onetrack

Let's get back to the POSITIVE additions to this thread, shall we? Trump has his own thread. For last weeks and this weeks positive addition, SWMBO and I went to a couple of shows put on by the W.A. Museum and the W.A. Maritime Museum. The W.A. Museum show was "The Kimberley Experience", and the Maritime Museum show was "Empress Josephines Garden". The best part was, both shows were FREE admission! The Kimberley Experience was all about viewing the Kimberley's tourist places, without the need to actually travel there - and the Empress Josphines Garden show was all about the early French explorers of the W.A. coastline, and how they took home large amounts of W.A. flora and fauna to the Empress and Napoleon, which flora and fauna Josephine nurtured, and expanded to many other places in France. The French took home marsupials and emus, and W.A.'s Black Swans, which all survived for some time, it appears. Both shows were "immersive" experiences, where you were surrounded by big screens - and in the case of the W.A. Museum Kimberley show, we actually wore VR headsets, the first time I've ever done so. The VR headsets take you right to the camera lens view from drones and cameras fixed to choppers, and it was startling to look down with the headsets, and to suddenly feel like you were hanging in space over gorges and rivers. Both shows were very enjoyable and it's good to be out and about and socialising, which SWMBO believes is very important for your mental health, as you get older.

There's steadily rising anger at Musk's "slash-and-burn" terminations of agencies and employees. The Veterans Affairs administration is one area that is being targeted for "waste". It appears Musk and Trump believe Veterans are malingerers and bludgers, and a burden on society, and they have to go and work, rather than get treatment and accept compensation for war injuries - which injuries often make them unable to work full time. Mental health treatment should always be part of veterans treatment, and suicides amongst U.S. veterans are causing concern - even to the new VA administration. But the Musk and Trump cuts are going right to mental health treatment for veterans. However, the newly-appointed (by Trump) head honcho of VA is one Doug Collins - a former U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force chaplain - and in civilian life, a lawyer who defended Trump against his impeachment. He's setting out to fire 80,000 employees from VA. To do this, with the level of damaged war veterans the U.S. has, can only mean reduced services and benefits for veterans. How this gent, with his lack of major public service administration, got this job, is eyebrow raising. He got it simply because he's a Trump ar**-licker, and for no other reason - and his primary aim is to reduce VA to a shell of what it is now. Interestingly, somewhere around 25% of VA employees are former Veterans. Collins is effectively saying VA is just a big job-creation scheme for injured veterans, which is creating massive anger amongst the veterans and their supporters. In this interview (below), Doug Collins come across as a typical Trump BS-artist, couching dismantling of the VA Dept in waffle-speak, bouncing around with unrelated sentences, and trying to appear like he actually cares for veterans, when he doesn't. It is purely disingenuous lawyer-speak or political-speak, and nothing else. https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2025/03/06/va-secretary-insists-massive-staff-cuts-needed-to-refocus-department/ It's interesting to note that many "home-terrorism" attacks and murders in the U.S. were carried out by mentally-scarred veterans who did not receive the treatment they really needed. Amongst those attacks and murders is the greatest act of U.S. home-grown terrorism, the Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people, and which was carried out by two deranged veterans.

It sure looks like a swift kick in the nuts for those lovers of Hardley-Dawdlesons in the EU! 😢 https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/03/12/eu-strikes-back-against-us-steel-and-aluminium-tariffs-with-retaliatory-package

Whoa!! Hasn't anyone told the Don that the price of good ol' hamburgers is going to skyrocket, once he whacks a 25% tariff on Australian (and Canadian and Mexican) Beef? That's going to hit home, right at the White House dinner table!! https://mecardo.com.au/tariff-time-impacts-on-beef/

It's not even a $5.00 raise, it's actually only $4.60 a fortnight for a single pensioner and just $3.50 a fortnight each for couples. There's a lot of anger over the miserly increase, directed at the Govt by the pensioners out there, as evidenced by the comments on many "seniors" sites. The Govt claims that inflation is under control and back to 2.4% - that doesn't jell with all the current increases in pricing, in nearly everything I want to buy. https://www.dss.gov.au/system/files/documents/2025-03/rates-list-20-march-2025-upload.pdf

