onetrack

Pauline has had plenty of opportunities to present a viable and workable solution to many of Australia's problems, but she's never presented any plans of substance, she's in the same mold as Donald Trump, an airhead who folds up whenever she's confronted with opposition to any idea she produces. Her Party is slowly disintegrating with less and less people voting for her every year, and her representation in Parliament is down to two seats in the Senate. Her Party has been riven by scandals, corruption, infighting, and a constant choice of poor candidates such as Mark Latham, Rod Culleton, Dean Smith, Craig Kelly and others - thus showing Pauline Hanson has zero leadership abilities or qualities. Her finest time was running a fish and chip shop, where she probably should have stayed.

Beautiful spot, spent nearly a week there roaming around and staying in different accommodations. But the bloody tourists are destroying it, especially when the place is full most of the time - and then two massive cruise ships rock up, one after the other, and discharge another 5,000 braying American tourists, all intent on jostling their way to the front. The sunsets are spectacular, the caldera cliff is unbelievably steep and high (with the port at the bottom of the cliff), and no, we didn't ride the smelly donkeys up or down the cliff face, which is what all premium-grade tourists are supposed to do. We took the ferries between the Greek Islands, they're virtually all West-Australian built ferries and they carry about 250 vehicles (including trucks) and multiple hundreds of passengers in great comfort and speed. They back up to what are sometimes rudimentary wharfs, drop the rear ramp, unload vehicles rapidly on the ramp, and passengers on an adjoining walkway - and then they're raising the ramp and gunning it again, within about 20 mins, heading to another island. Santorini is exactly as it appears in photos, none of them are retouched. But the whole region is Earthquake Central, even the Greek mainland get regular shakeups. We went to Kos and inspected the Asklepieion, an ancient healing centre and baths. It must have been stunning originally, but it was largely destroyed in a monstrous earthquake, in 554 A.D. https://www.greeka.com/cyclades/santorini/sightseeing/santorini-caldera/

Greeted as Liberators in Gaza...... https://therickwilson.substack.com/p/greeted-as-liberators?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1887091&post_id=156536480&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2j0en6&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Here's a bloke who rages about all the wasteful wars America has indulged in for the last umpteen decades, under Democrat-led Govts, and how he was dedicated to ensuring that all wars are stopped, and Americans will be grateful to him as a great peacemaker - and no sooner are the words out of his mouth, and he's off planning to invade Palestine, and take it over, and kick the Palestinians out - and start WW3. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-05/trump-netanyahu-gaza-plan/104900896

The scientists have stated the earthquakes are tectonic in origin, not volcanic. There's a major difference there. The scientists ARE concerned that there MAY be a major earthquake coming to the Santorini region, not a volcanic eruption.

Trump closing off the "de minimis" import tax loophole is no different to the ATO making us pay GST on nearly every single item that comes into Australia, whereas previously, imports under $1000 were GST free. The only way of getting around that ATO tax is by finding a seller who does little business in Australia (under the GST limit, $75,000) - but that is increasingly harder to do.

The only time you get tangible wealth is when you cash out, or buy gold. At all other times, your "assets" can have a highly variable value. It's interesting to see the number of people and countries currently buying gold on a large scale, expecting major financial disruption, and some serious value losses attached to "intangibles", very soon, as a result of Trumps chaotic decisions and orders.

You blokes are getting it all wrong! Didn't you hear Donald and Jared Kushner raving about the beautiful ocean-front land, and the weather in Gaza? What better result could Donald produce for those unfortunate Palestinians, than turning Gaza into a myriad of Trump Hotels and Golf Courses!! Onya, Donald!!

And don't forget the operating manual is in Chinglish!!

