Open Thread – Saturday, 01 October 2022

Posted on October 1, 2022 by Adam D
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281 Responses to Open Thread – Saturday, 01 October 2022

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  1. mh says:
    October 3, 2022 at 6:04 pm

    The Sun

    LIZ Truss has today ditched scrapping the 45p tax rate in a humiliating climb down.

    Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng confirmed the dramatic U-turn in a tweet this morning.


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  2. mh says:
    October 3, 2022 at 6:34 pm

    Sounding like 2008

    Shares of Credit Suisse plunged nearly 10% in Europe’s morning session, after the Financial Times reported the Swiss bank’s executives are in talks with its major investors to reassure them amid rising concerns over the Swiss lender’s financial health.

    Spreads of the bank’s credit default swaps (CDS), which provide investors with protection against financial risks such as default, rose sharply Friday.

    They followed reports the Swiss lender is looking to raise capital, citing a memo from its Chief Executive Ulrich Koerner.


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  7. Old bloke says:
    October 3, 2022 at 8:03 pm

    rosie says:
    October 3, 2022 at 5:53 pm

    Wonder no more, Victorian fines are levied via ‘penalty units’which are indexed for inflation.
    Currently one penalty unit is ‘$184.92.

    Thanks Rosie.


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  8. mh says:
    October 3, 2022 at 8:05 pm

    To get us in the mood for Tuesday’s RBA decision

    Turkey’s inflation hits 83% as Erdogan vows to keep cutting interest rates


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  9. mh says:
    October 3, 2022 at 8:13 pm

    Colonel Douglas MacGregor allowed back on Fox News, but only for two minutes.

    #foxnews #tuckercarlsontonight
    Would Ukraine joining NATO start World War III?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3fparWYY80


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  10. mh says:
    October 3, 2022 at 8:25 pm

    George Galloway with another George

    33:16 – 45:32 George Szamuely on #NATO #nordstream2

    https://youtu.be/nEEhwJWNh34?t=1996


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  11. Cold-Hands says:
    October 3, 2022 at 8:49 pm

    It is illegal to ride a private electric scooter on public roads, with people caught doing so facing fines of between $182 and $909.

    However, it is legal to ride/hire an e-Scooter from a licenced company in the cities of Yarra, Melbourne, Port Phillip and Ballarat. Because of the patchy nature of the rollout, & the limited publicity it received, it’s little wonder that the sight of hire e-scooters flitting around “legally” has encouraged private owners out onto the roads. Police enforcement of the rules was pretty low-key until the current crackdown brought on by the recent fatality.


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  12. mh says:
    October 3, 2022 at 10:43 pm

    UK NEWS
    Armed forces grapple with more neo-Nazis in the ranks

    Just take a leaf out of Zelensky’s book – “They are what they are”.


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  14. Cold-Hands says:
    October 4, 2022 at 2:45 am

    Miranda Devine is on the money about how Senile Joe Biden is bring shame to the USA.


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  15. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 7:26 am

    Not the usual headline

    Stocks surge to kick off October and a new quarter as bond yields tumble, Dow closes up 760 points


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  17. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 8:47 am

    Jacinda Ardern and the woke war on free speech
    The New Zealand PM is the kindly face of 21st-century authoritarianism.

    Brendan O’Neill

    Tyranny has had a makeover. It’s no longer a boot stamping on a human face forever. It isn’t a gruff cop dragging you into a cell for thinking or expressing a ‘dangerous’ idea. It isn’t a priest strapping you to a breaking wheel. No, authoritarianism is well-dressed now. It’s polite. It has a broad smile and speaks in a soft voice. It is delivered not via a soldier’s boot to the cranium but with a caring liberal head-tilt. And its name is Jacinda Ardern.

    New Zealand’s PM, every online liberal’s favourite world leader, has gone viral over the past 24 hours following the circulation of the shocking speech she gave at the UN last Friday. Before the assembled leaders of both the free world and the unfree world, Ms Ardern raised the alarm about a new ‘weapon of war’. It’s a ‘dangerous’ one, she said. It poses a grave ‘threat’ to humankind. It threatens to drag us headlong into ‘chaos’. We must act now, she pleaded with the powerful, so that we might disarm this weapon and ‘bring [the world] back to order’.

    What is this terrible weapon, this menacing munition, that Ms Ardern so passionately wants to decommission? It’s freedom of speech.

    She was talking about words. Seriously. About ideas, disagreement, dissent. Her speech focused on the alleged scourge of ‘mis- and disinformation online’. We must tackle it, she said. She acknowledged that some people are concerned that ‘even the most light-touch approaches to disinformation’ could come across as being ‘hostile to the values of free speech’. You’re damn right we are. But us global elites must nonetheless root out virtual bullshit because it can ‘cause chaos’, she said.

