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Rudd was duty-bound to attend that meeting since he is Australia's ambassador to the USA, and he went as advisor to his "boss", the Prime Minister. Trump's comments were an insult to the Australian people, but one could not expect any better from that person.

Well he has achieved one of his biggest life goals..... Lasting word fame. People will be talking about him for many years to come.

Excellent, I'll start up the "Earth is flat debate continues" thread, because I don't think that one is quite settled either.

We just bought a new property. It had a big gas cooker in the kitchen which we promptly threw out. We are renovating and the house will be all electric, well it is now except for the solar hot water. Our average daily power consumption is 9-10 kWh. There is a 20 year old 1kW solar system with 8 x 125 watt panels which I am replacing with a new 8.8 kW system with 20 x 440 watt bifacial v panels, a 10kW hybrid inverter and an 18.64 kWh battery. In theory I should be able to go off grid. Total cost $11,600.00. The battery is made up of 4 x 4.66 kWh modules which is scalable to 41.93 kWh by just adding modules on top. It is free standing & will live in my big shed. The house is 20 years old and unbelievably the ceiling is uninsulated. Part of the renos is insulation and draught proofing as even efficient air conditioning is quite power hungry. Charging my EV is power hungry but I have a plan that gives me 3 hours of free power a day (11:00 to 14:00) so that is when it is scheduled to charge. I also get power for 8c/kWh from midnight to 6am. There is now so much power produced by rooftop solar that the spot price is often negative in the middle of the day. New solar farms now going in have to include batteries. Early solar farms without them either have to switch off or invest in batteries as they have to pay to put their power in to the grid when the price is negative. Electricity retailers now have plans for home battery owners. Solar feed in tariffs are very low now. I was getting just 0.5 cents/kWh, now 2.8 cents/kWh. A friend who has just added a 30kWh battery gets 15 cents/kWh feed in tariff during peak usage which will come from his battery.

I agree driver training is the answer. My nightmare stretch is the Hay plains, damn dangerous dusk till dawn. I have touched a grey in Blue mountains in a car and a big grey glanced the front wheel down south on BMW bike. No hurt no foul, both were on bush tracks and slow. Us humans have removed vast tree cover ecosystems and replaced it with grasslands and artificial water sources. A perfect Roo environment has been created. It's our fault and we have to live in harmony or at least not conflict with nature. Bounties should be placed for introduced feral animals to totally remove them from the country- the damage they do is extreme. If it does not live on your farm and managed as live stock, it should be culled to zero. That means all goats, cattle, horses, buffalo, camels, pigs, cats, foxes, rabbits, deer, feral dogs etc Dingoes and all other natives must be completely protected as they balance the ecosystem and are native. Limited culling only by professional shooters of Roos for meat, skins and welfare reasons only.. no cowboys or gun junkies. This is a role for a dedicated federal government department with a big workforce on country to implement. The employment, environmental and farm benefits would far outweigh the costs. This should be seen as a national goal and beyond politics but essential to a liveable and sustainable planet. New Zealand is aiming for Zero ferals by 2050. We should do the same.

I really, really don't want to get drawn into this subject because it is a subject where people tend to passionately believe that one side is all good and one side is all bad, when clearly the truth lies somewhere between. I will always condemn unjustifiable violence wherever the perpetrator is, even if it i my own country. No, I do not think that the land has been taken since the 1947 partition plan can be given back. The problem is, though, that the process continues with settlers expanding into the West Bank, etc. Should the Palestinians just accept their territory slowly getting smaller and smaller? Again, I do not condone violence. It was inevitable that after the barbaric acts of October 7, there would be some action by the Israelis. For me, it comes down to proportionality. I am sure it is correct that the Palestinians hate Israelis and that Israelis hate Palestinians. This problem will never be solved until the mutual hatred can be sorted out. I was going to post a bunch of videos, but as I said I don't want to get too involved in a debate that is so polarised. Some of the vids involve settlers driving Palestinian farmers out of their olive orchards at harvest time, also driving away their livestock. A video of Israeli soldiers dragging kids out of bed to check their IDs at gunpoint. How could those kids possibly grow up without hatred? Two Israeli teenage boys beating an aged farmer on his own land. To quote another poster, "Peace does not lie at the end" My point is, it does not lie at the end of a Palestinian gun or an Israeli gun. I guess to sum up, I am definitely not pro-Hamas or pro-Israeli. I merely call out barbarity where I see it. Hamas is brutal, and so are the ultra-far-right members of the Israeli government.

