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The POWER of LAW is replaced by the LAW of POWER. Nev

Meantime buy them, because they are a GOOD idea. Mine are still going strong and were at the beginning. Nev

It's impossible to separate Americans from Money and God, in that order. They will make out they worship an omnipotent God, but the Almighty Dollar is what they really worship - along with The Gun, of course. And they believe God gave them both to the Americans, so Americans could be the dominant culture in the world, subjugating any nation they decide they want under their control. Then they regularly espouse the American "Freedom" mantra - which of course, means, to have American Freedom, you have to worship Money, Guns, and God, in that order. Of course, lawyers receive a great deal of worship and adulation in the American System, too. Especially when they transfer mind-boggling sums of American dollars to the plaintiffs.

Slovakia has been a major manufacturing centre for many years, from the early 2000's. The Slovak Govt introduced tax incentives for businesses to relocate there. The country has a simplified flat rate tax system. The Slovak people are good workers. The country has a major steel industry, that was inherited from the Communist era. The Danube forms the Western third of their border with Hungary, and is a substantial transportation route - and it also brings lots of tourists to the country, which is very scenic. The Slovak rail system is modernised, and links with the rest of Europe. The country is well placed in amongst many other European nations with whom it trades, and it is part of the EU. All in all, it is a very favourable place to manufacture. Meantimes, Australia is placed in the most isolated and Southerly part of the globe, well away from any potential trade neighbours. Our tax system is complex and fragmented. Our rail system is poor. Our highway system is fairly good, but trucking is expensive as compared to rail, even with the use of road trains. Our workforce declines to work in factories, so trying to find lowly factory workers is difficult. Every Australian aspires to be a major property investor, and to find highly-paid managerial-style jobs. We are last on a long list of requirements to be a major manufacturing economy. We dig up lots of valuable minerals, and sell them to the rest of the world, that is our forte. We also bring in a serious level of money via the education system, which, while not as strong as it was pre-pandemic, still carries out a major level of quality education to the nations in Asia and the Subcontinent.

If you think about those production figures, and then extend your thinking to all other types of manufactured products, you might link the destruction of the environment to what those figures indicate - over production. Forget about the environmental effects of obtaining raw materials to make all that stuff. How can the world's population use all that is produced. Just think about the amount of household packaging you have to get rid of each week. Walk through a shopping centre and look at all the clothing shops. Most of what you see is never sold. In fact, look at any shop in a shopping centre. Even supermarkets toss out great amounts of unsold products, and I don't mean only out-of-date foodstuffs.

Really! Although it is not the most eloquent phrase in the English language, it has become the common expletive in modern speech. Expletives are words or phrases that add emphasis, but the term most commonly refers to swear words, profanity, or curses used when angry, in pain, or excited. Remember when uttering 'bloody' resulted in a threat to have one's mouth washed out with soap? Until recently it was a difficult word to trace its etymology in usage, in part because it was omitted as taboo by the editors of the original OED when the "F" entries were compiled (1893-97). Johnson also had excluded the word, and fuck wasn't in a single English language dictionary from 1795 to 1965. It is ridiculous that this word is censored when used in the various forms of public media. Who does it offend? I'll tell you. The Bible Bashers of America.

Not as cultured as Stephen Fry, but is more funny.

A Chinese man moved to Australia after years of living in Shanghai. He bought a small piece of land near Mt Isa. Soon after, his friendly Aussie neighbour decided to go across and welcome the new guy. But on his way up the drive-way, the Aussie saw the Chinese man running around his front yard chasing about 10 hens. Not wanting to interrupt these 'Chinese customs', he decided to visit the Chinese the next day. The next day, just as he was about to knock on the front door, he saw through the window the Chinese man urinated into a glass and then drank his own urine. Again not wanting to interrupt another 'Chinese custom', he decided to put the welcome on hold for yet another day. A day later the Aussie decided to give it one last go, but on his way next door, he saw the Chinese man leading a bull down the drive-way, paused, and then put his head next to the bull's bum. The Aussie bloke couldn't take it anymore, so he went up to the Chinese and said 'Jeez Mate, what the hell is it with your Chinese customs? I come over to welcome you to the neighbourhood and see you running around the yard after hens. The next day you are pissing in a glass and drinking it, and then today you have your head so close to that bull's bum.' The Chinese was taken back 'Sorry sir, you no understand. These no Chinese customs. I doing these Australian customs.' 'What do you mean mate' said the Aussie, 'those aren't Australian customs.' 'Yes they are. Man at travel agent tell me' replied the Chinese man. 'He say to become true Australian, you learn to chase chicks, drink piss, and listen to bull-shit!!..

