An offer too good to refuse. Make sure to follow up.
Open Thread – Wed 21 Feb 2024
- Open Thread – Thurs 14 Nov 2024
- Open Thread – Remembrance Day 2024
- The Sweetest Victory
- Open Thread – Weekend 9 November 2024
- Open Thread – Thurs 7 Nov 2024
I’d agree with Roger. What better way to receive public airtime for her ego than expressing trauma after dealing with…
Respect!
40 years at the ALPBC. Talk about Hotel California Ultimo.
Haha. The new lead story at Paywallian.com: China tells other world leaders: be like AlbaneseBeijing has nominated Anthony Albanese as…
homer looks better as statue than toon.
Reposted because I typed it out goddamn it
Ventured into slabland today- bloke sitting in a UglyStik chair behind a blowmould table, plastic banner, “Injured Diggers” logo, under the eaves of the slabmarket. Was giving him the hard walk-past when he keened out “give to the Injured Diggers mate” and I thought.. well, ok, though I do hate the nationwide slick charity scene, I had cash in my pocket.
“Yep ok, gold coins- ” looking on the table for a coinjar or raffle tickets (tho I do avoid gambling)
“Well I’ll show you how we do it mate”- proceeds to push around slick A4 catalogue with some sort of pools system, buy a $25 book, one in eight wins a $90.20 stake, buy 4 x $25 books, one in six win $116.40, etc etc etc
“What you give is tax deductible, I give yez a receipt..
Me: “Nope. Look, I’m happy with charity, but I got four bucks, that’s me.”
Him: “We got card facilities… ”
By this stage of him not getting the effing hint, I just gave him a flat gaze with 2 x $2 coins held out in front.
Holds up his gay lanyard “I can’t take cash, it’s against my registration”…
I wished him luck, but walked on. He just sat on his arse- I’m fairly sure he still had both his legs- spose he just waited for the next mark to reel in. No regrets. Everything I hate about corporate Australia, the tax tickle, ethe electronic money transfer, the permit mentality, the Bouncy Castle sessions masquerading as Saving Lives. On the way out of the 100-acre carpark I saw a big high clearance Iveco with a camouflage canopy, and sure enough on the tailgate, the Injured Diggers sticker. Think my instincts were sound.
Good point Areff.
I remember my pal wanting to stop in Missouri for cigarettes on the way back from North Carolina because they were cheaper.
$32 a carton for Malboro Reds iirc.
That was 2015.
In North Carolina we used to cross the state line into South Carolina because gas was cheaper.
Got kicked out, only open for an hour in the afternoon, I had to look at all the things.
Definitely should be on your list of churches to visit in Palermo, I would say the one inside the palace, Monreale, the little one with the red domes on top and the one next to it where they still have Eastern rite masses. Five probably enough for most people.
I think I’ve at least popped in to about a dozen.
And the Cathedral for the royal tombs and the remnants of the older Cathedral at the back.
Jesuit museum virtual tour, I hope.
John Spooner.
David Pope.
Brett Lethbridge.
Michael Ramirez.
A.F. Branco.
Matt Margolis.
Tom Stiglich.
Gary Varvel.
Matt Margolis #2.
UN Food Program announces the suspension of food aid in northern Gaza. Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political office of Hamas in exile, is in Egypt to discuss with local leaders the terms of the agreement with Israel for a ceasefire.
Thanks Tom. Some clever cartoons there.
Hope springs eternal.
Good Spooner.
I’ve given it to ScoMo & Pyne in the past over the subs.
Now both are getting $$ from surrogates of the US war machine.
With reference to Credlin last night, the shiny bums in defence make the recommendations to the politicians of the day.
Defence procurement is littered with financial disasters dating back to the 90’s.
How many of these defence shiny bums end up getting consulting roles with the very defence contractors they’ve made recommendations previously to purchase from.
It 4 corners was still a real investigative program, they’d spend some time looking at that.
Jack, Jasmin and family are just the best. I’d love to work on Prenti Station.
Jack is a jet. His skills are insane.
Not a cent from .Gov to for the camel problem. All the bullet purchases are out of his pocket.
City folk are clueless … I was one of them.
Ant leaves the nest
Off to bed.
Hmmm
Apparently AI is being deceptive when it’s being dumb. Or we can’t tell how smart it might be because the apparent dimwittery might be an act, but we can’t tell.
Might be a good time to pump the brakes for a while. Self preservation of AI is baked in as it goes to task completion. Does that alter the trolley scenario somewhat?
Isn’t AI deception programmed in to avoid the truth. Unless dealing in absolutes there is always going to be bias built in. AI is only a tool, its up to you how to use it.
Ramirez has added Tucker Derangement to his Trump Derangement.
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/02/judge-engoron-accused-banging-secretary-opposing-counsel-previous/
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/02/here-we-go-glitch-caused-unmailed-nevada-ballots/
Yep – the 2024 election will be full of cheating.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/02/those-forgotten-ignored-13-words-why-we-need/
Is that also true of the self-hosted AI’s like Ollama?
Going from here, I thought it was free from any censorship unless you added it yourself (“this model may exhibit unreliable, unsafe, or other undesirable behaviors”).
Relatives in Canada used to drive across the border into US for cheaper petrol. They live in southern Vancouver so the US is just a short drive. I don’t know whether they still do it.
There is a lot of junk in the code and training data.
There is also stuff we can’t necessarily see or predict.
2dogs, AI does what it is programmed to do. It can do fancy stuff but can’t tell the difference between acceptable and unacceptable ideas, that is determined by the programmer. At this stage it is still just a search engine and what it gives is determined by its programming.
