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The media are having a wonderful time spreading fear and anxiety, claiming that petrol will be $2.50 a litre within a couple of days. There is zero reason why petrol should go from around $1.50 on Monday to $2.50 next week, we live in a global economy with oil sourced from dozens of sources, and a small jump in the price of oil per barrel, doesn't translate to a $1 a litre increase within 10 days. It's simply motorist-gouging at its finest, and I hope it sends EV sales through the roof.

Well, Oscar will start from position 5, in row 3. Pole position went to George Russell from Mercedes. The big shock was Kimi Antonelli, who starts from P2. In practice earlier in the day, he virtually wrote off his car in a wild spin and crash. Not only did they rebuild the car in a couple of hours so he could take part in qualifying, he got the second best time to start from P2. Standby cars are not allowed. Lawson (Mercedes) is on P1, Antonelli (Mercedes)is P2, Hadjar (Red Bull) P3, Leclerk (Ferrari) P4, Piastri (McLaren) P5, Norris (McLaren) P6 . Max Verstappen spun out and did not set a time, so will start at the back of the grid.

I just found out Katherine has a "River Cam", pointing at the old rail bridge. The river is lapping the underside of both road and rail bridges at present. https://www.katherine.nt.gov.au/about-katherine/living-in-katherine/river-cam.aspx Some of the lower Katherine suburbs are getting wet feet, right about now. The main bridge is now closed to all traffic. It appears that they have a levee bank with removable gates. The "dry side" of the gates doesn't look too dry, to me!

. He forgot the toilet Paper. It will be in short supply as well as most things, if trucks can't get Fuel. If he had a Prang, He'd have Burn problems as well. Prang is an old aviation term. Nev

Good question, has Iran officially declared war? It's rarely ever done these days. Usually they just box on and call it whatever they like, armed conflict, special military operation, police action, or whatever.

Pete Hegseth torpedoed an UNARMED ship sailing home from a friendly naval exercise, killed 87 sailors, and left the rest floating in the Indian Ocean without lifting a finger to help. On March 4th, a U.S. submarine fired a single Mark 48 torpedo into the hull of the IRIS Dena, an Iranian frigate returning from India's MILAN 2026 multinational naval exercises. The ship had roughly 180 people on board. At least 87 were killed and 61 remain missing. Sri Lanka's navy had to step in and rescue the 32 survivors. Here's what makes this even more sickening. Both the U.S. and Iran were participants in the same Indian-hosted exercise, which required ships to operate without live ammunition. The U.S. sent a P-8A patrol aircraft that flew drills alongside the Dena just days before a submarine destroyed her. Former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal called the attack premeditated, noting the U.S. knew exactly where the ship was because it had been invited to the same exercise. Strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney put it bluntly: if the Dena was lightly armed or unarmed, the strike resembles a premeditated execution more than combat. And Pete Hegseth? He bragged about it. Called it a "quiet death" at a Pentagon press conference, grinning like a man who just won a prize at the county fair. Trump has openly stated that wiping out Iran's navy is a key war objective. The Second Geneva Convention requires belligerents to take all possible measures to search for and rescue the shipwrecked after an engagement at sea. International law scholars, former Pentagon officials, and members of Congress are now openly debating whether this attack was legal and whether the U.S. violated its obligations by abandoning survivors in the water. Sinking a ship that was someone's guest, that was following peacetime protocols, that couldn't fight back. Then leaving sailors to drown thousands of miles from home. That's not strength, thats a warcrime.

I wouldn't own a hybrid for reasons of complexity with 2 power plants, a small battery and a complex drive train, maintenance and a reliance on fossil fuels. Studies have shown most hybrid owners do not get anywhere near the claimed economy. There are a number of reasons but with plug in hybrids many owners do not plug them in so their fuel consumption from the relatively small ICE engine can be very high. For most of my EV driving the energy is free as I charge at home off my rooftop solar panels supported by my home battery plus getting free power for 3 hours a day. On a recent trip to NZ I left the car at Gold Coast airport after leaving home with 100% battery. I still had just over 50% when I got to the airport. Most of the trip was at 110kMh. I stopped at Ballina BP on the way home & put it on the fast charger for 15 minutes while I went for a comfort break & coffee. It was pouring with rain at the time & I wanted a buffer to make sure I'd get home. Cost me $9.04 for a bit over 15 kWh of charge so had plenty left when I got home.

