Jerry_Atrick

Looks like Ukraine has pushed through the Russa8n border: https://youtu.be/QFv_6t8tLOI?si=jwcUaU7XOhuprrj_

A mate from Melbourne was in London so I took my Daughter to London with me. As she want to be another of what the world desperately needs - a lawyer - we went to the Royal Courts of Justice, which are near the Aussie High Commission. There were no afternoon sessions, so we were allowed to wander the courts and the reception area which is majestic. We then stopped for a spot of late lunch which was nice; then off to Dirty Dicks on Bishopsgate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Dick). Mate and I were on the pints; daughter had a couple of half-pints. We finished up around 10 - headed back to the Dukes Head. On the train on the way back, bumped into a work colleague, and had a great chat on the train. At the pub in time to say Hi to the landlord (we were there earlier to check in, but he was visiting his wife in hospital). Only two hitches for the day - one I lost my phone - no big deal (I normally have a back pack but as it was in my pocket, I had taken it out to sit down and obviously left it there). The second is, at around 11:30, daughter and I decided it would be a good idea to grab a pizza... Ugghhh Next morning it was as heavy in the stomach as it was in the box.. All in all, a really great night - catching up with a good mate and a great intro into the London after-work life for daughter - though no doubt DDs is a little lower brow than she will visit (DDs is outside Liverpool St. Station, which is where a lot of investment banking is based). Also, DDs had the music turned up, and daughter remarked it was strange that the first club like venue she went to was with her father..

No, but we have worse. BoJo is also a narcissist, but thankfully and much more relatable than Trump is to the common man. And, although like Trump, will say and do anything to get into power, seemed to have a smidgeon more scruples once he was in. However, we have someone far more pernicious than Trump, IMHO, and that is Farage. Farage is smarter than Trump and a very skilled public orator. He has a knack of stating the ridiculous adeptly and making it plausible. He has been blaming the boat people and lack of police transparency on the riots, yet when you listen to the residents that suffer the riots, it is clear without any dissenting voices of those who actually live through it, is it has nothing to do with the three slain girls; it is sheer thuggery driven by hatred. His ability to normalise what really shouldn't be makes him far more dangerous than Trump. He has been described as an MP representing the English Defence League and I would think that Reform UK - the party he helped found, is akin to Sinn Fein in being the political wing of what is effectively a terrorist organisation. Thank dog he can't be president of the USA. Then in the EU you have the likes of Orban - who are Russiaphiles and the EU has taken little real action over his abuse of the electoral system and political rights - actual democracy is a condition of ongoing membership of the EU, and again, that organisation has found wanting when it needs courage. He is another Trumpian type. We have plenty more....

