red750

MY FANCY CLOTHES.

Major parties are the major parties because the majority of voters prefer them. If the Greens could get a few million voters to prefer them, they could become a major party. The Liberals are appealing to less and less voters, so they are becoming a minor party. But those extra voters have to be converted into seats. The party with the most seats wins. A party can win with 40% of first preferences. But that means that 60% didn't want them. Preferential voting gives those 60% a second chance to pick an alternative, and possibly replace the highest first preference party.. When you bet on a horserace, you don't win a prize if your horse runs last (or even 4th).

Many many years ago, my dad built a large building by himself. I don't know much about it, because I was about 5 or 6 at the time. Willi's story reminded me of what I had heard about it. We lived on a farm in a valley which was acquired by the Victorian State Rivers and Water Supply Commission in about 1949. They were planning to build a dam in the valley, and pump the water into Melbourne's water supply. Our entire farm ended up under water. The building was to house the pumping station. The support columns were cut from trees surrounding the site. We didn't have a tractor in those days so they were hauled into place with horses.

Are you standing in for Nev? POLITICSUSAv reported on FB. Disregard it. Tried to open the website, but got a Wikipedia report saying PoliticusUSA is an American left-wing website that publishes hyperpartisan clickbait. Its content has been described by academic studies and journalistic reports as "unreliable", "misleading", and "fake". It is among the most popular U.S. political websites.

It's unbelievable how many still think he is doing such a wonderful job recovering America from the deep hole the Democrats got it into. Anything wrong with America is Joe Biden's fault. If any Democrat supporter should post even the slightest derogatory comment against Tump, they are howled down by MAGA maniacs. There was a question, "How do you rate Pete Hegseth from 1 to 10?" There were at least 15 posts rating 10, one said 100, a few said "The greatest secretary of defence ever.", but no detractors.

🚨JUST NOW: Australia REJECTS Trump’s Minerals Demands — Pentagon PANICS as Rare Prices EXPLODE⚡...... Australia has firmly rejected a U.S. request for preferential access to its rare earth minerals, signaling a deeper strategic shift—not just a trade disagreement. These minerals, like neodymium and dysprosium, are critical for advanced military systems such as F-35 jets and missile guidance. Following the decision, rare earth prices surged, exposing a major vulnerability: the U.S. still depends heavily on China for processing these materials. Despite billions invested, domestic production covers only a small fraction of defense needs. Australia’s refusal reflects growing concerns over sovereignty and trust, especially after recent U.S. trade pressure and policy moves. This isn’t just about resources—it’s about whether allies are being treated as partners or dependencies. Globally, China dominates rare earth processing, giving it strategic leverage. Any disruption could impact not just defense, but also everyday technologies like electric vehicles and renewable energy. In short, this standoff reveals a fragile supply chain, rising geopolitical tension, and a critical question: can the U.S. secure reliable resources without straining its alliances

Trump hasn't been innocent since he left his mother's womb.

Sydney Morning Herald: Washington Robert S. Mueller III, the FBI director who transformed America’s premier law enforcement agency into a terrorism-fighting force after the September 11, 2001, attacks and who later became special counsel in charge of investigating ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, has died. He was 81. “With deep sadness, we are sharing the news that Bob passed away” on Friday night, his family said in a statement on Saturday (Washington, DC, time). “His family asks that their privacy be respected.” Trump posted on social media after the announcement of Mueller’s death: “Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead.” The Republican president added, “He can no longer hurt innocent people!”

