But India, with an active space program, has its hand out. And there’s a story about that. The guy who…
Open Thread – Fri 22 Dec 2023
- The more you gets the less you eats
- Open Thread – Weekend 23 Nov 2024
- Open Thread – Thurs 21 Nov 2024
- Open Thread – Mon 18 Nov 2024
- From darkness to the promise of light
I was watching the price of gold drop below the $4k mark for most of last week, but for the…
if there British roots are anything like Aston Martin’s, send them over’ere
how do you know so much about this?
Calling Dr Cat What is the effect of tube diameter and wall stiffness on home blood pressure monitors? Quick search…
Boo.
Boo to you too
I lost that idiot J.C. in the changeover. Where is the tosser? Maybe lost in translation. LOL
That’s a nice painting. I wonder how much the original is worth.
Again.
Hey J.C. you are on the wrong Fred you idiot.
I was having trouble with brave. Anybody else?
The Government Always Tries to Intimidate Judges
QUESTION: Why do you think these four judges ruled so unconstitutionally when we are all taught in grade school justice for all and innocent until proven guilty? I think anyone can see this decision was political, pronouncing Trump guilty without any charge or trial.
SF
ANSWER: Noah Bookbinder, the lawyer who brought this case, was connected to Biden, and these judges knew who he was. He selected Colorado just as Special Prosecutor Jack Smith selected Washington, DC, to get the indictment on Trump for a charge in Florida. He selected Colorado because it has a 100% Democratic-appointed supreme court, and the state is so left it could never walk a straight line in a sobriety test. This is called FORUM SHOPPING, which is unethical.
Bookbinder cleverly brought the case under the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), where he is the President and CEO. His connection to the Biden Administration is very alarming. He sits on the Biden administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Advisory Council (HSAC).
When I was indicted, I self-surrendered in Trenton, New Jersey, when the indictment was filed in New York City to protect the banks. The accounts were in Philadelphia at Republic New York Securities – not New York City. They also engaged in forum shopping in NYC because the judges there will ALWAYS protect the bankers. Mary Jo White came from New York City to Trenton to intimidate the Judge that I should not be granted bail. My lawyer pointed out to the court:
“There has been no default on any instrument to date and most tellingly which demonstrates the lack of understanding that there is no crime here and no victim, there hasn’t been a default by the entities nor has there been a complaint by an investor.”
Yet, Mary Jo White, who was the head of NY prosecutors, came to put on a show that this was a major case and I was to be denied bail. The court was stunned by the lack of anything by the bank’s claim that $1 billion was missing, and they had no idea where it was. That is simply impossible since the only way to get that kind of money out of a bank is by wire. Mary Jo White’s presents did not win the day, and in New Jersey, they failed to put on any case that warranted the denial of bail. When the court granted the bail, Mary Jo White came up to me within inches of my face, drooling and showing her teeth like some dog snarling at me. The entire purpose of her appearance was to intimidate the judge, which failed. This is what Bookbinder did to intimidate 4 judges who knew the connection to Biden, and he wanted Trump removed from the ballot because they staged this entire January 6th event so they could use the 14th Amendment to prevent Trump from being elected.”
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/rule-of-law/the-government-always-tries-to-intimidate-judges/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS
somewhere in the top 10
DrBeauGan
Dec 22, 2023 12:24 AM
J.C. has always has trouble with being brave when other Posters shirt front the idiot. Runs a mile away. No balls.
I like having fun with Junior as that Poster is so simple.
Can’t sleep – wonder if it was that Greek coffee at 3:30pm yesterday afternoon.
When it comes to consequential issues, the PM lacks depth, he’s a surface-level politician adept at “performative caring’’ but fails to deliver policies that improve the lives of Australians.
From energy policy to foreign affairs to constitutional reform, he is not one for detail.
Among the PM’s lowlights of 2023 was being shamed into belatedly visiting crime-riddled Alice Springs where he spent four whole hours on the ground before returning to Melbourne for three nights at the Australian Open downing ice-creams and beers.
It’s little wonder that there is a growing perception that Anthony Albanese is more comfortable rubbing shoulders with the elite than doing his job.
From Rita Panahi in the Hun. Sums him up well.
Johannes Leak.
Mark Knight.
Mark Knight #2.
Peter Broelman.
Brett Lethbridge.
Dave Brown.
Michael Ramirez.
A.F. Branco.
Chip Bok.
Al Goodwyn.
Greeks usually don’t drink coffee after midday.
As someone mentioned yesterday, judges would take a dim view of trial by media. That’s their job. Still, it’s hard to feel sympathetic to Bruce. The time and money wasted on this crap.
Wait until the French winter kicks in!
If Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz were looking for a quiet location far from the madding crowd whipped up over five years by a sexual assault allegation, a political scandal, a rape trial and now a defamation case, the sleepy French village of Lunas fits the bill.
Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz were spotted outside their new home early on Thursday (Thursday evening AEDT) wearing co-ordinated beige outfits. The pair had earlier arrived in Paris, disembarking from their flight wearing matching black outfits, in contrast with the all-white clothes in which they left Australia, in a nod to the suffragette movement.
Matching the dark mood of their post-flight sartorial choices, the weather in southern France turned bleak for their expected arrival in Lunas, a village of barely 100 houses where you buy your baguette from a vending machine because there are no shops. Rain bucketed down and the bubbling brook of L’Eyraud at the base of the estate the couple is understood to have chosen for their new home – the town’s most prestigious and best located property – had swollen into a raging stream.
Ms Higgins posted on Instagram images taken in Canberra, Sydney and other iconic Australian locations.
“No matter how far or how wide I roam, I still call Australia home,’’ the caption said.
Early on Thursday the lights were on inside the rambling centuries-old home, which is six hours drive south of the French capital and about an hour from Bordeaux, but no one answered the door. A gardener, struggling with a wood chipper, said “David and Brittany were due soon”.
Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz may not appreciate the backhanded compliments of their French neighbours in Lunas, which appears to be the soul-restoring calm the couple desire after the drama and saga of repeated court actions.
“That nice couple from Australia, the ones in their 40s,’’ said one local, after looking at photographs of the two confirming that they were indeed resident at the expansive house and grounds known as La Forge, on the Route de l’Ancienne Forge in southern France.
Another neighbour, who vouched for Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz’s friendliness, was shocked to learn they weren’t the middle age semi-retirees he thought, and were a good 10 years younger.
“So young,’’ he said in French. “This is very quiet (area), usually young ones head to Bordeaux or Paris for more life.”
The confusion for the villagers lies in that Ms Higgins, 29 and Mr Sharaz, 30, have found their joie de vivre in the village’s most prominent home which is usually the prevail of mid-lifers or investment bankers.
La Forge is considered the village’s most expansive and expensive house with most others being working farms and small rural land holdings. It certainly has the best location, sitting overlooking a small valley and the church.
There are no shops and the must-have morning baguette is to be found in a vending machine in the village carpark. Supplies are to be found 15 minutes drive away in the 11th century wine and tobacco town of Bergerac.
“How did they afford it?’’ our perplexed neighbour pondered, and then decided that perhaps they were only renting it as he hadn’t known it be up for sale. Estimates as to the value of the house are about 800,000 euros, ($1.3m) he believed.
If Mr Sharaz and Ms Higgins wanted charm, this place oozes with it. From one side view of the house, it appears to be around 15th century with evidence of the large fireplace in the working home where horse shoes and knives were crafted. From the front it appears to be a typical French farmhouse with tasteful green shutters. But from the back the size of the house shows it has been extended and renovated.
Oz – no comments allowed as they would be vicious.
Jonathan Karl
@jonkarl
Trump’s denial in Iowa this week that he had read “Mein Kampf” was not the first time he has denied reading Hitler — or the first time there was reason for him to issue such a denial.
Here’s a quick look at Trump’s well-documented obsession with Adolf Hitler, an obsession that goes back decades.
https://x.com/jonkarl/status/1737825978292785285?s=20
This tweet made me laugh.
It’s from a super serious journalist too.
Reminded me of something from the Simpsons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUzezq1m984
Regarding the problem in Europe with the mostly muslim non Europeans.
Depends what you want to ‘solve’?
I don’t think the problem, if it’s a problem, is only 20 years old, it definitely has escalated in the last 20 years but it all started in the seventies-eighties with the guest workers, mainly Turks in Germany and Austria.
It is the off-springs of these who are more radicalised with the good life provided by their parents, who were happy just to have a decent job and living standard.
Say the problem is the lack of integration, internal strife, support for muslim causes, terror attacks, aka “mental illness”.
Solving it is neither easy nor in my opinion possible by peaceful means and the other kind, given the state of mind of the west, is out of the question.
Most of those troublemakers are born there anyway, where are you going to exile them to if you that’s what you are thinking of.