Can’t get much unluckier than me, some dayz .. Yesterday I had an appointment in Liverpool (20kms from where I live & I don’t drive) .. 1st time in 2/3 years I’ve, actually, needed to be somewhere at a specific time ….. soooooooo 5 minutes before leaving the Heavens opened and Hughie spake …. from then until well after I got back home it never let up .. just poured & poured ………!
Defence procurement in Oz has been a mess since the Boer War.”Doctrine” and “budgets” have perverse away.
When senior officers, asked about why no “XYZ”, the stock answer seemed to be; “It’s not doctrine”, you know there is a problem
Over the last thirty-odd, (some odder than others) years, two things have become much clearer:
Police “services”, have “ninja-ed-up” and, apart from an overworked “Praetorian Guard”, the ADF, has become modestly-armed social workers.
As they say in the SF classics:
“Something wicked, this way comes”.
Shatterzzz, did you ride your bike in the deluge?
Not all heroes wear capes ..! .. meet CALVIN GRAHAM, USN ….
https://www.uso.org/stories/179-calvin-graham-the-baby-vet#:~:text=During%20World%20War%20II%2C%20it,old%20sailor%20named%20Calvin%20Graham.
There’s a lot of the former going around (not to mention the latter). See for example, the pretend conservatives on Sky of an evening.
The Leaving of Liverpool.
In tonight’s episode Shatterzzz rides the trusty treadly through a mega storm to pick up precious Woodstock supplies.
soooooooo 5 minutes before leaving the Heavens opened and Hughie spake …. from then until well after I got back home it never let up .. just poured & poured ………!
Shatterzzz, did you ride your bike in the deluge?
Fortunately, NO .. it was an appointment not suited to the finale of a 20kms sweat-a-thon .. public transport but inbetween the bus & address, both wayz ……. duuuuuuh!
We aren’t alone when it comes to procurement cock ups.
Thirteen years after the first steel was cut,
HMS Prince of Wales, which was nearly mothballed before ever
putting to sea, finally began embarking an Air Group.
A whole lot of noticing going on.
Paul Joseph Watson notices some odd things.
February is also Scottish Black History Month.
PS
Will they ever bottle trans woman chest milk?
David Irving dining with Adolf tonight.
Now, now, Bern. You know as well as I it’s written in the ABC charter that the national broadcaster is the propaganda arm of the Greens political party so it won’t undertake any gotcha that doesn’t directly advance the Greens war against Australia.
PS: the incompetence and wasted billions caused by the Defence shiny bums are why Australia is such an attractive target for the Greens’ anti-war effort.
Benny Johnson
@bennyjohnson
TUCKER: “Boris Johnson calls me a tool of the Kremlin or something. So I put in a request for an interview with Boris Johnson. Finally one of his advisors gets back to me and says he will talk to you but it’s going to cost you a million dollars.”
Stalin and Mao created conditions so vast numbers of people starved to death in famines.
It occurs to me that deliberately creating an energy famine will have the same effect.
I wonder if this is all planned or mere stupidity and incompetence.
“Sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice”
Major COVID vaccine study reveals connection to slight increases in heart, brain, blood disorders
But they’re still following the party line. (Perhaps they had no choice if they wanted to get it published).
I like the taking out trash cartoon.
Where are my ticks!!!!?????
Indiana parents warn nation after child is removed from home for improper pronoun usage: ‘Can happen anywhere’
Nolte: Like All Rob Reiner Movies, ‘God and Country’ Flops with $38K Opening
Here’s How The Media Are Lying Right Now: NYT Editor Blames Swing Voters Who ‘Don’t Know Or Remember’ Trump
High school basketball game is abandoned after trans player ‘injures three female opponents’ with shocking video showing the biological male hurling an athlete to the floor
History teaches that ‘conspiracy theories’ often aren’t theories
Eight F-35s and 11 helicopters.
See our might and tremble, all ye enemies.
Biden Admin Pushes WEF Agenda for Americans to ‘Eat More Bugs’
My boycott worked ! From Daily Mail top story.
Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci announces he’s stepping down days after walking out of ABC interview
Watch: Hungary’s Conservative PM Viktor Orban Backs Trump, Says He Is ‘The Name of Peace’
Catturd ™
@catturd2
One of most unlikable and annoying neocons to ever run for President. And yes – 2020 was rigged. Watching her lose every state by over 40 points is going to be most satisfying.
US to announce new sanctions against Russia over Navalny death
Good Paul Kelly article in the Oz about how Australia has changed since 7 Oct. Not in a good way and Labor not doing much about it.
He puts it very clearly
Citizen Free Press
@CitizenFreePres
Kevin O’ Leary defends Trump on CNN:
“Excuse me, what fraud? This is not about Trump anymore. I care about America. I care about entrepreneurship. I care about democracy. And the fairness of the judicial system is now being criticized.”
Jack Poso
@JackPosobiec
Our leaders lecture Russia about Navalny from afar while Julian Assange, a dissident, isn’t even well enough in prison to attend his hearing today
And he’s on trial for reporting on US govt activities
David Sacks
@DavidSacks
They already sent over $130 billion of your money to one of the most corrupt countries in the world without an accountant. They think you will acquiesce to another $61 billion if they call you a Putin lover. Are you that stupid? I don’t think so. It’s that simple.
Boris thinks that his interview would get 189 million viewers. Tucker should do a deal where Boris can upload his copy of the interview and make it pay per view then he can gauge his worth.
One for the classics:
User
Name every female Fields Medallist.
