All the news feeds keep calling the turd a “far-right, ex mussie”. He’s a lefty. Christmas Market Attack Suspect Was…
Open Thread – Wed 20 Dec 2023
- No, it is not all of the above, stupid!
- Open Thread – Weekend 21 Dec 2024
- Open Thread – Thurs 19 Dec 2024
- Open Thread – Mon 16 Dec 2024
- All for a few lousy seats
Nick McGowan is his name.
I am pretty sure that my local MP didn’t vote on Deeming coming back. Can anyone confirm?
A long article from Tablet is here. I followed the link to it on Citizen Free Press. The author chronicles…
All the news feeds keep calling the turd a “far-right, ex mussie”. Inescapable are the facts that he came to…
Western Lensman
@WesternLensman
Hunter Biden defied a congressional subpoena.
Here are three minutes of Democrats, Never-Trump Republicans and the media assuring us that defying a congressional subpoena means that you belong in jail and that no one is above the law.
Mole – I though Porter denied having sex with the mad woman as well? Or at least as she had “recounted” the allegations in dredged up in the false recovered memories – e.g. going to the Hard Rock Cafe before it existed, etc.
Bloody hell, I’ve got a better memory of “events” alleged to have taken place in these absurd sex scandals than the alleged participants.
See also: How to sidestep Congressional constraints by handing Pennant One to whichever Navy has ROEs best suited to the task at hand.
Re Bruises I am an elderly woman on warfarin with 110 kg lover. No line bruise sometimes little round bruises that’s all. BL not that big
There’s a certain elegance in Scummo’s legacy being stood up by revelations of Porky’s Pies – in company with those of Albanese, Dreyfus, and the Mean Girls.
Vile bodies.
Didn’t he bequeath us Malcolm Turnbull?
I touched on this last night.
Both Ten and Toad are pursuing a “qualified privilege” defence. Ten is also pursuing a “truth” defence but Toad is not.
So Toad’s defence turns solely on the question of “qualified privilege”, but in relation to what, exactly?
The question of a “he said – she said” rape allegation between two non-entities?
The fact that (gasp!) Parliament House doesn’t have a HR Department?
That there was still some vast political conspiracy which now doesn’t involve Brown, who was originally portrayed as pivotal to the whole conspiracy?
The Australian doesn’t break many actual news stories, but (in spite of the wall-to-wall J-school activists on its staff) has by far the best opinion and analysis in the Australian media.
I finally got around to reading lawyer Janet Albretchsen’s wonderful summary of the Lehrmann defamation trial, which concludes:
Pray for Justice Michael Lee, who faces immense bullying from the social media industrial complex to bring down a ruling that’s anything but just.
Can you see if you can find it as I’d like to read it .
no worries Tom – your continued dedication to the task of morning cartoons is much appreciated.
Sky News once again does half the job of reporting Trump’s disqualification from the Colorado ballot.
The section of the constitution they (leftist judge again, which they failed to mention) used is for people who have engaged in rebellion or insurrection. Trump has done no such thing, has not been charged with any such thing despite memes.
It will have to go to SCOTUS, and quickly.
If this we true it wouldn’t have gone to weed so badly and quickly. Also, it’s pretty clear now that Trump lost control of ME policy in the last couple of years given that his order to leave Syria was largely overruled.
The pictures accompanying Albrechtsen’s story are quite disturbing. And may have some people rethinking their Christmas wardrobe. Lucky Dave wasn’t in Economy.
The horror, the horror.
Gen Z Now Plagued by ‘Menu Anxiety’ (18 Dec)
These are also the people marching for Hamas, since about 60% support them. Got to wonder how long this civilization can survive.
If you don’t do social media that particular storm would be easier to weather than some would have us believe.
Dot needs to man up and wife her.
Quite a catch.
MAFS star Domenica Calarco reveals the one gross thing men still do out in public to try and pick up women: ‘Another day, another random old man’
…
Domenica Calarco has launched a scathing tirade against creepy men who try to pick up women in public.
The Married at First Sight star, 30, recently posted a video to TikTok to share her disgust after an elderly gentleman acted suggestively towards her in public.
‘It’s happened again. I’m in Ashfield, Sydney and an old man has just winked at me. Excuse me sir?’ she began.
Calarco then expressed disbelief that she would still receive unwanted attention from random men despite not dressing up for her trip to the local shopping centre.
‘This is what I’m dressed in, I have oil stains on my shirt. Another day, another random old man with the most obscure mating call.’
I would have been expecting the helicopter or Australian short nosed elephant, but a wink?
Come on filthy old men, you can do better.
You cannot breach your own policy. The US are using sanctions to make Iran dance to its tune. If it releases Iranian money it obviously wants it to continue dancing to its tune in some way.
I can imagine what Justice “Just the facts, ma’am” Lee would make of 30 year old hearsay evidence from beyond the grave, the circular poison pen letter and the stigmata.
I read the news page at the Oz, BBC, Powerline…
Just popped over to the Babylon Bee homepage to get news I can trust.
Wow!
Protestant Sleeps Soundly Knowing He Doesn’t Have To Care What Some Guy In A Funny Hat In Rome Says About Anything
Proud Parent Installs ‘My Kid Didn’t Go To Harvard’ Bumper Sticker On Car
Isaac Warns Jacob And Esau Not To Take Walks With Grandpa
Trump Vows That If Elected He Will Legalize Running Over Bicyclists
Capitol Janitors Deep Clean Senate Chamber With Flamethrowers
Man Who Has Been Attending Same Church For 21 Years Figures Maybe It’s Time To Learn Some People’s Names
Southwest Introduces New C-17 Cargo Plane Capable Of Carrying Your Mom
Biden Mulls Relisting Houthis As A Terror Org, Weighs Offensive Strikes
BY TYLER DURDEN
The White House has confirmed that it is currently reviewing whether to (re)designate Yemen’s Houthis as a terrorist organization, after for the past weeks the militant Islamist group has attacked several commercial ships and launched missile and drone attacks against Israel as retaliation for the Gaza campaign.
Likely this would allow for more offensive actions against Houthi positions by the US military, and without Congressional approval, when US assets or commercial shipping comes under attack. Asked about a possible new designation in an afternoon press conference, national security council spokesman John Kirby said that “we’re actually conducting a review right now on whether that’s the right course forward.” US officials have raised the possibility of offensive military strikes for the first time, via news wires:
POSSIBLE STRIKES ON HOUTHIS IN YEMEN CONSIDERED, PEOPLE SAY
US WEIGHS WHETHER TO ATTACK HOUTHIS BEYOND DEFENSIVE TASK FORCE
PEOPLE FAMILIAR SAY NO DECISION MADE YET ON STRIKING HOUTHIS
But ironically it was the Biden administration that took the Houthis off the terror list in the first place, in 2021.
Below is what Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in February of that year:
Effective February 16, I am revoking the designations of Ansarallah, sometimes referred to as the Houthis, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under the Immigration and Nationality Act and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended.
This decision is a recognition of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen. We have listened to warnings from the United Nations, humanitarian groups, and bipartisan members of Congress, among others, that the designations could have a devastating impact on Yemenis’ access to basic commodities like food and fuel.
Not so far as US sanctions on Iran are concerned.
Also, China is not part of Operation Prosperity Guardian.
If you want to spend the weekend on coke get a job in merchant banking or your own show on commercial television.
Sooorrrreeeee. If I had known she had been on MAFS I would rather have cauterised my eyes with hydrofluoric acid.
Christopher F. Rufo
Claudine Gay’s DEI Empire
Harvard’s embattled president quietly built “diversity” ideology into every facet of campus life.
Harvard president Claudine Gay has been embroiled in controversy for minimizing Hamas terrorism and plagiarizing material in her academic work on race.
Both scandals have discredited her presidency, but neither should come as a surprise. Throughout Gay’s career at Harvard—as professor, dean, and president—racialist ideology has driven her scholarship, administrative priorities, and rise through the institution.
Over the course of her career, Gay quietly built a “diversity” empire that influenced every facet of university life.
Between 2018 and the summer of 2023, as the dean of the largest faculty on campus, Gay oversaw the university’s racially discriminatory admissions program, which the Supreme Court found unconstitutional.
Even after the court issued its ruling earlier this year, Gay said that it was a “hard day” and defended the university’s policies, which were deemed discriminatory against Asian and white applicants.
Gay promised to comply with the letter of the law, while remaining “steadfast” in her commitment to producing “diversity”—a not-so-subtle message that Harvard would find a way, as the University of California has done, to evade the law in practice.
While affirmative action has been a longstanding practice at Harvard, other programs led by Gay were new. Following the death of George Floyd in 2020, Gay commissioned a Task Force on Visual Culture and Signage, which released a series of recommendations the following year for engaging in the “historical reckoning with racial injustice.”
The recommendations included a mandate to change “spaces whose visual culture is dominated by homogenous portraiture of white men.”
