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I've figured out some positives. Life is good. We've had twenty seven inches of rain so far this year and the country is looking great. It's finally stopped raining and the beautiful clear and cool weather is here. I have a debt free roof over my head, lots of food, a motor car that works, I can walk, talk, breathe, hear and see and have plenty of fun stuff to do. The first photo is the front yard, the second is the back yard, and the third photo is my best mate outside the kitchen window trying to shame me into giving him some dog biscuits. I've known him since he was born, so he's known me his entire life. There's nowhere I'd rather be.

Circumstances change. What may appear to have been appropriate or good policy at one time, before an election, may be totally incorrect later. Rigidly sticking to an idea which is no longer appropriate just to avoid being accused of lying is irresponsible. One has to change with the tide.

My eldest son is 18 today. Couldn't be prouder of the fine young man he's become. 😊

A Moderator has issued a warning to Brendan, mainly for abusive posts. As a Moderator myself, I was wondering to myself if, due to the deterioration of the standard of debate we have come to expect, that this thread should be closed. The question has lead to inflammatory remarks, which are actually well off topic since the remarks have been personal attacks. However, closing a thread, no matter what the topic, could be seen as censorous, a denial of a freedom to express an opinion ON THE SENTIMENT OF THE TOPIC. Therefore, I have reached the conclusion that the thread should remain open. The point is, let's get back on topic. Perhaps we should move on to discussing the question, "Is a two-party system the most efficient way to provide governance to a Nation?" We have good examples of governments comprised of representatives of all political philosopies coming together to work for the good of a Nation. Consider teh British governmetn in WWII, and even the Australian Government in the same period. Let's have no more personal attacks. Let's raise ourselves out of the ralm of gutter politics. Say your piece on the topic, and back your statements on sources that can be examined.

I never drink alone but it would be better if I didn't drink at all. It costs and is NOT good for you. . Especially Distilled stuff. (Liver Cirrhosis) My wife invents occasions to celebrate.. Good wine is my favourite poison. Life is too short to drink bad wine , drive Land Rovers and eat British food. That's an old one. MAYBE the Land Rovers have improved. Nev

you reckon labour are doing a good job. net zero is costing us a fortune and in the end it will be dropped because it is unviable. bowen is a clown. every day we here about another labour minister abusing allowancees. labour in victoria have handed organised crime 15 billion or more using the big build as a front. jacintas idea for more housing is to build towers all over melbourne because they will come under cmfeu control. they don't get involved in residential home builds so no promoting that. daniel andrews left before he had to face the music but not before he amassed 90 million for himself. there is so much more than that too. andrews tripled workers comp policys overnight and that makes life hard for us employers . i never used to be interested in politics at all but these criminal and corrupt politicians made me take notice. i actually voted for andrews when he first ran. the other choice was napthine and his incompetent mates. now albo the liar is breaking his ellection promises and bringing far too many immigrants with no regard to infastructure. and labour believes criminals should all be set free with no consequences for thier actions. one nation might have its faults but they will be better than what we have now.

It's a beautiful day. I'm going for a ride shortly. Thinking Bothwell way.

if you took the time to listen you would realise she is not rascist. thats just a word lefties like to throw around when they have nothing better. you still love albo and snake chalmer even after all the lies and the damage to our land and economy with the stupid net zero plan that most countries have abandoned. hopefully labour are out at the next election and the country can recover. go one nation . out with the left and the woke clowns.

There was a TV show set in Melbourne with the actors satarised their being Greek. The show was called Acropolis Now. One of the characters was Effie, played by Mary Coustas. The character "Effie", was a stereotypical second-generation Greek Australian prone to malapropisms. A common one of hers was " how embarassment". https://www.facebook.com/nickg1/videos/the-first-time-that-now-iconic-phrase-howembarrassment-was-heard-on-aussie-tv-on/2132406587584055/

The last census showed approx 1 million homes unoccupied on census night. That shows a lack of homes is not the issue but house hoarding. A clear case of a broken and unethical taxation regime.