The unthinkable is just that, the Germans are not going to try that again in a hurry.
The UK is stuffed already, no way back, when the population of London is only 47% English for want of the better description, what are going to do?
The Germans and Austrians, well not the common folk but those in power, are not only timid but actually still embracing illegal immigrants.
The only nation who has shown that it is capable of a brutal solution is France, when pushed to the limit.
No, I can’s see any good solution let alone easy ones.
Thanks Tom.
Sure …
‘Tis but a scratch. Just a flesh wound.
Hamas Rejects Israeli Offer For 7-Day Truce As Reported Gaza Death Toll Reaches 20,000 (22 Dec)
I suppose the negotiations were a good way for the Hamas bosses to get the hell out of Dodge, leaving the rank and file jihadis behind to die. Maybe that’s why more of them seem to’ve been surrendering lately.
Brave words, been there before.
We shall see.
In 2016 I was at a function where I questioned the big wig who was speaking view that the “migration” of millions of middle eastern chaps to Europe wouldn’t work out like previous mass migrations had.
After being basically calling me a racist, he went on to say how many economic booms were preceded by exactly the same thing.
I said he knows nothing of the German economy if he thought bringing in a million lowly educated people who didn’t even speak the language could integrate into a highly skilled economy.
I said they can’t all be taxi drivers (this was prior to uber taking off).
And now for something completely different…
Today’s Tele Sport Section:
MAJESTIC RUN AT AN END FOR KING KINLOCH
CLINTON PAYNE
Three-hundred start cult hero King Kinloch has been retired after achieving that milestone at The Gardens on Wednesday.
The 6 ½-year-old veteran finished down the track in a 400m sprint. But despite not going out on a winning note, his trainer Noelene Holloway said the time was right to close the door on his racing career.
“It’s quite an amazing achievement and it’s time for him to retire,” Holloway said.
“Three hundred starts is a big thing and I think it’s a great milestone for him to go out on. He’s got a home here for life.”
It’s believed that King Kinloch’s 300 starts is the second highest in Australian greyhound history, behind South Australian chaser Filthy Phantom who went to the races on 345 occasions.
During King Kinloch’s career he scored eight wins, 82 second placings and 58 thirds with earnings of $72,070.
“It’s going to be funny not taking him to the races any more,” Holloway said.
“Why I think he had 300 starts was he was quite a clever racer.
“He very rarely got himself in trouble in races.
“It’s actually quite eerie because he had his first start on December 20, and he retired on December 20.”
Bloody good effort and a bloody good retirement home.
Mass shooting in prague
does sound like a domestic issue rather than a terrorist.
“Our” ABC where “journalism” prioritizes the need-to-know stories as headliners .. FFS!
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-22/act-man-urges-vigilance-pets-dog-cat-over-festive-season-pudding/103256572
Geopolitics news.
Oil Tumbles After Angola Announces It Is Leaving OPEC (22 Dec)
OPEC must be creaking with strain right now. Russia needs dosh and isn’t a member. Iran, which is a member, needs money too, and has been evading sanctions by selling to China in tankers with the beacons turned off. Which begs the question whether this is a wrestling match between China, who wants cheaper oil, and the ME petrostates who want higher prices.
hamas finds some more rockets.
Thanks international donors!
Breaking: “Tunnel shafts and weapons found in every
@UNRWA
school searched so far in Gaza”
– IDF
Andrea Bocelli makes the muslim naughty list.
Today’s Tele:
AUSTRALIA ‘PRAISED BY HAMAS’ IN ONLINE VID
ANGIRA BHARADWAJ
The Albanese government has once again condemned Hamas for its attack on Israel after the terror roup appeared to praise Australia’s position on the conflict.
A spokesman for Foreign Minister Penny Wong said “there can be no role for Hamas in the future governance of Gaza, and Gaza must not be used as a future platform for terrorism” after an unverified video featuring Hamas deputy Ghazi Hamad was circulated on social media.
In the video being shared to X (formerly Twitter), Mr Hamad appeared to thank Australia, Canada and New Zealand, saying the countries had taken the “right” steps towards “isolating the fascist Israeli Government”.
In the unverified video, Mr Hamad appears to say: “Despite the US’s position, the Hamas movement is watching the growing cause by several Western governments to end the aggression on Gaza … In addition to the other calls worldwide demanding immediate ceasefire in Gaza Strip – the last of which was a statement by Canada, Australia, and New Zealand backing sustainable ceasefire in Gaza – we welcome these developments and consider them in the right direction toward isolating the fascist
Israeli government.”
It comes after Australia was praised by China this week for rejecting a US request for a navy ship to protect shipping lanes in the Red Sea.
Coalition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said: “From Chinese propaganda to Hamas terrorists, the welcoming of Australian foreign policy decisions is both disturbing and embarrassing.”
FMD
It has come to this.
Praise from the chicoms and terrorists.
I can think of a few other words describe the foreign policy decisions rather than ‘disturbing and embarrassing,’ all unprintable.
Got to love Nigerian scam artists, especially when they pull off one as big as this.
“Astonishing Audit Failure”: SEC Charges Tingo Group With “Massive Fraud” (21 Dec)
The SVB and FTX fiascos had a very Enron feel about them too. Maybe this stuff happens in waves as each new generation coming through has to painfully learn about caveat emptor by getting their fingers burned.
Haven’t yet scrolled so sorry if this has been posted already. From the Oz.
Bugger…forgot the italics…
“How did they afford it?’’ our perplexed neighbour pondered, and then decided that perhaps they were only renting it as he hadn’t known it be up for sale. Estimates as to the value of the house are about 800,000 euros, ($1.3m) he believed.
The Mail Online, the other day, reported she/they paid 300 000 euros ……….
Headline in Breitbart London today:
NOT VERY HELPFUL… AUSTRALIA OFFERS 11 SOLDIERS TO SAFEGUARD GLOBAL TRADE (21 Dec)
Eleven soldiers…
Mak Sikkar
Dec 22, 2023 7:20 AM
A comprehensive post-referendum poll examining voters’ reasons for voting No showed that almost two thirds of voters rejected the political activism of big business, and that Coalition voters were more likely to feel alienated from political parties.
Add ‘ruinables’ to the list as well.
Ahaha! How many “Lunas-es” are there? Found the Dordogne one on the outskirts Bergerac, not Montpellier. That’s more like it!
Except…no shops or bakeries or restaurants or cafes. Not one, not even a mini-mart. Very…very quiet. We drove through a stack of these villages not six months ago. They look charming in summer.
And it has me wondering…were they deluged with the same delightful real estate patter we received when we were in Bergerac? The price of nice little farm houses seemed quite reasonable, for a reason. The place shuts down in winter, not completely. It’s manic in summer.
Seems quite ironic they chose to be near a town always to be associated with a fellow with a big nose. And no, not Pinnochio.
Barking Toad, the full Panahi article:
At least the Mail got the location right. So I’d assume they got the price right also.
After such a proud achievement, gaining international acknowledgement, what’s next.
Maybe an honorary doctorate from Harvard.
And good morning to my fan club! A beautiful day up here in the bay! How’s the gloomy basement of despair? Cozy?
It has come to this.
Praise from the chicoms and terrorists.
Luigi & the burka celebrated with, tax payer funded, high end bottles of bubbly …
job well dun! ..
Eleven soldiers…
And to misquote another Oz legend, “It’s not 11 soldiers, it’s 11 OZ soldiers” ………
Tim Blair’s fisking of Jenna Price is a very fine thing indeed:
Thursday Noticeboard (not paywalled)
Matt Canavan:
This year 70,000 people descended on two major conferences in the desert. One was the latest climate change talkfest (the so-called COP28) held in Dubai. The other was the annual Burning Man festival in the Nevada wilderness.
Burning Man 2023 ended with thousands trapped as heavy rains turned their camp to mud. Despite all that, Burning Man was the more successful and productive of the two conferences.
I will concede that the climate partygoers are better at spin and promotion. In the aftermath of COP28 the news was awash with headlines like that from The Guardian about the “COP28 landmark deal to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels”.
Sky News: “Bushfires sweep across Western Australia!”
The state looks like it’s about 60% desert, so wouldn’t it have been less alarmist and more honest to tone that headline down a bit?
Looking forward to visiting my mate in NZ in February next year. Had the best apricots from Central Otago last time. They need the very cold temps continuously then hot. Never had good apricots here. Nectarines on the other hand are magnificent here as long as you only buy ripe ones as some never ripen. They can’t grow them over there for some reason. Pears are underrated, one of the finest deserts ever.
For Dover et al – I’ve commanded a warship. We can’t keep the Red Sea open without strikes on the Houthis
The best defence is not purely defensive – Paywalled
TOM SHARPE
Three days ago, Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defence, announced a naval coalition – dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian – to defend Red Sea shipping from the recent escalation in “reckless Houthi attacks originating from Yemen”.
