red750

https://au.yahoo.com/finance/news/insidious-danger-lurking-behind-common-cashless-solution-avoid-at-all-costs-200008853.html

https://au.yahoo.com/news/aussie-tourist-stunned-by-ev-street-detail-on-holiday-its-possible-after-all-232553646.html

That's correct Pete.

I had a date last night. It was perfect. Next week I'll have a grape.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/497194966260820

Just ran a fast.com speed test. NBN, Vermont.

Willie's post reminds me of the guys at the traffic lights washing windscreens while you are stopped. This might put an end to them. Many would say Good Riddance. Or the tin rattlers for the Children's Hospital Appeal on Good Friday. Octave, I know you are full bottle on all the technology, but I know a guy, an ex bank accountant, over 80, who cannot open or send a text on his phone. If there's a voicemail on his phone, he has to get someone to retrieve it for him. Doesn't know how to turn on a computer, and doesn't want to. When the Men's Shed sends out an email, they send it to his wife to pass on. He's probably not Robinson Crusoe.

Corner shops and fete stalls accept cash? If there is no cash? Democratic sausage free - what rock have you been hiding under?

Spacie, Here's how I see your solution.

That works too, Spacie. But the top left vertical looks a bit long on a "2". Normally there is no vertical there. removing it would be a third step. It would be better to leave a match in the lower left, and place the upper left horizontally in the middle, to make the 2 look like a reversed 5. There are at least two other solutions:

A few other thoughts about going cashless. What do you put in the collection plate on Sundays? What do you put in the kids moneybox to teach them about money? What does the tooth fairy put under the pillow? What about single day pop-up events like the parish fete? - Does the devonshire tea stall have to get an EFTPOS machine for one day? - The hoopla game? And all the other stalls? What about the sausage stall at the election booths?

Sorry. try this one: https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=a47e03358fe2a4a9JmltdHM9MTcyNTc1MzYwMCZpZ3VpZD0wZjRjYTA3Yi1jYWY4LTZlMTYtM2E0YS1iNDhmY2JlODZmMDcmaW5zaWQ9NTE5Ng&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=3&fclid=0f4ca07b-caf8-6e16-3a4a-b48fcbe86f07&psq=Ukrainian+paratroopers+triumph+in+tank+battles+around+Kursk&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9ldXJvbWFpZGFucHJlc3MuY29tLzIwMjQvMDgvMzEvdWtyYWluaWFuLXBhcmF0cm9vcGVyLWJyaWdhZGUtY2FwdHVyZXMtc2V2ZW4tcnVzc2lhbi10YW5rcy1pbi1rdXJzay1vYmxhc3Qtc2luY2UtaW5jdXJzaW9uLW91dHNldC8&ntb=1

'Writing's on the wall': Trump seen giving up on many states he hoped to win against Biden Donald Trump's campaign map has shrunk dramatically since Kamala Harris took over the Democratic ticket. The former president and his advisers once envisioned an ambitious electoral map that provided paths to the White House through Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Virginia, but nearly all of his TV advertising budget is concentrated on the same states that were crucial to the 2020 election – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, reported CNN. "All of Trump’s rallies and Vance’s public appearances [since the end of July] have come in those seven Midwest and Sun Belt battlegrounds," the network reported. "Trump’s plans over the next two days follow that pattern: an event with police Friday in North Carolina, where the first ballots have been scheduled to start going out that day, and a rally in the middle of Wisconsin on Saturday." Harris more than doubled Trump's fundraising haul last month, her campaign aides say, and the GOP nominee's campaign has seemingly shifted their strategy to battling in those swing states rather than expanding their map, although they insist that was their strategy all along. “The seven battleground states have always been our focus and we are still maintaining an offensive posture in these nontraditional battleground states,” said Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. “Nothing has changed as far as how we view the map, and the Democrats are still playing on defense, as evidenced by Kamala’s post-Labor Day visit to blue New Hampshire.” However, Republicans in the states that Trump has abandoned say that polling shows he's on track to lose those states even worse than he did in 2020. “When Joe Biden was in the race, at that point, I actually thought it was a likely scenario that Trump would win New Hampshire,” said Mike Dennehy, a longtime political strategist from the Granite State. “If the election were held today, Trump would lose by 6 to 8 points.” Trump campaign in Minnesota shortly after the president ended his campaign and turned it over to Harris, but that's the last event he's held in a Democratic-leaning state since then, and the vice president's choice of Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate has seemingly shut the door on his chances of winning there. “I warned all my West and East Coast buddies: you better be ready for Walz,” said Amy Koch, a former Minnesota state Senate majority leader who now advises GOP candidates. “They don’t know how to deal with that kind of Midwest ‘aw shucks’ authenticity.” However, a Trump campaign adviser insists those early efforts in states they've since abandoned forced the Harris campaign to spend money on states Democrats have traditionally won. “We view that as a good thing,” the adviser said. Republicans have matched Democratic spending in Pennsylvania, which is viewed as possibly the most crucial state in the election, and in Georgia, but Democrats have reserved twice as much airtime in Michigan, three times in Wisconsin and nearly four times in Arizona, and their spending in Nevada has dwarfed the GOP's. “The writing is on the wall,” said Amy Tarkanian, a former chairwoman of the Nevada GOP.

