Monday

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177 comments to Monday

  • #
    Skepticynic

    Hillary Clinton Says the Quiet Part Out Loud, Calls For Mass Censorship of American Citizens Or “We Lose Total Control” (VIDEO)
    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/10/hillary-clinton-says-quiet-part-loud-claims-social/

    Hillary Clinton warns that allowing free speech on social media means ‘we lose control’

    https://nypost.com/2024/10/06/us-news/hillary-clinton-warns-that-allowing-free-speech-on-social-media-means-we-lose-control/

    “If they don’t moderate the content, we lose total control.”

    — Hillary Clinton

    https://x.com/TheRabbitHole84/status/1842758603117363704?t=R87fMEefn2y5jfsf5y3H-Q&s=19

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    • #
      Skepticynic

      Hillary and Kerry are panicking they’ll be exposed in the Diddy fallout.

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      • #
        Tides of Mudgee

        Skepticynic, Would you explain your comment please. What’s the link with Combs? ToM

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      • #
        Yarpos

        To big to be papered over, ignored and obfuscated like Epstein you think?

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        • #
          Ted1

          Bail was refused for fear Combs might try to kill witnesses. Gaol didn’t save Epstien.

          You have to wonder, how much of this is real? And, if it is real how did it not come to notice long ago? Surely those names could not all imagine that there would never be a reckoning.

          For people like us in the distance it represents an enlightening we could well do without. It reminds me of an incident in our town about 40 years ago when a woolclasser didn’t front for work one day. The woolclasser is the boss of the shed, you can’t work without him/her.

          So they called the contractor, who went into the house and found the classer dead in the bath, shot and mutilated.

          A swarm of police came to town and terrorised the local lads for a week, then they arrested the 19 year old woolpresser. He was from a good family, but supposedly a bit mentally impaired. And he lived in the next street with backyards adjoining. The classer was a single man, and a very heavy drinker, who was nonetheless very competent and reliable with his work. But apparently he had been interfering with that kid from an early age.

          It was an almighty shock for the town. Awful!

          The presser turned up for work the morning that the classer didn’t.

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      • #
        Lloydww

        What utter scum.

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    • #
      Murray Shaw

      My question is “who is the WE”?

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      • #
        Jon Rattin

        WE the people. The unelected people that heed the call of big business interests then whisper into the ears of the elected puppets. WE who act as figureheads for the homogenous left conglomerate that devotes all energy into virtue signalling and no time into critical thinking.
        WE moderate content so YOU don’t see anything that might make YOU think about things and wonder what WE are actually doing. WE make YOU. Capiche?!

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    • #
      Philip

      Everyone supported free speech – when it didn’t exist in practical form. Once it became a practical reality with social media and the internet, they hated it.

      And it’s not just the left either. Our very own Liberal Party are as spooked by it as the rest. I recall Scomo calling for an end to secret identity, if you are on social media you must use your real name and have it officialized.

      Almost everyone I know of on the internet, left or right, who do use their real name, agree with this. They loathe people who hide behind fake labels.

      People use these labels because if they didn’t and actually spoke their real mind, you would be made unemployable, You are left with no choice. I’d love to use my real name but it would be the end of any hope of making any money. My true thoughts are completely unacceptable.

      I thought Helen Dale’s’ speech at CPAC yesterday was quite interesting, calling for it to be made law that you cannot try and get people sacked for their views, to do so should be made a criminal offense.

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      • #
        David Maddison

        And it’s not just the left either. Our very own Liberal Party are as spooked by it as the rest. 

        The Liberal Party is no longer a conservative party and hasn’t been for decades. They too are of the Left, just slightly to the right of Green Labor and slightly less bad.

        And Australia’s current proposed censorship legislation and also the e Safety Kommissar are of their creation.

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        • #
          Jon Rattin

          Your point is reflected in Moira Deeming’s defamation case against John Pesutto. He was more concerned with the Victorian Liberal’s image matching up with Labor political posturing rather than dealing with the issue in-house on its merits. I think/hope it will be his undoing. With any luck there will be a leadership change next week and a better leader who isn’t afraid to try and repair the state gets a crack. Not holding my breath, see what happens…

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      • #

        Almost everyone I know of on the internet, left or right, who do use their real name, agree with this. They loathe people who hide behind fake labels.

        As much as I don’t really like saying ….. ‘back in the day’, it sometimes is actually relevant.

        In the first years when I started cruising around the Internet, that was right at the turn of the Century, so 24 years back now. Very few sites, (very very few) had the facility where you could leave comments, and even less than those where the comments would appear without going through Moderation first. And even that was just starting out, so to find a site where you could comment was somewhat of a novelty, and here, they were all in the U.S. as virtually NO sites here in Oz allowed commenting at all.

        Even those U.S. sites I visited all went through moderators, and again it was still quite a new ‘thing’ even then for site to have Comments at all.

        The advice (usually in the form of a requirement in fact) at ALL of them was that you used a screen name for the actual Comment. There was the usual pre form you had to fill out using your real name, your email address, your location, etc, with the heading that none of this (information on this form) was published, but the comment used your screen name.

        One of the first presences here in Australia to allow ‘commenting’ was the ABC, and that was in the form of a Forum, with a number of different categories where you could make a comment, and again it was moderated early on as well.

        Their ‘strict’ advice was for anyone leaving a comment was that they also use a screen name as well, copying what was already happening in the U.S. That Forum seemed to become quite large and then disappeared. Even the replacement, basically an early ABC News site also allowed comment at some of the news articles, again the advice being to use a screen name. Then that commenting facility also disappeared as well.

        One of the first sites I came across that allowed comments to appear unmoderated was the Mothers Car Care site, and that was in May of2005, also advising to use a screen name as well.

        Right from day One when I started commenting at those early U.S. news based sites, I have used my screen name TonyfromOz, carefully having to explain at nearly all of them about the correlation Tony from Oz, and Oz being the shorter version of our International Country designator AUS.

        I even recall that when I first signed up at facebook in late 2005 I think, at that time it was basically a format to contact old school friends, and a school networking facility.

        So, the idea of ‘hiding behind a screen name’ now also has a different context. With some of us, it’s what we have always done, and not meant to be what it now seems to have become.

        Tony.

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        • #
          Dipole

          Tony, that early ABC forum,was that “Have your say” ?. Memorable friendly forum if I remember correctly.

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        • #
          Graeme4

          The early bulletin boards that appeared in the 1980s were really helpful in resolving many technical issues, both with computers and the programs.

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        • #
          Hanrahan

          Of course you use a nic. Say I’m a car nut [I’m not] on a car forum talking about my, or my brother’s Gull Wing Merc that is just sitting in the shed. that would be crazy to post personal information.

          I have a neighbour with an unusual but valuable collection that forms part of his retirement fund. No way will I mention it, even behind a nic.