The Houthi attacks are working. The latest figures from maritime analysis provider MarineTraffic suggest that traffic through the Bab el Mandeb between 15 and 19 Dec is down 14 per cent from 8-12 Dec. If Prosperity Guardian is to succeed that figure needs to return to ‘normal’ for this time of year.
I should say straight away that the route to real success here, as ever, lies ashore between various governments and agencies who look at this issue across the entire region, albeit through their respective specialist lenses. The warship part of the problem that I’ll look at here fits into a much more comprehensive set of discussions and emerging plans.
So far, nineteen countries have signed up to Prosperity Guardian including the US, UK, France, Spain and Italy (these five have committed ships) plus Bahrain, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway and the Seychelles.
Nine others do not want to be named for now: a clear indication of the region’s sensitivities.
There are some notable absentees: India (although they might send ships), Egypt and Saudi Arabia, for example.
I thought I’d concentrate on what the Prosperity Guardian warships might be asked to do and why. On their own, they will struggle.
Of the countries providing surface combatant warships, the US are likely to have seven (with several in support), the RN has two (with four in support), France one, Spain one and Italy one. No one has formally declared their hand yet so these numbers are based on what is either in the area already or making good speed to get there. For now, let’s call it twelve surface combatants assigned to Prosperity Guardian.
In broad handfuls, there are two threats they will need to deal with.
First, they need to defend against the missile and drone threat. So far, ships of the US, Royal and French navies have shot down 36 of these (with the US leading the charge by a distance with 34 kills). While this is impressive, missiles have got through causing damage and in the case of the Norwegian chemical tanker Strinda, starting a fire. How there hasn’t been a major spillage, sinking or fatalities yet is a miracle.
There is also a fast attack craft threat (crewed or uncrewed) to be considered. This hasn’t been seen yet but will be familiar to any navy people who have operated in the region.
Second, the warships need to protect against piracy and hijackings of the sort attempted a few times now with success on two occasions.
There is also the potential for a mine threat which is a whole different ball game if that comes into play.
The problem right at the start is that the requirements for these two tasks are quite different.
The missile-and-drone task requires a line of ships up the eastern side of the Bab el Mandeb channel in clearly defined boxes.
The size of these will be determined by the capabilities and range of each ship’s missiles but the aim is to provide a chain through which nothing can pass.
One of the ships then acts as the area air warfare commander (AAWC). The AAWC ship coordinates the compilation of a Recognised Air Picture (RAP) across all ships and then allocates weapons accordingly when a threat is detected.
This would be a perfect task for HMS Diamond because her radar is excellent but the US have the lead and they are quite mean when it comes to sharing tasks like this so it will likely be allocated to an American Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.
The piracy-and-hijacking task needs a more dynamic, mobile approach as defeating piracy as it is happening inevitably requires the warship to close at high speed and either warn off or disable the pirate boats or helicopter.
History has plenty of examples where tasking like this has been taken on.
The classic convoy model of WWII can be discounted.
There isn’t space and there aren’t enough ships.
Operation Earnest Will of the late 80s in the Gulf was similar in terms of the threat but the number of ships that needed protecting was fewer.
Operation Desert Shield in the early 90s had ships checking in at waypoints to be picked up by escorts and also saw merchant ships starting to embark their own missile defence systems, something that carried over to Operation Guardian Mariner in 2003.
The anti-piracy efforts of the late noughties and early teens in the Gulf of Aden were over a larger area but more ships were available and the threat was much less sophisticated than what we have seen so far from the Houthis.
This mix of threats in a confined space isn’t unprecedented although the amount of ships that need protecting and the speed of attacking missiles may be.
My money is on a hybrid solution that sees some ships in boxes up the eastern channel and some with a roving commission to attach themselves to ships deemed to be of high importance and to intercept piracy attempts.
Aircraft will have a vital role in all of this, both in terms of contributing to the air picture but also for shooting down drones and engaging pirates.
The surface warships have their own helicopters, but the US carrier Dwight D Eisenhower – Ike, now just to the south of the Bab el Mandeb in the Gulf of Aden – will bring hugely greater capability.
However the US will not tie up a carrier on a task like this for the long term, so the surface warships will need to be able to do the job on their own.
In maritime terms the bottom of the Red Sea is small.
But if you measure the distance from the southern to the northernmost attacks (so far) you are looking at 300 nautical miles.
If you give each warship an ambitious 30 mile long box to protect, then you need ten ships for the missile/drone defence task alone.
Some missiles carried by the various ships can theoretically cover much greater areas than this, but if a warship cannot detect a drone or a missile it cannot shoot at it: and a sea-skimming aircraft is below the horizon and thus unseen if it is at any great distance.
There will also be ships in the task force which only have shorter-ranging missiles, so ten ships for the drone-and-missile barrier is a reasonable assumption.
Of course if you have ten ships on line you need more assigned to the force because they will need to refuel periodically, and at the current rate of missile expenditure, rearm as well.
Then you add the roving ships for the piracy task and you quickly run out of ships.
So you either make the boxes larger and therefore the defence more porous, or you protect a smaller area.
These are the planning conundrums that staff officers in Bahrain will be wrestling with just now.
Then there’s the merchant-to-military interface, so that ships can pass through with the minimum of delay whilst still being protected.
Sal Mercogliano does a good job on YouTube describing the complexities of this – there are many.
So it will take a while to set this task up and then settle down – it always does.
In the meantime you will continue to see some ships taking the option to reroute round the Cape of Good Hope or pause their passage whilst things become clearer.
Not enough warships, the sheer amount of traffic to protect and the complexity of the merchant-military interface are three reasons why I don’t think Prosperity Guardian will work on its own.
It is entirely defensive in nature and thus ignores the other tried and tested way of ensuring the safety of ships at sea – destroying the enemy’s ability to threaten them.
An E-2 Hawkeye radar aircraft launches from a US carrier. Such an aircraft can track missiles or drones from hundreds of miles away
That this hasn’t happened already shows just how complex the diplomatic situation across the region is right now.
It is also partly because of the difficulties in striking the Houthis a) successfully and b) without escalating the conflict.
This would not be the easy hit that many imagine.
Striking back requires precision.
The Houthis have learned a great deal from their Iranian masters about mobility – there are no large warehouses or HQs marked “strike here”.
So counter-strikes against missile and drone launchers or radar stations will need to be fast, or the target will have gone.
This is possible but requires rapid intelligence-to-targeting processes: enter Ike, stage right.
Any attacks also need to be carefully paced if escalation is to be avoided.
The Houthis have demonstrated this to perfection.
They announced themselves with a bang on 26 October, followed by a few attacks on ships connected to Israel, then a few more on ships going to or from Israel before gradually crescendoing to the less discriminatory model seen today.
The Houthis have caused maximum disruption without overstepping the mark and making a strike back unavoidable.
Allied attacks on them need to be similarly careful and the easiest way to do that is on a ‘one out, one in’ model, with launch sites/vehicles struck each time the Houthis make an attack.
This can be justified on the international stage as self-defence and has the added benefit of eroding the Houthi will to fight.
At the moment they are operating with impunity.
Between now and counter-strikes happening – if they do – Operation Prosperity Guardian is no better than a sticking plaster.
Its entirely defensive nature does not appear to be winning over some shipping lines or navies.
It is early days though, so the plan should be afforded the benefit of the doubt. However, absent a political or diplomatic solution, I believe that defensive measures will have to be combined with precise, non-escalatory counterstrikes to restore freedom of navigation in this critically important maritime chokepoint.
All of this could, of course, be overtaken by events. What effect will the anticipated (non UN-directed) operational pause in Gaza have, for example?
For now however, it is a sobering thought that a relatively minor terrorist militia group can threaten global trade in this manner.
The situation should serve as a stark reminder to governments of the importance of investing properly in the measures required to prevent this from happening again.
That is, in navies, to put it bluntly.
Tom Sharpe is a former Royal Navy officer. He was a specialist anti-air warfare officer, and commanded a surface combatant warship
The sales numbers must be even worse than had been reported lately.
Half of Buick Dealers Take Buyouts to Avoid Having to Sell GM’s Electric Cars (20 Dec)
If GM is doubling down on these contraptions they’ll go bankrupt pretty quickly I suspect. The customers don’t want them and the main area of sales is fleet buyers. And they are showing signs of being a bit more cautious too, lately, especially after the Luton fire.
Late Empire news update:
Special purpose Air Force flight schedules reveal Anthony Albanese spent almost $2 million of taxpayer’s money in six months
New data has revealed the eye-watering amount Anthony Albanese’s international flights on Air Force planes have cost Australian taxpayers in just six months
The Defence Department has released the expenses accrued by members of parliament in special purpose flights which reveal the staggering cost of Prime Minister Albanese’s international trips.
