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I reckon you are correct. Trump is the tool of faceless puppetmasters.

It's how Trump deals. Bring in the troops. You have to leave people a Face saving way out. He wants to rub everyone's nose in the Cat$#!t. BIG Tough guy. I reckon if you bopped him on the Nose He would cry. Nev

To add some credibility to the news of military activity, it has been reported that the two pizza shops near MacDill airforce base reported major sales spike in pizza orders last night. Historically, such reports have previously coincided with major U.S. military planning and activity events. (Sorry, but I cannot find the 'sarcasm' emoticon)

No idea if it is real or not.. But I would argue only those that want to keep the incumbents in (hint... an Iranian works for me and is not from a minority)

Personally I would wait for the official stuff than speculation at the moment. There wil be all osrts of rumours in the mill at the moment. Whilst Mountbatten (he is actually no longer officially a royal anymore) was a few cents short of a dollar whom Epstien and let's not forget Maxwell could exploit, many people he dealt with had a few more grey cells between their ears, so building a fake, or at least embelished dossier for extortion purposes would not be too big a leap. Of course, there will be those who are entirely involved, regardless of extortion or not, and there are those whom may have had a somewhat fake or embellished set of files established to see how far messrs Epstein and Maxwell could get,.

The misconduct related to passing on secrets while he was international trade ambassador.

Indeed. And technically, his arrest is illegale.. and technically, there is no legal basis for the current UK parliament. Howver, if course, both have been accepted and it would be ludicrous to suggest that the parliament is not the legal legislature in the UK, which has an unwrittenn (IMHO, no) constitution. Andrew may not be charged at all. He was arrested on suspicion only. However, in the interest of justice, given the profile of the individual, the investigation should be as public as possible (which is not much) while preserving his right to fair and due process. Remember, there are many more high profile individuals who have been implicated in worse.

Well, l believe all that stuffs good for us especially as we age,you gotta have stuff to do or you just get old that's not the problem for me.But as l've said, l've had big properties and l'm sick of them but also a helluva lot of driving living here and l'm sick of driving too. Some aren't some still love the work. Met a farmer 87 still worked his 400ac farm and cattle,yaknow, it was backed right off but he still had some cattle. Still hand hoed a 2ac veggie plot, still rode his motor bike all over the farm daily and brought cattle in with it. Said to him one day especially the veggie plot but how come you don't just use the tractor. He said l love doing it , been doing it 60yrs, keeps me in shape, great thinking time too, took him about 3 wks to get through it. He was always picking up sticks and leaves of the ground, sprung down to them like a 10yr old said how come your always picking up leaves kev , says if l didn't do that my back ed b fkd. Gotta laugh. Met another farmer still running his whole 1000ac property 85, stronger than many 40yr olds. Said when are you gonna hang up the tractor mate ha ha, reckons he still loved his farm - soooo, take your pick on that one. Sooo, end of the day l don't reckon hurts you at all you can even see studies longer people work healthier they stay it's fact but that's not it for me. l just wouldn't feel like it bc as l say, bit sick of properties especially bigger ones. But yeppa , did that list few wks back too, mainly just to look at it in black and white for awhile. Pros were like 4 things, big things though, like l own it no bills could pay for a small build and still have some savings- cons , were around 18 though. All the driving , the isolation, the tiny town, some of the biggies.

Independents are NOT a Party but Holmes a Court sponsors some of them and they go for Liberal seats They don't have to vote as a block. Greens apart from Tree Hugging and a few other such good things get "all over the place" on many other Matters and maybe that explains where they are. They Pushed a Very Pro Palestinian view that might not have gone down well and tend to want 100% or Nothing. Small Farmers are All but gone and the NP wants coal and gas fracking and to have the LIBS over a barrel . In Qld there's NO Libs, only the LNP. Work that one out. Nev

What a politcal Party needs is a philosophy. Then it needs to develop policies that would enable that philosophy to be applied to the needs of the people the Party wishes to govern. As far as I can see, PHON doesn't have much of a philosophy other than hatred for others. Has anyone seen PHON's policies on trade, education, public health and so on? You might not support the policies of either the LNP, Labor or the Greens, but at least they seem to have policies. That's why Independents and likes of the TEALs could not form an effective government.

One word - YES. She has no plan for Australia's future and no ability to weld her political associates into a cohesive group. She divides people endlessly and PHON history is full of "abdications", resignations, fights and dead-loss party members such as Rod Culleton, who is more erratic than Pauline herself.

