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We've never had Rights, we've only ever had laws to govern our behaviour, and those laws are legislated by fellow human beings who are called "politicians", who react to other humans' complaints. Everyone has a complaint about something, and eventually we'll all be standing still in the one spot unable to move for fear of being charged for moving. We are our own worst enemy. Bring in programs to teach common sense. I once told a bloke not to chainsaw a tree down because it would hit power lines when it fell. He just said "Nahh". He cut the tree down and the next thing the power company truck was out fixing the downed power wires. He still didn't think he was an idiot, he thought he knew more than me, but it was plain to see the arc at which the tree would fall. To prevent that catastrophe, all he needed to do, was consult with me, because I was standing 90 degrees to the proposed travel of the tree and I judged it would hit the lines. He lacked common sense.

No wonder that tapir has that look on his face, dragging his pecker trough the prickles like that.

Except for the last part. Soviet war losses don't have much to do with our relationship with the U.S., but the forum wouldn't be true to form without thread drift.

So it's now an insult to say that a bloke was hung like a donkey?

The one above is - Don't let the bed bug's bite.

On the subject of blowing things up, back in the 1960's a mate of mine used to get gelignite from the local hardware store when he was a teenager. He used to make up a story that his dad had sent him in for it and he'd use it to blow fish when mullet were running. I can remember one of his dad's mates had half a hand missing from doing the same thing.

Back in the pre-registration, pre-license days there were a lot of problems in country areas with gun hoons causing trouble. It wasn't the locals, who were mostly farmers and all the locals were responsible firearm owners. The problem was with idiots passing through and shooting at road signs, farm sheds, livestock and wildlife. It didn't happen all the time but enough to be a problem. One of the saddest things is they used to shoot koalas up in the trees. I lost my best horse that way, intentionally shot by idiots travelling through. She was my pride and joy at the time, a tall black and white piebald mare, half thoroughbred. She was a beautiful looking mare and riding her was like sitting in an armchair it was that smooth. A once in a lifetime horse just like that once in a lifetime dog some people get to own.

From 1997 - 2022 there have been almost 1500 school shootings in the USA. (Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38433681/) To my knowledge there have been 2 in Australia since 1991 which resulted in death. There's a damn good reason some freedoms are restricted.

Amazing the things you learn on TV. Did you know the tapir has the longest penis in elation to its body length? Up to 60% of body length. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America and Southeast Asia. It reaches the ground and has been mistaken for a fifth leg. It is often stood on.

Be an atheist, and then you can use the Brain God gave you to think with and question things. Evil is as Evil does. Funny how Women don't count for Much in most religions. The Pentecostal Cult Religion was INVENTED to justify Greed and Capitalism. Nev

Perth is often called the Windy City. Nev

No, that's the priests in charge of the choir. How did you expect those boys to reach those high notes, without being grabbed by the nuts?

Maybe, although the Hilton bombing and the Russell Street bombing were some time ago (less than 60 years). There were also bombings outside the Family Court in Sydney in the 80s. Where I live is quite safe (now we turfed the druggies out); however, about 2 suburbs away, there are weekly house fires that are considered suspicious. Sure, anyone can buy petrol and matches, but imagine if explosives were readily available.

We've just had a pretty violent low pressure system move through the SW of the State, bringing much needed rain, along with strong winds. The BOM got a bit hysterical yesterday with a Severe Storm Warning, talking up a "one in 5 year storm" with 125km/hr winds, but the winds weren't quite that bad, with a number of areas around Perth and the foothills recording 98km/hr maximum wind gusts, with average wind speeds probably around 65-80km/hr. The SW Capes - Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin, recorded 109km/hr and 119km/hr maximum gusts, and Busselton Jetty recorded 109km/hr as a maximum gust. Rainfall overall was between about 10-25mm, with most inland areas receiving useful falls, although a few strips missed out and only recorded 6-8mm. There's the normal amount of Winter storm damage, a good number of trees down, a few sheds and sheets of iron went flying, and there's a few thousand people without power this morning. No damage to report here at home, although the fruit trees took a pummelling, there are mandarins and limes everywhere in the backyard, although the orange tree is O.K. They're all in full fruit, of course, as expected for this time of year.

Here is another true story. Back in the early 90s, we lived on 44 bush acres, and we built our own house. which we lived in as we built. Late on one afternoon, I was soaking in the bath after a session of building. He could hear my 4-year-old son out in our driveway. Our driveway was 100 meters long and dipped down substantially in the middle. WE would lock the gate so no one would drive down it, and my son would go to the high point at the gate and coast down to the dip. Lying in a hot bath, I could hear my son's delighted sounds and his request to his mother to "watch me" I heard a noisy vehicle followed by several gunshots. This was followed by my son screaming in a way I had never heard before. This was followed by my wife screaming obscenities. I truly believed my son or wife had been shot. I leapt out of the bath totally naked, and ran down the driveway. They were both OK but traumatised. This person had shot across our property, and I accept that they probably did not see my wife or son. We reported it to the police, but as they said, it would be a case of his word against ours. A couple of days later, I was getting my car fixed, and I related this story to my mechanic, who was a gun enthusiast. Being a law-abiding gun owner, he was able to, with our vehicle description, give me the name of this moron. We were able to give the police a name. We later learned that his guns were unlicensed. I think his guns were confiscated (I guess until he complied) Without rigorous licensing, this problem would have had no resolution. I am not against gun ownership, but it does need to be regulated. When I learned to fly, I had to reach a level of competency and jump through regulatory hoops.

