Thanks again Tom.
Open Thread – Mon 31 March 2025
- WolfmanOz at the Movies #98
- Open Thread – Mon 31 March 2025
- When the Trees Block the Woods
- Open Thread – Weekend 29 March 2025
- Open Thread – Thurs 27 March 2025
Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101 – A decorated World War Two code breaker who spent her youth…
Ben Garrison.
Henry Payne.
Tom Stiglich.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/03/look-pelosi-elon-musk-announces-investigation-strangely-wealthy/
I wonder what flavours ice cream Pelosi will get in Leavenworth?
Be interesting to see what AOC is worth in 10 years time. Anyone want to bet against her (a poor bar maid) becoming a millionaire?
what you mean becomes? isn’t she already
Talking about Jasmin Crockett who has got 20 mill richer in 2 years
Thanks Tom.
Daily Tele…Blind Freddy foresaw and predicted this a thousand years ago:
TOBACCO PLANS GO UP IN SMOKE
MIKE O’CONNOR
1 Apr 2025
Forget $5 tax cuts and cutting fuel excise. Promise to abolish the tax on cigarettes and the keys to The Lodge are yours.
I’m an ex-smoker. Benson & Hedges was my preferred brand, which according to its advertising slogan, was the cigarette you smoked “when only the best will do”.
Never let it be said that as a smoker I didn’t have class.
If I was still addicted, I’d be heading off to Slippery Sam’s Corner Store and buying cheap under-thecounter smokes, which, on the evidence, is what most smokers are doing.
The federal government’s plan to reduce the incidence of smoking and to raise money at the same time was to continue raising taxes on tobacco.
This has been a spectacular failure that has only led to a sharp increase in the sale of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and gold chains to members of the organised crime syndicates who are making millions of dollars importing and selling cheap cigarettes.
These people play rough, and barely a day passes without a retail outlet that sells cigarettes being firebombed. Buy your supply of illegal smokes from the wrong party or incur the criminals’ displeasure in some way and “boom!”.
No one has been killed yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
Industry analysis shows there are more than 3000 shops selling illicit tobacco across Australia in what is a $5bn criminal industry.
The Chinese government is doing nicely as a result of Canberra’s idiocy, owning the prosaically titled business Double Happiness, the second leading brand of tobacco consumed in Australia and that is illegal here.
So much for the memorandum of understanding signed by Anthony Albanese with the Chinese government to combat illicit tobacco and vape smuggling.
Tobacco excise generated just $9.7bn last financial year, a drop of 40 per cent from 2019-20, and is expected to continue to fall as the illegal market expands.
The government’s response has been to spend more on policing in spite of overwhelming evidence that the battle has been lost and that all it is doing is filling the coffers of criminals, who are laughing all the way to lunch. “Another bottle of Piper-Heidsieck Cuvee Brut over here will you mate, keep the change.”
Did try it once when I was about 19.
A young Digger.
At a pissup.
Nearly Half a carton of beer came up.
Couldn’t see the point that amount of beer being wasted.
That was the start and finish of me career in taking up the durries/darts/lung busters.
Adam Smith acually warned of this type of result in the Wealth of Nations.
The high duties which have been imposed upon the importation of many different sorts of foreign goods, in order to discourage their consumption in Great Britain, have in many cases served only to encourage smuggling; and in all cases have reduced the revenue of the customs below what more moderate duties would have afforded. The saying of Dr. Swift, that in the arithmetic of the customs two and two, instead of making four, make sometimes only one, holds perfectly true with regard to such heavy duties.…
Poms love a bit of smuggling. Ferry to France for a bootload of smokes was a regular weekend day trip for the weekend.
As Trump leads the US away from the GAE, China seems to be moving to put a new Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere in place.
As Lenin asked, “What is to be done?”
From last night…..
Barry
March 31, 2025 11:42 pm
Reply to Sancho Panzer
More than probable he was welcomed into the country during the Libs turn in office. Neither party has any legitimacy in these cases, so they shutup.
I disagree, Barry. In fact I think the one thing the Coalition does have ‘legitimacy’ on is when it comes to this country’s borders and when it comes to who we allow in this country. John Howard’s words from 2001 echo through the decades and they should be proclaimed every day..
“We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come,”
I remember a few years ago reading some drivel in the Stinking Morning Herald about Howard’s words from 2001, the journalist who wrote the drivel was desperate to smear Howard and so used the descriptor ‘thundering‘ to describe Howard’s words.
And hear we are in 2025. All I can say is that I wish we had a Liberal leader who was ready to ‘thunder‘ similar words to what John Howard uttered back in 2001. The Coalition, if it had any electoral nous (which of course it doesn’t) would be out every day during this election campaign proclaiming and thundering about how we ‘we will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come’.
I’m pretty sure John Howard would never ever have allowed 3000 homicidal Jew hating Gazans into this country.
The difficulty is that the public servants working in immigration are mostly fairly recent immigrants themselves, and as such are only too happy to approve all applicants, especially those related to themselves and their co-workers. We may control the quantity, but they control the quality.
The Liberal rot started with Mal Fraser inviting the Christian Lebs in, and the bureaucrats suddenly realising that it’s impossible not to let in the Lebs of the head chopping persuasion as well, coz that would be discrimination.
JWH spoke a big talk, but failed to roll back the thin end of the wedge that was already inserted.
And then he invited the Sudanese in.
People who’d experienced a generation of civil war and many of them a decade or more in dysfunctional refugee camps where rape and violence were commonplace. And prior to that they were already a people divided by tribal allegiances and conflict who were destined to experience difficulty settling into a country like Australia.
Whatever the virtues of individual Sudanese here who try to live upright lives (some of whom I have known), it was a serious mistake to allow this cohort into the country.
When Grassby introduced it, I knew ‘multiculturism’ was a mistake.
Domestic scene, inner-city suburbia:
The legal warfare against Marine Le Pen is exactly the same as the legal warfare against Donald Trump.
It will only make Le Pen stronger.
Banning Le Pen, playing with fire – spiked
What is particularly grating is the five year ban on running for president.
I smell a stitch-up.
Sky News…*sigh*
Headline – Queensland Outback Town flooded – by announcement and chyron.
Which town? Apparently it’s a secret. They mumbled something which I tried to Google – unsuccessfully. Perhaps they can’t spell it as well as pronounce it.
Thargomindah
Also, a “man made levee bank failed”. Remarkable. I thought most levee banks were natural features. /sarc
Here it is: (been Thargomindah for many years)
Natural levee banks are quite common. They build up as sediment deposits above the bankfull level during floods.
Hence the riverbank is oft the highest point on the floodplain & the last to go under, especially at bends or confluences.
In the Balmain/Ultimo collective, they’ve never heard of any of those “outback queensland towns” anyway, so what does it matter? One hick is the same as another hick.
The Paywallion on the greenturd/s:
Greens leader Adam Bandt suggests Israel to blame for Hamas butchery
Lily McCaffrey and Noah Yim
13 hours ago.Updated 9 hours ago
Greens leader Adam Bandt has bizarrely suggested Israel is to blame for Hamas’s brutal executions of Palestinians who had risen up against the terror group’s stranglehold of the Gaza Strip.
The leader of the left-wing party – which could play an important role in a hung parliament after the federal election – said while the killings should be investigated by human rights groups, the ultimate problem in Gaza was Israel’s occupation.
Hamas has begun to crack down on thousands of Gazans who protested against the group last week, executing at least six and publicly beating others, according to Israeli media.
One of those murdered was Odai al-Rubai, 22, who was beaten and tortured for four hours before being dumped, dying, on his family’s doorstep.
“He was dragged by a rope around his neck, beaten with clubs and metal rods in front of passers-by,” a Gaza City resident told Israel’s Ynet TV.
Another resident posted on X that as they dumped his body, militants told Mr Rubai’s family: “This is the punishment for those who badmouth Hamas.”
Ynet also reported that another protester, Hussam al-Majdalawi, was kidnapped, shot in the legs and left in a public square in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
When The Australian asked Mr Bandt if he condemned Hamas’s actions and if the International Criminal Court should investigate, the Greens leader did not reference the terror group by name and instead attacked the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The killing of civilians is devastating, never acceptable and should always be investigated by human rights organisations,” he said. “For all killings to finally stop, and for Palestinians and Israelis to have a just and lasting peace, the occupation of Palestine and the invasion of Gaza need to end.
“Australia needs to move from words to action and put pressure on the extremist Netanyahu government to end the occupation of Palestine, which is the root cause of the conflict, and end the invasion of Gaza.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Monday called the Hamas executions “reprehensible acts” and said the terror group must play no role in Palestine’s future.
“The terror Hamas inflicts on Israelis and Palestinians is why the Australian government has sanctioned Hamas and listed it as a terrorist organisation,” she said in a statement. “Hamas must cease its terrorist acts and release the hostages immediately and unconditionally.
“Hamas can have no role in the future governance of Gaza.”
Last week Hamas and other Gaza terror groups published a statement vowing to suppress protesters and punish organisers.
“These suspicious individuals are as responsible as the occupation for the bloodshed of our people and will be treated accordingly,” the statement read.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Education Minister Jason Clare, who face the most potent Muslim community challenges in their western Sydney electorates, on Monday condemned the brutal crackdown.
“I’ve only seen the early reports; it won’t be the first time that Hamas has been responsible, not only for the persecution of Israelis but also for the persecution of Palestinians,” Mr Burke said.
“Terrorist organisations often don’t care who they harm. I have never hesitated in my condemnation of Hamas.”
Mr Clare echoed that sentiment, saying “the killing of innocent people is abhorrent” and that he has “condemned and continues to condemn Hamas”.
Meanwhile, Anthony Albanese declined to endorse any part of a 15-point plan on anti-Semitism developed by the leading Jewish community organisation and endorsed by the Coalition.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion said he was “disappointed the government failed to even address” the plan of action.
“This has left many critical areas of concern unresolved, including the situation on university campuses, the status of hate preachers who benefit from charitable status, the role of schools in delivering anti-Semitism education, and the need to address the ideological bias that runs through many cultural institutions,” he said. “In writing to both the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition asking them to engage with the plan of action and ultimately endorse it, we aimed to give our community and all Australians clarity on how the parties propose to combat anti-Semitism.
“We are disappointed that the government has failed to commit to any of the specific measures.”
The plan was initially formulated at Sky News’ anti-Semitism summit in February, amid a tense environment of crimes aimed at Jewish Australians.
In a letter to the ECAJ, Mr Albanese said he would “like to reiterate my public statements – anti-Semitism has no place in Australia and I unequivocally condemn it”.
“Every Australian, no matter their race or religion, should be able to enjoy their life in any Australian community, without prejudice or discrimination,” the letter reads.
The three-page letter lists various actions by the government to curtail anti-Semitism in the community. It referenced legislation to criminalise doxxing, hate symbols, and Operation Avalite to investigate anti-Semitic crimes. But Mr Albanese failed to commit to any of the ECAJ’s 15 key points.
Mr Dutton has agreed to the 15 points. Mr Albanese’s office has been contacted for comment.
Bandt and his greenturds are a carbuncle on the backside of Australia.
You’ve just managed to insult every carbuncle that has ever existed.
We need a tanker load of good, old fashioned Carbolic pumped into Green’s Office to purge us of this putrefaction.
Some one had to be picked…and yes…sadly… it was the carbuncle that took one for the team.
Could have been one or more of the STDs.
Arguably a new low for soy boy. Just in time for the election.
Putting the Le Pen “witchunt” into perspective …….. !
You can be sure that whether or not what she did was technically legal or not, many, many other Members did/are doing the same thing.
100% it’s selective prosecution.
Yes, it’s lawfare all right. Getting rid of one’s opponent on a technicality, as was tried with Trump. I hope Le Pen fights back and hard.
This, at the same time as Elon Musk is announcing a genuine investigation into why some in the US Congress on $200K salaries have bank accounts and spending equalling $20 million.
This is the real corruption.
Unfortunately, the Senate allows itself to insider trade.
So President Trump will have to cancel the legislation that does this – and he will get NO support from his own side beside they’d be all in on it as well.
Another judge that deserves a bullet.
In a letter to the ECAJ, Mr Albanese said he would “like to reiterate my public statements – anti-Semitism has no place in Australia and I unequivocally condemn it”.
Abalone is good at uttering weasel words, perhaps his sole talent. The truth is that Jew hatred is now common place in Australia, and both he and his party have actively fomented and stoked it.
