And not one word about Hekmatullah the bastard who BRS was chasing after he killed 3 Australian soldiers;

Nor the Imam of Hekmallatah’s mosque, who swore an oath on the Quaran that he was a loyal Afgahni..

And what should Government do about this?

Nothing. Let market forces do their work.

The gist of the report was that state & local governments need to reform restrictive zoning laws to make housing more affordable.

Then the market might have a chance to work as it should.

Now even Putin is complaining that Carlson didn’t ask him tough enough questions.

Chuckle.

Any mention of winding back red and greenfilth tape and the extortionate taxes levied on new dwellings, ditching NABORES, etc?

NABERS…the “outcome” when green-left bureaucrats hold a meeting to work out how to make housing even more expensive.

Regional areas are screaming out for qualified tradies and houses might be slightly more affordable.

Anecdotal, but a lot of southern origin tradies in these parts and apparently no shortage of work.

Judge retires to determine Shane Drumgold decision in case with Walter Sofronoff

By ellie dudley
Legal Affairs Correspondent
4:15PM February 15, 2024

Walter Sofronoff’s alleged “preferential treatment” of The Australian’s columnist Janet Albrechtsen over other journalists, and the frequency of his “private and secretive” communications with her, must have influenced his judgment during an inquiry into the handling of Bruce Lehrmann’s rape case, a court has heard.

Acting Justice Stephen Kaye has now retired to determine his judgment of the matter brought by Shane Drumgold and the inquiry, chaired by Mr Sofronoff, which ended his career.

Mr Drumgold launched legal action against the ACT government and Mr Sofronoff’s inquiry last year, challenging findings in the inquiry’s final report that he engaged in serious malpractice and grossly ­unethical conduct during Mr Lehrmann’s trial for the alleged rape of Ms Higgins.

Mr Sofronoff’s report found Mr Drumgold betrayed a junior lawyer who trusted him, acted with “Pilate-like detachment” during the trial and treated criminal litigation as “a poker game”.

It also vindicated police officers involved in investigating Ms Higgins’ claims as having “performed their duties in absolute good faith”.

Mr Drumgold is seeking a declaration that the report is invalid.

Throughout the three-day hearing Mr Drumgold’s lawyer, Dan O’Gorman SC, has argued Ms Albrechtsen wrote regular “adverse” and “negative” commentary about Mr Drumgold, and “poisoned” Mr Sofronoff’s mind against the former ACT DPP through her communications with him.

Mr O’Gorman has said text messages, emails and phone calls shared by Mr Sofronoff and Ms Albrechtsen – as well as a lunch in Brisbane – indicate Mr Sofronoff was “infected” by Ms Albrechtsen’s bias, and the frequency of the was “so extraordinary in the circumstances” that he could not find comparable cases.

Mr O’Gorman also argued that Ms Albrechtsen would privately message Mr Sofronoff asking for information, and then be encouraged by Mr Sofronoff to put the request in a formal email to “give the impression that it was the first time she’d made such a request”.

“These exchanges highlight the private and secretive nature of some of these text messages,” he said.

Earlier in the hearings, which have run over three days, counsel for the ACT government Kate Eastmann told the court many of Ms Albrechtsen’s stories, cited by Mr O’Gorman, were not reflecting her personal opinion but rather the opinions of those she was writing about.

One of the articles, written by Ms Albrechtsen and journalist Stephen Rice on December 3, 2022, was about senior police officers believing there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Mr Lehrmann.

Another, written on December 6, 2022, included the comments of a leading Canberra criminal lawyer who called for Mr Drumgold’s immediate resignation.

However on Thursday, Mr O’Gorman said it was up to Ms Albrechtsen to determine who would be the subject of her articles, and therefore whose opinions she showcased.

“Ms Albrechtsen is the person who chooses whose views she will reflect in her opinion pieces. She is the one that chooses that,” he said. “You will find the views of many people who expressed views … adverse of Mr Drumgold sprinkled throughout Ms Albrechtsen’s … Certainly, there are a number of views of other people that are reflected, but it’s Ms Albrechtsen who chooses to write up those opinions.”

On Wednesday the court heard Ms Eastmann argue there was “no proper basis” for a finding that Ms Albrechtsen could be characterised as an “advocate” who actively swayed the opinions of Mr Sofronoff.

“The critical plank in this is whether the contentions about Ms Albrechtsen, her state of mind or her bias, can be established by the information,” she said. “That shouldn’t be part of your inquiry. Your Honour is not asking whether she was biased, but is the available information sufficient for Your Honour, to start that first step in the steps. This is where we say, a fair look and consideration of the available material will not satisfy this element. And, if this element fails, the whole of the claim would then fail.”