Then is queer another name for a choirboy?

The difference between 60 years ago and today is the "culture" of the people. When everyone grows up in the same culture, they know what is acceptable and only a small minority cause trouble. For example, in Broken Hill we had explosives and guns everywhere, but it was not a problem. Then "outsiders" move in, not part of the culture, and in ignorance or indifference they do things that require regulation. We had an Asian visitor who shot sheep, and claimed he was just hunting like the rest who were shooting kangaroos. Multiculturalism requires much greater regulation, but that is not effective if the newcomers do not respect the regulations and their enforcers.

The U.S. Council on Foreign Relations always produces informative outlines of other countries systems of Govts and political problems. The article below is a CFR article from 2008, and it has been archived because of more recent events in Iran, but it gives good information about how Khomeini was a hardline Islamic Fundamentalist who wrote a book stating that Iranian government must only operate under "velayat-e faqih" (guardianship of the Islamic jurist), which is deeply intertwined with Mahdist beliefs. Mahdist beliefs center on the messianic concept of the Mahdi (the "Right-Guided One"), an eschatological figure in Islam who will appear at the end of times to vanquish evil, restore universal justice, and enforce the true teachings of the (Islamic) faith. The Mahdi is known in Islam as "the Hidden One". Believed to be the twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, he is said to have entered a state of divine concealment (Occultation) in 941 CE, and will return at the end of time to restore justice. This Islamic belief is identical to the Christian belief that Jesus Christ will reveal himself in the flesh, and return to the Earth to rule it, at the future time known as "the Second Coming". Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Islamics believe that Jesus Christ will return with the Mahdi - but the Mahdi will be the prominent divine figure, and Jesus Christ will only be a returning prophet. The basis of all Mahdi beliefs is that the West and Christianity is corrupt and evil, and the repository of Satan (the Evil One) - and therefore, only true Islam, in the form of Mahdism, can produce peace and justice worldwide. The bottom line is Khomeini sought sole domineering control of Iran and its people, under a very repressive, undemocratic Islamic system that places religion, politics and everyday life into one tightly-bound structure, with Imams controlling every single action involving rule of the people, and with very little personal freedom - especially anything to do with ruling clique protests, or complaints against Imams, or trying to worship other religions. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounders/religion-and-politics-iran

I look up if any crimes have been committed using commercial explosives (not homemade). So, whilst with the present restrictions, it is somewhat rare that it has happened (despite restrictions). I guess we don't know what would happen if explosives were freely available. Commercial or Industrial Explosives Some Australian bombings have involved explosives that originated from mining or commercial sources: The Sydney Hilton Hotel Bombing is generally believed to have involved a substantial quantity of high explosive, although the exact source and perpetrators remain disputed. The Russell Street Bombing used a large car bomb. Reports from the investigation indicated the perpetrators used commercially manufactured explosives rather than something improvised from household chemicals. Criminal groups have occasionally stolen explosives and detonators from mines, quarries, and construction operations, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s. Australia's large mining sector means that explosives such as ANFO (ammonium nitrate fuel oil), emulsions, and gelignites are used legitimately in huge quantities, but access is tightly controlled.

In Early Newcastle, Mines were everywhere and so were detonators and sticks of gelignite. I cannot recall a single incidence of inappropriate use but today People are More whacky. Nev

And the amazing thing is that all this, every book, song, poem etc., is made up from only 26 letters in the alphabet.

Latin is/was rather clever. Nev

I blame the French for everything, especially anything to do with their odd, mangled-pronunciations language - large amounts of which have found their way into modern English, to confuse all those from non-English-speaking countries, who want to learn English. The strange part to me, is how English has become the primary language of technology, science, engineering, and even aviation. Anthropologists are always seeking to discover the exact point where language was invented (as it's presumed that sign language and grunts, and other animal-like sounds were humans only communication method, prior to that point of "inventing language"). I personally think they're going to keep doing a lot of guessing, as there is practically zero evidence available to determine when language was first developed and used. I suspect it was developed over a very long period of time, with a lot of trial and error and confusion.

Yes, I get that. I wasn't necessarily having a go at onetrack, just presenting an alternative view. To believe that if explosives were easily available, there would not be occasional catastrophic events is being overly optimistic. Back in the day, fireworks were occasionally used to blow up people's letter boxes or torture cats and dogs with. I am not offering an opinion on whether fireworks should be legal or not, only that they were not banned without reason. Some may say the reason wasn't strong enough. I am glad my ex-neighbour could not buy explosives.

What exactly is Iran's ideology? Nobody seems to have laid it out for examination. Sure, it's dominated by a theology. How much impact have the actions of the Isrealis and the USA over the past 78 years influenced that ideology?