But anyway, according to our illustrious police forces, all the ‘anti-Semitism’ we’ve seen is just a ‘hoax‘.
Take care, Grasshopper.
These antisemites which you so unequivocally condemn? They will be your masters on May 4, when you need their support to remain in the sunshine.
This article about another giant law firm caving to Trump, is worth looking at just for the photo that is being used to illustrate the situation. 😀
https://redstate.com/streiff/2025/03/31/second-big-law-firm-hoists-the-white-flag-and-makes-peace-with-trump-n2187316
What is funny is the law firm further down in the article sooking that they were expecting a bit of Resistance Solidarity, but were left at the starting gate as others broke ranks to do deals with Tangerine Man.
Rookie mistake … trusting another lawyer.
That was so funny.
@liz_churchill10
THIS was Marine Le Pen winning her first round as France outright rejected WEF’s Macron.
THIS is why they’re banning her from elections and why she’s being sent to Prison.
Unpopular conclusion-
the price of gold against the suburnt splendour of the aussie dollar means we’re locked in for a Labor-Greens government.
Meme
Exactly the same playbook they used against Trump.
@IanJaeger29
France sentencing Marine Le-Pen is exactly why we should leave NATO.
They are corrupt to the core.
@catturd2
Proof Democrats cheat.
Here’s an interesting point:
Will the votes from the states who refuse to demand ID be admissable when the Electoral College votes are sent to Washington? And would the VP – who decides the matter – accept them?
Anyone want to bet on the Republicans getting ALL the seats in the next elections, and the Democrats getting none?
Trump on action against the Houthis
@catturd2
I’ve been watching the movie … Keir Starmer Arrests Citizens For Free Speech While Letting Illegal Rape Gangs Go Free.
We all need to be having this conversation more.
@C_3C_3
One locked up his political opponent and one cancelled his country’s elections.
Both are little Dictators.
These Democracies are not the ones you’re looking for.
@catturd2
It’s always the war pig Republicans who F…up everything. They’re trying to sabotage Pete because they wanted a war pig like Tom Cotton as secretary of defense to make sure there’s endless wars.
Wars are great for the economy. Gotta make guns, tanks, even aircraft. People are disposable.
But they’re going to built government housing.
@Bratt_world
Trump didn’t give Canada a 69 cent dollar.
Trump didn’t give Canada shitty healthcare.
Trump didn’t let 4 million refugees into Canada.
Trump didn’t legalize killer drugs in Canada.
Trump didn’t double our debt.
The Liberals did all of this
@MarioNawfal
CAN’T BEAT THEM? BAN THEM. THE LEFT’S NEW PLAYBOOK.
Marine Le Pen just got banned from running for president.
Same trick they pulled on Bolsonaro in Brazil. Same move they used to block Georgescu in Romania. It’s a pattern. And it’s getting old.
Le Pen was hit with a five-year ban over so-called “embezzlement”—right when she’s polling strong for 2027.
Bolsonaro? Barred until 2030 for questioning Brazil’s voting system.
Georgescu? Conveniently disqualified right after winning Romania’s first round of elections, blamed for “foreign interference.” Sure.
Every time a popular right-wing leader gains real traction, the left drags them through the courts.
The charges don’t even have to stick—they just need to get them out of the way. The strategy is pure political censorship, dressed up as legal accountability.
They know they can’t beat Le Pen in 2027. Bolsonaro’s base is still loyal. Georgescu’s win shocked the Romanian establishment.
So instead of fighting them at the ballot box, they disqualify them before the fight even starts.
Funny how it’s always the candidates who stand up to leftist agendas who end up banned.
Meanwhile, the real corruption goes untouched.
The left has traded elections for courtroom takedowns, and they’re not even hiding it anymore.
Given what Abbott did to Pauline Hanson in the 1990s, we are not in any position to criticise.
correct
Marine Le Pen just got banned from running for president.
What if Marine Le Pen ignored the ban and ran anyway?
I was my regular trivia last night. The compare is a comedian, therefore of the left, but he doesn’t “do” politics when comparing.
As research for an upcoming gig he asked for a show of hands if people had already made up their minds how they would be voting( audience is about 120 people) 95% put their hands up.
Further afield we now have the UK plod, a motley crew of various city and county police forces, all of which manage to make our own Waffen plod look half decent, turning up to arrest a nice upper middle class Liberal Democrat voting Times Radio producer and her husband, their crime being that the couple sent polite emails to their child’s school querying school administration. And not only did Hertfordshire police arrest the couple in front of their children but they then carted the couple off to spend hours languishing in a cell before being released. Hertfordshire’s own Bonnie and Clyde!
Cue outrage and rightly so…..the UK (soon to be IK) is now a fully fledged Stasi state. But I shouldn’t have to remind anyone that this plod overreach has been going on for years, just ask Tommy Robinson, Katie Hopkins, Graham Linehan, Kellie-Jay Keen, Dan Wootton, Laurence Fox, Mark Meechan, Harry Miller along with thousands of less well known British folk, ordinary men and women who’ve experienced UK plod arrive on their doorstep, barge through to charge, arrest and cart away these ordinary folk, hey wait, UK plod have even been known to arrest autistic children….
A West Yorkshire Police officer who arrested an autistic teenage girl on suspicion of committing a ‘hate crime’ after she told her “You look like my lesbian nana” has been ordered to undergo reflective training following an investigation by the police complaints watchdog for England and Wales
Never mind the out of control knife crime across the UK, or the out of control house burglaries, or the Islamist terror stalking the streets of the UK.
I have no doubt Robert Peel is turning in his grave.
But maybe, just maybe the arrest of this Hertfordshire couple will wake people up. It’s always easy to ignore it when the likes of ‘controversial‘ people like Tommy or Katie or Lozza are carted away but when they come for you and your own? LOL, when I read about this couple yesterday, my immediate thought was good, and Katie Hopkins overnight uploaded this……
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXhPDTc8rw0
Yes, like Katie I feel some schadenfreude because this has been happening for years and nobody blinked when it was happening to Katie, Lozza, Tommy or Count Dankula.
Never forget this, I’ve paraphrased a well known quote…
First they came for Katie, Laurence, Calvin, Tommy, Mark, Dan and others, and I didn’t speak out because we luvvies thought they were just smelly, all because they dared to speak up about transperverts, cocks in frocks, Islam, immigration and so on.
Then they came for the autistic children with lesbian grannies, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t the parent of an autistic child and I didn’t have a lesbian granny.
Then they came for the Jews, because they always come for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.
But now they’ve come for me.
One of the parents gives his version here.
He describes it as “Kafkaesque”. This is similar to my experience at Heathrow last year. And yes, you do get a form of PTSD after the event. Very hard to shake off a posse of plod coming at you with unsubstantiated bullsh*t and what that might mean for you.
Someone is shocked that the crocodile ate them out of turn – and not the peasants. Katie is spot on with her monologue.
I laughed out loud when I realised the croc was munching on the leg of one of the people who were foisting this woke crap on us.
Riding the tiger is exhilarating until you try to get off when the ride becomes too rough.
It’s precisely because plod are ineffectual in these areas that they come after softer targets.
We saw the same here after the stabbing of the Syrian bishop.
Stark photos show Trump’s stunning success on issue that fueled his election victory
Weasel.
Letters are so 20th century, let’s see him state this in a podcast to some anti-Semitic twenty-something. He would be deplatformed instantly.
Crossie, the point really is that he has powers he could use to at least defund entities pushing the anti-semitic agenda, as ACAJ suggested.
How Albanese plans to win over WA again, as he accuses Peter Dutton of being a PM for Sydney
West Australian sheep farmers are planning a warm welcome.
You suspect Abalone’s time out West is largely wasted.
Oxygen is wasted on Abalone.
And in QLD.
All arrivals into Oz:
Ten men have been slammed for the “gangster bravado and bloodlust” they displayed as they killed a man in a north Brisbane park over a previous assault he played no role in.
The men were described by Justice Lincoln Crowley as “gutless cowards” as he sentenced them to life imprisonment with the minimum mandatory non-parole period of 20 years.
Alex Edward Deng, 22, Joseph Lokolong, 28, Ben Abio, 23, Majok Riel Majok, 23, Juma Makuol Deng Makuol, 28, Chan Kuchmol Kon, 28, Kresto Wal Wal, 29, Abraham Ajang Yaak, 30, Gabreal Wal Wal, 31, and Santo Wal, 36, were also found guilty of nine other violent offences, including an offence of causing grievous bodily harm and several counts of committing malicious acts with intent to do grievous bodily harm and unlawful wounding relating to other victims.
They had travelled to O’Callaghan Park in Zillmere on September 13, 2020, to kill 19-year-old Girum Mekonnen armed with knives, a machete and bats including one wrapped in barbed wire.
Courier-Mail
20 years at the taxpayer’s expense.
If only we could just deport them back to South Sudan.
Deport them to North Sudan.
The Liberals are largely responsible for bringing this cohort here.
What does Dutton have to say?
Now comes the unrelenting appeals process – funded by the taxpayer – and the remissions for ‘good behaviour’ which will see them out in 8 years.
Every one an aspiring rapper or potential talented artist – all bursting with zeal to guide community yoof away from the mistakes they made.
10 held at taxpayer expense for 20 years apiece ( I bet it will be less.)
Thats 200 parasite years!
However the victim will not be costing us any more and he was only 19 so perhaps we can offset maybe 50-60 parasite years?
( Apologies to the victim’s family if he was law abiding, hard working and a total stranger to Centrelink)
Brought to us by canbra
I’m getting sick of reading about all these crimes committed by born and bred caucasian Aussies.
No, wait…..
Gonna be a bit hard for Elbow to cope with voter priorities:
What is the most important issue of the 2025 election?
Energy 20 %
Cost of living 51 %
Housing 4 %
Economy 12 %
Health 3 %
Law and order 7 %
Other – leave a comment below 3 %
4395 votes
83% focused on the things Labor have stuffed up – again!
Courier-Mail
No mention of immigration numbers? Perhaps they weren’t asked.
No mention of climate dooming?
Surprised housing is only 4%.
I guess folk who already have homes aren’t overly concerned with the housing shortage .. Homelessness only affects the homeless .. same for migrants .. they only get noticed when they live next door
The top 3 % figures affect everyone ….
From the West Australian
Kate Chaney has defended east coast donations boosting her re-election campaign for Curtin and challenged the Liberal party to “come clean” over its own funding sources.
A breakdown of 63 donations larger than $2000 includes 30 from donors who are based in Victoria, New South Wales or overseas, as first revealed by The West Australian.
That includes more than $270,000 donated by Climate 200, $50,000 by Sydney share trader Robert Keldoulis’ investment company, $50,000 by Wycombe Services, that is run by a Sydney doctor, and $50,000 by Keep Them Honest Pty Ltd.
“Unlike any of my opponents, I disclose all my cash donations in real time for everyone to see,” Ms Chaney said on Monday.
“When the major party candidates are willing to come clean to voters about their funding sources, I’d be happy to have a discussion about how our donor groups compare.”
According to Meta’s ad tracker, Climate 200 has spent $599,410 in the past 90 days, compared to $226,713 by the ALP and a combined $369,377 by the Liberal Party — with $76,339 spent on a specific Liberal campaign targeting the “teals revealed”.
Ms Chaney was the biggest individual spender by far, racking up $147,246 worth of ads, while her Liberal rival, Tom White, has spent $6358 on 11 ads.
And LayBore get millions upon millions of $ from the crooked CFMEU.
How appropriate.
And more from “executives” of industry super funds?
90% of election funding is a rort so who getz what from where is never gonna be answered across the board .. Why would anyone/organization donate a single dollar to a trougher unless they expected something in return ……? .. FFS!
April Fools Day
One of the Chaney family has been some use – Wesfarmers shares have paid their dividend!
Don’t forget the big tax bill.
Put some aside.
WES is a true WA success story. More than a few millionaires made along the way. Another regret not picking up a shed load when they stumbled to $16 way back when. I thought they had genuinely stuffed it up with Coles. Oh well, wrong again.
Coulda woulda shoulda.
BTDT get on with it.
With all shares you rarely hear about the losers. Also Newscorp at A$2 (that would have taken real courage) and Westpac when Kerry Packer picked up 10% in the 80s (ditto).
Had a few duds.