In particular, the report maintained, administrators should “refresh” the walls of Annenberg Hall, which “prominently display a series of 23 portraits, none of [which] depict women, and all but three of [which] depict white men.”
Who were these white men and why were they honored in the first place?
The report does not say—their race and sex alone provided sufficient justification for their banishment.
In 2022, Gay implemented an initiative at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for “denaming” any “space, program, or other entity” deemed racist by the faculty and administration.
According to the report, commissioned by then-president Lawrence Bacow, these decisions would be “based on the perception that a namesake’s actions or beliefs were ‘abhorrent’ in the context of current values.”
In other words, Harvard would use the standards of present-day social-justice activism to pass judgment on men who lived hundreds of years prior—at best, an ahistorical and deeply ambiguous method.
As part of this project, Gay sent an email to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences community soliciting “requests for denaming,” promising to address the situation “through the lens of reckoning.”
Since then, the university has grappled with denaming multiple buildings, including Winthrop House, named after John Winthrop, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and his great grandson, also John Winthrop, a Harvard professor and president.
As president, Gay leads a sprawling DEI bureaucracy—officially, the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging—that seeks to influence how students speak, think, and behave in relation to race.
Thanks to the Babylon Bee for today’s laugh out loud (h/t Chris at 11.23am):
Marty’s total war begins.
Yes, I’m not sure which way she’ll head yet. I think diplomacy also holds some attraction for her. My younger daughter (lawyer) wants her to do law at ANU, but there is significant resistance to that … Mind you, granddaughter is also a stunner, with looks, figure and nature all in her favour, so who knows what might happen at uni?
They don’t need to be, Iran is their bestie.
Absolutely clear the Houthis are under orders.
Order #1 will be “don’t touch anything Chinese.”
He’s a retail politician.
Bruce, wonderful to have such a lovely and exciting report on your Granddaughter.
China has had PLA Navy vessels on anti-piracy patrol for many years out of a base in Djibouti. They almost exclusively operate to safeguard Chinese registered shipping. Reportedly, Somali pirates know not to try to harass Chinese vessels.
There doesn’t seem to be any recent change of doctrine:
Aside from that, China is puffing Iran’s sails and taking the piss out of the Biden Administration’s wobbly support for Israel.
China’s main shipping companies have suspended activity in the Res Sea.
Why shouldn’t China take responsibility to protect its maritime industry?
US shouldn’t protect Chinese shipping in the Red Sea
The Lieborals save their best stuff for Chatham House in London. Green leather – not so much.
For the win.
“Judging from the current high inventory level and weak consumption in Europe, [the disruption in Red Sea] will not cause another exponential growth in demand for China-Europe freight trains, like the one in 2021.”
Almost without doubt.
Justice Lee’s commentary in judgement will provide ample fodder I suspect, particularly for Brown, and probably for the actions already underway by Reynolds.
Bruce, congratulations to your grand daughter.
Sydney Moaning Herald – Read the Comments to get an insight to Their Readers
Trump disqualified to run for US president in Colorado, state’s Supreme Court rules
Rabz
Not gonna read that on Media Watch.
Dover
The word you need is “ignored”, not överruled”. Failure to obey a lawful order by one person is insubordination, by a group it constitutes mutiny.
This was far more serious than the so-called “insurrection” of 6 January, in which Trump did not participate. That leftards are relaxed about such things shows how out of touch with legal reality they are.
No time limit for US Federal sex offences.
All women of excellent taste, Ranga.
That Andrew Tate is now just another Jake Shields, Stew Peters, Jonathan Hinkle monetising antisemitism.
Since the money is being used to speed up the Iranian acquisition of nuclear weapons, it seems that the Biden regime wants nuclear proliferation. Why would this be so?
EDITORIAL
Sydney gridlocked but fat cat pay rises keep moving
Transport for NSW’s annual report shows 4876 staff were on salaries of more than $150,000 at the end of June, a 71 per cent increase on the 2856 employees on those pay levels in the 2020-21 financial year.
A new enterprise agreement reached at the start of this year has also resulted in more people entering higher salary brackets.
Transport for NSW had 16 executives on an average pay package of $504,757 this year, 118 on $362,689 and 746 on $257,516.
The number of staff on salaries between $125,001 and $150,000 rose to 3116 at the end of June this year, from 1881 in 2020-21.
The agency has a workforce of almost 15,600.
Sydney Metro’s annual report shows chief executive Peter Regan and two other executives were each paid an average of $603,048 this year.
The disclosure comes as head of projects Tim Parker resigned last week to take up another role within government.
Parker, who will depart Sydney Metro next month, has been in the job since 2018.
Some 59 staff at the agency, which is charged with delivering three new rail lines in Sydney, had an average pay package of $357,820 at the end of June, while 228 people averaged $254,049.
Remember when everyone that was anyone said hamas didn’t operate out of hospitals?
War crimes is all they do, there isn’t any place in Gaza, other that hopefully Christian churches, that isn’t part of the terror infrastructure in Gaza.
Yet people expect Israel to leave intact.
another senior hamas member, this time a hospital director, spills his guts for a cup of cof
GreyRanga
Dec 20, 2023 11:51 AM
No time limit for US Federal sex offences.
Thanks, didnt know that.
The most frightening part of all this is that, when Republicans resume power, they will all be saying “let’s just let bygones be bygones. Democrats are actually good people and want the same things as we do.”
Oh dear.
Rog – isn’t the correct description “the father of modern Australia”?
Min @ 11.05, elderly with a 110kg lover? You’re just showing off Min. Ha!
1. Someone should give granddaughter a copy of Paul Johnson’s History of the Modern World for Christmas – broaden her horizons before University crushes them.
2. Texas should consider taking Biden off the ballot for treason ( open borders).
ATAR stopping at 99.5 seems ridiculous. That’s more than half a million students.
Brittany represented by Zwier at Arnold Bloch Leibler. I’m sure it just a coincidence.
One of the suspended Dr’s (for prescribing Ivermectin) made an interesting Tweet about Covid case payments.
Says hospitals received $13,000 for every Covid death. Plus ICU’s received $38,000 if had a Covid patient.
Had seen somewhere families got $8,000 towards funeral.
They are nothing like the financial benefits hospitals received in USA.
However what would be the normal cost of running an ICU bed for a week? Is it better to have an empty bed or a Covid patient earning the hospital $38,000?
Would such payments incentivise people to record as a Covid death rather than real cause such as cancer etc. Were there any such financial benefits in aged care facilities?
If an 85 year old patient with multiple comorbidities dies then some staff might think no harm in ticking the Covid box to get the family some assistance.
Anybody have any knowledge in this area?
Thanks (sic) Dot.
No knowing what those acronyms meant I did a search.
BIPOC no issues.
BBW – well, suffice to say I now have to erase my browsing history in case the grandkids stumble into it.
You would have thought a single Phalanx system would be the off-the-shelf system for drones of any size.
You’d have to rejig the targeting, and possibly change the radar system.. but the gun’s certainly capable of knocking out a whole fleet of drones.
The $38,000 was for a week in ICU. I guess pro rata.
How’s that relevant to your claim the US economic decline?
.. and just in case you haven’t seen a Phalanx …
https://youtu.be/Zsf38NYzo5Q?t=82
Or the land-based equivalent.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMFzlwzFgKw
Probably not, ma’am.
He may have been trying to keep his eyes shut.
I know I speak in riddles but there’s no need to reciprocate.
BBW – well, suffice to say I now have to erase my browsing history in case the grandkids stumble into it.
Whatever you do, do not type “BBC Pigeon” into a search engine.
It is, of course, “BBC Pidgin“.
Wtf are Brown’s answers being muted?
Update. Transmission case.
Our community group lost the case against the minister.
He ruled we had a right to challenge but otherwise dismissed all our key points and backed the minister to the hilt.
I’ll give a wash up later.
Clearly not cut out as a reporter on the once ALPBC news and current affairs flagship Four Corners.
Vivek Ramaswamy
@VivekGRamaswamy
This is what an *actual* attack on democracy looks like: in an un-American, unconstitutional, and *unprecedented* decision, a cabal of Democrat judges are barring Trump from the ballot in Colorado.
Having tried every trick in the book to eliminate President Trump from running in this election, the bipartisan Establishment is now deploying a new tactic to bar him from ever holding office again: the 14th Amendment.
I pledge to *withdraw* from the Colorado GOP primary unless Trump is also allowed to be on the state’s ballot, and I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley to do the same immediately – or else they are tacitly endorsing this illegal maneuver which will have disastrous consequences for our country.
Today’s decision is the latest election interference tactic to silence political opponents and swing the election for whatever puppet the Democrats put up this time by depriving Americans of the right to vote for their candidate of choice.
The 14th Amendment was part of the “Reconstruction Amendments” that were ratified following the Civil War.