He wants to get rid of DS Time, and replace it with Trump Time - which comes at a suitable price, of course - payable out of U.S. Taxpayer funds to Trump Inc. When the country is in Trump Time, reality is reversed, bad is good, justice is evil, public servants are all money thieves, and they all belong to a secret cohort that is running the country contrary to how he wants it run, and Donald Trump is the true Saviour of the World, not that imposter Jesus Christ bloke. In Trump Time, there will be no Wars, because as soon as anyone starts one, he'll use the strength of America and its resources to ensure the attacking party immediately wins, stating the attackers had every right to win, as they were thoroughly sick of the people they attacked, anyway. During Trump Time, the sun will rise and set whenever Donald says so, and not a minute before or after, otherwise there'll be Hell to Pay, he'll launch an attack on the Sun, just to show it who actually runs the Universe. Of course, there is the potential that if Trump officially removes DS Time - in many parts of the world, Time will promptly go backwards. It has already started to do so, in places such as Florida and Washington, thus showing that Donald Trump is already exercising his powers over the transit of Time.

Anywhere you have water, some warmth, and smooth hard surfaces, such as rocks and concrete, you're going to get algae growth. It is deadly slippery! In the North of W.A., the algae growth on concrete creek crossings will make big heavy trucks slide off the concrete floodway, with only a small amount of water flow.

The story is in a book produced by a re-incarnation promoter, a German bloke by the name of Trutz Hardo. The story changes in some places, to the body found, being of a man. The Druze believe firmly in re-incarnation, so it's a re-incarnation promoter seeking out other re-incarnation believers, so he can do more re-incarnation promotion. Hebrews 9:27 in the Bible appears to refute re-incarnation. https://biblehub.com/hebrews/9-27.htm The perfect details on every fact, are all just too good to be true. I have no doubt there are strange things that happen that defy explanation, and have psychic overtones, but this story is too perfect. "The boy, of the Druze ethnic group, was born with a long, red birthmark on his head. According to Druze beliefs, birthmarks are related to past-life deaths. When the boy was old enough to talk, he told his family that he had been killed with an axe blow to his head. As is the custom, the elders took the child to the home of his previous life, to see if he remembers it. And sure enough, the boy knew the village he was from, and once he arrived there, he remembered the name he had in his past life. Locals told the elders that the man who the boy was claiming to be, had gone missing four years earlier. When asked, the boy also remembered the full name of his killer. When the alleged killer was confronted, his face turned white, but he did not admit to murder. The boy then took the elders to where the body was buried, and in that very spot, they found a man's skeleton with a wound to the head that corresponded with the boy's birthmark. They also recovered the axe with which he had been killed. Faced with the evidence, the killer then admitted to the crime. The boy's full story has been documented in the book, "Children Who Have Lived Before: Reincarnation Today" by German therapist Trutz Hardo."

OME, your rainfall region is subject to wide seasonal variations, but the current climatic trend for your region is also inclining towards drought. You could be worse off, spare a thought for the rural South Australians, a lot have even run out of drinking water. The S.A. farmers have just endured the worst cropping season in 80 years, with inadequate rain through last Winter, accompanied by savage frosts. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/02/they-cant-drink-water-they-cant-flush-the-toilet-low-rainfall-in-the-adelaide-hills-has-left-thousands-on-the-brink

Neil Diamond, not looking too bad for a bloke who turned 84 in January.