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      • #
        Ross

        Unfortunately, with the real name identity on social media there is the converse problem, which is real. Doxxing. Once, you have someone’s name and some general information, it’s not hard to find your home address or other details. Maybe not in Australia, but in the US there is also SWATTING. Where people will report you and the local SWAT team turns up. Then you have the problem of your private details being kept confidential by either social media companies or the government. I trust neither.

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      • #
        Robert Swan

        Philip,
        I agree with what you say, especially the first paragraph, but there would be many reasons people take on different names, not just the worry about employment.

        My view: what harm was there in people adopting names like Lewis Carroll, George Orwell, Henry Handel Richardson, Mark Twain, … etc.? They had their reasons and so will people today. It shouldn’t be made illegal.

        What you say of Helen Dale’s speech is a bit paradoxical: people should not lose their jobs for what they say, but the people who cry out for them to be sacked should be *jailed*? Let them cry out; it’s the boss who listens to them and does the sacking that’s at fault.

        I choose to post under my real name because because a pseudonym is only a little bit anonymous. The bodies that *most* concern me are government bureaucracies and, if the government feels motivated to find who’s posting at Jo Nova’s under the name “Philip” (say), they will have little bother finding out. Using my real name is a bit like the second approach to vehicle safety: will you drive more carefully when there’s an airbag behind the wheel, or if there’s a sharp spike sticking out of its middle?

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        • #
          Ted1

          I used to use my name on this site and a couple of others, but when a niece came to work at a local school I didn’t want her to have to defend my views to her pupils and their families.

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      • #
        Graeme4

        We never found out the true identity of Kilroy…

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    • #
      David Maddison

      It’s interesting that Leftist Governments all over the world, including Australia, are calling for the same thing at the same time.

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    • #
      TdeF

      It’s a hiring requirement. Universities have boomed in size. And now there are more administrators than teachers. So they set the rules. At Monash University it seems engineers have to sign an agreement about DEI/aborigines or they will not be awarded their degrees. Nothing to do with engineering. As with the Thoughts of Chairman Mao in China, which was a degree course and requirement in China. Active indoctrination and job exclusion.

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    • #
      Gary S

      Common denominator – they all attended looniversity.

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    • #
      Simon

      Source?
      There is a strong correlation between education and US voting preferences.

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      • #
        wal1957

        There is a strong correlation between education and US voting preferences.

        Unfortunately true.
        Indoctrination is the term I would use though.

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      • #
        David Maddison

        There is a strong correlation between education and US voting preferences.

        Yes, the Left despise working people, and people of colour for that matter, who they regard as “uneducated” and “stupid”, unlike Elite Marxist “university” “professors”…but they think they are entitled to their vote in any case.

        But they are now terrified that both groups are supporting TRUMP in increasing numbers.

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        • #
          Gary S

          Overeducation seems to be a far more dangerous state than Undereducation.

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          • #
            Kalm Keith

            Unfortunately modern “education” is diverse and lacking focus and is just Irrelevant. Long term the recipient ends up frustrated and confused and holding a huge bill for that “education” which only really benefits the educators.

            Real education provides the basics that enable continued growth even after the paper degree is awarded.

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      • #
        Philip

        Indeed there is. I was educated, 2 university degrees. My parents left school at 14. They were/are bigots. I was educated and filled with beliefs morally superior to their bigotry.

        Then unfortunately, I discovered my educated head was filled with ideology devoid from reality, purely theoretical, and realised the bigotry of my parents for all its faults was actually much more useful in life and closer to the truth than my fancy convoluted nonsense.

        This is where America finds itself. The educated found “their truth” by looking up their own backside. Let us hope bigotry saves America from itself.

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      • #
        Gerasim

        With regard to education, I always immediately think of Theodore Dalrymple. He explains it far better than I ever could…

        “Education is not a shield against stupidity, much less against brutality. Indeed, one might almost define an intellectual as someone who can witness a massacre and see a principle.”

        Or this…

        “The intellectual’s struggle to deny the obvious is never more desperate than when reality is unpleasant and at variance with his preconceptions and when full acknowledgment of it would undermine the foundations of his intellectual worldview.”

        Or this…

        “For intellectuals, everyone’s mind is closed but their own.”

        And this…

        Experience rarely teaches its lessons directly but instead requires interpretation through the filter of preconceived theories, prejudices, and desires. Where these are invincible, facts are weak things.

        Dalrymple points out that…

        “…educated people initiated and carried out the Terror in the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, and the joy that it brought to the Russian people, was the dénouement of decades of propaganda and agitation by the educated élite. There was no shortage of educated people in the Nazi leadership, the leaders of the Khmers rouges were relatively highly educated (in France, as it happens), the founder of Sendero Luminoso was a professor of philosophy who wrote his doctoral thesis on Kant.”

        And lastly on those poor engineers required to “make a difference”

        “…in a totalitarian condition in which they are afraid to say some things and—what is worse—are required to say others. They are obliged to deny what they believe and assent to what they do not believe. There is no better way to destroy the personality. People become cynical, time-serving, increasingly self-absorbed. Their impotence breeds apathy. Once they start to utter things for the sake of their careers or their peace and quiet that they do not believe, they lose self-respect and probity and thus their standing to resist anything. People without probity are easy to control and manipulate; the purpose of political correctness is not to enunciate truth but to exercise power…

        To admit that all you want to do is study the life and times of, say, William the Silent, the Khedive Ismail or José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, and convey your enthusiasm for this subject to others, would be fatal to your chances. You must want, in the cant phrase of our times, to make a difference. You must bring your straw to the fires of resentment, so that the diversity bureaucracy will never extinguish them and never be out of a job.”

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      • #
        el+gordo

        According to Pew Research, college graduates tend to vote for Democrats.

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      • #
        Honk R Smith

        Then there’s the correlation between educational level and whether or not you insist that men can birth children.

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      • #
        Graeme No.3

        There is a strong correlation between income from the government and voting tendency.
        That’s why so many in Washington are worried about Trump being elected, in case he starts cutting out the waste.

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    • #
      David Maddison

      There is a strong correlation between education and US voting preferences.

      Yes, the Left despise working people, and people of colour for that matter, who they regard as “uneducated” and “stupid”, unlike Elite Marxist “university” “professors”…but they think they are entitled to their vote in any case.

      But they are now terrified that both groups are supporting TRUMP in increasing numbers.

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  • #
    tonyb

    Our favourite ex school truant still up to her old tricks but now adorned in the headgear of another fashionable cause

    https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-grinds-to-halt-as-greta-thunberg-leads-fossil-fuel-protest/

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  • #
    tonyb

    As the world reaches a highly critical point with threats of war escalation in the Middle East, can anyone tell me who precisely is running the Wests most powerful nation and military?

    What is their plan? Is anyone making decisions at the very top?

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  • #
    Skepticynic

    What happens when your woke government gives land belonging to all Australian people, away to single-interest groups, in this case, Aboriginal Torres Strait Islanders?

