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I travelled through Iran to Afghanistan in 1975 before the Shah was deposed. I found most locals polite but border officials etc were not. I even hitch hiked from the Turkish border to a small town & then took a bus to Tehran. The main roads were good having been built by the US but the rest was quite poor then. I was only there for a week & saw some amazing architecture & ancient sites. If the place wasn't run by Islamist fanatics it would be great. The Shah was very wealthy but most people were poor. One of the reasons for the original takeover. Back to the sinking of the Iranian warship. US military sources stated it was the first sinking of a an enemy ship by a submarine launched torpedo since WW2. Well No. There have been 4 since and of course that included the British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinking the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano in 1982 during the Falklands war. The Yanks don't get much right especially history that they continually re-write to suit their narrative. As for fuel prices it doesn't bother me as they have yet to figure out how to tax the sun.

Gees, just come across a YT on Iran - Real Iran - behind the scenes of chaos nobody realises-Tok discovery. Bloody hell, seem like lovely people something like l wish Aussies were and a lovely country too. They actually really look after their people , another thing l wished happened in Aus. Dig it up on YT if interested , really surprised.

Iran is already nearly out of water, thanks to bungling Islamic Fundamentalist leadership. They have only just very recently opened a desalination plant to provide them with water - I guess this may be the one hit? The water situation was previously so dire, the Ayatollahs were discussing moving Tehran to some place where there was adequate water. Where that place was, is anyones guess. There's going to be a lot of thirsty Iranian war refugees flooding into other countries soon. https://e360.yale.edu/features/iran-water-drought-dams-qanats https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iran-launches-key-water-transfer-project-from-gulf-of-oman-t (Ignore the news articles on Al Mayadeen, showing massive American losses. Al Mayadeen is a Beirut-based, Lebanese pan-Arabist satellite news channel, a propaganda mouthpiece for Hezbollah).

The WLTP range for the MG Excite 51 is 350km not 405km. The WLTP range for my MG Essence 64 is 435km with the lower spec Excite 64 it is 450km. None of the models has a quoted 405km range. This is the old out dated NEDC range which was very inaccurate & was created in laboratory tests in the 1980s based on urban driving. It was last updated in 1997. A friend of mine has an Excite 51 & gets over 300km. In mine the range is about 380 to 400km based on 110km highway driving & some 50 - 80 km driving. Driving around in an urban environment at 50 - 60 kmh gives me much higher range. The range estimator (also known as the guess-O-meter) has given me 505km from a full charge & that would have been close if I hadn't gone over 50kmh. It has a level of intelligence that works out the range based on your driving style & it is surprisingly accurate. It is 182km from my house to Gold Coast Airport & a few weeks ago I left with 100% charge & arrived with 52%. Most of this was at 110kmh on the Pacific Highway. I could have got home without getting a charge but just like with my old petrol car I would never let the fuel get that low. I spent 15 minutes at the BP in Ballina for a comfort stop & coffee & added some charge. Cost me $9.04 but there was plenty left when I got home. Other than long trips it costs nothing to run my EV as I charge from solar, supplemented by my home battery and 3 hours of free power every day. I'll never have to worry about the price of petrol going up because of wars or other reasons for shortage. In any vehicle, electric or internal combustion it all depends on how you drive, the terrain, weather, the total weight of the vehicle and use of accessories like air conditioning etc.

It appears that 'prang' is a relatively new word, created by the RAF. The date might be the mid-1930s, but its first documented use was in 1940/41.

The Bats in the trees are Probably safe, unfortunately. Nev

An even bigger irony is that the US manufactures it’s own version of a Shahed 136 drone called LUCAS. They reverse engineered a Shahed.

All the Iranians here, that I have ever dealt with, are pleasant people to deal with, hard workers - and all despair at the state of the country they left. The original Iranian Farsi (Persian) culture was held in high esteem for its civilised level, and the Farsi's reached high levels of sophistication in arts, poetry, mathematics, and numerous other fields. They treated others in a civil manner, and social etiquette was well developed, and they were admired for centuries for their cultivated outlook. But somewhere along the way, the cultured Farsi allowed other cultures to infiltrate their nation, and those cultures were Islamist fundamentalist rock apes, who worked on religious violence, religious repression, and subordination by devious means - and the artistic and highly educated Farsi's were overwhelmed, and their ability to deal with poor leadership was constantly beaten down. One would hope, that soon, the cultured and educated Farsi's who believe in religious tolerance, and who formerly had good governmental processes, will gain the upper hand. But I cannot see that happening unless there is much more major bloodshed to come, as the Islamist religious rock apes are still in too high a number, to allow that to happen. They extend throughout many Islamic countries, and support religious repression and extreme murderous violence, at every attempt to remove them from power.