Trump threatens Harris donors with jail over election 'skullduggery' Donald Trump has warned Kamala Harris's campaign donors that they will not escape his retribution if they play a role in a 2024 election 'steal'. The GOP candidate promised he would not allow a repeat of the 'rampant Cheating and Skullduggery' he claims cost him the White House in 2020, and threatened unprecedented legal action against those who try. Posting on X and his own Truth Social channel under the heading 'cease and desist' he said 'lawyers, political operatives, donors, illegal voters, and corrupt election officials' would all find themselves targeted. The swipe at donors came as Trump's Democrat rival reported raising a whopping $230 million more than Trump in campaign contributions during the month of August. 'Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country,' Trump wrote. Three days before he faces Harris for their first presidential debate Trump repeated his charge that she covered-up Joe Biden's cognitive decline and promised a constitutional amendment to prevent it happening again. Speaking at a campaign rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin, he said he supports 'modifying' the 25th Amendment to target any US vice president who 'lies or engages in a conspiracy to cover up the incapacity of the president of the United States'. 'If you do that with a coverup of the president of the United States, it's grounds for impeachment immediately and removal from office, because that's what they did,' he told his supporters. Harris has denied misleading voters about the President's condition and insisted last month she was right to claim the 81-year-old was fit to serve out a second term. 'He has the intelligence, the commitment and the judgment and disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their president,' she told CNN's Dana Bash in her only sit-down interview since securing the Democrats' nomination. The 25th amendment deals mainly with the circumstances in which a sitting president can be removed from office between elections and has little to say on the removal of a vice-president. But constitutional amendments require the support from the legislatures of 38 of the country's 50 states, while the Republicans control just 28. A VP can remove his or her boss with the support of half the cabinet and Harris resisted pressure from leading Republicans to wield the knife in the aftermath of Biden's disastrous debate performance against Trump at the end of June.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has claimed that he wants Kamala Harris to win the presidential election because President Joe Biden endorsed her - and because she has an “expressive and infectious laugh”. On Thursday, during the Eastern Economic Forum, the Russian president claimed that Biden was his “favorite” candidate but that since he dropped out he will now support the new Democratic nominee. “Our favorite, if you can call it that, was the current president Mr. Biden,” Putin said, with a smirk. “He was removed from the race, but he recommended that all his supporters support Ms. Harris. That’s what we’ll do too,” he said, according to a translation from Russian media outlet TASS. He appeared to continue to mock Harris, adding: "She laughs so expressively and infectiously that it means that everything is fine with her”. The autocrat also said he hoped that means she would not introduce sanctions against Russia. Putin also claimed that “ultimately, the choice is up to the American people” and that Russia “will respect that”. On Wednesday, the United States unsealed an indictment accusing Russia of attempting to influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. Federal prosecutors allege that Putin’s allies directed Russian state media companies to disseminate misinformation and Russian propaganda online with the intent to try and influence this year’s election. U.S. law enforcement agents seized 32 Russian-backed websites that were designed to boost Trump’s campaign. Two employees of the Russian state network RT were charged over allegedly launching a $10m propaganda scheme using American right-wing influencers. On Thursday, federal prosecutors also unveiled an indictment against Trump’s 2016 campaign adviser and Russian expert, Dimitri Simes, alleging that he violated U.S. sanctions by working as a presenter at a Russian state TV station. For several years, the U.S. has accused Russia of trying to influence its elections using misinformation and disinformation online and on social media. Intelligence reports concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 election to help Trump win. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied meddling in U.S. elections.

Ukrainian paratroopers triumph in tank battles around Kursk They seized some of Russia's best weapons On August 6th, Ukraine launched an invasion of Russia's Kursk region, surprising the world and achieving several swift victories. One of the most remarkable aspects of the invasion has been the number of tanks Ukrainian forces have captured. View slideshow here

Or when his lips are moving.