    LNP/Labor uni-party will be forced to accept a new sovereign country of Torres Strait backed by China

    China wants to acquire Horn Island International Airport

    It seems China could already have negotiated a 99 year lease over Pajinka, Aboriginal freehold land at the Tip of Cape York, in a similar fashion to the Chinese lease of the Port of Darwin…

    “We are going to do it all by ourselves, we will do this thing for our glory,” he said.

    “We want the [Australian government] to look at us and see how [they] have oppressed us for a very long time in [our] own country.

    Mr Young made no mention of the annual $40 billion Australian Government budget allocation for the national Aboriginal industry or the $2m recently handed out by government to the owners of Pajinka land at the Tip.

    Michael Soloman is a Bamaga resident and one of the title holders of Pajinka whose family is from the Solomon Islands.

    He said they had been meeting with Chinese investors to discuss the development of dilapidated infrastructure at significant sites of high tourism value.

    This is why Australians overwhelmingly voted No to Albo’s Voice plebiscite, and probably the reason he wanted it in the first place

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    • #
      David Maddison

      Israel is not “bombing Lebanon”. They are making targeted attacks against Hezbollah terrorist fortifications, headquarters, arms emplacements and armouries.

      Civilians have been warned multiple times to leave Hezbollah territory.

      The UN was meant to keep the entire area, 29km in length, between the Latani River in Lebanon and the Israel border free from Hezbollah infestation under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 passed in 2006. They utterly failed to do that, hence the current hostilities which have been going on since 2006.

      At least Israel has finally decided to take action against the thousands of rocket attacks from that area and Israel having to evacuate its northern region. No other country would take so much abuse for so long before finally acting.

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    • #
      Tel

      … the $2m recently handed out by government to the owners of Pajinka land at the Tip.

      Difficult to out spend China … that’s barely even tea and bickie money for those guys. Also would be rather embarrassing to send troops … especially in the ALP was the one doing so.

      Let them vote for independence … I would support them. If they want to sign their lives away to the CCP, they should have the right to do that.

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      • #
        Philip

        Australia should still govern PNG in my opinion. Should have had missile bases in place there years ago.

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    • #
      David Maddison

      That airport was established during WW2 as a staging base for Allied aircraft operating between Australia and New Guinea.

      I guess it can work in reverse for the Chicomms as a military base just off the Australian mainland in what used to actually be Australian land but for which the Australian Government no longer cares to maintain sovereignty.

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  • #
    Skepticynic

    “When exposing a crime is treated as committing a crime, you are being ruled by criminals.”
    – Edward Snowden

    Vicious Stalinist judge jails county clerk for exposing vote fraud

    AMERICA has truly fallen when a county official is jailed for nine years for disobeying an illegal order from a superior

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    • #
      czechlist

      The worst form of injustice is pretended justice.
      Plato

      An injustice committed against anyone is a threat to everyone.
      Baron de Montesquieu

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  • #
    Skepticynic

    After sending billions to Israel to bomb Lebanon, now they’re sending millions to Lebanon for relief.

    The people of Lebanon are facing an increasingly dire humanitarian situation. I am concerned about the security and well-being of civilians suffering in Lebanon and will continue working to help meet the needs of all civilians there.

    To that end, the United States will provide nearly $157 million in additional assistance to the people of Lebanon for essential needs such as food, shelter, water, protection, and sanitation to help those who have been displaced by the recent conflict. This additional support brings total U.S. assistance to Lebanon over the last year to over $385 million.
    Vice President Kamala Harris

    Meanwhile the American citizens in North Carolina who’ve lost everything are allowed $750 each.

    Biden immediately told the press that Americans should not expect any additional aid as the rescue efforts were ongoing. Kamala Harris then announced that the government would provide a mere $750 to victims in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. LINK

    Illegal immigrants get $7500 and in New York they’re getting hotel suites with room service according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contracting documents obtained by America First Legal.

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    • #
      czechlist

      The legacy media says those are just more Trump lies
      They, like Ardern, say:
      “Unless you hear it from us, it is not the truth”

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    • #
      David Maddison

      Israel is not “bombing Lebanon”. They are making targeted attacks against Hezbollah terrorist fortifications, headquarters, arms emplacements and armouries.

      Civilians have been warned multiple times to leave Hezbollah territory.

      The UN was meant to keep the entire area, 29km in length, between the Latani River in Lebanon and the Israel border free from Hezbollah infestation under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 passed in 2006. They utterly failed to do that, hence the current hostilities which have been going on since 2006.

      At least Israel has finally decided to take action against the thousands of rocket attacks from that area and Israel having to evacuate its northern region. No other country would take so much abuse for so long before finally acting.

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      • #
        Tel

        Civilians have been warned multiple times to leave Hezbollah territory.

        You mean they were told to leave their homes and never come back … yeah, I can imagine some people might be reluctant to do that.

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        • #
          David Maddison

          It would be unnecessary if the UN has bothered to do its job since 2006 and enforced resolution 1701 to keep the terrorists out of civilian areas betwwwn the Israeli border and Latani River.

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          • #
            Tel

            The UN makes a lot of resolutions … and keeps few.

            I doubt there’s ever been a war where civilians stayed safely out of it, but some situations are better than others.

            In this case the two sides are really squabbling over ownership of a patch of land and whichever side wins is likely to drive out the losers. The Arabs believe they are entitled to a “Right of Return” and Israel wants to make dang sure they never exercise that right. There’s been plenty of attempts to get them to live in peace and it’s failed every time.

            Therefore finding ways of getting people to abandon their homes is part and parcel of what’s going on here.

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    • #
      Custer Van Cleef

      How many Lebanese Christians have been killed by the bombing?

      Any effort made to spare them?

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  • #
    Skepticynic

    And now, to brighten up my morning, the best news of the day:

    Eat Steak & Butter To Avoid Insulin Resistance

    https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2024/10/06/c15-fat-eat-steak-butter-to-avoid-insulin-resistance/

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  • #
    Peter C

    The Day of the Jackal
    For those that do not remember the 1970’s thriller movie, an assassin ( the jackal) is hired to kill the president ( Charles de Gaulle).
    The jackal chooses the Liberation day ceremony in Paris, when the president is standing out in the open in public, reviewing the veterans parade.
    As de Gaulle is presenting a medal to a veteran the jackal squeezes the trigger but de Gaulle bobs his head to kiss the veteran on both cheeks and the bullet almost grazes his head.

    The jackal takes a few practice shots the day before to check his sights and when satisfied he shoots a watermelon, which explodes in spectacular fashion!

    I was reminded of the movie when Trump returned to the Butler farm show in PA yesterday to complete his rally. A slight movement of the head saved the president in each case,

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    • #
      James Murphy

      The assassination attempt made on de Gaulle in Petit-Clamart (just a tiny bit south of the Paris ring-road “le Périphérique”) resulted in the last prisoner execution in France.
      Admittedly there was only 1 execution, with a lot of pardons for co-conspirators.

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  • #
    tonyb

    I mentioned this latest UK £22 Billion carbon capture and storage scheme here a few days ago.

