red750

There have been a number of so-called experts saying on TV that the genie is out of the bottle and there is no winding back the clock. There was a test which showed eight photos of people, some genuine, some AI deep fakes, I only got 50% correct. One of these is real, one is fake. Can you guess which is fake. A. B.

Rob Hurst, drummer and founding member of Midnight Oil, has passed, aged 70.

Don't speak too soon, Donnie's not finished yet.

Speaking of Kings, he is the first president NOT to recognise Martin Luther King Day.

President Donald Trump has upgraded his "Mister Tariff" nickname for something more regal. Taking to Truth Social yesterday (January 17), he posted a black-and-white photo of himself with the words "Mister Tariff" above the image, but then immediately followed up with another post with the same photo, but this time it had the words "The Tariff King" instead. It's not the first time Trump has declared this nickname for himself, at a White House event on rural health care on Friday, he told reporters, "I’m the tariff king and the tariff king has done a great job."

I can't say I remember it, I was living in Sydney at the time, but had lived in Adelaide for 3 months in 1972, on a temporary posting in the bank.

No details or back story.

Donald Trump will reportedly charge leaders $US1 billion for a permanent seat on his newly created ‘Board of Peace’. Australia is among the countries invited to join the board, which is part of the US President’s 20-point plan to end the Israel-Hamas war and will oversee the reconstruction of Gaza. According to a draft charter for the proposed group, first reported by Bloomberg, members can receive a permanent seat on the panel if they fork out at least $1 billion. Members who choose not make the payment can still join but will reportedly only serve three-year terms.

https://www.wownews.info/archives/8152

One of the stories doing the rounds, most likely BS, but 'claimed' to be spread by Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Barack Obama etc., is that Barron Trump is the incestuous son of Donald and Ivanka, and the so-called spreaders claim to have DNA proof. If true, why hasn't he been arrested. America is sick, and taking the world down with it.

He won for dad dancing to Y M C A.

Here we go - off the track again.

"In 1942, Wehrmacht officer Albert Battel faced SS trucks heading to deport hundreds of Jews from a Polish ghetto. He blocked the bridge with armed soldiers and said simply: ""Not today."" What happened next changed everything. The summer heat pressed down on Przemyśl like a weight you couldn't shake off. German flags hung limp from every building. The Jewish quarter had been sealed behind barbed wire for months. And everyone knew what ""resettlement"" really meant. Albert Battel stood on the San River bridge that morning, watching the SS convoy approach. Truck after truck, engines growling, heading straight for the ghetto. He was forty-nine. A lawyer before the war. A Wehrmacht officer who followed orders and kept his head down. But something inside him snapped that day. When the lead truck reached the bridge, Battel raised his hand. His soldiers lowered the barrier. ""This bridge is closed,"" he told the SS commander. The man's face went red. ""On whose authority?"" ""Mine."" Battel had no authority to do this. None at all. He was blocking his own government from carrying out official orders. But he stood there anyway. And his soldiers stood with him. The SS officer screamed. Threatened. Demanded passage. Battel didn't budge. ""Any man who tries to cross will be arrested,"" he said quietly. Can you imagine that moment? The silence that must have fallen over that bridge? The SS convoy, engines still running, blocked by German soldiers pointing rifles at other German soldiers. The SS commander had no choice. He ordered his trucks to turn around. But Battel wasn't finished. He climbed into his own military truck and drove straight into the ghetto. Right into the heart of what everyone called the ""Jewish quarter."" Families were huddled in their homes, waiting. Knowing. Mothers held their children tighter. Old men sat by windows, watching the street. Battel started knocking on doors. ""Get in the truck,"" he told them. ""Now."" He loaded dozens of people into Wehrmacht vehicles. Grandparents who could barely walk. Mothers carrying babies. Children clutching toys they'd never see again. He drove them to the Wehrmacht barracks. Fed them. Posted guards to protect them. For hours, he moved Jewish families out of that ghetto under the cover of ""military necessity."" Every minute, he could have been shot for treason. Every decision could have been his last. But by nightfall, dozens of people who should have been on death trains were sleeping in German army beds instead. The news hit Berlin like a thunderbolt. Heinrich Himmler himself wrote Battel's name in his files. Called his actions ""inexcusable fraternization with Jews."" They blacklisted him from the Nazi Party. Started court-martial proceedings. Destroyed his career. Battel never apologized. Not once. When illness forced him out of active duty, he went home to his ruined life without a single word of regret. After the war, survivors started looking for him. The officer who saved us, they said. The German who said no. In 1963, Israel honored Albert Battel as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. The highest honor they give to non-Jews who risked everything to save Jewish lives. He never lived to see it. Battel died in 1952, forgotten in a Germany trying to rebuild itself. He never wrote a book about that day. Never gave interviews. Never sought praise. But what he did on that bridge proves something important. Courage isn't the absence of fear. It's looking at impossible odds and saying, ""I don't care."" It's one person deciding that orders don't matter more than human lives. It's standing up when everyone else is looking down. In a world that felt completely broken, Albert Battel showed that humanity could still win. Even when it wore the wrong uniform. Even when it stood completely alone. And sometimes, that's all it takes to change everything. One bridge. One officer. One word: No. "

