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It's great to see a photo of one's Dad in a museum collection. I've got private photos of my Dad taken during his service, but I got the biggest thrill when I found a photo in the Australian War Memorial collection of my Dad in a war zone. He did serve in the Western Desert, but was wounded. That crearted a disability that made him unsuitable for infantry duty (no right index finger to pull a trigger), so he was attached to an narmy hospital where he was a warehouseman. Somebody has to receive and issue new bedpans. Dad had his own copy of the photo, but seeing it in the AWM collection with him identified by name is great.

If anyone criticises the labour party you call it misinformation. You refuse to admit crime is out of control in Victoria. Because Daniel Andrews caused it Never mention the corruption labour have been involved in. Billions handed to crime gangs and union officials. Alboneses has been a communist party member since he was a teenager. Andrews and Alan are too. And banging on about one nation being racist is crap. They only want what's best for Australians and that means slowing the current migration levels and bringing in more stringent entry standards. We all know we need immigration just not the way the clowns are doing it at the moment. Hopefully this November some healing can start when Jacinta Andrews gets kicked out . But our electoral system needs to change to stop preferences getting unwanted people elected. I don't know anyone that voted labour yet albo got in by a landslide with prefences.

I watched this program on the ABC & could not believe the stupidity of the reporter. He borrowed an EV & knew nothing about the cars capability. If he did he'd know that the satnav will tell him all of the chargers within range & guide him to one. You cannot fill a petrol car in 2 minutes & pay for the fuel etc. He should have already downloaded the apps before leaving. He was at an Evie 350kW charger & if he already had the app & registered the vehicle as most people do, all you do is plug the charger cable in to the car, it charges, you then click stop remove the cable & drive away. You are automatically charged & details are stored in the app. Everything Sam Evans said is spot on. I felt like complaining but then thought why bother. Anyone with half a brain & an interest in going Electric will make their own mind up. I did & it was the best car purchase decision i have ever made. My fuel cost is zero as I charge from my solar panels. When going long distance I check the location of chargers on route & know the range. The car has a longer range than my bladder so when I need to charge I take a break & have a bite to eat. If it is down to 20% charge 20 minutes later it is at 80%. This is usually quicker than than I am. Often I will go & unplug & move the car so someone else can use the charger. It is coming up to 3 years & 45,000 km since I bought my MG4. First service in 2 years & nothing had to be done except update the software. The only downside is that the new facelift model is now 10k less than I paid but now EVs are no longer an expensive way to get in to a new car with the latest small models cheaper than their petrol equivalents.

Everyone is jumping up and down about the ISIS brides who want to return to Australia, and how they might be a threat to our security. Yes, there is a risk of that, but has anyone considered the other side? How many are there voluntarily? The Muslim religion has absolutely NO respect for women, and treat them as possessions of the males. The family (males) choose who they marry - girls as young as 9 or 10 get married off to the man chosen by the family. They do as they are told...or else! They must be covered from head to foot, including their face, lest they arouse the lust of males. They go where and when they are told. How many of them chose to travel to the Muslim countries with their "husbands", or were forced to? They have seen how bad things are over there and want better for their children, and want to bring them back to Australia. But everyone wants to throw up barricades to keep them out. Surely temporary visas would allow them to come back to be assessed, and thrown out if they don't conform to our requirements.

-I met a traveller from an antique land, -Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone -Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, -Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, -And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, -Tell that its sculptor well those passions read -Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, -The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; -And on the pedestal, these words appear: -“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; -Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!" -Nothing beside remains. Round the decay -Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare -The lone and level sands stretch far away. (Shelly, circa 1800's)

It isn't just Trump. The US has always done as it pleases. It used to be "Not our fight" as in only getting in to WW1 in 2017, then in WW2 Roosevelt couldn't get the support of Congress & only got involved after Pearl Harbor. Since then we have honoured the treaties like ANZUS & got involved in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan sent peacekeepers to other places the US has screwed up. Trump has just insulted every ally the US has ever had as in his comments about Afghanistan. He starts a war then complains NATO won't come to his aid. NATO is a defence treaty, an attack on one is an attack on all, not if one member attacks someone then everyone else attacks as well. Complains Australia won't help with the blockaid on Hormuz when we were never asked. The list of his stuffups and insults is endless & reportedly is considering recognising Argentinas claim on the Falklands as punishment for the UK not supporting him in his crazy actions against Iran.