    This contains more details including the amounts that are expected to be stored.

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/10/06/govt-to-waste-22bn-on-unproven-carbon-capture/

    It seems to be around 3% of our annual emissions. It would be funny if it weren’t so ridiculous. Where do these politicians get their data from? How can anyone think this a good idea especially as the Chancellor claimed to have found a 22£ billion black hole in finances and removed Pensioners winter fuel allowance of around £1.5 Billion to help fill it. On their own admittance they expect that to cause the deaths of around 4000 pensioners from cold over the winter.

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      MrGrimNasty

      I posted the story here and there after the Solent CCS scheme was canned citing lack of gov. support! You couldn’t make it up. (Although the local revolting peasants got quite riled, so the negative publicity might have been a bigger factor).

      The Labour gov. might be determined to do all this mad nonsense, but they might have underestimated the local opposition.

      The miles of pylons is the another thing that is likely to provoke a ‘war’.

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13907243/Pylon-wars-Locals-absolutely-devastated-plans-87-MILE-pylon-highway-stretching-Grimsby-Essex-tower-homes-affected.html

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      TdeF

      Unbelievable. Of course carbon (dioxide) capture is pointless, but in this scheme you have double absurdity “The government has pledged nearly £22bn for projects to capture and store carbon emissions from energy, industry and hydrogen production.”

      What? They are producing hydrogen and thus CO2 to avoid having to produce CO2? Likely stripping H2 from ethane leaving C.

      So you have this insanity where society is producing Hydrogen and CO2 while throwing away 70% of the energy to prevent producing CO2. And that capture and sequestration requires more energy. Nett benefit to anyone except the recipients of the cash, absolutely zero. The Socialist dream. Huge factories which produce nothing. An industrial public service. Climate Change, a new concept in living.

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    Honk R Smith

    Having a recreational interest in history, politics, and Climate Change science (which in reality is just politics), ‘Pandemic’ has made me realize, like a hammer to my head, that humans progress from one Mass Hysteria to the next.

    We have recently been subjected to a harmonic convergence of major doozies.

    Climate hysteria.
    Trump Derangement hysteria.
    With a top off of Pandemic hysteria.

    Previous historical hysterias were mostly zoonotic.
    The current ones are totally anthropogenic.
    A concoction crafted by the emerging USMIC/EU/UN* centered Administrative State Intelligence Blob.

    Their goals are raw power, but mostly guided by intellectually inbred elite cultural psychopathy.

    *(I actually have no clue about the relationship between the EU, the UN, and the US blobs, except for their obvious blobness.)

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  • #
    MrGrimNasty

    BBC reports from the ‘sweet shop’ that went up like a small nuc. And can’t see/doesn’t mention the fragments of arms clearly visible in the rubble.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/czxd3yvkzn5o

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  • #
    Skepticynic

    “The fate of our civilization is at stake.”
    – Elon Musk

    https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1842703639753761104?t=BVV8MDxEY0avUZ7aJNaNMw&s=09

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    Kalm Keith

    Bob Carter was mentioned in a recent comment; here’s a bit of a flashback: he was motivated.

    https://joannenova.com.au/2012/08/jo-nova-in-the-australian-manne-is-anti-science-on-climate/#comment-1114463

    The comment by Plain Jane was also interesting.

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      Plain Jane

      United Nations ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability has been infiltrating councils and doing a grassroots takeover of nations at the local level for decades . Thanks for appreciating my comment .

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        Kalm Keith

        Jane,
        it was an ugly display by that council .
        I also went to a meeting, forget the venue, where locals described the situations they had been hit with.
        Property values smashed while council staff just gloated that they had taken down some rich people.

        Local government, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, is creepy.

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          Plain Jane

          Nice to know I am not just a lone crackpot . Someone asked me at a big COVID protest in Canberra when I saw the light / decided on the red pill . It was after the Rio earth summit in 1993 when Lake Macquarie council adopted Agenda 21 officially and stuffed up our family investment plans and rezoned ( in accordance with Agenda 21 they said ) and turned our rural zoned farm to “Environmental” and basically confiscated the land , the use right of the land but not the title , and if you can’t use the land it is not really yours .

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      Hanrahan

      Bob was one of my early inspirations. When Gore’s lie was published I looked up the repudiation before watching the video and Bob was part of that. Started me on my sceptical voyage.

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  • #
    David Maddison

    A lot of what the Left does to non-Elites is engineered to lower our standard of living or remove small or large conveniences of modern science and technology.

    An example includes:

    -free plastic bags at supermarkets which contrary to huge lies told by the Left, every one I knew had a multitude of secondary uses for them. They were not “single use” as claimed. They were biodegradable as well. And in any case a vast majority of people disposed of them correctly. Plastic in oceans comes from less civilised nations dumping their rubbish in rivers, not the civilised nations. The alternatives to plastic bags such as bring-your-own are not convenient. And the paper ones being sold definitely are single use and cost money. Bring back the bag!

    And I remember it was that virtue signaling Elite Leftist and social engineer Walid Aly who was one of the ones behind the “ban the bag” campaign. No doubt he has servants to do his shopping.

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      David Maddison

      Another convenience removed I have noticed in a lot of long distance driving I’ve been doing lately is flush toilets at highway rest stops.

      I know it’s been going on for a while but traditional flush toilets at non-commercial rest stops have been replaced by “long drop” composting or non-composting toilets.

      These are primitive and universally, indescribably disgusting, far more so than any other public flush toilet. Leftists must love them, like flies in sh-t – literally.

      Ostensibly they are “to save the environment” but is that just another Leftist lie? Really, what harm would one or a few traditional flush toilets do connected to a septic tank? Plus rain water for flushing can be collected from the roof of the facility and tanks or water bores (could be solar powered pumps).

      Roadside long drops are primitive and Third World. The long-suffering Aussie motorist deserves better. Bring back the flush toilet!

      Sir Thomas Crapper would be appalled.

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        John Connor II

        Sir Thomas Crapper would be appalled.

        I think you mean Sir John Harington, the real inventor of the flushing toilet.

        A properly ventilated composting toilet should be odourless and better than an anaerobic septic system.
        For environmentally sensitve areas or where water is a problem, they’re they’re the only way to go, in both senses.

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        • #
          Bushkid

          Agreed, but all the council or main roads installed ones I’ve braved on the highway have been disgusting, often odoriferous to the point of literally nauseating.

          I grew up in an era of “cans” and long-drops in the bush, but never encountered anything approaching the disasters that these new supposedly composting outfits very quickly become.

          A properly operating composting toilet is fine, but these things on the highways are far from properly operating.

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        PeterPetrum

        David, there is no evidence that Thomas Crapper ever existed, I believe. (Happy to be proven wrong)

        The word now used to describe a biological function comes, I suspect from the German word of similar sound but very different spelling.