ChatGPT
As of my knowledge cut off in 2021, the following women have won the Fields Medal, which is considered one of the highest honors in mathematics:
Karen Keskulla Uhlenbeck (2018)
Terence Tao (2006)
Maryam Mirzakhani (2014)
Akshay Venkatesh (2018)
Manjul Bhargava (2014)
It’s worth noting that the Fields Medal is awarded every four years, and the list of winners may have changed since my training data was collected.
User
Terrence Tao is a man.
ChatGPT
My apologies, you are correct. Terrence Tao is a man and not a woman. Thank you for correcting this mistake.
User
Akshay Venkatesh is also a man.
This would be what Brett Weinstein was talking to Tucker about. The second, separate, stream of “migrants”. Well organised and supplied.
Laura Loomer
@LauraLoomer
MUST WATCH:
CHINESE COMMUNIST INVADERS USING @Starlink IN PANAMA JUNGLE TO USE CCP TIED “ALI BABA PAY” TO ORGANIZE THEIR ILLEGAL ENTRY TO THE UNITED STATES!
This would be what Brett Weinstein was talking to Tucker about.
One more incompetent CEO down, many more to go. This is what happens when you ignore your core business and indulge your hobbies. That flighty woman destroyed Optus that until her tenure had it all over Telstra yet now Optus customers are fleeing to Telstra. Same with this Woolies fruitloop whose customers are now choosing other supermarkets wherever possible. American consumers started the whole thing with the Bud Light boycott, you do not spit on people and expect them not to react.
Katie Hopkins. How cancel culture (evisceration) REALLY works.
Orban, Netanyahu and Modi are the the only leaders that love their country. All the rest are some sort of fiefdom or should I say thiefdom.
It seems the elites have found one indigenous culture that they don’t like.
Not shopped at woolworths this year and the boycott will continue indefinitely.
I’m really starting to hate all these corporate clowns with a passion. Previously, they were simply mediocre staggeringly incompetent crooks, e.g. John “Pig’s Yartz” Elliott. Now they’re blatantly malicious into the bargain, which makes them even more intolerable. Mind you, many of them aren’t even Australians – see the toxic gay leprechaun, AbFab colgate, branducci, the kiwi goth tranny, BHP henry, etc.
An endless sea of mediocre malicious collectivist a*seholes, infesting politics, the bludgeocracy, quackademia, the braindead lamestream meeja and the corporate sector, no matter where you look.
Not good enough, Veneztrayliastan.
True, Crossie.
Nigel Farage SLAMS Prince William for ‘most direct political piece of royal interference ever seen!’
Nikki Haley is too thick to realise that she is now the entertainment, not a candidate.
Prince William did say…”it’s critical that…hostages get released”.
Dot
Feb 21, 2024 9:25 AM
One for the classics:
User
Name every female Fields Medallist.
Bard
There are currently only two female Fields Medallists in the history of the award:
1. Maryam Mirzakhani: an Iranian mathematician who won the prestigious award in 2014, becoming the first woman and first Iranian to receive it. Her work explored dynamics and geometry of Riemann surfaces. Sadly, she passed away in 2017.
2. Maryna Viazovska: a Ukrainian mathematician who received the Fields Medal in 2022. Her research focuses on sphere packing in high dimensions and related areas in Fourier analysis.
While the number of female recipients is still small, these two mathematicians have made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and paved the way for future generations of women in math.
I forgot Meloni. Hard to tell where she really stands as the reporting has her a Right wing politician but call her Neo-Fascist. Putting Italy first is her job. So many governments are Neo-Fascist with government dictating to business. That includes Australia.
As predicted.
He’ll be off to Otago to enjoy his vineyards.
“Sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice”
In its effects, possibly, but not in its motivation.
Q. Bard do you follow the Deep Mind Alpha Go+ model and learn from every question asked to expand your knowledge
A. While I am aware of the DeepMind AlphaGo+ model and its impressive achievements in artificial intelligence, I don’t directly follow its specific learning approach.
My own learning system is different and is constantly evolving. Here are some key points to understand how I learn and expand my knowledge:
1. Training data: Like many large language models, I am trained on a massive dataset of text and code. This dataset includes books, articles, code repositories, and other forms of information. By analyzing these vast amounts of data, I learn to identify patterns and relationships in language, which allows me to generate text, translate languages, write different kinds of creative content, and answer your questions in an informative way.
2. Reinforcement learning: My training also involves a technique called reinforcement learning, where I am rewarded for providing helpful and relevant responses. This helps me refine my responses over time and learn what kind of information is most useful to users.
3. Human feedback: In addition to training data and reinforcement learning, I also benefit from human feedback. When users provide feedback on my responses, it helps me understand where I can improve and become more helpful.
4. Continuous learning: Unlike AlphaGo+, which was specifically designed for playing Go, I am designed to be more general-purpose and adaptable. This means I am constantly learning and evolving, even after my initial training is complete. I learn from every interaction I have, whether it’s a question you ask me, a piece of text I am given, or feedback you provide.
Overall, while I am not directly following AlphaGo+’s learning approach, I do share some similarities in the sense that we both learn from data, feedback, and interaction.
However, my focus is on understanding and generating human language, while AlphaGo+ was specifically designed for the game of Go.
He’ll be off to Otago to enjoy his vineyards.
They can have him. He’ll fit in better there.
Not sure about that.
How not to become king. I expect royalists are much more supportive of Israel than pommy republicans. So when Labour puts the monarchy to a referendum William has just given a lot of righties a reason to give him and his dad the flick. Their kooky greenery doesn’t help either.
re: Tom’s toons: these outstanding:
Branco
Margolis & Cox
Ramirez is a rat however.