Using Biden's plan. He could have stopped this war long ago by stopping the weapon deliveries to Israel when they started using them to target civilians, journalists, hospitals, schools, residences and basically turning the homeland of a million people into rubble.

Trump said the "No Kings protests" were too small and ineffective. The last person to say that was Stormy Daniels.

A controversial figure and hard-line right-winger for many decades, who eventually turned against the Republican Party and denounced Trump as a cowardly liar, and the worst thing to happen to America in many decades. He voted for Kamala Harris in the last election, such was his abhorrence of Trump and his policies. He suffered from heart problems all his life, and suffered from his first heart attack at 37. He went on to have 5 more, and eventually had a heart transplant in 2012. He was the main promoter of the "War on Terror", the ill-fated campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan that cost America dearly in lives and monetary cost, for not a lot of gain. The terrorist groups are still with us, and democracy has failed in both Iraq and Afghanistan, mainly because it was never able to get a foothold due to cultural and tribal hatreds that go back thousands of years. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/04/politics/dick-cheney-death-obit

They are always on about how fit and healthy he is. It's his mental acuity that's the problem. He may be able to swing a golf club, (I don't see him walking the fairway), but he can barely string two coherent words together. And he can't understand or recall facts.

Rudd had to sit there and take it and Albo had to deflect what could have an even worse situation for Australia's interests, but Rudd was right about Trump the first time.

Better that it was Albo than Ley. I don't think that "best friend" is a good label for Albo. Maybe "diplomatic tightrope walker" might be a better one.

An older, white haired man walked into a jewelry store one Friday evening with a beautiful young gal at his side. He told the jeweler he was looking for a special ring for his girlfriend. The jeweler looked through his stock and brought out a $5,000 ring and showed it to him. The old man said, "I don't think you understand, I want something very special." At that statement, the jeweler went to his special stock and brought another ring over. "Here's a stunning ring at only $40,000," the jeweler said. The young lady's eyes sparkled and her whole body trembled with excitement. The old man seeing this said, "We'll take it." The jeweler asked how payment would be made and the old man stated, by check. "I know you need to make sure my check is good, so I'll write it now and you can call the bank Monday to verify the funds and I'll pick the ring up Monday afternoon," he said. Monday morning, a very teed-off jeweler phoned the old man. "There's no money in that account." "I know", said the old man, "but can you imagine the weekend I had?"

Yep. And I remember saying before the election that, despite his denials, "project 25" was what he would push on the US. He's a scumbag, a liar, a greedy freeloading criminal rapist fraudster, a vindictive and small-minded bigot of the worst type. Every voter in the US either knew these facts or was living under a rock, but they still elected him.

Trouble is his sons are as abhorrent as him, especially the two older ones.

Religion:- Puritanism. The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy. Catholics drink on the front porch, baptists drink on the back porch. We believe life begins at conception,” says the panel’s Catholic priest. “We believe life begins at birth,” says the liberal Protestant. “We believe that life begins when the kids are out of the house and the dog dies,” says the rabbi.

Sitting at the beach at Middleton enjoying the sun. Nice twisty road to get here.

Happy Birthday. And adfter SpecSavers, let's hope you see a lot more of them.

We drove out of our place on the way for a day trip. At the first traffic light, the car behind me beeped. I assume I had raced off quickly enough when the light turned green. After we passed through the intersection, he was still beeping and flashing his lights. I angrily pulled over and threw my door open, ready to confront this person. I slammed my door closed, and as I aggressively strode towards him, he pointed to my car. There was my beloved and expensive SLR camera on the roof of the car. The only reason it had not fallen off was that the neck strap was caught in the door. The man came up and I apologised for the angry gesticulations, and we had a bit of a laugh about it.