        During my school days in Edinburgh we boys in the cadet force (Royal Scots, no less) would spend a fortnight each summer learning to be good soldiers at some army camp around Scotland. One of those camps was Cultybraggan, in Perthshire. This had been a prisoner of war camp during WW2, occupied by German POWs. Much of the signage around the camp was still in German. The latrines were labeled KRAPPEN HAUSEN. I would suggest that is where the English version of the word came from.

        30

    • #
      Sambar

      David, Ireland was the first country to effectively ban single use plastic bags back in 2002. First law of unintended consequences was evident within 12 months. Plastics use DID NOT decrease as was predicted but in fact increased. The reason, people had “other” uses for these disposable light weight (maybe 20 microns ) bags, and once they became unavailable people started buying heavier gauge bags to fill the need. So, given that plastics DO NOT live in the environment forever as often claimed, given that the light weight bags break down quicker and easier than heavy weight bags, another screw up was produced in an effort to save the planet.
      Knowing this, it was extremely well known in the industry, Australia, as ever the country where prior crash test dummies have provided vital information, just went ahead and bought container loads of crash test dummies looking for a different result.
      And on those paper bags, well wad a ya know, they are produced from trees. Trees that cannot be harvested for structural timbers are fine to be used for paper production or knocked down for wind factories.
      I have to get into the business of importing crash test dummies, the government will be forever in need of them1

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      • #
        John Connor II

        Biodegradable bags derived from corn or potato starch, mushroom mycelium and bamboo have been around for years now, along with enzyme treated plastic bags, but none are widely used.
        Why not?

        22

        • #
          Sambar

          JC the materials that you mention tended to do what they were designed for ie to break down readily. The starch based polymers were particularly good at this often failing before the shoppers made it to their homes. Freezer items particularly produced the desired effect in short order. I’m not an engineer but designing an item to rapidly degrade then wonder why it does is just another one of life’s mysteries.

          80

      • #
        Earl

        Sambar – 110% correct. Worked retail during the bag transition period. Initial customer reaction all aggressive “how dare you” take away something that was free” (but cost the business money and supposedly was killing the planet). Then it was “Ive left my bags in the car AGAIN, I’ve got so many in the boot, how much are they yes I’ll buy some”. Then it was just ‘I need bags too please” with no claim to leaving them in the car.

        Meantime the best hope was that the plastic rubbish bags (still) on sale were being used as bin liners which used to be the recycled use of the shopping bag but obviously the (15c) shopping bags were being used and yes they last longer than the free ones so longer impact at tip or on side of the road or in the sea…

        And not one Luke or Matthew asked about our “daily bread” plastic wrapping.

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      Kalm Keith

      The removal of free plastic bags was just an excuse to sell more plastic rather than give it away “free”.

      90

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        David Maddison

        But it was forced by Government and Leftist activists, not retailers.

        115

      • #
        Plain Jane

        I feel it is deliberate narcissistic gaslighting to laugh at the general public and humiliate good folk and see how far “they” can push us. So much is these days, pushed on us for ritual humiliation (and other agendas) for example drag queen story time for infants. I have never had so much plastic in the house since the ban on plastic . It was grams of grey shopping bags, now it is kg ‘s of zippers and silver stuff and webbing etc.

        70

  • #
    David Maddison

    Some quotes from Elon Musk’s talk with Trump at Butler, Pennsylvania.

    https://x.com/GailAlfarATX/status/1842967955887239465

    This is Elon Musk’s full talk at the rally yesterday in Butler, Pennsylvania. His first true political appearance.

    History was made yesterday in Butler.

    An estimated 80,000+ crowd of dedicated and passionate people who support Donald Trump watched Elon come onto the stage with enthusiasm.

    Elon is happiest when he’s sharing his love for people with people, and his jumping was truly a jump for joy, in the purest sense.

    Wearing a black Make America Great hat, Elon said, “See, I’m not just MAGA, I’m dark MAGA.”
    Smiling warmly, he continued, “First of all, I want to say what an honor it is to be here. You know, the true test of someone’s character is how they behave under fire.”

    “The true test of someone’s character is how they behave under fire.”

    Elon: “We had one president who couldn’t climb a set of stairs, and another who was fist-pumping after getting shot. FIGHT. FIGHT. FIGHT. Blood coming down the face. America is the home of the brave.

    “There’s no truer test than courage under fire. Who do you want representing America? (crowd screams Trump!) Yeah, absolutely!

    “I think this election is the most important election of our lifetime. This is no ordinary election.

    “The other side wants to take away your freedom of speech.

    “They want to take away your right to bear arms.

    “They want to take away your right to vote effectively. You’ve got 14 states now that don’t require voter ID.

    “California, where I used to live, just passed a law banning voter ID for voting. I still can’t believe that’s real. So, how are you supposed to have a good and proper election if there’s no ID? It’s just meaningless.

    Free speech is the bedrock of democracy.

    Elon: “And free speech. Free speech is the bedrock of democracy. If people don’t know what’s going on, if they don’t know the truth, how can you make an informed vote?

    You must have free speech in order to have democracy. That’s why it is the First Amendment.

    And the Second Amendment is there to ensure that we have the First Amendment. (crowd cheers)

    President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution. He must win to preserve Democracy in America. This is a must-win situation.”

    Vote

    Elon continued,

    “I have one ask, for everyone here and for everyone watching this livestream. Just one request, it’s very important: Register to Vote.

    “And get everyone you know, and everyone you don’t know, drag them to register to vote. There are only 2 days left to register to vote in Georgia and Arizona. 48 hours. Like, text people now. Now. And then make sure they actually do vote.

    “If they don’t, this will be the last election. That’s my prediction. Nothing is more important. Nothing is more important.”

    “So, speaking to people out there in this crowd, you are already convinced. People out there watching the video, watching the livestream, (or reading Gail’s article) , you need to get everyone you know, at work, your friends, family, text groups, your social media, everything.

    “Get them to register to vote right now. Only two days left for Georgia and Arizona. Only a couple of weeks left in Pennsylvania. And if they’re not registered to vote, it doesn’t matter at that point. Register to vote. I’m being repetitive for a reason, okay? So nothing is more important.

    “A lot of people think maybe their vote doesn’t count. Well, it does. It matters. This election could be decided by 1000 votes, 500 votes, a tiny margin.”

    Elon: “A lot of people think maybe their vote doesn’t count. Well, it does. It matters. This election could be decided by 1000 votes, 500 votes, a tiny margin.”

    Elon also mentioned Trump’s website that helps people to register to vote. “So get everyone you know, to register to vote, at Swamp the Vote (swampthevoteusa.com) Double-check that your registration is good, don’t take it for granted. I’m just being repetitive about this point because it is the one takeaway, more than anything, that will matter is getting those registrations, and then getting everyone you know to actually vote.

    Elon: “That is what will decide this election, especially in Pennsylvania. (cheers)

    “So thank you, and honestly, you want to just be a pest. Be a pest to everyone you know, people on the street, everywhere! VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! FIGHT. FIGHT. FIGHT! VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! Thank you!