    Really getting into her stride, she said speech can sometimes be a ‘weapon of war’. Some people use actual weapons to inflict harm, others use words: ‘The weapons may be different but the goals of those who perpetuate them is often the same… [to] reduce the ability of others to defend themselves.’ ‘War is peace’, said Big Brother. Big Sister Jacinda Ardern sees it a little differently: war is speech. Words wound, ideas kill – that’s the hot take of this globe-trotting luvvie against liberty.

    And she really is talking about ideas. Modern politicians who wring their hands over ‘misinformation’ or ‘disinformation’ are usually just talking about beliefs they don’t like. So at the UN, Ms Ardern gave climate-change scepticism as an example of one of those ‘weapons of war’ that can cause ‘chaos’. ‘How do you tackle climate change if people do not believe it exists?’, she asked. Critiquing climate-change alarmism, calling into question the eco-lobby’s hysterical claims that billions will die and Earth will burn if we don’t drastically cut our carbon emissions, is an entirely legitimate political endeavour. In treating it as a species of Flat Earthism, as ‘disinformation’, the new elites seek to demonise dissenters, to treat people whose views differ to their own as the intellectual equivalent of warmongers. Barack Obama also claims that ‘misinformation’ about climate change – which, in his view, includes painting the environmentalist movement in a ‘wildly negative light’ – is a threat to the safety of humanity. Be mean about greens and people will die.

    Call me a ‘weapon of war’, but I believe freedom of speech must include the freedom to be negative – even wildly so – about eco-activists. Activists, by the way, whose hype about the end of the world could genuinely be labelled misinformation. But they are never branded with that shaming m-word. That’s because misinformation doesn’t really mean misinformation anymore. It means dissent. Deviate from the woke consensus on anything from climate change to Covid and you run the risk of being labelled an evil disinformant.

    Indeed, one of the most striking things about Ardern’s speech was her claim that if the elites ignore ‘misinformation’, then ‘the norms we all value’ will be in danger. This is the most common cry of the 21st-century authoritarian – that speech can have a destabilising and even life-threatening impact, especially if it concerns big crises like climate change or Covid-19. So ‘climate deniers’ are a threat to the future of the human race and thus may be legitimately silenced. ‘Lockdown deniers’ threaten to encourage the spread of viral infection and thus may be legitimately gagged. The spectre of crisis is cynically used to clamp down on anyone who dissents from the new global consensus. Images of Armageddon are marshalled to justify censorship of troublemakers. ‘Chaos’, as Ardern calls it – that’s what will unfold if your reckless, dangerous ideas are given free rein.

    To see how authoritarian the desire to clamp down on ‘misinformation’ can be, just consider some of the other world leaders who likewise used the platform of the UN to call for tougher controls on speech. Muhammadu Buhari, the brutal ruler of Nigeria, focused on his nation’s ‘many unsavoury experiences with hate speech and divisive disinformation’ and joined the calls for a clampdown on the ‘scourge of disinformation and misinformation’. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, bemoaned the ‘disinformation’ against his nation. The chattering classes cheering Ms Ardern for standing up to ‘fake news’ are implicitly cheering Buhari and Lavrov, too. They are as one with that woke kween when it comes to chasing ‘misinformation’ from the public sphere.

    Freedom of speech is in peril. And it isn’t only threatened by obvious strongmen – like the corrupt rulers of Nigeria or the theocratic tyrants of Iran – but also by a smiling PC woman who is feverishly fawned over by virtue-signallers the world over. Ms Ardern’s UN speech exposed the iron fist of authoritarianism that lurks within the velvet glove of wokeness. From her brutal lockdown, which forbade even New Zealand’s own citizens from returning to their home country, to her longstanding war on ‘extremist’ speech, this is a woman who poses as liberal but can’t even spell the word. If you want a picture of the future, don’t imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever – imagine Jacinda Ardern putting her arm around your shoulder and telling you with a toothy smile that you’re going to have to sacrifice your liberty to save the world from chaos.


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  18. Shy Ted says:
    October 4, 2022 at 10:17 am

    Terrible TV (funded by you) for the day –

    Planet America 10:30AM – 11:02AM
    Hurricane Ian continues its trail of destruction, but Biden and DeSantis must put politics aside during the storm; the bipartisan move to prevent another January 6 attack; Biden’s senior moment as he summons the dead.

    I think I saw this the other day. Worse than last season. You know the formula. Most used word is not “the” “and” “but” etc but “Trump”. Why are the showing a senior moment? Biden wouldn’t be mentioned otherwise.
    Chas & John. Saddest, overpaid fwits in Oz.


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  19. Arky says:
    October 4, 2022 at 10:52 am

    We saw early on in the war that Russia infantry were not up to Western standards. Basic skills drilled into the average Australian or US infantryman were just not there.
    Would not have mattered much if they had obtained air dominance, but that has not occurred.
    They have a training problem. It is unlikely to resolve.
    They’re f***ed. We can only hope that the Hines are similarly useless.


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  21. johanna johanna says:
    October 4, 2022 at 11:30 am

    Ted, FTA TV is a fountain of anti-Trump and anti-Republican propaganda, and TheirABC and SBS are the worst offenders.