There are two issues here. One is the anarchy itself and the other is the ramifications of it occurring at different places. As has been discussed, the root cause of the anarchy looks to be the same - more or less - wherever it is. A lot are saying social media, but lets not forget, there seems to be less integrity in the MSM as well, and it too is becoming more polarising - just look at Sky Media in Australia. But also look at the reluctance of MSM to put both sides of an argument forward in the same article or segment - it removes the balance that was once there. Coupled with a weak regulation and toothless regulator, the MSM, which is already the 4th pillar of government, is now both unelected and unaccountable, yet it (along with social media) arguable has more influence on the electorate than the other three organs of government (legislature, executive, and judiciary). And, both are easy targets for manipulation: Russia is primarily accused of manipulating social media to disrupt the west; and commercial interest manipulate commercial MSM to ensure their message is heard. I will give you an example - the middle east and African refugees - the boat people - are blamed in all of the problems of lack of infrastructure, etc and this is backed up by the MSM as well as the conservative pollies, and the like. They are also pedalled as illegal immigrants, though 75% of them claim asylum and are therefore legal under both the refugee conventions and British law, which has fully adopted the refugee convention (note, this is a choice of the legislature, not some magical obligation thrust on the UK). Also, we didn't have boat people until the Conservative government of the day blocked all other routes for them to some in. OK.. So, they are alleged to be illegal immigrants, of which they aren't until their asylum applications are processed and denied. The vast majority of asylum applications are approved. Therefore the vast majority are legal immigrants, but no one states this, and hatred is being wrought onto them because they are asserted by government and backed up by MSM as illegal immigrants. So, to make things look worse, the government cuts the processing staff, so they have to wait years and then complain there are too many of them to process and they are coming in waves, and I quote Suella Braverman, as coming.. "in their millions", which again the commercial MSM (except the Guardian) ran with,, and suddenly xenophobia runs riot. Then, there are so many of them, that they take all the services, etc. Even my partner believes this BS. The reality is, in 2023, the refugees coming across the border by boat (because the government blocked all other means to make it safe, and the UK takes the kittens' share of them into Europe). How many came across in 2023? 29,000 (https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/people-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats/), Net migration to the UK was high in 2023, at 685,000, but because the majority of those don't suit the racial profile that is easy to blame, nout got mentioned about that in the press with anywhere near the same gusto. So, less than 5% of the migration are refugees and yet the conservative pollies and mainly right-wing led press are crying into their beers about the dire situation they cause - not to mention the amount of money wasted on the Rwanda scheme - which went to bent Rwanda pollies - not to the refguees. This same masking and obfuscation of facts coupled with downright lies, which both social media and most of the commercial MSM pedal has parallels to that in the USA. Also, the divide between social classes (mainly on income) creates the seeds of hate, that are sown with the lies and deceit. Yes, there were dumb moves - allowing 1m refugees into Germany almost at once was yet another masterstroke of dumbness by Merkel and her team. But also, the expansion of the EU to include many Eastern European counties at once was another - I am only speaking with respect to the UK, but the conservative government knew it was coming for years, and IMHO, were not doing anything about infrastructure or facilities in the many years they had to plan for it, despite receiving EU funds, so that the influx of people would result in services being burst at their seams., increasing the resentment of the EU, to facilitate Britain's ultimate exit, which is what they wanted all along. My favourite charade played by the MSM is the current controversy around the European Convention of Human Rights. They decry the ECHR takes our sovereignty away like the mad bible bashers on their soap boxes in the middle of the city. They don't state the facts - it is a convention and we can be a signatory but that does not by itself bind us to it. Like every country, it has to be given effect by local laws. And the law that does it here is the Human Rights Act `1998. That acr provides basically three things.. For legislation enacted before the 1998 Act came into force, in the absence of express contrary wording, legislation must be interpreted to be consistent with the ECHR; If, after the introduction of the act, legislation is passed that is inconsistent with the act, the the degree in which it is inconsistent, the act does not apply; and 3) unless at the time of introducing the act, the secretary of state (minister) or, the submitter for a private members bill simply makes a declaration that the bill is not consistent with the ECHR, and hey presto - the UK has absolute sovereignty over its laws and the impact of the ECHR. The Rwanda scheme, though being depicted by Labour as incompetence by the conservatives of the highest level is another great example of this deception. Following Australia's lead, the Conservatives made a deal with Rwanda (that even their own Home Office assessment determined was a poor choice to the the sudden crease in life expectancy refugees would have once reaching Rwanda) lawyers took the first deportations to the Supreme Court (sort of our High Court - House of Lords no longer hears cases, except for commonwealth territories constitutional issues). As expected, the courts struck it down because it was inconsistent with the ECHR and the laws did not have the requisite declaration, The Conservatives piled on about how we have to lave the ECHR as we need to take our sovereignty back and the commercial MSM were largely as vociferous as the pollies about it. Now, we have the vast swathe of, let's face it, the majority who don't know what they are talking about, calling for the UK to leave the one remaining independent institution that just may save their bacon. Labour are too stupid or worried about the electoral backlash to call it out. But, why are so many people so aggrieved that they fall for the BS? Easy - degrade the services, keep the poverty lines drawn, ensure minimal education, and all of a sudden, there is a rise in the right wing nutters blaming everyone for their malaise, and they may be right, though. The answer to this, even in the progressive press, is to marginalise them - that can't help. Look at the rise of extreme right wing groups in Aus and The Age/SMH & Huffpost response.. "Oh, they are usually poor on the social-economic scale and alienated - so leave them left out by society and ignore them.. which cannot be the right approach. I could go on, but have things to do. Yes, the anarchy in the UK will largely have an economic effect, and maybe China will have a crack at Taiwan; the anarchy in Europe will be far wider reaching on a humanitarian basis - world wars tend to start there.

