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The Russians used scorched earth tactics and the Harsh Russian winter. The NAZI's went deep into Russian territory and had what was considered superior weaponry. (more sophisticated than Practical).. Russia Made Lot's of their Proven tanks. The Germans ran short of supplies and were in a desperate state and retreating. This was a major changing Point of the war. Nev

Dick Van Dyke has turned 100 years of age.

I wonder if the number of deaths and casualties suffered by the Russian forces was not as result of poor military skills. I have an impression of Russian infantry engaging in human wave attacks against Germans. That is contrary to what the Germans and Western Allies learned on th Western Front. I suppose, too, that Russian officers were happy enough to use threat to shoot slackers to move troops forward.

Dr. Keith Suter passed away peacefully in hospital at the age of 77. He was a renowned foreign affairs commentator and a respected voice on Seven's news programs.

Jane Hume (Liberal) said you have to Make it More attractive for Women to get them to work in Canberra. IF your Job, also "Expects" you to be somewhere why should THAT come out of YOUR Pocket? She's raising a Family also which is not so radical a Proposition. Pollies don't get Paid enough to Put up with what they HAVE to either. Everyone's Looking for s GOTCHA Moment to CREATE a Headline. Nothing is Private. Nev

USA Made so much Money out of WW2 that it brought them out of the "Great" Depression. USSR refused to Pay the Debt. They'd suffered the MOST casualties by far. Nev

Exactly.

Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies.

Pose eye Don Add Vent tour - Poseidon Adventure

Yes, To the land of the free...unless you hire a prostitute -that's illegal, over state lines then it's sex trafficking. But if you video it, then it's porn and legal.

Bonnie blue is white, from a “good” country and has a very generous “personality” , and loves making the almighty dollar, maybe now Indonesia has banned her she can go there to make her videos.

The parallels with Germany from 1933 are striking. However, Trump does not have to talk of lebensraum as corporate America conquered the the global community starting in September 1940 with the Leand Lease Act.

I don't disagree, but ironically, prrivate enterprise is subject to much stricter rules than the government - and those rules are provided by the government - usually through tax disincentives, but also now conduct rules, etc. So unless private enterprise want to pay through the nose and the individuals through FBT, they have a much more sparlingly set of allowable expenses then your MPs (this is why the APS won't accept gifts - as well as the conduct rules. You will not believe the rules I had to navigate to accept a vendor dontaing £50 to an authorised charity in my name - in the end I asked them to donate it in their name - I don't need the accolade - and the rules are similar in Australia). The decision to travel is different to the cost of travel. The question of whether deliveing a 6 minute speech was value for money is not the same question as whether the cost of the travel and allowable expenses is accceptable or not. The minister won't usually unilaterally decide to trot off to the UN and make a speech; it will be done in consultation with the cabinet/PM office because there will be some political objective. Was it literally jump off the plane, walk in, give a 6 minute speech, walk out and jump on a plane back? Or was there some sort of unofficial meetings taking place. We tend to look at these things in isolation, but often there are tactics in play to reach an objective - one of the many battles to win the war. Even if it were literally off the plane, speak, on the plane and nothing else, it may have been part of some tactics to demonstrate to allies or partners a commitment to further negotiate for the benefit. It will all depend on the objective and whether or not that contibuted to/achieved the objective. Those questions will determine whether the trip - regardless of the cost, which has to include the minister and their staffers' time that could be spent doing something else productive was value for money. But once it is decided a trip is requied, then the quetion of cost/allowable expenses of the trip being excessive comes into play. Apart from obviosuly excessive cases, that is a subjective matter of judgement. I personally didn't think the $100K (was it) for Wells to go to NY with however many staffers given the nature of the work, etc was excessive Yes, it could have been cheaper, but these are not jollies and they should be afforded the facilities that allows them to be effective working in almost diametrcially opposed timezones where they don't have the luxury of time to adjust for jet lag. On the assertion that they are paid enough for their families, I have two points to make. Firstly when pollies have to suffer the lurks of the job - harassment, houding by the press, public admonishment, threats to life, etc,. we all say that is part and parcel of the job, they knew it before they entered it, and we have no sympathy. The perks are also part and parcel of the job - so why are we criticising them for utilising them? Maybe if you can't take your family with you, on the salary you can get, it may dissuade those that have a modicum of competence and you will only be left with the SFMs of the world. Of course we know most pollies at the top aren't the best, but to be honest, compared to the last lot, I will take these ones any day. Secondly, to you or I, $400K is a lot of money. But don't forget, these are really CEOs of large national organisations. If we are going to compare the expenses to large national private enterprises, how much do CEOs of equivlnet sized with equivalent responsibilites in the private side earn? Maybe we should just bump up ministers' salaries accordingly and not let their families travel be on the public purse? As I recall the APS scoundrel who was in charge of one of the government department (Human Services, I think) at the time of Robodebt was on something like $900K/year... And that person reports to a minister! If that were private enterprise, the minister would be earaning more than the officer reporting to them - normally. Sincerely, Devil's Advocate, Esq.

Well, I think Chumpo is the bees knees... (I am planning on visiting a sick friend in the USA... ) Amazing how theiy're about protecting free speech no matter how divisive - only when it is theirs... And how they are so indifferent to people with their own views... and not the snowflakes they like to assert others are.

It really shouldn't be the UNITED States Of America. THAT it definitely is NOT. What do they say? A house divided against Itself shall surely fall. Nev

Buigger going to the USA. I reckon it would be easier to get into North Korea.

They'd use some kind of algorithm. Wouldn't be a human reading your posts. Probably his bum boy Elon had something whipped up for him.

Peter will go straight to Guantanamo if he ever rolls up at a U.S. entry point, after they read all his postings here. Here's something to ponder - I wonder how big the U.S. Customs and Border Protection bureaucracy has become, now that they need to read 10,000 social media postings on every entry to the U.S.? Perhaps they only need to read one anti-Trump statement, and that's it! - you're out the door! 🫣

I guess you don't want to visit the USA anytime soon. Nev

Here's a list of some of the high-flyers as regards spending up big on the public purse, on travel, food and accommodation. Julie Inman-Grant, the e-Safety Commissioner, gets $444,000 in annual salary and booked up $102,769 in travel expenditure just in the last year. I'd have to question just how much of this travel is really necessary, seeing as most ordinary employees have to do video conferences - and I don't think all the family needs to travel business class - which fares are often 5 or 6 times the cost of an economy fare. Note how the travel bookings by public servants surged by 20%, when Qantas offered a double status credits promotion! https://www.senatorpaterson.com.au/news/millions-spent-on-travel

I believe travel by family members should be paid for by the member personally. I don't think many employers pay family members travel. It's been years since I travelled anywhere, and things may have changed. Public funds should only be used for official business travel. I shouldn't have to struggle to put food on the table while paying to send someone else's son off to go skiing or play football.

I'm a Poet but don't Know It. A veritable shaft of wit. I Dart into the Fray, any day. Nev

You're a modern Banjo Patterson! Maybe "Electric Guitar" Patterson.