    There is a program hosted by George Steph-many opouleses, and he used to be Bill Clinton’s mouthpiece. There have been ‘documentaries’ about Hillary’s ‘struggles’ because she is a wymmenses. Also, ‘documentaries’ about how Trump is a racist, sexist, capitalist pig who is trying to destroy America.

    On SBS, which is fascinated with Hitler, the anti-Trump programs are often scheduled before or after the Hitler ones. Very subtle, eh?

    TheirABC, which is probably the largest media outfit in the country, has sent out a relentless stream of anti-Trump stories since the day he came down the escalator. I don’t think I have ever seen a single story there that acknowledges that he did anything good.

    Most Australians are not obsessed with politics, and the impression they get of Trump and the Republican Party is designed to mislead.


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  22. kaysee kaysee says:
    October 4, 2022 at 2:15 pm

    The tragi-comedy of Bros

    Why would non-woke peoples want to watch this for entertainment?
    Should be far more enjoyable watching paint dry.

    1/
    Box Office:
    “Bros” May Score Just $5 Million Weekend After Disastrous Opening Night

    “Bros,” billed as an all gay comedy, is a box office disaster.

    Total receipts for Thursday and Friday came to just $1.84 million. With another $2.5 million coming on Saturday and Sunday, “Bros” stands to make less than $5 million for its entire opening weekend.

    “Bros” doesn’t have a huge budget — $25 million at most. But the movie has had a tremendous amount of publicity and marketing, a blanketing that most films would give their popcorn up for. This just means that the public at large had no interest in seeing not only a gay rom com, but one with graphic sex scenes.

    Movie-goers are homophobic.
    That’s the reason being given for the flop.

    2/
    Homophobia?
    Math Proves 95% of Gays Avoided Billy Eichner’s ‘Bros’

    So Eichner is blaming homophobia for his movie flopping when less than five percent of homosexuals bothered to show up.

    A whopping 95 percent of gays did not bother to see Bros, and we know that number is actually higher. Not everyone who saw Bros was gay. They might be gay now. But they weren’t before they saw the movie. (Relax, Wendy, it’s a joke.)


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  23. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 2:17 pm

    ASX is up 2.5% today.

    Cue Philip Lowe …


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  24. kaysee kaysee says:
    October 4, 2022 at 2:21 pm

    Dr Derek Knauss

    No CV virus ever existed. It was entirely fictitious from the very start. Anyone still pretending like it was ever a real thing is still playing a game.


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  25. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 2:26 pm

    Kristina Keneally’s cop son charged by watchdog

    The son of the former Labor senator and NSW premier has his job on the line over allegations that he fabricated evidence against a civilian.


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  26. kaysee kaysee says:
    October 4, 2022 at 2:27 pm

    Big Brother Ze Schwab Bugs are watching you

    1/
    WEF | Lumirithmic | Metaverse

    3D Scan of your face so your ‘true self’ can live in the Metaverse.

    2/
    Test case trial in China
    Coming to the WEF West soon.

    Cameras

    Across Shanghai’s Xuhui district, identical cameras are are popping up above shop doors. Three shop owners have told me that they’ve been put up by authorities to check that people are scanning QR codes. I’ve asked the government if this is indeed the case.


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  27. Arky says:
    October 4, 2022 at 2:31 pm

    0.25%.
    Pissweak.


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  28. Arky says:
    October 4, 2022 at 2:35 pm

    RBA:

    A further increase in inflation is expected over the months ahead, before inflation then declines back towards the 2–3 per cent range.

    ..
    Morons.
    You expect inflation to get worse than the current 6+ % and you come out with only a quarter percent increase?


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  29. Steve trickler says:
    October 4, 2022 at 2:36 pm

    Well done.

    It looks like this bloke has tracked the flight direct out of the USA that took out Nord Stream. It hooked up with re-fueler for over an hour then proceeded to drop the weapon and immediately head back to the USA without landing in Europe.

    I’d say, sprung.

    Skip to 5:30 for the details.

    ************

    Monkey Werx US:

    SITREP 10.3.22 – The HAAWC Missile System – If it looks like a duck!


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  30. kaysee kaysee says:
    October 4, 2022 at 3:04 pm

    Colonel Douglas MacGregor allowed back on Fox News, but only for two minutes.

    #foxnews #tuckercarlsontonight
    Would Ukraine joining NATO start World War III?

    The news from MSM is clearly one-sided to show Russia as bad and Ukraine as the victim.

    If, as MacGregor says, Washington is not willing to communicate with Putin, can we blame Putin for what he does?

    And no one but Poland wants to go to war with Russia.
    Why not? Don’t they want to defeat evil Putin and save the world?

    ……

    Propaganda can be from both sides. Can MSM be relied on to report accurately?

    No, a news video of a man moving inside a body bag was not filmed in Ukraine

    A video showing a man moving inside a body bag is not from Ukraine. It was filmed in February during a climate change protest in Vienna.