It was passed to prohibit former Confederate military and political leaders from holding high federal or state office.
These men had clearly taken part in a rebellion against the United States: the Civil War.
That makes it all the more absurd that a left-wing group in Colorado is asking a federal court to disqualify the 45th President on the same grounds, equating his speech to rebellion against the United States.
And there’s another legal problem: Trump is not a former “officer of the United States,” as that term is used in the Constitution, meaning Section 3 does not apply.
As the Supreme Court explained in Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (2010), an “officer of the United States” is someone appointed by the President to aid him in his duties under Article II, Section 2.
The term does not apply to elected officials, and certainly not to the President himself.
The Framers of the 14th Amendment would be appalled to see this narrow provision—intended to bar former U.S. officials who switched to the Confederacy from seeking public office—being weaponized by a sitting President and his political allies to prevent a former President from seeking reelection.
Our country is becoming unrecognizable to our Founding Fathers.
The Colorado Supreme Court decision is going to have to end up in SCOTUS. What a shitshow.
OMG. No, no, no.
In a target rich environment, DFAT rates as among the top three agencies filled with arrogant, over-educated and under-common sensed dickheads and dickheadesses in the APS. When I worked across the road, I often lunched at their cafeteria. Their young ‘high fliers’ invariably talked on their phones while ordering, waved away requests to not hold everyone behind them up, and avoided eye contact with menials. Jerks/jerkesses all.
Also, having a friend who was a DFAT brat of an earlier era, many years ago I stayed with his family in a plum posting (San Francisco) which was given to him at the end of a long career in places like Uganda, The Gambia, and Djakarta when the water was undrinkable and families lived under the trees outside the Residence.
Give her Le Carre’s A Small Town In Germany for a picture of the stifling atmosphere in even a civilised country, where you are all stuck with each other for years. And the endless round of receptions, cocktail parties, and, worst of all, National Days, with the same people in attendance.
They almost never do anything of substance. No place for a bright girl like her.
I suspect that as the extent of her $2.4m truthiness is exposed, on legal matters, la ‘Iiggins will become as difficult to communicate with as Voyager 1.
Our Brinny: the Land Rover of political asylum.
Colorado’s Supreme Court has removed Trump from the state’s ballot
By Andrea Widburg
Proving that they are a collection of brainless, malevolent, leftist hacks who fake the law and seemingly want to foment a civil war, a majority of (Democrat) judges on the Colorado Supreme Court have accepted the left’s spurious 14th Amendment argument and kicked Donald Trump off the Colorado ballot for 2024.
As of now, Colorado voters cannot vote for Donald Trump in either the primaries or the November presidential election. It is to be hoped that the United States Supreme Court will address this matter immediately.
The Trump campaign is definitely appealing the decision:
All woke language and terminology banned in Argentina’s military.
My comment about how lousy a career choice DFAT is, is in moderation.
FFS.
and backed the minister to the hilt
Bugger.
It will be because the minister has a bit of legislation in his back pocket saying he can do what he wants.
Scumbags.
jabaliya terror camp is done, 1000 terrorists dead, 500 arrested including 70 7 October participants.
They’ve already identified their targets. No need to infer.
Er…yes, quite so.
Leftist logic: Aviva CEO to use misandry and anti-white bigotry to counter perceived misogyny and ‘racism’
Last week Amanda Blanc, CEO for Aviva (a multinational blue-chip empire for insurance, wealth, and retirement businesses), spoke before a committee composed of the UK’s Members of Parliament, and “confidently declared” the company’s policy to use misandry and anti-white bigotry to “stamp out sexism” and inequality.
Aviva’s boss Amanda Blanc said the policy forms part of the company’s efforts to stamp out sexism in the financial services industry.
Speaking at the Sexism in the City inquiry, Blanc, who became the blue-chip company’s first female chief executive in 2020, told a parliamentary committee that there was ‘no non-diverse hire at Aviva without it being signed off by me and the chief people officer’.
‘The scope of the charter is to get more women into senior management roles,’ Blanc explained the reasoning for the measure.
‘My belief is if you have more women in senior management roles, this behavior will go away.’
As noted by Haviland, such “solutions” are so asinine—they’re about as “original as kneeling” for a criminal drug addict who died during an arrest from a fentanyl overdose—we derogatorily refer to such examples as “leftist logic.”
Only a leftist would use sexism in the professional world… to allegedly undermine sexism in the professional world; only a leftist would use misandry to purportedly combat perceived misogyny; only a leftist would discriminate against a person’s skin color as they claim to eliminate “racism” and bigotry; only a leftist would pretend regressive policies are the best means to achieve progress; only a leftist would intentionally disqualify the demographic most responsible for creating a world in which companies like Aviva can even operate
Step Forward That Blinding Success Story of ‘The scope of the charter is to get more women into senior management roles,’ – Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin resigns ‘in the best interest of Optus’ following nationwide outage
Roberts will be in an interesting position. He fled abjectly from anything to do with the steal. He hates Trump. Does he start a civil war or does he instead start a civil war. His room for manoeuvre is very tight.
But yes you’d expect the arbiter of the 14th Amendment should be Scotus not a bunch of Dem dingbats in Boulder.
isn’t the correct description “the father of modern Australia”?
Well he did f**k quite a few things.
I have had a few conversations with friends who have children finishing school. Lawyers (mostly partners now) significantly overrepresented. No real consensus emerging and I don’t know what I would do with my time again either. Not much help there.
People will not comprehend what is happening till it’s too late.
Keep up the good work, Gez and Co.
Drones, jammers in Ukraine signal new era of warfare, Del Toro says
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now nearing the end of its second year, has ushered in a “new era of war” in which drones and electronic warfare are having outsize impacts, the secretary of the U.S. Navy said.
Both Russian and Ukrainian militaries are employing unmanned aerial systems to scout, target and attack while simultaneously using jammers and spoofers to defend the skies above or the trenches they’ve dug.
The cat-and-mouse game is deadly, with each side trying to outthink and outbuild the other.
“The world around us is changing at a rapid pace, with an air of uncertainty as to what the future holds,” Carlos Del Toro said Dec. 12 at the Association of Old Crows conference in Maryland. “For the U.S. and our NATO allies, the conflict in Ukraine reinforces the emphasis that we place on developing and maintaining a ready, interoperable combat power that is capable of fighting in contested environments, including the electromagnetic spectrum.”
The U.S. Department of Defense is pouring billions of dollars into the development of drones, EW and a mix of the two.
The Navy this year tested Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Off-Board Electronic Warfare pod, meant to be mounted aboard helicopters to detect and deceive anti-ship missiles, and separatetly linked what one commander described as “unmanned and unmanned” at the Integrated Battle Problem exercise in the waters off California.
“We recognize that spectrum operations, in particular electronic warfare, with any potential or actual adversary, is a constant series of moves and countermoves to develop strategic, operational and tactical advantages in the battlespace,” Del Toro said.
The Navy’s established EW efforts include the Growler aircraft, made by Boeing, and the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program, or SEWIP, featuring contractors General Dynamics, Lockheed and Northrop Grumman.
Washington has committed both drones and EW equipment to Kyiv. While the Defense Department often discloses the makes and models of the former as they are shipped over seas, it does not publicly discuss the latter.
Thanks for your efforts in posting updates, rosie.
Sadly I think no or very few hostages remain alive.
They probably already have them so the reason/s likely lie elsewhere.
Quite good, but my all time fave was Schiaparelli Sapristi, now deleted. So, I settled for Hermes Caleche.
I used to wear it to work every day, just a light squirt on the wrists and around the neck. Nobody ever mentioned it, but I have no doubt that it helped to make a favourable impression. Nowadays, if I’m feeling a bit blue, an application instantly cheers me up.
OTOH, lashings of cheap and/or celebrity endorsed scent is a real turn-off.
Especially in confined spaces.
Caleche is in a category called ‘floral aldehyde’ as was Sapristi. It floats my boat.
Oh, and being an old lady, I have a spray bottle of 4711 as well. 🙂 Very refreshing in hot weather.
How drone warfare has transformed the battle between Ukraine and Russia
With Congress deadlocked on whether to approve tens of billions of dollars in additional aid for Ukraine, that nation’s domestic arms industry is becoming increasingly important.
Perhaps the most vital weapons system it’s producing is an army of drones.
Nick Schifrin and videographer Eric O’Connor visited the frontline in southern Ukraine to understand how drones have transformed the war.
Read the Full Transcript
I suspect Howard was more of a stink mag (borrowed of course) and plastic cup guy. You might be thinking of Hawke.
Because the more the US economy declines internationally the less important are US sanctions.
One thing I dont understand about drones.
Surely counter battery fire (or drones) based on electronic signals would be aimed at the operators?
I understand some end up “fire and forget” at the end, but surely a constant (if weak) radio signal would be an easy target?
Also what I have noticed, and it seems self defeating, is drones used to finish off wounded soldiers. This seems dumb, every wounded soldier is a drain on your enemies resources.