Whoa.. There were a few spicy pages I just caught up on. 🙂 I think it is fair to say the two party system is in transition. To what - who knows? I will leave the performance of Albo and his crew to the appropriate thread. However, it is clear that there is a perception that neither of the two majors are truly representing the majority of Aussies at the moment. And, from the polls, it is clear the libs at least (and possibly the Nats) aren't thought to be at all representing their traditional base. Labor, at least federally, seem to be not too far off their normal primary vote; I read it was somewhere around the 28% mark; not too much lower than the last federal election of, from memory, about 32%. At the same time, there is a perception (real or otherwise) that the gap is ever widening between the haves and have nots and that blame is being successfully laid at the feet immigration, which plays into both fear and bigotry. This is because more and more of what was the middle class is being squeezed more and more. For various reasons, which would take a book to go through, blame has successfully been laid at the feet of immigration. This results in a perception the immigrants are taking away previous little resources that the majority of the population have to fight for, and along comes Pauline with her silver bullet fixes to everyone's problems. The Libs had their time and between Morrison and Dutton (with a little Littleproud thrown in), screwed things up so royally, they were booted out (Albo technically won, but in the famous words of Bill Hayden - a drover's dog would have won that election). To his credit, he took an early lump in the form of the Voice, licked his wounds, and then did a reasonable job. But hubris seems to be setting in (early) as it inevitably does, and he is no longer looking like he is really looking after the majority of the people he purports to represent. Having said that, the loss of primary vote is probably not much more than a protest vote - yet. The Libs seem to be so far removed from reality, that all but their most ardent supporters seem to have jumped ship. It's hard to understand precisely what they stand for. If I was a betting person, I would suggest in 5 - 10 years, without a complete about-face, they will fade into oblivion. Which may leave a two party system - Labor and Phon.. Or more likely, some other party will spring up as the Greens seem to be marginalising themselves (or at least no one is covering them much anymore). Or there may be more parties, in which case it is likely to become lie some European countries where coalitions are formed and broken. Whilst I support the key budget changes on economic grounds, there is a lot more that can be done. And, people like David Pocock are using social media effectively to get a message across of what is wrong with Labor and the LNP. Just google or youtube him and you will see what I mean.

It seems like most of the political journos are writing and saying that the rise of One Nation has meant the end of the two party system as we've known it. It might come to that, where we have three main parties for a period of time. Or One Nation could flame out, the coalition eventually rebuilds, and we're back to the old two party system. I don't follow European politics much, but some of those countries seem to have multi parties and they try to cobble together a coalition of parties after the election to get a governing majority. It makes me wonder if that's the direction we're heading here in Australia.

If you think the current crop of Federal Labor politicians are crooked and liars, you must have a short memory. Johnny Howard was a pretty good liar when it suited his aims. He took us into an unnecessary and useless War in Iraq, selling us American lies disguised as Truth. If Hanson gets any kind of power, she'd be right up there with Trump, sending all our Defence personnel and equipment to help in his unpopular, illegal, and unconstitutional Iranian War. I quoted the Hancocks, because Hanson adores Gina Hancock, takes millions from her, and thereby owes her "big-time", and would do whatever Gina insisted, such as ensuring unions were gutted - just like America, where workers rights don't exist, only continuous concessions to huge corporations. This American bloke in the video below points out how Australia is the land of robber barons, enriching themselves annually beyond the ordinary persons wildest dreams - whilst not working any harder than a lot of everyday employees. The corporate control over all over polticians is frightening - but the right wing politicians continually concede major concessions to them, thus making the everyday cost of living harder and harder for ordinary Australians. Hanson would be a pushover for corporate greed, and corporate greed drives a lot of Australia's basic problems. https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/other/the-real-power-structure-controlling-australia-s-economy/vi-AA21hRmY

One problem is that during an election, the electorate doesn't really want to hear the truth. Take house affordability. Most people acknowledge that homes, especially for first-time buyers, are way too expensive. A politician who promises to lower housing prices will surely do well until people who actually own a home realise that devaluing housing prices devalues their property as well. Not a great election pitch to existing home owners. Note, I personally am fine with that; you can't have everything. I find that voters at election time are rather like kiddies sitting on Santa's lap. They just want to be told what is in it for them.

Same here. I like wine but decided at the start of the year that I'd stop buying it unless it was a special occasion. As I'm mostly by myself in the house it's not a good habit to get into. The second glass is always a bit bigger than the first. Anyway, I haven't missed it at all and the recycling bin is a lot less noisy when I put it out these days, so that's a positive.

I can relate to this. I mostly have 1 bottle a week, but these days Mrs Octave doesn't drink much at all so I end up drinking most of it. Whilst I am pretty moderate (mostly) if there is an open bottle, I will finish it. We are just experimenting with going out to a wine bar and having just one nice glass rather than a whole moderately priced bottle. Four times a year Mrs Octave is away for a week, so I tend to overdo it. When visiting my son in NZ I do fall into a bit of a trap. His household is pretty nerdy. They brew beer which is stored under the house and is piped into the kitchen. There are 3 taps with 3 different delicious home brews. A new addition is gin, which they distil themselves. There are bottles in a rack with a dispenser. This is a little problematic when I am cooking. Chop some onions, fill glass, saute onions fill glass, etc.