The data released on Wednesday shows Mr Albanese spent $1,845,397 of taxpayer’s money on 138.4 hours of international flights and just over 200 hours on domestic flights between January 1 to June 30 – almost double the amount of the runner up.
Defence Minister Richard Marles spent $213,780 in special flights as Defence Minister and $842,061 as Deputy Prime Minister during the period, totalling $1,055,841.
The special purpose flights are operated by the Royal Australian Air Force No. 34 squadron who command a fleet of two Boeing business jets and three Dassault Falcon 7X aircraft.
This one too:
Fire Shuts Down GM’s Electric Car Plant, Executives Blame ‘Battery Materials’ (20 Dec)
This is reminiscent of old guncotton mills, which had a tendency to explode too.
‘It’s embarrassing’: Defence expert savages Albanese government’s contribution to United States led Red Sea taskforce
The government’s decision to send 11 personnel to an international naval task force rather than a warship has been described as “embarrassing”, with a defence expert dismissing Defence Minister Richard Marles’s claim that Australia is doing the “heavy lifting” in the Indo-Pacific.
Justice Michael Lee says it was ‘obvious to anyone’ Lisa Wilkinson should not have delivered her Logies speech ahead of Bruce Lehrmann’s criminal trial
The Judge overseeing Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson has said it was “obvious to anyone” the former Project host should not have given her Logies speech on the eve of a criminal trial.
In closing arguments on Thursday, Justice Michael Lee expressed his opinion that Lisa Wilkinson’s Logies speech, where she described Brittany Higgins as a woman of “unwavering courage,” was inappropriate.
While hearing earlier evidence, the Justice had suggested that description of Ms Higgins implied there was no doubt about the truth of her allegations.
“(It) should have been obvious to anyone that that’s the sort of thing that shouldn’t be said eight days before a criminal trial starts,” Justice Lee told the court on Thursday.
the deep game: CO strikes trump off ballot.
James Woods
@RealJamesWoods
More “recruits” for Joe Biden’s army of illegal voters. No women, no children, all military-age males.
He’s ushered millions of them into our heartland, a cancer that will metastasize until the America we know is dead.
BH and Sharaz’s ongoing coordinated outfits is just weird.
Creepy weird.
Laura Loomer
@LauraLoomer
Stop trying to be a victim. You weren’t a victim of a hate crime.
You are an attention seeker who grifted off of MAGA, stabbed Trump in the back to simp for DeSantis, and now that
@RonDeSantis
’s campaign has failed, and you have been exposed as an anti-Trump grifter, you are running to CNN to get back on the plantation with the Leftist haters.
Why would you even go on CNN? Don’t you have any self respect?
Pathetic. Typical race baiting by another LGBTQ loudmouth who wanted to make everything about skin color and sexual orientation.
Victor Davis Hanson
@VDHanson
The Colorado Insurrection
Luigi has 2nd thoughts … 11 soldiers aren’t enuf … sooooooo .. LOL!
https://ibb.co/XJYPCPc
How many people’s lives have been ruined. And for what?
Lyndsey, RN
@HouseLyndsey
Being VAXINJURED is definitely the gift that keeps on giving. I am 2 weeks shy of being injured for 2 years. I’ve had one of the worst weeks thus far of my injury since I was on my deathbed last year.
I have backslid from being 60% functional and progressing to now I’m probably back at 30% functional.
One of the newest symptoms that have suddenly started to occur frequently that hasn’t been a problem yet is mouth ulcers, sore,bleeding and inflamed gums with teeth that feel sore and lose like they will fall out but aren’t. So strange.
Have any of you injured had any issues with new sudden onset mouth ulcers or what I’ve described above?
What does this mean and what can we do to remedy this? It’s very very painful and interrupts how much food and water you are Intaking in bc it is super sore and hurts to eat and drink. This is not good bc we need nutrition and clean water to stay afloat with our Vax injuries, esp with having POts where water volume intake is super important.
So far I’ve swished with warm salt water a few times a day and has helped some but still having issues. Is there anything else you can suggest?
Also have had hot flashes cold flashes (unregulated temperature) can stand for 5 mins before heart rate climbs to 150s and dizziness and syncope then occur. Also nausea and weakness, tremors and lots of bilateral temple pressure.
Been bedbound, not eating or drinking properly and unable to partake in activities of daily living.
I’ve never felt more of a shell of a person in my entire life than I have now. Please help us. Our bodies can’t sustain this forever as it’s been already two years.
I just hope my body hangs on until next month when I enter the lab for research. God bless us all !
Colorado is making North Korea look like a champion of freedom and democracy.
Colorado Announces Republicans Will Get No Say In Picking Their Candidate (Daniel Greenfield, 21 Dec)
So the Democrats won’t allow Republicans to cancel their own primary, won’t let them choose who they want as their party’s candidates, and are forcing who the Democrats want to be voted on by Republican voters. Are they intentionally trying to start a civil war? This is crazy.
Barking Toad 22/12 @3:33
Spot on about Albanese.
I was shocked when I first met pollies at their lack of annalysis, science and math to any problem.
It’s all jingoistic stuff by Labor/greens who underneath their lives full their dreams of living well and with a normal family unit.
Hypocritical at all levels, stupid at all levels.
These people have now become dangerous with their juvenile thoughts.
Yes, Americans, We’re Being Replaced — ALL of Us
Why Is Joe Biden Screwing Seniors To Subsidize Electric Vehicles?
I see the ABC’s antisemitic hijabi has been pulled from TikTok.
Not at all.
Brittnah and her fag hag handbag now consider they’re part of the performing arts industry, staging random choreographed scenes around the globe to rub in their victory over the taxpayers they’re defrauding.
Prominent professor whom Claudine Gay allegedly copied calls for her to be fired, says Harvard needs to get ‘back towards sanity’
CDC Admits No Data Support Advice to Take Mpox, Influenza, and COVID Shots Together
America is already dead, as is the rest of the West, it is unrecognisable.
Sounds just like my place yesterday…64mm of Flanneries saw the creek turned into a suitable venue for whitewater kayaking.
WEF and UN join forces to initiate the next global crisis – water
Like he said…weird, creepy weird.
Panic Setting in Among Democrats Over Joe Biden, ‘It’s Even Worse Than It Looks’
Doomsayers were predicting “water wars” 20 years ago.
They’re running out of ideas to scare us with.
Tim Blair in Quadrant. Worth the effort
no, dont be silly
they’re preventing a civil war
by whatever means necessary
… and besides, it’s for your own good
Ami Horowitz on campus..
Would College Students Donate to Support the Killing of Jews?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu8bSaGJeS8
Beyond disturbing, beyond sickening. Nazism is alive and well and it’s found in left-wing progressivism.
Neil Oliver: Christmas Killings!
The Nazis were the left-wing progressives of their day.
Vegetarianism, a cult of nature worship, “spiritual but not religious”, eugenics…
I think it would have been better if Bruth and Britanee had actually fncked each other stupid. It seems they are more alike than different. They deserve each other.
Blair’s legacy of ‘LIES’ makes his Middle East peace mission a ‘FARCE’ – Farage
None of them immediately smash him to the ground. They listen, They agree. They’re insane.
Hamas can be likened to Nazis. These idiots remind me more of the case against Dreyfus.
Must be a very good property, the nickerless bought for 300 euros (app,430K AUD)
Very nice properties in Bergerac itself are to be had for half the price.
Bergerac, Property
Beautiful house of 183 m² with basement, “to refresh” this one and composed on t…
£154,965 [€179,000]
I believe it is an artifact of their Relativism
or part of the brain-washing
in their addled heads it’s a kind of least-worst thing
like that mong from Harvard(?) who believes that you skate right up to the line but if she never crosses it, then it isnt really evil
Must be a very good property, the B Higgins bought for 300 euros (app,430K AUD)
Very nice properties in Bergerac itself are to be had for half the price.
Bergerac, Property
Beautiful house of 183 m² with basement, €179,000
yes yes. We must increase the price of water to unaffordable to moderate usage.
From the old Fred…
Israel does not have an open ended approval to do as it pleases. No country does. Ukraine isn’t levelling suburbs, Russia and Israel are.
Firstly, a very revealing comment.
Secondly, Israel has every right to defend itself and to hunt down the rapists, the murderers and the kidnappers of 7 October 2023. Israel is not ‘levelling suburbs”, it is fighting a war against terrorists and doing its best to minimise civilian deaths.