Counsel for the board of inquiry, Brendan Lim, told the court on Wednesday that Mr Sofronoff would engage with any journalist who approached him, and Ms Albrechtsen was just “the most persistent”.

Acting Justice Kaye has now retired to determine whether an impartial bystander would reasonably apprehend that Mr Sofronoff exhibited bias while conducting the inquiry into the handling of Mr Lehrmann’s rape case.

He said his decision would not be made “overnight” but indicated he would hand down a judgment promptly.

Young people have been moving from rural regions to the cities since the Industrial Revolution. These days it’s more likely not to just be about work but because they want to have fun and socialize with other youngans. The idea of young well comped kid moving moving to the sticks would be like being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

I’ve actually never seen the lines of young folks at “Open for Inspection” times like I’ve seen in the past odd year or so. There was one line with about 30 couples looking to go through a flat close to where I live.

I don’t quite get this sudden shortage in the cities in terms of what’s changed since before Covid and after.

Perth Now 41.3°.

Sweating my box off! Time for a cold shower.

CO2 has f*ck all to do with it.

Daily Mail. Diddums! Mo doesn’t like it in tronk.

Notorious gang boss demands one of Australia’s toughest jails SHUT DOWN for ‘cruel’ and ‘inhumane’ conditions

Bassam Hamzy wants Goulburn Supermax closed
He claims inmates are exposed to cruel punishment

Albo is quite the catch provided the negative gearing rules don’t change.

Vicki, but even so, we live in a high density area with lots of flats and been here for almost 20 years now. The foot traffic I see has never compared to the past. It’s the usual Saturday morning traffic I’m talking about and over that time, you can see a pattern. Also, my nephew was telling me he’s been interviewing for a share and the folks have told him they’ve had up to 40 applicants. Sure, it’s inner city, but this doesn’t sound normal.

Tickler, I always thought you were an insomniac from the East Coast. You’re a Perthian?

Just saw this name on the list of supporters for Ed Berry’s amicus brief about the Montana case about AGW.

Ferenc Miskolczi, Diploma in Computer Programming, 1974, Budapest; MS in Physics, 1971, Eötvös Lórand University, Budapest; Ph.D., Physics, 1975, Eötvös Lórand University, Budapest; Ph.D. Earth Sciences, 1981, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest; Independent Research Scientist, retired from AS&M (former NASA Contractor), Specialized publications (28+) on Greenhouse Effect and Ozone/ atmospheric radiation.

Miskoczi disproved AGW in his now unavailable 2007 paper: Greenhouse Effect in Semi-Transparent Planetary Atmospheres, Quarterly Journal of the Hungarian Meteorological Service..

You and a lot of others have a blind spot wrt hero worship.

Yeah ok; now tell us about Hekmatullah and the 3 dead Australian soldiers.

Why would anyone in their right mind sign up for the SAS? Do it and get charged for war crimes. F that!

Murdering civilians/captured combatants was in the ROE’s was it?

Michael Shellenberger
@shellenberger

A missing binder of top-secret intelligence about Russia threatens national security, says CNN. But it doesn’t. And now, credible sources say the U.S. government is hiding the binder because it incriminates the intelligence community for illegal spying and election interference.

Murdering civilians/captured combatants was in the ROE’s was it?

Fuk off.

Why would anyone in their right mind sign up for the SAS? Do it and get charged for war crimes. F that!

Putting soldiers on trial, in time of war, for killing suspected enemy could set a nasty precedent.

There’s been a bit of an ant plague at the motel, some say it’s wet weather, my view is that ants have their own agenda.

As always, the world’s greatest spy shows us the way.

Even Clown World on Twitter has picked up on it. She has a serious mental illness.

Get a load of the US homicide rates by race. It’s off the planet.

Story I heard was someone got sick of captured taliban being released back into the wild.
If true, it’s unacceptable.
You don’t shoot unarmed prisoners.
Leave that to terrorists.

Further, an enemy that wears no uniform, in my opinion, has a target on it’s back. There should be no further questions.

The reason Australian soldiers in Vietnam wore the yellow rising sun flashes on their jungle greens was to give them the protection of the Geneva Convention…

… also no house may be built with more than one kitchen.

I’d have to find some way around those pencil-necks, coz I’m having a kitchenette (which would pass as a “kitchen”) on every level, so I don’t have to walk up/down stairs every time I want a cuppa, or beans on toast, or whatever.

JC
Feb 15, 2024 6:20 PM
Get a load of the US homicide rates by race. It’s off the planet.