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  31. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 3:20 pm

    The Reserve Bank returned to a “business as usual” 0.25 percentage point increase in the official interest rate on Tuesday, as it slowed rate rises to assess the economic outlook.

    ASX200 now up 3.5% 🔥


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  32. kaysee kaysee says:
    October 4, 2022 at 4:04 pm

    It looks like this bloke has tracked the flight direct out of the USA that took out Nord Stream. It hooked up with re-fueler for over an hour then proceeded to drop the weapon and immediately head back to the USA without landing in Europe.

    If the US is not prepared to respond to the question that requires a Yes or No answer, the conclusion would be that they did it.

    Who is really in charge at the White House? It may be someone who had power enough to get Brandon in so that the strings could be easily pulled.

    From Monkey Werx

    If we look at the Kenyan’s administration and look at his politics …. speculation that he is calling out the shots in the White House.

    The data points to the United States …..So many data points that makes sense that is would be the United States…..We’re headed to war…..


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  33. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 5:09 pm

    AFR

    Australian shares powered to their strongest session in more than two years after the Reserve Bank surprised markets by slowing the pace of monetary tightening, sparking a decline in local bond yields and the Aussie dollar.

    The RBA lifted the cash rate by 0.25 of a percentage point to 2.6 per cent, below market and economist expectations for a half-percentage-point increase.

    The decision triggered the biggest intraday drop in three-year government bond yields since October 2008, when the RBA cut by a full percentage point heading into the global financial crisis, Bloomberg said.

    Markets scaled back expectations for the peak cash rate from over 4 per cent before the RBA decision to about 3.5 per cent. Pricing for the November meeting implied a 22-basis-point increase.

    The Australian dollar dropped as much as 1 per cent before recouping much of those losses to trade around US64.75¢.

    The S&P/ASX 200 rallied 3.8 per cent, or 242.4 points, to 6699.3, while the broader All Ordinaries jumped 3.7 per cent to 6905.3. All 11 sharemarket sectors posted gains of at least 1.9 per cent, with The Lottery Corporation the only stock listed on the benchmark index to finish in the red.

    Tuesday’s advance marked the benchmark’s biggest one-day rise since its 3.9 per cent gain on June 16, 2020.

    “The RBA’s started to signal tapering and its move highlights the fact that while the US may need a recession to get inflation under control, it’s not clear that Australia does,” said David Bassanese, chief economist at BetaShares.

    “The RBA could be seeking to avoid the recession we don’t have to have.”


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  34. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 5:15 pm

    Ukrainian ambassador tells Elon Musk to ‘f— off’ after billionaire infuriates nation with Twitter poll


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  35. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 5:35 pm

    Elon Musk
    @elonmusk
    Ukraine-Russia Peace:

    – Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is will of the people.

    – Crimea formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake).

    – Water supply to Crimea assured.

    – Ukraine remains neutral.

    Yes
    No
    2,289,977 votes


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  36. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 5:39 pm

    And no one but Poland wants to go to war with Russia

    The Poles want to start a world war again.


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  37. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 5:45 pm

    Top seed Novak Djokovic claimed his first title since winning Wimbledon in July with a dominant display against Marin Cilic at the Tel Aviv Open.

    Djokovic did not face a break point in the first set as he beat second seed Cilic in his first regular tournament since his All England Club triumph.

    The world number seven never looked likely to drop his first set of the tournament in a 6-3 6-4 victory.

    He had only played in the Laver Cup since his 21st Grand Slam title win.

    “I played some very good tennis, I think. I [didn’t] drop a set the entire week,” said the 35-year-old Serb.

    “I hadn’t played a tournament in three months so it was really extra motivation for me to really do well, particularly because people have been so friendly and so supportive of me throughout the week.”


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  38. Steve trickler says:
    October 4, 2022 at 5:54 pm

    A lesson for anyone wishing to do the same, particularly with spirits.

    It’s a public service announcement worth repeating.

    ************

    Reverend Simon Sideways:

    Muslims die drinking home brew


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  39. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 5:55 pm

    Things that never happened

    Trump devised ‘Superman stunt’ to boast of Covid recovery

    The former US leader planned to leap from a wheelchair, even ordering staff to buy the superhero T-shirts, before the plan was abandoned, a new book has revealed.


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  40. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 6:05 pm

    White Lives Matter

    “WHITE LIVES MATTER”, was the message stamped on the back of t-shirts worn by Ye, alongside conservative political pundit Candace Owens and several models (including Lauryn Hills’s daughter Selah Marley.)

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/the-oz/lifestyle/hugely-irresponsible-critics-slam-kanyes-white-lives-matter-shirt/news-story/7193d7e9cd83044480da6728a113682b


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  41. Steve trickler says:
    October 4, 2022 at 6:06 pm

    A bloke walking his dog.