It's outrageously and irresponsibly offensive to suggest anyone here Hates Australia. What's left wing views? Letting the ordinary people have a fair go? Nev

Just got home from the daytime service. A large number of people of all ages attended, including kids from the three schools and the pre-school. These kids marched in the parade along the main street to the memorial, and representatives from each school laid a wreath. Seniors from the high school read the poems, At the Going Down of the Sun; The Inquisative Mind of a Child; Commemoration of the Fallen, and In Flanders Field. You know the song, I am Australian? I mentioned the Coo-ee March. We add antoerh verse: I'm a band of Coo-ee marchers, From Gil to Sydney's shore; We sailed to France Fought bravely In the muddy hell of war. I'm a digger. I'm an ANZAC I'm a proud Gilgandra son. My heart, my home, my country. I am Australian We don't have the generic war memorial in the main street with a statue of a Digger standing atop. We have a statue in the main street to commemoriate the Coo-ee March. It was sculpted by a member of one of the local families.

If you add up all of the countries that contribute less than 2% it comes to around 35%. The amount of tax I pay is minuscule by itself, so perhaps I shouldn't have to pay it.

Everyone goes on about rising CO2 levels in the atmoshere. But rising compared to what? How does science determine a base value for comparison. There must be some way to determine exactly what "fresh air" is. Just south of the isolated north-west tip (Woolnorth Point) of Tasmania, at a place called Cape Grim, the Bureau of Meteorology and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) fund and operates the Cape Grim atmospheric observational facility. The Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station first began measuring the composition of the atmosphere in April 1976 and has been in continuous operation since that date. The air sampled arrives at Cape Grim after long trajectories over the Southern Ocean, under conditions described as ‘baseline’. This baseline air is representative of a large area of the Southern Hemisphere, unaffected by regional pollution sources. Air samples are analysed at the station to determine concentrations of greenhouse and ozone-depleting gases, other air pollutants, including aerosols and reactive gases, and radon. Since sampling began at Cape Grim, more that 3 billion measurements have been taken. Among these are measurements of greenhouse gases (GHGs), including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and synthetic GHGs such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). The number of atmospheric greenhouse gases measured at Cape Grim now exceeds 50, as well as concentrations of natural and anthropogenic aerosols (particles such as sea salt, mineral dust, carbon particles etc). Some of the air samples collected at Cape Grim have been archived for further analyses as required. This picture shows some of the samples stored in "fresh air archives". Because we have these measurements and samples going back 50 years, we are in the position of being able to say that the atmoshere has changed over that time. Happily, all is not doom and gloom. The growth of some GHGs (for example methane) has slowed recently and some are in decline (CFCs and halons for example). Read more here: https://capegrim.csiro.au/

A Society divided unto itself shall surely fall. Trump thrives on division. Nev

Here is just one of the mistruths from a formal complaint that is being lodged about the Channel 7 story. 3.4 Environmental Misinformation (Koala Treatment) Broadcast Claim: The program alleged that wind farm clearing involves euthanising koalas with “blunt force instruments” [4]. Verified Fact: The Clean Energy Council (CEC) has confirmed this practice has never occurred in any Australian renewable project [1]. Its inclusion in a prime-time broadcast without evidence constitutes a failure to present factual material accurately under Section 3.3.1. Yes, they are claiming with no evidence that koals are being beaten to death in order to build wind farms. This comes from a viral claim several years ago and has no evidence. What astonishing overreach. I am confident that they know this to be untrue, but know a small number of viewers will believe this claim. According to AI In Australia are koalas killed to build windfarms Short answer: No—koalas are not routinely killed “to build wind farms” in Australia. But like any land development, there can be impacts on habitat, and that’s where most of the real issue sits. Here’s the clearer picture: 1) The viral claim about killing koalas You might have seen claims that koalas are being “clubbed” or deliberately killed for wind farms. These have been widely circulated in politics and media, but: A fact check found no evidence of koalas being killed during construction of a major wind farm (Clarke Creek). Companies involved said they use wildlife spotters and strict “zero harm” policies to avoid injury to animals. Claims about workers killing koalas were publicly repeated but later debunked or unsupported. So the idea of routine or intentional killing specifically for wind farms is misleading. 2) What does happen in reality The real issue is more mundane (and still important): Wind farms (like any big project) may require clearing land, which can remove koala habitat. Environmental laws require: surveys before clearing relocating animals where possible minimising harm Developers often pause work if wildlife is present and bring in ecologists. 3) How big is the impact compared to other threats? This is where context matters: Since 2012, mining has cleared far more koala habitat than renewables. Agriculture (like land clearing for grazing) is even larger again. Scientists consistently say the biggest long-term threat to koalas is habitat loss and climate change, not wind farms. 4) Important nuance There are legitimate concerns about renewable projects being built in sensitive habitats. Some proposals have been criticised or modified because of risks to koalas and other species. But that’s about where projects are built, not deliberate killing. Bottom line ❌ Koalas are not being systematically killed to build wind farms ⚠️ Some habitat can be cleared, which affects them ✅ The bigger threats are land clearing (especially agriculture), mining, and climate change If you want, I can break down one of the specific controversies (like Clarke Creek) so you can see exactly how these claims started and what’s actually in the documents.