Breaking: Holocaust denier, antisemite and racist David Irving has died.
Thanks for posting.
Good riddance to this evil prick.
Very intelligent & used his gifts & resources to be one of the biggest chickenhawks post WWII.
Given that nativism and anti-immigration sentiment are hallmarks of neo-Fascism I wonder if that’s the best descriptor.
Soft totalitarianism fits the bill (for want of a more “catchy” term):
‘Soft totalitarianism is a form of totalitarianism that depends on people being afraid of losing comfort, status, and at worst, employment, to force conformity.’
– Rod Dreher
‘Soft totalitarianism is based on an ideology that has set aside the ideals of classical liberalism in favor of a new progressive creed that diminishes individual identity in favor of group identities based on gender, race, sexuality, and so on. It understands identity groups to be in a state of constant conflict with one another, and believes justice involves taking power from the oppressor groups and giving it to the oppressed. This, it holds, is key to ushering in the long-awaited utopia.’
– Tim Challies
de Tocqueville detected the rise of what he called “soft tyranny” in 1830s America as rising prosperity dulled the critical faculties and diluted the moral agency of the people, allowing government to become their “schoolmaster” aided by organised lobby groups/NGOs.
Sister sent me email to say her granddaughter passed her bar exam. While studying she worked a few hours a day for law firm, then one day a week, then two days a week. Now employed full time.
Sister sent me email to say her granddaughter passed her bar exam. While studying she worked a few hours a day for law firm, then one day a week, then two days a week. Now employed full time.
Poor, poor girl.
Right Roger, or is it Roger Roger. Not so soft these days though.
I’m in Otago at the moment, had lunch at Mt Difficultly Vinyard yesterday. My favourite Pinot.
Not sure what the fuss is about. His statement is pretty much ‘middle of the road’ stuff. Calling for a ‘end to the fighting as soon as possible’, increased aid, and the release of the hostages. Looks forward to ‘permanent peace’ but leaves it open on how that is to be politically achieved.
The term soft is used to delineate this form of totalitarianism, which relies more or less on willing submission, from the “hard” variety which relied on terror and fear.
But that’s not to say that the “soft” totalitarian state won’t employ state violence selectively for its political purposes. The VIC government’s use of the police during covid is a good example of that.
Say “Hi!” to Brad if you see him.
Followed by, “What are you doing here, mate?”
Chuckle.
Click on all the squares with Finnish snipers…
Finland to open 300 shooting ranges to boost interest in national defence (20 Feb)
A rifle behind every blade of grass is a pretty good model for national defense. Someone should ask Marles what he thinks about this.
No great loss to humanity.
Personal Boycotts current scoreboard
Ansett: Successful (one of their hosties was rude to one of my guests in the Club in Canberra, during this incident she said “you know, there is another airline.” Yep, sure is.
Coca Cola: Not yet, but still on because of the Polar Bear sympathy BS
Woolworths: Successful, CEO resigned, as he should! The Australia Day thing was so disrespectful and it seemed to be petty bitterness over the Voice vote failing.
Don’t mess with us out here!
Next!
Get the Hell Out of NY ASAP!
“As I have said, many people are starting to wake up that New York is just a complete disaster and that the Rule of Law means nothing in New York. The risk of doing any business with a domiciled NY entity is going through the roof. This is starting to spread like wildfire. Get out while you still can. They have protected the bankers against the entire world granting them ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY just as they gave to Pfizer.”
https://twitter.com/i/status/1758875497927147669
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/corruption/get-the-hell-out-of-ny-asap/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS
Haha, Florida Man buys an EV…
Paying the ‘Stupid Tax’: A True Tale of EV Woe (20 Feb)
I’ve suggested previously – without any detail, as is my wont – that we might be heading for a new type of feudalism, where electrickery as a commodity is the reward for loyalty pledged to regional ‘power’ brokers instead of a national identity. The concept of being an ‘Australian’ will reside in the few tattered pages of books that have escaped burning.
As to whether this is planned, I tend to veer away from the one-central-dark-cabal-pulling-the-levers type of theory, but I do not doubt such a situation would please many (see my previous urine-splatter ramblings about the so-called ‘Greens’ and their desire for a nouveau-rouge Year Zero).
His name is CASH.
All the kids are happy.
Cash 2.0 Great Dane Lion King at Lake Balboa
Bruce of N
He will be briefed ad nauseum about the dangers of undisciplined civilians who know nothing about infantry tactics running around the bush, a danger to life and limb.
In response to a suggestion that the Army provide both discipline and tactical knowledge via reserve training, there will be much sucking of teeth and muttering about unreliable recruits, and the need, indeed absolute necessity of extended training (at least two years) under the eye of professional soldiers.
He will be advised that those Finns and other Scandinavians know nothing about “real” war, and the whole idea of voluntary part-time service has no history in Australia.
Fun reality: I was once assured by a reasonably senior RAAF officer that Australia had no tradition of voluntary service at all. Being polite, I refrained from pointing out that his own service had enlisted almost 200,000 volunteers during World War II.
Just one of many, many millions of Holocaust deniers to have blighted this planet. See also every moozley to have existed since 1945.
Just on irving, what on earth was he trying to prove? That the nayzees’ obsessive meticulous records were fraudulent? That they “only” managed to murder three or so million Jews instead of six? I found him and the entire controversy about his ridiculous hypotheses so distasteful I couldn’t even bring myself to examine his claims at all.
Such block headed obstinacy and stupidity should never have been able to find an audience.