Finally, does the writer of the above words have any interest in the Jewish hostages remaining in Gaza (most of whom are now probably dead), and if young Jewish women, such as Naama and Noa, remain alive they’re now more than likely sex slaves, enslaved and beholden to their male Muslim masters, and daily subjected to vaginal and anal rape, just like Naama Levy was on the day she was kidnapped by the Nazi Gazan scum from the music festival, and the world saw very clearly her pants stained red from her bleeding vagina and anus after being gang raped. Last I heard international law proscribes rape and hostage taking. Oh but wait, I forgot, silly me, such things are proscribed except when it comes to Jews, particularly Jewish women.
Grabbing a quick coffee and early glucose spike in Horsham after a trip in for parts.
Harvest in my area is progressing slowly thanks to the cold and rainy weather I was assured wasn’t really going to be around this season. In fact it’s so dry that the next rain which is expected to arrive on Christmas Day, no doubt as a figment of our imaginations, will seriously down grade crop quality.
Why? Because the previous rain that was never going to fall again has already started the degradation process, so the next big wet spells doom for a lot of crops.
Everyone down here has swung on to the higher value wheat crops in order to get what quality they can. It’s going to be a long few days.
Just a note. The BOM overcooked this ElNino forecast by 100%.
No other forecast body in the world went so high.
The countryside getting turned into an industrial subsidy mine.
Oh and hamas thanks us for our help.
“A shit stained toilet” doesn’t come close.
As Roger says, the Nazis and their Brownshirt youth wing were the progressives of the 1930s.
This spiritual illness is like chicken pox living in the host and eventually manifest again after an extended period of war-free prosperity.
It’s 78 years since the human race won its last bloody war against fascism.
In the 2020s and 2030s, it’s a war we’re being forced to fight again.
Louis,
Dangerous and juvenile.
They are the perfect words that I have been searching for. Thank you.
Oh, and Blair’s job on Price’s incoherent school girl rant – he IS an actual National treasure.
Price’s enunciation of the ABC’s obsession with Murdoch is telling. A failing organisation blame shifting. Unfortunately, with the now fully revealed communist regime in Canberra, the ABC will probably get a result against Murdoch.
Now that ‘Advance’ has emerged as the only effective voice of the conservative electorate it will be interesting to see how Albanese goes about nobbling them. It will be crude, rump Labor doesn’t understand subtle. Poland may have provided them with a template.
Advance is the vehicle that frustrated conservatives who are repelled by the Parties have been searching for. Plain speaking, not academic and niche elitist like IPA, carrying no baggage like Pauline’s outfit, action oriented – mobilise the ‘silents’. If they can drag a “someone should orta do summink” like me off the couch, which they have, they may have a chance.
Advance’s great strengths are being community based and operating under the radar. Political journalists don’t bother with them – they only understand political noise – grassroots is beyond their limited comprehension.
I get the feeling that BH has been taken for a ride with this French property.
Similar to the Sydney siders who visit “beach village” and are told there’s only one property for miles up for sale but don’t worry, I can get it for you.
Where are all the whingers this year banging on about Australia Day and “change the date”?
Have they worked out the general public following the referendum is not interested?
(Does not apply to Yarra Council)
AUD at five month highs.
Oil at 6 month lows.
But check out the price you pay when you fill up.
A Christmas card picture for our lovely Viktoristan.
BoM’s failings this year is a topic outside the farming sector.
The climate change “call to prayer” excuse is wearing very thin with the average punter.
Tom Johnson is right.
Fascism is alive and getting stronger.
Face mask anyone? Travel papers? Pepper spray? Anyone?
With their untraceable backdoor retail price signalling system, petrol stations abandoned their weekly price cycle game in 2020 when Kung Flu hit.
Now they have abandoned the game altogether in favour of 24/7/365 price gouging that’s impervious to the world crude price.
The ACCC’s only contribution was to force retailers to abandon discounting about a decade ago. Needless to say the ACCC is as useful as tits on a bull.
Relativism is no longer the problem.
The progressives are now proposing an alternative morality to fill that void.
At Brisvegas airport, en route back to D-Town.
Absolute chaos. The Friday before a four-day long weekend that just happens to include Christmas and Boxing Day. The squeals of tired, upset toddlers are almost at the threshold of shattering windows.
Heaving, tidal masses of fat chicks seep into the walkways and cafeterias, their thigh-swishing activewear almost drowning out the children.
Most of the men sit or stand quietly nearby. They wait, haunted and with empty wallets, their dead eyes indicating holiday trauma both suffered and yet to come.
25 minutes to boarding. Tick, tock.
A bloke with real conviction ‘fears’ for Uzzie. Back page of the Hun:
Couple of things. Olonga was indeed very brave to do what he did. Every chance he could have been shot for that. Khawaja’s life is not in danger here.
And it isn’t a war against Palestine, rather Israel are eliminating Hamas.
Roger,
same : same
I saw an article during the where the USS Eisenhower is running on a crew 600 short of standard. The US Military is having serious recruitment problems.
Heaving, tidal masses of fat chicks seep into the walkways and cafeterias, their thigh-swishing activewear almost drowning out the children.
A most unfortunate spot to find yourself in Dragger. Godspeed
A useful summary from Roger Pielke jr:
U.S. Climate 2023 Year in Review – In one word: NORMAL (20 Dec)
No sign of anything much happening due to CO2. Temperature average and no trend since 2000. A slight increase in extreme heat and decrease in extreme cold, which looks like land use and UHIE related.
The squeals of tired, upset toddlers …
The trick for parents when travelling by air is get the kids talking (loudly) about ringworm, nits, scabies etc. and train them to say on cue “I feel sick”.
All this leads to spacious air travel separated from the rest of the passengers.
The LCS is an unmitigated disaster.
Apart from those who profit from their design & build.
A Political Disaster – 2024 will be Worse
COMMENT #1: This is in regards to your blog labeled “Homelessness at All-Time High in World’s Wealthiest Nation.” My wife tried to get her Aunt, who has nothing but the clothes on her back, government assistant housing in South Carolina. They told us they haven’t been accepting applications for over a year. You can see for yourself on their SC assistance website.
So I’m not sure what HUD means when they praise the Biden/Harris administration….
Kevin
COMMENT #2: I never voted for Trump and thought he was arrogant. But after watching how hard these people are trying to stop him, it is obvious that they are scared to death of what happens if he wins. I have two sons, 18 and 20. I do not want to see them drafted to help Ukraine. This time, I am voting for Trump to save my children.
NS
REPLY: The mainstream press has abandoned the people. All we get is nonsense and propaganda that comes from Washington; they click their heels and say Sieg Heil! So many emails are coming in that say they never voted for or liked Trump, but now they will vote for him to shake up Washington. These people in DC have to stop destroying this country. Trump is rising in the polls, NOT because he is some saint. It is all becoming so obvious that it is a vote against Washington.
It seems like a lot of people are coming to the conclusion that a vote for Trump is a vote against Washington and, certainly, the Neocons. A Trump victory would transform Washington into a sitcom.
Nevertheless, I think they would assassinate Trump before his hand hits the book. They cannot allow him to take office because they won’t get World War III. My concern is they intend to start war ASAP to box in Trump where he cannot exit a war they have already begun. Pay attention. NATO will be deploying more Troops on the border of Russia in Estonia and Lithuania, where they can launch an attack against Russia, whereas Ukraine is not a member of NATO.
The crisis would be the exposure of the FBI, NSA, and CIA and whether they would follow Trump’s orders. I seriously doubt that would happen. This is the Deep State fighting for its life. Maybe this is the time. We will have to see. The USA will not stand anyhow, and we are looking at the collapse of the country we grew up in because of the deep-seated corruption at every level. What the Biden Administration has pulled off in Colorado is just shocking – an absolute direct attack on the foundation of Democracy. Bideneconomics has been a disaster, and it will get a lot worse in 2024.”
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/politics/a-political-disaster-2024-will-be-worse/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS
Uzzie is fighting a virtue war.
Parish invites 10,000 to Mass
Parishioners of St Gregory’s in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, have been pounding the pavement to invite local residents to join them at Christmas Mass.
What an incredibly pathetic gotcha.
Students of history will invariably study Hitler, Mao etc, tyrants as well as great Republican statesmen and benevolent and competent Kings, as well as terrible, petty and incompetent monarchs.
I have only read excerpts of Mein Kampf bilge and the “economics” or proto anti semitic sections of Marx’s diarrhetic plop.
Here’s a certain prediction:
No one will study Joe Biden as an example of anything useful.
you could also try Face Mites … Demodex
Hear this…
On 7 October 2023, Nazi Gazan terrorist scum decided to break an existing cease fire and invade southern Israel. On that dreadful day, they raped, kidnapped and slaughtered over 1400 men, women and children, ninety-eight percent of them Jewish men, women and children.
Israel has EVERY RIGHT to fight back, to defend itself, and to extract JUSTICE.