John Laws?

The anarchy has started here already https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/riots-protest-police-uk-today-rotherham-bolton-lancaster-weymouth-liverpool-b2590884.html

Just came across a 3 part series and this debrief of a couple who took their model Y Tesla across Australia and back. The infrastructure is expanding and seems they had little problem finding electricity but it did require some forward planning

I have been quiet the last 3 weeks.. I have suffered quite some losses; almost all games decided by less than a goal. I haven't deposited any money in the account, but am now just a smidge over my original investment. The one thign about betting against playing the stock market (in shares that is, not derivatives) is that my system requires a lot of wins to make up a loss as the odds I pick are usually between 25% and 33% return. Rounds 19 and 20 smashed me around a bit, so came off, but still played on paper. My picks this week would have been Melbourne, West Coast (at 2.5 : 1, but would have put a small amount on as a speculative),. North, Geelong, Carlton, Sydney, Hawthorn, Essendon, and Brisbane. However, the odds would have knocked out Brisbane and North as they were way too short. The results for the round: @old man emu - I think you need to have a chat to Carlton - They have come right off the boil Lost by 3 pts, Haks lost by 2; At least Essendon won by 1. This has been a year where the clubs have converged in terms of performance making it difficult to apply predictive logic. But also, look at the ladder; the difference between first and 12th is a mere 4 games... Sheesh, how is a punter supposed to screw the system?

I was with TPG when I last lived in Aus, which admittedly was 18 years ago. It was a great service then. I just checked their website and they offer TPG Fibre, which I imagine is not NBN? I don't even know what NBN really means - is it Telstra providing the backbone? Oh, the joys. In London, one can get 900mbs download for about £50/month. Where I am only attacts 67mps for about £30 month. Usually totally reliable but I am breaking contract with my current provider who has had two catastrophic outages in 3 months with us. In Aus, I see Starlink (yes, an Elon Musk business) is 135/month. I think it is about 400mbs unlimited. If TPG or similar can't come up with the goods, it will be Starlink. The $600 setup fee is a little steep, though. Just looked at TPG; plans seem OK https://www.tpg.com.au/fttb

I also have two middle names. Dog knows why - I never use them.

No idea about this free stuff; over here, the power companies had to provide them for a period. But they just upped the bills. Anyway, already have some LED lighting and will be installing about 30 LED downlights in the kitchen, laundry, and bathroom. I think it was about £150 for the downlights if that and I think are guaranteed for more hours than I can reasonably estimate I will live for.

Oh, and one more:

And another:

If I posted this before, I apologise:

Thankfully, never met Nico...

Not all Murdochs are OK with it, but the patriarch is wanting to change the rules of the trust so only the chip off the old block can run the empire.

Quality Aussie Manufacturing: https://rode.com/en/about/about-rode I had no idea and had already puchased some of their more professional audio headsets. I only realised they were Australian when I just received sone boradcast quality wireless mics and say the Made in Australia logo. So, not only Aussie owned, but they haven't yet moved their manufacturing to China! And they are pretty well world renowned in the audio industry.

My guess is the latter, but in this case, unless you're in the frame, how do you know. Though, call me a conspiracy theorist, but I am sure he has photos of his enemies within the Republican party because surely they wouldn't change stripes because they think he is the only thing that can keep them in power.

