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‘Reprehensible’: Aussie fury at Putin threat The Russian President overnight lowered his country’s threshold for a nuclear strike after the US gave Ukraine the green light to strike targets in Russia with American-made weapons. The new nuclear doctrine considers an attack by a non-nuclear power backed by a nuclear power as a joint attack. Commenting on Mr Putin’s threat, Deputy Prime Minister Marles on Wednesday reiterated Australia’s support for Ukraine as it battles invading Russian forces and said he would not “make a judgment on the way in which Ukraine does defend itself”. “The country which is talking about an escalation to above a nuclear threshold is Russia,” he told Sky News. “That’s what must be condemned today. The country which is bringing troops from North Korea into this conflict is Russia. That’s what must be condemned today. “And we do condemn that, and we do absolutely stand with Ukraine and its defence.” Russia’s nuclear update, which was floated in September, fell on the same day Russia’s military claimed Ukraine targeted sites deep inside Russia using missiles provided by the US. The new text also says that Russia would consider an attack from any one member of a military bloc as an attack by the entire alliance, in a barely veiled nod to NATO. Deputy chair of Russia’s security council Dmitry Medvedev, who briefly served as president between Mr Putin’s mammoth terms, said the lowered threshold meant the Kremlin could use nuclear weapons to strike “key NATO facilities”. “Russia’s new nuclear doctrine means NATO missiles fired against our country could be deemed an attack by the bloc on Russia. Russia could retaliate with WMD against (Kyiv) and key NATO facilities, wherever they’re located,” Mr Medvedev said. “That means World War III.”

'Defy the president?' Analyst claims Trump loyalty test could backfire in his face Donald Trump has demanded that Republican senators step aside and allow his controversial Cabinet nominees to waltz into their positions unimpeded — but they're privately bristling at the challenge to their authority, according to a new report. The president-elect wants both houses of Congress to call themselves into recess so he can appoint his Cabinet without confirmation hearings, but Axios correspondent Hans Nichols reported that GOP senators are not exactly eager to give up their advise-and-consent role — especially in the case of attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz. "That's the open question, and I think, you know, all of us reporters, it's incumbent upon us to kind of get a sense of how intense this battle is," Nichols told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "It's an institutional battle between the Senate and the presidency, and the battle is joined. When the president of the United States starts personally call senators, really leaning on them, there's no way out of that sort of showdown, and there is a lot that's interesting about this." Senators are especially concerned about Gaetz, who resigned immediately upon his nomination last week and prevented the House Ethics Committee from releasing a report on its investigation into sex trafficking allegations against the Florida Republican. "It's interesting Trump didn't apparently really call any senators before he made these nominations," Nichols said. "He's making these calls after he's already sent them, so not a whole lot of advising in the advise-and-consent part. Two, we have to see what the senators actually say when they get pressed and pushed by Donald Trump. We talked to Sen. [Kevin] Cramer (R-ND). He said Trump is very persuasive, but you know, everyone at the table knows senators don't like being told what to do." "They like their prerogatives and they want to see the report, to see the contents of that ethics report," Nichols added, "and they say they want to give Gaetz a fair hearing, but they want to know what's actually in there, and it's pretty clear whether or not it's the entire report or just the contents of the report, that a lot of the details will come out and then it's just up to the senators. Are they willing to defy the president that just handed them the majority?"