Dr. Geert Vanden Bossche’s Concern about the New Covid Variant (JN.1)
Is The American Society of Magical Negras more racist than Scrub Me Mama With A Boogie Beat or are they both hard hitting social commentaries on the shortfalls of both the black and white races?
If “everyone” hates it, it’s either one of the worst movies ever made or lightning in a bottle.
Those who don’t study history, are doomed to repeat it. Yet those that do study history, are doomed to stand by helplessly while everyone else repeats it. LOL.
Depends…
Please define “peace” and “love.”
The monohulls certainly have been. The Austal catamarans are better, but the modular mission package idea never worked, so they’re too undergunned for war duty. Plus the aluminium hull would be more vulnerable to drones than a steel hull – we saw what happened in 2016 when a UAE transport built by Incat was hit by a Houthi Silkworm. Not good.
Bruce of N
Well, they started the last civil war, why abandon the (failed last time) habit?
In what context?
I read the other day that there are 193 regional wars raging at the moment, making 2023 the most war prone year since 1990.
If “all lives matter”, why is Khawaja only protesting on behalf of Gazans?
And is the cricket field an appropriate place to protest?
[rhetorical questions]
the old man lost in the NSW health system who was recently found
well, now he’s almost lost again to everybody
at least he’s comfortable and not suffering
his belongings will be in a box today to be posted home
and we fear he wont be far behind
a brand new razor is needed
when you look in the mirror every day ask yourself, who is it that shaves a dying man
alwaysright, your link came up with ‘403 – forbidden’.
WTF? Very sinister.
9000
A good start.
While I’m here:
Here we go again, people from the comparatively quiet and calm Australian political culture transpose their values on to the historically turbulent, and often corrupt, US one.
Every time something big happens in US politics, some here head for the fainting couch and predict another Civil War. There is often a trace of ‘if only’ in these missives, because unfortunately for the authors, the chances of a civil war here are about the same as politicians who spruik global warmening disaster selling their waterfront properties. Unless they can make a hefty profit to buy a bigger one.
And thank goodness for that. There is nothing worse for any country than civil war. It’s like a flesh-eating bacterium.
Absolute shit show.
About Trump allegedly (or not) reading “Mein Kampf”:
REAL people will read “Das Kapital”, Mao’s Little Book, the Koran, etc., NOT to seek validation or comfort, but to get inside the heads of the “authors” and their followers.
NOT to become like them, but to understand the depths of the pit from which these “works” emerged.
Brittany spending other people’s money.
She can turn it into a b&b.
You can take the man out of Pakistan, but you can’t take Pakistan out of the man.
I personally wouldn’t choose a village that didn’t have a walkable cafe and bakery.
Or a clothing store that didn’t specialise in matching his and her outfits.
Heh, one for Dot.
This east LA girl went on a date with a masculine guy and “felt the feminism leaving” her body (21 Dec)
I think I can see her future in the cereal bowl she uses.
alwaysright, your link came up with ‘403 – forbidden’.
Try this?
https://justpaste.it/9tjww
Cricket guy is probably under enormous pressure from his ‘community’ to make a statement.
alwaysright
Dec 22, 2023 9:34 AM
A Christmas card picture for our lovely Viktoristan.
Click on the link and it says – Forbidden.
Sicktoria – In a right state.
The locals tend not to buy barn conversions. They prefer modern made dwellings. One ponders why.
Never held a serious portfolio. Da bruvvas went with Peanut Head when they had the choice. Last man standing. One termer.
johanna
Dec 22, 2023 10:24 AM
When you get that error, right click on the link and “copy link” then open a new tab paste the link there and it will open, most of the time.
Or open this link in a new tab. You haven’t missed much but, that pic is disgusting.
https://twstatic.net/attachments/tmp_2253-desperado_toilet1129783638-jpg.1299419/
Here you go Johanna.
Leftists’ Civil War Fantasies (21 Dec)
by Kurt Schlichter
It’s actually a movie review, but the other important datum is that Col. Schlichter’s novels have been rather creepily coming true. Wildfire was especially offputting since it predates the fascist Covid fiasco by only about 2 years.
A couple of extracts from a Catholic article:
Peace replaces restlessness when our lives are directed to God. …
If we want peace, we must first direct our love to God. Then we will experience the tranquility of order that is peace.
…
The Beatles’ famous advice, “Just give peace a chance,” is grossly misleading. As long as peace is regarded as the direct object of our choice, it will remain elusive. Moreover, peace does not “do anything”. The “doing” falls to us who must order our lives to God. Peace is a blessing, but not an activity. It makes no sense to “give peace a chance”.
Great setting for a bit of “coercive control” but…
One thing for me is absolutely clear, the Left in the US and their organs of state and influence – CIA, FBI, DoJ, Judiciary, state Govts, city administrations, the border, the LGBTQI shit show etc are doing their level best to provoke civil unrest from conservatives. They would love an outbreak of social violence they could hang on the “far-right” to bring in Marshal Law suspending democratic process that locks their team in power.
Running for President?
COMMENT: Hi Martin.
You came to my attention via the documentary about your life and trials.
It left me with the impression that you are very careful about what you do or say or make known in order to not really interfere. Things have to run their course, understood.
Is it maybe time to harness the mass of people and resources to help fight the issues?
I would never tell another person what they should do; I am too dumb for that, but I just wonder?
Either way, Merry Christmas, and may God bless your life; I find your posts refreshing, and some days, they are the only thing that give me hope that I and my family will come out the other side of this.
Stay safe.
PETER S
REPLY: I greatly appreciate your comments. Many people have been asking me why I do not throw my hat in the ring for 2024. I like my hat. I would be glad to step up and help whoever makes the cut as long as they are independent, not cut from the same cloth, and are sincere. This is NOT something I would do for money. I am not someone from Goldman Sachs, and if I take such a position, I would have to sell all my shares in Goldman TAX-FREE since I am doing that for the country – right! I have more than enough to cover me til Scotty beams me up.
They have tried to kill me once. I have lost all fear of death, so that really does not bother me. In that regard, Socrates was my inspiration. When sentenced to death he said it was either the migration of the soul to see all his old friends, or it was like a mid-summer night’s sleep, so peaceful never to be disturbed by a dream. How many of us have had such a wonderful night? Go ahead – do your best. Either way, there is nothing to be feared.
They know that I am a fighter. I think if I did want to commit suicide, all I would have to do was announce I was running for president. They will find a way and claim I had sudden remorse fearing I might win or the loss was so overwhelming. Whatever! I might be more hated by the Deep State than Trump for they know I understand the game.
I cannot prevent what is happening. The best I can do is help to recreate a better system after the collapse and try to prevent its destruction in the future based on all the contrivances I have studied throughout history.”
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/politics/running-for-president/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS
Especially if you “exude power”.
Costco is pretty good at tracking international unleaded prices.
Filled up at $1.65 for 91 unleaded yesterday. Nearby Shell was $2.14.
Shop around
Reinventing yourself is a forgotten concept in the Google era. Unless you buy a dog, a ute and a swag and go mustering for 40 years.
Augustine is not a bad place to start, although the scriptures would have been better.
But I really wondered what the parishioner thinks the terms mean.
Hopefully they’ve experienced good catechesis.
Brings back terrible memories of Christmas air travel.
Beautifully, but horribly, described Knuckle.
Heaving, tidal masses of fat chicks seep into the walkways and cafeterias, their thigh-swishing activewear almost drowning out the children.
Thanks, guys, looks like a still from Trainspotting.
Do we really have to go through the ‘Australia is a ‘ debate again, which ends abruptly as soon as alternatives are required to be posited?
Sometimes I think that this site should be re-named ‘Eeyore.’ 🙂
Beertruk:
These are the decisions of a Radical Left government – decisions we were never asked about or gave our consent for.
This government is illegitimate and has no standing.
Well, Marianne, here’s a hint – there is this long suffering group of people on the other side of the planet known as “Australian Taxpayers”.
That’s how.
*Hoggins and the manbag
Who’s the sheila sitting a cuppla rows behind Mr Whybrow?
Been checking her phone getting messages from fellow feminazis – “Oh look, you’re on the telly!”
Like the one yesterday. Positioned in the same spot.
Flinders St outside the station has an excellent supply of derros. Bottom end of Elizabeth St and Swanston St will hardly notice the difference. The Paris End itis not.
Justice Lee believes Higgins.
These Are the Soldiers Who Are Going to Defend America if We Go to War? (20 Dec)
Add in Dover’s comment about how useless US Navy brass are regarding the Red Sea thing and extend that to the US Army brass.
So far though the Democrats have been staying just on the precipice of a Ft Sumter casus belli. If they make a mistake and step over the line it could become quite kinetic and exothermic I think. The general level of unhappiness in the US is very very high right now.
