old man emu

But he's driving us crazy.

Blame Spacey for drifting off thread. I just followed.

Definitely NO to a blanket import duty, but maybe selective import duties. "Tariff" is another word for "Import Tax". Such taxes are recouped by the imported by adding them to the price charged to the purchaser. And don't forget that the price the purchaser pays will include 10% GST. The imposition of tariffs is a means of encouraging a local economy to develop by making locally produced goods and services compete on price with imported goods. Unfortunately, for a long time Australia has let its agricultural and manufacturing move off shore. In the case of foodstuffs, next time you are in the supermarket, look for the country of origin of the the foodstuffs you want to buy. 'Buy Australian" is more like "By Australian". Australia imports from United States amounted to US$34.72 Billion during 2024. Here is a link to a table which shows what Australia imported from the USA and the value of each class of import. https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/imports/united-states From that list, it is clear that there are some goods that could have an import duty applied to them, and some it would be wise to give free entry. Perhaps we could whack tariffs on alcohol and confectionery. But that might hike the price of "Rum & Raison" beyond the reach of some people.

Jeezuz! I'm agreeing with GON! Australia exported $640 million worth of steel and $440 million of aluminium last year to the United States. In the scheme of things that's not much. However, what about the agricultural exports? That'd be where we will be hit if the tariff is 25% on everything.

Dutton has just announced that if his mob win the election, he'll get a deal on tariffs with Trump. How? Here is the Australian Government's current position on this topic.

All the talk is about aluminium and steel is one thing, but what about agriculture products? In 2023-24, exports from Australia climbed $1.2 billion (+21.2 per cent) to $6.8 billion in value, moving them above Japan to be the second largest market. Growth was mostly driven by a lift in beef exports which jumped $1.4 billion (+70.5 per cent). Lamb, dairy and wine export values also recorded year-on-year increases to offer support. The problem with Trump's tariffs is not their quantum, but Trump's inconsistency of implementation. He's already held off for nearly two months on what he said he said he would do on Day 1. What is he going to do with them next week? Nobody can make stable plans in a chaotic environment.

You really don't expect us to believe that the photograph depicts reality, do you?

You missed the point of my original post. I said "he asked wryly". Couldn't you see that I was being ironic? Left or Right, both sides have prostituted journalism. Therein lies the problem. What is one to believe? If one side says black, and the other say white, do we take it that the correct thing is grey?

If someone includes a link in a post to their source of information, then it behooves the reader to follow the link. I did, and that is how I found the words that I quoted. Haven't we been arguing that if one makes a statement in a post that it might need to be supported by a reference?

Shock! Horror! Am I gong mad? Trump wants to do something that I am in agreement with, as it applies to Australia. I'd love to see Daylight Saving Time abandoned in Australia, but I think it would be more sensible, given our low population, to only have one time zone, based on 135 degrees East, which is GMT +9.5 hours.

A quote from the Daily Mail article: according to a new report by an arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation, "Isn't the Heritage Foundation the staunchest supporter of Joe Biden and the Democrats?", he asked wryly.

While it would be wrong of me to deny paranormal happenings, as I have no evidence to prove that my denial was correct, it would be as equally wrong to accept them without experiencing them myself. I think that is what is called a Doubting Thomas approach.

Didn't Malcolm voice exactly what we have been saying in this forum? It just so happens that Malcolm is more widely known than any one of us here, and, for the most part, would be more knowledgeable about international economics. Therefore he would be a better interview subject than any one of us. While it is quite true that Malcolm now only has the same political power that each of us has, since he is a private citizen using his right to free speech, is that any reason for Trump to attack him in 'print'?

It begs the question, "Why did Blomberg ask Turnbull to participate in the interview at all?" Surely Blomberg thought that he had something relevant to say. Obviously the problem is not with what Turnbull said, but that he dared say something negative about a Trump policy.

GON objects to a 74 kilometre round trip to attend a polling booth. His grocery store must be next-door to his house.

So, Trump's ego must be stroked at all times? Remember the moral of The Emperor's New Clothes. Turnbull simply spoke of the possible effects of Trump's economic policies. It was Trump who attacked Turnbull. In fact, Trump defamed Turnbull.

Hardly "laying into". Simply stating the obvious. The leader of any country whose economy would be adversely affected by Trump's actions has a duty to speak out. That puts the leader between a rock and a hard place. What should a leader do - defend the country, or defend against internal political pint-scoring? In the interview with the ABC, Turnbull stated the obvious that, even in the schoolyard, sucking up to a bully will not stop the bullying.

So. Your vote can be bought.

Here is Malcolm Turnbull on the ABC's 7:30 Report providing comments on Trump's social media post. I think Turnbull gives a fair explanation of why he said that Xi Jinping is most likely to act in a polar opposite way to Trump. Turnbull's opinion is that Trump would be unlikely to support Taiwan if China attacked it. Finally, Turnbull is of the opinion that, despite Albo's best efforts to gain tariff exemptions, Albo is being set up to fail. Being set up, by who knows whom, is completely different from failing due to one's incompetence.

There's nothing fishy about TESLA's sales success in Canada.

Trump has used social media to attack former Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull after an interview was broadcast in which Turnbull gave his opinion of the effects of the trump Administration economic policy. Turnbull has the academic qualifications and experience to for his opinion. (Let' leave local politics out of your responses. I'm not referring to them.) Trump's use of social media to broadcast his feelings about all the things that are going on leaves me floundering for a word to describe it. There is a time and a place in politics for the use of social media, but using it to attack sundry opponents is neither. The leader of a country, especially a country held to be as influential as the USA, should be wise enough to keep shtum about what could impact their country. Trump's Reality TV addiction has turned the allies of the USA away. I wonder if Xi Jinping is watching what is going on, scratching his head and uttering, WTF. It is very clear that the creators of Project 2025 and their associates are keeping Trump in office to use him as a decoy during the setting in place of their ulterior motives.

When will you get it through your bloody thick skull that the Law does not make it compulsory for a person to vote? It only compels a person to be enrolled for the electorate in which they live AND thereafter, it only compels a person to attend a polling booth on polling day and have their name marked off the roll; accept the ballot papers and return those ballot papers to the ballot box. NO PERSON IS COMPELLED BY THE LAW TO MARK ANY BALLOT PAPER WHICH HAS BEEN ISSUED TO THEM. A person has freedom of choice whether to create a valid vote by marking the ballot paper in the way indicated for making a valid vote, or to return the ballot paper unmarked, ie to not vote.

Where?

Yeah. It seems to be the border between sub-tropical and temperate weather systems. It has been hot, dry and windy here all summer. The grass in the paddocks is dead. I wondering if there is enough soil moisture for a winter crop to be sown.

Looks like I'm going to keep pretty dry. Them pesky rain clouds are avoiding my place. Wouldn't like the drought to end.