Trump and Musk's illegal activities are straight out of Germany in 1933. Replace the word "Jews", with "DEI", "Crazy Leftie Democrats", "the Deep State" (a fabrication on a par with the best Nazi lies and propaganda), all the while keeping up the veneer of Democracy and claiming to represent "the will of the German/American people", and the outcome is the death of true democracy in America and the commencement of Rule by Oligarchs. This quote from the Holocaust memorial site is chilling - "Although President Hindenburg and the Reichstag continued to exist, Hitler could now govern by decree." The U.S. no longer has decision-making by Congress or the Senate, it has a defacto "governing by decree", by just one power-crazed individual, aided by a number of super-rich power-crazed individuals. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-role-of-civil-servants

Just wait until Trump finds Australia has a number of important things that America wants, and you just might get all your ideas about what he's going to do, revised. One thing we do on a sizeable scale, is export a lot of beef to America, for hamburgers, so perhaps that will curry great favour with the Big Mac lover.

Trump has destroyed any goodwill or trust between America and other nations with his erratic and chaotic style of decision-making, and it will take a long time before America regains any respect in trade negotiations. But this is precisely his modus operandi, throwing hand grenades into smooth-working operations, just to see how he can gain benefit, personally.

The Liberals had better start producing some viable candidates if they want to grab power back from Labor. Despite Labors mistakes and missteps, Albo and his mob are still a better bet than Dutton and his dubious band of candidates. The problem is, Dutton cannot produce a viable plan for improving Australia's competitiveness, world standing, innovation, quality of life, or improving living standards for the average Australian. He can produce plenty of anti-Labor negativity. He continues to follow the same old worn-out lie, that by making the rich richer, with less taxes and less regulation, the average Joes life and wealth is improved, too. It's long been called the "trickle-down effect". But this is precisely how the "trickle-down effect", works in reality....

There's a whole lot of backlash on the site below, from Canadians who see America and Trump in a whole lot different light, now. The initial article written by Robert H. McKinney, the professor, is actually from 2018, when Donald Trump was in power previously and screwing up the U.S. farm sales to China.

They haven't found anything yet, they're still conducting a comprehensive search. We'll let you know when they find something - no matter how small. 😄

LATEST NEWS: The media are reporting that Kyle Sandilands is having to undergo urgent brain surgery, due to a medical condition. UPDATE: The doctors operating on Kyle Sandilands are reporting they're having great difficulty in trying to find Kyles brain.

Donald Trump earnestly believes that tariffs are a "beautiful tool" to beat other countries over the head with. He believes he can use tariffs to make other countries do his bidding. Unfortunately, he's too dumb to realise that imposing tariffs brings a whole raft of unforeseen problems. If importers see a major sales decline in the goods they've previously been importing, and there's reluctance to "buy local" due to much higher local product costs, then the importer will cease to import the product and shortages will result, causing an increase in pricing as local manufacturers take advantage of the massive demand, and their inability to meet it. Then there's the "backlash effect" that Trump barely grasps. He thinks he has total power, being in "control" of the American economy. But he doesn't have total control, he's got hold of the steering wheel, but many others have control over the brakes and clutch and gearshift. The "backlash effect" is when Trump underestimates how much damage can be done by other countries introducing tariffs on American goods and products. This can be very substantial, as many other countries can produce exactly what America can manufacture, grow or mine. The Chinese thought they could use the "beautiful tool" of tariffs on Australian products to punish us for daring to criticise China's opaqueness over the source of the COVID-19 virus. But they ended up shooting themselves in the foot, as local coal and metal ores and LNG producers rapidly found new markets - and prices often went up, meaning China had to find new sources for their vital Australian imports, and then pay more for them. Little has been revealed about what happened to Chinese consumers when Australian lobster sales to China fell 64% during the China-Australia tariff war. The simple result would have been Chinese diners fighting over a very limited supply of Australian lobster, and for them having to pay a lot higher price for it, resulting in reduced spending power for them overall. Canada is a vital supplier of car parts and energy products to America and it has responded to American tariffs on Canadian products by imposing tariffs on American goods. This will have the immediate result of reducing sales of American manufactured goods to Canada, and Canadians turning to other manufacturers. The tariff was will be a direct kick to the goolies of American car manufacturers, as American car sales slump in Canada, and Canadians end up buying more Chinese cars. This effect will go right across the board, so it will effect ALL American industry. Then there's American farmers, who are the backbone of Trumps support. Last time he messed with tariffs on Chinese goods, the Chinese retaliated by imposing tariffs on U.S. farm imports. Trump ended up having to pay a lot of Govt support money to U.S. farmers to make up for their reduced export sales and lower prices for their products. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/how-china-reduced-its-reliance-us-farm-imports-softening-trade-war-risks-2024-11-13/#:~:text=Beijing retaliated with tariffs of,%2C wheat%2C corn and sorghum. If Trump thinks that American consumers will make up the shortfall of export sales by purchasing more local goods, then I've got news for him, there's nowhere in history where that has happened. The bottom line is that the price of everything will go up in a tariff war, and Donald Trump promised all his followers that he'd reduce the cost of everything. Somewhere along the line, soon, MAGA adherents are going to realise they've been sold a pup.