I was at work a couple of weeks ago and got into a conversation with a normally progressive chap about Trump. Turns out he is a Trumpophile. It was an insight into the what sort of sway Trump can exude onto the disaffected. Every claim be made was able to be debunked with verifiable fact, to which he dismissed as political subterfuge. I had to stop and ask him why only Trump is subjected to it from the judiciary he and his republicans appointed or why a Republican governor of Georgia didn't come out to defend Trump for trying to steal the election.. "Political subterfuge and keeping the political class employed" was all he could answer. "Where's your evidence, apart from someone who is a proven criminal claiming it?" It is all a gang-up against Trump was all he could claim. This from a man who is normally progressive and debates the facts (I have had many conversations with him in the past). And then he was alleging I was either part of the conspiracy or subservient to it. Again, I asked him for the evidence - but it was only, effectively, that is what Trump, as a victim of all this claims. I kid you not. I was absolutely flabbergasted, but for some (many) people, Trump clearly knows which buttons to push. Or, as even Stephen Fry has indicated, that democracy is not achieving its ideals (well, democracy y itself is representative government, sp maybe social progressiveness/liberalism is not achieving its ideals) and people are getting pissed off. The 4th pillar of power - the press - which is unelected and arbitrary - doesn't help, either. I always get worried when a pollie says their implementing something the people want/have asked for. For the most part, the popular perception is based on what the press report (and often just the headlines or 30 second TV/radio segment - or some social media echo chamber), and, not only not grounded in fact, but often from the antithesis of fact. Pendulum of humanity always swings.. Never stops in the middle.

I understand getting ND8S support is not easy. But milking the system may be easier: https://ndismarketplace.com/ndis-businesses-for-sale/

This is the closest I could find, but it is hardly a ringing endorsement of Putin by Obama: https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-slams-us-barack-obama-for-excuses-over-russia-policy-war/

You'd be surprised at hoe many people would agree with him.. Survival of the fittest, etc.

Whether or not one thinks the NDIS is a good thing (in principle, anyway, as administering it seems to be a ball ache and open to all sorts of fraud and corruption), is, I guess a matter of one's values. Should the taxpayer pick up the tab for those who are chronically and debilitatingly disabled? I guess that will depend on a few things such as: What our social conscious is - do we want to look after those genuinely in need or do we want to let them fend for themselves Assuming many can't afford the necessary care and treatment (pricate health insurance doesn't seem to be as good as it used to be despite being seemingly more expensive - and there are caps on everything), do we want to overburden the public system anyway and hinder that being able to treeat accute health issues? Do we want to leave people languishing and their family and friends also affected to the point that it could impact macro-economic productivity? Is the cost of the scheme more than the econcomic activity it protects and, indeed produces (or can produce)? Also remember that in around 2010, the tort law system was altered radically due to pressures of insurance premiums, for which there was no real evidence proffered by the Ipp report to suggest that tort cases and compensation payouts were the direct result of such premium increases and I think it as AIA Insurance going bust; Since it is now extermely difficult to sue for the cost to cover ongoing treatement of a permanent and debilitating injury, and most workers comp and traffic accident comp schemes are clamping down, is NDIS simply solcialising the otherwise compenstation payments that would be made under the laws of negligence? Even if the farmer didn't consider himself disabled, it does not mean he is not disabled. They get on with their life, but they need support, whether that is a prosthetic limb, that has to be maintained, etc, or a blind person needing guide dogs and home help to clean the house, to a sever anxiety nuerosia patient needing cognitive-based therapy to be able to manage what most of us consider very duull and mundane activities. If someone cannot function normally without some form of support or aid, they are disabled. They may not be debilitatingly so, but they are. The use of the NDIS should be limited to those with debilitating disabilities (IMHO), which can only be defined as sunstantial or material impact on the person to lead a normal life without ongoing assistance (or something like that). Personally, I would be very happy for my taxes to go to the NDIS and less to corporate welfare, even if it meant I had to pay a little more for petrol and groceries.

Oh No.. there's more