The 1.7M barrels of oil purchased in 2020 as part of Australia's storage reserves, and stored in a Texas salt cavern, was severely criticised by opponents after it was purchased, with opponents claiming it would be of little use to us in the event of a war, because of the time lag in accessing/shipping it (2 to 3 weeks), and the risk of loss via enemy attack in shipping channels, when on its way here. The message must have been heeded, because that oil reserve was sold off in 2022. I have no idea whether a financial loss or gain was incurred in the sale - but it may been sold at a profit, as oil prices spiked in 2022, thanks to the Ukraine invasion by Russia. Regardless, the simple fact remains, we still do not have the stipulated 90 days of oil reserves in hand, as required by the IEA. Our fuel reserves are currently around 34 to 36 days, and that should be of great concern to every politician with more than one functioning brain cell. Unfortunately, we have quite a number of politicians who seem to lack any functioning brain cells.

Yes, diesel did go down to around $1.00 a litre during the worst period of COVID, but it didn't stay there for very long, only a few weeks. The price gougers love major disruptions - any chance to give a reason for a substantial price increase. Spare a thought for a mate, he's driving his Landcruiser Troop Carrier from Esperance back to Victoria this coming week. Diesel is currently $2.29 L at Norseman and $2.99 a litre at Nullarbor Roadhouse. But I paid $2.79 a litre for diesel at Mundrabilla on the Nullarbor, when I drove from Echuca to W.A. in May 2024, so maybe not such a big percentage increase in remote areas, as in the cities. Diesel at Mundrabilla was the cheapest across all the Nullarbor roadhouses, back in May 2024. Nullarbor Roadhouse is always the dearest, you avoid the place like the plague. I wouldn't fancy being a caravanner tripping around the country at present, the massive increase in fuel prices is going to see a lot of people curtail their caravanning holidays.

It's just the Australian way, see a chance to gauge , go for it. Aussies will just take it on the chin pms will just go about their day and the gaugers line their pockets unscathed- so what's new right. Same with our super markets , gas, elec, costs of living, no one touches them and dumb old Aussies just soldier on, few gripes, that's ok super markets and all the rest are all use to that doesn't even phase em they know to well they laugh all the way to the bank behind closed doors and that's as bad as it'll get. l can never believe some of the delusional reports we hear on even just fuel. Oh fuels gone up 30%, 50% , since Covid/Ukraine or whatever other rubbish. Bullshit, in my area diesel was around 1.10 and over night flew up to 2.25. Ahhh, that ain't 30 or 50 , it's 100%, doubled. And since it's come down to about now 60-70%, pends where you are. Still 1.85 up here in a lot of places. Coles or Woollies still asking 16 and 20bucks for coffee that use to be 8 and 10, just to call one thing, it's right through anything they sell on and on but off they all just merrily go.

Frump tried following his love Pute in this earlier and called it some bs don't remember how he put it. But l saw a clip of him yesterday actually calling it a war , full stop. Me, l'd call it yet another Frump shyt show that hasn't even begun, just sadly more tragic than his usual but eh, he's still alive so what's he care .

This is Lindsay street in Katherine from 19 hrs ago. The Katherine K-Mart K-hub and the BP servo and adjoining shops are under water, to about waist-deep, by the look of it. The Katherine River peaked at 19.21M on Saturday night and has dropped back to 18.9M at 10:30AM this (Sunday) morning. Google Street View will give you an idea of what it looks like normally! https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lindsay+St,+Katherine+NT+0850/@-14.4635718,132.2654121,1052

The Americans have slowly woken up to the massive cost to their economy, of their ever-more-expensive weaponry. https://theconversation.com/the-us-is-using-repurposed-iranian-drone-technology-to-attack-iran-a-military-expert-explains-why-277397

Iranians are Shiite. Not the Most radical group by any means. Saudi ( the Kingdom) are an offshoot of Sunni (wahabi) but may now go under another name are the Most extreme in interpreted doctrine. Nev

if you live in Godzone country why bother with $#!thole Places? Nev

No, that's an incorrect assumption. The article says "$700M worth of agricultural exports". That amount would be comprised largely of agricultural machinery. We have no tractor industry left in Australia, so we import American-built tractors, harvesters and tillage equipment by the shipload. And they are all big-ticket items. Some of the headers and tractors are now approaching the $1M mark for purchase price. The amount of American beef shipped to Australia can barely be measured, they can't supply enough beef to Americans, so they ship in ... wait for it ... AU$5.2B worth of Australian beef each year! The level of American shipments of beef to Australia is estimated to be around US$1M to US$2M at a maximum - a drop in the ocean compared to the AU$19.5B worth of beef that Australia exported in total in 2024. https://globalaginvesting.com/australia-opens-market-to-u-s-beef-imports-after-two-decades/

Tehran is at a high altitude and a long way from the SEA. Iranians are very well educated.. Nev

The new cars are smaller, lighter & are hybrids with a 50/50 split between internal combustion & electric power & use 100% sustainable fuels. The drivers have to manage the power split now. I've watched the Formula E cars a couple of times & they have incredible acceleration but races are shorter due to battery constraints but now the Gen 3 versions are 4WD & allow for fast charging pit stops of 600kW

Up till now the McLarens had it almost to themselves. I will have to watch it because it IS the Ultimate technology with the Worlds best drivers. Nev

I see that USA imports billions of $ worth of Australian beef, annually. Now I see that USA has exported $700,000,000 worth of beef to Australia. https://www.beefcentral.com/news/us-beef-officially-re-enters-australia-after-23-year-absence/ Can anyone explain how this makes sense? Are we exporting so much beef that we left our local market short? We do that with our gas exporting. Doesn't all this shipping back and forth push up the price to the public?

Oh the irony. Iran makes Shahed drones. They sell them to Russia to use against Ukrainians. Of course they are using them now at home. USA has been wasting very expensive missiles to destroy Shaheds. (Patriot missiles?) To the point that USA is depleting their missile stocks. Now Ukraine are sending their own designed and Ukr made Sting interceptor drones designed especially for Shahed drones to help the US out! Cost? About $3500 each.

Yeah, 1.10- 1.05. You see, people don't even notice, so weird. Start of Covid and Ukr war, 1.05, 1.10 where l was. That was typical though as l was going up and down to Melb all through that too and passing 100s of servos

Diesel was 1.10 where you are? It hasn't been much below 1.80 here for years.

Back to topic. This is an interesting report:

Oh, jolly good show! Has Nev ever pranged a kite? Did he really know Pilot Officer Percy Prune? What about RAF and RAAF bumf? 😄

So it wasn't invented by Biggles then?

The ridiculous thing was petrol going up and down like a bride's nightie, from $1.59 to $2.29 per litre every few weeks, without a major war anywhere.

The price per barrel of oil has gone up 12.5%. That equates to 21c a litre at the bowser. Anything more than that, is simple price gouging.

Hasn't the ACCC warned servos and oil companies not to price gouge? Heaard someone on the radio day they are pretty much a toothless tiger, though I do remember them forcing Qantas, I think to refund fares over some scam of some sort. Over here, the prices are fairly stable. at the moment, which is a surprise. They usually jack it up straight away, and when the oil and gasoil prices settle back to normal levels, it allsort of takes a very long time for the retail price to retract and then no where near what it was.

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.

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.”

A couple was on their honeymoon, lying in bed, about ready to consummate their marriage, when the new bride says to the husband, "I have a confession to make, I'm not a virgin." The husband replies, "That's no big thing in this day and age." The wife continues, "Yeah, I've been with one guy." "Oh yeah? Who was the guy?" "Tiger Woods." "Tiger Woods, the golfer?" "Yeah." "Well, he's rich, famous and handsome. I can see why you went to bed with him." The husband and wife then make passionate love. When they are done, the husband gets up and walks to the telephone. "What are you doing?" asks the wife. The husband says, "I'm hungry, I was going to call room service and get something to eat." "Tiger wouldn't do that." "Oh yeah? What would Tiger do?" "He'd come back to bed and do it a second time." The husband puts down the phone and goes back to bed to make love a second time. When they finish, he gets up and goes over to the phone. "Now what are you doing?" she asks. The husband says, "I'm still hungry so I was going to get room service to get something to eat." "Tiger wouldn't do that." "Oh yeah? What would Tiger do?" "He'd come back to bed and do it again." The guy slams down the phone, goes back to bed, and makes love one more time. When they finish he's tired and beat. He drags himself over to the phone and starts to dial. The wife asks, "Are you calling room service?" "No! I'm calling Tiger Woods, to find out what the par is for this damn hole."

Just doing a 'back of the napkin' calc.... Average Australian wage is circa $100k per annum. Say 30% income tax, leaves $70k real income. My power bill is about $1300 per annum. Isn't that 1.8% of wages going on electricity? Even if the government (who incidentally don't own the power system anymore) make electricity free it hardly impacts the overall cost of living.