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Make Australia Great Again?
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 Make Australia Great Again?To summarise, the standard American idiot simply LOVES swallowing bulls**t. The standard Australian idiot takes one sniff and drops the spoon. www.abc.net.au |
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How Our MAGA crowd loves bullshit, and dines on it like manna. “Fresh from the bull’s hind quarters—so delicious! So fresh there is barely any fly spit!” |
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Yellow Ink I love the Australian turns of phrase: But what's the High Court? Just more lawyers in nicer wigs, after all. And in their dismal, specious, fact-based, woke-mind-virus-infected way they chose to uphold the Electoral Act, ploughing the fields of Palmer 2025 with salt. Yellow ink and outdoor advertising futures plummeted sickeningly overnight. End quote. I note Tesla plunged 9% yesterday. Glad I dumped my shares. As I type they are talking about waste, fraud, and abuse. They insist they can balance $4.5 trillion in tax cuts by finding a trillion in fraud. Back in reality the fraud, outside the military, runs a bit under 1%. That’s ten billion out of a trillion dollar budget. So far DOGE cuts add up to a speculative $2.6 billion. Speculative, because while they claim $65 billion, that figure is a far bigger lie than Groper’s typical lie. $2.6 billion comes from Wall Street analysts, who tend to be very generous with Groper’s lies. It is estimated 40% of the claimed cuts were already paid or involved cancellation of legally binding contracts we must continue paying anyway. Groper’s typical response is to refuse payment for services rendered and goods delivered, be he may have trouble stiffing federal contractors. |
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Tackle “On the name itself, it is probably best not to linger. That nagging, prickly feeling deep in your basal ganglia is a pre-nacreous, oystery itch of suspicion that "Trumpet of Patriots" might be Tucker Carlson's pet name for his tackle. Shut that down. Shut that down RIGHT NOW, or we'll all go mad.” |
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Shiva 10:01 & 11:24 1. "Yellow Ink" This is a reference to Clive Palmer's billboard adds, done in a garish, fluorescent gold. It's a fair indication of his overall penchant for subtle nuance. This also explains why "outdoor advertising futures plummeted sickeningly overnight." 2. "Trumpet of Patriots" might be Tucker Carlson's pet name for his tackle. In Australia, 'tackle' can mean what Americans call 'junk'. The stuff a man keeps tucked up near the pubis bone. One of my daughters played in a female Rugby team, and the men's team printed Tee-shirts with 'It takes leather balls to play Rugby'. The girls responded with their own batch of Tee-shirts printed with 'Show me your tackle', which they proudly wore when in the clubhouse with the men. The term 'flute' is sometimes used as a euphemism for the male erectile organ. To call someone a 'piccolo' is to risk a brawl. So make what you will of "Trumpet of Patriots". |
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Thanks |
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Trade Surplus Unfortunately this link omits the discussion of subs and national security interests, but contains the relevant points. America is not only mooning our friends and allies, we’re clenching, bearing down, and dumping on our friends and allies. Projectile diarrhea. www.instagram.com |
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Australia Whacked “Senator, despite the agreement, they ban our beef, they ban our pork, they’re getting ready to impost measure—” “But with your Greek letter formula, the fact that we have a trade surplus—” “We have a global tariff on everyone,” Greer replied, continuing to evade the question. “We’re trying to address the $1.2 trillion deficit that Biden left us with, sir.” “I think that answer.… Sir, you’re a much smarter person than that answer. The idea that we are gonna whack friend and foe alike, in particular friends … is both, I think, insulting to the Australians and it undermines our national security, and frankly makes us not a good partner going forward. The lack of trust from friends and allies based upon this ridiculous policy that goes into full effect at midnight tonight is extraordinary. “A good day in hospice,” Warner continued. “I’m afraid if we keep these tariffs in effect, we’re looking like an economy that will be in hospice.” newrepublic.com |
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Cross-fire You don't want big brother trump getting pissed-off at Australia. |
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Shiva 12:34 Just for completeness... <“Senator, despite the agreement, they ban our beef, they ban our pork,"> Which is permitted in the existing Free Trade Agreement as a hygiene measure because Australia is currently free of some diseases known to occur in American meat. It's not just American meat that is banned, but meat from any country that is not known to be free of these diseases. If a country is disease-free, we import their meat. We bring in heaps of meat from New Zealand, for example. <The idea that we are gonna whack friend and foe alike, in particular friends … frankly makes us not a good partner going forward.> Indeed. Anyone who is thinking of trading with America is now on notice that the rules can change arbitrarily, unilaterally and immediately. Why would anyone invest in setting up a supply chain that can be kicked over in this way? It won't just cost American consumers with higher prices, but also American companies for the sovereign risk factors. That will cost American jobs. America, the biggest trading nation in the world, has just bombed the marketplace. It will hurt all the other traders, and many will try to get a better deal in the short term by ritual abasement before the Mighty One; but they will use that short term to make alternative arrangements so they are not as vulnerable next time it happens. But the most brain-dead aspect of the whole idea is that Trump doesn't realise that it is AMERICA that is getting the good deal! America has an overall trade deficit because the rest of the world has been accepting American IOUs for their goods instead of demanding American goods in return. They have been doing this because the greenback was thought to be a 'global currency'. (Sterling once had that status, which gave England dominance throughout the world.) Now the greenback has been shown to be unsuitable; so the scramble for a new world currency (or even a number of world currencies) will be on. Will it be the Euro? The Saudi Petrodollar? My guess is that it might be the Renminbi. If that happens, the Chinese Communist Party will be burning joss sticks in front of pictures of Trump for generations to come. |