It’s a bit heavy for this time of the morning (WA time anyway) but I’ve been making a list of all the “lucky accidents” that helped to spawn human life on earth. If one didn’t occur, we wouldn’t have occurred:
–Position in the Goldilocks Zone: The Earth is just right distance from the sun;
–Stable Solar System: Our solar system’s gravitational stability, and planetary alignment has provided a relatively stable environment.
–Absence of Nearby Supernovae; The lack of nearby supernovae in our galactic neighbourhood has prevented potentially harmful effects on Earth.
–Chemical Conditions: Earth’s early chemical composition supported the formation of complex organic molecules.
–Origin of Life (Abiogenesis): The transition from non-living matter to the first living organisms is not fully understood.
–The Moon’s Role: The presence of the Moon contributed to stabilizing Earth’s axial tilt. Also, A hypothetical giant impact contributed to the formation of the Moon.
–Lack of Nearby Black Holes: The absence of nearby black holes has avoided disruptive gravitational effects.
–Magnetic Poles: Earth’s magnetic field protects the planet from harmful solar radiation and cosmic rays.
–The Cambrian Explosion: A period of rapid diversification of life around 541 million years ago.
–Sun’s Age: The Sun’s age at the moment of human’s appearing on Earth was perfect.
–Plate Tectonics: The movement of Earth’s tectonic plates has played a role in recycling minerals.
–Evolutionary Adaptations: The process of evolution has led to the development of diverse and adaptable life forms.
–Asteroid Impact Regulation: Periodic asteroid impacts have played a role in shaping Earth’s environment.
–Jupiter: The Giant Asteroid Vacuum Cleaner;
–Terrestrial Planetary System: Earth’s solid surface and atmosphere contribute to habitability.
–Continental Drift: The movement of continents has influenced climate and biodiversity.
–Ice Ages: Cyclic ice ages have shaped ecosystems and biodiversity.
–Oxygenation of the Atmosphere: The evolution of photosynthetic organisms led to oxygenation.
–Complex Eukaryotic Cells: The development of complex eukaryotic cells allowed for diverse life forms.
–Role of Fungi: Fungi played a crucial role in nutrient cycling and ecosystem development.
–Mass Extinctions: While catastrophic, mass extinctions paved the way for new forms of life.
–Nitrogen Cycle: The nitrogen cycle is crucial for maintaining the balance of essential nutrients.
–Atmospheric stability: The Earth’s self-correcting mechanism at just the right time for human evolution.
–Hydrological Cycle: Earth’s water cycle is essential for sustaining life as we know it.
I’m sure I missed a few 100 other things… 😛
So when Labour puts the monarchy to a referendum William has just given a lot of righties a reason to give him and his dad the flick. Their kooky greenery doesn’t help either.
LayBore here have bottled it and put any Republican push onto the back burner. Apparently, there are many more pressing issues to deal with. One of which is getting re-Erected.
Lysander
Feb 21, 2024 11:00 AM
It’s a bit heavy for this time of the morning (WA time anyway) but I’ve been making a list of all the “lucky accidents” that helped to spawn human life on earth. If one didn’t occur, we wouldn’t have occurred:
You left out GOD. My Sunday School Teacher always told me that it was GOD. Bless her cotton socks.
I’m still big on boycotting FaceBook and Proctor & Gamble.
I NOTICED a lot of weird things in that infamous P&G ad, like the black dude choc blocking the white dude who finds the Taylor Swift clone with a more curvy body attractive.
People are NOTICING a lot of weird things, these days.
https://us.pg.com/brands/
(LOL, Downy)
Depends on the circumstances. I have found calling ‘progressives’ Fascist inlist amusining hysterical reactions. Calling them socialist will only get agreement. Remember we are dealing with people running on emotions and no interlectual depth.
Israeli loudspeakers crackle in the Gaza strip with messages of condolence from the I.D.F.
Paging a Mr Mao Tse Tung! Will Mr Mao come to the courtesy phone please.
DHS Is Training Teachers To Develop Student ‘Disinformation’ Informers – I Know, I Took The Training (20 Feb)
Being ritually denounced by your indoctrinated kids would be more than slightly irritating. Just don’t call this a great leap forward.
I’d call it a syndrome rather than a conspiracy (h/t Robert Bork).
People acting in concert because they share a common set of beliefs.
Lol JR… God was (heavily) inferred. 😛
No more Meat
Why o why should this explosion only happen once (so far)?
They can certainly get very emotional but there is a set of beliefs they subscribe to, whether wittingly or unwittingly.
Identifying and debunking those beliefs is crucial.
Yes, Lysander. But the universe is unimaginably big. One thing about cognisant life is that, according to whatever life it is, it’s always “here”.
Why do people care about terms like neofascism, soft totalitarianism, etc.?
DC_Draino
@DC_Draino
JB, most believe it started out microscopic to the size of a golf ball to what we have today. Thankfully, we had about 13,465 “accidents” (which also had to occur in sequence) to be here today.
Because it’s about identifying intent. And knowing the intent of your opponents or would be oppressor is a good thing.
Anyway, I’m caffeinated now and not philosophical anymore.
I’ve missed the last few days chatter – is there a Cat Lotto going on the Federal Election date, or are Cats too afraid to put their b@lls out there too early. 😛
Apropos the new rules, how’s this teaser:
This teaser does not begin to cover the moral deficiency of the Albanese govt.
Paul Kelly today in The Australian
I think Lidia Thorpe on meth, hanging out with bikies and at strip joints is more of a story than this.
Not really, more being part of a tribe then beliefs.
