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Takes a grubby type to destroy the only worldly possessions of people with nothing.

She was/is exceptionally good at her job of defending the indefensible and attacking the press. You have to admire her talent and confidence. She's only 28.

Trump goes to his doctor and takes off his hat to reveal a huge toad on the top of his head. “When did you notice that?” asked the doctor. And the toad answers: “It began as a boil on my ass.”

Nowadays I am forced to use the only tool that reduces that pain. It's called a debit card.

A guy hears a noise outside at his shed. He looks out the window and sees a burglar trying to break into the shed. He quickly calls 000 and explains the situation. The operator says "Sorry sir, we have no resources to send." The guy looks out again, and says, "You have to come. He's stealing my mower." The operator again says," I told you sir, we have no resources to send." Then the guy says, "Oh, don't worry about it, I just shot the twat. He's dead on the lawn.' Within five minutes, there were two helicopters, six police cars and fourteen police swarming around his house. There was no body on the lawn. The police said, "Sir, you lied to us. You didn't shoot anyone." The guy said, "You started it by saying you had no resources."

I know the feeling. Arthritis in the knees means normal knee propulsion to get up off the ground is long gone. I end up like a beetle on my back, then have to roll over on all fours and get up that way.

That's absolute rubbish. The ABC is far less biased than any other news service in Australia. It's widely recognised that Sky News or whatever they call themselves now are among the most biased. So surely Hanson refused entry to them too? The reason Hanson doesn't want the ABC around is because they ask difficult questions. Guess what? That's their job. They do it to all sides of politics. And as a politician, if you haven't got answers to difficult questions, then what are you doing there? As a reporter said this morning, it's dangerous for democracy when politicians exclude segments of the media from their announcements. Look how many criminal investigations leading to charges have been initiated by investigative journalism, especially by the ABC. Without proper media scrutiny, corruption flourishes.

That is her problem. She is a Trump Yes woman, though everyone who works for him has to be that or they are fired. Getting out before that happens is pretty rare. Anyone with a conscience wouldn't work for the orange man but her salary would have been better than she would ever get anywhere else I imagine, plus of course being in the limelight is something very attractive to some people.

Creating a questionnaire in order to get the correct sort of information it aims to get is a very difficult thing. Questions have to be carefully worded so that they cannot be misinterpreted. That is one of the problems of the written word. How many time here amongst ourselves has someone posted what appears to be a very clear comment or statment and it has been taken the wrong way by someone? That is the cause of most of the arguments here, or the missing of jokes.

A lot of truth in that. Smaller rural councils generally are a lot more in touch with the community and there's only a few bad eggs among those councils. A lot of the bigger councils have totally lost the concept of being there to serve the community and a lot think they are our masters rather than our servants. I've never been one for party politics in councils like they have in the city councils, but taking into account the inept rabble we have posing as our local council, it makes me wonder whether party alligned councilors would make it easier to turf the lot out at an election. As it stands, some councillors lose their jobs at election time and some major offenders remain, so things don't get any better. If it was party based, would it make them perform any better. Maybe it would if they thought the whole bunch was at risk or at least a majority of them. Another factor is that it's not only the elected councillors that are the problem. The council bureaucrats have a lot to answer for as well. My advice to anyone who has a good, well performing and honest council is to appreciate what you have because a lot of people don't have that.

Today I rang Red Energy and arranged swapping to them after my next Origin bill due in a couple of weeks. It was very refreshing to talk to Australian based customer support. Everything worked well and went great just like it used to with Origin before they outsourced their customer support overseas. Sub standard customer support is the number one reason I'm leaving Origin; the data breach incident is just another contributing factor. At the end of this month it's good riddance Origin. Price wise, they're fairly close. Based on my useage, Red Energy is about $100 per year cheaper than Origin. When I get settled in to Red Energy, the next step is to get a smart meter installed and that will remove the problem of the contract meter readers who don't like going off the bitumen on to rural properties. I could deal with estimated bills if the meter readers were honest about their reasons given for not accessing the property but they're not. It's another case of good service going to the pack when things get contracted out. When Energex (the primary supplier/wholesaler) employed their own people to read the meters they quite happily accessed the property for 30+ years without a problem. I think the roll out date here for smart meters ends in 2030, so sometime in the next couple of years I would be compelled to swap to a smart meter anyway.