Bruce - As regards what, exactly? Are you expecting big inflows into the Murray-Darling basin from this ex-tropical cyclone Alfred producing heavy rain in SE Qld? The majority of the heavy rainfall appears to be on the East side of the Great Dividing Range in SE Qld, so that water is heading to the Pacific Ocean. The rainfall on the Western slopes of the GDR appears to be too light to produce any major inflows to the Murray-Darling system. http://www.bom.gov.au/qld/flood/index.shtml?ref=hdr

It simply comes back to the fact that Labor in W.A. are generally doing the right thing, helping with the cost of living by offering subsidies for power and water, concentrating on renewable energy projects and reducing our reliance on gas and coal, building and upgrading infrastructure such as railways and roads, and generally being a coherent and organised force with stated aims. Meantime, the Liberal party slumped to a record low of just 2 seats in their 2021 election disaster, they have no coherent policies, they always produce candidates that are nearly always suss and substandard, and they suffer from infighting, and what is effectively, inbreeding in their ranks. They need a total root-and-branch pruning, and perhaps some policies that are sound, and not supportive of business mates and global corporations. The voting swing that was supposed to be massive, and in favour of the Liberals, did not eventuate, and any swing went more to the Greens and the rural-orientated Nationals.

Compulsory voting is the law in Australia, and it's been that way since 1915 in Qld, and from 1924 for all of the other states. The fines vary a little from State to State, but the law and the penalty apply all over Australia, there's no hiding from it. Would you prefer a country where voting is violently suppressed, to enable dictators to rule? https://www.andrewbyrneslawgroup.com.au/can-you-go-to-jail-for-not-voting-in-australia

W.A. Election update: With only 35% of the votes counted, Labor has already won 42 seats, more than at the last election in 2021. Premier Roger Cook has claimed election victory, and the Conservative parties have agreed there's little chance of them forming any kind of Govt. The huge predicted swing towards the State Liberal Party did not occur, and only a handful of seats are now in doubt. This is a disastrous outcome for the Liberals in particular, and State Labor has now been given Govt for another 4 years, marking a historic 3rd term of continuous Govt.

Australian National Service conscripts who served in australia are recognised today by the DVA as Veterans, if they served more than 1 days service in the Australian Regular Army - and they are entitled to a range of Veteran benefits. I'd suggest to GON he seek out assistance from either his local RSL, or any of the Veterans or Nasho's support groups. A wise old Aunty told me once, that as you age, you can get BETTER, or get BITTER. It's important to get BETTER with age. She lived a long and happy and productive life, until she died at age 94. https://nashofairgo.com.au/nasho-information-page/

The minor news reports are saying the news about Carlos Slim cancelling the Starlink deal are in the Mexico Daily Post - but I can find nothing on the MDP site to back that up, so I'd have to reckon it was a fine piece of disinformation, and patently untrue.

Labor has comfortably won the 2025 State Election in W.A., despite a swing to the Liberals of about 8-10%. Of the 59 seats in the W.A. Parliament, Labor won 41 seats in their 2017 landslide victory, and then increased that to 53 seats in the 2021 State election, where the Liberals as a political force, were almost totally decimated. It appears this time around, Labor has lost several seats, still ensuring a very comfortable majority for them, possibly in the high 30's for their seat numbers. The Liberals, either State or Federal, can take no comfort from this election outcome.

Yep, 3 seconds here, too.

I think his new hip must have galvanised him into a flurry of finishing a lot of unfinished jobs - that were probably unfinished, because he spent too much time on the Social Australia forum!

And the Trump hollow BS about wanting to stop the Ukraine War in 1 day and save lots of lives, has been seen for the lie that it is, when he stopped delivery of U.S. Armaments to the Ukraine, and turned off the flow of U.S. Intelligence to them - intelligence that the Ukrainians relied on, to track Russian military movements. As a result, a lot more Ukrainian lives have probably been lost, which Trump doesn't care about, he only cares about ingratiating himself with a rampant murderous dictator, Putin. As has been said, "Trump is Russia's finest asset in the U.S., right now". I wouldn't be surprised to see him giving Putin access to U.S. Military classified information, he's nothing more than a money-grubbing traitor, selling out friends and allies, for the equivalent of 30 pieces of silver. There's a good article in the Nightly about his destructive and purely selfish aims. He's jealous of Xi Jinping and his enormous power, and is intent on facing off with China. Ukraine is just a useless minnow that can be tossed to the Russian shark, while Trump gets on with sorting out Xi. Someone will tell him soon that Australia is a possibly useful asset in the Sino face-off - then he'll no doubt start talking about walking in and taking over Australia, too, because we're sitting on all these valuable minerals, that are so important to the U.S.'s needs. But I don't think he's actually woken up to that fact yet, he's probably looking at a globe to try and find Australia, and to see if there's any great big beautiful sites for more Trump hotels and golf courses there. https://editions.thenightly.com.au/ccidist-ws/the_nightly/the_nightly/issues/15671/OPS/GR64VTOKN.1%2BGQ650L1RV.1.html?rev=2025-03-06T15:07:10+08:00&embedded=true