Hybrids give the engine a hard time and are as requiring of maintenance as any ICE car is. Perhaps even more, long term. It appeals to people who want to have the best of both worlds The actual range on the Battery is very short and the vehicles are expensive. Out of warrantee I wouldn't want to OWN one.. I HAVE driven them and find them unpleasant and the fuel saving varies a lot depending whether its Hilly or higher constant speed on the flat.

This morning I was listening to music on my radio. The music was mainly orchestral and the radio is mono. The thought struck me what a wonderful device the radio's speaker is. It can reproduce the wide range of pitch and tone produced by a number if instruments playing at the same time simply by an electrical current causing a fibre cone to vibrate.

I remember my Dad saying that if fuel ever got to 50c a litre, he'd sell the car and buy a horse. He didn't, of course, but shows what it used to cost. Mind you, I was probably about 10 then so that would be in 1982. House prices (and wages) were a lot less than 1/4 of today's, so fuel hasn't risen in price as much as other things.

Maybe that's why Vladimir is so quiet on all this. If China can't source that oil from Iran, Russia will pick it up. Money to be made. He might also pick up some oil trade to China to replace their Venezuela imports. Last year more than half of Venezuelan exports went to China. From Vlad's perspective - lose a couple of allies, but gain a heap of money.

Oh, they've got a plan, alright - and it all centres around our ol' mate Donny, and the ever-increasing level of his personal financial gains - from any worldly conquests, Presidential decisions, and trade deals jockeying. I must say, I'm surprised he hasn't managed to score a deal with the U.S. military, to use Trump-branded armaments. I bet he's seen the profits of the U.S. military-industrial complex, and is itching to get his major share of them.

Not a bad way to go If you have to. None of us are getting out of this alive. I've got too Many things to finish. Nev

They've always Killed a lot of people when training till simulators came along. .. Give it a Burl (meaning GO) is another. . Nev

Probably the First World war. I wasn't born till the start of the second and I hope to never have a 3rd. Wars are MADNESS. Nev

Yeah and you get Bugga all Power from a kero tractor with a lot of Oil dilution as well.. Nev

I wonder if he factored in the cost of the jerrycans. He may not be saving much.

I think USA and Iran consider it such. America is in a "Get in first approach". Putins "special Military Operation was 100%BS and should have fooled NO one. Nev

Shining light in dark corners is a good idea but kero is a crazy price. Nev

The sub informed the Nearest country and that apparently covers the Maritime rules. I'm only the Messenger. Nev

The IRGC base was 60 metres from the school.

Katherine is suffering from major flooding, with the Katherine River expected to exceed 19.2M depth tonight - with more rain coming. This flood event is expected to exceed the 2006 flood river height, at 19M. This photo was taken when the Katherine river was at 17.6M. At 19.2M the water is close to lapping the underside of the rail bridge. However, even at 19.2M, the river level is still well below the disastrous 1998 Katherine flood, where the Katherine River reached 20.4 metres and flooded the entire town, including the main street (the Stuart Hwy) with chest-deep floodwaters. Here's a photo of the river level gauge. This was the scene yesterday afternoon (6th Mar). This is the current Flood Watch Area for the NT. It's interesting that the area extends well into W.A. and encompasses a sizeable area S and W of Kununnura.

I'm no law expert, so my guess might be totally wrong. I thought that it has always been fair game to sink any enemy shipping, in a declared war. There have been many examples in the last, by all sides. But, is this conflict a declared war? Normal maritime law fobids sailing away from a shipwreck, without rendering assistance to survivors. Says a lot about the new Department of War.