Russia’s Powerful Invisible Defenses Around Sevastopol Rendered Visible
Electromagnetic Warfare is a powerful weapon in the war in Ukraine.
Yet it is elusive; we know it is happening but it is invisible, even mysterious.
A new analysis of open source data gives a rare window into this world, unmasking Russia’s hidden hand.
The Russo-Ukrainian War has catapulted Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) to prominence.
It is a major cause of Ukrainian drone losses, making them to lose control or miss their target. Yet it is hard to grasp, in part because it is invisible, a silent unseen hand knocking drones out of the sky.
This analysis unhides some of this mysterious invisible defense around Sevastopol.
It leverages two effects; firstly the navigation errors in the reported position of civilian vessels in Sevastopol. And secondly, the effect on radar satellite imagery. Open source intelligence analyst Damien Symons has noted these effects in the past month. Both indicate that there is a powerful jammer located in Sevastopol.
Sevastopol has several layers of defense aimed at stopping Ukrainian missiles and drone attacks on the important city.
Sea drones have broken into the harbor on several occasions and aerial drones have targeted it since last year.
On September 13th Ukraine launched Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles against the dry docks there. This effectively wrote off a landing ship and Kilo class submarine. This was followed up with more strikes including one on September 22nd which destroyed much of the Naval headquarters.
These missiles had to fly through the infamous S-400 missile umbrella as well as local air defenses.
They also had to operate despite Russia’s powerful electromagnetic defenses.
The drones in particular are, generally speaking, susceptible to GPS jamming.
GPS Jamming Unmasked By Ship Positions
Since early November a number of ships and boats, which are in Sevastopol harbor, have been transmitting their location as Sevastopol International Airport.
This is about 8 km (5 miles) north of their true location.
The vessels are transmitting their position via AIS (automated identification system).It is possible for vessels to report their position incorrectly on purpose, or due to a myriad of technical issues.
But this is systematic suggesting something else is at play.
So many vessels misreporting their location, and the false positions having such a concentration, points towards GPS interference.
Jamming global positioning system signals, such as the American GPS, Russian GLONASS, or European Galileo (all referred to here generically as ‘GPS’), can affect AIS.
The AIS transmission includes the coordinates of the vessel which in many cases this is fed directly from the GPS system.
Without further analysis it is unclear whether the jamming is affecting all types of GPS or just one.
It is interesting that the vessels’ false positions are clustered around the international airport. This may indicate that the source of the jamming is there.
Russia is known to use GPS jamming to protect key sites.
It has been used to protect President Putin’s stays at the luxurious Residence at Cape Idokopas, popularly known as “Putin’s Palace”.
Since Ukrainian drones began striking Moscow GPS jamming was deployed there too.
And ships were outfitted with powerful EW suites to protect the Navy Day Parade in St. Petersburg.
Jamming Of Radar Satellites
Jamming is also visible with the European Space Agency’s Sentinel 1 SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellite.
There was interference in imagery taken at 6:49am local time on November 23rd. It was even more marked at 6:36pm the next day, effectively obstructing the whole city.
It is not possible to make out the ships in the harbor in the way it norm
“Reynolds seeks freezing order as Higgins leaves for new life in France”
Good. Bonnie and Clyde are trying to run.
I watched the video earlier. What military operations were being conducted there?
I use Old Spice
Being there.
Buccaneer at 10:56.
That accusation rings truest of all. That the political machine wanted a formal complaint made to take the heat out of it.
The idea that experienced politicians would insert themselves into this shit-show to protect a junior nobody like Lehrmann is ludicrous.
Of course, the Perject wanted to portray Lehrmann as a cigar-smoking, inner sanctum “senior Liberal” who was being protected by the party.
Brown did precisely the right thing. Encouraging a complaint, but neither forcing it or suppressing it.
She is perhaps the only one who comes out of this debacle with any honour at all.
And I include Lehrrman in that.
COLORADO BARS TRUMP FROM THE BALLOT
In a shocking decision, the Colorado Supreme Court held today, in a Per Curiam opinion, with three justices dissenting, that Donald Trump is an “insurrectionist” who is barred by Section 3 of the 14th Amendment from running for the presidency.
So, absent some action by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is extremely unlikely, Trump will not be on the Republican primary ballot or, if it comes to that, the general election ballot in Colorado.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment precluded those who were federal officials before the Civil War, and then served in the Confederacy or its army, from again holding federal office after 1865.
I have written that the theory that this provision somehow applies to Donald Trump is idiotic and ahistorical.
The January 6 protest, which certainly did get out of hand, was not an “insurrection”–insurrectionists would have remembered to bring at least one firearm–and Trump urged those who were present in Washington that day to go forward and protest peaceably and legally.
Not exactly Fort Sumter.
But the Colorado Supreme Court has struck its blow for the Democratic Party:
These findings started with the district court judge. I haven’t researched his or her provenance, but that will no doubt emerge soon. He or she made the critical findings which the Colorado Supreme Court now holds to be properly with that court’s discretion.
In my opinion, they were obviously wrong.
So, where do we go from here? We are in uncharted waters. Never before have we confronted a situation when one political party, that controls a particular state or its highest court, has tried to prevent a candidate of the opposing party from running for president.
One cannot overstate what a watershed moment this is.
The Democratic Party has staked a claim to permanent control of our federal government, regardless of the will of the American people.
This has never happened before in our nation’s history.
Sadly, I think today’s Colorado Supreme Court decision increases the likelihood of violence in connection with the 2024 presidential election.
We are rapidly descending to the status of a third world country, and partisan decisions like this one will accelerate that descent.
Liberals hate democracy, and this is their latest assault on it.
How Americans will respond to this attack on democracy remains to be seen.
I’m disappointed & empathize.
Where would you be without Brut 33
Another advert that would not be made now …
BH can still spend the money.
She just can’t funnel it into a new entity, family trust or super.
The US Supreme Court can choose not to take the case. I am predicting that they will not take it, seven of the nine justices want him gone including the ones he nominated. The only justices who would be fair to Trump are Thomas and Alito.
The Emperor of Scent: a True Story of Perfume and Obsession by Chandler Burr is one of the best reads of 2022-23, for me. As a result we have gobbled up books about perfume by Luca Turin, and various perfumes have been acquired for gilding the lily who is the centre of my noushold.
For Christmas, don’t tell her, but she is getting a Tom Ford eu de parfum… actually I said ‘Come on an adventure with me’ so we piled into the boringmobile and took off to a fashionable shopping centre, where I had found an off-the-wall perfumery staffed by two lovely Farsi speakers with riveting cleavage… and she chose it herself. The ‘adventure’ was however not as novel as I hoped; they greeted her as an old friend!
A bit like the early accusations against Pell.
Out of the country when an offence allegedly took place.
Took his holidays in a different town to the one where some moron alleged he had seen Pell around and “caught him flashing boys”.
The alleged abuse in the picture theatre watching a movie which had never played at that theatre.
But they learned from their mistakes.
“Chocolate Drop Eyes” statement was carefully crafted with specific actions but vague dates to avoid anachronistic problems.
Similar to Britnah.
Totally wasted and fuzzy, except for “crystal clear memories” which explicitly put BL in the frame.
Reported In the Paywallian, Sleazy flags Australia warship won’t join new Red Sea task force , says US is happy for Australia to provide diplomatic support to help combat Houthi attacks on ships.
Houthi terrorists would be shaking in their sandals.
“First thing we’ll do, let’s kill all the lawyers”
Marlowe, one of the Henrys I think
Without disparaging any individual’s achievement or aspirations, why on earth do we need all these lawyers? Surely it’s a self-serving dependancy if laws and regulation are so complex and dangerous to handle that they require a class of people to interpret them for us mere Morlocks, but that same initiated class works to make the writs ever more compelling and contorted.
As its turned out our small circle of school friends (I’m naturally antisocial) happen to have a dozen daughters to just the one son. I amuse myself putting tiny wedges into conversation about when, and where, the daughters plan to have families of their own, but parents and kids alike are primed to insist that they are brilliant students destined for positions of power. The lone boy has just been medicated to the hilt of his body mass to keep him docile in school and ensure that he can go to uni- why? The kid is obviously a doer, he’s interested in stuff, not people, and we can see clear as day that he’s only “his old self” after a soccer match or a session snorkelling.
I can see a stratification in our future, where a very small number of toughened men have learned the lesson that they need to be squeaky clean and good at making stuff which people want, but are ruled over by a class of wimmin who have been taught all of their life that 1) man must be harnessed and 2) it’s their turn and their prerogative to hold the reins.
Or gift it to another party.
BlackoutBowen was meant to have a policy out before year’s end on mandating fuel efficiency in petrol cars.
With EVs only taking up ~7% of the market, despite gubbermint subsidies, I think they will be quite drastic. Perhaps the sort of thing they’d like to drop over the quiet period?
