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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.

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.

Spot on Marty. The last job I had before retiring was as a customer service operator in a call centre for a company who handled calls for a number of companies. Therefore the person sittting opposite me was taking calls for a different company to me. My KPI was an AHT (average handling time) of three and a half minutes per call. I later found out no-one else was on such a stringent time limit. This time included writing up details of the call for the next person to take a call from this customer. The customer said that AHT was not important, that customer satisfaction was more important. However, they didn't employ me, the call centre operator did. At the time I was 6 months over retirement age, so I was told it was an appropriate time to retire, because my AHT's were too long. If I didn't retire, they had "alternative plans" in mind, and voluntary retirement would look better on my resume. As the net result was the same, against my wife's wishes, I took the retirement route. Sorry for late edit. I didn't know part of my post had dropped out.

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.

Carole King - Tapestry. Geez, these pictograms you're digging up, wouldn't be solvable by anyone under 60!

Don't get me started, OT.. those big consultancies are the biggest scams on earth (Except, that I started with my earlier post - I think it was PWC that was consulting to the ATO on how to make changes to reduce the loopholes and were at the same time consulting to private corps on how to beat them).

That's mild compared to some things on the net.

Firstly you're conflating state and federal politics there. I'm not a Victorian so I know bugger all about your state government. Not sure either how Labor's current immigration policy has anything to do with their election promises, I can't remember immigration being an issue at the last election. And if you get rid of immigrants, who looks after aged care, fruit picking and all the other jobs people born here don't want? Plus, I know it's not a popular statistic for those on the far right, but immigrants are less likely to commit crimes and more entrepreneurial than people born here. Not at all sure either why you think Labor is soft on crime. In terms of PHONey doing a better job than the current government, I hope you're joking. They would be absolutely hopeless, a failed experiment like the Trump one in the USA.

I don’t want to see blokes in women’s mud wrestling.

And the seasons they go round and round

Carole King is correct. I just copy what is thhrown up on FB.

There IS generally a Mens and a Womens sport separation, but not always. In the recent Finke River event, IT was all in. To my observation Most disputation on this Matter is Very anti , sex change people. . Nev

My major concern about what people have or had in their pants when it comes to sport. Even tjings like darts and snooker. Men are generally taller than women so have an advantage with reach.

It's a joke, Joyce.

The late 20th Century scifi impressions of future wars look like they have become reality. Battles fought by machines controlled by a few soldiers located far from the actual field of battle. It has come to the point where one person, sitting at a desk with a communication device can destroy whole countries.

Beat ya!

You've lost that loving feeling

Garelous Evans didn't do many things right, but Scott Morrisson made all others Look Good. He worked for the Pentecostal Church, not Australians or even his Electorate. Read His Maiden speech. That tells it all. Nev

I still think our system here takes a lot of beating. A constitutional monachy with the best of both worlds. No el presidente, all government members are elected, not mates appointed by a president, and we have an elected senate, no unelected house of lords. Having an admittedly quirky, but harmless wingnut in pommieland as our theoretical head of state is a small price to pay for it.

No I dont have Woke DS I have SDS Sensible derangement syndrome. Woke...Marks definition is pretty simple really dont be a dick and do not try to force your beliefs on me by changing laws to only suit minorities..changing history you dont like ....there is lots wrong with "the woke idealogy" I dont care if you are white, black, brindle, caramel or pink with blue poker dots....if you come here you fit in to our life style and obey OUR laws and not want to bring laws from the shithole you left and try to make it the same here I dont care if you are gay or pink or LGBTQXYZ I really dont give a shit but do NOT make me have to fit into your beliefs...I also think if you want to dress like a woman and live like one even get your dick cut off thats up to you but you are still a biological male you are NOT a femalle. You cant be pregnant or "potentially pregnant"..this is what woke is its bullshit its not real life.

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)