Highly Sophisticated Ruse to make you buy what you really don't need and it May be so esoteric it only exists as some vague undefinable situation. You don't just buy a CAR from US We go together on some Special Journey. Nev

It would be good to have a public expose (a Royal Commission?) into the modus operandi, techniques and motivation behind the global tech giants design of their sites. Virtually all of their designs and operating principles rely greatly on subtle psychology and human behaviour patterns, to constantly feed their need to capture permanent "clients" for their advertisers. They rely on making people feel "wanted" and "attractive", and to want to belong to an important ruling group, with whom they can identify. And their power is highly addictive.

I thought it was Santa who knew if you had been naughty or nice.

Why would GOD need Money? MAN INVENTS HIS GOD to suit his own requirements. Nev

Why can't Australia make cars? OK, Slovakia probablky has a lower wage.. But you really don't need an army of people to make cars anymore.

It is a great video..

We talk about the Chinese car industry, but this story from BBC News may surprise you. In a giant factory surrounded by mountains covered in snow, a lift lowers the steel bodies of cars onto the start of an assembly line. They've just been welded together by robots - there are 690 working in this factory. Next an army of human workers in red trousers and white t-shirts will transform these steel shells into finished cars. One of these vehicles drives off the end of the assembly line every minute, flashing its headlights. This is the European factory of Korean car company Kia, just outside the city of Zilina in the north of Slovakia. It represents, Kia says, an investment of €2.5bn ($2.9bn; £2.2bn). Volkswagen also produces cars in Slovakia. So does Stellantis (formerly Peugeot-Citroen, Fiat and Chrysler), and Jaguar Land Rover. Volvo is opening an electric car factory here in 2027. Slovakia, which is home to 5.4 million people, makes almost a million cars a year. This is a small number compared to the world's largest producers, such as the biggest, China, which manufacturers a whopping 31 million cars per annum. Kia's factory in Slovakia.

Looks like Albo has started a trend to resuce u/16s. https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/22/house_of_lords_votes_to_ban_under_16_socmed/?td=rt-3a Good on him.

Priceless. I do understand the MC didn't like the profanity. But how else could the Danes deal with a bullyboy?

The Chinese have invested hundreds of billions into solar panel manufacturing, just to ensure they control the solar panel market. The word is, few Chinese solar panel manufacturers are profitable, they are only existing on Chinese Govt support. I don't know where they go from here, the only real solution is an increase in solar panel prices - or refining manufacturing techniques to try and reduce costs. https://www.pv-tech.org/chinas-top-four-solar-manufacturers-suffer-1-54-billion-losses-h1-2025/

Clint Walker aged exceptionally well, and many people commented on how handsome he still looked in his 80's. This is a photo of him in his late 80's. He died at age 90.

I resisted the urge to answer to avoid thread drift... Ahh, it's not just me 😉 I guess sooner or later the orange one will grace this thread without the drift. I know some want sooner, but I don't with that on anyone until their time has come to a natural end. Out of respect to those listed above on this thread, I will leave it there. (Also out of respect to those listed above, I would prefer a separate thread when the oramnge one kicks the bucket).

He's not as Important as God OR TRUMP. (in that Order). Nev

IF there's a god HE/SHE /IT KNOWS what you are thinking.. Nev

You don't need to go out into the Wilderness to stay warm. Over the next few days most of the southern part of teh continent will suffer temperatures into the mid-40s. And not a single sign of rain to follow.

FFS! Despite spending an amount that would materially add to my pension on the heating in this place, it has bloody well gone again, just when we need it most (so far this winter). In the 7 years we have been here, we have had two winters without any heating; and 4 with a decent interruption to it. This time, there is something wrong with the boiler and it is blowing fumes back into the house. The CO2 detectors aren't ringing, but there is that smell of burnt jet fuel (they are oil burners). A plumber came out and issued a safety notice, so it is illegal to ignite the boiler until it is repaired and signed off.. and he can't come out until the end of next week! Marble Bar, WA, here I come!