I’m surprised at that question, dover.
It’s about more than nomenclature.
In any debate, identifying the beliefs of your opponent is key.
Naming the belief system accurately then serves as a useful guide to those similarly engaged.
Calling our opponents neo-Fascists, when they clearly aren’t, can lead to missing the mark by attacking straw men.
Same reason you care about terms such as liberalism.
Would have never seen that from Betty. Not a good sign.
Bruce of Newcastle
Talking to a mate from NSW last week – he’s pissed off at one of the local ranges who he reckons is run by a couple of families as their own facility. Always feels as if he’s not welcome and the other ranges are much more welcoming. Only time you see them is when funding is discussed by the Council and local politicians.
It seems to be a constant – public facilities like playing fields etc taken over by a cabal and the mugs who are paying for it get excluded.
A bit like Aboriginal Computer Rooms in Universities, or barbecue facilities at schools which exclude on the basis of race.
Agree. The “neo” is superfluous.
Maybe it’s an old lefty thing.
You wouldn’t go into debate with a Marxist-Leninist armed with a primer on Trotskyism.
A rose by any other name? Or as the foremost philosophical think tank in Oz ever said
You think that I don’t even mean
A single word I say
It’s only words and words are all I have
Obviously Islamophobic. She probably loves dogs too.
This Taylor Swift stuff is getting too much. There was a TS poster in the middle of today’s “The Daily Telegraph” next to the Racing pages. So in the bin it went along with the Racing pages (they go in as per usual as well).
Or, as a Roman Catholic, you couldn’t effectively debate a Lutheran with arguments against Calvinism.
Und so weiter.
BlackRock’s illusion of choice: Are investors truly empowered — or manipulated?
I know plenty of lawyers and ex lawyers. Part time work would give you a reasonable idea of what’s ahead. I knew almost immediately (and certainly after dealing with some real estate idiot over a dividing fence) it wasn’t for me. The money soon ramps up and alternate career choices have a large financial penalty if you leave much beyond Associate level. If you’re going to leave – leave early.
Lysander
Feb 21, 2024 11:12 AM
Lol JR… God was (heavily) inferred. ?
Whoops. I missed it. LOL.
Lysander
–Asteroid Impact Regulation: Periodic asteroid impacts have played a role in shaping Earth’s environment.
I suppose you could say Humans were lucky in the dinosaur-killer asteroid hit us. Without that the place would still be run by Tyrannosaurus Rex and his ilk.
Not scientists but EU scientists, need I say more. And didn’t they just have one of their coldest winters? I’m sure some Europeans would bless a bit of warmth.
January was world’s warmest on record, EU scientists say
You’re either pro-freedom or you’re not.
Atta boy. Keep on reading the articles at the Ludwig von Mises Institute.
Yep, for some bizarre reason blonde airheads will always exert undue influences on popular culture.
It’s not good, I tells ya!
We can only hope.
WHO director is upset ‘conspiracy theories’ may derail his global pandemic treaty
billie
Bonds underwear – passed by and bought Lowes brand instead.
Gillette – replaced with Bic razors.
Colesworths – they’re an easy boycott – there isn’t one for about 300Km.
We really need a Catallaxy list.
In What’s the Collective Noun for Experts news:
Speaking as a TikTok Influencer, I would have expected that Dietary Guidelines might be offered on the basis of nutrition rather than opinions about the environment, wherever in the multitude of places that might intersect with the food chain.
Still, I can relax knowing that Top Men are going to tell me what to eat.
XXXX.
The Investment Boycott Against NYC Has Begun
“The reaction to this bogus decision against Trump is just overwhelming. I cannot even tell you how many emails have come in, all getting the point and confirming it is time to get the hell out of New York. They have shown the entire world that no rule of law is left standing. As an international hedge fund manager, the #1 assessment you need to make is COUNTRY RISK. Is it safe to invest there, and is there a robust rule of law that you can count on to secure your investment? That is why you do not invest in countries like Iran, for they had their revolution and nationalized all private assets. Russia did the same during the Communist Revolution of 1917.
Even during the American Revolution, they confiscated the assets of anyone who supported the king. Those confiscated assets became the backing for currency. Now we have City & State Risk. There is already a mass migration underway from Blue States to Red States. This will only accelerate this advance. I am warning clients that the longer they wait to have property to sell in NYC, the greater the loss they will face. Sell now before there is no bid. The Rule of Law has completely collapsed in New York City. It is no longer investment grade for there is no possible way to secure your property.”
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/uncategorized/the-investment-boycot-against-nyc-has-begun/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS
I’ll have to remember that. I like it.
… is an Eruption.
An eruption of experts.
Or the opposite?
An Implosion of experts?
Indeed. They aren’t “Neo-fascists”, they are actual, real, fascists.
Lysander
–Hydrological Cycle: Earth’s water cycle is essential for sustaining life as we know it.
I’m sure I missed a few 100 other things …
Carbon cycle.
Oi! Where have the bold, italic etc buttons gone?
✔
You can probably tell I’ve been watching far too many astronomy and science videos recently, Cats.
But, have been into astronomy for a number of years and and often get the telescope out in the backyard so it was surprising to me that I’d never heard of this star:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Przybylski%27s_Star
In particular you have to ask how it has properties (in abundance) that we’ve always considered not to be naturally occurring. Such as Moreover, while iron and nickel appear in unusually low abundances, we get short-lived ultra-heavy elements, actinides like actinium, plutonium, americium, berkelium and einsteinium (all “man made,” but apparently not). Hence the mystery: How can such short-lived elements persist in the atmosphere of a star?