I once thought Gunns would have to recover.
Wasn’t yuuuuge bucks.
Probably the biggest winners were getting in early on CSL and Cochlear.
CSL a complete puzzle. I did buy some QAN along those lines.
You just can’t change your attitude to risk. My BIL is the exact opposite. Has a cupboard full of dud crypto and a 60 foot Maritimo.
A mate’s brother loaded up in the $15 rights issue at the time. He lives in Dalkeith, I don’t.
Stick Dalkeith up your quoit. I’m a Nedlands man
Provided you’re on the right side of the highway, possibly. I prefer Claremont personally.
The right side of the highway is a fair way east of the Colonel Light statue.
Certain parties did nearly bankrupt themselves picking up a shedload..
Doubleplusgood NuSpeak neologism of the current year-
“asylee“.
The left just banned Marine le Pen from running for election for 5 years, effective immediately, and sentenced her to 4 years in prison on BS charges.
There’s the lefts playbook. Weaponise the judiciary and unleash it on conservative election front runners.
FMD
Win the battle, lose the war.
Malcolm Turnbull addresses the National Press Club on the topic “Sovereignty and Security – Australia and the new world disorder”
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm.
Among friends (who would never vote for him apparently). Continuing his lifelong quest to salvage his legacy.
Almost sad really. Will Kevin be there for support?
Potential Greatness looks set to elude him.
I was thinking about Trumble last night.
What odds he drops a “startling revelation” about Dutton in the last week of the campaign.
The “startling revelation” will revolve around Dutton not fully recognising the omnipotence and magnificence of Malcolm the Great.
So great the Liars didn’t want him at all.
About the only thing they’ve got right.
I think there’s a named condition that explains that.
I have more important things to concern myself with.
Like cleaning the toilet.
I’ll pass.
Sorry, have to rearrange my sock drawer.
WGAS?
An interesting development.
Not very effective as in most cases, the tariffs are effectively the US subsidising the Chinese Japanese and South Korean exports to the US.
If there is a list, I’d like to see it, but frankly this day to day manoeuvring by everyone is tedious – I’ll wait until the negotiations are finalised.
And honestly, the Japanese and South Koreans need to have the US pull out ALL their troops and prepositioned hardware.
The US has supported these deadbeat nations for too long.
Ps: Same for Australia.
‘Deadbeat nations’ don’t have the shipbuilding capacity that Japan and SK do, which the US cannot do without.
Then the US can rebuild its ship making industry, DB.
That is what the whole re industrialisation of the US is about.
What was it? One Liberty Ship every three days?
It can’t do it even under the best circumstances in under a decade. People here need to be realistic.
Good analysis of the leftoid persecution of Marine Le Penn:
EXPLAINED: How The Lawfare Against Marine Le Pen Led to Her Prison Sentence and Politics Ban.
No one should be surprised after what happened to Trump. The left don’t care. Rub and tug will win this upcoming election and Australia will be a chunk suburb shortly after. The punters are idiots and will squeal too late.
I was on Chris Smith today, April Fools day and tried to make a joke about how Australia should be in a contest with Greenland for the 51st state of the US. He didn’t get it. Jokes aside it’s the only way this dump can stop the chunk takeover. But the punters will vote for rub and tug because he’s handing out goodies and then when they wake up with all the street signs in chunk speech wonder WTF happened.
Anyone thinking the democratic process, its institutions, Rule of Law, the judiciary and the media is enough should have a look at Victoriastan. And see it might not always be enough.
A week ago exactly, I placed an order with Amazon for a replacement travel handbag – my old one, which I love, has seen way too many days and is falling to pieces. I would have bought locally, but nothing on line fit the bill, and the nearest handbag shop is in Newcastle.
My replacement bag arrived today.
From the UK.
With Koran?
Lol! No. But it came with a tiny torch, the size of a thumbnail.
For searching the deep, dark interior for that thing you can never find.
Innovative! Ideal for husbands.
Stuff out of the UK is normally pretty good. Amazon had a UK subsidiary that used to do great deals on shipping thanks to the Royal Mail and international treaties. Also good for out of season winter outdoor gear.
about the same time it takes auspost to ship stuff between capital cities
I wanted some components for my project. The best are US made it seems, used in F1 racing. Had an online discussion Thursday night. I explained what I was doing without saying what it was but what I required. Approx. $200 US. plus freight. Supplied gratis on the proviso not to be sold. Arrived late last night. A note, hand written, anything we can do for you, please call. Compare this to Chinese suppliers that won’t supply specifications and want to steal your ideas. The funny thing is, I can purchase the same part in Australia for $55 including freight and tax and the Chinese supplied part is $200 plus tax.
Whatever anyone thinks of the weirdo Bezos, Amazon is a towering organisational success.
Last Thursday Mrs F determined that Faustus Towers needed a magnetic knife block sourced from San Diego (no, I don’t know why) and took independent executive action.
The thing arrived in an Amazon box yesterday. US$27 – free shipping.
I was once unwise enough to comment to a Centrelink staffer why couldn’t they copy Amazon’s system as it is easy to use and been around for yonks.
The problem I struggled with there was how none of my info transferred over from one function to another, I had to input everything from scratch each time. The Centrelink staffer just looked at me blankly. I thought only their IT people were useless, the frontline staff can be even more so.
I ordered a book from Amazon AUS on March 13.
It arrived on the 17th, even though it was sent by Amazon USA.
I think it was a record for me.
In Quadrant:
Peter FitzSimons’s War on Albert Jacka
Michael Lawriwsky
Mar 29 2025
Peter FitzSimons has written a new book, The Legend of Albert Jacka, a biography of Australia’s greatest frontline soldier. I am delighted he has, because Peter’s public profile will popularise and help preserve the memory of that extraordinary Australian. I am also dismayed because of the material factual errors, unfounded assertions, and debunked mythology that it contains.
None of the books written about Albert Jacka are error free, including my own, and all of them have made their contributions. Having said that, Peter FitzSimons’s book contains many more errors—both on the battlefield and in the post-war era—than one would have thought possible given the team of researchers he had working on it.
During the 14th Battalion’s first trench raid at the Western Front in 1916, its leader Lieutenant Harold Wanliss sustained several bullet wounds. FitzSimons claims that Sergeant Stephen De Araugo “drags him to the safety of his own trenches”, when the 1956 memoirs of Sergeant (later Major) Fred Anderson (uncited by FitzSimons) describe in detail how he lay end to end with Harold sheltering in a shallow ditch and later carried him to safety.
FitzSimons invents a bizarre fictional description of the death of Captain Wanliss at Polygon Wood in 1917. Previous biographers (incorrectly) assumed Wanliss died making his way back to his own lines, but FitzSimons invents a scene in which Wanliss is gunned down while charging a machine-gun post “revolver in hand”. By contrast, Wanliss’s batman, Sergeant Harry Delora, describes how he and Wanliss were “in a shell-hole … [and] the Captain was observing, when a bullet got him through the side and another just under the neck, killing him outright”. Other errors by FitzSimons pertaining to Albert Jacka’s military exploits are too complex for discussion here.
After describing Jacka’s very private Catholic church wedding to Vera Carey on January 17, 1921, FitzSimons asserts, “Domestic life begins with Bert leaving their home at Murchison Street, St Kilda, to go to the store in Collins Street.” There was never a “store in Collins Street”, and the couple lived in rented premises until 1926.
The description of Jacka’s hospitalisation is also error-laden. FitzSimons writes: “Just after the meeting [on Monday December 14, 1931] is adjourned, to the shock of all, [Albert] collapses and is rushed to Caulfield Military Repatriation Hospital.” The record shows that Jacka ignored medical advice to admit himself to hospital that week because he had one last task to perform—a meeting he chaired at the council offices that Friday, December 18, for last-minute planning of the Beach Carnival taking place the next day. As noted by Cr Moroney and recorded in the St Kilda Council minutes of February 8, 1932: “He had left a meeting in the Town Hall on the 18th December to go straight to the Caulfield Military Hospital. No one ever dreamed that his complaint was of a mortal nature.”
Even the funeral scene at St Kilda cemetery is deeply flawed, because FitzSimons incomprehensibly assumes that two days after Jacka’s death the imposing tombstone was already standing there on January 19, 1932. Such gross errors should not be leapfrogging through time.
While FitzSimons mentions my books and YouTube interview generally in his acknowledgments, there is not a single reference to them in the bibliography or appendices to chapters, even though he repeats specifics unique to those books. For example, FitzSimons makes no attribution when he writes that John Wren paid off the £20,000 debt accumulated by Jacka’s business. This only became known because I contacted the National Australia Bank’s archivist and was provided the board paper extract proving John Wren absorbed all the debt.
FitzSimons seeks to perpetuate the myth that Albert Jacka was “a stout Labor man” despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. At a Collins Street dinner in 1925 he complained about the Labor Party’s “unscrupulous onslaught upon [taxpayers’] savings”, and as Mayor he presided over a rally of the All For Australia Party.
He also ignores the fact that Albert Jacka was destined to die young due to nephritis, given that two of his three brothers died that way by the age of fifty-six. There is no doubting that war wounds sped his demise, but the DNA qualifier should have been mentioned.
Peter’s “black armband” narrative portrays Jacka being “down and out”, “selling soap door to door” as a commercial traveller in his last months. In actuality he had a company car, was living in a comfortable house at 60 Chaucer Street, St Kilda, was still a St Kilda councillor, and an “A-lister” who was still helping the unemployed in his neighbourhood. Neither he nor returned diggers in general had been forgotten by Australian society, as once Manning Clark and now Peter FitzSimons use Albert Jacka’s example to imply.
FitzSimons also makes some outlandish assertions about Albert’s estranged wife Vera, including claiming that “she did not appear to mourn him for long, if at all. She had, after all, seen him just a couple of times in the year before he died [that is, in 1931] and both were visits to the hospital.” Seriously? They were the Lord and Lady Mayoress of St Kilda, with newspapers reporting the couple’s participation in various functions. Their daughter Betty told me that her mother cried every Anzac Day, because it reminded her of Albert.
Seemingly oblivious to Vera’s situation, FitzSimons asserts that “in the public outpouring of grief at his [Albert’s] death, she [Vera] waited no more than a day before launching an appeal for herself”. She would have been powerless to stop the campaign launched by the Herald & Weekly Times Ltd, and with a young daughter to support, why would she try?
It is important to preserve the legend of Albert Jacka VC, who was arguably the most outstanding and fascinating Australian frontline soldier of the Great War. That responsibility is too important to be rushed through with incomplete research that is overly dependent on secondary sources and perpetuates false myths.
The Legend of Albert Jacka
by Peter FitzSimons
Hachette, 2024, 480 pages, $49.99
Dr Michael Lawriwsky is the author of Hard Jacka (2007) and Return of the Gallipoli Legend: Jacka VC (2010), and is a former trustee of Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance. This review is based on his article “The Post-War Life of Albert Jacka VC”, in the April 2024 issue of Quadrant
Shocked but not surprised.
Actually, I’m not even shocked at this outrageous dunderhead.
I will work on the assumption that no mentions of French rugby teams appear in his latest fiction.
There are some things I really admire the French for.
Here. Admire them some more…
A thing of beauty.
That is up there with Margaret Thatcher’s Lady like destruction of Negus’ career. 😀
Another junk piece by hankie head that will be available in bargain bins for $5 shortly to use as a doorstop.
Fitzsimian continues as Australia’s premier writer of historically based fiction.
The book is chock full of errors? Certainly wasn’t ghost-written then.
This says one thing for Fitzsimons, we know he’s man enough to write his own books.
I had the misfortune to be given FitzSimons’ Gallipoli book for Christmas several years ago.
I have to blame myself for reading it, but the book is utter rubbish.
It is filled with “facts” and in particular made-up conversations that no one could have known about.
From The Oz:
What a ‘nice’ suggestion.
How about making it a part of the party platform, along with School Vouchers and Parent control of the School Boards which set the curriculum.
No Dutton, stop being so bloody timid.
Stand for something – and not just pissing.
Dutton springs into action with suggestions and thought bubbles.
Expect it won’t be the last time.
For Cats who like such thngs the live coverage of Elon launching four astronauts into polar orbit starts in about 10 minutes time:
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1rmGPyBjVkjJN
As the astronauts were driving to the spaceport they saw out their car windows another rocket flying overhead:
Cool! It was the Starlink launch which had been delayed from yesterday.
