Jerry_Atrick

I don't watch the 7:30 show period. It was an example i just dug up. Now, if I knew he had flipped from these foreign shores, surely it was big news at the time. I think it even got a mention in the forums. So no, not just headlines.. Do you think I just dreamt it up and went looking for something to back it up. My point was if there enough votes in it, pollies will listen

There was when he first started and people decided to ignore the warnings as he started to erode their fragile democracy.. All democracies are fragile as the US has evidenced.. Should have been paying attention. I haven't watched this vid as I am on a train not far from the car to drive home tonight, but the ABC headlines are usually not far from the story:

Care to back that up with facts? Others don't lie? Hamas? MSM? Other pollies? They voted him back in when he was already supposedly on the nose. All done democratically, as reminded by Sukkar's exit. Or do yiu have an inside scoop that no one else has? Comparing him with Putin is like comparing Albo with Chump

We seem to forget that democracy doesn't stop at the ballot box.. enough people complain, they think voters getting pi55ed off, will do so.ething.. sadly too many people don't care. Don't believe me? Look at how SFM unceremoniously took up support of EVs when it was clear he was losing public support thanks to lack of action on climate change

Maybe for me voting for him is a stretch as there are likely other leaders there that would protect his citizens, but I agree with the sentiment

Re Charlie Kirk, it would be hard to call it an assassination as, at least IMHO, he does not fit the definition of important religious or political person. Either way, it seems an act of terrorism - Don't say what I like, and I will kill you. The news are reporting this as the ever deepening polarisation of US society. While this is correct, the assumption being made is it is an American resident doing the killing. That may or may not be true, but this has the hallmarks of a professional job.. The shot was extremely accurate from the building across the road.. so things like wind, etc had to be taken into account. Of course, it could be just a good shot or lucky, but I would not be surprised if this was an operative of a state or well trained organisation behind it as the gunman is on the run still.. and although Kirk woudn't have had the security detail of Chump, they did manage to apprehend a person of interest. I have seen a couple of YT vids where he has spoken, and while I don't agree with all his politics, I can't say he had many people being able to defend their position well against him. Maybe some country or organisation whose cause he was against didn't like that.

Yes.. These re admin things, not holding the government to account, which should be ingrained as a basic component of democracy. If the government was transparent, except in the cases of genuine security or national interest, then we wouldn't have to have FOI. Do we have to pay the police for public protection at the point of use when they are not protecting us individually? Yes, a lot of FOI requests are probably frivolous.. we can automate things if we want. All records are electronic these days; if efficiency is the name of the game.. So, balance one not so extreme view and one that even holds itself to account (ABC) against one that rarely uses facts to justify its ideological view? Makes perfect sense. And, even if the ABC were as biased as many claim (and no doubt there is bias), offsetting one bias with another doesn't cancel each other out.. And that is assuming the reader reads both.. It merely provides rtwo incomplete, incorrect, or missleading accounts.. Why not demand the standards be upheld by everyone?

The difference is the Jews in Europe were not hiding behind citizens waging a war against Germany?

Are you OK with Australia sliding towards places you would rather not live? Strange question to deflect these "minor changes" that incrementally rakes away rights. The payment is minor; the grounds for rejection are bigger.. I thought democracy is fragile and worth fighting for. It doesn't end at the ballot box. Russia has elections (and I think China does too)

Redacted, I think is the correct term...

Elon Musk is no longer the world's Richest man. Larry Ellison, founder or Oracle (or as I call it, Horracle), has managed to get AI to pay. Fair play: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2rp992y88o

Interesting to see what Chump will do about Israel attempting to bomb Hamas on Qatar soil; Qatar being an ally of the US..

And this short one popped up to clarify a comment:

Albo is back to the rescue - rescuing us from government transparency:

Except mine :-)

Yes.. all powered aicraft (maybe except paramotors) are G reg It covers microlights and ultralights

Only when it was convenient

I forgot to mention in the above.. He and two other private citizens, bit ex PMs as I recall from NZ, were the only two "private citizens" that were on the "podium". It was clearly only for those who have had political office and therefore, it should have been even more apparent that the capacity he was there was in his legacy of forging relationships with China as a political leader, and out our (or your, as I only pay a little Aussie tax) expense. So, it is a furphy to say he was there purely as a private citizen.

Ther is a fallacy in the "you all buy Chinese..." argument. It is the same argment that ecowarriors use vehicles that produce carbon, therefore they are hypocrites. In reality, there are few items you buy where you have a real choice of buying anything other than Chinese. Want an Apple computer - Chinese. Want a Tesla outside the US? Chinese.. So even when you are not buying a Chinese brand, chances are you are buying Chinese made. Often these days, your local retailer wont supply widget x that is not Chinese as they (not you) make the decision on their margins, etc. Also, there is a difference between acting tough and not endorsing something. By not sending high level diplomats, ministers, or the PM, but lower diplomats, Albo was saying we will be there, but not endrose what you are doing. This is different to diplomatic or political gesticulation or rabble rousing or "getting tough". Sometimes, you have to put morals, integrity, and principles above short term gain.. It may be the case, but China isn't exaclty a fair economic player either. In fact, at least Chump largely lets you know where you stand. Don't drop tariffs against the US, yuou can be sure he will come a knocking with trying to retrict access to US markets. Remember when Scomo called on an inquiry as to how the COVID thing started? Xi didn't like that much at all.. Suddenly industries were hit with retaliatory restrictions to the Chinese market - and you can bet if they didn't need Aussie steel and other resources, China would have brought Australia to its economic knees.. All done quietly under quality or biosecurity risks, or similar. Dan Andrews did attend as a private citizen, but also as an ex-political leader - albeit only a premier. And all leaders know that they have a legacy to that role even when they are no longer in it. Andrews is not stupid, and would know that, too. If Malcolm Turnbull or Scott Morrisson attended, you would be OK with that, too?

(from the Financial Times)

Reading that artivle, South Korea were miffed, but Hyundai said they would cooperate and conduct a full investigation to ensure compliance with the regulations. Yeah, the South Korean government were alarmed at the potential treatment, but when you have a lot of people on plant that are foreign workers, you sort of have to check all of them. The hand cuffs and plastic ties are standard ops in the US as they believe their Holywood productions are real. I remember news clips of equivalent raids in Melbourne, albeit on a much smaller scale as they usually involved Chinese/Indian restaurants. But all staff were detained while visas were checked. I guess it is inconsistent to want to control immigration, but to let it slide for large companies. The law should be applied equally and if they are applying and following the law and due process, then we should be satisfied with it. Of course the problem has been there is a culture of just dragging in workers without a visa and theyt tend to overstay the 90 day limit. When I worked (and sort of lived) in the US, I made sure I was in the UK for at least 2 different weeks every 90 days... In that case, it was legit. I was doing consutling (and some sales) work for the company that employed me in the US for their clients, while permanently employed in their UK branch (they were a US company). But, it is too easy to just say, "er, O will stay a bit longer", and the next thing you have been there for years.

Hmmm.. If he starts WW3? It's a good question. Because, for all his bluster, everything he is doing to destabilise things is largely local. Question: Chump's America of ShittingPin's China? Sadly, Europe (EU mainly) has once again shown itself to be the soft-bellied coward it is.

Buggah

4

The review continues, in the meantime.we place ourselves as less capable to defend ourselves in the face of potential increasing aggression: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-06/china-aukus-united-states-xi-jinping/105720442