    *************

    woof bark growl:

    Cash 2.0 Great Dane visits an indoor shopping mall 31


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  42. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 6:08 pm

    Shut up horseface

    GBNews

    ‘She’s nothing less than dangerous’ | Neil Oliver hits out at Jacinda Ardern over ‘tyranny’

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_57hGaTsEQ


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  43. Steve trickler says:
    October 4, 2022 at 6:27 pm

    Cash, playing around with other dogs and no longer in show mode like you see him with human interactions.

    Good to see that tail wagging.

    *********

    woof bark growl:

    Cash 2.0 Great Dane making new friends at Omelveny Park


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  44. Steve trickler says:
    October 4, 2022 at 7:02 pm

    The Essendon CEO has quit after one day. Piss weak. I’ll never go to or watch AFL ever again until they ditch gay pride round and the indigenous round. It’s all divisive BS.

    Anzac day should never EVER go away.


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  45. Old bloke says:
    October 4, 2022 at 7:13 pm

    Steve trickler says:
    October 4, 2022 at 2:36 pm

    Good find Steve. I’d like to see the timing of the explosions recorded by Sweden and compare that with the time that flight was over the pipelines.

    There was approximately an hour’s difference between between the two pipeline’s destruction and that could be accounted for with the refuelling operation over Germany.

    I’m thinking that there’s a few European nations who are wondering if they should’ve stayed neutral.


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  46. Steve trickler says:
    October 4, 2022 at 7:19 pm

    Good on him. There is a sh*t load of evidence about what has gone on around the world, chiefly the NHS (UK) and the Fauci hospital “health” protocols in the USA which has bumped so many with this “treament” under the guise of covid treatment.

    I’ve said it before, all the doctors and nurses that willingly participated need to be taken to the cleaners.

    If someone drives Fauci’s nose into his skull…..good! A noose would be better.

    ***********

    Stew Peters Show:

    Dr. Bryan Ardis joins alongside attorneys Michael Hamilton and Dan Watkins to detail their MASSIVE lawsuit exposing the deadliness of Remdesivir!

    Dr. Ardis Files Lawsuit For MASS EXTERMINATION: DEADLY Remdesivir Drug Aims To MURDER MILLIONS!


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  50. Steve trickler says:
    October 4, 2022 at 7:29 pm

    Old bloke says:
    October 4, 2022 at 7:13 pm

    Cheers.

    You can thank Dutchsinse for that. He mentioned Monkey Werx on his channel and now here we are. Keep an eye on it.


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  51. Shy Ted says:
    October 4, 2022 at 7:33 pm

    And so the big day came – time to renew prescriptions for 6 months. 4 different peeps asked me if I’d wear a mask – “exempt” says I. Nurse practitioner this time. Very gentle and keen to not antagonise but required to take background which is very heavily focussed on vaccines. Of course. Ready for an argument but a simple stating of my position was sufficient. “Sorry but I’m required to ask”. Fluvax? That’s not a vaccine. Covid? Doesn’t exist and it’s not a vaccine. Poor lady. Anyway, got my script for 6 months and courteously accepted. Poor staff.
    Only live in a little town but 2! flashing ambulances in the 20 mins I was there.


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  52. Eyrie says:
    October 4, 2022 at 7:45 pm

    Ukrainian ambassador tells Elon Musk to ‘f— off’ after billionaire infuriates nation with Twitter poll

    If I was the Ukes I’d be careful about slagging off Musk. He can turn off the Starlink terminals he gave them


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  53. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 7:55 pm

    #BORZZIKMAN
    Russia will Severely Punish the U.S. for Acts of Sabotage on ”Nord Stream” Pipelines

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzYlsVzOZ64


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  54. Steve trickler says:
    October 4, 2022 at 8:13 pm

    A great short via Omeleto.

    Spooky. 13:33.

    ************

    A young couple, Tom and Jenny, are installing a new smart home security system in their tastefully upscale home. The Aria system promises an army of cameras to watch out for intruders, all accessible and controllable via app and voice assistant. But like much other modern smart home technology, Aria has its quirks.

    Jenny learns to live alongside Aria, but Tom soon finds himself unnerved by it. The lights go on and off unexpectedly; he gets constant notifications that something’s at the door in the middle of the night. Soon strange sounds in the dark take on an ominous portent, and each of Aria’s transgressions feels increasingly aggressive, building up to a confrontation between man and machine.

    Written and directed by Christopher Poole, this chilling sci-fi horror short’s starting point is the installation of a smart home security system in the house shared by a millennial couple. Represented in a cheeky commercial cameo by “What We Do in the Shadows” star Natasia Demetriou, the Aria system promises a comprehensive surveillance system that detects any threat in or out of the home. Instead, it brings on a psychological descent into madness and dread that Tom cannot escape.