Tom Lewis’s book “The Secret Submarine” has just arrived, and the first page:
We are about to have to throw men and women, hopelessly prepared and equipped against any foe again. Draining blood to save dollars spent on social programs with negative return.
I suspect there wouldn’t be much fight back this time, Winston.
If they so desired, the PLAN could park a few of their ballistic missile equipped subs off our coast and that would be it. That or blockade the approaches to our east coast ports and cripple our economy in three weeks as fuel runs out.
For now, that remains a hypothetical.
I’m more concerned about politicians sending defence personnel on questionable overseas expeditions.
In the spirit of the day:
Crocosaurus Cove to relocate Cage of Death to Darwin Airport
Passengers arriving at Darwin International Airport will soon be able to get a taste of the Territory’s famed crocodile culture as soon as they step off the plane, with Crocosaurus Cove revealing plans to expand its Cage of Death offering to the airport
It will allow travellers to experience daily crocodile feedings, and up-close encounters while waiting for their flights.
I almost went to Crocosaurus. Changed mind and went back to Mitchell Street. Love Darwin.
An update on ‘Tell a tourist where to go!’
The ultimate in “we just have a more selective fanbase”…
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/apr/01/woke-criticism-of-doctor-who-proves-show-on-right-track-says-its-newest-star
Varada Sethu joining series as Doctor’s latest companion, marking first time Tardis team is wholly people of colour
Criticisms that Doctor Who has become too “woke” prove the series is doing the right thing by being inclusive, its new star Varada Sethu has said.
Sethu plays the Doctor’s latest travelling companion, Belinda Chandra, in new episodes airing next month. With Ncuti Gatwa returning as the Doctor, the pairing marks the first time a Tardis team will comprise solely people of colour.
Speaking about the milestone, Sethu told the Radio Times: “Ncuti was like, ‘Look at us. We get to be in the Tardis. We’re going to piss off so many people.’”
May their audience become even more exclusive.
What, no dwarves?
Imagine if it was Peter Dutton who’d said that:
Nicolette Boele, the teal independent challenger for the Liberal-held seat of Bradfield, has apologised for making a sexualised comment to a 19-year-old staff member at a hair salon.
Ms Boele was banned from her local hairdresser after she told the teenager after having her hair washed, “that was amazing, and I didn’t even have sex with you”, 2GB’s Ben Fordham reported on Tuesday morning.
Fordham said Ms Boele had been banned from the salon as a result of the exchange.
Ms Boele told The Australian it “was a poor attempt at humour and I’ve apologised”.
…Imagine if it was Peter Dutton who’d said that…
I’m struggling trying to imagine Peter D having his hair washed in a salon by a 19-year old …
A cougar. Yuk. Former state pubic serpent too.
Epsteined (the CM):
This woman lives in Perth. I didn’t know the FBI had an office there.
The whole incident is richly coated in tabloid chocolate:
According to the OZ, it was a speeding school bus what done it:
Suspiciously under-reported – we all know the tell-tale fingerprints of Prince Philip and MI6:
But there’s potential good news on the medical front:
The unbelievable lifesaving power of medical opinion and ‘other things’.
But the British Establishment has yet another opinion:
Horrible people.
If she’s dying from Renal Failure, then I would suggest they try that Miracle Invention – Dialysis.
It’s very early days in this treatment yet, but perhaps it might work.
>Wheresmysarctag<
Why is my bullshit detector at 140 dB?
That was my first thought when I had read the dumb article.
Also, as one of my earlier trades was as a film make-up artist, those bruises looked very suspicious to me.
Lots of one shade bruising, yet no swelling. Somebody forgot to add the shiny highlight in the centre of each bruise to simulate swelling.
Also, not a single laceration anywhere on her face.
Yes the Windsors aren’t your friends as the current King’s conduct shows
All horrible people.
The whole cast.
Just like Prince Edward and the white Renault. Was Albo briefed?
Liz wouldn’t have fvcked it up.
Here is the article. I am calling bullshit as she is claiming the car was hit by a school bus at 110 while they were making a turn. The pics in the article are what you would expect from a minor bingle, not a bus crunch. Also there is no mention of where this supposedly happened.
The West Australian
Tue, 1 April 2025 8:34AM
Jessica Evensen
Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre says she has ‘four days to live’ after allegedly being hit by a Perth school bus at 110km/h
A woman who says she was sex-trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and abused by Prince Andrew claims she has “four days to live” after allegedly being hit by an Australian school bus.
Virginia Giuffre — who had been living in Perth — took to social media from her hospital bed on Monday saying she was suffering kidney renal failure after a bus smashed into her car at 110km/h.
It is unclear when the crash occurred or if it happened in WA.
Ms Giuffre — who is a sex abuse advocate — is understood to have moved to WA in 2020 and bought a property in Ocean Reef.
“This year has been the worst start to a new year,” Ms Giuffre, 41, wrote on her Instagram page.
“I think it is important to note when a school bus driver comes at you driving 110km/h as we were slowing for a turn, that no matter what your car is made of, it might as well be a tin can.
“I’ve gone into kidney renal failure, they’ve given me four days to live transferring me to a specialist hospital in urology.
“I’m ready to go, just not until I see my babies one last time, but you know what they say about wishes.
“Sh.. in one hand and wish in the other and I guarantee it’s still going to be shit at the end of the day.
“Thank you all for being the wonderful people of the world and for being a great part of my life.”
Ms Giuffre’s spokesperson, Dini von Mueffing, told the BBC “she greatly appreciates the support and well wishes people are sending”.
“Virginia has been in a serious accident and is receiving medical care in the hospital,” she said.
Ms Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew in 2021 alleging he sexually assaulted her when she was just 17-years-old.
In the lawsuit, Ms Giuffre alleged Epstein trafficked her and forced her to have sex with the prince.
Virginia Giuffre, centre, claims she was sexually abused by a second mystery royal as well as Prince Andrew, left. Credit: unknown/ unknown
Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations and agreed to an out-of-court settlement.
Epstein was arrested and charged with sex-trafficking offences in 2019.
He died by suicide while awaiting trial.
Speaking to The West Australian in 2020, Ms Giuffre spoke of falling in love with Perth after buying a $1.9 million home.
Property records say the home is still owned by her husband, with whom she has recently separated from.
April 1?
That would have required a sense of humour, so probably not.
Any old style editor would have given this a nuanced eye over and gone Na.
“ … with whom she has recently separated from.”
fmd
Add a couple of greengrocer’s apostrophes and it would be perfect.
Change the word order and it might be intelligible.
A quick flick of the sub-editors red pen, it becomes “… from whom she has recently separated” and everybody is happy – except maybe Ms. G.
An update from the worst australian
WA Police on Tuesday confirmed that the crash happened in Neergabby — about 80km north of Perth — about 3pm on March 24.
However, a police spokesperson said that there were “no reported injuries as a result of the crash”.
“The collision was reported by the bus driver the following day,” they said.
“The car sustained approximately $2000 worth of bus damage.”
Acting WA Police Commissioner Kylie Whiteley said that there were no reports of bus passengers.
“We’re not aware of passengers on the bus but certainly the bus driver reported it as he was required to do and in the right time frame,” she said.
“I’m not aware of any injuries.”
$2k of damage and no reported injuries, yet terminal kidney failure??
I stick with my original BS call.
If she had exactly 96 hours to live, why is she on social media?
I’m not saying Andrew is a good person, as I think he’s dreadful, but I’ve never trusted this woman either and what she says.
I read once the FBI has an office in Australia or more than one.
This lady is certainly not short of a Royal penny with which to call in the services of every top medico in Australia.
This is a beat-up of major proportions.
Liz, be careful. It’s cheap nylon and you’ll get rashes from wearing that crap.
Bloke with surname Giuffre taught me recipe and hand stretching of his pizza dough. He was the real shit.
Hmmm,Perf. …. Strange. Just like when Jason and Charlene arrived here.
In this episode of the Quillette podcast, Andrew Doyle discusses the concept of the “woke right”—a term used to describe a faction on the right that mirrors the authoritarian tactics often associated with the left’s woke movements. Doyle argues that the culture war isn’t simply a left versus right issue but a struggle between authoritarianism and liberty. Both the woke left and woke right seek to impose their values on society through authoritarian means, regardless of political ideologies. Doyle elaborates on how the woke left has traditionally been associated with progressivism that often contradicts classical liberal values like free speech and individual liberty. Meanwhile, the woke right, although ideologically different, shares the authoritarian impulse to enforce conformity to their values. The conversation touches on the mainstreaming of identity politics and how both sides of the political spectrum have adopted identitarian approaches, often causing confusion and division. Doyle emphasizes the importance of addressing authoritarianism wherever it manifests, rather than focusing on traditional political labels. He also notes the complexity of the culture war’s next phase, suggesting a need to consistently apply liberal principles to counter authoritarian tendencies from any political affiliation.
But playing nice is ineffective against single issue fanatics.
It’s not about Left/Right politics, it’s about Tyrants Vs Peasants.
How about that.
It’s actually a Class War.
Everything old is new again.
Where’s my tumbril?
The NY times lets several Ukrainian cats out of the bag today.
New article or is this yesterday’s?
The video discusses the firing of Jennifer Salke, former head of Amazon Studios, comparing her to Kathleen Kennedy of Lucasfilm in terms of her impact on beloved IPs and management style. Salke is criticized for canceling profitable projects, such as a faithful “Conan the Barbarian” series, and for turning existing franchises into platforms for divisive identity politics, notably with the “Wheel of Time” series and “Rings of Power.” She was known for extravagant spending on questionable projects and talent, which contributed to her dismissal. The video also highlights Amazon’s acquisition of the James Bond rights and Salke’s unsuccessful push for a Bond cinematic universe, which led to tensions with Barbara Broccoli. Looking forward, the video expresses hope that Amazon and other studios might refocus on talent and merit rather than identity politics. Additionally, the creator transitions to a Kickstarter campaign to fund more independent short films, inviting audience participation in submitting film ideas. This campaign follows their first crowdfunded project, “Rogue Elements,” and aims to empower creators and challenge traditional studio practices by involving fans directly in filmmaking.
Post the NY Times column, Ukrainian blimp maker will become a trope to be used in future covert operations.
Ollie North can finally rest easy.
Sydney Morning Herald.
In 1975, voters had the chance to return Gough Whitlam to office with a plan to publicly own our gas and oil reserves. To thereby fund public health, education and other services for our country; to be in the black each year; to guarantee energy supply at low domestic prices for all Australians and their businesses; and to – by now – have a sovereign fund even the envy of Norway. But Rupert Murdoch was having none of it. Ably assisted by the then Coalition toadies, his propaganda machine swung into action to prey on the ill-informed and disillusioned. Nothing has changed.
Howard Charles, Glebe
That was the Plan.
What would have been the outcome?
The hairs on my back stand up when I think of it.
Overseas sales in the billions orchestrated by Al Grassby, with the main buyers later discovered to be Calabrian shell companies?
Mmm…yes.
Gough and his ministry of merry pranksters had nothing to do with it.
Mr Charles seems to forget that Fraser won in a landslide. 91/36.
Rupert must have magical powers.
He’s right about one thing. Nothing has changed. Glebe still has its Labor die-hards, soon to re-elect Tania.
Veneztralia
Beertruk
April 1, 2025 8:10 am
The Paywallion on the greenturd/s:
Greens leader Adam Bandt suggests Israel to blame for Hamas butchery
Not a word about this in the Spencer Street Stürmer and probably not on their ABCesspool either.
Typed “Bandt Israel Hamas” into ABC’s search function.
Zilch.
Signs that the adults may be regaining control at Qaintarse …
Give him a QANTAS t-shirt as a parting gift.
Or those Qantas PJ’s. I have four pairs, two unused. Two used once, in flight. Qantas was also flogging them off at $25 a pair during lockdown. Ok for lounging around the house. Never for wearing outside.
I have a Bunnings umbrella.
For around the house.
Worst director appointment since Vizard at Telstra.
“Totally left field thought but, in a hung Parliament in the Republic of Australia (or the Peoples Democratic Republic of Australia), how would you elect the President (instead of the GG, appointed by PM) via a Parliamentary vote?”