Labor hate the poor.
Of course Andrew Tate is an antisemite, it’s a natural part of his Islamic faith. However, I’m not sure which came first, him being an antisemite or the conversion to islam.
More Women Are Watching Porn Than Ever Before
In some countries, their usage is rapidly outpacing men’s.
More women are watching porn than ever before, according to a recent report from Pornhub Insights.
Since 2015, the percentage of female viewers of Pornhub worldwide has increased 12 percent, rising from 24 percent to 36 percent in eight years.
Depending on the country, women make up between 25 percent and 60 percent of Pornhub viewers.
While the Philippines was the only country that saw a majority of female porn viewers, in Colombia, they made up exactly half of Pornhub visitors, and Argentina, Mexico, China, and Ukraine saw 47, 45, 41, and 40 percent, respectively.
In the United States, women made up 29 percent of viewers.
This increase is not just an anomaly; the percentage of women viewing porn has been consistently trending upward since Pornhub Insights began releasing its report.
“Since Google Analytics began tracking demographics data in 2015, we have seen our proportion of female visitors steadily increase over time,” reported the site. “Overall, there was a proportional growth of +1% female viewers in the year 2023, bringing the total proportion of female visitors worldwide to 36%.”
Women viewed a number of LGBTQ categories at much higher percentages than men, with lesbian content being their “favorite,” according to Pornhub Insights.
Media Pushes Porn for Women
In 2010, only 2 percent of women aged 18–39 surveyed by the Pew Research Center admitted to watching porn.
By 2013, this number had already increased to 8 percent.
This cultural shift has been pushed by the mainstream media and Hollywood, with sites like Glamour posting such stories like “Porn for Women: 21 Feminist Porn Sites You’ll Really, Really Enjoy.”
In promoting this content, the media ignores the reality that pornography is a dire problem for both men and women, and it’s only getting worse.
According to Psychology Today, the porn industry is thriving. “[In] April 2020, the world’s top 100 [porn] sites garnered 14.5 billion views from 3.3 billion unique visitors,” the site reports.
But as the industry booms, relationships suffer.
Even if a woman herself doesn’t view pornography, there’s a high probability that a woman will have to deal with the consequences of pornography in her relationship.
Errr … Dover, any chance of taking my comment about how DFAT is a bad career choice out of moderation?
I think that it might be helpful to this girl’s father.
Leningrad’s Winter of 1941–1942 and Its Unfathomable Horrors
Some Leningraders, instead of dying of starvation and cold in the city, died of beatings and forced labor in the Gulag.
The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad
By Harrison Salisbury
(? Da Capo Press, 672 pages, $23)
Eighty-two years ago, the Russian city of St. Petersburg — then called Leningrad after the founder of the Soviet Union — was under siege by German armies that had failed to seize and occupy the city (as Adolf Hitler ordered), and instead imposed a land, sea, and air blockade in the midst of one of the coldest winters in the city’s history.
The World War II siege of Leningrad lasted a total of 900 days, but the worst of it for Leningrad’s residents was in December 1941 through April 1942. Hundreds of thousands of people — perhaps more than a million — froze to death, died of starvation, or were killed by German bombs and artillery.
Some — the actual number is unknown — were victims of cannibalism.
That harrowing, horrifying story was most memorably told by Harrison Salisbury in The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad (1969).
The poor will simply hold on to their vehicles for longer as a new vehicle will be even more out of their reach.
This happens now in Oz where lots & lots of (mostly female) managers with zero practical skillz employed to dumb down and slow the work of (mostly male) geeks.
So lots of meetings and “design” sessions with tools like Canva enabling everyones feelz to be inclusively captured. Then geeks go back to work in the remaining time and build whats needed, ignoring the nice pics.
Note the Geeks will say almost nothing in meetings, just smile and nod because its career death to cross one of the non-geek lady managers. This farce of wasted time & effort not seen in projects outside Oz and wimmen do well in proportion to skillz and efforts made.
Brown did precisely the right thing. Encouraging a complaint, but neither forcing it or suppressing it.
She is perhaps the only one who comes out of this debacle with any honour at all.
And I include Lehrrman in that.
Absolutely.
And all these people are our “learned betters” advising us towards the sunlit uplands, twirling, twirling towards the new tomorrow…
I wonder how much time senior advisors like Brown spend tard wrangling the juniors?
Dutton needs to get on the move now. Albo is, and has, brought in a Carbon Tax by fiat (not the car!).
It would do well to remind Australians how they reacted to the ranga’s Carbon Tax.
I’m not a huge fan, but the beetrooter put it well:
“There’s a carbon tax at the bowser, there’s a carbon tax on every power point in your house.”
NZ government scrapping $7bn in Labour projects over the forward estimates, including $2bn of climate projects. Plus $1bn to be cut from the public service annually.
Albanese is running Australia like a low-energy state premier
Labor would be foolish to blame their poll slide solely on interest rates. Their problem is their model of governance belongs in the cheap-money era.
Tim Wilson and Jason Falinski
Monday’s The Australian Financial Review/Freshwater Strategy poll showed the Albanese government’s support is back below where they started – the lowest primary vote of an elected federal government.
The public agitation that started during the Voice referendum over the government not being focused on them has endured.
It’s now clear the referendum wasn’t just about honouring a promise, but also cover for a government searching for a purpose.
Their only real area of policy ambition at the last election was in energy but as recent history has demonstrated, it was more targets than transmission lines.
Faced with the greatest cost of living crisis in decades, government policy has compounded inflation from sustained fiscal expansion, imposing higher costs on business and union-friendly, job-killing industrial relations policy.
Worse, the public pain from higher inflation has only just begun.
If Coolabah Capital’s analysis is correct, by March household savings end and the real pain begins.
But the Albanese government would be foolish to blame its problems solely on interest rates. Their problem is their model of governance.
Albanese is running Australia like a low-energy state premier.
There are lessons for the Opposition too.
Over the past two decades Labor has perfected the model of governance over states.
Their economic model was state budgets that replenish themselves every time a spending commitment is made.
State governments treated public spending like it was a magic pudding.
It meant every special interest could be bought today with money borrowed from tomorrow, particularly public sector unions.
It was all fine while debt was cheap.
But last week Victoria revealed it had added $1 billion per month to its debt and NSW Labor had blown out its deficit by 60 per cent in four months.
If global investors are wary of US government debt levels and are demanding higher yields from the world’s largest economy backed by the reserve currency to, what chance do our national or state governments have?
PM is the biggest problem
Profligacy became more politically saleable than productivity reform. And while the performance of education and health systems declined, so did the scrutiny to expose it.
As the drift of power from state capitals headed to Canberra, so too has the scarce resourcing of media companies.
State premiers can hide, and the public can barely name state treasurers. Prime ministers and federal ministers are not so lucky.
State governments hide from scrutiny by turning on and off the tap of access to journalists based on their compliance. That can’t be done in Canberra because competition between the media is so fierce. Some journalists knowingly relegate themselves to be the contrarians.
But, arguably, the biggest problem is with the prime minister himself. Public expectations couldn’t have been lower for his election. Victory depended on not being his predecessor.
The state Labor model has been to push the leader to the front and centralise decision-making in their hands. The worst example has been Dan Andrews. Whatever anyone thinks of Andrews around Melbourne’s golf courses, he always projected competence.
Similarly, incompetent ministers were able to disappear into obscurity with incompetence easier to get away with when the public doesn’t know who you are.
Whereas Mark Dreyfus, Claire O’Neil and Andrew Giles discovered recently Canberra shines a spotlight when you’re found wanting.
The prime minister seemingly wanted a cabinet government, but a cabinet still needs to be led.
He has never demonstrated an interest in the finer details of policy.
In Opposition, that isn’t an issue.
Less stability
As prime minister, it matters because ministers never know whether he will support the positions they take.
And the prime minister’s office concurrently isn’t developing a central purpose or narrative for the government to guide them.
State Labor governments might have secured longevity ambling through Australia’s salad days, but the buck stops in Canberra and so does the model when taken national.
There are lessons for the opposition too.
If changing the government changes the country, an opposition aiming to topple a government needs to get elected with a plan.
Government is temporary and your capacity to implement reform will narrow.
Political cycles are shortening.
Voter fragmentation means there will be less electoral stability. Majority government cannot be assumed to be the default. And parties of government can quickly find themselves wagged by their tail.
The luxury of developing a reformist agenda as a re-election strategy is now too pricey.
And all while the long-term challenges our nation faces are extending: from national security threats, the role of technology and the workforce, artificial intelligence, the retreat of globalisation and the availability of basic services from housing to healthcare.
Unless we want managerialism perfected by lackadaisical state governments, we will need aspirant prime ministers and governments that are prepared to lead.
