IIRR Zulu, Cardigan went on to several years of a fairly happy life, although he was sometimes derided for the loss of the Light Brigade.

Also somewhat ironically died from falling off a horse.

Of course Ace of AoS is another chickenhawk wishing some cadre of square-jawed patriots would save him from today’s cold, hard dose of reality.

As to who these neo-Confederates might be, no one can say. They are just… Out There, like Bigfoot and Q.

Muddy
 June 1, 2024 6:17 pm

Serious question.

Can a resident legal beagle please explain the difference between these pro-h@m@s camp-ins (and associated pressure campaign, including written demands), and the legal definition of extortion, as the latter applies in Australian jurisdictions? Thanks.

No comments yet so I’ve reposted it in hopes of getting some.

Steve Bannon: Lying Tories betrayed Britain, World War 3 & how to destroy the Left

Turning Japanese a good sub alternative

By Top Ender

Australia’s submarine program staggers along, rather like an aged pensioner who wants to keep working.

The latest pedestrian bollard into which it has crashed is an assessment of the proposal to extend the life of the current six Collins-class vessels, the last of which entered the water in 2003.

The review, by former US navy deputy assistant secretary Gloria Valdez, says the government-owned submarine company ASC lacks the design and engineering experience to extend the life of the submarines for a decade.

It’s hardly surprising. The Collins boats would literally be pulled apart, including cutting the hulls open in a process which is supposed to take two years each. The cost is an airy $5billion Aus. Given ASC’s expertise since it last put a vessel in the water is limited to maintaining the six Collins boats, it has a steep climb ahead if it is to reach the heights of such expert upgrading.

But why go down the road of experimenting with boats now 20-plus years old anyway? The current cost of a Japanese S?ry?-class conventional attack submarine is approximately US$540 million. So for around $3.3 billion the country could have six brand new capable and proved submarines, with up to date technology.

What’s this, I hear you cry. Didn’t Australia once look at buying Japanese boats? Yes indeed. So far the sorry story of submarines looks like this:

2003: the last of the Collins-class enters service, surrounded by the debacle of technology that didn’t work. Thanks to the US Navy, it eventually did.

2004-2012: nothing much happens, despite the Rudd government saying it would begin construction on new vessels “in about 2017”.

2016: under the Turnbull government, France won a contract to build a diesel-powered variant of its Barracuda-class submarine for Australia. This was one of the most stunningly incompetent decisions in Australian military acquisition history – proven nuclear boats would be re-designed to carry fuel tanks and all of the other paraphernalia for diesels because?

2021: the French deal was scrapped in favour of AUKUS, a nuclear solution.
Unfortunately in the intervening time no steel has been cut for an Australian boat, and there is no firm delivery date for when HMAS Sub 1 will be in the water. Instead we are going to see a) three American Virginia-class boats delivered, with the first possibly around 2030, b) US boats based out of Perth with Australians aboard; c) British – of course “improved” (oh no!) – boats built in Australian shipyards, and d) the Collins vessels soldiering on possibly for decades.

On the positive side there are Aussie submariners training with the Americans in the complications of operating nuclear vessels, so there is that.

The Soryu-class is being superseded by the Taigei-class, but why not leave the beta-testing to the excellent Japanese designers? The Soryu’s have an excellent track record. They use both air-independent propulsion, and lithium-ion batteries. The AIP system means they can stay submerged longer without coming to the surface to snort – that is, using a snorkel.

Although this allows the submarine to stay semi-submerged it’s still bringing it close to the surface and those things that kill you – aircraft and anti-submarine warships. The newer batteries have almost double the electric storage capacity of traditional lead-acid batteries, again adding to the submerged endurance capability. The Soryu’s fire torpedoes and the Harpoon missile Australia uses. Their performance is excellent, and their track record over the 12 boats Japan has built so far the same.

It must be said however that the best solution for Australia’s submarining needs is 12 Virginia-class boats from the USA, built there, as fast as possible. If we are contemplating an unstable Pacific environment, and possible conflict, then we need weapons systems now, not later. Building our own submarines is also fraught with danger. We messed it up last time, and we will do so this time. Submarines are the most complex machine on the planet, and our track record, littered with mistakes and problems, is not good. Why go down that road again?

There are three questions reporters could ask the Aussie Defence Minister any time he pops his head over the parapet. 1) How much steel has been cut? 2) How much have we spent so far? 3) When will the first HMAS hit the water? We actually know the answers: none; about $Aus 5 billion, and maybe in the 2030s. The overall situation is disgraceful.