If you are going down the “minimalist” road, where we simply change the name from GG to Prez, and remove Chucky and relos from the process, would it REALLY be any different than now? I don’t see that it would. In which case, the PM appoints, that’s it – no need for a vote. Prez remains until PM issues new appointment, so no issues with a hung parliament etc, there is ALWAYS a Prez.
Agree kneel, was just putting a hypothetical out there. Whilst I am a Republican I’m a bit like Hendo in that I can’t find a model that would possibly work (or be accepted by Aussies).
As bad as the Windsors can be, once you remove royalty from the equation there are no constitutional or customary restraints to prevent the prog-left incumbents (and it will be so) from using the office as a bully pulpit to harangue the peasantry about the latest moral panic.
While Charles & Wills exhibit tendencies in that direction, they remain 17 000 kms away & we generally don’t hear from them. And when they are here, as foreigners they tend to be polite about the place and its people.
Essentially the complete Monarchist argument in a single paragraph.
Politically elected. We get Kevni, Miserable Ghost, or someone on a similar payoff scheme. Someone who embarrassingly knows they are awesome and must be listened to because destiny.
Popularly elected: We get a Celebrity Vet, a joke candidate like Raygun, or that stupid woman from Home and Away. Someone desperate to share stupid ideas that Parliament feels obliged to take seriously.
Got myself thru 5 seasons (57 episodes) of Hell on Wheels .. a western loosely based on the railroad battle(s) between two companies to join New York to San Francisco via rail ..
Seasons 1 & 2 .. excellent. but then they cut/killed off several worthwhile characters, changed writers & directors so 3 very average .. 4 & 5, basically,
individual episode tales with the original theme shunting along in the background .. Could/should have use either 3 or 4 to finalize it but , obviosly, it was rating sooooo ..! Still, worth watching ( cos by now your hooked .. LOL) even as it side-tracks ..
! & 2 .. 9/10 ..3,4 & 5 .. 6/10 overall with the odd episodes getting to 7 & 8 …
Lotza references to the civil war, especially, Andersonville & so I re-watched the movie, Andersonville .. 8/10 .. tho nearly 3 hours would have been better with several storylines fleshed out as a mini series …
And still not content pulled my copy of Andersonville by MacInlay Kantor off the shelf for a re-read … 12/10 .. This bloke wrote CW fictionalized history the way the good authors on Ancient Rome write …. full on period description to go with the characters ………..!
BREAKING:
ASADA confirms the Parramatta Eels have been caught using performance decreasing drugs throughout the season. Traces of DUD-2025 and FA-SINCE86 have been detected.
Is that a bit like Carlton and United Breweries whom, upon looking at the Blues’ AFL season have released Carlton Bitter? 😛
First LOL of the day and I don’t even understand football.
Neither of the two mentioned can be cosidered football.
Spot on!
Big test for soros:
Wisconsin Supreme Court Race “a classic Soros tactic to identify … a weakness in society that can be exploited for other purposes”
Soros and his sprog are great survivors and prove the difference between the left and the rest of us. If a conservative was acting towards the left like soros is towards the right they’d be dead. Only the grace of God saved Trump.
Elon’s four private astronauts have made orbit, and the booster landed on the drone ship perfectly. The capsule should be over the South Pole about now.
The show that SpaceX put on was excellent! Especially the two lady astronauts who had been on the Polaris Dawn mission.
I’ve never been to orbit but I did go outside and sat on my porch afterwards, whereupon two magpies sat on my knees, then three noisies. One of the noisies though gave a one star review of the Cafe onto my knee. Ingrate.
She and Andrew Wakefield were essentially the beginning of cancel culture.
https://x.com/TheChiefNerd/status/1906894771949617440
The Left went after vaccine skeptics the hardest because no government would exist if people understood the truth.
If you want amusing and confirming reading on Vic politics and bureaucracy, look no further than the Inquiry into the 2026 Commonwealth Games Bid, released today. “Key witnesses, including the former Premier and relevant Ministers, declined to appear at public hearings,” Mr Limbrick said.
“Requests for relevant documentation were met with broad claims of executive privilege. The government refused to follow the process set out in the Legislative Council’s Standing Orders for assessing claims of executive privilege.”
““The killing of civilians is devastating, never acceptable and should always be investigated by human rights organisations,” he said. “For all killings to finally stop, and for Palestinians and Israelis to have a just and lasting peace, the occupation of Palestine and the invasion of Gaza need to end.
“Australia needs to move from words to action and put pressure on the extremist Netanyahu government to end the occupation of Palestine, which is the root cause of the conflict, and end the invasion of Gaza.””
Dead right – Israel needs to stop mucking about and simply expel every current Gazan permanently.
“Leave or be a martyr”.
Ditto on the West Bank.
These two areas – both traditionally part of Israel – are a cesspit of evil savages intent on destroying an entire country.
Time to take out the garbage, Benjamin.
Luigi meme ..
LOL
And she responds.
Fuk her. And apparently Elon already has.
it was artificial
Can’t think of what to say to this except it’s sad for a child when paternity spats go public especially when they spill over, as here, into mud-linging on both sides. Elon could easily prove whether the child is his or not. It’s just silliness and perhaps control freakery that he doesn’t.
It would be very easy for Elon to bribe someone to get a hair sample from the child, process it, and find out the paternity on the sly.
Then, if the child wasn’t his, he could publicly repudiate the deal.
If it was then he could pay up and get away with what he’s doing.
But my suspicions are for the woman who appears to me, to have been coached.
This is Jerry Springer territory here. Not just this stuff with St.Clair.
le pen, le monde, and the SPECTRE over them
Really?
Is this a new truth-in-advertising, reverse psychology politic tactic?
In bold letters, this was on a billboard on the motorway near me, along with the face of my federal ember (sic) and another, possibly equally inspiring bloke, and the LNP logo.
Huh.
This review challenges the view that the relationship between Russia and China is “set in stone”.
We are reminded us that, in spite of a socialist regime, Russia’s history and culture is European.
Sorry, forgot the link!
– https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/
Link not working.
Jayzus!! Is that Brezhnev on the left, cloned and reborn?
Probably a relative.
Eyebrows not big enough.
‘Nuther one bites the dust.
Japan-Australia flagship hydrogen project stumbles (TechXplore, 31 Mar)
Wow, if even the Ponds Institute thinks it is mad it must really be mad. But wait lets go to tape: convert brown coal to hydrogen (mad). Capture and somehow store the CO2 (mad). Liquefy the hydrogen to -253 C (mad). Ship it to Japan (mad). Somehow not be ridiculously expensive (mad).
In my time I’ve proposed more than my share of out there projects, and wasted fairly stupendous amounts of shareholders’ money, but this one is at a quantum level of insanity all of its own.
Viktoristan – The Loony State.
Lignite coal is cheap and there is lots of it there. Just keep burning it in the Power Station and bollox to Nut Zero/Net Zany.
Private enterprise must be banned!
Jeremy Clarkson slams ‘total disaster’ at his pub after ‘losing a fortune’
TV personality Jeremy Clarkson has described a “total disaster” at his pub,
The Farmer’s Dog, during the busy Christmas period. The ‘Grand Tour’ host, who launched the pub in August, faced criticism from customers over the festive menu and a one-hour dining time limit.
Writing in his column for The Times, Clarkson detailed the chaos behind the scenes, saying: “Behind the scenes, then, everything is a total disaster.”
He confessed to being “naive” about the scale of the venture, which reportedly cost him over £1million and is “losing a fortune”. Despite industry warnings about the challenges of running a profitable pub, he had optimistically thought “it would all be fine,” but admitted, “I was wrong.”
Clarkson also recounted a particularly unpleasant incident in the pub’s toilets, stating: “No amount of festival visits would prepare you for the horror of what had been produced at the Farmer’s Dog.”
He revealed that the mess was so extensive that “no ordinary plumbing or cleaning equipment would even scratch the surface,” necessitating a team of specialist hazmat engineers, an expense he hadn’t anticipated in his business plans, reports The Express.
He divulged that with numerous glasses mysteriously vanishing, the costs were mounting, lamenting: “That cost must be added to the £100 a day we spend on fuel for the generator, the £400 a week it costs to provide warmth on the terrace and the £27,000 a month we must spend on parking and traffic marshals to keep the council off our back.”
On the state of employment he remarked: “And that’s before you get to the cost of employing people in Starmer’s Britain these days.”
He went on to express his frustration at the financial reality of business saying: “It’s galling to see how much effort is required to make so little money on the farm. It’s worse at the pub. The customers are coming. There’s no problem there. But turning their visits into a profit is nigh-on impossible.”
Nevertheless, Clarkson concluded with a touch of optimism, sharing TV chef Marco Pierre White’s approval of the food at his venue. He cheerfully noted: “And it’s warm and there’s a fire and the staff are friendly and young and happy. It’s a proper, traditional pub. By which I mean you’ll love it, and I’ll lose a fortune and develop a skin disease from the stress of running it.”
Leeds News
Sounds like Mr Clarkson needs to sit down with our own SATP and have a chat. Maybe SATP could be bribed by a few laps alongside the Stig.
I was driven around the Top Gear test track by the Stig – one thing surprised me (30 Mar).
Yep, can confirm this.
Trump still getting stuck into the grubs of the msm:
Amber Ruffin Dropped From White House Correspondents Dinner
The comments are funny. And on the mark. I’m not only not sure what gender she (sic) is but whether she (sic) is even human.
Surely she’s on the cute owl list?
That’s….just cruel.
Sorry, couldn’t resist posting it, being April the 1st.
Breaks up all the political doom and gloom.
J Rotten could claim it if he came across if first.
Beautiful.
It corresponds to my observation that:
from Winston Smiths ‘Tips for Newlyweds’, volume 3.
Ha, ha, ha, ha………………….
Many contributors on this venerated electron storm are knowledgeable in the fields of politics, finance law and business.
I am growing steadily more alarmed at suggestions of taxes on non realised
( and maybe never to be realised) gains.
Hard to believe but could be more damaging than super taxes and death duties.
Comments/advice/predictions/strategies welcomed – I would find them helpful and so would many others, I suspect.
Speaking of political doom and gloom.
Now I understand how the Nazis or any totalitarian regime ever came to rule.
They used the existing POWER they had and got away with it, there are always willing collaborators like the police or army.
Arky is right, it’s all about power for the sake of power, we are babes in the woods with our whining unable or unwilling to do anything about it.
And there are still admirers of T Abbott, tho he was am amateur compared to today’s practitioners of the art of political assassination. Prancing about in his long black overcoat so fashionable in those days, defaming and helping to jail PH.
I’m no fan of hers!!
We are doomed, keep safe and make the best of it I say.
This Le Pen business raised earlier
https://newcatallaxy.blog/2025/03/31/open-thread-mon-31-march-2025/comment-page-2/#comment-884405
It’s expected an EU politician won’t do all the work themselves and they will hire assistants to do the work. Those assistants must do the work in some country. So it’s expected workers in France will be paid from EU MEP funds.
But the MEP funds are for MEP work. The embezzlement is using EU funding for domestic campaigns. The same person may have both domestic and EU campaigns, but they occur under different political parties and so the labour costs still have to be segregated.
Refer to “Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations”
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02014R1141-20190327
Sounds like a stuff up by Le Pen to leave herself open this attack.
No idea whether other MEPs also do this (i.e. selective enforcement).
What puzzles me is why embezzling EU funding would disqualify her from a national election. Surely it would only disqualify her from the EU. Maybe there is some French rule that was also broken by doing this.
I posted this earlier which explains that alleged jurisdictional issue:
EXPLAINED: How The Lawfare Against Marine Le Pen Led to Her Prison Sentence and Politics Ban.
Former Planned Parenthood Director Confirms It Engages in Medicaid Fraud
Alan Moran’s latest climate news:
Climate News – April 2025
Fair dinkum, you would have to be either a total moron to believe in global boiling; or a commie grifter.
Those two categories are not mutually exclusive. An individual can be both a moron or a commie grifter.
or both
You can bet your last dollar on that.
David French And The Never-Trump Faction Don’t Care About Free Speech At All
Very nicely put. The Never Trumpers have no idea that they are dribbling rot.
New York Times Publishes Explosive Investigation Article Showing U.S. Military Boots on Ground in Ukraine, and CIA Operation to Target Russian Federation with Drones and Missiles
Clean energy group admits going green may mean chaos for New York’s power grid as industry scrambles to meet new goals : report
Capping Carbon Admissions: The Biden Administration is Accused of Burying Conflicting Climate Change Report
Flew past the Karara wind farm south west of Warwick yesterday.