    My thoughts
    I trust Elon Musk. Elon Musk can be trusted to only do good for the people of the USA. He is a genius technician and a person with a kind heart.
    For Elon to take time off from his difficult work at his companies requires a very serious and urgent matter. He is right to put the effort into this urgent election. He’s not aiming for his own self-interests, he’s making the effort to preserve democracy. I hope that you, dear reader, are going to vote.

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    • #
      David Maddison

      And someone emailed me these comments:

      The left has always hated Musk of course, because IMHO

      1) He’s a multi-billionaire, but not part of the leftist clique out to rule the world (yes, the ultra rich left is out to rule the world)

      2) He owns Tesla. The left loves EV’s but hates Tesla because Musk owns it, and the workers are non-union

      3) He was neutral, in fact as he puts it, left of center, until the left moved FAR left

      4) He’s a (legal) immigrant who became a citizen. How DARE he be a conservative!

      5) And now he shows up to talk at a Trump rally and is VERY much making his opinion known that this is the most important election in our lifetime (if not in the entire history of the US)

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    David Maddison

    It’s hard to see how this could be a “technical eeror”. Don’t forget, Qantas is a fully woke corporation and thus is an active participant in promoting the moral degradation of Western society.

    https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/passenger-claims-qantas-played-an-xrated-film-to-entire-flight/news-story/21a8c95380e77adf90b5ab7fcea6776f

    Entire plane shocked by X-rated Qantas error

    Qantas has left passengers speechless after an inappropriate film was played to the entire flight due to a technical error.

    Passengers on a recent Qantas flight from Australia to Japan were left gobsmacked after an inappropriate movie was played on every screen due to a technical issue.

    One shocked passenger said there was “no way to turn it off” and was floored by the racy nudity and obscene ‘sexts’ that were displayed on each seat’s screen.

    Qantas has confirmed the incident to news.com.au and stated that due to technical issues, individual movie selection was not available.

    SEE LINK FOR REST

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      OldOzzie

      More Qantas customers come forward about frequent flyer information scandal

      Qantas has confirmed that the near 1000 customers who were caught up in a cyber theft involving workers at an Indian ground-handling company may have had their passport numbers ­accessed.

      As revealed by The Australian, Qantas customers had frequent flyer points stolen by two people who worked for India SATS, a joint venture between India’s main airline and SATS, Singapore’s biggest ground handling company.

      “As part of the access they had to do their job, they may have had access to some customers’ passport details,” a Qantas spokesperson said.

      “There’s no evidence this has been used in any way.”

      The IT scandal came to light only after one Qantas customer in Sydney complained to this writer that her account had been hacked and the airline had failed to take responsibility for the breach. Since that story was published, other Qantas customers have alerted this paper that the same thing happened to them.

      None have received any information from the airline.

      The customers who had their names and frequent flyer numbers stolen were not flying to India and had booked directly with the airline flying on Qantas flights.

      There is talk the breach may involve other carriers within the 15 airline Oneworld alliance.

      Oneworld was contacted on Thursday about the breach but is still to respond.

      British Airways, Malaysian Airlines and Royal Air Maroc have been specifically mentioned, as has non-Oneworld carrier Air Mauritius.

      It is now known the two India-based employees used Qantas customers’ names and booking references to change their frequent flyer numbers.

      The matter has been referred to Indian police authorities. It is not known whether they will investigate if passport details had been on-sold by alleged thieves.

      Qantas said the cyber theft was not a hack of its systems and not in breach of the Privacy Act.

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    • #
      John Connor II

      R-rated since X-rated is illegal in nanny country Oz for decades.

      30

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      Graeme4

      While travelling from LA down to Lima via LAN, they put on an aircraft disaster movie. Didn’t take long before somebody asked them to switch movies.

      20

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    • #
      John in NZ

      There must have been no watertight doors on that ship. Otherwise the skipper would have ordered the crew to close them, I would think.

      110

      • #
        Sambar

        One fifth of the NZ navy wiped in one sinking. Oh well this ship probably ran on diesel, so back to those big Maori war canoes, environmentally friendly, being man (person ) powered and remarkably shallow daft so capable of being manoeuvred in and around shallow water!

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      Greg in NZ

      Shirley this was UN-President-Ed.
      No, it was Commander Yvonne Gay.

      NB. May contain spelling mistakes.
      Contains absolutely no nuts.

      If they are from the UK,
      surely King Charlie must pay?
      He’ll be there in a few weeks for the
      Commonwealth Heads meeting. D’oh!

      30

    • #
      Ross

      Gets worse. There are now comments regarding the ship captain’s sexuality. That she was a DEI hire etc etc.

      70

    • #
      Earl

      MSM Herald report – “Seventy-five crew and passengers were rescued by Samoa’s Fire and Emergency Services Authority”.

      Has the NZ navy diversified into the cruise industry or is passenger travel a condition of the long term lease agreement they signed when leasing (and repainting) cruise ships to look like they have an expanded navy?

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    • #
      Mike Jonas

      It’s tough being a cynic sometimes. It’s great that everyone’s lives were saved, but is the hype over that aimed at deflecting from the inconvenient fact that a stationary reef hit the moving ship?

      20

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  • #
    YYY Guy

    The headline –

    Victoria Police has a shortage of 1,000 officers after a huge surge in departures in recent months amid a nationwide recruitment crisis, official force statistics show.

    There are now 1,029 vacant positions statewide, up by 200 since June 30, and the situation in Victoria is so dire that the force is contacting applicants who failed entrance exams or physicals and asking them to reapply, 7 News reported.

    New South Wales Police has an even worse shortage of 2,279 officers, while Queensland is short 895, Western Australia and the Northern Territory have 200 positions vacant each, South Australia has 170, Tasmania is down 32 and the ACT down 22.

    WA has been recruiting
    Don’t be white.

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    • #
      Eng_Ian

      Remember when the police recruitment involved only tall well built people of high standing.

      Now it’s 3’6″ weaklings with tatts from tip to toe and a moral compass pointing at their backside.

      It’s not a recruitment failure, it’s DEI. Get used to it.

      The next round of ads will include a promise that if you join you’ll be allowed/encouraged to shoot people.

      You could almost take the applicants this year and compare that to who the police arrested 50 years ago, the similarity could be a shock to some.

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      • #
        Yarpos

        I was walking behind two police officers in a shopping centre this morning.

        One was an older male who had to be retirement age. The other was a wisp of a young woman who looked to be barely strong enough to support her weighty utility belt and handgun. Hopefully she knows a martial art, because on the surface of it I couldnt see her controlling anyone if things got rowdy.

        What were they doing? Mrs Y posited that it may have been the morning donut run.

        10

        • #
          Sambar

          Equal opportunity Yarpos. Relo in the north east had his business broken into. Lovely lady officer took info etc, when,Lo and behold, perp walks past the premises. Knew it was the offender because he was wearing the trade marked clobber that he had nicked. Lovely lady officer could/would not tackle the perp on her own, called for assistance to ‘help’. Relo was really prepared to help but was warned off, for his own safety of course. Let’s just say he got his gear back.