Tim Wilson, a former Liberal MP, is completing an Economics PhD at RMIT’s Blockchain Innovation Hub, Jason Falinski, also a former Liberal MP, is a partner at economics consultancy Ergo Videatur.
Looks like there was no sex in the old Porter allegation, I misremembered…
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/mar/03/christian-porter-denies-historical-allegation-declaring-he-wont-step-down-as-attorney-general
He said he remembered the woman showing “three boys” how to iron a shirt. Asked whether he had told her she would make a wonderful wife one day, Porter said: “I don’t remember that specifically but it is not impossible that that was said.”
Porter said he also remembered there had been a formal dinner at the university where they stayed in 1988, and “going out dancing sounds about right”.
When asked whether he recalled going out for dinner, then going dancing and then walking the woman back to her room, Porter said “that may well be the case”, before saying it was 33 years ago.
Asked whether he could have forgotten other details of events three decades ago, Porter said: “Could I have forgotten or misconstrued the things that I have read, which are said to have occurred? Absolutely not. They just didn’t happen.”
…
“My guess is if I were to resign, and that set a new standard, there wouldn’t be much need for an attorney general anyway because there would be no rule of law left to protect in this country,” he said.
“So I will not be part of letting that happen while I am attorney general, and I am sure you will ask, and I will state to you, I am not standing down or aside.”
Morriswine then threw him under the bus.
Farmer Gez and Blog Farmers – Any Thoughts as to Why?
Saudis put Western Australia’s largest grain operation up for sale
Larry Schlesinger – Reporter
The largest grain growing operation in Western Australia is on the market and expected to fetch close to $200 million after its owners, the Saudi Arabian government and Perth-headquartered agricultural investment fund PenAgri, decided to sell.
The portfolio, known as Merredin Farms, is spread across almost 80,000 hectares in the state’s wheat belt and includes land producing wheat, barley and canola.
The transaction would cap a busy year of dealmaking in WA’s agriculture sector, with wealthy businessman Hui Wing Mau offloading a major cattle portfolio in the state for more than $300 million only last month. That came after several other deals, including the sale of a Quintis plantation in the state to wheat king Ron Greentree in August.
The activity in WA comes despite lower commodity prices, higher interest rates and forecasts of drier conditions denting farmland returns, largely in the eastern states, according to a benchmark index tracking a portfolio of prime grade assets.
Part of the Merredin Farms portfolio now placed on the market by the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company was originally part of the 200,000 hectare wheat and wool portfolio acquired by the government-backed group from John Nicoletti, a major grain grower, in 2019. It was acquired for between $65 million and $70 million.
The remainder is owned by PenAgri, which is farmed by SALIC on its behalf.
According to selling agents Rawdon Briggs and Duncan McCulloch of Colliers, the buyer of Merredin Farms will immediately become the state’s largest broadacre farmer.
SALIC is owned by the Saudi Arabian government and was established in 2009 to make investments for the purposes of ensuring food security for the country.
PenAgri, which is run by long-time agriculture investor and corporate adviser Greg Harvey, owns two other large-scale mixed-cropping and livestock aggregations in the state. Mr Harvey was previously the chief executive of the Forrest family’s Harvest Road cattle company.
Other PenAgri investors include local winemaker Peter Fogarty and his family, and carsales.com.au co-founder Steve Kloss.
“This is a globally significant landholding and agribusiness offering that we have decided to sell with our operational partners Merredin Farms,” Mr Harvey said.
SALIC Australia chief executive William England said the sale was part of plans to “reshape its strategic focus on various agricultural value chains in the region”.
“The portfolio offers a turnkey corporate farming operation inclusive of world-class governance, HR, procurement and work, health and safety systems, all focused on growing wheat, canola and barley sustainably.”
Critical mass
Mr England said SALIC Australia intended to remain active in the local agricultural sector. The investment vehicle owns 35 per cent of Brazil-based beef exporter Minerva Foods, which in October bought the Australian Lamb Company for $400 million,
“We’re extremely pleased to market for sale this institutional-grade broadacre grain growing enterprise that has been well-developed and operated,” said Colliers’ Mr Briggs. “Possessing critical mass and with economies of scale, the vendors have created an incredible platform for low-cost, high-volume grain production.”
PenAgri Farms is being advised by Pendulum Capital, a specialist agribusiness adviser, which will provide assistance to Colliers. Sources told The Australian Financial Review that SALIC had already divested the remainder of the original Nicoletti portfolio.
Remember the background.
Morriswine made a rod for his own back.
Grace Tame rebukes Scott Morrison for his handling of sexual assault claims
Australian of the year says prime minister has ‘clearly not’ lived up to his expressed hope that rape survivors feel they will be believed
Linda Reynolds’ extraordinary move to freeze Brittany Higgins’ assets after she left Australia to start a new life in France with fiance David Sharaz
. Linda Reynolds will apply to have Brittany Higgins’ assets frozen
. She is suing Ms Higgins and David Sharaz for defamation
Oh thanks Tim.
We REALLY need active, managerial politicians initiating huge projects and restructuring the national economy to ‘show leadership’.
How about rewarding Governments that get Government out of the way of the productive sectors, and let them get on with business? The mal-investment caused by ‘leadership’ driven by pretending untruths are reality has been enormous and the consequences are goign to be huge.
Feminist author Clementine Ford’s podcast is AXED by Nova amid backlash for her controversial views on Israel-Gaza conflict
Clementine Ford’s podcast has officially been axed.
The feminist activist, 42, announced on Wednesday that Nova Entertainment had cancelled her ‘Dear Clementine’ podcast after two years with the network.
While she she didn’t explain why, Clementine suggested that her controversial views on the Israel-Gaza conflict may have forced Nova’s hand.
Clementine has come under heavy criticism in recent weeks for attacking supporters of Israel and has been accused of fuelling anti-Semitism locally.
She recently branded the Albanese government’s support for Israel as ‘pathetic’ and ‘gross’, writing online: ‘You’re pathetic, you disgust me and I pity you for being so f***ing basic and gross that you think others should cheer on the murder of thousands just to make you feel better.’
“… a full-on Christmas dinner … ham, turkey, pork roast with all the trimmings, plus ice-cream put and pav for dessert.”
Once again decided to completely avoid the roasts etc for Christmas – instead, just having a massive anti-pasto style platter: mangoes, grapes, olives, pickled onions, artichoke hearts, peperoni, chorizo, chicken, ham, prawns, chicken liver pate, parmesan, edam, danish blue, almonds, walnuts, pecans, hummus, guacamole, all with a few different types of crackers etc etc, and more that I’ve forgotten. Will be “grazing” on it all day, as well as quaffing the odd cleansing ale or six, and maybe some nice red wine and/or something with a bit more authority (nice scotch and soda, gin and tonic etc, or if I am lucky a martini or even – yes please! – a Long Island iced tea).
I have to say, it’s very relaxing as you only need to put together such a platter two or maybe three times to cover the entire day, and if you decide you have had enough, you can stop, or go back for seconds, thirds, pause for a snooze and come back later and so on. With such a wide variety of flavours and textures, it’s never boring and is quite filling too. Any neighbours or other unexpected guests are easily catered to (“Help yourself…”) as well. And very little in the way of clean-up afterwards.
Desert, such as it is, will be fruit mince pies with brandy custard, both store bought, maybe with some fresh mango, raspberries, or blackberries.
End of year clean-up of poorly rating programs might be closer to the truth.
Tom at 11:11.
I wouldn’t worry about Justice Lee and social media.
In fact, he signaled a pre-emptive strike at close of play the other day. He flagged that his staff had dredged up some fairly disgusting stuff on Soshul Meeja which would likely be subjected to contempt of court action.
As far as this case goes, and as noted by Janet Albrechtsen this morning, he has repeatedly admonished witnesses for straying off the Facts Freeway into the Fields of Feelz. No squeals from the Meeja pack that I can see, which tells me that #metoo is running out of puff.
Even Sam Maiden has made a vague attempt to give the appearance of impartiality (although I think she had a falling out with Miss Tim-Tam).
Morrison was spooked. Whatever he said he got dumped on. Recall he said his wife advised he look at the situation like a father vis a vis a daughter. Not good enough screamed Grace Tame. He should use his power as PM not his protective fatherly instincts
With Britney flat out obfuscating right left and centre Morrison must have responded the way many men do when confronted with angry women to wit “I don’t know what I’ve done but I‘m sorry!”
I have known a lot of Browns in my career. They are tough, and usually reasonably smart. Don’t know her, so can’t say personally, but from her CV she’s been around the block more than once.
That she has been reduced to this state does not surprise me. It’s a maelstrom, the world of politics has destroyed many like her and will continue to do so.
Peace in our time:
..
..
So good that Mr. Putin has renounced any further territorial demands in Europe.
I for one believe him.
With a farm on the market, I suggest:
1) Farming is hard
2) Farming profitably is REALLY hard, unless your grandfather paid off the land before you got it.