The first day of school, I got given a packet of Arnotts Milk Arrowroot biscuits to eat, by my Mum, and I'm pretty sure I cried almost all day long, as I had to spend the WHOLE DAY without her, which left me with life-long trauma. 😞 I reckon my Grandpa would've started school in 1845, as he was born in 1840. But I never got to meet him, because he died in 1923.

You all obviously fail to understand that if a MAGA appointee was in the control tower or in charge of the FAA, this crash would never have happened, and no aviation crashes will ever occur again, after those MAGA appointments are made!

We have a website we can access when the power goes down, just to see how long it will be before the power is put back on. Few people in positions of power see the irony in having a website relying on electrical power advising you when the loss of power will be restored. 😄

Mike Farrell, who played the part of Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt in MASH. He's 85, and a long-time political activist, and a genuinely warm and empathetic bloke. America needs more people like him.

GON, I signed the Oath when I was conscripted, because I knew what I was signing. and knew I was potentially putting my life on the line for my country. I had been in business for myself, in partnership with a brother, for 4 years, before I entered the Army. I wasn't a dumb 20 yr old, I was an astute business owner, used to dealing with a large and wealthy clientele face to face, training others, and owning and operating and repairing a good range of equipment and plant. For what it's worth, I also volunteered to serve in Vietnam. As an Engineer, I had the choice of volunteering to serve overseas, or electing to stay in Australia. I elected to serve overseas, knowing it was a traditional move, and one that carried benefits, and also looking like an adventure to a 20 yr old who had previously not left Australia. We did all have reservations about the style of American conduct of the Vietnam War, but at that time, the constant advance of Communism via terrorism, DID pose a real threat to SE Asian countries. I do know that Nasho's who joined the infantry did not have that choice, as they were attached to Regiments that were rotated into and out of SVN, whereas Support Units members were rotated in and out of SVN on an individual basis. I do think you're becoming a bit of a tired "One Note Charlie" with your constant harping on the "Nashos Fair Go" angle. You seem to fail to understand that major difference in treatment and recognition, between soldiers who served in combat zones, and those who didn't leave the comforts of Australia, where the biggest danger was being abused by an anti-Vietnam War protestor. This separation between "returned servicemen" and those who never left Australia, in the form of entitlements and treatments is enshrined in the Veterans Entitlements Act 1986, and returned servicemen entitlements have been in place since the Soldiers Repatriation Act was first introduced in 1917, and this Act was promoted by Gen. Sir John Monash. The Veterans Entitlements Act 1986 is a two-booklet Act full of court decisions and legal definitions that precisely define all the entitlements due to returned servicemen. It is not an Act designed to cater to National Servicemen, because it is the modern version of the 1917 Soldiers Repatriation Act. You seem to equate some of the hardships endured by National Servicemen as on a par with the hardships endured by returned soldiers who served in combat zones. I can assure you, no-one accepts that argument. https://www.dva.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/publications/corporate/P03428.pdf

AI will steadily get much better, and will soon be virtually undetectable. It's early days with AI, it's still at the crawl stage.

What a CF, throwing additional troops into a theatre who are an alien culture, and who have a totally different language? It effectively means they can only operate as a team by themselves, it would be impossible to integrate them into Russian forces and the Russian military. Imagine them trying to understand instructions written in Russian, on Russian equipment? I wonder how many total balls-ups have been caused by the Koreans doing something completely stupid, and at odds with Russian systems and techniques and tactics?