In cost of living crisis news – say good bye to your stage three tax cuts, peons!
Albansleazey: “Labore has no plans to scrap stage three tax cuts”.
LOL kids and air travel.
Another good one to clear the grid square in at the departure gate is when your 4 year old starts talking about plane crash and does the motion with his toy plane with of us parents furiously trying to shoosh him.
Fun & games.
General Milley:
“I’ve read Mao Zedong. I’ve read Karl Marx. I’ve read Lenin. That doesn’t make me a communist,” said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”
Some would say the US culture wars (James Davison Hunter, 1991) have been a cold civil war, a battle to define/redefine America, with deeper fault lines present than in the hot Civil War.
Colorado Supreme Court Violates the Constitution Itself – 4 Justices Should be Criminally Charged Now
“I took some time before posting about this decision by the Colorado Supreme Court, which is an all-Democrat-appointed court, because what I had to analyze was from a legal viewpoint and not partisan in any way. What these four Colorado justices, with their names in white, have done is in fact nothing shy of a staged insurrection in itself against the US Constitution and the foundation of American liberty that defines the nation as a free society. All the justices on that bench are Democrats, and the three filed dissents (names in pink) illustrate that this should NEVER have been a case that even reached that court and should have been dismissed from the outset.
Democracy has been killed not just in Colorado but for the nation as a whole. The rule of law is the alternative to force, and when there is no rule of law left standing to settle disputes in a civilized manner, then the only alternative becomes violence. My deep concern is that this total destruction of the rule of law is the final nail in the coffin of every empire, nation, or city-state. To my shock and regret, they have fulfilled Socrates’s forecast.
The Colorado Supreme Court has abandoned the very foundation of the rule of law. To remove Trump from the ballot in Colorado demonstrates that the court itself is a political cesspool of corruption. To further that point, they issued this decision denying Due Process of Law in a criminal matter implied by the 14th Amendment to a trial by jury, violating the Sixth Amendment and the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause. They have declared Trump guilty without a trial by a jury. What happened to innocent until proven guilty?
JUSTICE SAMOUR, in his dissenting opinion, points out that this decision is outrageous. He quoted Chief Justice Chase of the Supreme Court, who laid the very foundation of what the Constitution was supposed to be all about.
In his dissenting opinion, CHIEF JUSTICE BOATRIGHT stated that the court exceeded its authority under the statute authorizing a review. He rightly points out that this local statute was not enacted to decide whether a candidate engaged in insurrection. In my view, this cause of action should have been dismissed. I fully agree that this decision violates so many provisions of the Constitution it is a disgrace to the rule of law. If I lived in Colorado, I would move forthwith, for you would have zero rights on anything based on this decision.
PER CURIAM decisions are not always unanimous and non-controversial – which this is certainly not. Here we have three judges dissenting, showing their names, while the other three hide in the shadows. The Bush v. Gore, 531 US 98 (2000) decision is one of the most well-known Supreme Court cases with a majority PER CURIAM opinion that also contained additional opinions. There Seven Justices of the Court agreed that there are constitutional problems with the recount ordered by the Florida Supreme Court that demand a remedy. See post, at 134 (SOUTER, J., dissenting); post, at 145-146 (BREYER, J., dissenting). The only disagreement was as to the remedy.
This bogus decision is stunning, for it was issued PER CURIAM, meaning it is hiding the four judges’ names from the public, showing that they knew this was a political decision – not the rule of law. The local statute they claimed gave them the right to strip Trump and the American public of the right to a free and fair election violated the foundation of legal interpretation – the assumption that when the legislature passes a statute, it does not intend to violate the Constitution (see also The Constitutional Avoidance Doctrine).
A PER CURIAM decision is a court opinion issued in the name of the Court rather than specific judges. PER CURIAM, decisions are given that label by the court giving the opinion, and these opinions tend to be short. The opinions will typically deal with issues the issuing court views as relatively non-controversial. This is certainly not the case with this decision, and it violates everyone’s right to vote in the United States. Removing Trump from one ballot is election interference and will undermine the entire national election.
These four Justices, Gabriel, Hart, Marques, and Hood, are no longer qualified to sit on that bench, and they should be removed immediately, and this is not being Partisan. Under this theory that Trump is not immune because he was acting as a “candidate” and not as president, then these four judges were acting as Democrats and not as a judge, then they too should be stripped of all immunity and criminally prosecuted. Those judges themselves have committed a felony and should be removed from office immediately! Trump is 51% ahead of all Republicans, and these judges are sentencing the United States to civil war for, as our computer has forecast – NOBODY will accept this election regardless of who wins.
Astonishingly, these four justices would PRESUME Trump is GUILTY without a trial. Not a single person was charged with the crime of insurrection on January 6th. I cannot express how unconstitutional this decision is, for they will be remembered for justifying civil war, just as the Dred Scott Decision held that blacks had no rights under the Constitution to avoid having to apply fundamental constitutional rights to slaves. The Colorado Republican Party has just announced its decision to withdraw as a party and transition to a pure caucus system, allowing them to independently select their nominee in light of this amazingly partisan ruling that defies everything that was to define America and the land of the free.
Trump is entitled to a trial by jury, and he MUST be found guilty FIRST of insurrection under 18 USC 2383, and then, AND ONLY THEN, would the 14th Amendment apply. Anyone pushing this argument is violating the constitutional rights of everyone in this country. Even the lawyers involved should be stripped of their licenses to practice law and put on trial under 18 USC 594. The mere fact that the Department of Justice does NOT criminally charge anyone pushing this argument demonstrates that the Democrats and the Biden administration sanction this.
Here in Florida, the Democratic Party has come under fire from some of Biden’s Democratic challengers who say they were unfairly shut out of getting on the March 19 presidential preference primary ballot. The Democrats wanted to remove any Democratic challenger from the ticket to prevent Biden from losing. This 2024 election is being rigged so desperately that we face serious civil unrest.
NEVER in my wildest imagination when I looked at the forecast of Socrates back in 1985 when this cycle began, did I fully appreciate the net results that 2016 would be the first time a possible third party could win, the 2020 election would be rigged, and the 2024 election would either never happen or would never be accepted. Then, in the 2028 election, it warned that there may never even be an election by that time. Putin never interfered with the 2016 election. Our computer had forecast that 3 out of four models projected a Trump victory.
Why do these people hate Trump so much? They are desperate to retain power, and Trump dares to fight back. They have moved to keep RFK off the ballot because he, too, is an outsider. Just look at the timeline of what they have done. Hillary created a fake dossier trying to link Trump to Putin, and John McCain, the godfather of neocons, handed it to James Comey. They got caught, and Comey claimed he never took notes when he interrogated Hillary – yet took notes just talking to Trump on the phone.
Pelosi Son in law Jan 6thThey impeached Trump Twice in a desperate effort to discredit him. Then they bussed in FBI staff dressed as Trump supporters to stage the Capital so they could use this 14th Amendment to prevent him from running. Others were ransacking the capital dressed covertly in black. Pelosi’s Son-in-Law was there too, taking his picture shown here – was he an Insurrectionist?
The Special Prosecutor indicted Trump in Washington, DC, where he could indict a hard-boiled egg, calling it a Republican’s egg all for a case in Florida – absolutely unprecedented and illegal under the venue requirement of the Sixth Amendment. This Special Prosecutor, in jumping to the Supreme Court, has further denied Trump the right to appeal these rulings. If the Supreme Court accepts Smith’s argument that Trump has no immunity, it is time to turn out the lights on the future of the United States. Legally, they should rule 9:0 that Trump is immune. If not, civil war is inevitable.
I can confidently see what our computer is forecasting: there may never even be a 2028 presidential election. The United States will most likely head into a separatist movement by 2027. Like all empires that have gone before us, the United States will be buried in a common grave with all the other governments that turned tyrannical throughout history.
These people are so out of control, tearing apart the very foundation of civilization, that they will resort to assassination when all else fails. They will blame some Mexicans or claim it was suicide as always, and no Democrat would ever investigate. Everything they have done to Trump so they get to rule tyrannically is coming to a head. The United States will no longer represent the land of the free and the home of the brave. Civilization exists ONLY when everyone benefits. Even as Abraham Lincoln said, a house divided cannot stand. The LEFT is trying to take the United States fully into the utopia of Marxism. Over 200 million people died in those revolutions. What will it be this time – more than one billion?
We warned that the 2020 election was going to be tight. While Trump should have won since the margin was greater on the first two models in what was otherwise a dead-heat, that is not the case when we look ahead.
The Biden Administration has so damaged the Democratic Party between Neocons and Climate Change extremists, that there remains the risk that it will splinter for 2028 if there is even an election. All of this hatred against Trump is undermining the confidence in the government to such an extent the United States will no longer be able to remain as a single country.”