    The film’s considered style and form evoke a disjointed reality constantly interpolated by technology, where the shots alternate between Tom’s “real life” with its representation via surveillance footage. The setting of its contemporary home — both stylish and yet austerely chilly in its modernity — is reflected in the jagged rhythms of its editing and the almost Cubist-like angles of its visual composition. We never quite settle in the film, with its pacing and rhythms keeping us off-kilter and always on our toes. It all mirrors Tom’s unsettled feelings about Aria, which doesn’t quite work the way promised.

    As the intrusions and mishaps with Aria increase, Tom begins to experience his home as a site of threat and danger. Even the most ordinary sound — the sound of a blender, the creaking of a floor — feels like an assault or an insinuation. Actor Daniel Lawrence Taylor captures both Tom’s increasing frustration and paranoia, though there are also moments of levity found in the gaffes of Aria that anyone who has screamed in frustration at Alexa or Siri will relate to. But overall, Tom’s relationship with the new presence in his home becomes something more ominous and foreboding, eventually escalating into confrontation.

    The conclusion of “Aria” does not explain or “make sense,” but in its surrealism and horror, it’s genuinely startling and oddly wondrous, much in a way that a dream sequence in a David Lynch film would be. With its themes of domestic space run amok with fear and anxiety, the short also possesses shades of Roman Polanski’s Repulsion. But “Aria” is truly a contemporary film, resonant with themes about technology, privacy and paranoia and handled with considerable visual panache. Using horror as a way to explore our deepest cultural anxieties, it’s no less than an “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” for the uber-connected age, where there’s no escaping the tether of constant, neverending and “always on” connectivity, even in our most private of spaces.

    A couple installs a ‘smart’ security system at home. But something may be lurking outside. | Aria


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  55. Steve trickler says:
    October 4, 2022 at 8:42 pm

    Arky may enjoy this, or not? I remember his hassles with the photocopier and punch codes. The system in general. No doubt it has further gone to sh*t in the classroom since he left.

    ***********

    Jimmy Rees:

    High School teachers gotta deal with a lot


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  56. Steve trickler says:
    October 4, 2022 at 9:06 pm

    I thought this channel had gone silent. Hard to keep up.

    ************

    Freedom Media WA:

    This is a look at some of the parliamentary debate on why this bill is considered so “URGENT”
    and in Premier Mark McGowan’s words,
    “This is a Step Down from the State of Emergency controls”.
    Watch for yourself and see if you feel it really is a “Step Down”

    The Political MindSet of Premier McGowan on New Covid Laws in Western Australia


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  57. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 9:55 pm

    1420

    MOSCOW
    Are you glad that we annexed Ukrainian regions?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr7udHMfKTM


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  58. Steve trickler says:
    October 4, 2022 at 10:16 pm

    We wait and see.

    ***********

    Dutchinse:

    An x-class solar flare (earth directed) occurred yesterday.

    In past events it usually takes 2-3 days to show up here … and hit the ionosphere, northern lights, radio interference etc when the charged particles arrive… then…. All that electricity is captured by the Earths magnetic field— and it goes to “ground”.

    Ultimately , “ground” is the “core” which I think is more like an electroplasma on steroids, a mega plasma torch —- when fed more electricity from charged particles , the result is……. EARTHQUAKES of noteworthy size planet wide in a sudden flurry…

    It usually starts 2-3 days AFTER the solar storm hits… and with large x class flares, it can even happen sooner.

    2-3 days to get here, and then 2-3 days to go to ground with an earthquake effect….. so really it takes 4-6 days AFTER a big flare to see the seismic storm.
    First we tend to see a sudden rise in deep earthquake activity followed by very large earthquakes between all the deeps…

    I’ve also seen very large quakes strike the day the flare hits on whatever side of the Earth is facing the sun when the storm hits!

    Keep watch, things should heat up seismic wise very soon and everyone should notice the rise!

    Link


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  60. Steve trickler says:
    October 4, 2022 at 11:20 pm

    This pertains to “climate change”. She’s a bought and paid for silly bitch like a lot of blokes.

    Mark Dice:

    Now They Admit It.


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  61. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 11:34 pm

    “We own the science”.


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  62. mh says:
    October 4, 2022 at 11:35 pm

    Reply function still needs some work.


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  63. Steve trickler says:
    October 4, 2022 at 11:51 pm

    He’s in fine form. Running amok!

    I reckon most trying to debunk him will say those agencies have adjusted their data and that proves he is wrong.

    Ex BBC journo, Pot Holler screwed that up.

    Good luck quoting an IPCC Peer Reviewed report against, Heller.

    Anyway, here it is.

    ***********

    New Climate Tool


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  64. Steve trickler says:
    October 5, 2022 at 12:01 am

    A bloke walking his dog.

    ************

    woof bark growl:

    Cash 2.0 Great Dane on Main Street in Ventura 4


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  65. Steve trickler says:
    October 5, 2022 at 12:51 am

    I wonder if they will find him?

    These blokes are on a mission from God.

    *************

    Adventures with Purpose:

    42 year-old Benjamin Sagun mysteriously vanished Sunday morning on his way to church. Last seen by his mother – Benjamin’s disappearance has stumped Arundel County Police as to where he may have gone or ended up.