Ghastly thing was producing nothing. One of the propellers had a broken blade. I’m told it won’t be fixed as not worth it. Was doing an aerial reconnaissance on a property to the north but I reckon you would be looking at windmill blades to the south 4 km away.
More evidence we’re living in the age of incompetence.
My wife’s Amex card was due to expire. As the primary cardholder, I received an email stating that the new card had been retrieved and returned due to some issue. I called to check if she could still use the old one, and they said she couldn’t, but they would issue a new replacement card and send it via DHL. The new card arrived… with the wrong person’s name on it—a guy from WA. (Given that exactly nine people live in that state, someone posting here from WA would know him).
Amex has been in business since 1850, and charge cards were introduced in the 1950s.
Sorry Elbow:
RBA interest rates: Reserve Bank holds cash rate at 4.1 per cent | PerthNow
What an absolute abortion. FMD
With all these billions being stolen, I’m starting to think that anything around $1 billion is chump change and I only get interested in reading about the fraud and abuse if it’s $10 billion plus.
Way to go giving them a tip to flee the country Musk!
“I once sent a dozen of my friends a telegram saying ‘flee at once – all is discovered.’ They all left town immediately.”? Mark Twain
Speaking of msm bitches, this bitch from NPR, the US equivalent of the fuking abc, is soon to be looking for a new job:
Horowitz Called Out PBS and NPR Bias Over 35 Years Ago | Frontpage Mag
/
?
A Demos AU poll concerning NSW looks OK for the LNP.
https:demosau.com/news/nsw-poll-march-2025/
The poll has PHON on 9%, up 4.1 from the last election. Voting and supporting PHON might point the LNP in the right direction. I think I’ll give them support with HTV cards.
An American tourist in England boards a train, he looks for a seat, but all the seats are taken. He finally sees a seat next to a woman, whose dog is sitting next to her. He asks her nicely to hold the dog or put it on the floor, she refuses, callng him a crass uncouth American for even suggesting such a thing.
He then takes the dog and throws it out the window, and sits down.
The woman makes a scene, so eventually one chap approaches them. The woman thinks she has found her champion. He says to the American ‘you Yanks always get it wrong. You drive on the wrong side of the road, hold your knife and fork wrong, and now you’ve thrown the wrong bitch out of the window”
You gotta be fcking kidding.
Former US VP Kamala Harris to front Aussie property conferenceFormer US Vice President Kamala Harris has accepted an invite to come to Australia, which has everyone talking about the surprise appointment.
Lol.
Sounds very much like a C-grade event to me.
PJ Watson on the islamification of good old merry england; coming here; or already here:
It’s Really Happening
Cuba Lost a Quarter of its Population in the Last 4 Years –
“Cuba is a tragic example of what can happen to a society under a Marxist–Leninist socialist republic—equal in poverty. New reports show that nearly a quarter of Cuba’s population has fled the nation in the past four years alone in search of economic opportunities.
Such a mass exodus is usually only seen during times of war. Estimates state that around 545,011 people escaped the island in 2024, with 45.5% fleeing to the United States. Spain, Serbia, Mexico, and Uruguay remain popular for socialist refugees. The study was conducted by Cuban economist Albizu-Campos as the nation has not held a formal census since 2012. The National Office of Statistics has acknowledged that the population has fallen beneath 10 million, with their estimates stating 300,000 fled in 2024.
Cuba has been in a crisis for many years now. The nation faces one of the worst energy crises and it has become commonplace for entire regions to go a day without any power. Trade restrictions have caused widespread shortages of essentials such as food, water, and oil.
Their currency is worthless. Inflation hit 500% in 2021, falling to 200% in 2022, but the nation is unable to keep proper figures. In 2021, authorities attempted to establish the Cuban peso as the main currency and introduced a new currency pegged to the dollar called “moneda libremente convertible” (MLC). Cuba, like Venezuela and other socialist economies, has suffered from economic mismanagement rather than just US sanctions. There is no private property, the dual-currency system has failed, and central planning is non-existent.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel reached out to Russia, Turkey, Algeria, and China for financial assistance but remains blacklisted by most of the West. Canada is actually the top importer of Cuban goods, accounting for $585.61 million of exports in 2023 out of a total of $1.59 billion. Tobacco, nickel, ores, and alcohol remain Cuba’s last standing exports but most nations sanctioned Cuba long ago and they are hard-pressed to find any buyers. Exports declined by $900 million as agriculture and tourism plummeted.”
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/south_america/cuba-lost-a-quarter-of-its-population-in-the-last-4-years/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS
No more Abalone please. Australia cannot afford another 3 years of Marxism along with the Green communists lurking.
So why don’t they take in a million Sudanese?
They’ll be a boon to the country, so I’ve heard.
The Sudanese wouldn’t go there. Australia is a much better place to rape and pillage.
Yeah, there is still something to pillage here.
I can understand all the other countries as they are nearby or Spanish speaking. But Serbia?
Cuban government knows what it needs to do, get out of the way and let capitalism take over. I’m sure the people know how to do it as they probably had a black economy for decades.
Hey cronkite, stop gawking at computer generated trannies and focus on this.
Imagine if an ALP member had been treated this way in a church or synagogue. The age leaves out threats made of physical violence directed at the member.
Look I question Wood even going near a mosque in Dandenong anyway to announce 6mil grant that they shouldn’t be getting anyway. So they treat him like crap, so do the coalition say no worries then no money for you. Nup.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/watch-liberal-frontbencher-heckled-out-of-melbourne-mosque-20250331-p5lnxt.html
Use 12ft wall to get past paywall.
You only need to look at all the outrage from Joe Hildebrand (highlighted here yesterday) about some Mueslis’ treatment of poor Tony Burke.
Jaguar Type 00 on the Street for the First Time!
at least it’s not pink.
When a real one turns up we will see.
Yuck.
Yukkity yukkity yuk.
Gross.
Very aerodynamic.
Its only virtue – and since it is apparently huge, total drag could be more than many more”normal” cars.
“Drag” tee hee hee!
( Puts on best Frankie Howerd voice)
Stop tittering!
Titter ye not!
Why on earth are the Liberals pledging $6.5m to upgrade a mosque?
Oh, right…Wood is shadow “Multicultural Affairs” spokesman.
The lesser of two evils they may be, but I can’t in good conscience cast my primary vote for them.
Update on Old Mates Granddaughters Fiancé, caught in the rain and bogginess of outback Qld last Friday night.
Apparently – the family have retraced his steps – he clocked up nearly 100km walking before he found the farmhouse.
Due to the gravel and mud and burrs that had accumulated in his boots, his feet are in a pretty shocking state so he’s still in hospital, flat on his back.
Poor bugger.
His fiancée was going to give him a right bollocking, but her maternal instincts saved him.
A question for which there is no acceptable answer.
Uniparty.
It’s the ONLY answer.
Apart from Jizyah.
It wouldn’t win them one vote.
I guess it is some braindead daddy’s boy in head office decided they needed to do so to balance the synagogue funding.
It will lose them 2 votes for every 1.
The Duran
NYT, US waged COALITION WAR against Russia
Some scary stuff here.
https://usdebtclock.org/
Chinese FM in Moscow.
So is the former Syrian President.
So what?
Relevant to Vicki’s comment above.
https://jihadwatch.org/2025/03/afghan-muslim-refugees-stab-caseworkers-in-michigan-and-texas?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=afghan-muslim-refugees-stab-caseworkers-in-michigan-and-texas
https://jihadwatch.org/2025/03/nigeria-muslim-flogs-his-wife-to-death-in-an-argument-over-ramadan-food
Why do I get the feeling she may have been thankful as she died?
“He can’t hurt me any more.”
God knows what brutality she suffered from her ‘husband’.
I read that pro rata, the stabbing rate by Aghan “refugees” in the West is among the highest – if not the highest – in the world.
I have also read, but not seen it independently confirmed, that Albosleazy wants to bring in 26,000 of them.
I remember soon after 9/11 one of my BIL said the U.S. should nuke Afghanistan.
Why not Saudi Arabia?
I’m trying to work out how we can be at the Menin Gate for sunset in a month’s time.
I look at our politicians and their antics and I wonder – was it worth it?
Better men lie beneath the soil in Flanders than the mummers on our political stage.
We watched the film Testament of Youth recently, I had read the book many years ago when living in UK. It has stayed with me this week as I think about my grandfather who returned damaged from WW1, he would have gone to fight leaving Nana with four little children, then Mum was born in 1918. Vera Brittains’ family was decidedly upmarket from Mum’s. The film is visually excellent regarding sets and costumes, and sad. Recommended.
Been to the Gate a number of times, but it is the painting – Menin Gate at Midnight always raises the dust in my eyes. https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/menin
Don’t miss Tyne Cot (Passendaele) with the bunkers marking the furthest allied advance of the 3rd Battle of Ypres, by young Aussie men.
Don’t miss the memorial to the Newfoundland Regiment, on the Somme. They attacked from their second line, on the first day. Very few even made it to their own first line, let alone the merman trenches.
The memorial depicts a Newfoundland caribou, bellowing in agony at the losses.
Regarding the Canadians, the memorial on Vimy Ridge depicts Mother Canada mourning her slaughtered sons. The dust gets in your eyes..
@WallStreetApes
Mike Benz: Ending USAID is not going to end Censorship Networks and capturing of Justice Systems
The people behind this are now going to Economic Development PACs, China and international allies to get the funding to pressurize NATO and the EU to regain control of America
“It’s the same USA Truman show everywhere we go. This thing has been dialed in for 60 years and that’s why I say it’s gonna take 50 years to untangle this. ’cause you’re gonna run to political head was the whole time you, you don’t think you’re gonna have money flowing back.
?
They’re gonna go straight to their partners in Europe and around the world to do top-up funding for what they lose from USA, for example. They might go to the European, you know, endowment for democracy. They may have to start making funds to, you know, to these us anti-Trump networks. They may have to tap into their allies in China or their allies in other Central American or South American governments.
?
But mark my words that USA Truman show that joints, these sensors in exile, these, you know, regime changers in exile right now are going to club on to every international ally.
?
They will be, they will be pressurizing the United Nations. They’ll be pressurizing multilateral organizations like NATO, the EU, and even some of these economic development PACs to use the critical components they have there and sometimes dominant spot they have there to weaponize those assets.“
There is tons of EXCELLENT info in this clip about the ways they control our systems and how they’re going to fight to get the control back
Dagen McDowell: This is about controlling the American people
Children smashing their toys because they don’t like them.
Pathetic.
The adult equivalent of chucking the dollies out of the pram.
I did not know that Teslas have the highest percentage of components of any cars assembled in the US made in the US.
Is that the homosexual equivalent of the heterosexual story of the stork?
“Mummy, how do two lesbians make a baby?”
“Well darling, first they wash each others’ hair, then a baby comes out!”
I find it amusing that Marine Le Pen will be jailed for supposedly misusing a few hundred thousand euros while DOGE has uncovered American politicians and bureaucrats siphoning off billions and nothing happens. I expect it depends on who is defrauding the people, lefties apparently are entitled to help themselves to as much as they want.
Their “democracy” really is “their democracy”.
It’s different when they do it.
The one line I keep getting from lefties here is “the damage done by Robodebt”.
Sure, the Libs screwed that one up, but I think a few public serpents were happy to let it run and implode.
There is a view on the left that there is almost no such thing as social security fraud … “people wouldn’t claim benefits if they didn’t need it”.
Yep, robodebt is the bureaucrats’ fault. They knew that what they were doing was wrong yet they didn’t think to bring it to the politicians’ notice so that they could make informed decisions.
Yep.
Even though the Minister and party-aligned advisers were asleep at the wheel, I have no doubt the public serpents deliberately played politics with it.
My theory is that the Robodebt code and selection methodology was initially designed to generate targets for “please essplain” letters and maybe audit, but was then used just to fire out bills.
The objective is to turn this into a “Workchoices” moment and frighten the Coalition off fraud investigation for ever.
Agreed.
Does anyone know what % of Robodebt demands were in fact well founded, and of that %, what proportion of the outstanding taxpayer $ was recovered?
Would I be alone in assuming
the answers might be –
The relevant ministers (Hi Stuart!) can’t escape responsibility so easily. For five years the advice was it was unlawful.