Refitting the Collins class is another sorry solution in this meandering drunken walk towards a solution. They are a good boat, but they are constantly being overtaken by newer technologies. The Soryu-class are cutting edge, and the best conventional submarines in the world now.
There is however one thing to change. The Soryu was one of the four aircraft carriers that attacked Darwin in 1942. Although it went to the bottom of the sea along with the other three of that assault group at the Battle of Midway, we’d want to call them something distinctive. Hopefully Teddy Sheean VC’s name will live forever, and be one of the newer submarines, along with Farncomb, Collins, Rankin, Dechaineux, and Waller – all great fighting figures in RAN history.

Perhaps the first of class could be called Rogers? Jonathan “Buck” Rogers – the nickname comes from a popular science-fiction character – was a hero from HMAS Voyager, tragically rammed by the aircraft carrier Melbourne in 1964 off Jervis Bay. Chief Petty Officer Rogers united those trapped in the forward section of the destroyer, still afloat, before after some time its inexorable flooding with water sent it to the seabed.

Do we really want to have three classes of submarines in the Navy; all of them surrounded by uncertainty? Instead, we could buy into a proven new class for less money. At least that would give us some certainty in this meandering path towards new submarines for Australia.

-o-o-O-o-o-

Top Ender is a military historian. His latest book The Sinking of HMAS Sydney – “living, fighting and dying in WWII cruisers” – is now in the shops.

Joe Biden just tried to bring down the Israeli government.

Confirmed: Biden Lied About Israeli ‘Proposal’; Right-wing Ministers Threaten to Quit (1 Jun)

Reactions from parties in Israel’s governing coalition confirmed Saturday that U.S. President Joe Biden lied to the world when he claimed a proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal had come from the Israeli government.

As Breitbart News reported, Biden presented a three-part proposal on Friday and claimed, four times, that it was Israel’s proposal.

Biden waited until the onset of the Jewish Sabbath to make his remarks, making it more difficult for the Israeli government to respond. Notably, the proposal did not call for the destruction or disarmament of Hamas, and Biden told Israelis in his speech that they could not expect “total victory.”

What he tried to do was get coalition parties to walk away from the government because of the supposed Israeli plan, which wasn’t theirs. That is a level of despicability not seen in international diplomacy, especially not in undermining a formal ally.

Whenever you see Biden and his clique do a craven and evil act you think it can’t be topped. But the stinking zombie just keeps on doing even worse things. There is nothing he won’t attempt to pursue the far-left agenda, nothing. I hope Trump has good security.

I mostly use cash for coffee in cafes.

Drinker’s Chasers – Furiosa Flops, Hollywood In Panic

whats not to love about another girl boss

Interesting perspective from Mt Isa:

Mad Max: Furiosa flop hits Aussie cinemas in ‘disastrous’ 2024 box office (News.com.au, 1 Jun)

It was supposed to be a hit.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga boasted Aussie Hollywood heart-throb Chris Hemsworth and rising star Anya Taylor-Joy in a beloved franchise, effusive critical praise including a six-minute standing ovation at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France and a worldwide marketing campaign propelled by entertainment giant Warner Bros.

There’s the problem right there. Cannes giving a standing ovation to a movie is an immediate turn off for normal people.

But the action-packed extravaganza flopped, pulling in just $32m across the US four-day Memorial Day weekend, below a projected $40m haul, for a $59m worldwide take, according to Box Office Mojo.

This weekend is even worse, John Nolte recounts the misery here.

For Stephen Goddard, the manager of a three-screen cinema in the coal mining town of Emerald in Central Queensland, the flops could spell the end of movie-going in western Queensland.

“Furiosa is actually a really good movie, but it won’t matter,” he told NewsWire.

“We will probably shut down, quite truthfully, and I know that Mount Isa is in the same boat. I have spoken to them and they are looking at it.”

“That will just about mean, you don’t have a cinema alive in the west at all.

“I can pretty confidently say we won’t get to December.”

The drop off in revenue at the cinema is stark.

Mr Goddard said he had sold just 222 tickets for Furiosa in its first week.

Ordinarily, a hit would sell 1050 tickets in a week. …

“Those are the cold hard facts and our costs have gone through the roof of course. Electricity costs are outrageous.

Cats have said the same thing, that it’s actually a good movie. I suspect the problem is audiences are now so terrified of woke preaching that one tiny sign of it is enough to turn them right off. It’s the reverse word of mouth effect.

I’m sad that bush cinemas are going to die because Hollywood has gone collectively insane and Blackout Bowen has raped them with sky-high electricity prices.