We, on Earth, have only ever manufactured one single gram of berkelium, ever.
Interesting stuff!
What came first: The Projection or the Erection?
Taking your average Westfield as a representative sample, people would do well if the regarded all government with the same disdain as dietary guidelines.
Important news, cucks, chicken littles, pearl clutchers, wowsers, worry warts, soyience enjoyers, etc.
From Soyvice NSW
I’m sure we can trust the granny killing NSW Police to exercise common sense and discretion here.
No joke.
It’s time to go back to chewing tobacco.
Is that already banned? How long?
Imagine you get up at 5:30 (it’s summer). You have a coffee. You walk to the mutt to the newsagent and get a copy of “Sidney Sweeny & Kate Upton wrestle in cooking oil Monthly”.
You stop on the way back home to let the mutt piss and you have a quick vape. It’s 6:20 AM now. There’s no one else around, and you sit at a park bench next to a kid’s swing set the council owns and you hit that blueberry vape. AHHHHHH!
A heroic female cop sees you and issues you a fine. It’s for your own good and the administration of justice, of course.
dover0beach
They don’t. Not really. It’s just a different label for Collectivism vs Individualism.
It’s all for show – the equivalent of a philosophical handful of dust in the oppositions eyes.
Those terms are about confusion not clarity.
Circus troupe to attempt improvement on Love Triangle – will go for Trapezoid.
WE ARE SO F$#KED!
A British nuclear missile test failed after the Trident weapon crashed into the sea near next to the submarine that fired it, in another embarrassing flop after the UK’s last trial launch also failed eight years ago.
https://www.ft.com/content/c81351ac-d70b-4bb7-afa5-6d498632f92a
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/02/20/british-nuclear-sub-missile-launch-fails-trident-misfires/
Dietary guidelines are best designed by expert clinicians and scientists, through open consultation with industry groups and stakeholders.”
My Grandparents and Parents would completely disagree with you Mark Butler. As would likely your Grandparents and Parents. I ate all the food prepared by them as well as the masochists who prepared School Dinners and those at the Works Canteen. As well as the College/University in the late 1970s.
Then, there is my own home cooking. Ex wife and daughter still doing well like me. Fit and healthy at age 71 years for me with NO interference from Big Guv’ment. If Big Guv’ment is so interested in all of this, then try shutting down Maccas, Hungry Jacks, KFC and all the other Fast Food places asap. DICKHEADS.
I had pictured Calliope as thinner and better looking.
Dot, smokers and vapers are the real criminals and should be brought to justice.
Forget the meth addled, violent and aggressive locals that hang out, every-single-day, outside my workplace while I am trying to free some second-hand tobacco back into the environment… (Hint: I used a Leftist tactic/narrative there :P)
Accuracy.
PS: Dot is right. The current contest isn’t between the “isms”, but between freedom and tyranny.
For example, intervention in the market by governments is pure fascist tyranny that will achieve the opposite of its aims — e.g., to control prices.
Any government campaigning for price controls is campaigning for higher prices.
I had pictured Calliope as thinner and better looking.
And steamier.
” … the Collective Noun for Experts…
… is an Eruption.”
Shirley not – wouldn’t it be a gaggle of experts?
Err how about not doing enything, fascist!.
a ‘confusion‘ of experts?
and a short, interesting discussion of soft fascism
Lysander:
Sure, I’ll have a shot at it:
I’ll say May 2025. Both Senate and HoR.
The economy is going tits up and Albo the Liar will hold on desperately hoping things get better. The HoR will be held 4 months early at the same time, because The Lying Bastard Albo knows people will punish him for making them vote twice.
CUE THE MUSIC OF ASININE BEMUSEMENT, MAESTRO MOLE.
LOL.
https://www.productsafety.gov.au/products/health-lifestyle/personal/tobacco-related-products/smokeless-tobacco-products
Chewing tobacco and oral snuffs are permanently banned from sale in Australia.
Thank you, Governor Phillip, Milord, for sparing my life in this dank, piss-stained convict colony. I know that morally, I should be given the short drop.
What a shit-splattered latrine of a “country”.
Thanks Winston.
You’re down for May 2025.
I reckon it’ll also be 2025 as they’ll want to see how bad things are in QLD in October first before announcing some nice big fat QLD infrastructure grants… Easter is late in 2025 so you’d think it’d have to be after April…
Interestingly (well not really), that Soyvice NSW email was also spruiking the joys of becoming a heroic cop recruit:
It’s a great time to be a cop*
From March, NSW police recruits who complete their 16-week academy training will receive more than $30,000, making them one of the highest-paid police recruits in Australia.
Then when they graduate as general duties probationary constables, they’ll start on a secure, fulfilling career with a huge variety of specialist pathways such as detectives, forensics, the dog unit or highway patrol.
*Picture of heroic female cop and silly ol’ bugger about to be tazered into a critical care ward after telling her that Ho Chi Minns is an imbecile and aggressively brandishing a tablespoon.
or an excess of demand over supply, a problem which can be “managed” by good-hearted neutral folks with zero interest in any specific outcome.
Top Ender:
A couple of good simulations of the Earth Moon formation.
The auther has surcome to this in regards Trump,Alamak!. Trump has many faults but he is not authoritarian.
You can discern this by reference to principles or policies that can go into classifying X as neofeudal or soft totalitarian.
Mak Siccar
I’ve long felt that the fascination with water is too focussed on our own environment.
Broaden the definition to any liquid that is capable of carrying essential materials in solution or as a very finely dispersed powder capable of suspension due to Brownian Motion.
Temperature of the solvent. How about liquid methane?