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/rule-of-law/colorado-supreme-court-violates-the-constitution-itself-4-justices-should-be-criminally-charged-now/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS
Farmer Gez
Dec 22, 2023 9:37 AM
BoM’s failings this year is a topic outside the farming sector.
The climate change “call to prayer” excuse is wearing very thin with the average punter.
Farmer Gez,
the Question that should be asked is why does not the Australian Government Close down BOM and outsource to an external Organisation
https://www.ventusky.com/?p=-27.8;142.5;4&l=wind-250m
and
https://www.windy.com/?-37.816,144.967,5
were much more accurate than BOM in forecasting Jasper’s Track
Then we have – https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/graphcast-ai-model-for-faster-and-more-accurate-global-weather-forecasting/
Our state-of-the-art model delivers 10-day weather predictions at unprecedented accuracy in under one minute
The weather affects us all, in ways big and small. It can dictate how we dress in the morning, provide us with green energy and, in the worst cases, create storms that can devastate communities.
In a world of increasingly extreme weather, fast and accurate forecasts have never been more important.
In a paper published in Science, we introduce GraphCast, a state-of-the-art AI model able to make medium-range weather forecasts with unprecedented accuracy.
GraphCast predicts weather conditions up to 10 days in advance more accurately and much faster than the industry gold-standard weather simulation system – the High Resolution Forecast (HRES), produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).
GraphCast can also offer earlier warnings of extreme weather events.
It can predict the tracks of cyclones with great accuracy further into the future, identifies atmospheric rivers associated with flood risk, and predicts the onset of extreme temperatures.
This ability has the potential to save lives through greater preparedness.
GraphCast takes a significant step forward in AI for weather prediction, offering more accurate and efficient forecasts, and opening paths to support decision-making critical to the needs of our industries and societies.
And, by open sourcing the model code for GraphCast, we are enabling scientists and forecasters around the world to benefit billions of people in their everyday lives.
GraphCast is already being used by weather agencies, including ECMWF, which is running a live experiment of our model’s forecasts on its website.
The Australian Government could replace BOM with
the High Resolution Forecast (HRES), produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).
The Washington Post has deleted its longstanding “Ukraine War” drop-down menu.
It’s all over. Even Greg Sheridan has pulled up stumps.
Now reports of 55 to 60 year-olds being sent to their deaths by Kiev.
The first mobility scooters will be seen at the front any day now.
Neocons: ‘We must do more to give Ukraine the mobility scooters it needs.’
calli at 7:25
Moe with frogs. For an alternative view of French regional life Manon de Sources is a good starting point. With tits in the SBS tradition.
Will need to be careful. I’ve bogged my wheelchair a couple of times. The last occasion ended in cries of help and required the assistance of a couple of tradies.
dover0beach
Dec 22, 2023 9:03 AM
John ? Konrad V
@johnkonrad
US coalition is falling apart with rumors France is leaving to go protect French ships while DoD has virtually abandoned US ships idle right NOW within Houthi missile range
I’m also deeply troubled by the sea of US Naval officers & experts here who push back hard on my concerns.
dover,
I put the article by Tom Sharpe is a former Royal Navy officer. He was a specialist anti-air warfare officer, and commanded a surface combatant warship in the UK telegraph, because it tackled the points raised by you and others re the problems of Sea Guarding against the Houthis – hence the reference to For Dover et al
I’ve commanded a warship. We can’t keep the Red Sea open without strikes on the Houthis
The best defence is not purely defensive
“The Bureau” is like the ABC.
It’ll have to be pried from the cold, dead hands of the last analogue generation.
It’s not clear who is wearing the panties in that relationship.
Bill McDonald was talking about Usman Khawaja and his black arm band wearing etc.
He said that Khawaja had posted something on social media which referred to Palestinian civilian and children deaths up to now.
One major problem for me is that his starting date was 7 October which is now a date we will all remember. Any Palestinians killed on that date were part of the invasion and slaughter and other atrocities.
One thing you will notice about those active on social media in support of Palestinian civilians. Look at their social media posts and you will find they were silent about the civilians and children killed on 7 October.
Russian ones? 😀
You are correct though to some extent, since Ukraine can’t easily manufacture enough artillery ammunition*. If the West loses interest, like it seems they might be, then even the force multiplication from a defensive posture isn’t going to prevent the Russians from advancing. But the cost to a generation of Russian young people will be swingeing. And even if Russia occupies Ukraine the hatred is so deep that the blood spilling will continue for generations.
Nice summary today of the situation:
It’s not just Zelensky’s war | Power Line (21 Dec)
(* Apparently though they have a production line going to produce 1 million small antipersonnel drones per year, which is scary. Having those things buzz down on you in a trench is a sound straight out of Hell. They’re terrifying.)
Many thanks, Humphrey — you’re a fount of information.
Brittnah and her fat hag are holed up in “Moe with frogs”.
Sadly, I was too dumb at first to get the cultural reference and went straight to this.
I have no naval or drone experience but Tom Sharpe’s article seems to hit the nail on the head. No doubt he is a relative of Sharpe of the 95th Rifles or if not the same calibre.
Surely the response should be to respond to each drone attack. I presume they can be tracked and source and control be identified. Air or missile strike? Or hit known Houthi leaders homes or base. Enough to make them realise there is a cost.
As for PM it is pathetic we can’t deploy a ship to help out. Obviously would not go down well with a certain Labor voting demographic. However you have to wonder if the reason is that the Australian ships are not equipped to operate in drone infested waters.
However not to worry as I am sure the Navy has been meeting its diversity targets and organising plenty of training for rainbow and multicultural matters.
Barking Toad
Dec 22, 2023 11:21 AM
Yes and so well dressed for a Federal Court visit. In shorts!
The decision is consistent with the Morrison government’s policy shift to focus the RAN’s activities in the Indo-Pacific due to the growing China threat. Make of that what you will.
Tom – don’t know about frogs. Spotify has some great white noise tracks for insomniacs. I like the jungle thunderstorm one.
Matrix Transform:
A nurse.
Don’t bother thanking me.
terrorist supporters beat up black Americans at a Democrat Christmas party in Michigan. Please keep going.
Vaccination is saving the planet. No not people, the actual planet.
Vaccinating livestock against common diseases is a form of direct climate action, say researchers (Phys.org, 21 Dec)
I don’t think these people have quite gotten the message yet that the planet can only be rescued by killing all the cows and eating bugs and tofu instead. So saving them with vaccines is killing the planet not saving it, or something.
Wallace has damaged his reputation for statesmanship with a cheap shot at Israel
It is clear that Mr Wallace’s intemperate language and view of the conflict are not supported.
I never thought America would come to this:
Video:
“Give peace a chance” if I recall rightly was John Lennon’s alone, from his weird days with Yoko Ono.
Macca and Ringo were off making whoopee, and George was thinking about the Concert for Bangladesh.
SBS Food Channel is all repeats. Needs some new shows. I hope they see the opportunity in France.
Vacuous influencers, the house looked nice though.
They move in just in time for winter which is the best if you want to identify the source of all the leaks and drafts. Huddling together in the dark will allow for the development of some form of idiosyncratic pidgin, most distasteful when people can’t handle their cabin fever.
How to cook bugs. Vegan cuisine. One hundred recipes using tofu. I’m sure there’re a lot of excellent series out there that SBS could run. Rate their socks off, they would.
I am not inclined to condemn Bruce too strongly. I think him a shallow, venal, and he would have been a bit full of himself at the time of his encounter with Britt (although I imagine a lot of wind has bled out from that sail by now).
Recalling a line from Nietzsche (as translated by Walter Kaufmann – who seemed to have a flair for translating the flamboyant-styled phrasing nihilist):
But for some reason he decided not roll over. I do not imagine it was an impulse to heroism. It might have been started by sheer chutzpah at the time – while unaware of the whole tawdry history of targeted rape claims that turn out to be at best not proven to be untrue.
But I am glad that he didn’t just take it lying down – the Mean Girlz, the MSM, the Lady Pirate, and the conniving ‘victim’ never imagined for a minute they would be checked and back up their stories. And, man, were they unprepared for that – hell, Wilkinson was reduced to arguing ‘the vibe’. And even that was a desperate defence made up post hoc so the original thinking was even more indefensible.
It has all been laid open for all to see now.
Whatever contempt might have been due to Lehrmann he has certainly paid now.
South of France is pretty mild in winter.
I’d cope.
In fact every time I’ve visited southern France in January or February I’ve coped very well indeed.
How far will it go?
Everything that was true before Oct. 7 became more so after it. Hate crimes against Jews, which had nearly quintupled in the previous 10 years, also quintupled from Oct. 7 to Dec. 7 compared to the same period in 2022.