We've managed it for years in the past. Now Gloria Jeans Coffee chain has said they will not accept cash any more.

Why then do Lotto agencies have signs saying "Plus 50c for card payment.", or the pizza shop the same." If I have cash, our Friday night dinner is $37.00. If I pay by card, it's $37.50 for the same order.

The government should legislate that banks cannot charge mercant fees. Why? - 1. Banks are constantly doing away with cash and cheques, forcing customers to use cards, apps, tap&go, and online banking. 2. Then they claim that reduced customer visits to branches are making them unprofitable. 3. Therefore, branches continue to be closed. One of the Big 4 (ANZ or NAB) just closed their Katoomba branch, forcing customers to close their accounts or travel to Penrith branch. 4. Merchants are required to accept said cards etc. and are charged a fee for doing so, as well as the cost of the scanners/machines. This cost cannot be absorbed so are passed on the customer in increased prices or surcharges. Poor old muggins the customer ends up footing the bill. 5. Meanwhile the banks have less and less work to do as everything has been reduced to pushing a few buttons or letting automation handle it. This means less staff required so staff are laid off. 6. All this time the banks are recording multi billion dollar profits. They can surely afford to pick up the cost of all this electronic nonsense they are forcing upon us,

The race for the White House is tightening up in two states previously thought to be solidly Republican. Latest polls suggest the southern states of Texas and Florida, which Trump carried comfortably by 5 points and 4 points respectively in 2020, are now far closer than at any time in the race. Trump won Florida in both 2016 and 2020 securing 30 electoral votes, while Texas which has remained solidly red since 1976 was also won by Trump in 2020, garnering him 40 electoral college votes. But the former president has seen his support erode among most demographic groups since his Democratic rival in the November 5 election, Vice President Kamala Harris, replaced President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket over the summer. Now in two states that were never considered swing states or toss-ups, things could be about to change with latest surveys from Emerson College suggesting Harris is now within the margin of error (about 3 points) in the two states. The poll suggests Trump is only narrowly ahead in his home state of Florida at 50 percent with Harris at 45 percent. In Texas things are even tighter with just 4 percentage points separating the pair at 50 percent compared to Harris' 46 percent, well within the margin of error. Texas has remained a squarely red state since the late 1970s despite Democrats attempting to to turn the state blue.

Donald Trump's recent admission that his speeches and answers to questions are larded with digressions and off-ramps into odd and often irrelevant anecdotes is a sign that he knows that he is slipping mentally, suggests one of his biographers who has known him for years. In a column for the Guardian, Chris McGreal wrote that Trump's excuse at a speech that he "weaves" stories together to make a greater point should raise suspicions that he is— as McGreal put it — "losing it." Noting the former president, who is making a third bid for the Oval Office, recently proclaimed, "I do the weave. You know what the weave is? I’ll talk about, like, nine different things that they all come back brilliantly together. And it’s like friends of mine that are like English professors, they say: ‘It’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever seen,’” the Guardian columnist turned to Trump biographer Tim O'Brien for his opinion on what is really at play. “The reason he’s now offering these convoluted explanations of his speech patterns in his public appearances is because he’s hyper-aware that people have noted that he’s making even less sense than he used to,” O'Brien explained. “What we’re seeing now is a reflection of someone who’s very troubled and very desperate.”

A man is on his deathbed, and he asks his wife, “Martha, soon I will be gone forever, and there's something I have to know. In all these 50 years of marriage, have you ever been unfaithful to me?" Martha replied, "Well, Henry, I have to be honest with you. Yes, I've been unfaithful to you three times during these 50 years, but always for a good reason." Henry was obviously hurt by his wife's confession, but said, "I never suspected. Can you tell me what you mean by 'good reasons?'" Martha said, "The first time was shortly after we were married, and we were about to lose our little house because we couldn't pay the mortgage. Do you remember that one evening I went to see the banker, and the next day he notified you that the loan would be extended?" Henry recalled the visit to the banker and said, "I can forgive you for that. You saved our home, but what about the second time?" Martha asked, "And do you remember when you were so sick, but we didn't have the money to pay for the heart surgery you needed? Well, I went to see your doctor one night and, if you recall, he did the surgery at no charge." "I recall that," said Henry. "And you did it to save my life, so of course I can forgive you for that. Now tell me about the third time." "Alright," Martha said. "Do you remember when you ran for president of your golf club, and you needed 73 more votes?"

The last one above is still open, but here is a good one from the terrible site, Facebook.