Trump: ‘No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!’ President-elect Trump on Tuesday called for the Senate to stop confirming judges before he is sworn into office, amid a frantic effort from Democrats to confirm President Biden’s nominees. “The Democrats are trying to stack the Courts with Radical Left Judges on their way out the door. Republican Senators need to Show Up and Hold the Line — No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Senate Democrats held late-night votes Monday to confirm Biden’s picks to the federal judiciary. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told colleagues on the Senate floor Monday to confirm as many judicial nominees as they can before the new year, which could mean weekend and Christmas recess votes for the upper chamber. Republicans tried to drag out the process Monday night by forcing Democrats to hold time-consuming votes on procedural motions to switch from executive to legislative session and back again. The White House called out Trump and Republicans for trying to slow down confirmations at the end of the year, arguing that Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who was elected Senate GOP leader, considered it a priority to confirm Trump’s judicial nominees before the end of his last administration. “Regardless of party, the American people expect their leaders to fight for the rule of law and to ensure the criminal justice system can function effectively in every state. Delaying the confirmation of highly qualified, experienced judges takes a real-life toll on constituents and leads to backlogs of criminal cases — meaning Senator Thune was correct in 2020 when he said senators have every urgent reason to continue working together in good faith to staff the federal bench. There is no excuse for choosing partisanship over enforcing the rule of law,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement. As of Monday afternoon, the Democrat-controlled Senate had confirmed 216 of Biden’s Article III judicial nominees. During Trump’s four years in office, Republicans confirmed 234 of his nominees to the federal courts. A few dozen Biden nominees are still pending, according to The Associated Press. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) recently urged Schumer in a Time magazine op-ed to “use every minute of the end-of-the year legislative session to confirm federal judges and key regulators — none of whom can be removed by the next president.”

Trump names former wrestling executive Linda McMahon as his pick for education secretary President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Linda McMahon, a former World Wrestling Entertainment executive who served in the first Trump administration, as his pick to lead the Education Department. If she is confirmed by the Senate, McMahon would oversee a department that Trump said he planned to “get rid” of as it currently exists and allow each state to individually “handle education.” “As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand 'Choice' to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families,” Trump said in a statement that described McMahon as a “fierce advocate for Parents’ Rights.” McMahon reposted Trump's announcement, which had been shared by his campaign, on X. Earlier in the day she joined Trump and Elon Musk, who was named as a co-chair of a new “Department of Government Efficiency,” at the SpaceX Starship launch in Texas. McMahon, 76, is a co-chair of Trump's presidential transition team. She was head of the Small Business Administration during his first presidency before she stepped down from the Cabinet-level post in 2019 to lead the pro-Trump America First Action super PAC. Before she joined the first Trump administration, McMahon served on the Connecticut State Board of Education in 2009, before she resigned to make unsuccessful bids in 2010 and 2012 for U.S. Senate seats in the state. McMahon was one of Trump's top donors during the 2024 campaign — contributing more than $20 million to the Make America Great Again Inc. super PAC, as well as $937,800 to his campaign and affiliated joint fundraising committees. She is married to former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Vince McMahon. Recommended

The largest percentage of questiions on Google in the four days since the election are "can I change my vote?"

Donald Trump's hush money sentencing is called off Donald Trump's sentencing in his New York hush money case has been called off as the court decides how to move forward after his astounding reelection victory. According to a short court note, the sentencing scheduled for later this month on November 26 has been indefinitely 'adjourned.' It comes as Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg argued that the hush money case against President-elect Donald Trump should proceed. But he also stunningly acknowledged that his prosecutors may need to pause the case as Trump is set to enter the White House. 'We would not oppose [Trump's] request for a stay of further proceedings,' prosecutors wrote in a filing Tuesday. Bragg writes that prosecutors 'deeply respect the office of the president, are mindful of the demands and obligations of the presidency, and acknowledge that defendant’s inauguration will raise unprecedented legal questions.' The case could be delayed until after Trump exits the White House in four years or be dismissed outright. The Trump team immediately declared victory after the DA's admission. Read more here

I got a real blast from the past on Facebook this morning.I was born in 1944, and my parents shared a dairy farm with my grandparents at a place call Jindivick North, in Gippsland. We had to leave the farm and move into Warragul in 1950, because the government wanted the valley to construct a reservoir, the Tarago Reservior. On FB this morning, a post from Better Boating Victoria, saying they are about to build a boatramp, effectively 50 metres from where our gate used to be. You can look up Tarago Reservoir on Google Maps. The red arrow points to where our farm gate was.