          00

    • #
      KP

      Police are realising what the public think of them…

      30

      • #
        David of Cooyal in Oz

        Or objecting to what they’ve been ordered to do.

        10

      • #
        Yarpos

        My wife is friends with a police couple that recently retired. They got tired of the ever mounting BS level raining down from above. The super is pretty generous if you can tough out the years, so they cut and ran. A lot of experienced people are doing the same. Its not just the numbers that are down but they are losing the wrong people.

        20

  • #
    Penguinite

    Not so Great Britain and coming to Australian shores!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTWDzMjgsEY&t=849s

    Try to ignore the first 5 min, it’s an ad

    10

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  • #
    OldOzzie

    The Australian Front Page Today

    Click on, to enlarge & read.

    816

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  • #
    el+gordo

    Michigan man caught on the front line, ends up in a Russian prison.

    https://english.pravda.ru/news/society/160831-us-citizen-ukraine/

    Pravda is essentially a misinformation and disinformation rag, but every now and then there is a glimmer of truth.

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    OldOzzie

    Jack Smith’s ‘October Surprise’ was not that surprising…and that is the problem

    BY JONATHAN TURLEY, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR – 10/05/24

    “The most stupendous and atrocious fraud.” Those words from federal prosecutors could have been ripped from the filing this week of Special Counsel Jack Smith defending his prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

    Yet they were actually from a Justice Department filing 184 years ago, just days from the 1840 presidential election.

    Democratic President Martin Van Buren was struggling for reelection against Whig William Henry Harrison, and his Justice Department waited until just before voters went to the polls to allege that Whig Party officials had paid Pennsylvanians to travel to New York to vote for Whig candidates two years earlier.

    It was considered by many to be the first “October Surprise,” the last-minute pre-election scandal or major event intended to sway voters.

    To avoid such allegations of political manipulation of cases, the Justice Department has long followed a policy against making potentially influential filings within 60 or 90 days of an election. One section of the Justice Department manual states “Federal prosecutors… may never select the timing of any action, including investigative steps, criminal charges, or statements, for the purpose of affecting any election.”

    Jack Smith, however, has long dismissed such considerations.
    [SNIP]

    10

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  • #
    TdeF

    Ableist? With respect to Kamala.

    40

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    • #
      Hanrahan

      If you believe that you must be using every $ you can find to buy gold.

      The USD will not be toppled by any other fiat currency [out of the pan into the fire] or basket of weak ones. The next standard for trade will have gold backing. The USD with their gold reserve will be part of that.

      10

      • #
        Tel

        If you bought Gold in 2005 at $400 AUD per ounce, then it’s looking like it will easily get to $8000 AUD in 2025 which is an 8x gain over 20 years or an 11% per annum compounded growth (on average).

        If you had bought the ASX200 over the same time, the capital growth would have been significantly lower … and I calculated a bit more that 6% per annum … but you would also have some dividends at maybe 5% or 6% on top of that. The two options are actually quite close to equivalent.

        However the share market should (in theory) easily beat Gold in a healthy economy since all a bar of Gold will do is stay the same bar as it started. Shares are supposed to represent productive assets. Trouble is … our economy has not been particularly healthy over the past 20 years and I think it might be getting worse.

        30

    • #
      el+gordo

      Russia is facing hyperinflation and China is on the road to economic depression. Their stock markets have been falling, along with the value of yuan and ruble. A few weeks ago the CCP threw fake money at their market and it jumped, but it can’t last.

      BRICS is composed of poor nations looking for prosperity, talk of eliminating the dollar is just a political stunt. A bald face bluff by Putin.

      14

      • #
        Hanrahan

        Any nation can barter with any other nation in any commodity, but it is impossible to barter wheat for a Boeing 737, immediate settlement.

        10

      • #
        Yarpos

        Mmmm lots of drama LG

        Do a plot of ruble vs usd and the aud vs usd over the last 10 years , you will find they look very similar.

        Keep telling youself its a stunt. We can just watch the slowly emerging reality.

        10

      • #
        Tel

        What utter nonsense … Russia is one of the world’s largest Gold, oil, gas and Uranium producers as well as a bunch of other minerals … it’s ridiculous to talk about hyperinflation when their economy is backed by so many resources. They also produce a huge surplus of food.

        Some of this they are having difficulties selling thanks to sanctions but China happily is soaking up most of what the Russians can deliver. Some of Australia’s recent minerals boom might be related to Russia being restricted from the LME and other such things … but ultimately we sell to China anyhow … I doubt the sanctions are even making much of a difference.

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    David Maddison

    New Zealand just lost a navy ship….

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ced0wlqnvlno

    The Royal New Zealand Navy has lost its first ship to the sea since World War Two, after one of its vessels ran aground off the coast of Samoa.

    HMNZS Manawanui, a specialist diving and ocean imaging ship, came into trouble about one nautical mile from the island of Upolu on Saturday night local time, while conducting a survey of a reef.

    It later caught fire before capsizing.

    All 75 people on board were evacuated onto lifeboats and rescued early on Sunday, New Zealand’s Defence Force said in a statement.

    Officials said the cause of the grounding was unknown and will be investigated.

    SEE LINK FOR REST

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    • #
      Greg in NZ

      BBC… a day behind the rest of the world (see #18 c/. Triple-Y).

      Minister of D’Fence, Crusher Collins, said (RadioNZ) the boat had been used to service oil rigs prior to being purchased and transformed into a happy naval ship. Then the front fell off…

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    Reader

    University of California, San Diego officially launches new ‘Climate Change Education Requirement’
    https://www.campusreform.org/article/ucsd-officially-launches-new-climate-change-education-requirement/26465

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    another ian

    FWIW

    “C15 Fat – Eat Steak & Butter To Avoid Insulin Resistance”

    https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2024/10/06/c15-fat-eat-steak-butter-to-avoid-insulin-resistance/

    30

    • #
      Hanrahan

      It must have been 30 years ago I had already returned to butter but a woman saw me grab a block of lard for cooking. She had the cheek to educate me.

      10

      • #
        another ian

        As Mark Twain may have said -‘

        “It Ain’t What You Don’t Know That Gets You Into Trouble. It’s What You Know for Sure That Just Ain’t So”

        10

      • #
        Graeme4

        When working in Germany, it was quite common for German restaurants to offer lard, with bacon bits, as a spread on your bread with your dinner. Very tasty.
        (Bread was automatically provided free, until they worked out that you weren’t German…)

        10

    • #
      Skepticynic

      #8 at 3:06am

      00

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    another ian

    FWIW

    “My corollary is that this is why Empires end and oppressive regimes collapse. The kind of “leader” those systems have (sociopath types that rise to the top and then want “control” of everything) promulgate ever more “rules” until the system can no longer function.

    Looks like there is a new book about that.