Sharaz’ bridegroom outfit is awful. He is decked out as a Mafia Priest. It seems he stopped short of wearing spats.
Also, that massive fat roll under his chin is extremely distracting. I keep thinking of sausages on the barbecue.

Totally agree with below. In multiple articles and comments bashing the movie they use the term boss lady as a negative. Many don’t seem to know it is a prequel to Fury with current young actress playing Charleze Theron character. I thought Theron was good in Fury and she was great as an action girl in Atomic Blonde.
I did not pick up a woke vibe from the movie.
The “boss lady” type movies I avoid in the cinema are where they take a successful movie and try to remake with all female leads. Obvious ones here are Ghostbusters and Oceans Eight. Saving Private Raelene can’t be far off.
I wonder if there is also an element of tall poppy syndrome as by bashing Furiosa they can also say Hemsworth had a flop.

“Cats have said the same thing, that it’s actually a good movie. I suspect the problem is audiences are now so terrified of woke preaching that one tiny sign of it is enough to turn them right off. It’s the reverse word of mouth effect”

Proof That DEI Is Making Science Dangerous | Gad Saad

A boy, 16, was charged with committing a terror offence after allegedly stabbing Bishop Emmanuel, who sustained, but recovered from, multiple injuries.

I thought the bishop lost an eye.

You don’t recover from that.

The only Tesla I’ve been in is a taxi, Zippy. Seemed okay, nice suspension. That was in Tromso, so it had the snow tyres on, so a bit of road noise.

The thing that bothers me about electrics (apart from the mammoth waste concealed in the battery and the robbing of taxes to subsidise their introduction) is the silence. Here in the tiny streets of Spain, for instance, they have to be a menace as the streets are shared by pedestrians. You simply don’t hear them approaching.

“How do we even know that the daughter isn’t telling the truth and the coppers wanted an incident that would allow them to confiscate every weapon in WA, but it got way out of control.”
All you’ve done is confirm the that the murderer was a loon and your allegation anout the police has zero substance.

The worker told WAtoday multiple health professionals who came across Bombara in the months leading up to the deaths

The worker.

If ‘the worker’ was a qualified doctor or any sort of specialist then you can guarantee that the piece would not have titled this person as ‘a worker’. So, a receptionist or very close to it.

Let’s look at the article:

“Ultimately, this man from looking at his current health condition had a very compromised and vulnerable brain,” the health worker said.

The ‘health worker’ looked at his condition? Or just snooped at his records? ‘Receptionist’ is looking likely…..

Speaking on the condition of anonymity,

Ahahahahaaaaa.

the health professional says Mark Bombara’s family had raised concerns about his behaviour escalating.

“Hospital staff had also noticed in the ward, him being irritated and agitated and not displaying the normal behaviour you would see on a ward,” they said.

Drifting from ‘receptionist’ into ‘nurse’ territory then. Now, here we go:

The health worker also called for better information sharing between government agencies about gun ownership, saying health professionals should also be able to make recommendations to suspend a person’s firearm licence where they hold concerns.

‘Health professionals’. Haven’t we just been through three or more years where ‘health professionals’ were the undisputed gods of how society should operate?

Here are some other, and potentially more qualified ‘health professionals’:

The North Metropolitan Health Service confirmed they treated Bombara just weeks before the shooting.

“Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital treated Mr Bombara in early May for a series of small strokes,” they said in a statement.

“While he was in our care … there were no signs of reduced mental capacity, aggression or suicide risk.”

So. According to some ‘health professionals’, they should be mandated to tek er guns. However, according to some other ‘health professionals’ from the exact same place, although there was a medical condition it was unrelated to offing his ex and anyone else that got in his way.

No. Signs. Of. Reduced. Mental Capacity.

Glory seeking nurses, taking time off from TikTok dance clips to lecture society. It never ends.

Zulu at 5:07 p.m. posted a press piece concerning W.A.’s new firearm-domestic violence law.

This will achieve little – if anything – regarding the issue of ‘family violence.’ An individual with anger management problems, and potentially devoid of empathy and shame, will simply find other ways to express their internal rage: knives, vehicles, arson, poisoning, (rocks, if you happen to pursue a certain lifestyle), etc.

This a ‘Do something. Anything!’ reaction, rather than a measured response, which seems to be all that policy makers are capable of.* Meanwhile, the law-abiding will continue to be stripped of their liberties. Pathetic posers.