It is just price gouging by the oil companies. Just think about this: The fuel in my town is delivered from a depot in town. The depot's tanks had fuel in them earlier in the week. If they have to be filled, then the fuel comes from the coast. It got to the coast in a tanker that sailed from Singapore a couple of weeks ago. The fuel was refined from crude that was shipped to Singapore months ago. So the fuel I am buying at a price that was jacked up this week from its former price was bought an paid for at teh global price well before the current supply situation arose in the Middle East.

Fear and hate is what the crappy MSM are good at. We have a monopoly of a Murdoch controlled media HERE and that's real Bad News. Nev

I also use both Flight Radar 24 and Flight Aware when my wife has been away on a solo trip. This happens about 4 times a year. We have the pickup down to a fine art. I park at a large service station a couple of KMs from the airport (free). I can then find her flight on either of these apps. and see exactly where it is. This means I can get to the pickup zone at just the right time. Another purpose I use it for is following other people's flights. Recently, my son and partner spent 3 weeks in China. I tracked all of their flights, not out of concern but out of interest.

A Japanese gentleman was visiting the United States for the first time. He’d seen America on television for years and was excited to finally experience it in person. On the last day of his trip, he climbed into a taxi and asked the driver to take him to the airport. As they drove along the highway, a Honda zoomed past the cab. The man leaned toward the window, clapped his hands, and exclaimed: “Ahh! Honda — very fast! Made in Japan!” A few minutes later, a Toyota flew by. Again, he leaned out excitedly and said: “Toyota — very fast! Made in Japan!” Soon after that, a Mitsubishi sped past them. Once again, the man smiled proudly and shouted: “Mitsubishi — very fast! Made in Japan!” By now, the taxi driver was getting a little irritated… but he kept quiet and continued driving. Finally, they arrived at the airport. The driver stopped the car and said, “That’ll be $300.” The Japanese gentleman’s eyes went wide. “Three hundred dollars?! That’s very expensive!” The taxi driver smiled and replied: “Meter — very fast. Made in Japan.”

When most company stations, BP, Shell, etc., or 7 Eleven were at $2.19 or $2.29 per litre, I filled up at a small independent station at $1.79 per litre. While all pumps were busy, there were no queues. As one car pulled out, another pulled in. With the small number of km's I do, that full tank should do me for about 3 weeks.

Yeah seen reports , l know there's many and any can say whichever which way you thinks playing out . But they've said this is all actually playing into Bunker dweller Putes hands and he'll be getting good money for his oil again. Sooo, he'll be able to keep financing the war. Great ! Personally, l reckon This is all gonna turn into the biggest Trump shyt show yet.

I am not sure why you are trying to register. It is free to use and does not require registration unless you want the paid version.

Time will tell as far as Khark Island goes. There's always the possibility they're hoping to get the job done while preserving Khark Island's infrastructure. If they had air superiority, it would be a simple matter of obliterating it with B-52s and cheap iron bombs, but no sign of that yet. Just as an edit: what the general said about Khark Island seemed to neglect the fact the US Navy could probably stop any Iranian tankers getting through the straits, so that would have the same economic effect I would think.