Nobody gets it right 100% of the time, but the ABC are head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to accuracy.

One for the fishermen amongst us.....

One of our Liberal Senators is calling on the Government to have a serious chat with Trump. I don't think the chat should be too long. Just two words - F... off! The inflation figures come out today. They are up. That means interest rates will go up. Trump might not be dropping explosives on us, but he's certainly hitting us where it hurts. Not only us, but every country in the world, including China and Russia. The UAE is pulling out of OPEC. That can only mean further rises in oil prices since the UAE is avery major producer. Enough is enough! Trump and his cronies must be removed! Let's see the American people do something for the whole world.

We had our local show this weekend. I got the chance to speak to representatives of the mob which is in the process of gaining approval for an eighty-tower windfarm within 20 kms of my place. Eighty towers seems like a big crowd, but when I was shown to proposed location of each tower, I saw that they were separated from each other by close on a kilometre. My first thought when I heard of the proposal was that teh towers would be visible from the Newell Highway which is located to the east of the proposed area. I learned that the closest tower woulod be about 5 kms from the highway, with a line of low "hills" between them. So that's no longer a concern to me. I think I've whinged before that around here it can be pretty windy, nd said that it would be ideal for a wind farm. Seems I'm right in some ways and mistaken in others. I experience wind as air movement within about 10 metres of the ground surface. That air movement is very turbulent compared to air movement 100 metres above ground where the turbine blades are. That turbulence, caused by the moving air particles colliding withthe ground and trees and ricocheting into air particles higher up. These collisions rob the air particles of energy due to loss of momentum. If the air movement is free of the turbulence, then there is more energy for the collision between the moving air and the turbine blades. That's why the towers are so high. I was also told that studies locally have shown that the most consistent air movement begins at these heights after sunset and stay pretty good until just before dawn. That means the turbines are best able to produce electricity at night in complement to solar panels. That sounds good. What about the effects on farm incomes? The builders don't resume the land they need like the government does when it wants to build roads etc. It seems that the land is rented from the landholders at a rate determined by the generating capacity of the turbine. An example was that of a property with two towers on it. Based on the generating capacity of the intended turbines, renting the land for two towers would return $100,000 p.a. CPI-indexed for a contract period of thirty years. That's got to provide a degree of stabilisation of farm income. I bet any landowner would love to get that sort of money, especially in the present circumstance when it looks like a drought is on the way. Why does it take so long to get a windfarm up an running. Would you beleive that it is in part due to the very people who pursue a renewable world? One of the environmental reports required deals with the effect of the turbines on bats and birds. Getting the data required a study lasting two years. Then there are the Native Heritage studies and gaining clearances from the local indigenous community. Then there are the geo-technical studies, planning permissions yadda yadda. We should consider the economic benefits. It is said that the workforce required to create the windfarm complex is about 500 persons. These people will be newcomers who will have to be fed, housed and entertained for several years. Already the local Council has allocated an area for an accommodation camp. Someone has to build it. An extra 500 people will hopefully boost local trade, although the proximity of the City of Dubbo, about 30 minutes' drive away might not do good for my town. Still, it's money coming into the district. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with this project. Really, it is going to be 'out of sight, out of mind' to teh majority of the population. And kn owing what I know about smart crows and blind bats, I don't envisage too many mid-air collsions with revolving turbine blades.