By labour, I guess you mean Labor. Here is a breakdown of the levels of crime per state. Here is how the states and territories generally break down by safety and crime rates: Here is how the states and territories generally break down by safety and crime rates: Northern Territory: Highest per-capita crime rate nationally. Cities like Alice Springs and Darwin often top national per-capita crime lists. [1, 2, 3] Queensland: Has the highest crime rate among the major eastern states, with surging rates of assault, break-ins, and youth-related property crime. [1, 2, 3] Victoria: Frequently ranks highly on a per-capita basis, with recent statistics indicating record highs in criminal incidents—particularly in the Melbourne CBD and specific regional centres. [1, 2] New South Wales: Despite the high total volume of reported crimes (driven by its large population), its per-capita crime rates are relatively low compared to the rest of the country. [1, 2] Australian Capital Territory: Consistently considered one of the safest jurisdictions in Australia with significantly lower crime rates. [1, 2, 3] If you are making a connection between Labor governments and crime, you have to account for the fact that NSW has a low per capita crime rate. Is this an achievement of the NSW Labor government? The ACT has been governed by Labor since 2001 and has significantly lower crime. I am not spruiking for Labor here, I am not a party political person. In one of your posts you link to an ABC News site, which is lists all the crime stories. These are Australia-wide, not just Victorian. If you keep doomscrolling, of course, you will become anxious. I live in Victoria, and of course, I would like crime to be as low as possible; however, you have to keep things in perspective.

I'd actually argue that the rise of call centres is the cause of bad customer service. Businesses think that the number of calls answered and the wait times are the only KPI that matters. Staff don't have in depth business knowledge because they're hired, trained for a week then told to follow the script. A good employee who knows the business may spend 10 minutes or more sorting out a difficult problem. However if they spend this amount of time on one call they'll be reprimanded. The short sightedness of this is that the 10 minute call may have stopped the client ring back another 5 times, getting progressively more annoyed and then telling everyone they know how bad that business is.

I didn't think that JerryA said 'its better'. Sure. But not just USofA. It's a first step toward starting to address the sorry state of affairs in all our various democracies. All the world should be cleaning up their (our) own back yatd. More importantly for us, along with rising the ire of the voters, it brings the whole issue of corruption into the public awareness. Politicians must be aware of the groundswell of discontent. The polls have been showing it for years. We are tired of turning a blind eye to corruption whilst hoping for crumbs of integrity. It should be seen by the political parties as a big warning that the voters want a better deal - one where the wellbeing of the public is served better than the corrupting moneyed minorities (such as tax avoiding business entities)

For a while now, finding the Money for essentials when living on the OA Pension is a big challenge and the Boss and I have a few Medical challenges. She had open Heart surgery about 8 years ago and I have a very thorough Neuro person who is always Making me do tests and imaging. Yesterday we were in Bayside St Kilda and a low flying formation Led by a DC3 flew above and out over the Bay at about 1500 feet with magnificent noises coming from it's radial Motors. That Plane would be well over 80 Years old and Pt Phillip Bay was like a Millpond. Other Places in the World are Being bombed daily by R soles. Nev

I'm doing a lot of thinking about the Hereafter. I go to a cupboard and think, "What am I here after?"

Wille, you have just described my worst fears. Although I am not alone, that path of losses and degraded quality of life is my worst dread of all. And not just for myself. I feel badly for my wife having to go through that on her own if I lose my marbles. But for now, we take each day - one at a time - and find something positive to offset the gripes - of - the - day. Last night we went out to the local historic theatre (run by volunteers fighting the boredom of ageing). Watched an engaging but forgotten old movie. Today is the first sunny day for weeks. And I have good reason to get out of bed; It's my turn to put croissants in the oven for breakfast.

I admit that at first I thought that Donold was just using theatrical BS to wind up the dumb redneck voters. It was all just an act, to get the top job. How wrong I was. I didn't believe that anybody could be that dumb, foolish, shallow, narcisstic and sociopathic, and yet survive to such an age without somebody topping him. And I mean, before he ran for president the first time. But here we are. Not only that, but he gathered together so many like minded people to protect and enable his corruption without any thought or consideration for the wellbeing of the people.