First question....Is this real? If it is, the next question is.... is somebody planning to 'turn it into glass' in order to bring peace to these troubled places? A third of the U.S. naval fleet parking on the doorstep, is probably unsettling to the inhabitants of Iran.

Good advice O/T also you need to keep creepy crawlies out of your House, have Insulation and reduced exposure to fire and flood and access to medical care. Many small towns are parochial and to them you will always be a blow in and they will gossip and speculate about you when you aren't present. Australia complains but Our Houses are some of the BIGGEST in the world on the Most costly real estate with some of the smallest blocks imaginable where you couldn't swing a cat or sunbake in a Land as big as we Have, Crazy, Houses are too Labour intensive and only last about 40 years before they need repairs and are out of date. Avoid stairs when you are Older. One fall and your life changes markedly for the Worst. Nev

It's not that easy If he dies the threat won't die with him. Nev

A lot more to come, also. Epstein was a big operator. That's why he was KILLED. Nev

Oh dear, it looks like Andrews problems are not going to go away - in fact they're getting worse. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/19/police-former-prince-andrew-mountbatten-windsor-sandringham

If getting a house costs the Majority of a Lifetime to Payoff, why submit to that Burden, IF there's an alternative". There Must be More in life. Nev

Agreed. The Bannon policy of 'flood the zone' combines excess floods of multiple possible truths in the media, and desensitising the public, with feeding the conspiracy minded. True facts (is that an oxymoron?) are still thin on the ground. Further to that, sometimes the redactions in the Eppyfiles often create suspicion and remove context from whatever is left unredacted. They create more questions than they answer.

Quoted from France24 news site:- "US buildup of warships and fighter jets sets stage for potential war with Iran" https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20260219-us-buildup-warships-fighter-jets-armada-sets-stage-potential-war-with-iran

Your not wrong about the mind not resting easily in indecision Nev. Something as big as this at a time like this nothing is resting easily for me atm l'm afraid. Think l've come to a decision over the last few wks though, on the whether to stay here or not part anyway. Thing is, 2 different guys looked at this place when it was up for sale, both a bit older than me, one 70ish. Both pretty well said the same thing and echoing the same things worrying me about staying and l've thought a lot about it. The 70ish guy said it's a lovely block lovely spot but while he'd be enjoying it right now, it wouldn't be long though before he'd be sick of the driving [50k ea way to the main town] , as well as the tiny town here and plus the size of the property itself and looking after it. They both said much the same thing. They were right , l mean 5 -6yrs l'd be same boat, few more onto that and l'd probably need to be looking for a new place again. There'd be no dodging that one better l don't even bother. Better l just try selling it off and look for something more suitable long term l reckon. Don't know what l'll be able to manage with prices out there now if l can offload this one and decide to buy again but really, end of the day it's just not even practical staying.

Ahh.. She wishes to be, for her cause..... a martyr.. .A bit like those that are the sibject of her cause. I don't want to get into the argument about, what is in effect, Islamophobia. Because this is the way it goes: - Muslims are wanting to kill everyone. - Yeah, well the others aren't better.. Look at that Aussie bloke in NZ.. killed a 53 Muslims. They way I read it is that some people say "these people are bad"., and others say "yeah, well so are these people, so it cancels out". It's toxic in itself. Here's a judg'es sentencing of Islamic terrorists who wanted to kill Jews. Not liberate Palestine.. Just kill jews out of pure hatred: (It is Sky UK, not Australia; it is not affiliated with NewsCorp, and it is in full... not edited). Now, if they were successful, they may have killed, say 157 Jews.. Do we look for an episode where there were more Muslims killed (in a civil, not war setting) and then jusitfy their actions? The discussion (here, but in general public discourse) reminds me of this: The difference is everyone gets blown to smithereens. No actions in these cases - whoever commits them is justifed nor acceptable. And it doesn't matter if the other side did it bigger and, ahem, "better". What we need to get to is why people go off the rails like the Aussie bloke in NZ, or the two defendants of the case the judge is summing up, or any of the others; work out what drives it and try to address itl work out how to spot it to intervene.

Well, back to topic.. Albo proomised us he would lead a government of integrity. Once of his henchwomen promised to end jobs for the boyz... How far did that one go? Ahh.. not very.. Easy to talk the talk while in opposition

And I ask, are there many more who might have cause to worry about consequences?