Clearing for suburban developments and clearing for minesites and minesite access roads and facilities also takes up a substantial majority of the level of native vegetation clearing going on. Farmland in W.A. has been subject to highly restrictive clearing bans since 1985. In the 1960's, the catchwords of W.A.'s conservative politicians were, "we're aiming at clearing a million acres a year!". We've gone from one extreme to the other as regards farm clearing, but there's only minimal restrictions on clearing for roads and subdivisions.

I was indeed - as were you and around 63,000 other young men. But the major difference between a "lone wolf" radical, mentally disturbed assassin, is that those young Australian men were screened for mental instability and other psychological problems, and those found unsuitable were rejected from induction into the military. Those men inducted, were trained to good levels of competency, and given instructions in what to do, as regards identifying enemy combatants - and they were also given "rules of engagement", which follow the Geneva Conventions. This is a world apart from the American scene, where any number of high powered firearms are freely available to any U.S. citizen, regardless of their soundness of mind, their ethics and morals, and their beliefs. In addition, there is no requirement for any firearms training whatsoever for U.S. civilians, and adherents of the U.S. firearm worship cult, also train up their young children in the use of firearms - which to me, is the sign of a morally and ethically bankrupt civilisation.

It's been a long time between posts. My main shed renovations are at the stage of a much needed clean out, so I'm getting to the point of sorting some stored flight gear and moving on superflous multiples and unwanted items. I've decided to gift these helmets to a couple of collectors I'm associated with, one in France and the other in Greece. They're extra to my requirements and are better off where they're appreciated instead of a life in storage. I got them from a lady in Vinnytsia about twelve years ago, and realising how rare they were, I bought all of them, hence the extras. At first glance, they look much like the garden variety Soviet leather flight helmet, but these are different externally and internally and were only made in small numbers. In the years since I obtained these helmets I've only ever seen one for sale. They're rare but not valuable as in worth heaps of money. They were manufactured at Rostikinsky in NW Moscow where all the standard leather helmets were made, but the big difference is the use of the same noise cancelling headsets that the cloth ground crew helmets use. These use the glycerine filled earpads and the larger Ukrainian made speakers. The speakers are only different from standard in physical size; they still have the same 1500 ohm resistance. There's no literature or documentation on them, so I can only assume they were designed to try for noise reduction in certain helicopters, possibly the larger Mi-6 and Mi-26. Having said that, I reckon they'd go ok in the screaming Il-76 transport. The low bypass Soloviev D-30 turbofans on them are deafening. I have two of each of these helmet types spare, so will be sending what you see here to each of the collectors overseas (minus the foam heads).

Getting back to the assertion that political leanings are determined by the dominance of one hemisphere over the other. It is not unusual for people to change their political leanings throughout life or as a result of particular life experiences. I came to Australia from England when I was 2. I endured a moderate amount of bullying early on in school for being a Pommy. This no doubt allows me to empathise with victims of bullying. My sister came out as gay when she was 17, and suffered badly due to conservative attitudes back then. This means that I can not abide anti gay behaviour and therefore identify more with the so called left than right. As I said, I have been a musician/music teacher all of my life. This means that I am keenly aware of which side of politics is likely to support the arts. As a teenager, I was heavily involved with the Astronomical Society and had a general love for science I have an awareness of which side of politics is more supportive of science. Our neighbour and friend is a trans F to M. My logical side says, " Do I enjoy this person's company? Anything else is irrelevant. Again, this seems more left than right. Whether or not we have hard-wired tendencies, that is all they are, tendencies. Much more important is the overlay of life experience. For some, a life event may even change someone from right to left or vice versa. It is also not uncommon for people to move across the political spectrum as they age.

Probably just the one he had in mind Marty, I don't think he claims to be an expert on the subject. Good on him for starting a thread; it's the content creators that keep forums going and gives the reactors something to react to.

Not to mention nursing home staff. My 93yo mother is looked after by Nepalese, Thai, Indian, African,Sri Lankan and Malaysian Australian staff. Barely a white face among them. She knows all their names and asks after their kids, and you can see the gentleness and respect they show her. There are certainly the job opportunities in that industry if "traditional" Aussies want them, but they don't.

"Australians" have the strong link towards Anzac Day because of the historic and family links referred to in the previous posts. However, if we moved to, say, Canada, would we adopt their historic memorials? It's easy to understand the disassociation immigrants have without the family links to the past.

Who's the `we' in this, and where do you get the idea that people with left wing views `hate' Australia? That's the kind of stuff that Trump and his cohort say to whip up anger among their supporters. I don't believe that anyone on this forum hates Australia, no matter what their views are.