What's the diffeence between in-laws and outlaws? Outlaws are wanted.

I worked on that project in the 1990s. It takes a while to get mines going.

You might have heard about USA's critical shortage of Air Traffic Controllers. Fret not, the problem is solved. (Air traffic controllers who are easily bored and seek instant gratification, and have a game over - restart button, yeah that'll work.)

Yes they are. That would provide perhaps 10% of what they need, same as Australia.

You would have thought these countries would be perfect fits for solar + batteries?

"roads were made for horse and cart, but now you want to ditch them for these newfangled automobiles... It'll never work..."

Logic dictates that we should move with the times. A long time ago, burning coal was a great step forward. Times change and new less toxic methods of making energy are developed. No need to stay locked into the old era of the industrial revolution, powered by burning fossil fuels. Every system has its drawbacks, and its solutions. Let go of the old. Move on.

IF Nuclear is so good More of it would be being ordered. It NEEDS lots of Water and with the Climate changing that water cannot be guaranteed. Things that Need cooling are adding heat to the equation. The heat energy that solar uses comes here anyhow reliably,safely and free.. OF all Places on earth, Australia Has to be one of the best Places for it. Nev

We used to have empires, run by emporers. Then we had kingdoms, run by kings. Now we just have countries, .........

He can have the Largest most Gaudy Cript and Buildings and airports etc named after him. He's doing that Now. He wants to be remembered " More than any person in History". See HE has this Superiority Complex and Giant EGO problem. He WILL be remembered but not the way HE wishes. Nev

I helped a friend pull the engine out of his car yesterday. The problem for both of us was getting up again after we got down underneath to undo bolts.

Annoying, isn't it!

Yeah but then has to pay them $130k to keep it quiet. Guess they don't call it the "money shot" for nothing.

I don't think HE gets too Near HIS missus..Nev

He seems to come across a lot of them..

If you have solar, smart meters are essential as standard meters are unable to deal with feed in tariffs. I am a VPP (virtual power plant) & buy sell electricity on the wholesale market. My monthly average buy price at the moment is 18.3 cents/kWh & my average FIT is 20.3c/kWh. I have a 18.64kWh battery & sell power to the grid usually from 5pm to 7pm when the price is high. This is all managed by my system provider as the spot price is checked every 5 minutes and my system is told what to do. It even curtails my solar production when the battery is full and the spot FIT goes negative so I do not pay for exporting to the grid.

It seems to be the elephant in the room when it comes to politics. It's only my opinion, but in our three tiered system of government I consider local government the weak link in the chain. There are good local governments (unfortunately mine has never been in that category), but there are are lot of bad ones. They can be either corrupt, wasteful, inefficient, incompetent, arrogant, bullying or a combination of any or all of those things. My state over time has handed local government too much autonomy in my opinion, and I'd like to see more oversight by the state local government department. I don't have statistics on hand, but I've read in the past that other states have retained more control over local government than ours has. There was always a problem with some councils, but the amalgation several years ago led to super councils and made the whole issue a lot worse. Inconsistencies between councils is another issue. As an example, on the news today the Moreton Bay council announced they are dedicating a local park to rough sleepers and homeless people and letting them use the council toilet and shower facilities there. Their idea is to have the homeless in a more manageable situation regarding facilities and support services. On the other hand, the Gold Coast council is issuing heavy fines to rough sleepers, and confiscating and destroying their gear.

I dunno. I was happy enough to tick "no religion", I didn't care that they didn't break that down into "agnostic", "never thought about it", "atheist", or "cult survivor atheist".

There is a super critical co2 turbine being developed. Based on a gas turbine but used co2 instead the atmosphere and heated through heat exchanger instead of combustion. Supposed to be a lot smaller physically then a steam turbine. Apparently China have one running. Developer are looking at high temp NPP to run them. Still would require a "condenser" of some sort.