Albert Park would have required modification as longer runoff areas are needed for bikes. There are some corners at AP where there is no room for longer runoffs. Wayne Gardiner had quite a spew about the loss. He said the place had been badly run down since Aust GP Corp took over and the government wouldn't put up cash to restore the place, Asked if he would remove his statue, he said he would "stick it up their arxe".

The last Royal to be arrested was Charles 1st in 1649. He was convicted of treason and lost his head. I wonder what Andrew will be charged with.

When I did UK law, only the monarch him or herself was above the law, held by a case way back in the 15th or 16th century (IO think - have to look it up). Be interesting to see if that actually holds. Of course, just because someone wrote something happened donb't mean it did, or in the context it was written. But, I wonder if any pedo cases are coming his way (and I don't know if he is implicated in indulging in sex with an underage person), because another quirk of UK law is that it applies everywhere in the world. So, as a UK citizen, if you commit an offence under UK law in another country where whatever you did is not an offience, then you can still be liable for that offence in the UK. It was intorduced to stop mutiny I believe.

Planes don't steer with the rudder. They do it by banking and directing the Lift forces in the Intended direction of turn. I suggest birds are not much different, Nev

It is a quirk of the Hate Speech laws that, as I understand the law, saying that to noone in particular is not an offence, since it is not directly an incitement to violence. In NSW, this is the wording of the offence: 93Z Offence of publicly threatening or inciting violence on grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex or HIV/AIDS status (1) A person who, by a public act, intentionally or recklessly threatens or incites violence towards another person or a group of persons on any of the following grounds is guilty of an offence-- Of course, my opinion is that the current worldwide increase in overt racism is the product of what we are told is the World's greatest democracy, and you know which one I mean.

There's one around here that rides a Harley with drag pipes and I must admit, he's not too bright. If he has an audience he will crank the throttle extra hard for maximum racket. I guess he thinks everyone is thinking "Wow!", whereas in reality they're all thinking "Dickhead!".

The Pope and Trump are on stage in front of a huge crowd. The Pope leans toward Trump and said, "Do you know that with one little wave of my hand I can make every person in this crowd go wild with joy? This joy will not be a momentary display, like that of your followers, but go deep into their hearts and for the rest of their lives whenever they speak of this day, they will rejoice!" Trump says, "I seriously doubt that. With one little wave of your hand? Show me!" So the Pope slaps him.

Pretty good innings.

Talking of betting on sports, online bookies are making it difficult for country jockey clubs to keep operating. With the ability to place bets using an app while at the racetrack, less money is going through the TAB, whose profits are fed back into country racing. That means less mon allocated to country clubs so prize money is less while the costs of operating meetings continues to rise.

There's a rise of far-right populist parties everywhere. Reform in UK. AfD in Germany. Fidesz in Hungary. National Rally in France. The MAGAfication of the GOP in the US. PHONey here in Australia. If you want reasons, how long have you got? Growing inequality. Billionaires profiteering while simultaneously disenfranchising workers. Overpopulation, destruction of the natural world while those same billionaires resist any limitations on resource extraction. Journalism hollowed out by concentration of media ownership to the same billionaires and their mates who own the fossil fuel and tech industries. Loss of traditional industies to automation, robotics and AI, and the necessary transition of energy systems. Difficult and existential questions which require actual thought, wisdom and cooperative planning, at a time when our attention span is the shortest it's ever been. Into this complicated reality, populist parties provide simplistic answers and attract followers who like simple answers. Climate change isn't real so let's drill, baby, drill. Everything will be ok if we send all the immigrants back to where they came from. It's all the fault of the Somalis/Muslims/Jews/Pakistanis/pick your group. Cut taxes while simultaneously increasing services. Sound familiar? If you really think that Pauline is a deep thinking, compassionate and forward-looking leader, then by all means vote for her. Personally I think she's an opportunistic, racist rabble-rouser who appeals to the worst bits of human nature, so her party will always be last on my ballot.

But we are not presently in normal times. Now that tRump has changed sides, pootin might even assist U.S. Note that U.S. is pretty much helping pootin with his Ukraine invasion

The US has sent attack groups. Russia has sent early warning aircraft. It is really getting to the point where the assassination of Trump would be the only thing to begin restoring world peace.

Phillip Island has lost the MotoGP to Adelaide.