My dad served in the Dutch army as an anti-tank gunner before Germany invaded Holland. He and his crew actually derailed one of the returning German troop trains on its way back to the border after delivering troops to the Rotterdam area on the morning of the invasion. They were also involved in a number of rearguard actions before Holland capitulated. In his later years he decided that despite not being a naturalised Australian he should be entitled to walk in the Anzac parade and take part in the Dawn Service as an allied soldier even though he wasn't an Anzac, so he did. One year he was very proud to be able to march with his grand daughter who was in uniform. She is currently a captain in the Navy. At his funeral in 2016 some local RSL volunteers played the Last Post in accordance with his wishes. Many years ago I went with him on a trip back to Holland, my first time going overseas. We were in a museum in Eindhoven one day and there was a photo among the exhibits of a wrecked locomotive and carriages lying on their sides. He pointed to it and said; "I did that".

How can everyone be a "White Australian"? A good Australian would not be a racist and stop calling people you don't like, Lefties. You sound like Trump (and Hanson). Neither of whom are very smart . Nev

Have a look at the problems the UK and Europe have now because of open border policies.

That is the most sensible statement I have read on here. I work with people from many different backgrounds and my father was married to a Chinese lady and she was a great person. What pisses me off is not being able to discuss the out of control immigration without being labelled rascist. The left wing comments on this thread certainly come across as hating Australia and what we stand for.

Anybody intersted in talking about EVs?

A coal power plant may last 50 years, but during that time, it would undergo maintenance and upgrades. Private banks and investors are unwilling to finance new coal. The long payback means that even if it were viable now, the risk is that somewhere down the line it may become unviable due to advancing technologies. There is no law in Australia that prevents building new coal; there is simply no good business case. You keep talking about "intermittent power" without considering energy storage. Battery efficiency and cost fall every year. A builder of a coal plant that is burning coal whether it is generating at all, is competing with ever cheaper and more efficient battery storage. It is not just chemical energy storage. Underground Air Batteries — The Energy Storage You’ve Never Heard Of Generating electricity with renewables is extremely cheap; this is undeniable. However, the challenge is both long and short-duration storage. Batteries are being built at an astonishing rate, and there are other promising methods in the pipeline. An investor in coal would need to know that they could never be undercut during the payback time of the plant.

Unfortunately, due to the mesh that is global economics, if the USA collapses, then so does the global economy. Don't know about the civic-minded bit, but the rest sure describes China. I really wonder if it is the goal of China to implant its form of communism on the rest of the world. I don't think so. I think China is happy with economic dominance. It has fought economic fire with economic fire.

What a pathetic loser. Imagine being in the most powerful office on the planet and still being so insecure you have to build gaudy oversized edifices in your own honour. Definitely compensating for an awful lot.

Nope. That's a balanced news organisation which actually fact checks.

Trump doesn't need any ballroom. He hasn't got any Balls. What do you think of his NEW Statue of Himself? Covered in Gold-leaf and cast in bronze. Remember the One Saddam Hussein had? The people cheered when that was toppled. Statues don't mean Stature. Nev

Maybe it's a cunning plan to stop despairing intelligent people from fleeing the US.

He wants his face and name everywhere. Some future Democrat government will have a lot of cleaning up to do.

I was just watching Jon Stewart on the Daily Show, and it was some of the funniest stuff I've seen. Video clips from the White House Correspondents Dinner. I hope it comes on Youtube. More than half the seated people cleared from the room and a woman dressed to the nines going around the tables picking up bottles of wine. An old grey headed guy in glasses, probably in his 80's, sitting at the table eating his dinner like noting was happening. Four security people herding one gov't official off the podium. while a woman on the main floor was trying to climb the four steps to the podium in high heels, reaching out for help but being ignored.. In a later press conference an interviewer was questioning Trump about the shooter she said that in his manifesto, he had said they all had to die, liars, rapists...". Trump interrupted to say "I'm not a rapist." She said "I didn't say he was referring to you." Hilarious stuff.

I'm sure you were, but if you just read this sentence "...when I was a cop and was depositing seized drug money at my local bank" It gives a different impression...