Back to climate change. Whilst refreshing my memory about water cooling in power stations, I came across this little gem.... "water temperature is directly correlated with air temperature, with recent studies such as a 2024 research paper by Jiang Sun et al. showing a clear warming trend, as demonstrated for central Europe’s Oder (Odra) river basin. The warming rate differs per location, varying from 0.229°C to 0.720°C per decade," It seems that although climate change is only happening in little numbers of degrees, it matters. The above quote is in relation to power stations having to throttle their outputs during hot days, due to cooling water temperatures rising. Rounding their numbers to 0.5 degrees per decade, that is an alarming rate of temperature rise. It's not much of a problem for wind turbines.

'twas not a formal statistical analysis.. I didn#' have the baggage capacity for that and I would be heartbroken with every one I would hand to people that I did not know.. But, it was a side by side taste test. As the chocolate is shaped differently here, it was hardly a blind taste test - and yes, I could have flaked the chocolate to make it a blind taste test, but I thought given the statistical population deficiencies, it was not worth the effort. In fairness, SWMBO has insisted for the most part that our kids wouldn't eat junk.. they are partial to dark chocolate as a result, but yes, the one who went for the UK version was a younger member of my family, and has a penchant - like me - for junk food. And I do mean junk when I say it. He liked the first taste of the Aussie one better, the but the after taste left it a little worse in the end. I think the one that did not like either could not bring themself to admit the Aussie one was better.. although in fairness that person prefers another brand of consumer cheap chocolate, so I may be being unfair to that tester. Newsflash: After hauling two packets of BBQ shapes across the world, I found that in my first sojourn into Waitrose since being back, they now stock them.. and cheaper than Aus normal retail price. I am going to launch a campaign to have Chokitos stocked in every supermarket now.

Clutching at straws? The issue is with Nuclear,in Europe needing water to cool. So does Coal but not as much.The Failure of Fukashima set japan back years in Lost Production and model updates. Nev.

The middle east runs on oil they pump from the ground. However, they are looking to nuclear for the future. Iran has the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant: this plant has one operational reactor and provides around 2% of the country's electricity. It was completed in 2011 and is part of Iran's extensive nuclear program (!) Barakah Nuclear Power Plant: Situated in the UAE, this plant consists of four reactors and is expected to add two more. It generates about 25% of the UAE's domestic energy needs. Egypt's El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant: This facility is nearing completion and will have a total installed capacity of 4,800 megawatts. It is part of Egypt's comprehensive energy strategy and aims to provide clean electricity for sale abroad.

Even with all the doom and gloom an Frances NP, still smashing power into its neighbors. Germany not so much.

Aahhhh, that were surely the toffs version!

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa! I didn't record the various sources that I found when I was researching the question, so I can't post them here. Needless to say that I did find the references in order to satisfy my curiosity. The following is an extract from this Wikipedia entry summarises what I found. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Valley_cannabis_infestation Cannabis sativa seeds first arrived in Australia in 1788 on the First Fleet at the request of Sir Joseph Banks. The blueprint for the New South Wales colony, approved by the British Cabinet in 1786, envisaged Australia as a commercial colony producing hemp. The blueprint for the New South Wales colony was created for the British parliament in 1786. Banks provided a supply of seed. However, the British were too optomistic about the rate of establishment ot teh colony which would have failed due to starvation had Governor Phillip not done all he could to keep everyone alive, but on meagre rations until replenishment occured. Settle yourself down and watch this video which will enlighten you as to the first ten years of the colony. The video is an Australian prodcution aand one of a series dealing with early British colonisation of Australia.

I note A Nuclear Power station on the Danube has had to cease output due to Insufficient cooling water and direct extra water for safety reasons. In Hungary I think. That's shut down a Lot of Heavy Industry and costing a Monty.. Nev

With engine stopped, switches off:- 1. Resistance check between Black wire coming out of charge controller & Batt neg terminal. 2. Resistance check between Red wire @ charge controller & Batt pos terminal. Expect almost zero ohms. Any higher restance will limit charging. With engine running at fast idle:- Measure DC voltage between Red & Black wires @ charge controller. Expect about 12 volts before starting, then at least 13 volts rising to 14.4 volts as battery (hopefully) charges. If this voltage is not the same as voltage measured @ Battery terminals, problem is poor continuity between charge controller & battery terminals. If the voltage @ charge controller does not rise with engine running, check the AC voltage between each of the three stator wires coming into the charge controller - all should be equal. Generic circuit - yours might have some difference but this gives you an idea of how it all hangs together.