It comes down to Churchill’s questions to himself after Gallipol); e.g., what should I have known but failed to inquire about?
Ignorance is no excuse.
Churchill at least had the decency to send himself to the Western front after the debacle by way of atonement.
Pity he didn’t die gloriously in battle there.
At a time when the Captains and lieutenants were being slaughtered in their thousands and at a rate well above any other ranks, it took a brave man to lead men across those fields.
I learned only recently that the presumption of innocence before courts is a distinct anglosphere right and not normally shared by our European “allies”.
The extent and tolerance of pre-trial adverse publicity has rendered the anglosphere’s presumption of little value. To make a meaningful comparison, one needs to examine how the Europeans deal with such publicity.
Moreover, Australian legislatures have created a vast number if strict and absolute offences which require the accused prove facts to avoid guilt.
The Europeans suffer the “Napoleonic code” where courts are an inquiry into the truth. One solicitor described it as you having to “prove your innocence”.
Watch French plod shows .. the cases alwayz overseen by a magistrate who decides if they have enuf evidence to proceed to court …
That would be a solicitor who would be out of work under an alternative system.
The Napoleonic code is a perfectly reasonable way to run a justice system, provided it is implemented correctly. In the vast majority of cases, the outcome is the same as it would be under our system.
As we know, there are plenty of glitches, injustices and stuff-ups under our supposedly superior system.
The notion that there is only one way to do things is extraordinarily arrogant.
Countryman LivestockAgriculture
Pastoralists head back to court to rally for live export ban compensation five years after class action win
Cally DupeCountryman
Tue, 1 April 2025 10:03AM
As WA sheep farmers shape up for the fight of their lives to defend the live sheep export trade, pastoralists across the Kimberley, Northern Territory and Queensland are heading back to the Federal Court to try resolve a long-running dispute.
It’s been five years since northern Australia’s cattle industry won its class action against the Federal Government’s 2011 live cattle export ban, which brought pastoralists to their knees and halted the then-$400 million trade overnight.
But hundreds of claimants are still yet to see a single cent in compensation.
In 2020, more than 200 cattle producers, exporters and service providers won a class action in the Federal Court, which found the former Labor Government’s 2011 decision to ban live exports to Indonesia was unlawful.
But only the lead complainant, the Brett Cattle Company, has received a single cent.
In late 2022, the Federal Labor Government offered to settle the case for $215 million, which was knocked back by the industry and labelled “insulting” by those who estimated damages to be worth much more.
Pastoralists’ counteroffer of $510m, plus costs and interest, was swiftly knocked back by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Both offers were a far cry from the $1.2 billion the class action proposed damages to cost in 2022.
Proponents of the class action will now head back to court to settle a case it has already won.
In June 2011, the Australian Government temporarily banned all live export to Indonesia in response to footage on ABC’s Four Corners which showed inhumane slaughter of cattle.
Then-agriculture minister Joe Ludwig signed a six-month suspension of the trade, but the Federal Court later ruled the move was invalid, “capricious and unreasonable” and amounted to “misfeasance in public office”.
The case is scheduled to be heard in the Federal Court between April 14 and May 12.
I was filling in someone (middle aged lefty Karen from central casting) today the many reasons why Joe Ludwig was Australia’s worst ever agriculture minister. This was one of them.
That ban caused the price of cattle to drop dramatically, and that price drop flowed on into the live sheep trade. The price of shipping wethers fell from just over $140 a head – very nice, thank you – to just over $50 a head – why bother?
Ludwig must have taught Murray Watt everything he knew.
Ludwig only made cabinet cos Daddy was a QLD union heavy …
There were hundreds of cattle en route to Darwin Port that were shot as a result of that incompetent decision.
They had been sold, and there was no way the farmers would give back their proceeds money. The cattle couldn’t stay on the trucks and holding yards forever, so…
(I did hear some were simply given back to the farmers though)
I know of a guy who lost his farm in the NT as a result.
Typical country Queensland born gent picked himself up, dusted off and moved to Nth WA to restart.
Doing very well now.
I am amazed that the amount of damages wasn’t resolved by the Federal Court at the time of the Class action win in 2020.
And how has the Brett Cattle Company got their money and how much? Did the Guv’ment do a separate deal or what?
This case stinks.
I’ve met and talked with Joe Ludwig. He’s a glider pilot. IMO he’s as thick as two short planks.
It’s the EUSSR.
Sportsbet
liars $1.72
Libs $2.10
The pollsters want the Liars to win. Therefore the SFLs will drift in the betting in the next few weeks. The trick is to judge how far the SFLs will drift before you take them on.
Stupid fuking lnp:
Liberal’s mosque visit ends in uproar as worshippers boot him out – and he’s mocked mercilessly for dressing like a Harry Potter character | Daily Mail Online
But the real enemy are the leftoids who have brought these muzzie scum in. Tony burqa for instance but even this POS is not immune:
The independent going up against a 20-year veteran minister in Labor’s heartland – ABC News
Blot summed it up: the muzzies have gone from too few to care about to too many to offend.
And that’s been rule #1 in their playbook for 1400 years.
Why?
Because it works.
Jason Wood, LNP member for the electorate of “Latte Bro”
No surprise he was caught playing dressup in a mosque.
Further to what i said above about the PHON vote increasing in NSW, there’s a theory that it’s the people who have left the LNP vote. Makes sense and suggests that the LNP be careful to align their policies with PHON where they can.
But do you think the LNP will pay attention? No….
The LNP who’ve pledged $6.5m to upgrade a mosque for Afghani ingrates in Dandenong?
Not necessarily.
Voting in the Hunter last time suggested some had dropped off the ALP and went directly to PHON.
I lived in Singleton for 2 years. Bit like a colder smaller Townsville, definitely blue collar ALP miners and the obligatory meth heads up the Singleton Heights houso area but even the rusted on Nats and Blue Collar ALP were pretty aligned on one thing. They were generally socially conservative in outlook.
PHON pitches to that demographic.
I was born there and voted the most likely to succeed. Succeed at what was not specified.
Speaking about how some far-left Jew hating scumbag (who has a lot of form defaming people along with making outrageous statements about Jews and Israel) has, on his Wagga Wagga shopfront window, caricatured local National MP Michael McCormack, Fatso Palmer, Gina Rinehart and Peter Dutton as ‘Nazis’, McCormack said this on on Sky’s Kenny tonight…….
We can’t resolve and solve the Middle East crisis from FitzMaurice Street, Wagga Wagga.
Indeed, Mr McCormack.
As for the ‘artist’, this latest work is clear cut defamation. Perhaps it’s time to call in the lawyers, Mr McCormack.
It’s funny how real Nazis like to accuse others as being Nazis. Hear this, Michael McCormack, Clive Palmer, Gina Rinehart and Peter Dutton are NOT Nazis.
McCormick consulted the lawyers. Because they are “Public Figures”, they are fair game, apparently. Disgraceful.
The US public figure threshold for pollies does not apply in Australia, although the robust nature of the political profession does come into play when considering whether a pollie has been defamed. Being called a Nazi is actionable:
Microsoft Word – Formatted.docx
Why is Gina Rinehart, who is not even a politician, a “Nazi”?
Is it because she is a conservative and Australia’s wealthiest person?
Those, and she rejects the tenets of “progressivism”.
If she was a leftard (Liar, Slime or Teal) woman, she would be their heroine.
Very true.
Had it been Mo pleasuring a goat, the place would have been burnt down.
John, who lived in the South of England, decided to go golfing in Scotland with his mate, Shawn.
So they loaded up John’s minivan and headed north.
After driving for a many hours, they got caught in a terrible blizzard. So they pulled into a nearby farm and asked the attractive lady who answered the door if they could spend the night.
‘I realise it’s terrible weather out there and I have this huge house all to myself, but I’m recently widowed,’ she explained, ‘and I’m afraid the neighbors will talk if I let you stay in my house.’
‘Don’t worry,’ John said. ‘We’ll be happy to sleep in the barn. And if the weather breaks, we’ll be gone at first light.’
The lady agreed, and the two men found their way to the barn and settled in for the night.
Come morning, the weather had cleared, and they got on their way.
They enjoyed a great weekend of golf.
But about nine months later, John got an unexpected letter from an attorney. It took him a few minutes to figure it out, but he finally determined that it was from the attorney of that attractive widow he had met on the golf weekend.
He dropped in on his friend Shawn and asked, “Shawn, do you remember that good-looking widow from the farm we stayed at on our golf holiday in Scotland about 9 months ago?’
‘Yes, I do,’ said Shawn.
‘Did you, er, happen to get up in the middle of the night, go up to the house and pay her a visit?’
‘Well, um, yes!,’ Shawn said, a little embarrassed about being found out, ‘I have to admit that I did.’
‘And did you happen to give her my name instead of telling her your name?’
Shawn’s face turned beet red and he said, ‘Yeah, look, I’m sorry, mate. I’m afraid I did. Why do you ask?’
‘She just died and left me everything.’
Heard that one many years ago.
#metoo
Many, many years ago.
..and still good!
Trust! Lots of it needed from these fellow aviators. Those cross overs @9:32 are a case in point. I remember the Ramstein airshow disaster in Germany …. calamity ensued and many people died because one pilot made a horrible mistake.
—-
AirshowStuffVideos:
The US Air Force Thunderbirds get up close with the air traffic control tower during their performance at the 2024 Battle Creek Field of Flight Airshow and Balloon Festival
From the Tower! USAF Thunderbirds LOUD and CLOSE! – Battle Creek Airshow 2024
Don’t like airshows much. Low level aerobatics is an invitation to disaster. Only one small mistake needed and you are dead. Known too many who are so and one who missed that fate by the skin of his teeth. Doing a graduation display practice at 2FTS out the front of the Macchi carports. Pushed the wrong rudder during a Derry turn and ended up pointed at the ground at low altitude. The guys on the flightline reckon they heard the buffet off the wings over the jet engine noise. He just missed the ground. Graduate of Empire Test Pilots School so can happen to anyone.
Derry turn is where you start in a 45 degree bank in level flight turning one way and instead of rolling through upright you roll through inverted to end up turning the other way. I got taught how to do that one day in the Macchi and managed a passable result after a couple of goes. At altitude.
Yep.
I was endorsed in aerobatics down to 3000′.
And perfectly happy with that.
Particularly for spins.
Used to often start at 4000′ for things like loops and Cuban eights and try to come out of them at the same altitude.
Getting untidy and coming out a couple of hundred feet lower was no biggy … but it is if you are starting at 100′.
That is why the prang at Avalon the other day was inexplicable for a relatively experienced pilot. They said he had 2,700 hours, but was that all low level display?
Probably not.
As he completed those rolling manoeuvres and entered the second half of the loop you would hope he had a minimum safe altitude in mind that he needed to check.
I just can’t explain why he didn’t.
I thought maybe he was working off QNH on the altimeter (sea level) and not QFE (airport elevation) but the difference is only 35 feet at Avalon, and that is too tight a margin anyway.
The trick with display flying is to make it look speccy and dangerous without it actually being hazardous.
In that instance you would start high and, as you come out of the loop at the bottom you can relax the back pressure and get a bit closer to the ground, which makes it look a bit derring-do, but in a very controlled way.
I can’t imagine how you could apply the wrong rudder, which I assume you mean bottom rudder, when starting a Derry turn. You are looking out the front to keep the nose where it’s supposed to be on the horizon, so was this ETPS graduate attempting to do an impromptu flick roll?. Me? 2000hrs+ Macchi MB326H plus Roulette tour, plus co-ordinated displays, mirror, formation line astern tail slides.
Thanks for the memories Eyrie!
I’ve been catching up on a few YouTubes which I occasionally dip into. Sorry if it’s been posted before, but after his videos on the RAN (more Admirals than ships) and Army ( more horses than tanks) Mark Felton turns on Britain’s nuclear “deterrent”.
For a man whose MoD leases their missiles, Der Starmer seems to be unusually bellicose towards both his allies and a potential nuclear rival.
https://youtu.be/O2Z0Y-mFMBk?feature=shared
Blot looking for the outrage on tariffs and how dare Trump put erica first, I dont know why Shaun Spicer just doesnt tell him to FO.
JC
April 1, 2025 7:07 pm
Sportsbet
liars $1.72
Libs $2.10
Unsurprising. It’ll be a minority Labor Greens government. We should be very worried. But the Liberals also bear blame, they could and should come out forcefully against net zero, ruinables and mass immigration but they’re gutless, absolutely gutless.