    MISSED SUNDAY CHURCH – The Case of Benjamin Sagun


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  66. mh says:
    October 5, 2022 at 7:15 am

    Dow surges over 800 points.

    ASX to follow.


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  68. Steve trickler says:
    October 5, 2022 at 10:29 am

    The New York Times cops a proverbial boot to the backside.

    **********

    Tony Heller:

    A short tutorial showing how to use some of my new software features to fact check climate claims made by the press.

    New Climate Tool (Part 2)


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  69. Arky says:
    October 5, 2022 at 11:41 am

    ASX to follow

    ..
    As night follows day.


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  70. Arky says:
    October 5, 2022 at 12:48 pm

    We now know that media is just propaganda. Covid taught us this.
    The only thing worse than the psychopaths on both sides using the good instincts of young men to trick them into the mince grinder of war are the lying whores in the media spinning the stories. I wouldn’t trust any of them to uncover the truth if their lives depended on it. Their psyches are bent crooked by lives lived enmeshed in creating and serving lies.


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  71. Arky says:
    October 5, 2022 at 1:01 pm

    Missus took the girl to see an old friend on the holidays. Doctor and wife and 11 y.o. daughter.
    Still wearing the masks out and about. Still getting the boosters.
    Hard to believe, but these people are still locked into the madness.


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  76. Cold-Hands says:
    October 5, 2022 at 4:53 pm

    Turns out Elon Musk was encouraged to takeover twitter by one of his ex-wives. Nice that he’s still on amicable terms. Despite the uncertainty as to how many twitter accounts are just bots, Musk looks as though he’s going ahead with the deal, even though it now looks as though he’s paying over the odds.

    MUSK-TWITTER IS BACK ON
    The saga of Elon Musk’s effort to buy Twitter took another twist today when Elon threw in the towel and agreed to proceed with the purchase under the original terms, which amount to around $44 billion. With a trial on Twitter’s effort to force Musk to proceed with the transaction scheduled for later this month, Musk’s retreat could be a tactical gambit. But my guess is that he has decided that he might as well proceed with the deal, for the reason that made him to want to buy the company in the first place: his commitment to free speech


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  77. Steve trickler says:
    October 5, 2022 at 5:30 pm

    Again, the MSM let her get away with it. Like many others, she is doing what she is told.

    **********

    GTV last Stand:

    Endless hypocritical spending

    I want to see “Made in QLD” on the wind turbines, solar panels and batteries that will power 70% of our state by 2032.

    Palaszczuk OUT OF HER COTTON PICKING MIND


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  79. Shy Ted says:
    October 5, 2022 at 6:01 pm

    Last episode of The Australia Wars on SBS tonight. Wonder of there’ll be an actual blackfella in it. These interviews with white professors of dubious history are not cutting the mustard. Try as they may they can’t produce much evidence of a war.


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  82. Cold-Hands says:
    October 5, 2022 at 6:30 pm

    The US Navy has finally deployed its troubled first-of-class $USD 13 billion aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford. While Ford was a former navy man, I’m not sure naming a warship after him is wise given his legendary clumsiness. Obviously the United States Department of the Navy is less superstitious than most sailors…


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  83. Cold-Hands says:
    October 5, 2022 at 6:38 pm

    Even Trevor Noah’s “The Daily Show” has given up on Kamala, tweeting “The Veep re-boot looks amazing“. Now that Noah has announced he’s leaving, perhaps he’s throttled back on the self-censorship?


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  84. kaysee kaysee says:
    October 5, 2022 at 6:40 pm

    Michael Shellenberger

    Media Lying About Climate And Hurricanes

    Over the last several weeks, many mainstream news media outlets have claimed that hurricanes are becoming more expensive, more frequent, and more intense because of climate change.

    – The Financial Times reported that “hurricane frequency is on the rise.”
    – The New York Times claimed, “strong storms are becoming more common in the Atlantic Ocean.”
    – The Washington Post said, “climate change is rapidly fueling super hurricanes.”
    – ABC News declared, “Here’s how climate change intensifies hurricanes.”
    – Both the FT and N.Y. Times showed graphs purporting to show rising hurricane frequency using data from the U.S. government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

    All of those claims are false.


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  85. kaysee kaysee says:
    October 5, 2022 at 6:45 pm

    Something Rotten in Denmark?

    Who sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, near the Danish island of Bornholm?

    The United States and Europe, along with Ukraine, insist it was Russia, while Russia and others point the finger straight back at the United States. The answer is not as obvious as first appears.