A huge factor in the coming Federal election will be a bunch of angry pensioners, pissed off at the miserable bi-annual increases in the pension. The site below has calculated the coming March 20 pension increase, is estimated to be $3.41 for each pensioner. The comments reflect a lot of anti-Govt anger. https://retirementessentials.com.au/news/centrelink-age-pension/age-pension-increases-on-20-march-2025/

Spacey, let's hope he got one with all the faults fixed! Jeep Grand Cherokee Model Year to Avoid: 2014 The 2014 Grand Cherokee was improved as a later model of the fourth generation, with a more powerful engine, improved electrical system, and a more elegant and comfortable interior. Nonetheless, there were several concerns concerning the engine, interior accessories, and brakes of the vehicle. Issues: Engine Airbags Shifting and acceleration control The 2014 Grand Cherokee’s biggest flaw is its gearbox, especially its harsh or jerky gear changing. There were injuries from rolling cars, even with a disengaged motor because of a failed shift from drive to park. Recalls: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued 12 recalls for this Grand Cherokee model. The following were the significant issues: Engine: Brake fluid leaks were common, causing the actual fluid to be used at a higher rate than average, requiring faster replacement. Wiring System: Short circuit difficulties prevented drivers from turning off the cruise control; thus, the car maintained or increased its speed, even after its desired use. Speed Control: Like the wiring system for cruise control, when the driver releases the accelerator pedal, the car may continue to accelerate, posing a hazard to the driver, passengers, and those around. Airbags: Due to a defective Occupant Restraint Control (OCR) module, front and side airbags were sometimes disabled. Some users have reported issues with the malfunction indicator light failing to glow to alert them. Brake Booster Shield: Corrosion was a problem with the central brake booster shield. When it rusted, it let water in, which subsequently froze, resulting in reduced braking efficiency. Electronic Stability Control: Due to software problems with the Steering Column Control Module, the ESC might have been disabled. As a result, the driver could not maintain proper control of the car, increasing the likelihood of a collision. Alternator: The SUV was prone to stalling without warning due to a sudden alternator failure. This is a common way that increases the likelihood of a collision on a busy road. Electronics: Software vulnerabilities were discovered in radio-equipped units. As a result, unauthorized third-party access to, modification, and control of parts of the vehicle’s control systems might have occurred on these failed units. Automatic Transmission: Shifting and locking the gear into park was a typical report by drivers, making it difficult to park, especially on sloped roads.

The Communist Party of China watches ALL that you do, at ALL times!! 😄 I don't know what kind of driving tests they do in China, but it looks to me like a lot of Chinese got their licence via bribery!

Yikes!! Remind me not to go to China!! 😲

Jeep have never recovered from their crappy construction, with a huge number of build faults, and their especially poor treatment of complaining customers, fobbing them off with standard lines such as, "We can't find anything wrong with it", and, "It's the way you've driven it and treated it, that is causing the problems". I've got a farmer friend who actually has a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and he loves it. But he had a Falcon and a Nissan before, so I guess they made the Jeep look good. However, he's in the minority, as I know several other people who couldn't get rid of their Jeeps fast enough, such were the constant problems. Look up the reviews on Product Review for Jeep Grand Cherokee, and you'll soon see why their sales have dropped like a stone for the last 8 or 9 years. Most common reports are "no sales support", "horribly expensive parts and service", and "faults not rectified by dealer". For years, Jeep parts were rarely available off the shelf, and cost twice as much as any other car brand.