I was reading an article about "Libyan desert glass" today, and how the scientists are totally perplexed on how it formed. It is primarily silicon, but it contains microscopic zircon crystals - and it has been fused at temperatures unlike anything ever found on Earth - even in molten magma. The general opinion is that it formed in a meteorite burst over Libya in antiquity - but the scientists still say that doesn't fully explain the intricate atomic patterns found inside the glass. More recent scientific studies say the Libyan desert glass was formed via a massive asteroid impact. But the problem with that line of investigation is - there is no impact crater anywhere near the Libyan desert, capable of supporting that story. The experts claim the crater is depply buried under the desert sands and needs more investigative work to find it. In the article, they showed the Winged Scarab Pendant found in King Tut's tomb. It contains Libyan Desert Glass amongst the inlaid gemstones. Now, just looking at the close up of the pendant, I'm blown away by the skills, the complexity and the workmanship in this pendant. The experts say the ancient Egyptians were a race of primitive idol-worshippers who somehow managed some impressive building feats such as the Pyramids, using primitive transport methods. They had no electricity, no high-tech steels, only wood-fired furnaces, no modern grinding equipment, and supposedly just primitive hand tools. I call BS on those suppositions - these people were an advanced race with skills and equipment equalling modern techniques. It takes over 1000°C to melt gold, and intricate, high-tech tools to work it - to cut gemstones - and it takes artisans of exceptional skill to cut and shape those stones and fabricate the precious metals into shape. Take a close look at this pendant, you can expand the photo substantially to see the detail. https://egypt-museum.com/winged-scarab-pendant-of-tutankhamun/

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.

A person I know has a house or two in town that are unoccupied. Why? Because of the costs of repairing the damage that tenants cause. That is probably one of the reasons for the numbers of vacant houses.

As the 4th July 2026 approaches, I feel sorry for the average American. That will be the day they celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which they hold as being the date of the creation of their nation. Actually, independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain was gained on 3rd September, 1783 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, whereby the British monarchy acknowledged the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, leading to the establishment of the United States as an independent and sovereign nation. Be that as it may, sometime in 2026 the American people get to celebrate the creation of their nation. From 1775 to 1781 battles were fought by the residents of the Thirteen Colonies to gain independence from Great Britain. From 1783 those residents and millions of migrants who arrived as free persons or slaves built a nation that by the 20th Century became the most powerful amongst nations, held in awe by all others. That was until the begining of 2025 when a freely elected government set about destroying it through avarice which led to the engaging in all sorts of activities considered to be corrupt and/or authoritarian. As a result of those activities, the shining light that was American Democracy has been dulled. I well remember how in 1976 the American people celebrated the 200th anniversary of their Nation's founding. It was a time of great happiness. I am so sad that in 2026, the American people cannot celebrate this further milestone with the same degree of happiness, all due the the actions of a narcissist who never possessed the abilities required of the leader of a Nation. One can only hope that by the 275th anniversary, the American nation has recovered from its present situation.

To clarify, the word average was quoted in the thread title "Sympathy for the AVERAGE American." This is why I included the word average, not as a mathematical statement. Some have suggested that Americans (average or otherwise) are not worried about Trump, so my point is that come the midterms, we will know what they do think or at least what those who vote think.

On the basis that current aged voters would die out, yes. But it ignores two other things. First, and less likely, the new found popularity of one nation will result in those offspring and impressionable of those new found voters being conditioned into following... Of course, most of the new found voters probably have adult kds where it is too late (hence, less likely). But, as we age, our ideology tends to change - usually moderate more than flip.. But there are enough people on the boundaries that may keep PHON in popularity or even increase it (assuming every other factor stays the same). I just mentioned it as a possible outcome, but if UK experience is anything to go by - and indeed US experience - the electorate may well have had enough that something really bad has to happen before they change their tune. On any other electoral system, Farage and UK Reform would possibly be the second or likely third party in the UK House of Commons today - straight past the post averted that. Chump is in because of the protest vote - the die-hard MAGA base is not enough to give them more than a few states (yes, Chump is Republican, but lets face it, their national elections are usually based on the presidential candidates). Pauline#s rise is not dissimilar to Farage's.. disenfranchised population, structural unfairness, immigration concerns, etc. And now, a rise in the polls; the difference is Reform are now polling ahead of anyone else. Both parties have the same issues - candidate vetting is terrible, controlled by billionaires and open about it, offering cheap solutions to difficult problems, etc. It is likely, unless Labour in the UK turn things around quickly, Reform will be the next government (Conservatives are in the same position as the Libs). Then the shit will hit the fan and as the British are less rusted on, Reform will hopefully implode before they can do too much damage, or will at least be booted out and we will never hear of them or their people again. Although Albo is far less unpopular than Starmer, it is plausible that without Labor turning it around, Pauline could make a decent go of it at the next election.. definitely not a majority, but with preferential voting, you may well see quite a few One Nation taken seats in the House of Reps. That would give her enough to make a dent, but not enough to extend them the rope to hang themselves (metaphorically to those sensitive to Pauline). If Labor continue, then as long as ON don't royally screw up, they could be in for a treat in 2031. It is not that far away (and assuming no early elections called). At the polls stand today, they look to be the majority party on a "two-party" preferred basis, where if one substituted them for the Libs/Nats in that race. As it is, they are polling well ahead of the Lib/Nats. Once they are in, if they are, like Reform, they would likely screw everything up and we will never hear of them again. So, while I agree, they are a fringe riding a wave of discontent, there is a more than tight probability they will become a major at the next election and the libs will pay for it. Agreed. this is the major reason for voter discontent; it's just the billionaires are great at getting a manipulated message out to the population it is identity politics (pick whatever you like) that is the problem. She had so many "I don't do policy on the run" responses to basic policy questions - I would put her more like Joe BP - "Don't you worry about that!"