Trump names Dr. Mehmet Oz to head Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services President-elect Donald Trump has picked Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve as the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “I have known Dr. Oz for many years, and I am confident he will fight to ensure everyone in America receives the best possible Healthcare, so our Country can be Great and Healthy Again!” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday. Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and television personality, ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2022 in Pennsylvania with Trump’s backing. He lost to Democratic now-Sen. John Fetterman. In 2018, Trump appointed Oz to the Presidential Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, reappointing him to the position in 2020. Oz rose to fame as a frequent guest of Oprah Winfrey, eventually launching his own syndicated daytime TV talk show in 2009. Through “The Dr. Oz Show,” which won several daytime Emmy awards and reached millions of viewers, Oz became one of the most well-known doctors in the country. His views on Covid-19, however, sparked controversy. Early on in the pandemic, for instance, Oz talked up the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a way to treat the coronavirus — despite the lack of firm scientific evidence that it was an effective treatment. While many of those perspectives were praised by Republicans at the time, Oz before running for Senate regularly supported health insurance mandates and promoted Obamacare, CNN’s KFile reported — taking unusual positions for a GOP candidate. As a physician, for example, Oz advocated that everyone in America have insurance and said the government should provide health care coverage to Americans who cannot afford it. “It should be mandatory that everybody in America have healthcare coverage. If you can’t afford it, we have to give it to you,” Oz told The Seattle Times in 2009. Oz, who is an advocate of alternative medicines and treatments, has been skewered by the medical community for years. In 2015, a group of physicians wrote Columbia University, saying they were “dismayed” Oz was a member of the school’s faculty. And in 2014, Oz was scolded by senators during a congressional hearing over his promotion of weight-loss products on his television show.

Pixie Skase, widow of controversial businessman Christopher Skase, dies age 83 She died on November 15, her daughter Amanda Larkins confirmed on Tuesday night. Ms Skase was one of Melbourne's best known and most glamorous socialites in the 1980s. She was known for hosting extravagant parties, her big blonde hair, shoulder pads and love of the finer things in life such as flashy diamonds and French champagne. Her husband died from stomach cancer in 2001 and Ms Skase returned permanently to Australia in 2009, where she mostly kept a low profile.

Americans to receive 'sobering education' on 'dangerous' one-party rule in 2025: analyst The 2024 election was a major blow for Democrats not only because of President-elect Donald Trump's decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, but also, because Republicans flipped the U.S. Senate and held their small majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. The United States' federal government has plenty of checks and balances, and both Republicans and Democrats play a role in that. But in an article published by Salon on November 18, Austin Sarat — an Amherst College professor who focuses on criminal justice and political science — warns that in 2025, Americans can expect a sobering education on the evils of "one-party rule." "The 2024 election has installed a regime of one-party government in Washington," Sarat explains. "Come January 20, the presidency, the Senate, and the House of Representatives will all be controlled by Republicans, many of whom are dedicated foot soldiers in President-elect Donald Trump's MAGA movement. Add to this the Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority, which has already shown itself willing to turn the Constitution upside down to serve the interests of the president-elect." Read more here

Correct.

Elon Musk Reportedly Gets in Blowout Fight With Trump Adviser at Mar-a-Lago Dinner It's only been a few weeks since Elon Musk's money helped bring Donald Trump back to the White House — and already, the billionaire seems to be causing problems. According to insiders who spoke to Axios, Musk and Donald Trump's indicted lawyer Boris Epshteyn got into what the outlet's sources described as a "massive blowup" and a "huge explosion" at Mar-a-Lago last week over the president-elect's Cabinet picks, of all things. Those sources said that the row occurred in front of other guests at Trump's Florida mansion as Musk accused Epshteyn of intentionally leaking picks to the press. The attorney rebutted that he had no idea what the billionaire was talking about — but onlookers, including those within Trump's orbit, were well aware of what the fight was really about. Read more here

No takers? The answer is "A face like thunder". Maybe you'll have better luck with this one...

Rudy Giuliani demands court delay his defamation trial so he can attend Trump’s inauguration Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is asking the court to delay his trial with the pair of election workers he defamed so he can attend Donald Trump’s inauguration. Giuliani’s trial is scheduled for January 16, 2025, four days before President-elect Trump’s inauguration. The cash-strapped former mayor has now asked the court to adjourn the trial - which is to enforce the $150 million bankruptcy court judgment against Giuliani - until on or after January 22, so that he can attend the inauguration events. “There would be no harm to the plaintiffs by a delay of a few days in the trial schedule, and I am sure that the Court would have other dates available other than January 16, 17, or 20, 2025 for this trial,” when the inauguration events are set to take place, argued Joseph Cammarata, an attorney for Giuliani, in a Friday letter to the judge. Cammarata is now representing Giuliani after his previous lawyer suddenly quit last week. On Monday, the judge ordered that the matter be discussed at a hearing scheduled for November 26. Read more here