Warning - Big post incoming At least he doesn't hide this. He is quite brazen about it.. It is neither a good thing that he does it nor thaty he is brazen about it. But it is there for the electorate to see it. Let's compare to Australia. Australia: APS employees have to sign an NDA and are under threat of losing their jobs or as we have seen, jail foe whistleblowing (as evidenced).. Everything is hushed up rather than at least made public what is happening, and often who is the beneficiary. I don't recall Dutton yelling from the rooftops giving some dodgy one man operation in Kangaroo Island a massive contract to do not much; in fact he was desperately trying to hide it. The Robodebt royal commission - think about it.. the sealed section of a public enquiry - where all the evidence was heard in public - to not subjudice potential criminal investigations against prominent politicians. How long since? What criminal prosecutions have been made? The NACC made secretive by default at a time where the Labor Party prior getting into government made strong promises of it being public? IBAC in Victoria, where an ex anti corruption commissioner was quoted in The Age a couple of days ago calling it to be made public, ironically, in the same way as the NSW ICAC. Oh, and I don't hear Albo coming out about how great those fossil fuel industry reps are paying multiple tens of thousands to the Labor party for the privilege of paying multiple thousands per head to anaonyous lunches with ministers and guess what - fracking has been approved in the Kimberly's - one of the last pristine water courses in the world. Or the Beetalooo basion contact, the Adani project, etc. We could go on.. and that is just the Labor party - the one the Juice media labels the less ship party.. Think about the crap the previopus lot was involved with, and you start to get the picture. What was meant by my American friends is you get to see it for all its glory/gory, and you can make your decision. One the first - I think you answered it. Chump is transparently corrupt. You get what you see... The electorate can then make a decision if the "benefits" he provides is worth the corruption and misconduct he commits (allegedly ;-)). We don't see what we get, but we get it and the consequences, anyway. That is the only bit about transparency. On the rest, my above bit should have addressed the climate change/environment bit. Yep - Chump takes it to the next level, but our pollies of all flavours would seem to sell out to the extent our electorate will put up with it just enough for them to make whatever it is they want and move on. BTW, check out the carnage to (I think ti was - but will have to look up later) Darling Down river system to keep the cotton growers happy.. Chump brazenly and transparently puts morons to do his bidding in charge of departments. Are you telling me the precious Libs didn't put morons in charge? And that Labor's front bench are sans morons? Even people with experience in their portfolio can be morons and we spend a lot of time criticising non Chump leaders for doing moronic things. Governments all the time will deploy as many tricks as possible to circumvent democracy to pushing their agenda. Chump doesn't hide it and has used the US constitutional flaws to full advantage while the democrats have been asleep at the wheel to protect the constitution - and some bad thing as well. But the point is, people can see it and judge for themselves. When pollies try hiding things, it leaves a much more bitter taste in ones mouth. I agree that there was Obama envy that crept into a lot of decisions. But I am not sure that the Iran agreement was really contributing to long term world wide peace. The Paris Agreements? All 198 countries have signed up to it except three - Iran, Libya, and Yemen. US has subsequently withdrawn. All remaining countries have technically implemented at least one law related to the Paris agreement. There is not a lot of consensus on how many are actually meeting all or a material component of the accords, but according to the Climate Action tracker, fewer than a dozen (less than 10%) have laws that are fully compatible with the Paris Agreement. So, Chumpo leads the world, but he is not alone in not meeting or ignoring international agreements (BTW, Australia has basically ignored its requirements under the Refugee Conventions for a very long time). If you don't think Australian governments haven't shut out media organisations, think again. It is more difficult now because of the reach of two in particular in Australia, but Jeff Kennett was one that comes straight to mind when he was the premier in Vic, threatening to limit media access. Australian governments for years have used more subtle measures - such as first access (i.e. leaks) to manipulate the press. And it doesn't mean absolutely nothing to my friends.. But what they dislike is a government that hides the ship it does, and as you can see, it is not like other governments are doing them a favour. It is a sad state of affairs. Remember, in the polls the electorate didn't like either of the main candidates. The democrats didn't do themselves a favour by keeping Biden on, who, I am sad to admit, was beyond his use by date. No one I speak to says Chump is a win; they just see it as no bigger loss in their lives. Agreed.. to say the US people aren't thinking when they pass judgement I find a little conceited, to be honest. These people live there and have to make do. I never said they thought he was good. but for them, in their situation, it is no worse than others before (of both colours), and they can see what they get. It's so brazen, it is not hidden. Again, it doesn't mean they are saying it is good. The USA practically stopped being the land of opportunity for most many years ago. There has been a progressive squeeze on the middle class for longer which has left little extra capacity to get ahead. Most of your tech bros and billionaires are not from middle class families, regardless of what their PR says. For small business, it is still probably the same as when I used to live there. Take big risks, hope it pays off. In fact, AI will probably make it a bit easier in some ways. But, yes, I agree with this. That doesn't mean he is not transparent. It means he has probably accelerated USA's decline.. But here's something to think about. I was paying network engineers $120K in San Francisco in 1999; today, in the same place they earn about the same. The obvious result is lower standard of living progressively, while in government a lot of the representatives of the lobbyists have had a field day. People feel betrayed, and they are voting accordingly. Until pollies get that through their thick skulls, Hansons of this world will benefit. Many of these systems in better countries are seen by the population as failing them (the law is an ass, ambo ramping, etc). Wars are waged all the time.. Chump isn't the first to do a stupid war and won't be the last. People are sick of suffering by themselves and want the pollies to suffer as well. It may be worse for them under a Hanson, Farage, and indeed, Chump.. But they are now beyond caring. One of the inadvertent/unintentional consequences of el Chumpo's narcissism is that it is all there for the electorate to see. They can make their mind up relatively easily// Or they may be saying to the adults in the room, we're happy to vote you back in, but this time, listen to us and act on it, or we will do it again. This is no different to a lot of the donations made to political parties in Australia - only the scale (for the record, Australian parties seem to accept less before it looks like a conflict of interest action takes place). That is my point. We see it differently to the locals. That does not mean they are not thinking about it.. Remember, the UK has gone Farage, Denmark has gone very right - Denmark! Germany has. USA always has been. And now Hanson is making a breakthrough. We all see things differently. My friends in the US I haven't caught up with later posts (it took a couple of days to get this done, I am that busy at the moment). But I really wish people would look in their own backyard as well.. There's also a lot to fix there.