The oxygen locked into hematite is just as useful as the iron, because it is needed to facilitate the steel-making process. Oxygen is critical to many chemical processes which produce the products we need in our industrialised world. I agree, there's a large cost component in shipping iron ore many thousands of kilometres to furnaces in far-off countries. But those countries are prepared to pay that cost, and they often own the ore bulk carriers, as well as the iron and steel-making facilities. The simple fact remains that iron and steel-making is a business that just cannot be started from scratch without a monstrous financial investment, running into possibly multiple tens of billions of dollars, the need to find stable markets for that iron and steel, that are consistent purchasers of the product - and the end product goes into a world full of iron and steel products that are often sold cheaply. There are many "anti-dumping" legal actions against iron and steel manufacturers around the world, as the Chinese in particular, often dump iron and steel products at low prices during sales slumps, to keep their furnaces operational. They often over-produce iron and steel products. If we go into iron and steel making on a large scale, we are competing with huge global iron and steel producers in a vicious market. BHP and Rio Tinto are possibly the only corporations who could garner the huge investment backing required to indulge in large-scale iron and steel production. All businesses need to borrow money to finance big projects and you need to be able to convince lenders you can repay the borrowed money. Financiers would be reluctant to lend money to huge iron and steel manufacturing projects, as they are seen as low return. However, there is great interest in finding cheaper ways of making iron and steel, and especially "green" steel, where pollution levels from the manufacturing process are low. Iron and steel manufacturing is one of the worlds most polluting industrial production processes. To that end, there are three companies in W.A. currently either manufacturing or investing in "green" steel production on a modest scale. It appears the S.A. Govt is also intent on supporting "green" steel manufacturing in that State. https://international.austrade.gov.au/en/news-and-analysis/news/australia-forges-a-future-made-from-green-steel

No. It doesn't. There are a heap of factors that go into house prices including supply, number of tradies, planning rules, land zoning, capital gains discounts, short term holiday houses (Airbnb), etc. Again - looking for a simple solution to a complex problem.

That only happened with the LUST batch of Robots they Made..Nev

gotta larf. Just displays the level of Amerikan ignorance for the world to see. But the world doesn't neen any more proof. of course I question 'is that pic real?' These days truth challenges irony a lot.

Just to clarify teh matter of the US entry into WWII. The actions of the Japanese Empire were as a result of the USA's trade embargo on oil to Japan. Therefore Japan set a goal of capturing the oil fields of Borneo. Like all good politicians, Japan camouflaged its goal by declaring that its actions were to liberate colonial South-East Asia and establish an economic zone controlled by Asian peoples. The attack on Pearl Harbour and invasion of the Philipines and South-East Asia would have brought about a war between the USA and Japan. However, Hitler buggered things by declaring war on the USA a few days later. If he had pulled his head in, the USA might not have entered the Eurpoean war. Not likely, I suppose, since the USA was arming Britain. But who knows? There would have been two separate wars. If there had been two separate wars, the USA might not have come out of the period as economically powerful as it did and Europe and Japan so weak. That would have made the modern world a different place. One could say that Hitler's declaration of war was the "sliding door moment" in human history.

No. Just incompetent, vindictive and ignorant.

Musk is a rabid fascist. He's made a habit of sticking his nose in other countries business and supporting the worst far right policies and parties. If Musk is complaining about Australia's immigration then we must have it about right.

GON - I'm no left-leaning Labour supporter and I consider myself pretty non-political. I've voted Liberal, NP and Labor, according to the issues of the individual election on the day. Also, I do vote, meaning I still have trust in our institutions. That doesn't appear to be the case in your situation, you claim all political parties are unrepresentative of the voters. But I do object to the constant right-wing whines about how all immigrants hate Australia and how the "White Australian culture" is purposely being subsumed by foreign immigrants from cultures the right-wingers love to project hate at. By doing so, they only place themselves in the same boat as the small number of Islamics who DO hate Australian values and our way of life. I don't need to denigrate Pauline Hanson, she can simply bring scorn on herself with her erratic and illogical outbursts, and her obvious hatred of anyone who isn't White European, and who comes from a different culture. But above all, she proposes things with no firm plans or vision, she just loves to agitate and see agitated people.

GON, I'm using both sides my brain to follow your arguments and logic, but not having a lot of luck so far.

The Van Gogh example backs up the idea that nobody is born favouring one side of the brain or the other. Depending on what people do, they use one side more than the other. Plant operating, eg: driving machines is one field where it makes a difference.

If Very ordinary ( lack of) Intelligence doesn't finish us off first. Nev