3) Interest rates
4) Government has taken several huge actions that attack farmers viability. Together they suggest that farming as an industry is targeted as a class enemy of the ruling ineptocracy.
5) Official forecasts about weather and economy and labor laws offer no hope that shareholders should expect better returns in the future.
Still in moderation, while Dover has been making comments, and I have latterly asked for a review.
Concrete information about the diplomatic service to be lost while personal crusades are followed.
I’ve said it before.
His missus (via her articles in the Tele) is part of the act.
I agree primarily with this assessment, but I’ll add one thing, the right thing to do was act on the evidence at hand, which was that there had been a breach of security and the police should investigate and if anything else came up, like accusations of some kind of assault, let them handle it. Brown stopped that from happening because agency for Higgins. That meant she traded the agency of her boss to hand agency to Higgins which she didn’t deserve at the time and especially not in hindsight.
It is possible the thing you are proposing to do in self interest is also the right thing to do. A certain Adam Smith might have had something to say about that.
Warren Mundine on Albo’s less than room temperature IQ:
Quite superb.
I tried emailing Marcia Langton, just to see how she was travelling after the Voice bloodbath. Nothing as yet so may follow up.
Global Boiling Strikes Sydney in Summer – Currently 17.5C at 2pm
Ventusky Perceived Temp 1400 – 16.0C – https://www.ventusky.com/?p=-33.92;151.55;8&l=feel&t=20231220/0000
In reality, the Finns petitioned their government to join NATO after the Ukrainian invasion. Prior to that it had not been on the table.
It was a nationwide, 24/7, two year gaslighting campaign.
People who were nowhere near the actual events were solemnly telling the public that Brown had sanctioned rape and silenced a victim, all based on the story spun by a vindictive ex SBS wannabe politician and a delusional brat.
That she has been reduced to this state does not surprise me. It’s a maelstrom, the world of politics has destroyed many like her and will continue to do so.
I never get this “sympathy” card outlook for any of them .. they are in it for the money, power, prestige not their selfless devotion to the community .. they stab each other in the back quite happily in private tho not, usually, so publically as is happening here ………!
johanna
Dec 20, 2023 1:37 PM
I have known a lot of Browns in my career. They are tough, and usually reasonably smart. Don’t know her, so can’t say personally, but from her CV she’s been around the block more than once.
That she has been reduced to this state does not surprise me. It’s a maelstrom, the world of politics has destroyed many like her and will continue to do so.
There’s no evidence that politics was responsible for her current state.
She survived the whole term of the Scomo trainwreck, losing her job 3 days after its May 2022 defeat, like all other SFL staffers, and over 12 months after The Project vilified her.
The ACT trial, the mountain of lies from Hoggins and Whybrow’s cross examination were something else.
Buccaneer at 1:57.
Yes, I agree that Brown got kind of thrown off the disciplinary action for the security breach by the “he was on top of me” talisman held up by Britnah.
But I don’t blame her for that. The discretion she exercised might have proven to be ill-advised, and I think she concedes that now.
But that is with the benefit of hindsight. Knowing what she knew at the time I think she acted reasonably. As it was a first breach, and initiated by a more senior staff member, it was never going to be more than an admonishment and a file note.
But I have no doubt that, since early childhood, Britnah has deflected any adverse results of her actions onto others and avoided sanction herself.
Blurting out a vague “he was on top of me” was almost a reflex.
While probably not the worst PM this century, Morrison certainly is the weakest. 11/10 in the no backbone stakes.
The indigenous leadership went very quiet after the No result and, contrary to any expectation of loud recriminations, have remained under the Cone of Silence ever since.
A little spooky …
I’d like to see Joh’s thoughts on DFAT. Once it’s out of moderation, could someone please supply the time stamp or re-submit with a new one?
It’s very disconcerting that the YES camp have gone quiet as they won’t take NO for an answer.
The discretion she exercised might have proven to be ill-advised, and I think she concedes that now.
/and now we bring you the news that the cruel, mysoggeeknee Morrison government outed a vulnerable sex assault victim without her consent…..
The only winning move was not to play.
It was a perfect shit sandwich, all because Morriswine picked Tame to get rid of “We have a woman problem” ginned up by the mean girls.
I’ve been keeping across the various #BL and #BH tags on X during the trial while listening.
There has been some rank abuse for BH a few of which were obvious false flags being used to paint “all” negative replies.
However by far the greatest volume of abuse was for BH and anyone on his “side” including Whybrow and his stand in.
Even any polite or logical discussion was met with abuse (rape apologist, rapist, incel etc). They then took to blocking anyone that even engaged in discussion.
Ok, it’s only social media, but no male or LNP type would ever stand a chance if one of them was on a jury of your “peers”.
They hate you. They really do.
BTW, Britnah and Shiraz haven’t “moved to France”.
I think a number of people, including them, Toad and Ten execs, have been briefed to “expect the worst” from the current defamation case.
They will “bunker down” as illiterate j’isms say until after judgement in Lehrrman v Ten and Others is delivered, and probably until other defamation actions are run.
Expect lots of invitations to appear in those proceedings to be mysteriously blown off the Bienvenue doormat by the mistral and lost, or mislaid by Clouseau the postman.
Accusing a senior person, who happens to be a woman, of callousness over a rape accusation is pretty devastating.
Particularly when no such charge was even mooted at the meeting. Possible sexual misconduct…maybe. But rape is something else again. And then it being trotted off through social media and then onto the FTA squibs to dandle in front of the innocent accused without right of reply.
Until this court case.
I want Wilkinson and her coven to go a bundle. Far in excess of 2.4million. Ruination would encourage others to be a little more circumspect
As for the two white clad slobs, Albrechtsen says “Provence”. Exactly as I auditioned yesterday. A little crummy village in the Montpellier rural fringe? Not on your life.
Im unsure if this is a cute owl, can I get a judges ruling please?
https://twitter.com/Alphafox78/status/1737133687857373460
I was group-interviewed for a DFAT position once.
Didn’t get the job but the experience was very good and the feedback process afterward was excellent. All very professional.
My research skills and doctoral work were highly praised, as was my geopolitical knowledge of the Asia-Pacific (mmkay – I thought I sucked at that section).
I was pretty young then, though, and didn’t know what I didn’t know.
Now that I’m older I do know what I don’t know – and it’s a lot.
Turnip.
I think you mean BL, not BH in para 3?
Lee indicated the abuse had been against a number of people, but I suspect that, in terms of pure vitriol, the feministas are well in front.
It would be great if a couple of them got their wings clipped with a substantial fine for contempt.
Eye bleach, stat!
Yes, entirely in line with past cute owls.
It’s never quite enough, C.L.
Which is a mercy. Otherwise we’d be incorrigible old grumps. 🙂
Farmer Gez and Blog Farmers – Any Thoughts as to Why?
All of Chris’ comments @1.38pm are correct.
I spent my childhood on a small farm in the Upper Hunter. My father had early experience on the land (he was in a trade until late 30s & decided to return to the land) but thought he could earn a good living with intensive lucerne crop farming. He couldn’t. It wasn’t helped by a drought and family dramas. But the fact is – only dairy farmers in our region were earning ant sort of living. And this dissolved with the advent of large dairy conglomerates & the extinction of milk trucks servicing small farms.
Cattle and sheep on large holdings are still viable – as is large scale crop farming, though outlays on machinery are astronomical – as Gez will tell you, no doubt. Otherwise, where water is readily available – grapes & orchards are still viable in many areas. You should watch some useful editions of Landline for some hints.
But truly – unless you inherit a huge landholding, I wouldn’t see Ag as a viable source of income, unless it is supplemented by other sources. As for the latter – a lot of permanently occupied farms are often worked by farmers who have p/t jobs elsewhere.
On the other hand, rural life is a joy if the demands of a young family & a guaranteed income are not important. Smaller holdings within 3-4 hours of, say, Sydney, are becoming the stronghold of such people. In our own immediate area, we have several really large (eg 5,000 hectares) cattle properties run by family or station staff. But in addition, we have many smaller acreages (46 – 1,000 hectares) run by permanent residents who already have an alternate living, but also run cattle or sheep as supplemental income. We have also seen an increasing number of guest cottages built on properties to be run as AirBNB.
I guess many people are looking for properties of the latter type where they can get away from the city madness and enjoy our magnificent countryside. If you want to do this, I would suggest you move quickly, as every year valuations are skyrocketing. And these places are selling.
Janet has ridiculed the Toad this morning (unless you regard Dolly and Cleo as important journals of record, that is).
Where’s Rafiki?
Do we expect contempt action against Janet for accurately reporting Toad’s CV, even though it may not reflect well?
Speaking of which….
*waves*
Done.
As for the two white clad slobs, Albrechtsen says “Provence”. Exactly as I auditioned yesterday. A little crummy village in the Montpellier rural fringe? Not on your life.