At 85 years, Morris marries a lovely 25-year-old woman. Because her new husband is so old, the woman decides that on their wedding night, they should have separate bedrooms. She is concerned that the old fellow could overexert himself. After the wedding festivities, she prepares herself for bed and for the knock on the door she is expecting. Sure enough, the knock comes and there is her 85-year-old groom ready for action. They unite in conjugal union and all goes well, whereupon he takes his leave of her and she prepares to go to sleep for the night. After a few minutes, there's a knock on the door and there old Morris is again, ready for more action. Somewhat surprised, she consents to further coupling, which is again successful. The octogenarian once again bids her a fond good night and leaves. She is certainly ready for slumber at this point, and, after a few more minutes, is close to sleep. But for the third time, there is a knock at the door and there he is again -- fresh as a 25-year-old and ready for more. Again they ravish one another. As they're basking in the afterglow, the young bride says to him, "I am thoroughly impressed that at your age you have enough juice to go at it three times. I've been with guys less than half your age who were only good for one time. You're a great lover, Morris." Morris, looking quite confused, turns to her and asks, "You mean I was here already?"

Spare a thought for poor old Michael O’Leary, Chief Executive of Ryanair. After arriving in a hotel in Manchester, he went to the bar and asked for a pint of Guinness. The barman nodded and said, "That will be £3 please, Mr. O’Leary." Somewhat taken aback, O'Leary replied, "That's very cheap," and handed over his money. "Well, we do try to stay ahead of the competition", said the barman. "And we are serving free pints every Wednesday from 6 pm until 8 pm. We have the cheapest beer in England". "That is remarkable value", Michael comments. "I see you don't seem to have a glass, so you'll probably need one of ours. That will be £4 please." O'Leary scowled, but paid up. He took his drink and walked towards a seat. "Ah, you want to sit down?" said the barman. "That'll be an extra £4. You could have pre-booked the seat, and it would have only cost you £2." "I think you may be too big for the seat sir, can I ask you to sit in this frame please". Michael attempts to sit down but the frame is too small and when he can't squeeze in, he complains "Nobody would fit in that little frame". "I'm afraid if you can't fit in the frame you'll have to pay an extra surcharge of £4 for your seat sir". O'Leary swore to himself, but paid up. "I see that you have brought your laptop with you" added the barman. "And since that wasn't pre-booked either, that will be another £4." O'Leary was so incensed that he walked back to the bar, slammed his drink on the counter, and yelled, "This is ridiculous, I want to speak to the manager". "I see you want to use the counter," says the barman, "that will be £2 please." O'Leary's face was red with rage. "Do you know who I am?" "Of course I do Mr. O'Leary." "I've had enough! What sort of a Hotel is this? I come in for a quiet drink and you treat me like this. I insist on speaking to a manager!" "Here is his e-mail address, or if you wish, you can contact him between 9.00 am and 9.01am every morning, Monday to Tuesday at this free phone number. Calls are free, until they are answered, then there is a talking charge of only £1 per second, or part thereof". "I will never use this bar again". "OK sir, but do remember, we are the only hotel in England selling pints for £3." Have a good weekend.

Humanity has never learned the lessons of the past. Bomber Harris advocated systematic bombing of German cities in an attempt to break the German morale. It didn't work as it hadn't when the Germans were bombing the UK in the Blitz. In Germany it was also an attempt to reduce labour and industrial output. Didn't work either as the Nazis just got slave labour to resolve this. Netanyahu is being propped up by his ultra right wing. If he is ousted he is gone & will be prosecuted & jailed. More likely he will be given asylum by Trump like Assad was by Putin. The majority of Israelis wanted negotiations more than a year ago & the protests since have been growing all the time. Before the war Israel had systematically been taking over the West Bank, detaining and killing Palestinians so it is little wonder that Hamas came in to existence, then power & started to fight back, the wall went up & rockets started flying & eventually the catastrophic events of 2 years ago. This gave Netanyahu & his cronies their opportunity, their aim being to get rid of ALL Palestinians once & for all. Will Trumps declaration of Peace last. Not on your Nellie.