Here's a post from FB. Yes it's lengthy and I haven't fact checked it, but if true, very interesting. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗛𝗮𝘀 𝗭𝗲𝗿𝗼. The 2026 South Australia state election results are in. 𝗔𝗟𝗣: 𝟯𝟮 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀. 𝗟𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘀: 𝟰 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝟬. (PS: They could win Hammond, but not finalised yet) Absorb that. But here is what makes it even more extraordinary. South Australia 2026 is not a one-off. This is a 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻. A thirty-year pattern. And it deserves to be named in full. 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗭𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘀: Zero seats in the 2025 federal lower house, despite gaining swings across the country. Zero seats in the 2013 federal Senate NSW, attracting just 1.22% of first preference votes. Zero seats in the 2012 Queensland state election across six contests, polling a humiliating 0.1% of total votes cast statewide. Zero seats in the 2009 Queensland state election. Zero seats in the 2004 federal election as an independent, falling short of even 32% of the required Senate quota. Zero seats in the 2003 NSW state election upper house. Zero seats in the 2001 federal election, despite polling 10% of the primary vote in Queensland. The votes were there. The credibility was not. Zero in her own seat of Blair in 1998, where she won 36% of the primary vote and still lost. Zero Senate seat for her own daughter Lee Hanson in Tasmania at the 2025 federal election. Zero lower house seats of significance in thirty years outside one short-lived Queensland result. And now, zero in South Australia 2026. That is not a bad run. That is a 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱. The party that claims to speak for "real Australians" cannot win a real seat to save itself. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 In 1996, she told parliament Australia was "in danger of being swamped by Asians." Twenty years later she returned and delivered the same speech, replacing "Asians" with "Muslims." Same fear. Same language. Same zero solutions. Just a different target. She wore a burqa into the Senate chamber as a political stunt, treating a garment of faith as a costume for manufactured outrage. She dismissed the Stolen Generations as exaggerated. She called climate change a hoax while Australia burned. She promoted anti-vaccination narratives during a global pandemic. She announced she was leaving Australia for the UK, then said she changed her mind because the UK was "overrun with immigrants and refugees," the same complaint she had spent twenty years making about her own country. While considering the move, she publicly said she would not sell her Queensland home to Muslims. She praised Donald Trump as a role model for Australia. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 Al Jazeera caught her chief of staff James Ashby and Queensland leader Steve Dickson soliciting millions from the American gun lobby, the NRA, to fund Australian elections and dismantle gun laws that exist because 35 people were killed at Port Arthur in 1996. Hanson's response was to attack Al Jazeera, not answer a single documented fact. Dickson was separately caught on hidden camera making offensive sexual remarks about women at a Washington strip club during that same trip and resigned. Mark Latham publicly attacked a schoolchild by name on social media and was found in breach of anti-discrimination law over his statements on transgender students. Fraser Anning, who briefly aligned with One Nation, used the phrase "final solution," a direct reference to the Nazi Holocaust in which six million Jewish people were murdered, in his Senate maiden speech on immigration, and then physically struck a teenager who challenged him after the Christchurch mosque massacre in New Zealand where 51 Muslim worshippers were killed. She had billionaire backers, bot armies, sympathetic tabloids, and primetime television. She ran the full Trump playbook. Blame immigrants, manufacture grassroots support, claim the system is rigged when you lose, and dress three decades of grievance politics in the Australian flag. And South Australians walked into polling booths and said: 𝗡𝗼. 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲. 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀. This is not a party. It is a personality cult built on fear, with no institutional substance, no real policy, and no genuine community trust. And thirty years of Australian voters have delivered the same verdict, again and again. Zero seats. Zero excuses. Zero credibility. Thirty years. The same scoreboard. Democracy, when it works, is humbling. Today, it worked. Should One Nation ever defy this three-decade trend and secure 3-4 seats, it will not be a sign of their growing appeal. It will be a direct consequence of the Liberal Party's dismal failure to present a viable alternative, forcing disillusioned voters to seek protest votes elsewhere. The scoreboard doesn't lie, but the context matters more. 𝐒𝐮𝐤𝐡 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐮 Director, CAQA | Editor-in-Chief | ISO Auditor | Poet and Writer Forbes Business Council Member | United Nations Speaker Top 100 Global Educator | RTO/AI/HE/ISO Expert Global Advisory Board Member, Forttuna Education Council #SAElection2026 #OneNation #PaulineHanson #AustralianDemocracy #RacePolitics #MediaAccountability #SouthAustralia #ElectionResults #TrumpPlaybook #VotersDecide #ForeignInterference #PoliticalAccountability #AustralianPolitics #NoToHate

This may sound odd, but I don't need much. Firstly I would make sure my 3 kids are comfortably well off. Then, considering the current and likely future economic conditions, I would give assistance to my siblings and Irene's siblings. I have 4 cousins, and would give them each a couple of thousand. I would make donations to a few charities. I don't think I have many years to go, so I don't want a large bank balance to pay probate on. I have money put aside for my cremation and have enough to meet my expenses. so I don't need a big bank balance.

https://theonion.com/trump-threatens-airstrikes-on-u-s-gas-stations/

https://mail.yahoo.com/d/folders/1/messages/AAFALrWF6WbmRfYnxSOYIqQTay9/AAFALrWF6WbmRfYnxSOYIqQTay9:2.2?.intl=au&.lang=en-AU&fullscreen=1

I don't know about scratchies, but for other lotteries, there is an online ticket checking facility on the The Lott website. It will happily tell you NO PRIZE WON. You are not one of the 52,768 winning ticket holders. Play again?

And it was all bulk billed.