Donald Trump has graciously accepted the Ashes from Pat Cummins.

I worked in a bank for 40 years, They were always referred to as 'the escort'.

Who mentioned sex? I was talking about armoured car services that refill the note hoppers in ATMs.

A 55 year old woman from Turkey is seeking DNA proof that Trump is her father. She says that a woman who just gave birth could not keep her and anded her over to a family whose own child was stillborn. https://remarkable-mag.com/woman-claiming-to-be-trumps-daughter-drops-new-dna-bombshell/

Very good OT.

I meant to add, I needed to break a $20 so I could pay $15 for a haircut (they have noyes into the slot, no change given). There was an ANZ branch beside the barber in the mall, so I ducked in there. They only had one teller window (not just one open) and there was a family there getting a lot of forms etc signed. It took nearly 15 minutes to change a $20 note.

Can you identify this young man who is no longer with us? Classic photo of him deleted from bottom right.

It continues to get worse. The Commonwealth Bank is forcing it's customers to switch to a Smart Saver A/c which has a $3 fee to withdraw your own money from a teller, from the Post Office or by phone. The fee is waved if you deposit $2,000 per month. As a pensioner, my pension is paid into my Smart Saver A/c by direct deposit. At $1177 per fortnight, this meets this requirement. However, traders wanting to get change for their tills, or deposit their cash takings are charged a cash handling fee. As I have posted before, you can get cash from an ATM, but only multiples of $10, $20 or $50. If you need a $5 note, you have to withdraw more, then find somewhere to change it. But bank ATMs are disappearing, and you get charged a fee to use a privately owned ATM. Many banks are closing branches, particularly in regional areas. https://www.msn.com/en-au/money/news/people-first-bank-s-devastating-move-leaves-aussies-with-four-hour-trip-to-visit-bank-branch/ar-AA1Uj1Ea However Westpac are opening more regional branches. People think that cash is legal currency and must be accepted, but that's not the case. Provided the store/cafe/etc. clearly indicate that they accept card only, it is lawful for them to refuse cash. KFC is one of the latest to go cashless - it's up to the franchisee. https://www.moneymag.com.au/do-australian-businesses-have-to-accept-cash Some of the reasons for going cashless are- cost of supply - escort services etc. cost of insurance reducing the likelihood of holdups - staff injury, trauma, etc. time and cost of counting cash and taking it to nightsafes etc. to deter breakins proliferation of forged notes (larger denominations) confusing counter staff under pressure causing business losses. In addition to the details in the link below, forged notes are usually 2 or 3 mm shorter than genuine notes. https://www.banknotes.rba.gov.au/counterfeit-detection/counterfeit-detection-guide/ There are also some places that only accept cash - cards not accepted.

Don't squat with your spurs on.

Peter FitzSimons has suggested Dutton for the Ambassador position.