Israel's relentless bombing and destruction in Gaza and displacement and killing of civilians will have created plenty of incentive for new recruits to join Hamas and other anti-Israeli factions. Israel obviously had to act after the October 7 attack by Hamas, and they were justified in trying to destroy the organisation, but in many ways it will have only made the long term problem worse.

I consider all religious organisations as dangerous to the fabric of civilisation. No thinking person would believe that Hamas has made a realistic 'peace deal'. Nor do they think that Hamas believes in a two state solution. They simply wish to wipe out all the other mob - military and civillians alike. BUT.... All that applies to the Israrlies equally. Peace? Bullshit! Forty years ago, a distant acquaintance who worked in the middle east once told me... "The only way to get peace in ME? .... Turn it all into glass" Is that what you suggest, bit by bit, Jerry? Killing all Palestinians won't solve the christian/jew/moslem/power problem. Even when all Palestinians are gone, there is now so much hate that the warring will simply move along to another nearby place.

Grays Auctions, the huge online auction house, that sells anything and everything from table decorations through to cars and massive earthmovers, has been placed into administration, after being fined a record $10M - after the ACCC found Grays had sold at least 750 cars to auction buyers with false and misleading descriptions. In addition, Grays are obliged to offer redress to the affected car buyers. Grays Auctions was founded in 1922 as a family business by the Gray family, and ran onsite auctions, up until around 2000, when it commenced an online auction website. Grays entered the big time when Geoff K. Gray sold 25% of the company to a fund management company, Caledonia (Private) Investments, in 2011. In 2014, Caledonia purchased the remaining 75% of Grays Auctions, and backdoor listed the company on the ASX. However, in 2017, a Fleet Management company named Eclipx purchased the whole of Grays Auctions from Caledonia, and Grays was delisted. Then, in a quick turnaround, in 2019, Eclipx sold Grays again, to another private venture capitalist, Quadrant Private Equity. Eclipx took a major haircut in the deal, buying Grays for $179M, and then selling it to Quadrant for $60M. Eclipx claimed Grays was an "underperforming asset", but a large part of the problem would have been people with no auction skills, trying to run an auction house. Quadrant tried to relist Grays on the ASX again in 2021, but pulled the float deal before it was all finalised. I'll wager there was an inadequate level of monies forthcoming to support the float, as rumours persisted of Grays under-performance. Then the ACCC dropped a bomb on Grays, with the $10M fine, and the orders to redress the buyers losses. Quadrant took a massive haircut on Grays this week, selling Grays to Slatterys Auctions for just $2M. So much for good corporate management. Part of the sale deal was that Slatterys Auctions would pay Grays $10M fine. I don't know if that is actually going to happen. Slatterys is only a modest-sized family auction business - but apparently a fairly successful one. Slatterys have undergone a lot of expansion in recent years, expanding into divisions in nearly every State, from their home town of Newcastle, NSW. Slatterys have promptly placed Grays into administration straight after the sale, as the company is effectively insolvent. That means a lot of Grays creditors are now going to take a massive haircut. Those creditors must range across a wide spectrum, from suppliers to contractors to financiers. It appears Quadrant still have an outstanding debt to financiers from the Grays purchase deal, which debt apparently runs to $145M. Westpac is their major financier. All in all, this whole sorry saga can only be sheeted home to mismanagement by the corporate whizz-kids. Grays charge sellers anything up to 30% commission to sell items through them, and charge buyers up to 25% buyers premium - meaning Grays make a motza, coming and going. I can't really see how they could lose so much money over such a long period of time, especially with the level of trading that Grays do. They sell thousands of cars a month and also sell virtually shiploads of Chinese-sourced products, from household items to a range of industrial products. Grays also operate auctions for a Qld-based company called Excavation Equipment, who import shiploads of Chinese industrial equipment. I don't know how Grays insolvency is going to affect Excavation Equipment, only time will tell, of course. https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/grays-to-redress-consumers-and-pay-10-million-in-penalties-for-misleading-descriptions-of-cars-for-sale-by-auction https://www.itnews.com.au/news/axe-swings-after-179m-grays-online-buy-blows-up-525037 https://www.drive.com.au/news/grays-online-enters-administration-days-after-sale-to-slattery-auctions/