Firstly, he was a clinician, not a doctor, there was no nurse, not even a receptionist. They have a telephone receptionist who works from home for arranging appointments. They have a waiting room where you sit, and the clinician comes out at your appointment time to usher you in. They have covers over the skylights with a picture of bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds so you are not looking at a bright white square while you lay on the bed with the wires attached. Imagine sitting 2 - 3 feet in front of a large screen TV looking at your own eye like this.

re my post this thread 13 February, I had the tests today. Took a little over two hours. Some of them were weird. The clinician put a camera on my head to monitor my eyes. There was a small sticker on the wall about 2 feet from me. I had to keep my eyes on the sticker while he yanked my head left. right. up and down, while he monitored my eye movement. Then I had to hold my head still while following a light spot jumping around all over by just moving my eyes. Then I moved into a soundproof booth to do the hearing tests normally done by audiologists. This was to determine if I was a suitable candidate for Cochlear Implants. Then I moved into another room where I had to lie on a bed. He rubbed my earlobes and forehead lightly with sandpaper and attached stickers and leads. He placed earphones in my ears, and he played a tapping sound; like repeatedly tapping on a cardboard box. At first it sounded like an approaching helicopter, but settled down like an idling motorbike. I had to look left, right, and roll my eyes as far up as possible, 5 minutes in each position. He took out the eyephones and placed a metal gizmo behind my ears and repeated the tapping so that I could feel it like he was tapping behind my ears. Then he repeated the whole thing with the sandpapering, stickers and leads on my neck, chest and just under my eyes. Finally, we moved to a third room, where I sat on the foot of a bed in front of a TV screen about 48 in size. He put a bulky pair of glasses, like a virtual reality headset, which contained a camera. It's scary looking at your eye filling a large TV screen. Then he played a yellow dot on the screen and I had to follow it without moving my head. Then he placed a cover over the lens so it was totally dark, and the displayed a small spot of light in the headset. I had to look a the position of the light. He turned it off and I had to keep looking at the spot without closing my eyes. It's hard to know if your eyes are open or closed when it is totally dark. Then I had to lie on the bed blindfolded while he blew very warm air into each ear to see if it made me feel the room was spinning. All these tests were recorded in graphs on the computer. He will email the results to my doctor with a copy to me by mid next week.

I have an email mate I 'met' a few years ago through the old Men's Shed Online, which no longer exists. He is a poet, and goes by the name of Bunyip Brown. He sent me this (non rhyming) poem today which might resonate with a few of you. It's Political, Stupid ! By Bunyip Brown 20 March 2026. #679 Our world is changing from what we knew in the past The rules from yesteryear now need casting aside Previous past leaders couldn't read the barometer Like Howard and his ilk, they couldn't estimate the future. They let things drift along, "She'll be right" no worries Our leaders yet, unable to comprehend our nation's needs None of them unable to understand our tenuous grip on reality While inside our world, we citizens are becoming irrelevant. For yonks we haven't spawned a capable and visioned leader For this aberration we have to blame our democratic system We select career politicians with a three year game cycle And some of 'em come to administer with no brains at all ! Whilst we muddle along, we see ourselves as big and strong But all around us, the world is changing dramatically We are slow to react, seems our leadership cannot spell proactive We must accept the changes thrust upon us - and that stinks ! If I think we are progressing as a nation, I delude myself We invent something worthy but we won't get behind it Overseas buyers buy the rights and take it away, its cruel Guess we'll just have to be happy being the world's biggest quarry !

A cop pulled me over. He said, "Papers?" I said, "Scissors. I win."

BREAKING🚨 IT HAS BEGUN. INDIAN OIL TANKER ALLOWED TO CROSS STRIAT OF HORMUZ AFTER IT PAID IN CHINESE YUEN A major shift in the global financial system has just taken place. An Indian 0il tanker was all0wed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz after paying its dues in Chinese yuan rather than U.S. dollars. This development represents a clear break from the long-standing “petr0dollar” system and suggests the world may be entering a new phase where the U.S. dollar is no longer the only currency dominating global energy trade.

In the first one, he says, amongst other things, "The windmills are driving the whales crazy." In the second one, he is thanking Ireland for their involvement in building America, then goes off script about his "excursion against nuclear weaponry". Pure dementia.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/787861567668819 https://www.facebook.com/reel/1839256920091342

That manuscript was a copy of a Facebook post.