The black population of the US is 13% but responsible for over 50% of crime. But it’s not all blacks mainly black yooth between 15-25 who are about 20% of the black population or about 2.5% of the total population. So 2.5% are responsible for over 50% of crime.

Dot Avatar
Dot
Feb 15, 2024 6:04 PM

Like I said the other day, by your standards Hekmatullah is a hero.

Err…no.

Of course not, he’s a cowardly dog.
But principles seem flexible around here.

Story I heard was someone got sick of captured taliban being released back into the wild.
If true, it’s unacceptable.
You don’t shoot unarmed prisoners.
Leave that to terrorists.

Before I swear at you I repeat my question: what about Hekmatullah and the 3 dead Australian soldiers.

Did you do a pre exercise BSL? The time frame sounds like 2 hours and so everything was probably coming back into balance.
It’s the difference between the first and last measurements that give you the idea of how much exercise – or just normal walking – will lower your BSL before the liver starts to break down its stores and raises it again.
Only of use if you have a practitioner who is rabid about the numbers and they treat them instead of the patient.

No, I didn’t … but noted for next time. Thank you again. And yes, I think my Dr is a by-the-numbers man.

Tax revenue increased 33% since Trump-era tax reform, while spending jumped more than 50%, CBO says

Sudden Deaths of Vaxxed Athletes, Students, Pilots, Military, but Why No Politicians?

Of course not, he’s a cowardly dog.

BS, he’s a mad dog. All mad dogs should be shot.

But principles seem flexible around here.

All members of the taliban, isis, hamas etc should be summarily executed. How’s that for an inflexible principle. Channel nein’s SC admitted the 4 scumbags allegedly executed by BRS were taliban; the 3 afghani witnesses used by nein were also probably taliban.

Are you chris masters or nick mckenzie?

Maybe it’s a tax thing – negative gearing and all that.

You can also negatively gear stocks

Maybe it’s a tax thing – negative gearing and all that.

You still need the capital gain to make the numbers work. And a suitable marginal tax rate when you realise the gain. Most of the simple comparisons do not include rates, land tax and all the other property on costs. When I was renting in Melbourne (albeit a long time ago now) the strata fees alone were about $80 a week for a 25m pool and pretty mediocre gym.

The weather forecast has just informed us that Sydney can expect rain, storms or showers until further notice. So much for the El Niño and so much for BOM who cannot back down and admit that they made a mistake, lots of mistakes.

Senator Andrew Bragg

Super funds spend millions on the Labor Party’s mates. It’s supposed to be unlawful

This is from a month ago but I don’t think it’s been linked. Exactly like the jab, if our “leaders” were actually interested in health and safety it would be banned.

Sudden EV Explosion, Rockets up 5 Meters, Close to 100 BYD Autos Spontaneously Combust

It was like a horror movie, except that luckily I knew that millipedes are vegetarians and not agressive.
Got the pest controllers in – turned out the woodchips to pretty up the place for sale are Heaven for millipedes.
Nature – never gives you an even break.

Jo – the worst I’ve experienced was on Christmas morning two years ago. We had all our family (unusual) in the house at the farm for Christmas. At midnight on Christmas Eve our daughter appeared at our bedroom door & said there’s a drama in the kitchen & dining room. Got out of bed & was horrified to find that the entire ceilings of both rooms were black with little flying insects. Grandson had gone in the Gator to the front gate where he could get a signal for his mobile – and, of course, had left the door open & the lights on! It was the “night of the flying insects” which happens in summer.

There was absolutely nothing we could do at midnight. Son-in-law, husband and I got up at dawn and vacuumed every damn insect before I could even start cooking the Christmas dinner. From recollection, it took about two hours.

The other thing about stocks vs real estate is this, or at least I think it is. People may be spooked by the fact that stocks are priced each day and move up and down. You see a stock say lose 2 or 3% in a day and people could be frightened off.

However, when you think about it what would be the bid on a piece of real estate if you wanted to move it in a single day? I reckon the starting point would be at least 25% below comparable.

Would I sign up now to defend this country? Nope. How about you, bush?

Yep
When compared to the rest of the world this country is still worth saving. Some of the f^ckwits running it not so much.

I see bushie you didn’t exactly commit yourself to doing so, I take it you want somebody else to do that while you pass judgement on them.

The blockage of The Voice is not going to hold back the river of cash that the Voice would have handled.

The Voice was never going to administer programs and funding.

It was an added pseudo-parliamentary layer on top of all that.

Some commenters here will never, ever sign that contract and go beyond that wire, yet still see fit to pass ‘judgement’ on those that may.

KD, I have a personal stake in this debate as my grandson is in the navy. I am horrified that he may one day be at the mercy of the media and people like some commenters here.