Calli, I heard that they were headed for the Dordogne? I don’t think that Montpelier is that bad, but I agree that village life (though Montpelier is hardly a village) would not be permeant bliss. I know the Languedoc area pretty well, and have a friend with a holiday place in La Liviniere. Again – nice place to visit … but….AND a couple of years ago there were fatal terrorist attacks in the area. Quite a lot of Muzzies the further south you go.
Hmmm. At this stage I discount every action and claimed statement by the “whitey” duo. She had several days to consider the situation and although trauma can be masked/hidden/denied the statement is almost perfect in terms of igniting a storm before the election.
Afraid the lesson is that not all wimmins can be believed in this area anymore. Thanks Brittnee & Partner for making real victims life much harder.
Just as I had imagined. Summed up with –
Agreed. By all means do Law, but if she doesn’t want to go into a big firm, try business and get a Masters in a business-related field. The sky is the limit.
I believe young female teachers are popular as wives for this reason.
No accounting for taste, but I’d rather not see endless “cute owls” on main threads. Possible to start a “Cute Owl” thread for those so inclined so the rest of us don’t suffer bleached eyeballs?
Can’t be true then.
Britney’s parting message in no particular order to Shane Drumgold, Linda Reynolds, Lisa Wilkinson, Fiona Brown, Kimberly Kitching, Ten Network, Bruce Lehrmann, the former Morrison government, and the Australian taxpayer (courtesy Dido)
I know I left too much mess and destruction
To come back again
And I caused nothing but trouble
I understand if you can’t talk to me again
But will she ever go down with this ship?
Sancho, I’d say it’s more than that. The me too saga enabled Higgins to claim agency she wasn’t entitled to, one that enabled her to obscure any role she might have played in the security breach. Brown should have acted on the known facts not the sensitivities.
This is a common theme of marxist intersectional claims. Divide people by disadvantage, curate said groups, the give them agency over and above everyone else. Reap the rewards by though more people in curated group voting for marxist pollys. Also note that the curated groups provide an excellent way to create extended bureaucracy or ngo organisations with which to funnel funds that are often not very transparently distributed.
Brown thought she was doing the right thing, Lee skewered it all through his insistence on evidence and action on evidence only, that’s what Brown should have done. You can be certain there will be groups looking to sideline Lee from here.
All the Finns have achieved is adding themselves to the targeting roster of the RF, and the ancillary costs of hosting NATO forces.
.Turnip.
I think you mean BL, not BH in para 3?
On the subject of what we know and don’t know, I’m still in awe of Barry Humphries’ artistic and literary knowledge; this was referenced by speakers with a few remarkable anecdotes during an otherwise bland memorial for Bazza last week.
Now, it’s true that amateur autodidacts can sometimes know a lot about specific topics – think Humphries and the songs of the Weimar interregnum or Paul Keating and Mahler (yawn) – but they often lack the educated person’s generalised savoir-faire within a field. They can over-compensate for this by being extravagantly definitive or contemptuous of the lettered. That said, self-taught people like Humphries are also above the fray of an academy’s orthodoxies and can be crucial embodiments and promoters of freedom because of that.
My fear is that ‘culture’ as it – um – stands today – worsened by woke and AI – makes it highly unlikely we will see any more Les Murrays (an educated man whose genius with languages alone was off the charts) or self-taught prodigies like Bazza.
Vikki, she’s apparently bought a place in Lunas, around 50km west of Montpellier.
Looks nice in the summer pics. Like most of France. But it’s tiny. As I said, I’d be surprised if they stayed there.
This would be the timestamp of Johanna’s DFAT post, for those unable to find it.
johanna
Dec 20, 2023 12:15 PM
How sweet this is…
ABC presenter Antoinette Lattouf sacked after anti-Israel social media posts
By SOPHIE ELSWORTH
The ABC has sacked fill-in Sydney mornings radio host Antoinette Lattouf after she breached the taxpayer-funded broadcaster’s social media code by posting anti-Israel comments.
The Australian can reveal that Lattouf who was filling in this week was told by management on Wednesday afternoon she would not be allowed to return to air.
Lattouf has been uploading a series of pro-Palestinian posts on her social media accounts including X, formerly Twitter and Instagram.
It is understood ABC management were extremely concerned about her activism on social media and the public broadcaster had received multiple complaints that were sent to ABC chair Ita Buttrose and managing director David Anderson.
An ABC spokesman confirmed she would not be returning to the show again.
“ABC Sydney casual presenter Antoinette Lattouf will not be back on air for her remaining two shifts this week,” he said.
I don’t call this skank “Latosh” for no reason.
Cue the Finnish snipers…
that’s if its possible…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
This is cuck talk. Putting an innocent man in prison is evil in and of itself but simp men feel the need to talk about the problems created for women instead.
There’s plenty of good women like Cassie, Vicki, etc who deserve our love and protection, but who the hell cares if a feminist is made worse off as a result of this court case?
For men entering the dating world they need to make sure that anybody they date not only is not a feminist but actively and loudly despises them otherwise they too may end up being falsely accused. This may require men to travel given the state of Western women but so be it.
Cue the Finnish snipers…
https://imgflip.com/i/89xv7q
Not sure what Trump is trying to achieve with his new “poisoning the blood” angle on ‘immigration.’
Let’s run through what a hatchet job that really was.
He changed his statement three times and what he said in the committal changed again, then he had to stick to story #4 for trial #1. They didn’t let him commit perjury again for “trial” #2.
Kerri Judd responded to the High Court appeal (after the silly Vic Court of Appeal dismissal of the appeal) by saying her counter argument would consist of her asking the High Court to disregard evidence adduced by the witnesses/complainant.
We deserve to be a colony again.
I don’t even get angry about this anymore.
Vikki, she’s apparently bought a place in Lunas, around 50km west of Montpellier.
Thanks Calli. As often, the initial rumours were wrong.
it wasn’t just accusations of vanilla sex.. he was accused of anally raping her (in a bathtub, if I recall).
Something you wouldn’t tend to forget.
The ‘initial rumours’ would have benefited from reading Davo Shiraz’ facebook page, where this information (Lunas) has been in public domain for quite some time.
Darn! I reposted johanna’s comment and it went straight to moderation. Sorry.
I was glad to see Dennis Shanahan revive the subject of that $2.5 million sent to Australia by crooked Cardinal Becciu during the framing phase of the Pell set-up.
There is still no explanation of where that money went.
I look forward to the ongoing shit-show.
Mole – I thought you might’ve put this one up:
Meme
Oldie but a goodie!
There’s plenty of good women like Cassie, Vicki, etc who deserve our love and protection, but who the hell cares if a feminist is made worse off as a result of this court case?
Why, thank you, Figures! Always nice to be appreciated. I have always viewed this blog as fundamentally male territory – which I rather like, and I have always appreciated being accepted.
BTW there are many other “good women” on this blog. I think we all share a preference for intelligent discourse and a bit of banter. It is a privilege to be here.
Not at all. But they are not part of Operation Prosperity Guardian.
11/10 in the no backbone stakes.
Slithering Scott had some backbone, it was just very close to the ground.
Something you will never see after Keating’s demolition of Dr John. Who had essentially adopted many of Keating’s positions as Treasurer.
Dunno why I swallowed the MSM line (yes I should know better) but done a bit of surfing around the AEC site and, yes, a majority of Indigens voted yes across many remote areas.
This is the li(n)e pushed by ABC and SBS, Guardian, Nein.
The truth, however, shows, a huge majority didn’t even bother turning up. 92% voted yes in Wadeye, for example, and this was a big story:
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/we-are-hurting-the-remote-town-that-voted-92pc-yes-20231016-p5ecob
Yet only 600 turned up to vote out of 1200 which makes the Yes vote there 46% of total registered voters.
Okay. I’ll look for the comment, which I think was in the Economist. Not sure. But you also should look for that China’s leadership 11/2 piece you mentioned you’ve read. It’s not that I’m doubting you. I’m just interested in reading it.
Montpelier.
The park near the station was taken over by drinking sub Sahara’s when I was there, 10 am Sunday morning.
Gets a bit of mussie action.
I guess like Melbourne you need to pick your suburb.
I hadnt seen that one, very nice.
also
C.L.
Dec 20, 2023 3:17 PM
Not sure what Trump is trying to achieve with his new “poisoning the blood” angle on ‘immigration.’
The quote is “ILLEGAL Immigration”, which it appears to have been dropped in order to harvest the maximum number of “OMG its Hortler x 1000”
LOL. Sure, and the German Army is full of Wittmans.
I’d be very happy to see more hostages released, the three elderly men in the video yesterday looked in poor shape and Hersch Goldberg Polin who lost his hand to a grenade cannot be doing well, if he is still alive.
I’m sure the captured terrorists have been flapping their gums so Israel has some idea about surviving hostages.
Vivek has pledged to withdraw from CO primary if DJT is not reinstated on ballot.