I think MSN needs some humans working for it (who have passed primary school English). Check out this title. "Passenger plane nearly misses helicopter carrying Donald Trump in chlling near-miss" So it nearly missed, but fortunately it didn't?

Most of the ABC visible operative and Management are Ex Murdoch employees. Even the CEO and Speers, PK etc They frequently give Libs/Nats a very easy Interview while Talking Over and Interrupting the Labor Ministers to provoke a Headllne. I can hardly bring Myself to watch "Insiders", these days. The others are sacking staff Hand over foot. SKY has Changed it's name to News 24. Strangely Similar to ABC News 24.. Nev

I saw an interview with Penny Wong a few months ago on insiders. The first 5 mins was just having pot shots at the opposition. As well as being kept on subject by the interviewer the opposition gets the "I don't believe you" lines chucked in during the interviews. Murdoch has nothing to do with this. Everyone knows they are biased. The ABC is paid for by the taxpayer and should treat all sides of government the same. No Brainer really. The left leaning think they are the best things out. I have people in my direct family that think the same. They don't appreciate it being bought to their attention. Just so you know, the last time I can remember voting for a major party at the top of the voting slip was when Howard bought in the gst and I did not support that. None have earnt my vote towards the top of the voting slip since.

Just ask AI how biased is the ABC. It's always been acknowledged to be the Most reliable although I believe it could improve. Its the Best we have. Hanson wants it closed as part of her DEAL with Murdoch.. That's why news 24 promotes her feverishly. She's their Puppet.. Nev

Unlikely? Nev

Don't worry too much. There's always the option to amalgamate the fading Republic of United States of Trumpistan into the fading United Soviet Socialist Republic. That would give two ageing sociopaths a claim to fame. They can both be winners with the bigliest deal in the world! What shall we call it?

Your Politics are on another Planet about Australia. . The only Potential Dicktators are Murdoch and Gina Reinhart with PHON as a Puppet. The "beaten at every stage," T A Bot thinks he is Still a Mover & Shaker and Policy Maker. To Legitimately do that HERE You have to be ELECTED to office. HE Lost the safest Blue ribbon seat in the whole Nation but as he Infamously said with Gillard. "But SHE won't Lie down and DIE." Abott hates being beaten but especially when it's BY a Woman. He's currently on Rupert's Payroll also. They don't shout that from the rooftops for Obvious reasons. Abbott was/is always in contact with Murdoch. News corpse as always had too Much Influence here. He's got Monopoly Control in Queensland. None of these (MSM) Media People are going well financially at the Moment. They are shedding staff in large Numbers. It's also why Pauleen ( the"P" in PHON )is SO against the ABC and SBS as well as any Journalist who dares to ask hard Questions. She's BANNED them from Interviews. Nev

I never knew they had gazelles in Scotland until now.

"M" word....by comedian Jeff Foxworthy Have you ever wondered why it's OK to make jokes about Catholics, Jews, Christians, the Pope, the Irish, the Italians, the Polish, the Hungarians, the Chinese, the French (including French Canadians), the elderly, bad golfers, men/women, blacks/whites, etc, but its insensitive to make jokes about the Muslims? Well, it's time to level the playing field and be politically incorrect, by including our friends, the Muslims, on this grandiose list. So Jeff Foxworthy did his part to include the Muslims on his list .. 1. If you grow and refine heroin for a living, but morally object to the use of liquor, you may be a Muslim. 2. If you own a $3,000 machine gun and a $5,000 rocket launcher, but can't afford shoes, You may be a Muslim. 3. If you have more wives than teeth, You may be a Muslim. 4. If you wipe your butt with your bare hand, but consider bacon to be unclean, You may be a Muslim. 5. If you think vests come in two styles, Bullet-proof and suicide, You may be a Muslim. 6. If you can't think of anyone that you haven't declared jihad against, You may be a Muslim. 7. If you consider television dangerous, but routinely carry explosives in your clothing, You may be a Muslim. 8. If you were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses, other than setting off roadside bombs, You may be a Muslim. 9. If you have nothing against women and think every man should own at least four, then you, too, may be a Muslim. 10. If you find this offensive and do not forward it, you are part of the problem … but if you delete this, you are most likely a Muslim.