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  87. Arky says:
    October 5, 2022 at 7:12 pm

    Anyone who thinks you call up 300,000 men and turn them into a useable army in a matter of months is completely naive or a ideologically motivated lunatic.
    That the Russians appear to now be attempting to do just that, might explain their repeated failures over the course of this year.
    It takes months to get anyone into a minimum trained state and years to really properly train quality specialists.
    Good armies are all about training. They are highly efficient at finding, sorting and turning suitable civilians into soldiers with a variety of specialities as well as good, basic infantry skills. They do this in remarkably short time frames compared to how civilian operations train individuals for similar tasks.
    But they can’t do in weeks that which requires months.
    There will be no huge replacement army entering the Ukraine for a spectacular Russian winter offensive.


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  90. kaysee kaysee says:
    October 5, 2022 at 7:20 pm

    And so the big day came – time to renew prescriptions for 6 months. 4 different peeps asked me if I’d wear a mask – “exempt” says I.

    Early last year, before the jab mandates came into force, I had a discussion with my GP. I told her that considering my medical history, I was not willing to take the risk with the jabs. She said that taking the jabs was optional. I said that with the way the government rules were changing, there was no way of knowing what would happen next. She agreed. I told her to make a note in my records that due to my medical conditions, I would not be taking the jab. She typed in the note.

    After that, she made no mention to me about taking the jabs and I also got a can’t-wear-a-mask letter from her.

    Last week, I had an appointment with my GP – sadly, she is retiring. When I arrived at the clinic, I let reception know that I was there. I was offered a mask, and I said I had one. It is a well-washed mask that I carry in my bag for occasions when it is not worth the battle. I sat outside the clinic, maskless, till it was my turn with my doctor.

    The mask-wearing rule is set by the clinic, not my doctor. Out of respect for her, I pulled on the mask while sitting in her room. I had far bigger health matters to discuss with her and she would have known how difficult it was for me to wear that obstruction on my face.

    The week before that, I had to go to the Pathology lab for my blood tests. I was the only one there without a mask and no one asked me to wear one.


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  92. kaysee kaysee says:
    October 5, 2022 at 7:46 pm

    Even Trevor Noah’s “The Daily Show” has given up on Kamala …

    Added to The Mock.

    ………………………………….

    Netherlands…

    Citizens throw eggs at a canvas of Mark Rutte

    Did they have enough of the rotten variety?
    Would be a waste of the good ones.


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  93. mh says:
    October 5, 2022 at 8:36 pm

    If anyone has access to the Courier Paywall, I wouldn’t mind reading this as I was there on Saturday.

    ‘Waste of money’: Holiday crowds at Movie World fuming

    Aussie holiday makers have been left fuming after waiting in long queues and finding rides closed at the popular Gold Coast theme park.


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  94. mh says:
    October 5, 2022 at 9:21 pm

    DOOCY TIME: “You’ve said the President was responsible for gas prices coming down. Is [he] responsible for gas prices going up?”

    KJP: “So, it’s a lot more nuanced than that…You know this. There have been global challenges…There’s been pandemic and…Putin’s war.”

    https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1577362391955816450?s=20&t=Obtrrk1Ft02Q4H_QpJHIow


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  95. Steve trickler says:
    October 5, 2022 at 9:33 pm

    Amazing Polly exposed these ****s ages ago, Dr. Peter Daszak in particular.

    Hang them all.

    ************

    Stew Peters Show:

    Fauci & friends are plotting a second Plandemic!

    Dr. Paul Alexander joins to expose how the NIH’s, TAXPAYER FUNDED research led by Fauci’s pal Dr. Peter Daszak will likely lead to Plandemic 2.0! Disaster is coming!

    Plandemic Engineer Paid To Murder Millions AGAIN! Fauci’s Henchman Granted Funding For ANOTHER Bioweapon


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  96. Steve trickler says:
    October 5, 2022 at 9:53 pm

    I’d like this bloke to walk into the UN.

    Thomas Bergersen – Cry


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  97. mh says:
    October 5, 2022 at 9:56 pm

    Germany’s economy minister accused the U.S. and other “friendly” gas supplier states of astronomical prices for their supplies, suggesting they were profiting from the fallout of the war in Ukraine.

    “Some countries, including friendly ones, sometimes achieve astronomical prices [for their gas]. Of course, that brings with it problems that we have to talk about,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck told regional German paper NOZ in an interview published Wednesday which was translated by NBC News. He called for more solidarity from the U.S. when it comes to assisting its energy-pressed allies in Europe.


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  98. Steve trickler says:
    October 5, 2022 at 10:16 pm

    Danger Dan Reviews:

    In typical fashion. The Chairman rushes through his pandemic rules with as little scrutiny as possible.

    Remember this? Part one. Dan Andrews


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  99. mh says:
    October 5, 2022 at 10:43 pm

    #BORZZIKMAN
    Europe Cries and Weeps! Russia began to Restore the Hungarian Economy and Prepare it for Winter!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4GrBbZUV1E


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  100. johnjjj says:
    October 5, 2022 at 10:49 pm

    In the Oz
    My faith is not tolerated or permitted: Essendon boss Andrew Thorburn quits
    They would not have dared say anything is he was a muz.
    The meek shall inherit the earth – nup. The guys with the crazies in the background always win.


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