So Trump's had a full public meltdown because Australia won't send warships to help him unfuck a war he started without telling anyone. Let that sink in for a second. He launched this thing with Israel 3 weeks ago. Didn't consult NATO. Didn't consult Australia. Didn't consult Japan. Explicitly said at the start he didn't need or want anyone's help. And now he's on Truth Social in all caps screaming that we're all ungrateful. Mate, you can't tell everyone to fuck off and then get angry when they all fuck off. Here's what happened. He blew the shit out of Iran. Destroyed the navy, the air force, the radar, the leadership. Great. Total victory. Mission accomplished. Brought the banner and everything. One small problem. The Strait of Hormuz is still shut. It's full of mines and anti-ship missiles and Iranian drone boats. The tankers won't sail. The insurance companies won't touch it. And 20% of the world's oil is just sitting there going absolutely nowhere. So suddenly Captain America needs help. He spends the whole weekend ringing every country with a boat. China. France. Japan. South Korea. The UK. Canada. Australia. Basically anyone with a dinghy and a flag. The response from most of them? "Get fucked." Germany said, and I'm paraphrasing only slightly: "You didn't ask us before you started the war. You told us you didn't want our help. And now you're upset? Yeah, nah." France said they'd be happy to help escort ships once the bombing stops and Iran agrees to let them. So basically never. Spain said no. Poland said no. Sweden said no. Australia said we haven't even been formally asked and also no. So what does Trump do? Does he reflect? Reassess? Pick up the phone like a grown adult? Of course not. He jumps on Truth Social and goes full toddler. "We don't need NATO! We NEVER needed NATO! We don't need Japan or Australia or South Korea! WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!" Mate. You were literally begging 15 countries for ships 48 hours ago. That's like getting turned down for a date and screaming "SHE WAS UGLY ANYWAY" loud enough for the whole pub to hear. You're not fooling anyone, dickhead. Everyone saw you practise your opener in the bathroom mirror. And he specifically named Australia. Which is genuinely fucking insane. We have shown up to every single American war for nearly a century. Korea. Vietnam. Iraq. Twice. Afghanistan for 20 bloody years. Five Eyes. AUKUS. Pine Gap. We are literally the most reliable ally the United States has ever had. And the one time, the ONE time, we look at the situation and go "yeah this one's a bit cooked mate, we'll sit this out," he loses his shit and calls us foolish on the internet. You know what's actually foolish? Starting a war without a plan to reopen the strait that carries a fifth of the world's oil supply. That's foolish. Blowing up someone's entire military and then being surprised when they use asymmetric warfare to shut down global shipping. That's foolish. Spending a year slapping tariffs on your allies, calling them freeloaders, threatening to annex their territory, and then wondering why they won't come running when you need a favour. That's fucking foolish. But here's the bit that should really worry you. He named Australia, Japan, and South Korea. That's the Indo-Pacific alliance. That's AUKUS. That's the Quad. That's the entire strategic architecture built to counter China. And he just told all 3 of them to get stuffed on social media. Xi Jinping is watching this with a bucket of popcorn and the biggest grin on the planet. Meanwhile Australia is getting absolutely smashed. We've got 2 refineries. About 3 weeks of fuel reserves. Diesel heading for $3 a litre. Farmers are already running out of fuel. They can't harvest. They can't plant. Fuel rationing has started in towns across the country. Food prices are through the roof because every step of the supply chain runs on diesel we don't have. The RBA just hiked interest rates because the fuel and food spikes from this war are driving inflation and recession fears are real. Australians are getting hit at the bowser, hit at the checkout, hit on their mortgage, and the bloke who caused all of it is calling US foolish. This isn't strength. This is a narcissist who heard "no" and couldn't cope. This is a bloke flipping the Monopoly board because he landed on someone else's hotel. And every time he does it, every single time, he pushes allies one step further toward making their own arrangements. That's how alliances die. Not with a bang. With a tantrum on Truth Social at 11 in the morning. Australia's not foolish for sitting this one out. 15 countries might be the only countries in this whole mess that are actually thinking clearly and holding this shit fest from spilling into WWIII And seriously, Donald. You're trying to bully Australia? NATO? Mate, we live in a country where everything is actively trying to kill us. Every single day. We've got 21 of the 25 most venomous snakes on the planet. Twenty one. Out of twenty five. The inland taipan, the single most venomous snake on earth, one bite can kill over 100 grown adults, just vibing in the outback like it's nothing. We've got the Sydney funnel web, the deadliest spider in the world, and it lives in people's fucking gardens where our kids keep them as pets. We've got jellyfish that can stop your heart. Sharks. Crocodiles the size of a small truck. An octopus the size of a golf ball that can kill you in minutes. A plant that makes you want to throw yourself off a cliff if you brush against it. A fucking dinosaur bird, that will literally disembowel you with its feet. Stonefish. Cone snails. The sun itself trying to give us cancer by 10am. We share a continent with every venomous nightmare God ever created on a Friday afternoon when he was clearly in a bad mood. And you think we're scared of a bloke in an ill fitting suit who can't spell "hereby" and throws tantrums on his phone? We couldn't give 2 fucks what you think, Donald. We wrestle things with actual teeth. You're not even in the top 50 most dangerous things an Australian deals with on an average Tuesday. Australia will survive this god awful administration. But if you're gunna shoot yourself in the foot, leave us the fuck out of it wanker.