The ABC has a very good and highly relevant article on the current death of democracy, brought about by a common failure to tax billionaires, which leads to autocracy, and therefore excessive concentration of important decision-making power, into a small number of unelected super-rich people. What the article fails to include, is the point that concentration of wealth in just a few peoples hands, leads to a constant cost squeeze on the middle class and working class, who end up bearing the brunt of the taxation payments. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-17/democracy-cannot-survive-trillionaires-gabriel-zucman-elon-musk/106798842

If they interview the bird, maybe it can answer that age-old question of why it was crossing the road...

I am travelling to Aus for a couple of weeks - up to a month in mid-July. I am guessing that will become a gripe for you fellas 🙂 It's not the flight, nor the destination, but the purpose. what I call YAMD - yet another mercy dash. At least this time, it is not for a couple of days. I will be between my brother's place in Canterbury and my mother's place in the Yarra Valley - as well as Port Arlington, where my brother has his retirement place. Sadly, my mum has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and I am coming out for the prognosis scan. Then it will be making arrangements after that. Also, both my brother and I want to get her wishes, because, the feeling when my father was in ICU being asked by the doc to play dog was not a good one. And that time will come, so I want us to be prepared - as I have prepared my family for my inevitable demise. All good things must come to an end, unf. But, it will be a recce trip as well, so not all gripes. I will take a look at a parcel of land I intend to build my "retirement" lifestyle on - and yes - it will be GA/RAAA based. In addition, I will try to nip up to Sydney to introduce myself to our Aussie office and see if there may be any offerings in the future move - which is not far, now - end of year max - will explain in the reno thread. I won't have time to do any flying, plus I don't have an Aussie medical at the moment (couldn't get a mygov id in time for my last medical here.).

Labor changed their mind to HELP first Home Buyers get a leg on the Ladder of Home Ownership They knew Some would take the Opportunity to have a go at them but took the risk. Is THAT a BAD thing? Look where the Nat's/ Libs are NOW and it's looking worse for them every day. . Them's just the FACTS. For a Long time, all they have done is say NO and obstruct. The People have decided.. Nev

It sounds sad, but today marks 3 months a good mate has not visited at all. He actually stopped visiting in mid Jan, but popped in in mid Feb when another mate visited. And again, very quickly met up with me when I met an old work colleague in Mid March - but it was just a very quick visit that time - only one glass of wine. Of course, that mate is Wolfie (and his cohorts). Funny thing is, I haven't missed it. I got my partner a bottle of Plantagnet Chardy (a personal favourite for what you can get here these days), which she duly appreciated. I did sneak a sip and say to her, "This is a good wine, right" to which she was quite agreeable. I didn't like it at all! The most tempting time to have a drink was when I was in Frankfurt a couple of weeks ago. It was lovely weather and we were treated to dinner at a tavern, where the beers looked so tempting. Even when I was at the cricket with some Aussie and English mates last week - in the social club so with nice sit down meal and a flowing bar - I wasn't tempted. I feel I have lost a friend - and it is, in this case, cause for a celebration (Now I have to ditch the confectionery)