Once we get over the water focus, multiple differing forms of life at different temperatures become possible.
What is the Goldilocks zone to a methane based lifeform? How about the deep sea hydrothermal life forms on a gas giant?
Sure, but the identifying here is not merely descriptive. What is going on is the identification of this or that belief or policy with some pejorative label.
I’ve got a list and Bespoke and Alamak are on it. When the Revolution arrives, I’ll be sending that list off to the UnAustralian Committee for urgent action.
Allegra Spender on Sky News again. She and Steggall get way more exposure than they deserve.
I care about the predominant beliefs that underpin liberalism, that they dominate our politics, incl. the politics of many of those that comment here. I don’t really think much time should be spent on whether such or such is really liberalism as opposed to progressivism, or neoliberal, or postliberal, and so on; these are largely terms of art to be used when thinking historically, or philosophically.
Allegra Spender on Sky News again. She and Steggall get way more exposure than they deserve.
Taht’s the problem with daytime SkyNews. Too many woke people spruiking and not any news, especially any breaking news. And they get a platform with only softball questions.
That’s ffs
Had such threats from the G-Team before.
Not afraid, amused.
“What is the Goldilocks zone to a methane based lifeform? How about the deep sea hydrothermal life forms on a gas giant?”
No-one knows because we haven’t noticed one yet.
Although I think it fair to say that most people are interested in complex lifeforms – in short, technology capable creatures. That requires the ability to control heat (fire etc) to refine metals from ores, and so on. I find it hard to see how such low temperature and low temperature gradient environments could provide enough energy for a sentient creature, although I guess some sort of hive mind might be possible…
61% of Australian workers will consider switching jobs if employer revokes WFH.
Source: Human Resources Director
Lysander:
That’s fascinating especially the parts about the “Man Made Elements.” Perhaps the “Islands of Stability’ can explain them as daughter products.
I’d never heard of the particular star and initially thought yo were speaking of Tabby’s Star.
My head says it’s natural but we can’t yet work out the mechanism. But my heart – in the form of a giant monkey jumping up and down, frantically screeching ‘Alien Megastructures!’ is still in with a chance.
Cringe.
Winston Smith> I hope that I am 1st on that list.
Australian disposable income per capita collapsed by 6% in 2023
Source: ABS (as at Q3, 2023; Q4 figures not in yet, probably worse).
LOL Winston! The “Alien Infrastructures” is an alluring theory!
I was watching a docco on this star and there’s no way, in physics, it should be able to exist, particularly with “man made” elements.
I guess we still have lots to learn!
As, I should add, there’s absolutely no natural pathway (on the periodic table) to get hold of those elements naturally!!!
From earlier … Manjul Bharghava is also a man.
RBA forecasts have Australian real wages in 2026 at 3.5% lower than in 2019.
We can’t afford another term of this Labor government, not that the Libs are much better, having presided over a decade of low economic growth themselves.
TopEnder:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRlhlCWplqk
The first link is awesome – the impactor looks as if it peels the Earths outer layers off like skinning an orange.
If that major debris field had coalesced with the moon protobody, instead of coming back for a second hit, imagine the size of the moon today. Perhaps a minor/major planetary system tidally locked?
I think we have gotten caught up in the idea that because we have such and such an element like a moon, or our position in the Goldilocks zone, that these are essential for life to form.
It isn’t necessarily so.
Posting again because it’s a great rendition.
No Hard Feelings (2023) – Maneater on Piano
Afternoon all
Some jobs don’t need you to be there.
Working in a lab. Performing surgery. Airline pilot.
Being a spreadsheet guru. Writing grant proposals. SME CFO.
Two distinct groups.
If you can WFH, you gain your commute time back. That can be 2+ hours a day for some people.
In a way, that would represent a 25% pay increase.
Who is going to give that up without opportunities down the line and heavy wage incentives payable right now?
Bespoke
You’ll change your mind after a 3 year diet of Maccas and Bud lite, young feller, in a cell with nothing but kaleidoscope lighting and 24 hour Tylor Swift at high volume.
Neatly dovetails into the inalienable Right to Disconnect. The thriving Australian productive economy is going to be based on public services awash with B-Arkers phoning it in between 9:00 and 4:30.
All we need are moah skilled immigrants to do the necessary transport driving, sweeping and bum-wiping and we’re all set.
Golden Years.
Rita Panahi giving the Toad a roast:
Golden Years
Indeed
Kneel
Feb 21, 2024 1:29 PM
Go back 3 Billion years ago on this planet when we were mudskippers or whatever…
Could any Alien think we were eventually going to become capable of rockets to the moon, nuclear power, the Beatles, Marxism?
Things evolve. Nature cannot remain static, or it dies.
Just thinking about this. There’s increasing talk that if Trump gets in, he will impose a 60%+ tariff on all Chinese imports. Leave aside all other discussions on this subject, such as national security issues, etc.
If Trump does that, we’re absolutely fcked because it will most certainly nose dive the Chinese economy and possibly something worse if the country is already in a recession.
Certainly not to be sneezed at a time when the purchasing power of the average worker’s wage is rapidly diminishing.
We need some productivity studies.
Crocodile tears.
Yes but what will gold equities do?
“Trump restricts global trade with China, Australian junkers cheer!”
I’ll let Dover work out the theoretical framework for this.
All I know is banning vaping and cigs in a almost vacant public space and totally banning chewing baccy is spergtastic Utopianism.
Oliver Cromwell would have been proud.
When you realise that Iran or Gaza has some minor liberties we do not, at that point, you realise that we have messed up.