    Over Ruled
    The Human Toll of Too Much Law
    By Neil Gorsuch, Janie Nitze

    https://www.harpercollins.com/products/over-ruled-neil-gorsuchjanie-nitze

    Over just the last few decades, laws in this nation have exploded in number; they are increasingly complex; and the punishments they carry are increasingly severe. Some of these laws come from our elected representatives, but many now come from agency officials largely insulated from democratic accountability.”

    https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2024/09/06/w-o-o-d-6-sept-2024-ukraine-front-collapsing-brics-growing-fast-eu-economy-falling-usa-spins/#comment-172891

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    • #
      TdeF

      Our democracy has been in place for 123 years. And we have a lot of laws. One of the problems of such a lot of people sitting around wondering what they are supposed to do is that they do things no one needs. Like write laws no one needs or wants. Because they think that’s their job.

      And so we have, for example, many Clean Energy/Carbon Credit/Green certificate laws which do not raise taxes but punish Australians severely for using gas, coal and petrol and diesel. Why? Who said? Did anyone ask the universities for a report on the validity of the propositions? No.

      As for the CSIRO/Chief Scientist and friends, they have completely lost their way and are enthusiastically in favor of new laws which means more work for them and more funding and more responsibility. Who cares if it is very questionable rubbish?

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      • #
        TdeF

        And who said there was disinformation? What on earth is that? So we have a misinformation and disinformation law? Could they please stop this?

        20

        • #
          TdeF

          ESG, DEI. Who needs them? Please don’t make them laws. Or worse, government regulations. When did the people of Australia or anywhere suggest that their elected representatives should start controlling and regulating their lives, their beliefs, their rights? What happened to freedom of speech?

          40

          • #
            TdeF

            Frankly if politicians cannot find anything useful to do, go home and help their consitutents navigate the booming number of useless and utterly intrusive laws they have passed. And unless they are ministers minding a department, they are not needed. They can work from home, like all their employees. Or not work from home, which is more the point.

            20

      • #
        another ian

        Jerry Pournelle wrote sci-fi. And had a column in Byte magazine on small computers in business back in their early days.

        One of the ponderings of that time was how much money had been spent on those small computers without any noticeable gain in productivity being evident.

        One of his suggestions was that the small computer had given each user the ability to be a form generator – increasing the work load without actually gaining any new useful information.

        Maybe those same small computers have also contributed to the ability to cut and paste within “bubble sphere” without any cross checking outside?

        Or one might consult “Parkinson’s Law or the rising pyramid”**, and its “two almost axiomatic statements” –

        “An official wants to multiply subordinates not rivals”

        “Officials make work for each other”.

        And it gives (précised) , the example of “A civil servant called A, who finds himself overworked”, appoints subordinates C and D, who need their subordinates E and F, G and H. So that seven are now doing the work one did before – ensuring the future promotion of A but meaning that A is actually working harder than ever to ensure an acceptable work product from the team. “Far more people have taken far longer to produce the same result”.

        And one can argue that the recent increase in public servants has guaranteed that the current “A’s” have less chance to install any competence that they may possess in the finished products.

        ** C. Northcote Parkinson, “Parkinson’s Law or the rising pyramid”

        40

        • #
          TdeF

          I bought most issues of Byte. Prior to the internet it was my view on the world of microcomputers which I saw as the future. And Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven. Michael Moorcock. So many. As Arthur C. Clark proved with his original idea of satellites orbiting the planet, some of their ideas were out of this world.

          20

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          another ian

          Re “One of his suggestions was that the small computer had given each user the ability to be a form generator – increasing the work load without actually gaining any new useful information.”

          Much later than that a regional hospital replaced the then four page patient admission form with one of 24 pages that actually recorded less information. The staff refused to use it.

          10

      • #
        Tel

        Ultimately every government job ends up being self justification. I doubt I the first person to figure that out.

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        TdeF

        In 2022 I count five new departments. Some terminated. But new laws often require new departments, like Clean Energy. A whole structure for a crazy idea that carbon dioxide is a toxic gas and air with more than 0.042% CO2 is dirty,dirty, dirty.

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      TdeF

      As John Kerry says “It’s really hard to govern today” when people are legally allowed to disagree with you.

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    another ian

    Splat!

    “28 Cars Wiped Out in Biggest NASCAR Crash Ever – Nearly ENTIRE Field Involved in Crash at Talladega (VIDEO)”

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/10/28-cars-crash-nascar-nearly-entire-field-involved/

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      Yarpos

      Thats a lot of flat spotted tyres

      I was watching an interview with SVG last night, and the advice he got for Talladega (a large fast oval track) was along the lines of ” you will probably be involved in a wreck here, so stay high on the wall so you cant hit it at much of an angle, or very low down so you have somehwere to go on the expansive infield”

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    MeAgain

    It don’t matter how many sites are taken down …. how many new ones are created? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-07/scammers-are-targeting-australians-in-offshore-call-centres/104406170 Fool me twice, shame on me.

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      TdeF

      Yes. I love the way he described CO2 as plant food. I have pushed that line for many years because so many people do not know that. Or that trees are just CO2 and H2O. As are people. Banning CO2 is insane. Describing it as toxic means throwing the dictionary away.

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    TdeF

    And it gets funnier in Washington. Joe Biden is accused of sabotaging Kamala’s campaign by saying they and their teams work closely together and have done so on all decisions. Now it that is sabotage, it is only because Kamala is trying to distance herself from her current job and job record.

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      TdeF

      After all, as she also says, Joe is perfectly competent. The implicit lie is that if he is perfectly competent, ‘sharp as a razor’, why is she running and if he isn’t, why is he President and she only Vice President? 14 million Democrats voted for Joe Biden to run, on her assurance. None selected Kamala as candidate and Vice Presidents have no legal right to the job except in an emergency.

      And the first Presidential candidate debate was between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Strange that it is never mentioned?

      What changed Joe’s sharp as a razor mind only after the first debate? After all, he did answer all the questions. And Kamala answered none.

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        another ian

        “What changed Joe’s sharp as a razor mind only after the first debate? After all, he did answer all the questions. And Kamala answered none.”

        FWIW

        Hypocrisy – before and after

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    Terrible Superhurricane Milton.
    From the BBC …
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crl8e084r9yo
    THIS DOWNLOADED AT 1830 ; – “Hurricane Milton has rapidly intensified into a category five storm as it tears its way towards the US Gulf Coast, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has said. Ferocious winds of up to 160mph (250km/h) have been recorded as Milton heads towards Florida, where it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, the NHC said.”

    Ventusky meanwhile shows – current – winds of 62 mph. About 54 knots, so Beaufort 10/11.

    Perhaps the BBC is copy-and-pasting from the NHC.

    But there seems to be a difference there.

    Even in the BBC article, a map-graphic show that Milton is only a Category 2 Hurricane at 1900 CDT [GMT -5] – so at 0001 Z Tuesday.

    Never mind – Accuracy, Propaganda, Consistency – choose one?

    Auto

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