Trump's plan to use the military for deportations sparks liberal fury President-elect Donald Trump is hinting that he is willing to declare a national emergency to push through the biggest mass deportation in history. He gave a simple one-word response to an ally who said there are reports that the incoming president will use 'military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.' Trump wrote 'TRUE!!!' on his Truth Social platform early Monday in response, seemingly confirming the secretive plan and sending Democrats into a frenzy. There was also outrage overnight after a now-deleted tweet suggested that Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said there would be 'no recess appointments' to help Trump out together his Cabinet. And the hosts of MSNBC's Morning Joe have revealed they held a face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump for the first time in seven years last week.

Trump claims he has an ‘unprecedented’ mandate. Experts say it’s actually very small As the votes were tallied and the Electoral College map turned red, Donald Trump declared to supporters at his election night victory party that the American people had given him “an unprecedented and powerful mandate.” A wave of cabinet nominations consisting of MAGA loyalists and fringe figures in the days that followed showed he really believed it. There was to be no reaching across the aisle. But Trump’s margin of victory, historically speaking, is very small. Although he may have won handily in the Electoral College by 312 to 226, he is estimated to win the popular vote by around 1.6 percent. That puts him in 16th place among post-Second World War presidential victories, just behind Jimmy Carter, but ahead of his 2016 performance when he lost the popular vote but still won the keys to the White House. Trump can claim the title of being the first Republican to win the popular vote in 20 years — but that says more about the quirks of the Electoral College and the popularity of Republicans than it does about the man himself. So can the President-elect really claim to have an “unprecedented” mandate for change? “I’m not sure that other presidents would read that as a mandate, but Donald Trump is a different case,” said Mark Updegrove, a presidential historian and CEO of the LBJ Foundation. “Whether Trump has a mandate or not doesn’t matter. He’s going to tell you he has a mandate because he wants to do what he wants to do. He would exploit any advantage.” It wasn’t always this way. Updegrove noted a contrast between Trump and John F Kennedy, who proceeded with caution following his very close win in the 1960 election. “[Kennedy] was very wary not to do anything that might look liberal or too partisan-oriented after he just barely squeaked by in the Electoral College,” he said. Only two other post-war presidents have raised the notion of their mandate in their election victory speeches. Lyndon Johnson, who won the popular vote by a whopping 22.58 percent in 1964, said that he had been given “a mandate for unity, for a government that serves no special interest, no business government, no labor government, no farm government, no one faction, no one group, but a government that is the servant of all the people.”

Elon Musk’s bromance with Donald Trump isn’t going down that well in MAGAworld anymore Lawmakers and policy shops have largely moved on from the shock of Kamala Harris’s defeat and are preparing for Donald Trump’s return to the city in January. Joe Biden was among those who seemed to have made peace with the outcome over the past few days. Now firmly in the “lame duck” stage of his presidency, the president spent the weekend in South America, participating in the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. Meanwhile, the race to fill Trump’s remaining Cabinet positions fell under the shadow of the newest member of the president-elect’s entourage: Elon Musk. The Twitter/X CEO — who now travels with Trump frequently and hangs around Mar-a-Lago when not — is using his massive platform and his access to the president-elect in an attempt to shape the incoming administration. See more here