Unfortunately so true. We are screwed.
I’m just seeing a minority Labor Greens Government “taxing the rich until their eyes bleed” – death duties, a tax levy on high incomes, and an excess profits tax, to begin with.
There’ll also be gift duties, a necessary concomitant to death duties.
You get the feeling this movie was based on true events.
It kept me up the othernight. I was thinking this was going to be another cheesy disaster movie.
The story, production, script writing and character development / acting largely succeeded. It’s worth your time.
One particular scene involving getting insulin for a diabetic…geez.
—
In the minutes, hours and days after New Zealand is struck by a magnitude 8.2 earthquake and subsequent tsunami, this drama depicts several parallel plotlines of people faced with different dilemmas in their fight for survival
Aftershock | Full Earthquake Disaster Movie
If you are an insulin dependent diabetic and there is a major disaster you are screwed. You have a very large stake in the continuation of modern civilisation without interruption.
As do we all.
Like gin and iodine.
Always keep a decent supply on hand.
I do.
Not for me, as I’ve explained multiple times, but for the children who need iodine replacement, which won’t be forthcoming out here, and gin for the ladies who may need a nerve stiffener.
I can’t stand the stuff.
On Sunday evening our time, Adam Entous published a long column in the NY Times on Ukraine titled the Secret History of the War in Ukraine.
Entous is a trusted surrogate of the security state.
He was the one entrusted to publish the “right” takes on Obama spying on members of congress.
He was also the one given the Carter Page FISA story.
This time he’s been given the story to start writing the soft truth of the US involvement in Ukraine.
Helluva story.
But just like the NY Times doing the original story on the NSA spying on American citizens (long before the Snowden detailed revelations) that appeared to cause zero outrage, this one seems to be going the same way.
I only picked up on the story this morning when Taibbi & Kirn spent two hours losing their shit over it today.
If it wasn’t for them I probably would have missed it as I don’t subscribe to the NYT.
Bottom line, Biden & his administration lied non stop about Ukraine and just how close people within in the administration thought a nuclear response was.
The next piece of this according to Taibbi & Kirn will be scrutiny regarding the actions during November/December 2024.
After the election, when Biden was at the G20 in Brazil wandering off into the jungle, missiles were being lobbed into what was called “an ops box” in Russia.
Who in the administration approved this escalation just as the administration was getting ready to hand the shit show to Trump?
NY times story.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/29/world/europe/us-ukraine-military-war-wiesbaden.html
You don’t have to subscribe to read. You can login via google or apple and read for free.
Taibbi & Kirn spend 2 hours on this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mduBlr7wlj8
I mentioned this story yesterday but don’t recall if I gave a link. Story is available on archive.org. Nothing in that story is actually new info. It’s been widely discussed for years by milbloggers. Still, there remain questions that are even more tantilising.
I wasn’t aware the US had accused Ukrainian forces of going rogue with US intel.
Pretty big if true.
That is likely a cover story.
And M Steyn agrees.
Steyn, like Douglas Murray, is spot-on as usual.
The left’s idea of “saving democracy” (which doesn’t need saving) is to destroy it.
People need big things to vote for, such as walking away from net zero, slashing immigration, new coal fire stations, the importance of free speech, resolving the housing crisis and so on. There’s not much brand difference.
The Liberals, apart from rightly standing up to Jew hatred, have little else to spruik.
Actually nothing really, beyond what you said. Dutton is a dead loss but who else is there?
I reckon if Dutton had said “We’re pulling out of the Paris Accord and going to scrap renewables as a failed experiment” that alone would probably put the Coalition over the line.
But no, he had to play it safe so as to try and lure the people who will never vote for him do so.
Douglas Murray:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgHQJeS3bWU
Eyrie
April 1, 2025 8:30 pm
Reply to Steve trickler
If you are an insulin dependent diabetic and there is a major disaster you are screwed. You have a very large stake in the continuation of modern civilisation without interruption.
As do we all.
—-
Agreed. The film highlighted this point very well.
Sure, the Libs screwed that one up, but I think a few public serpents were happy to let it run and implode.
No group more than the Congo-line of solicitors-general who didn’t see anything wrong with it.
Maybe they were too busy keeping an eye on various pieces of immigration & security legislation as they provided the dog turd of a situation Australia is in now.
Anything related to legislation during the period 2008 to 2012 that ends up in front of the High Court will find itself in a peculiar situation where the Solicitor-General from that time is the Chief Justice.
Andrew Lawrence on three year old toddler kicked out of British kindergarten for stating the truth, to make it “safe” for others:
Transphobic toddlers…
This is evil and the people responsible should be jailed for child abuse.
Unpopular opinion- three year olds should anywaus be at home with mum, not with pink haired new grads whose first faith and loyalty is still TikTok.
I shudder to think of the BS being taught to toddlers in kindy.
Liberal (American sense) women are the last people, aside from drag queens, I want near my children.
Sbs on demand.
Urgent message from the Smith Family.
More and more Australians families experiencing poverty.
Why is that Elbow?
The number of West Australians who have a job and still cannot afford somewhere to live has soared 62 per cent in five years.
And homelessness services say it is “the tip of the iceberg”, with the real number likely higher because some have not sought help.
Shelter WA analysis of Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data showed that the number of specialist homelessness service clients with jobs rose from 1537 in 2018-19 to 2486 in 2023-24.
Of all clients seeking homelessness services, 15 per cent of them were working.
Shelter WA chief executive Kath Snell said that for a growing number of West Australians, having a job no longer guaranteed access to a home.
Anal is at war with us.
Apparently, there are now close to 3 million people in Australia who are close to losing out on where they are living as it is now unaffordable – mortgaged or rented.
That is, according to Paul Murray on SKY News.
Yet the number of politicians speaking out against high immigration can literally be counted on one hand.
Agreed, ALP is beholden to the muslims and Chicoms. LNP increasingly beholden to Indians.
All want to tinker with migration but do nothing substantial about numbers or the visa mills. Till the do that numbers won’t change.
This I saw linked somewhere else this arvo, if true just wow:
https://x.com/matt_barrie/status/1904508424362373473
A factor in the housing crisis which is never mentioned is the ever increasing regulation which makes even a basic roof over your head subject to a slew of expensive and unnecessary requirements.
I have mentioned before the post war immigrant (and working class Australian) practice of buying a block of land, erecting a ‘temporary dwelling’ and building a basic house while living on site.
Not possible nowadays.
The latest impediment is that all new homes will have to have wheelchair access – spectacularly unhelpful and irrelevant to a young couple trying to buy their first home.
California here we come!
This is an absolute disgrace, and the councillors involved should at the very least be sacked:
Daniel (@VoteLewko): “Sydney council sends money to Lebanon. Goes broke. Should have sent replacement Hezbollah members instead. No shortage locally.” | nitter.poast.org
Where is Chris Minns?
Liverpool Council, unsurprising.
I was living in the area when the Council Chambers were torched.
I could see the smoke from my place.
The arson was committed shortly after the announcement that Liverpool Council would be stood down and audited.
I spent a lot of time there in the 1980’s as I had relatives in Green Valley and some others in Liverpool in those flats or down Newbridge rd. My mum and even aunties were very protective of us as it wasn’t a good area but I remember plenty of families still. Most dads worked in the Moorebank Industrial area. We did roller skating at the rink on the Hume Hwy (Memory could be bad as I was a young boy) and the pool was always a great day with cousins back then.
I spent a little bit of time around there later on as an adult and the change was stark. Westfield side entrance to Elizabeth st was filled with sheesha cafes and young men eyeballing every whitey exiting Westfields. The whole place exuded a rustbelt.
Even Cabramatta on my last visit (2019) was starting to fill with Africans and muslims.
Cabramatta was known as Wogamatta through the fifties, sixties and early seventies.
Then it became Vietnamatta from the late seventies due to the influx of Vietnamese boat people.
No idea what it is called now. “Mogadishu on the Georges”?
I haven’t been near there for at least twenty years.
I remember the pool at Liverpool well, spent many summer school holidays diving from the tower. The roller skating rink seemed to be open subject to the owner’s availability. 😀
Back in the 1990s then Victorian premier Jeff Kennett sacked a whole council for corruption and appointed an administrator in its place.
Eh? I’d always believed he sacked all councils. So disappointing to learn it was one council only. 🙁
I’ve only scrolled quickly through this page, so my apologies if the following is repetitious:
7 October Parliamentary Commission Report Chaired by Lord Roberts of Belgravia
PDF download via the link.
The following are the names of 1,141 individuals killed on 7 October 2023. A further 41 individuals were killed in the attack and their bodies taken hostage to Gaza. Their names are included in the below list of names of those taken hostage.
The following are the names of the 251 Hostages forcibly taken into Gaza on 7 October 2023 [Same page as above].
Numbers mean little without names, and names fade unless they are read or spoken.
(Apologies for stuffing up the formatting).
[My emphasis].
@JoshuaLisec
Donald Trump would have received 40 years in prison if he’d lost the election. Elon musk, stripped of all his businesses. Everyone would have been hunted down and destroyed.
This is what they do.
Every single time.
@JDVance
My comment is that according to the court document you apparently didn’t read he was a convicted MS-13 gang member with no legal right to be here.
My further comment is that it’s gross to get fired up about gang members getting deported while ignoring citizens they victimize.
@TCNetwork
In their eyes, if they don’t do this, the EU and NATO would come undone. It would be like the ending scene in Fight Club where all the credit card companies crash down. All because you are allowed to speak your mind on the internet.
Please God No I Didn’t want it to get to this point I just wanted a Nice Place.
A threatened and soon-to-be-rare native Britisher in his once-thriving habitat.
YouTube, 22 Mins.
(I haven’t watched the entirety yet).
Joe Rogan Experience #2294 – Dr. Suzanne Humphries
In America it was the DOD and here it was the army. It was effectively a war against us.
@robinmonotti
SASHA LATYPOVA: “In Europe the Covid response was coordinated through NATO” – the same NATO which wants to send your children to war wanted to maim them via a bioweapon disguised as “vaccine”:
The YouTube algorithm just delivered me this “Infographics Show” video of the exploding pager attack by Israel on Hezbollah. Interestingly, the next day’s exploding walkie-talkie attack was something that had been in the works for something like a decade and (if I heard correctly) was subject to degrading battery lifetimes (so, as per my thinking) there was little to lose by deploying it the day after the pagers.
Operation Grim Beeper
Oh well, the human race is not a complete loss:
Crosby, Stills & Nash – Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (Official Audio)
From The Times.
Trevor Lock obituary: hero of Iranian embassy siegeUnassuming PC who raised the alarm and calmed hostages before fighting an armed terrorist as the SAS went in
Re Zipster 11:49am:
Unsurprisingly, lots of people think that force is a great idea as long as it is focused on achieving outcomes they agree with. Ergo the progressives and the conservatives will each try to adopt force in pursuit of different goals.
Force is expensive, so even simply on economics polities will prefer force to only be used for the most important values and goals. Minimal force implies minimal laws. What then is at issue is the minimal set of laws people have to conform to in order to get along and for society to function acceptably.
Fabulous stuff.
You can tell he won. Most of his clips usually go for around 20:00. This goes for 45:00.
A treat for us rev heads.
—
Clay Millican:
“WINNING vs Tony Stewart at Pomona: A Fiery Final Round!!!”
John Spooner.
Mark Knight.
Warren Brown.
Warren Brown #2.
Peter Broelman.
Brett Lethbridge classic.
Michael Ramirez.
A.F. Branco.
Matt Margolis.
Al Goodwyn.
Tom Stiglich.
Henry Payne.
Ben Garrison.
Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101 –
A decorated World War Two code breaker who spent her youth deciphering enemy messages at Bletchley Park has died at the age of 101.
Charlotte “Betty” Webb MBE – who was among the last surviving Bletchley code breakers – died on Monday night, the Women’s Royal Army Corps Association confirmed.
Mrs Webb, from Wythall in Worcestershire, joined operations at the Buckinghamshire base at the age of 18, later going on to help with Japanese codes at The Pentagon in the US. She was awarded France’s highest honour – the Légion d’Honneur – in 2021.
The Women’s Royal Army Corps Association described Mrs Webb as a woman who “inspired women in the Army for decades”.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78jd30ywv8o
Thanks again Tom.