That's your opinion; theirs, from their experience is different. Congress has not raised the minimum wage since 2009, for example. Obama did it in his first year - nothing else 8 years on, Chump 1, nothing else; Biden, de nada; Chump 2 nothing. The average US citizen couldn't give a stuff about the rest of the world. What they mean is, it is all there to see. Apart from the Like on Truth Social question, nothing else in your post has anything to do about whether the government is transparent or not.

I haven't been on the thread for a while. I have just caught up with it. And, not much has changed. Chump makes stoopid decisions, divides his electorate, breaches the law, uses offensive diplomacy, and is blatantly corrupt. I am thinking it is a ploy to keep us wedded to the current and forget about what he had previously done. The yanks voted for him; they knew what they were getting and they got it. Unf, it has ramifications around the world. The democraps (intentional) aren't offering the US population any real alternative to vote for. Wasn't a senator by election or something just done with a MAGA maniac elected? The yanks don't like him, but the dislike the others even more. I read the news, sigh, and hop his reign of facism is over before he inflicts irreparable damage. Europe is heading in a s similar vain, albeit somewhat constrained. The UK is more so heading that way, with odds on Farage being the next elected PM. Pauline seems to be gaining popularity over notoriety. People are putting up with this crap because they have had enough of the status quo. Yep, they are getting shafted, but they are under no illusion they were getting shafted. MY US friends, albeit admitting it is a sad state of affairs, don't think it would be any better under anyone else, but at least there is transparency.

It's fairly basic. onetrack, you're lucky enough to have a fast, fat burning metabolism like my dad had. You couldn't fatten him. A lot of people aren't as lucky and have slow metabolisms and a tendency to accumulate fat around the midrif. There are people who are vegetarians, don't drink or eat any fattening food and do heaps of exercise and can't shake the belly roll. And to diet it away doesnt work either as it's the last to go; the rest of the body will wither right away before the belly does.

Muscles disappear. If you diet, fat around the shoulders disappears. But that big spare tyre around the gut is immovable.

Gripe: Because of my soft-touch keyboard I keep having to go back into posts to correct typos. I think that I might be being pressing the keys too softly. Also, I often type "the" as "teh". That's muscle memorty, I think. Also I keep hitting adjacent keys. These things are set to try us.

In case anyone is wondering why I clicked the informative button on Brendan's post - I saw the post and he had a string of icons there starting to resemble a poker machine. There was left to right, 1 Like, 1 Haha, 1 Winner and 1 Sad. So I thought why not give him a crack at getting the full jackpot - one of every type, the full string. So come on blokes, don't be mean, all it needs now is 1 Confused, 1 Thanks and 1 Agree. I'm not sure if anyone's ever hit the jackpot on this forum before.

What the heck. Now you are drawing Trump and Twitter into it! But if the cap fits....

(Oops. Sorry, That last sentence should have been posted in "What has Trump done now?"

Just to bump this thread out of the shadows, because DJT keeps getting all the attention. I know that Ukraine has been catching up but hadn't noticed how big and constant their was is. How about Ukraine Taking out 4000 Russian drones.... in April alone! Meanwhile Putin's assistants say.... US Secretary of State Rubio congratulated Russians on Russia Day: he stated that the United States is committed to a peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine.