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It's great to see a photo of one's Dad in a museum collection. I've got private photos of my Dad taken during his service, but I got the biggest thrill when I found a photo in the Australian War Memorial collection of my Dad in a war zone. He did serve in the Western Desert, but was wounded. That crearted a disability that made him unsuitable for infantry duty (no right index finger to pull a trigger), so he was attached to an narmy hospital where he was a warehouseman. Somebody has to receive and issue new bedpans. Dad had his own copy of the photo, but seeing it in the AWM collection with him identified by name is great.

If anyone criticises the labour party you call it misinformation. You refuse to admit crime is out of control in Victoria. Because Daniel Andrews caused it Never mention the corruption labour have been involved in. Billions handed to crime gangs and union officials. Alboneses has been a communist party member since he was a teenager. Andrews and Alan are too. And banging on about one nation being racist is crap. They only want what's best for Australians and that means slowing the current migration levels and bringing in more stringent entry standards. We all know we need immigration just not the way the clowns are doing it at the moment. Hopefully this November some healing can start when Jacinta Andrews gets kicked out . But our electoral system needs to change to stop preferences getting unwanted people elected. I don't know anyone that voted labour yet albo got in by a landslide with prefences.

It isn't just Trump. The US has always done as it pleases. It used to be "Not our fight" as in only getting in to WW1 in 2017, then in WW2 Roosevelt couldn't get the support of Congress & only got involved after Pearl Harbor. Since then we have honoured the treaties like ANZUS & got involved in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan sent peacekeepers to other places the US has screwed up. Trump has just insulted every ally the US has ever had as in his comments about Afghanistan. He starts a war then complains NATO won't come to his aid. NATO is a defence treaty, an attack on one is an attack on all, not if one member attacks someone then everyone else attacks as well. Complains Australia won't help with the blockaid on Hormuz when we were never asked. The list of his stuffups and insults is endless & reportedly is considering recognising Argentinas claim on the Falklands as punishment for the UK not supporting him in his crazy actions against Iran.

It's outrageously and irresponsibly offensive to suggest anyone here Hates Australia. What's left wing views? Letting the ordinary people have a fair go? Nev

Just got home from the daytime service. A large number of people of all ages attended, including kids from the three schools and the pre-school. These kids marched in the parade along the main street to the memorial, and representatives from each school laid a wreath. Seniors from the high school read the poems, At the Going Down of the Sun; The Inquisative Mind of a Child; Commemoration of the Fallen, and In Flanders Field. You know the song, I am Australian? I mentioned the Coo-ee March. We add antoerh verse: I'm a band of Coo-ee marchers, From Gil to Sydney's shore; We sailed to France Fought bravely In the muddy hell of war. I'm a digger. I'm an ANZAC I'm a proud Gilgandra son. My heart, my home, my country. I am Australian We don't have the generic war memorial in the main street with a statue of a Digger standing atop. We have a statue in the main street to commemoriate the Coo-ee March. It was sculpted by a member of one of the local families.

If you add up all of the countries that contribute less than 2% it comes to around 35%. The amount of tax I pay is minuscule by itself, so perhaps I shouldn't have to pay it.

The best and cheapest reactor is 93 Million miles away.. Nev

NASA just dropped the clearest view of Moon ever captured... by Artemis 2. You can even see craters in extreme detail. yeah, the moon has a colors, you can see them here. Moon 01.mp4

GON, you forgot to mention Trump has buggered up the American economy, having to pay $37B in taxpayer monies to U.S. farmers whose major soybean market he ruined. He has destroyed nearly every economic/trade agreement around. He's made enemies of a multitude of former Allies - then complains when they won't help with his war he started. He's done nothing to create "regime change" in Iran, and has almost certainly created a more hard-line regime there, who will just bide their time to strike back at the U.S. in bitter revenge. He's created greatly increased U.S. inflation, started wars when he claimed he was the greatest peacemaker in the world, has done nothing to stop the Ukraine-Russia war, and is preparing to invade Cuba. He's enriched himself massively by turning the U.S. Presidency position into a simple extension of his business dealings. He's lost tens of billions in U.S. military equipment losses, from aircraft to defence installations, all across the Middle East. He's had nearly all his tariff imposts overturned by the U.S. Supreme court. He's broken every election promise he made - such as, he "would stop the Ukraine War in one day". We have a good Australian name for people like him. "A Supreme Bullshit Artist".

One of our Liberal Senators is calling on the Government to have a serious chat with Trump. I don't think the chat should be too long. Just two words - F... off! The inflation figures come out today. They are up. That means interest rates will go up. Trump might not be dropping explosives on us, but he's certainly hitting us where it hurts. Not only us, but every country in the world, including China and Russia. The UAE is pulling out of OPEC. That can only mean further rises in oil prices since the UAE is avery major producer. Enough is enough! Trump and his cronies must be removed! Let's see the American people do something for the whole world.

We had our local show this weekend. I got the chance to speak to representatives of the mob which is in the process of gaining approval for an eighty-tower windfarm within 20 kms of my place. Eighty towers seems like a big crowd, but when I was shown to proposed location of each tower, I saw that they were separated from each other by close on a kilometre. My first thought when I heard of the proposal was that teh towers would be visible from the Newell Highway which is located to the east of the proposed area. I learned that the closest tower woulod be about 5 kms from the highway, with a line of low "hills" between them. So that's no longer a concern to me. I think I've whinged before that around here it can be pretty windy, nd said that it would be ideal for a wind farm. Seems I'm right in some ways and mistaken in others. I experience wind as air movement within about 10 metres of the ground surface. That air movement is very turbulent compared to air movement 100 metres above ground where the turbine blades are. That turbulence, caused by the moving air particles colliding withthe ground and trees and ricocheting into air particles higher up. These collisions rob the air particles of energy due to loss of momentum. If the air movement is free of the turbulence, then there is more energy for the collision between the moving air and the turbine blades. That's why the towers are so high. I was also told that studies locally have shown that the most consistent air movement begins at these heights after sunset and stay pretty good until just before dawn. That means the turbines are best able to produce electricity at night in complement to solar panels. That sounds good. What about the effects on farm incomes? The builders don't resume the land they need like the government does when it wants to build roads etc. It seems that the land is rented from the landholders at a rate determined by the generating capacity of the turbine. An example was that of a property with two towers on it. Based on the generating capacity of the intended turbines, renting the land for two towers would return $100,000 p.a. CPI-indexed for a contract period of thirty years. That's got to provide a degree of stabilisation of farm income. I bet any landowner would love to get that sort of money, especially in the present circumstance when it looks like a drought is on the way. Why does it take so long to get a windfarm up an running. Would you beleive that it is in part due to the very people who pursue a renewable world? One of the environmental reports required deals with the effect of the turbines on bats and birds. Getting the data required a study lasting two years. Then there are the Native Heritage studies and gaining clearances from the local indigenous community. Then there are the geo-technical studies, planning permissions yadda yadda. We should consider the economic benefits. It is said that the workforce required to create the windfarm complex is about 500 persons. These people will be newcomers who will have to be fed, housed and entertained for several years. Already the local Council has allocated an area for an accommodation camp. Someone has to build it. An extra 500 people will hopefully boost local trade, although the proximity of the City of Dubbo, about 30 minutes' drive away might not do good for my town. Still, it's money coming into the district. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with this project. Really, it is going to be 'out of sight, out of mind' to teh majority of the population. And kn owing what I know about smart crows and blind bats, I don't envisage too many mid-air collsions with revolving turbine blades.

Clearing for suburban developments and clearing for minesites and minesite access roads and facilities also takes up a substantial majority of the level of native vegetation clearing going on. Farmland in W.A. has been subject to highly restrictive clearing bans since 1985. In the 1960's, the catchwords of W.A.'s conservative politicians were, "we're aiming at clearing a million acres a year!". We've gone from one extreme to the other as regards farm clearing, but there's only minimal restrictions on clearing for roads and subdivisions.

I was indeed - as were you and around 63,000 other young men. But the major difference between a "lone wolf" radical, mentally disturbed assassin, is that those young Australian men were screened for mental instability and other psychological problems, and those found unsuitable were rejected from induction into the military. Those men inducted, were trained to good levels of competency, and given instructions in what to do, as regards identifying enemy combatants - and they were also given "rules of engagement", which follow the Geneva Conventions. This is a world apart from the American scene, where any number of high powered firearms are freely available to any U.S. citizen, regardless of their soundness of mind, their ethics and morals, and their beliefs. In addition, there is no requirement for any firearms training whatsoever for U.S. civilians, and adherents of the U.S. firearm worship cult, also train up their young children in the use of firearms - which to me, is the sign of a morally and ethically bankrupt civilisation.

It's been a long time between posts. My main shed renovations are at the stage of a much needed clean out, so I'm getting to the point of sorting some stored flight gear and moving on superflous multiples and unwanted items. I've decided to gift these helmets to a couple of collectors I'm associated with, one in France and the other in Greece. They're extra to my requirements and are better off where they're appreciated instead of a life in storage. I got them from a lady in Vinnytsia about twelve years ago, and realising how rare they were, I bought all of them, hence the extras. At first glance, they look much like the garden variety Soviet leather flight helmet, but these are different externally and internally and were only made in small numbers. In the years since I obtained these helmets I've only ever seen one for sale. They're rare but not valuable as in worth heaps of money. They were manufactured at Rostikinsky in NW Moscow where all the standard leather helmets were made, but the big difference is the use of the same noise cancelling headsets that the cloth ground crew helmets use. These use the glycerine filled earpads and the larger Ukrainian made speakers. The speakers are only different from standard in physical size; they still have the same 1500 ohm resistance. There's no literature or documentation on them, so I can only assume they were designed to try for noise reduction in certain helicopters, possibly the larger Mi-6 and Mi-26. Having said that, I reckon they'd go ok in the screaming Il-76 transport. The low bypass Soloviev D-30 turbofans on them are deafening. I have two of each of these helmet types spare, so will be sending what you see here to each of the collectors overseas (minus the foam heads).

Getting back to the assertion that political leanings are determined by the dominance of one hemisphere over the other. It is not unusual for people to change their political leanings throughout life or as a result of particular life experiences. I came to Australia from England when I was 2. I endured a moderate amount of bullying early on in school for being a Pommy. This no doubt allows me to empathise with victims of bullying. My sister came out as gay when she was 17, and suffered badly due to conservative attitudes back then. This means that I can not abide anti gay behaviour and therefore identify more with the so called left than right. As I said, I have been a musician/music teacher all of my life. This means that I am keenly aware of which side of politics is likely to support the arts. As a teenager, I was heavily involved with the Astronomical Society and had a general love for science I have an awareness of which side of politics is more supportive of science. Our neighbour and friend is a trans F to M. My logical side says, " Do I enjoy this person's company? Anything else is irrelevant. Again, this seems more left than right. Whether or not we have hard-wired tendencies, that is all they are, tendencies. Much more important is the overlay of life experience. For some, a life event may even change someone from right to left or vice versa. It is also not uncommon for people to move across the political spectrum as they age.

Probably just the one he had in mind Marty, I don't think he claims to be an expert on the subject. Good on him for starting a thread; it's the content creators that keep forums going and gives the reactors something to react to.

Not to mention nursing home staff. My 93yo mother is looked after by Nepalese, Thai, Indian, African,Sri Lankan and Malaysian Australian staff. Barely a white face among them. She knows all their names and asks after their kids, and you can see the gentleness and respect they show her. There are certainly the job opportunities in that industry if "traditional" Aussies want them, but they don't.

"Australians" have the strong link towards Anzac Day because of the historic and family links referred to in the previous posts. However, if we moved to, say, Canada, would we adopt their historic memorials? It's easy to understand the disassociation immigrants have without the family links to the past.

Who's the `we' in this, and where do you get the idea that people with left wing views `hate' Australia? That's the kind of stuff that Trump and his cohort say to whip up anger among their supporters. I don't believe that anyone on this forum hates Australia, no matter what their views are.

My dad served in the Dutch army as an anti-tank gunner before Germany invaded Holland. He and his crew actually derailed one of the returning German troop trains on its way back to the border after delivering troops to the Rotterdam area on the morning of the invasion. They were also involved in a number of rearguard actions before Holland capitulated. In his later years he decided that despite not being a naturalised Australian he should be entitled to walk in the Anzac parade and take part in the Dawn Service as an allied soldier even though he wasn't an Anzac, so he did. One year he was very proud to be able to march with his grand daughter who was in uniform. She is currently a captain in the Navy. At his funeral in 2016 some local RSL volunteers played the Last Post in accordance with his wishes. Many years ago I went with him on a trip back to Holland, my first time going overseas. We were in a museum in Eindhoven one day and there was a photo among the exhibits of a wrecked locomotive and carriages lying on their sides. He pointed to it and said; "I did that".

How can everyone be a "White Australian"? A good Australian would not be a racist and stop calling people you don't like, Lefties. You sound like Trump (and Hanson). Neither of whom are very smart . Nev

Have a look at the problems the UK and Europe have now because of open border policies.

That is the most sensible statement I have read on here. I work with people from many different backgrounds and my father was married to a Chinese lady and she was a great person. What pisses me off is not being able to discuss the out of control immigration without being labelled rascist. The left wing comments on this thread certainly come across as hating Australia and what we stand for.

I watched a video from Spanian, the Sydney chap who spent a time in jail and now travels and eats out recording his travels. in Paris he had a guide who had lived in Sydney who was from France. She took him through the city. There were many parts where the Parisians are scared to go, at least alone and female due to the large number of male immigrants living in tent cities under the bridges and on the foot paths. Spanian is a scary enough looking dude and many of them wanted to front up to him just for being there. that type of migration is not beneficial to society. when I was younger I remember everyone talking about the Greeks and Italians that came to Australia. They worked hard, opened shops, built houses and became the new Australians I know there are other groups that have done similar. Without this type of input we would be pretty boring. All the new foods and culture brought here has been beneficial to all. gangs of youths wandering the streets with machetes and committing crime are not welcome. Some of these groups are children of people who escaped pretty bad situations in their home countries, but the youth seem to not appreciate the fortune of living in a good country, perhaps dreaming of being gangsters from too many poor influences. maybe sending these ones back to where they (or their parents) are from for punishment might be the answer, then they may appreciate what they had.

You are a very Patient person Octave and put a lot of effort into correcting erroneous figures and statements, There's a hell of a lot of deliberate Misinformation out there so we ALL should put a more critical eye on stuff from dubious sources for Nefarious Reasons . You have consistently done this for a Long time and I thank you greatly for your efforts. Nev

I think it is crucially important that, whatever our views are, we try hard to present information that is accurate. The problem with a meme is that it can say anything, true, partially true or false, and this somehow becomes fact. Incorrect reporting of ABS data fuelling false claims Australia has a mass migration problem The report’s authors say that public commentators, activists and some media outlets are incorrectly using Permanent and Long-Term (PLT) movement data, which is collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), to claim Australia has a ‘migration problem’ and distort public understanding. This is despite repeated, clear comments from the ABS that PLT does not measure migration but instead records people coming in and out of Australia, and includes tourists, temporary visa holders, returning residents and repeated short absences. ANU Professor Alan Gamlen explains that net overseas migration (NOM) — the number of migrants arriving in Australia minus the number of migrants departing Australia — is in fact falling sharply and has been since June 2023. Approximately 838 people were added to Australia's population each day through net migration during the 2024–25 financial year [5.18, 5.21]. This daily figure is derived from Net Overseas Migration (NOM), which measures the number of people arriving in Australia minus those departing [5.27, 5.33]. It is the most accurate official measure for population growth, as it only counts individuals who stay in the country for at least 12 out of 16 months [5.27, 5.33]. Recent Migration Statistics (Daily Breakdown) Net Overseas Migration (NOM): In the 2024–25 financial year, NOM was 306,000, averaging roughly 838 people per day [5.18, 5.21]. This was a decrease from the record high of 538,000 (approx. 1,474 per day) seen in 2022–23 [5.21]. Gross Migrant Arrivals: About 1,556 people arrived daily (568,000 annually) in 2024–25 [5.18, 5.21]. However, many of these arrivals were offset by the roughly 720 people who departed daily during the same period [5.18, 5.21]. Permanent vs. Temporary: Of the daily arrivals, only about 252 people per day (92,000 annually) arrived on permanent visas, while the majority were on temporary visas, such as international students [5.3]. Distinguishing Different Data Measures Reports often cite different numbers depending on the metric used: Official NOM (Population Growth): Currently averages around 838–933 per day based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) [5.27, 5.33]. Net Permanent and Long-term (NPLT) Arrivals: This is a "raw" measure of border crossings often used as an early indicator [5.13, 5.32]. It is typically higher (sometimes cited as 1,160 to over 3,400 per day in specific record months like February) but can be misleading because it may count the same person multiple times if they travel frequently [5.1, 5.2, 5.11, 5.33].

James Valentine passed away on 22 April 2026). He was an Australian musician, and radio and television presenter. As a saxophonist he was a member of Jo Jo Zep (1982), Models (1984–87), and Absent Friends (1989–90). Valentine was treated for an oesophageal cancer in March 2024 and was alerted to a tumour in his omentum in June 2025. He died in on 22 April 2026 using voluntary assisted dying.

And just like a mafia boss, he should be behind bars

l reckon, but so how ironic is it that the rest of the world respecting the US again was one of his biggest things campaigning. Yet instead he's made a laughing stock out of himself , destroyed just about any international relations they had and they're leaving him in dust .

The moon over the Persian Gulf (Strait of Hormuz) and the International Space Station. Moon 02.mp4

Any one can employ a lot of workers, but when they want to change the rules to Make MORE Money for themselves, I say NO. At 38 BILLION She's rich enough already. She's bought. into Newspapers to get Influence, and Immensely funded campaigns. "Lord" Monkton was her trusted advisor. There's nothing New Here.. Gina has an Overdeveloped sense of Entitlement . Lang Hancock Couldn't stand her and he's her Father. Nev

Yes, her various businesses keep a lot of people employed, makes her rich and helps the country's exports, so everyone's happy. Her wealth also buys her a lot of political influence and whether or not that's a good thing depends on whether you agree with her political views. She's too much like Trump in my opinion.

The oxygen locked into hematite is just as useful as the iron, because it is needed to facilitate the steel-making process. Oxygen is critical to many chemical processes which produce the products we need in our industrialised world. I agree, there's a large cost component in shipping iron ore many thousands of kilometres to furnaces in far-off countries. But those countries are prepared to pay that cost, and they often own the ore bulk carriers, as well as the iron and steel-making facilities. The simple fact remains that iron and steel-making is a business that just cannot be started from scratch without a monstrous financial investment, running into possibly multiple tens of billions of dollars, the need to find stable markets for that iron and steel, that are consistent purchasers of the product - and the end product goes into a world full of iron and steel products that are often sold cheaply. There are many "anti-dumping" legal actions against iron and steel manufacturers around the world, as the Chinese in particular, often dump iron and steel products at low prices during sales slumps, to keep their furnaces operational. They often over-produce iron and steel products. If we go into iron and steel making on a large scale, we are competing with huge global iron and steel producers in a vicious market. BHP and Rio Tinto are possibly the only corporations who could garner the huge investment backing required to indulge in large-scale iron and steel production. All businesses need to borrow money to finance big projects and you need to be able to convince lenders you can repay the borrowed money. Financiers would be reluctant to lend money to huge iron and steel manufacturing projects, as they are seen as low return. However, there is great interest in finding cheaper ways of making iron and steel, and especially "green" steel, where pollution levels from the manufacturing process are low. Iron and steel manufacturing is one of the worlds most polluting industrial production processes. To that end, there are three companies in W.A. currently either manufacturing or investing in "green" steel production on a modest scale. It appears the S.A. Govt is also intent on supporting "green" steel manufacturing in that State. https://international.austrade.gov.au/en/news-and-analysis/news/australia-forges-a-future-made-from-green-steel

That only happened with the LUST batch of Robots they Made..Nev

No. Just incompetent, vindictive and ignorant.

GON - I'm no left-leaning Labour supporter and I consider myself pretty non-political. I've voted Liberal, NP and Labor, according to the issues of the individual election on the day. Also, I do vote, meaning I still have trust in our institutions. That doesn't appear to be the case in your situation, you claim all political parties are unrepresentative of the voters. But I do object to the constant right-wing whines about how all immigrants hate Australia and how the "White Australian culture" is purposely being subsumed by foreign immigrants from cultures the right-wingers love to project hate at. By doing so, they only place themselves in the same boat as the small number of Islamics who DO hate Australian values and our way of life. I don't need to denigrate Pauline Hanson, she can simply bring scorn on herself with her erratic and illogical outbursts, and her obvious hatred of anyone who isn't White European, and who comes from a different culture. But above all, she proposes things with no firm plans or vision, she just loves to agitate and see agitated people.

GON, I'm using both sides my brain to follow your arguments and logic, but not having a lot of luck so far.

The Van Gogh example backs up the idea that nobody is born favouring one side of the brain or the other. Depending on what people do, they use one side more than the other. Plant operating, eg: driving machines is one field where it makes a difference.

You mean if one is reasonably intelligent and a normal human being? Thanks.

If Very ordinary ( lack of) Intelligence doesn't finish us off first. Nev

Bloody well said.

The fact that I like my son's Chinese partner does not mean I hate Australia. I judge people by their character and their deeds, not by where they were born.

Its the uncontrolled immigration. Albo is importing thousands of new voters that hate our way of life as much as he and his leftie mates.

He Behaves just like one. He only deals when he has a gun to your Head. IF he was a car Headlight bulb, He'd be about 5 watts. Definitely NOT Forman Material.. Nev

What Trump meant by respect was not admiration, but more like the `respect' a Mafia mob boss wants.

He rubs former allies Noses in the Cat$$#!t and expects us to follow him into stupid situations Like we have done blindly before without Questioning it. Even Americans are sick of Foreign Wars that Never end well. . Nev

Cleaning up the mess he’s created will be a major headache for whoever comes after him. He has knocked the US off its perch in terms of how the rest of the world sees it now, and it will never fully recover. Not much of a legacy to brag about. The reason he’s erecting so many monuments to himself is that he knows nobody else will.

He isn't even good at golf. There have been numerous videos posted of his caddies shifting balls to more favourable positions & prior to his foray in to politics was a poor investor as well having been bankrupted 6 times. This time of course he has posted sycophantic Yes men & women to all the important and influential roles, dismantled many of the departments that provide checks and balances and breached the constitution and rules more times than you can count and the Senate & Congress have become paralysed. He thought he had control over the supreme court having appointed sympathetic judges but obviously some of these actually have a conscience. His tariffs were deemed illegal & the Epstein files got released though missing all the important stuff that would implicate him, his ICE thugs have been called to account after murdering 2 protesters in Minnesota so he was getting into pretty hot water. A diversion was required. What better diversion than to start a war. It is all beginning to unravel now & he is becoming more erratic and lashing out via his social media platform. Then picking a fight with the Pope was the last straw. There are a lot of loyal catholics in the US so how he is going to survive this one is hard to say. Only his appointees & the MAGA nutters seem to be supporting him right now. Most of his media supporters from Fox News and right wing influencers have railed against him. He was called insane just this month by Marjorie Taylor Greene, former Georgian congress woman initially one of his staunchest allies. Not only that but the protests against him in the US have grown to massive proportions with over 3200 events in all 50 states in late March estimated at more than 8 million participants. As well he has virtually no friends left in Europe & the rest of the World except Israel, Russia & North Korea. I hope we are witnessing his downfall and that it won't be too long before the world can sigh a collective relief.