*I honestly do not know what the most effective (which means that at some point, they need to be measured) policy responses might be regarding this issue, aside from tinkering with the legal system, if necessary. I DO know, however, that the simplification of it as ‘gender-based’ is counter-productive, but that pigeon will not come home to roost until the initiators are safely retired or dust.

I also believe that the taxpayer funds devoted to edjamuhkaytion regardingt he issue are wasted; Individuals who lack self-control, and feel no or little, guilt or remorse, are very unlikely to suddenly ‘see the light’ and change their behaviour based on a T.V./press/online advertisement. (Change normally occurs as a result of force, rather than internal choice).

I bought a new car this week . Not electric . But it does have a hologram that tells you your speed and the speed zone you’re in . It’s right there at the end of the bonnet.
I gave the old car to my daughter who was absolutely thrilled . Her car was a leftover from a broken relationship and she saw the new car as an end to her curse.
That’s when my troubles began …
i misunderestimated the value of my old car by about $5000
So daughter no 2 screamed “What about me” ?
Very hard to get an actual value of a used car. Private sale vs trade in value . Detailing the car and waiting for buyers vs giving it to a dealer with no hassles .
Anyway I have transferred some money to a certain account and hope this settles matters

From further nests:

you’re refusing to counter the main point, and starting to sound quite silly and shrill.

Get back to it – Why was a man with a demonstrated medical condition that has a history of causing violent and irrational behaviour, allowed to keep a firearm collection?

No, the ‘main point’ was a suggestion that the WA jackery orchestrated a double murder in order to tek er guns. But it ‘got out of hand’.

Wasn’t it? Why yes. Yes it was.

I just stopped watching Andrew Clennel.

He no doubt would claim that he is simply asking the hard questions from a balanced agenda.

For me, he displayed BBC level arrogance, spoke (yelled) over his guests and was biased towards Labor. Perhaps I am being unfair.

Could journalistic informed Cats provide some information about this bloke?

Beyond me why people pay for Sky- the bad stuff seems to outweigh the acceptable stuff judging by comments here.

Once in a while Bill Maher will surprise you.

Bill Maher Provides College Kiddies With Helpful Lesson in Exactly What They’re Supporting

The ABC’s War on Men continues. We all know they’re violent women-killers, but did you know they are also basket-case recidivist criminal losers?

Meet the residents of Rainbow Lodge, the broken men with nowhere else to go

The top story today. The second top story is yet another addition to the series on the plight of older single women, a noticeable and rather odd fixation of the ABC’s.

At this caravan park, women aged over 55 have found a way out of the housing crisis

Where do they find the people to feature in these sob stories? Frequently they are depicted as victims of circumstances beyond their control, yet there are always odd gaps in the narratives that explain how they ended up where they have:

When Lesley Wheeler, 72, noticed rental prices on the rise in her outer Melbourne suburb of Frankston six years ago, she had a stark realisation that the only way she was going to survive retirement was to own her own property.

“Four months prior to turning 65, I’d been told by some job service: ‘Don’t even bother looking for another job because at your age you won’t get one and you’re a woman’,” she said.

“I kind of realised that I was going to be stuck. I had no superannuation left, as I had to use that previously, and no other resources other than a pension.

You had to use that previously? On what, I wonder?

The tertiary-educated, well-travelled university lecturer, who had worked for the federal government in senior roles, set about researching tiny homes, throwing every cent she had from a modest inheritance at designing a customised dwelling.

She’s a “[t]ertiary-educated…university lecturer…who had worked for the federal government in senior roles”? This is rather vague. You have to be more than ‘tertiary-educated’ to be a university lecturer assuming we’re using the definition of ‘university lecturer’ most would apply (ie. not an ESL teacher working at a university in, say, China – she is well-travelled after all! – a role which could encompass the meaning of ‘university lecturer’ at a stretch). Also, senior roles in the federal government pay well. Why couldn’t she afford a normal house?

We’re told all this because hey look – even a successful single woman who was a university lecturer and was employed in senior government roles can only afford to live in a caravan park.

And here’s another one:

Jane, 57, is a single mother who went to university as a mature-aged student to become a teacher.

But her world fell apart when she entered a violent relationship after her children had left home. 

The residential youth worker and foster mum went from living in a $1 million house in 2018 to bed-hopping between her children’s houses after a back injury.

Was it the violent relationship or the back injury that caused her to end up in the caravan park? She didn’t actually own the $1 million house, right? Why would a back injury mean she had to move from the house to her kids’ couches? This isn’t really a riches to rags story, is it? Get the feeling that perhaps Jane might be the author of her fate far more than is being let on?

The ABC pulls this deceptive bullshit constantly.