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These tariffs will lead directly to more and more countries joining BRICS, an organization of countries that deal in other currencies than the US$. BRICS is the biggest threat and opposition to the US economy, as a single block of countries. There are many advantages for BRICS members to trade in local currency. Something else which Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk seemed to fail to consider are that the countries in the BRICS group (including my own) are the skunks of the world: Russia, China, Brazil, Iran, South Africa (to my shame) and there are some worse partner states such as Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba. Also the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has been invited. See where this is going? en.wikipedia.org |
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bye, bye America Not only does USA not have the workforce to support it's greedy needs, but the world has the rest of the world to deal, deal, deal fairly with. It's likely gonn'a be a blood-bath for America due to trump's isolation plans once the shit-hits-the-fan and America is forced to eat beans if we can afford them. |
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US Tariff Policy Explained One day the Cadillac dealer is doing his accounts and has a thought: 'Over the years, I've given the pizza delivery boy thousands of dollars and yet never once has he bought a Cadillac Escalade from me. How is that fair? This guy is ripping me off.' The more he thinks about it, the more angry he becomes. 'I'm running a massive trade deficit with that kid on that bicycle. He is deliberately not buying my cars to screw me over. I'm a Cadillac dealer and he's a puny kid on a bike. I hold all the cards. I'm going to put a stop to this.' So, the following Friday night he confronts the delivery boy. 'You have been robbing me for years. I'm subsidising your business with thousands of dollars and yet you never buy my Escalades. So, I'm going to impose a 50% surcharge on every pizza you deliver to this house and there's nothing you can do about it!' The pizza delivery boy looks confused. 'I'm sorry but I couldn't afford to buy or run a Cadillac Escalade even if I needed one, which I don't.' 'I don't care,' says the Cadillac dealer. 'It's not fair me subsidising you thousands of dollars. Why should I be paying you these subsidies?' 'Because you like my pizza and that's what they cost. That's not a subsidy. It's called trade,' answers the delivery boy. 'Well, it's not trade if you refuse to buy a Cadillac, so I'm going to charge 50% on top of the price of your pizzas so I get some payback.' 'Who are you going to charge?' 'My family!' 'How's that going to work?' 'They're going to be livid! They'll be so angry that the pizza is going to cost 50% more that they'll stop telling me to buy them from you. They'll start making their own pizzas and you'll go bust!' 'Can they make pizzas this good? Do they even want to?' 'That's not the point!' 'And how many more Cadillacs will you sell if we go bust?' 'Who cares? At least I won't be being ripped off by a mere pizza delivery boy on a bicycle!' 'OK. Here's your pizza. Keep the tip. It was nice doing business with you.' |
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Riaan 5:44 Yep. It's like kids in a park. If the biggest, strongest football player doesn't want to play by any rules except his own, the other kids will play without him. The big guy can sit and eat fries as he watches everyone else. Soon that big guy will be so out-of-match-fitness that he won't be the biggest, strongest kid in the park any more. |
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US Tariff policy Explained Two He's "been thinking about "it" for years", he says, and he now has the global market to work it. |
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Fine for a businessman trying to make a profit. Not so good for a political leader who wants his nation's businesses to make a profit. This sowing of confusion in a business deal tends to create paralysis in the opponent, while the negotiator knows what he wants to achieve; but when done in diplomacy, his nation's businesses don't know what's intended, so they are paralysed as well as the opponent. That doesn't really worry Trump. Look at how he boasts how much USA is making from tariffs; but he doesn't mention that all that tariff money is coming out of American pockets. |
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Don't worry about them! If he's applying them to everyone, then those competing against me are also facing tariffs. So I'd just keep the same prices on my goods as apply now. Other competitors are in the same position (or worse), so they are probably close to their optimum price in the price/volume curve, too. So we would all just shrug at each other and let Americans pay the tariff for us. The only competitors not affected would be American domestic manufacturers, and they are not going to invest in more capacity if they think that Trump (or some future President) might change his mind again. They will just lift their prices as much as they dare to make a windfall from what might be a temporary opportunity. Which is what tariffs are all about, anyway; a way to make domestic companies more profitable at the expense of domestic consumers. |
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Mad King Caves Many countries have tariffs to protect specific markets—NOT a general tariff on all imports. Historically (and currently) these tariffs on specific goods average one to two percent. Groper jumped to 32%, though apparently may have cut back to about 25%. The tariff on China (our third largest trading partner) has been increased to 125%, which is what accounts for making the average so much higher than 10%. Question for high school economics class: Which entity did Trump NOT place tariffs on? A. Switzerland B. Canada C. Penguins (the aquatic bird, not the sports team) D. Russia |
