rgmwa

So far China seems to have been relatively neutral on the war in Ukraine, but I wonder if that may change given Xi Jinping’s upcoming meeting with Putin and his recent meeting with Wang Yi. If Putin starts getting support from Chins it won’t be a good for Ukraine’s future. On the other hand Xi Jinping won’t believe Putin’s propaganda and lies and might be happier to see this conflict end rather than escalate.

That is the idea but sometimes they do.

Apparently the fatality rate for people attempting the world water speed record is 85%. Not good odds.

Spirit of Australia in which Ken Warby set the world water speed record in 1978 on Blowering Dam, New South Wales, Australia. In the Australian Maritime Museum in Sydney. Robertsf2012 - Own work

I think Putin is prepared to wage this war down to the last Russian. He can't afford stop even if he had second thoughts about continuing, which I'm sure he doesn't. About the only thing that will stop the war is Putin falling out of a high rise window.

Problem is the losers think they are winners.

Maybe you need a wasp flap in the flyscreen?

Hopefully not a blank canvas.

Having just seen that woeful trailer for the first time, I think you made a good choice.

The area in question is most likely deep sands. Easy digging, but retaining the soil and supporting the floor of the building would need some engineering. Water table could also be quite close to the surface, but maybe deep enough not to flood the basement.

Having all that stuff confiscated would amount to a pretty hefty fine. Must have cost a fair bit to buy so many guns and boxes of ammunition.

I think he forgot his snorkel for the river crossing.

I never had to worry about where my tools were. They were all over at my son's place.

Musk will probably flip flop again if he gets enough pushback on Twitter.

I guess you have to start somewhere.

So did last year’s and the year before…

I thought her antics at the swearing in ceremony were pretty divisive and pathetic, and showed her opinion of the Parliament to which she had just been elected. I don't think she has anything worthwhile to offer and Bandt is well rid of her, although she's going to be a pain in the neck as long as she's there.

... as any good pilot would.

Jandals?

Window dressing to.support the fiction that the enemy is at the gates?

Should be an interesting spectacle if he isn't the GOP nominee. He will most likely trash whoever is nominated and sink the GOP's chances of winning the next election, irrespective of who becomes the Democrat candidate.

Stop donating now, you blokes. I've got my tickets and any more competition is going to reduce my chances even further.

I'm less charitable. I hope he does.

I don't see how you can help the Alice Springs lot unless they want to change, and by the sound of it most of the parents and children living in and around the town are too dysfunctional to be likely to respond well to any form of intervention, even if the necessary resources were available which they're clearly not. Tennant Creek is also notorious, and there are other places too. On the other hand there are plenty of decent and well educated Aboriginal people around who are also frustrated by what's going on in these communities. The Voice is not going to solve anything quickly but it will at least make a representative (we assume) group of Aboriginals part of the solution in the long term. Hopefully they can also be a conduit to mobilise local Aboriginal leaders in these communities to try and build change from the ground up. It will also need the various Governments to spend money and commit resources wisely - another very tall order given the long track record of past failures judging by the annual `Closing the Gap' assessments. That's the only way I can see that change might happen. Piecemeal external intervention by non-Aboriginals is just a waste of time and money. Sadly, for many of the individuals in these local communities, it's probably already too late but you have to start somewhere. It will take a massive effort to achieve anything though.

The problems highlighted in that article are so entrenched and intractable that it’s hard to see what action could be taken to reform the community short of OME’s suggestion of forced separation. If there is a solution it will take generations to wash through the aboriginal community in Alice Springs and no doubt other places. In that sense a Voice that can potentially maintain a consistent message across a succession of governments isn’t a bad idea if it works.