Well, what does that say about your mind, still rambling on about how you were treated years ago? Get stimulated and change or you will be zombified.

Or the Brethren nut jobs insisting they can't vote but campaigning for the LNP

Question: If Sovereign Citizens do not accept the system of government and laws created by those governments, how can they use the legal system based on those laws to seek redress for alleged wrongs?

Spacey, if everyone stopped at a roundabout until there was no traffic on the roundabout, there would be gridlock. That's not what they're designed for.

The Invasion was based on a Lie. Hussein had NO WMD's. Hans Blix was right. Bush was ready to go and DID. Haliburton, Cheney's wife's Company, Made Millions. Nev

Spacey, you're missing the roundabout laws understanding, same as about 50% of the drivers out there. The law states that vehicles entering a roundabout must give way to vehicles already ON the roundabout - and that "give way" is only if a collision is likely to occur, if you don't give way. You do not have to stop turning left in a roundabout, if any vehicle is entering a roundabout from your left, because there's no likelihood of a collision, due to vehicle paths that are not conflicting. The important part of roundabouts is to merge when you judge a suitable gap. Many people think they have to stop and look both ways at roundabouts and wait for someone on their right to stop, this is a lack of understanding as to how roundabouts work. Roundabouts are to keep traffic moving, you enter a roundabout anytime you judge you can fit into the traffic flow, without making someone on your right, brake.

This shows Trump's character perfectly. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-03/trump-says-uk-royals-suffered-with-pressure-over-epstein-scandal/105966134 In short he says Andrew's loss of royal titles is a "terrible thing for the (royal) family" and he feels sorry for them. Notice he doesn't feel sorry for the woman who was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17 and he was 40, and has since taken her own life. Probably because he himself has things to fear from the Epstein files. After all, when you're famous like him you can just grab women on the pussy, can't you! So it's a terrible thing when another rich entitled prick actually faces some consequences for his behaviour, even if they are too little and far too late. And this is the man you admire GON? "Trump good"?

And that is what a competent diplomat would do. He took a bullet for Australia's interests.

Experts analysed K.RUDDS water sipping and facial expressions . HE was in a bad way as in "scared $#!tless". ALBO laughed to try to reduce the damage of Trumps Gross lack of Decorum which unchecked Could have stuffed the whole thing UP. Your TAKE on IT, GON is aligned with your Bias. Nev

Yep, just tried off someone else's plate. Mainly tasted of the garlic it was cooked in. I wasn't moved enough ever to order them myself.

This thread has gone too quiet. Time to wake it up again..... A Ukrainian migrant goes to the Department of Motor Transport to apply for a driver's license. He has to take an eye test. The clerk shows him a card with the letters: C Z W I X N O S T A C Z "Can you read this?" the clerk asks." "Read it?" the Ukrainian replies, "I went to school with the arsehole."

GON. There is no way to bring back the good ole daze of USA. It's too late. Besides, neither TRump nor maga, nor the republicans can suddenly make USA productive. Their culture is not going to allow it. TRump is simply fast tracking their fade away from the global stage.

Get your head out of your a**e.