You talk a lot of shit, mate. Your right-wing parties are so useless they couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery if they bought their own glasses. As soon as Hanson gets any kind of power, she'll be asking Gina Hancock to help run the country. And Hancock is just a robber baron, shafting every Australian, while she claims we should all bow down and be grateful to her, for ripping all our minerals out of the ground so she can make more millions without lifting a finger. She gets multiple millions a year for just collecting royalties and pays no tax, because it all goes into the Hancock Family Trust. Her old man built a $20M mansion, pissing in everyones face with his blatant ripoff iron ore money, while ordinary people did it tough. Then when his Filipino floozy widow looked like taking over the iron ore income stream, Gina spent multiple tens of millions on lawyers to make the Filipino floozy get just a couple of million, and nothing else. Then Gina flattened the mansion, less than 20 years after it was built. Is this the kind of people you want running Australia? Australia is the land of lack of competition, monopolies, robber barons, and corporate lobbyists who would twist Hanson around their fingers, if Hanson ever got any kind of political power - so they could get more corporate rorts, and more extreme wealth. Now we have BHP refusing to pay electricians good money for doing a prick of a job in extreme dust and heat, and a Liberal or ON Govt would back BHP to the hilt, claiming unions were being greedy. They're the ones who know what greed looks like. Meantimes, corporate CEO's get salaries that look like Lotto wins every week, while they claim they can't pay workers any more money. Banducci, CEO of Woolworths, gets close on $10M in salary and perks, while he shafts Woolies customers and Woolworth employees. Joyce got $25M annually for shafting Qantas customers, and employees. At least Labor goes in to bat for the battlers, the pensioners, the veterans, and those who can't get a step up the rung of the wealth ladder. Labor tries to adjust the tax system so the housing bubble doesn't explode, and tries to help young people acquire an affordable home - and all the Landcruiser-driving, big boat boat-owning, multiple property owners and developers, start screeching they've been shafted, and Labor is a pack of arseholes. No, it's the greedy property owners who keep wanting million-dollar property gains every year, while they pay only a pittance in tax, thanks to all their wangled tax deductions - such as the Landcruisers and boats - who are shafting every Australian, and getting "unjust riches" from property investment. Crime has always been with us, you watch too much TV and social media crap, that blows crime out of all proportion. Were you complaining about gun crime in the 1990's when shootings were just as common as today, but only occasionally reported? When we had the worst massacre Australia has ever had, with 35 people shot down by one bloke, just for fun? What about the Hoddle St massacre, or the Fathers Day massacre in Milperra? Those people weren't recent immigrants. Car thefts were massive in the 1980's and 1990's, and immobilisers were introduced to try and stop it. So car thefts went down for a while, now the car thieves have electronic devices to beat immobilisers. We have more people in jail than ever, and yet you claim crims are getting away with crimes constantly. Not much has changed - just the rabid, rapid-fire media reporting that has increased, because the media of today want stories that attract clicks and eyeballs. You need to take a hard look at yourself and your one-eyed, right wing rants, or go to America and join the MAGA nutters who claim Trump has all the answers, too. And I forgot to add, Hanson thinks Trump has all the answers as well, she worships him as the answer to the worlds problems. So we'll get a Trump-style Govt, if Hanson gets any political power. Decisions on the fly, with no reference to anyone, and decisions reversed daily, so no-one knows what's going on. Hanson is a stunt-puller, and carries the same level of nastiness as Trump, abusing people, including allies, and causing disruption, left right and centre. Albo and Chalmers are doing their best with what they got handed, and a lot of what they got handed, came from Liberal Govt decisions.

Whilst I don't doubt that there are problems to be worked out, it is not insurmountable. Consider a sport such as wrestling or boxing. Within one gender, there is a range of sizes and weights. They don't pair up a 110kg competitor with a 60kg competitor. They have weight classes. The fact is that sport only works when it is competitive. We don't team up professionals with amateurs; it would not be interesting to watch. The point is that these problems have solutions. In any case, the sports argument is often that is presented is "what about sport" as if this is an argument against trans is and an argument about sports. Now personally, I have little interest sport however, I suspect these issues of competitiveness regarding gender are as solvable as problems of different weight and size, as well as experience.

Yep - no skills, but she wants to fly the plane.......

SWMBO is good at booking us into shows such as rock tribute bands or classical guitarists (she loves classical guitar), so we get out and about, and dress up and socialise. It's very necessary to keep up a social life as you age, or you just become an old stay-at-home grump. That's the reason I have my block in the wheatbelt, and all my restoration projects and shed-building plans and construction. I get out into the country around 3 times a week, that in itself is invigorating. I get a change of pace, and I get mental stimulation repairing equipment, buying (and selling) parts and components, and I get to meet new people in that country town regularly. My wheatbelt block neighbour is a fencer, and has an excavator, tip truck and a Dingo, and he's always coming in looking for a BS session, help with something, or even giving me surplus fencing materials and steel he doesn't need. He can't weld for sh**, so he always gets me to do little welding jobs for him. Life is good. We're off to see the Lightscape show in Kings Park soon, we went last year, but it was July 17th, and it was absolutely pouring with rain! You can't pick your day, you get tickets for a set day and time, and that's it - you take your chances with the weather. The lightscape show last year was absolutely spectacular. I took a swag of photos, then lost them when my Motorola phone crapped itself completely. https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=LSPTOURS26&utm_source=ovation&utm_medium=pmax&utm_campaign=LSPTOURS26&utm_content=conversion&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23841141822&gbraid=0AAAAADpZSCT_kspIAeL1Pye-3H_K2rlTo&gclid=Cj0KCQjwrZTRBhDSARIsAHidYfcriQwFvXDUHdq0eIP10u5K_mfUlQsVSlUoudQ4XtUW5aLccL7Dou4aAr1oEALw_wcB

It's interesting that Trump and the MAGA mob have just lost an important gubnertorial election in Iowa to a Democrat by the name of Zach Lahn. Lahn defeated the Republican incumbent, Trump-backed Randy Feenstra. Despite Iowa being a big support zone for Trump, with the State being a huge farming State - Lahn won on multiple angles associated with health issues that the State is grappling with. Des Moines water is so polluted with nitrate run-off into water aquifers, they have had to install special filtration equipment. Cancer rates are skyrocketing in Iowa, and a lot of Iowan people (including farmers) believe high levels of pesticide and herbicide use is to blame for both problems. Trump is trying to ensure Monsanto can't be sued, and has watered down EPA laws and controls. The Iowans see it differently, they want Monsanto held to account, and EPA laws and regulations kept in place. Lahn campaigned on the MAHA ticket - Make America Healthy Again, a vocal group who claim that Americans suffer from an epidemic of chronic illnesses, driven by ultra-processed foods, environmental toxins, over-medicalisation, and corporate corruption within the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. MAHA is championed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Lahn also campaigned on reducing major corporate ownership and control of farmland. This is an interesting turn of events, a Red State turning against Trumps corporate-loving policies.

They're awful things; two things I don't miss about out there are corrugations and flies. The worst corrugations I've ever encountered were on the Kintore road after you turn off the Tanami road. From the turnoff it's about 375 klm to Kintore and about 200 klm of that was really bad corrugations with no let up hour after hour. It was the sheer distance of the corrugated section that made it so bad. We had a couple of casualties - one of the towed dongas had some suspension come apart so we had to take the wheel off and chain the axle up. The worst bit was late in the afternoon when a fuel tanker on the back of a body truck split a seam. We off loaded as much fuel as we could into trucks, machines and Toyotas but had to leave the tanker truck there overnight. Moving it would have ruptured it more and been a major fuel spill. With the level lowered, the pressure behind the leak wasn't as bad but it still lost a lot onto the road which the local council wasn't happy about. We borrowed a heap of 44's from a local station and a couple of the blokes came back with the float and a hand pump and offloaded fuel into the drums. They were going all night and into the next day to get all the fuel, about three trips they did. We found the best trucks to handle that rough country were the W series Kenworths. The cabs held up much better than Macks and other makes. You could buy some really good second hand road train rated W series trucks at fairly cheap prices. For the people selling them, they were no longer viable or economical for highway work, but they were still good for many years of desert bashing.

Thanks octave, that brings back a lot of childhood memories. As a kid I had mates who lived in the local small town and I sometimes stayed with them on weekends and got to do town kid stuff. A few of our activities involved the steam trains that were the common train back then. The rail bridge had a small nook in the concrete abutment directly below the train line, so two or three of us could squeeze in there and watch the trains go over our heads only inches way. It was exciting stuff, a lot of anticipation when we heard the noise and vibration of the train coming, and then totally cacking ourselves as it passed overhead. Sometimes we got burnt a bit but that was ok, it was all good fun until we eventually got busted. When the train drivers were shunting wagons on the spur line they would let us ride up with them in the loco and work the brake lever and stuff like that.

The imbecile is unhinged and living in an alternate reality. He wakes up un the middle of the night and goes on hours-long rants on social media, BS-ing about how wonderful his plans and results are - when the reality in the cold light of day, is the exact opposite of what he's promoting. He raves on last night, claiming the Iranians are ready to sign his peace deal on his terms, and it will be a wonderful peace deal, and so great for America. Then the reality in the cold light of day is the Iranians have cancelled all peace negotiations due to Israels attacks in Southern Lebanon, and they won't restart them until Israel stops its attacks there. If this BS-ing, lying, abusive moron was in a job anywhere else, he'd have been shown the door as regards his unacceptable behaviour, and told to never come back. Yet, his entire sycophantic, mealy-mouthed, gutless bunch of equivalent morons in his administration, continue to support every lie, every mouthy piece of BS, like it was Gods own Truth. I cannot believe America has descended into such a state of propaganda and alternative reality, that it makes the Goebbels reign look like pure unadulterated truth. The Iranians have it all over Trump, he has achieved precisely nothing in his massive war expenditure and aims to reduce Iran to a submissive ruin. He has brought about increased costs for every single country in the world (including America), and he still tries to claim the American economy is booming, and Americans have to thank him for leading them to increased prosperity. I don't really know how long it will take for the Americans as a whole (including the dumb Republicans who continue to support Trump) to come to the conclusion that Trump is the biggest disaster of a leader that has ever sat in the White House. An abusive, disruptive, totally corrupt, totally self-centred narcissist, who cannot utter two sentences, without at least one of them being a total lying fabrication that tries to reverse the truth.

I've given up believing anything that Trump is reported to say about the Middle East situation. This morning the ABC reported that he had said that he had got Israel and Hezbalah to stop shooting at each other. He also was said to have claimed that a peaceful end of the Iran situation was at hand. To my mind those were the ravings of a person with no hold on reality.

One thing I use social media for is as a diary. Some people keep a written diary, but I am far too lazy for that, so it is mainly pictures and videos. Most mornings, I will be presented with memories from 1, 2, or more years ago, which is nice because I usually only post good events. This video came up today from 3 years ago. It was on a rail trail that we ride fairly regularly. The rail line, which is only 16km long, is used by a couple of tourist trains. One of these serves a three-course meal and has live music. Whenever I see this train, I will usually take a pic or two, but after a while, all the pics look the same. On this occasion, I thought about how I could video this from a unique angle. I think I may have posted this video before, but I think interesting enough for another airing. Untitled 556.mp4

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.

Had a really extraordinary rain occurrence last night. Before I went to bed, the sky was clear. About an hour and a half later I began to hear a strange rushing sound from outside. It's hard to explain it until I tell you what happened. The sound at first was a bit low pitched. I wondered if it was a truck approaching, but the sound was coming from the opposite direction from the highway. The sound seemed to be getting louder as it was approaching. Finally the sound arrived and with it extremely heavy rainfall. It was as if a fire hose was in use. If there is rain from a thunderstorm, it usually starts with scattered drops and then the main fall catches up. But last night it was like a wall of water was moving across the land. The boundary between rain and no rain was distinct. This rainfall continued for a short time, maybe five minutes or so, then abruptly stopped. Later that night I saw that the sky was clear again. This morning I checked the ran guage and saw that it regaistered 11 mm of rain. That brings total rainfall since last Monday to about 75mm. There is standing water in the more level paddocks and some dams now have water in them. The creek which runs through the place is roaring and the frogs are making quite a racket.

You want to RE-WRITE the American Constitution?? Wash your mouth out, and apologise to every flag-waving American patriot! This Constitution was written by God himself, looking over the shoulders of the Great American Founding Fathers! It is UNTOUCHABLE!!!!! No-one is ever allowed to re-write even one line of it!! 🙄 The world will end when that happens, and every American will retreat to their end-time bunkers with all their firearms, hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammo, and tons of dried food supplies, to take on the hordes that are coming to TAKE THEIR CONSTITUTION AND THEIR GUNS AWAY FROM THEM!!!! 🙄

Father Hartigan was my mum's teacher in Narrandera.

I remember when the wife and I went to England, leaving my son at home to fend for himself. Typical smartarsed teenager, he had put a ringtone on my wife's phone that was the sound of police sirens. We were sitting in a cafe in the village in Yorkshire where they filmed the TV show Heartbeat when he phoned us. The place was filled with the sound of sirens and everyone was looking about for the emergency vehicle. Of course, it was the son. It was mid-morning in England, but getting on for dinner time in Sydney. The stupid bugger rang to ask his Mum how to cook some dish he wanted for dinner.

What a lovely thought! Let's just hope the next White house resident is more like Obama, and not a Trump-like replacement.