldn’t notice that there’s no mention of the food miles for the spuds.
Potatonomics.
I feel a PhD thesis coming on.
I’m thinking food miles for the six trips from the fridge to the microwave would be negligible.
But I’ll put a chapter in the thesis covering it off.
Rosie:
Rosie
It’s more – in my case – about efficiently using the inputs, mainly electricity. I very carefully watch electricity consumption – 2 hours during the day is covered by the solar panels. If you cook every day, it’s much later. Probably about 1800, when the PV panels aren’t producing much.
Time also. 7×30 minutes adds up to 3.5 hours, 2 hours at once a week is better. It takes bugger all to reheat the food via a microwave.
Living aboard a Yot for six months really teaches you about power usage.
“When you take care of the pennies, the pounds look after themselves.” Trite but true.
What’s madness in suggesting the world is not in a spot of trouble, and the last time we saw one nation eyeing off part or parts of another was a precursor to WW2. We have the klepto or his minions threatening nuclear war every 48 hours. This is madness? What’s sanity, then?
It’s pretty incredible to read this.
Ukraine was attacked and invaded, and it’s Ukraine’s fault it happened. That’s like battered wife syndrome.
Salvatore:
For those who don’t like mashing, there’s always ‘Deb’.
Normal potato $4kilo. Deb is $17.14
Hmmm.
Direct solar.
That changes the Potatonomics equation somewhat.
Trouble is, mashed potato is often an accompaniment for cold weather meals, which doesn’t always fit with peak solar.
I’ll put a chapter in the thesis covering this as well.
you forgot the question mark
good luck with the PhD
JC.
Stop interrupting our Potatonomics discussion with Putin trivia.
It’s not that sort of blog.
Knuckle Dragger
Mike Willesee did a similar stunt in Wilcannia in the ?80’s.
Put a thousand dollars on the bar of the mainstreet pub, the filmed the mayhe.
Frank Sinatra was right. Media are whores.
Megan:
HA! I suspect it won’t be quiet.
DrBeauGan
Oct 5, 2023 8:40 PM
Just for a few hours at least can we STOP talking about the REFERENDUM.
Wokdocter:
It sounds suspiciously like the people they didn’t take care of last month are now ringing back wanting to know why they still haven’t dealt with the problems this month.
Salvatore:
Horror!
Bayonet is for the enemy – it should never be used on a spud.
It is incredible. Sanity would have involved a course of action that would not have predictably ended in the current situation. Madness is of course pretending to be shocked that it did.
That’s a change from going troppo, affixing it at 45 degrees to the ground, then charging at it to skewer oneself.
I could see Clayton Oliver moving Sancho. A poor man’s Pendlebury but with the champion leaving, is it a stretch to see Oliver in Magpies outfit?
Crikey. After calling Trump every name under the sun and stating there simply isn’t the money to build a border wall, and over the past few months selling off $300 million (USD) worth of border wall parts, for $2 million…
… Biden is now going to find a way to “ignore the rules” and build a wall.
Is this fair dinkum, or is it April Fool’s Day or something?
Johannes Leak.
Mark Knight.
Peter Brookes.
Matt Margolis.
Steve Kelley.
A.F. Branco.
Michael Ramirez.
Tom Stiglich.
Al Goodwyn.
Chip Bok.