I dug this one up from back in 2004. You can change the names but the message still applies today..... "President George Bush was in the Oval Office wondering which country to upset next, when his telephone rang... "Hallo, President Bush" a heavily accented voice said. This is Archie, up 'ere at the Harp Seal Pub in Badger's Cove, Newfoundland, Canada ey? I am callin' to tells ya dat weare officially declaring war on you ey!" "Well Archie," George replied, "This is indeed important news! How big is your army?" "Right now," said Archie, after a moments calculation "there is myself, me cousin Harold, me next-door-neighbor Mick, and the whole dart team from the pub. That makes eight!" George paused. "I must tell you Archie, that I have one million men in my army waiting to move on my command." "Holy jeez," said Archie. "I'll have ta call ya back!" Sure enough, the next day, Archie called again. "Mr. Bush, the war is still on! We have managed to acquire some infantry equipment!" "And what equipment would that be Archie?", George asked. "Well sir, we have two combines, a bulldozer, and Harry's farm tractor." President Bush sighed. "I must tell you Archie, that I have 16,000 tanks and 14,000 armoured personnel carriers. Also I've increased my army to one and a half million since we last spoke." "Lard T'underin' Jaysus, bye", said Archie, "I'll be getting back to ya." Sure enough, Archie rang again the next day. "President Bush, the war is still on! We have managed to git ourselves airborne! We up an' modified Harrigan's ultra-light wit a couple of shotguns in the cockpit, and four byes from the Legion have joined us as well!" George was silent for a minute then cleared his throat. "I must tell you Archie that I have 10,000 bombers and 20,000 fighter planes. My military complex is surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we last spoke, I've increased my army to TWO MILLION!" "Jeysus, Mary and Joseph," said Archie,"I'll have ta call youse back." Sure enough, Archie called again the next day. "President Bush! I am sorry to have to tell you dat we have had to call off dis 'ere war." "I'm sorry to hear that" said George. "Why the sudden change of heart?" "Well, sir," said Archie, "we've all sat ourselves down and had a long chat over a bunch of pints, and come to realize dat dere's no way we can feed two million prisoners." CANADIAN CONFIDENCE CANNOT BE SHAKEN!

It is thought that at least some of these boats were fishing boats. GON if some of these people were not drug smugglers, and the ones that were were almost certainly not headed for the USA (range of these boats not sufficient to reach the USA) do you care if innocents have been blown to pieces? Undoubtedly, not all of these people blown to pieces were not drug dealers. Two people survived an attack on what was thought to be a fishing boat. These two were not arrested or tried but sent back to their home country. It could have been a little embarrassing if they were questioned in court. Something navies are good at is stopping and boarding boats. Why not board and search these vessels and arrest and interrogate to gain intelligence about drug networks? I suspect part of the reason is to appease Trump's moron followers. Civilised countries do not carry out extrajudicial executions. Certainly, the military is not comfortable with blowing people out of the water who may or may not be drug smugglers. Top admiral steps down abruptly amid drug boat strikes On top of that, the US is building up its military off the coast of Venezuela U.S. deploys aircraft carrier to waters off South America in major military escalation Nation Oct 24, 2025 3:34 PM EDT As well as that, Trump claims that there are CIA agents operating in Venezuela, so much for that Nobel Peace Prize

Trump is giving a lot of attention to His New Ballroom, I don't reckon he'd need much. Nev

Here's another oldie. A man was walking down the street when he saw a beggar sitting in a doorway, begging for money for a meal. The man said, "If I give you $20, will you spend it on alcohol?" The beggar replied, "No, I gave up drinking 18 years ago." The man said, "If I give you $25, will you spend it on fishing?" The beggar replied, "No, I sold my boat and fishing gear 15 years ago." The man said, "OK, come home with me and my wife will cook you a nice homecooked meal, and I'll still give you the $25." The beggar asked, "Won't your wife be angry?" The man replied, "Maybe, but I just want her to see what a man looks like when he gives up drinking and fishing."

Me? Well I do think it is OTT to flatten cities and kill 60,000 civillians just because the baddies might be hiding behind innocent people. Even in our land we have little power to control the actions of the 'governing' (ruling) mob. I suspect that regardless of their religion, the average Palestinians have little say in whether the power individuals stand behind them or in front of them.