Nastiness of Trump's 'bottomless well of zingers' is biggest threat to democracy: analysis Donald Trump views himself as a comedian first and a leader second, argued Alexander Karin for Salon — and the problem is that Trump's sense of humor is getting darker and more twisted as time wears on. This comes after a campaign that ended in controversy over a right-wing comedian's attack on Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage" at Trump's rally in Madison Square Garden. The contrast between Trump’s policy ineptitude and his razor-sharp comedy is remarkable," wrote Karin. For example, when Trump was asked how he would reform the Affordable Care Act, "Trump sputtered lamely about 'concepts of a plan.' When pressed for a specific proposal on how to provide affordable child care to American workers, Trump rambled incoherently through an embarrassing list of non-sequiturs." And yet, "the election results show us such stumbles can be excused. That’s because when it comes to lambasting his opponents and tickling the funny bone of the MAGA base, the incoming comedian-in-chief pulls from a seemingly bottomless well of zingers." But, Karin wrote, Trump's "jokes" are getting more hateful and more violent. For instance, "at a rally days before the election, Trump brought the house down once again by declaring open season on members of the press. 'Weaving' through an imagined assassination scenario, Trump explained that political violence sometimes has an unexpected upside: 'To get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news, and I don’t mind that so much.' In a video from the event, audience members can be seen roaring at the thought of a media bloodbath." Ultimately, he continued, "Trump is a jester inside the palace, playing at the role of king, but mocking the very idea of principled leadership in the process. Flouting the rules is his schtick, and it seems MAGA cannot get enough." And that represents a deeper rot at the heart of what we are as a country, he wrote. "Political fences can be mended, if there is goodwill on both sides," Karin concluded — but "cultural rifts, on the other hand, can be impossible to bridge. American democracy cannot survive four more years of derisive laughter at the expense of our unity."

Kim Jong Un wants to flood Ukraine with thousands of soldiers North Korea could deploy up to 100,000 troops to Ukraine despite warnings from G20 nations. As the alliance between Pyongyang and Moscow has strengthened in recent months, Kim Jong Un may send even more troops to support Russian forces that have been fighting for nearly three years. Kyiv has warned its allies that prolonged assistance from North Korea could lead to further escalation of tensions, with 10,000 Asian troops already engaged in the Russian region of Kursk, facing Ukrainian forces. In exchange for its military support, North Korea is reportedly seeking technological aid from Russia to develop a significant nuclear arsenal. Meanwhile, Moscow carried out a large-scale airstrike over the weekend, targeting the country's energy infrastructure. In the past, Moscow has attacked these facilities to plunge the country into darkness and cold as winter looms. (North Korea must have an overpopulation problem.)

Russia Loses $200 Million in Minutes as Ukraine Strikes Again Ukrainian forces have successfully neutralized a Russian RB-301B Borisoglebsk-2 electronic warfare system, according to the Ukrainian news outlet Army Inform. This advanced system, designed to disrupt communications and navigation, is estimated to cost around $200 million, according to WP. The RB-301B Borisoglebsk-2 is a high-tech electronic warfare system developed by Russia’s KRET Corporation. It is built to jam communication systems and radar frequencies used by enemy forces. The system represents a significant upgrade over its predecessor, the Borisoglebsk-1, offering improved efficiency and operational flexibility. Mounted on tracked MT-LB vehicles, the Borisoglebsk-2 is highly mobile and capable of operating in challenging terrain. The system consists of multiple vehicles equipped with antennas, transmitters, and control stations. Its components include radio jamming stations capable of targeting a wide range of frequencies, command centers with computerized management systems, and directional and omnidirectional antennas. The system’s primary function is to disrupt radio communication across frequencies ranging from 1.5 MHz to 1 GHz, which covers most military and civilian communication networks. It can also disable GPS and other navigation systems, as well as interfere with radar operations. Its high level of automation allows for the rapid detection, analysis, and jamming of signals, enhancing its effectiveness on the battlefield. Despite its advanced capabilities, the Borisoglebsk-2 was detected and destroyed by Ukrainian forces. This loss marks a significant blow to Russian operations, as electronic warfare systems like the Borisoglebsk-2 are critical for countering enemy communications and navigation.

The keyboard on my laptop packed up,so I bought a wired keyboard for $7 at Officeworks. Nothing wrong with the keyboard, I just keep hitting the wrong keys. The laptop, which works, sits on a card table and the keyboard is on my knee. With my distance glasses on, I can see the screen OK, but the keyboard is blurry. Put on reading glasses, and I can see the keys just fine, but can't read the screen. Sick of swapping glasses.

There are so many typos on this forum (me included) no-one notices. Sometimes I think someone keeps switching my keys.

Steroid medications can increase blood glucose levels.

I can't understand how they are legal. You can get fined for having you phone on your knee - overhead cameras to detect them. How then can it be legal to have touch screens, some with more icons that a phone home page?