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Gluteal osculation "They are lining up, desperate to make a deal. They are kissing my arse!" This shows how Trump sees the world. He craves constant attention from everyone. Just quietly doing his job is SO BORING!! And of course that has to be fawning attention, not just businesslike negotiation. So what? We already knew about that about Trump. What is revealing is how the Trump base lapped it up. The have been on the receiving end of disrespect their whole lives. It is their lived experience. Now, they can vicariously demand what was once demanded of them. I've heard the wealthy chide 'Socialists' for 'the politics of envy'. (Not very accurately; they are reading their own greed into their targets. There's no way the average Union member wants to swap places with a billionaire and own several penthouses around the world. He just wants to be able to afford one medium-sized house.) But what I see here is Trump harnessing the politics of resentment. How can a billionaire claim such adherence by so many who are in the bottom quartile of wealth? Because the Democrats haven't listened to them. Say what you want about the 'blokey' and sometimes brutal Australian Labor Party. The conservatives scorn them as 'ex-Union bosses', but that is actually their greatest asset. At least they know what the rank-and-file want, and work for it. Let this be a wake-up call for the Democrats! Social Justice is more than welfare for minorities. |
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2025 Federal Election Other countries should try it. |
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Labor Party |
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dmaestro 03-May-25, 11:18 |
Congrats on standing up to Trump. |
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mo 6.15 |
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aussiespud 04-May-25, 15:09 |
Deleted by aussiespud on 04-May-25, 15:19.
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This country weathered the GFC much better than the US and that’s probably why the long term effects are less. |
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Everyone knew that, and I expected them to just roll the ALP for another term. But what happened was a whitewash! A four and a half percent swing to the government, a swing AWAY from the opposition! The Greens (Climate-change activists, generally well left-of-centre) held their own, and the 'Teals' (Economically conservative, socially progressive) seem to have picked up those that deserted the Opposition. The ones thar really dropped were the 'protest parties' that usually collect perhaps 10% of the primary vote between them, and then send their preferences to whom they really want to win. (Preferential voting means a protest vote is never wasted.) I take this as a sign that there wasn't too much to protest against. The Senate was my main interest. In Australia, each state has a total of 12 Senators elected for six-year terms, half of them rolling over every three years. Election is by Quota-Preferential method, the quota being approx. 14.4% per seat. Up until now, there were still many Senators left over from the last conservative administration, and the government needed the Greens and a few Teals to get their legislation through. I thought this was a Good Thing. You all know by now how much I am both progressive but cautious, and this setup guaranteed that any problems were identified and fixed before they became law. But now it is possible that Labor and Greens alone will have the numbers. I would prefer a more powerful Senate crossbench. |
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A step back to analyse... The conservative spokesman (for the 'Liberal Party') said the problem was a poor campaign and poor messaging; if only they had been more effective in getting 'Liberal Values' out into the public! How deluded! Their problem was precisely that the campaign DID effectively show what a vote for the 'Liberals' would mean; not much except keeping Labor out of office, and then wait for the next election. Everyone also knows very well what 'Liberal Values' means; more tax cuts (mostly for the wealthy), and less government services (they call it 'waste'). The last spell of conservative government has not been forgotten! So many conservatives are so wistful of the 'Golden Years' of the Liberal Party under Menzies, back in the 50's and 60's, when Australia prospered. They all forget how Menzies managed it. At the time, the Labor Party were still cloth-cap Socialists, but divided between Marxist or Fabian wings. Menzies could honestly point out a few of their Marxists, a powerful trick during the Cold War. But more than that; he selectively adopted many of the Fabian policies for himself. Under Menzies, welfare payments such as unemployment relief, child bonuses, age pensions, etc all were instituted or grew. Menzies subsidised immigration at a rate of 2% per annum (equivalent to America taking 7 million immigrants every year!) He subsidised health and aged care and set up infrastructure projects to support the rapidly-growing population. How could he do all this? The top income tax rate was 75% early in his reign, dropping to ONLY 67% in his later years. In his last address to the Liberal Party Federal Council in 1964, Menzies reflected on the "Liberal Creed" as follows: As the etymology of our name 'Liberal' indicates, we have stood for freedom. We have realised that men and women are not just ciphers in a calculation, but are individual human beings whose individual welfare and development must be the main concern of government.... We have learned that the right answer is to set the individual free, to aim at equality of opportunity, to protect the individual against oppression, to create a society in which rights and duties are recognized and made effective." The modern-day 'Liberal Party' is nothing like this. It has been taken over by an Australian version of the Tea Party. There are many within it who would like to push even further, into Trumpism, which is why they have been slapped down so decisively in the last two elections. Today it is the Teals who represent the old, original Liberal Party. One of the leading Teals is Allegra Spender, who is the granddaughter of Sir Percy Spender, one of Menzies' senior Ministers, and daughter of John Spender, one of John Howard's front bench. |
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