Pretty much all of the legacy auto manufacturers are declining. Stellantis is a basket case. Toyota has had its head in the sand for years thinking electric vehicles will disappear. They still have good sales in the West but are down worldwide considerably. Why is this happening? Unless you have been underground for the past few years it is obvious. Electric vehicles are taking over. Tesla made them mainstream but not for the average car buyer due to cost and the fossil fuel industry promoting misinformation. The rise of Chinese car manufacture is the main reason. The world wide forecast increase in EV sales in 2025 was 21%, the same was in 2024.. The year ended with sales passing 25%. The December numbers in Australia were 38% up on the previous year surpassing expectations. EV sales now make up over 13% of car sales in Australia. China has now passed Japan as the largest supplier of cars to Australia. We are though one of the slowest EV converts in the Western world. Other reasons include range increases, very little maintenance, long warranties and most of all lower cost as basic small Chinese made EVs have reached price parity with ICE equivalents. EV market share in the UK reached 23% by the end of 2025 with the rest of Europe 19.3%. The Nordic countries are way ahead with Noway (97%) & Denmark (70%) Sweden a bit lower at over 40% but 60% including hybrids. Trump land has gone the other way as you might expect with a 1% decline overall other than in California, Washington & Colorado. Trump won't allow Chinese EVs in & GM, Ford & the US part of Stellantis are losing ground and bleeding capital by producing mediocre EVs. If it wasn't for Tesla the US market would be stuffed. Musk has done a good job of helping this occur.

Bull$#!t. You are kidding yourself. with wishful thinking. Sea temps are Much warmer and that's a big factor in climate. Higher more unstable clouds. More ENERGY. How good is your Met Knowledge? Nev

Stellantis' loss is purely and simply, shocking management, right from the top. Poor quality products, overpriced, constant poor assembly and poor manufacturing complaints from customers being ignored, a CEO who rewarded himself with a disgusting US$39M pay package, while his company was hiding massive problems and heading for a cliff. Not to mention massively overpriced spare parts, and after-sales service that treated Stellantis customers like they were dog shit on salesmans shoes. Remember the local Jeep owner who publically destroyed his new Jeep "lemon" that had mutliple faults that Jeep/Chrysler wouldn't fix under warranty? Jeep Grand Cherokee sales went from 16,582 annually in 2014, to just 645 in 2024! Not exactly a stunning sales record! And every one of Stellantis' 14 automotive products has the same problems! Senior management in this company needs to be sent back to Business School, to learn how to manufacture products that are relatively fault free, that people want, that are competitively priced, and where the customers get treated like the valuable clients they are! - not treated like they're just a nuisance!

On brighter news, review of the new electric Honda WN7 bike. https://www.visordown.com/reviews/2026-honda-wn7-first-ride-ride-review

It all helps. Katherine is a lot hotter than Darwin. Used to fly into the Town strip at about Midnight with Bugga all runway guidance. Moved operations to RAAF Tyndall in 1969. Nev

From a war perspective, it would have been a dumb thing not to sink the frigate and let it sail home to blockade the Strait of Hormuz at the least, or attack US forces. It's arguably Iran's best ship, or one of the best. Sinking it is in line with one of the stated goals, which is to destroy Iran's navy so it can't threaten shipping in the gulf. They still have a lot of small torpedo boats.

It's expensive all right. Probably cheapest from Bunnings where it varies from $24 to $27 per 4 litres. Buying it in a 20 litre container only saves a couple of dollars. It must have been cheap when we ran tractors on it.

Professor Donald Rothwell, who is a professor of International Law at the ANU College of Law, told ABC News the US did have a right to target the vessel under rules of engagement.

There were three Australians in the submarine crew who basically stayed in their bunks so we could say that Australia took no part in the attack.

The Qld Government subsidised fuel prices to gain votes. Nev

I stand corrected. Toyota lost ground considerably in China, its second largest market after the US for 3 years but had a slight 0.2% increase in 2025. Hybrids are less popular in China mainly due to government incentives for BEVs.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/909950401830263

The Welsh wording actually says, "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work for translation".

You're lucky over there onetrack with those regular prices. We haven't seen prices that low for many, many years. If it ever gets as low as $1.80 here, that's cheap.

It's happening Mate. More energy from extra water in the atmosphere from rising sea temps Ie Latent Heat of vaporisation of water. It's an enormous amount of energy Comes from tropical Maritime Air Masses. More extreme and More Often. Lows persist more distance down both east and western coasts from the equator than previously. Tracks and roads are Built better than the previous ones but still fail.. and will continue to do so.

That's right. The International law system is a toothless tiger. The ICC, the UN, all useless.