Interesting stuff
How do US "law makers" and their families and friends get so rich?
Here are some tales about the art of plundering by the right .... and, just as often it seems, by the virtuous left.
One favourite formula is to regulate or stop govermenr funding for a target company or industry in a way that destroys the share price. Then the players or proxies step in and buy up big. Then they find a reason to change / reverse policy leading to a massive recovery in share price.
Rinse and repeat.
A few of these 10x dead certs with big stakes can turn a modest portfolio into millions quickly.
https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/think-obama-administratio…
^ true, Gabor Mate has some great stuff.
One of his recent books ‘the Myth of Normal’ is worth a read…
- his commentary is spot on… highly recommended
Swell doesn’t need to be big…
- wrong trim, and too much throttle.
Bad combo… but lovely saxophone ;)
Wally and Scotty on The Minefield. Always good but this one is a must listen:
'Can democracy withstand the strategic use of online confusion?'
Glad that someone else listens to that podcast, I see it as pretty much essential to help understand meta ideas in the modern world.
Waleed isn't 100% right all the time but he's still one of the sharpest minds out there at the moment as far as I'm concerned.
Wow, that’s complete and utter biased, socialist left trash basically calling for censorship of the centre right
And with regards to that particular podcast, one of the major take-aways is that is seems as though we've reached a point in our society/culture where, due to the sheer volume of noise coming out of the media and also social media, it's no longer possible to have a coherent public debate about something.
This then leads us to the question - can you have a functioning democracy in the absence of a coherent public debate.
gsco wrote:
Wow, that’s complete and utter biased, socialist left trash basically calling for censorship of the centre right
Gobshite
AndyM wrote:
Glad that someone else listens to that podcast, I see it as pretty much essential to help understand meta ideas in the modern world.
Waleed isn't 100% right all the time but he's still one of the sharpest minds out there at the moment as far as I'm concerned.
Are you talking about that guy off the project? Surely not
Here's something for Kaiser, Frog, gsco & the finance crew - if anyone remembers the chaos about 12 years back:
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/jon-corzine-shuttering-his-hedge-fund…
I've tried to discern the hows and whys of the collapse of MF Global, would love if someone pointed out an authoritative account.
stunet wrote:
Wally and Scotty on The Minefield. Always good but this one is a must listen:
'Can democracy withstand the strategic use of online confusion?'
It does not help create a "shared world" and avoid an "age of distrust" that this is what our leaders believe:
“When it becomes serious, you have to lie.”
― Jean-Claude Juncker
and spin, deflect, dodge etc.
Anyone who reads widely sees this in practice almost daily.
[quote=velocityjohnno]Here's something for Kaiser, Frog, gsco & the finance crew - if anyone remembers the chaos about 12 years back:
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/jon-corzine-shuttering-his-hedge-fund…
I remember the new verb he helped create to be "corzined"
"When something of value is stolen, and everyone who was in charge of safeguarding the valuable claims ignorance of just about anything. People in charge who confronted with questions about the valuable items usually answer, "I just dont know where it is" or claim that the valuables were "vaporized" when it was their job to know.
This comes from the MF Global scandal, and their CEO Jon Corzine, who stole 1.6 billion dollars of client money testified that he didn't know where the money was or where it went. Several other financial officers of the firm also claim total ignorance of everything and claim the money was "vaporized".
Apparently claiming total ignorance of everything also clears you of all criminal charges as well."
I never followed that one VJ, but seems to be lots of commentary out there on it.
You reckon Dan has resigned so he can have a tilt at PM after potential future turmoil in Fed ALP occurs? Pure speculation right now.
And with the debt levels where they are, do we get our next re-run of the Kirner years down in Vic? More speculation...
Can’t believe Andrews bailed on Victoria only half way through its transition to socialism. He should have done the right thing by the proletariat and seen it through to the bitter end of tyranny and concentration camps..
I'm sure there are a few people in Vic "getting on the beers" tonight.
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Hate these stupid verifications on web sites to see if we are bots 🤬🤬#DanAndrews #Dan #Vicpol #Auspol pic.twitter.com/DHMsIqND2X
— Collin G Wood ⚖️ ⚫️⚪️🐊🇦🇺🇷🇸 (@Collin_G_Wood) September 26, 2023
seems dan andrews might take the prize for most celebrated australian politician people are happy to see the back of...
https://twitter.com/pepedownunder/status/1706559326994022666
VicLocal will be in tears. His beloved leader gone. It'll be a week of mourning for him.........whilst the rest of Vic celebrates.
Hopefully every Victorian that has moved to the GC during covid can make their way back home after hearing this good news.
They all go to QLD add fuel to the overcrowd fire... it's also warm as you go up the west coast... but it's a much more raw surfing experience
sypkan wrote:
seems dan andrews might take the prize for most celebrated australian politician people are happy to see the back of...
https://twitter.com/pepedownunder/status/1706559326994022666
Ha ha
It’s funny how both Dan and McGowan have bolted suddenly mid term.
Seems a bit like they might be seeing some shit rolling down hill .
McGowan for closing the borders to everyone including people trying to be with dying family , yet footy players had an open door.
ETC
Thought I’d post this here - if it’s socialist or communist gsco needs to know about it.
You’d read The Light wouldn’t you gsco and Burleigh?
What is the go with every second 4WD / Ute having a giant rooftop camper permanently affixed? How often do these things get used?
Was chatting to a mate today about it. What do you reckon it adds to the fuel usage, between drag and weight? 10% of a tank? Add in the weight of a hi-lift Jack, set of recovery ramps, obligatory Jerry cans.
Are they just too hard to take on and off?
That's pure covid stimulus on the roof there etarip, shares in ARB did well
And it's one of the reasons we have inflation now
September 25 is now officially to be celebrated annually as Dan's Debt Day by Victorians.
The debt graphs head up steadily over time then seemingly leap into outer space since Lockdown Dan tried for 2 years (and eventually failed) to save Victorians from the "horrors" of covid - which by mid 2020 was known through hard data to create only mild discomfort for 99% of people.
And they voted him back in.....
etarip wrote:
What is the go with every second 4WD / Ute having a giant rooftop camper permanently affixed? How often do these things get used?
Was chatting to a mate today about it. What do you reckon it adds to the fuel usage, between drag and weight? 10% of a tank? Add in the weight of a hi-lift Jack, set of recovery ramps, obligatory Jerry cans.
Are they just too hard to take on and off?
Yep if you don't have all that, plus spotties plus a winch plus two spares on a swing-away rear bar, then you clearly can't be taken seriously as a 4WDer and more importantly, a man.
Rooftop tents are a bit of a hoax, so are fixed modular alloy canopies.
AndyM wrote:
What is the go with every second 4WD / Ute having a giant rooftop camper permanently affixed? How often do these things get used?Was chatting to a mate today about it. What do you reckon it adds to the fuel usage, between drag and weight? 10% of a tank? Add in the weight of a hi-lift Jack, set of recovery ramps, obligatory Jerry cans.
Are they just too hard to take on and off?
Yep if you don't have all that, plus spotties plus a winch plus two spares on a swing-away rear bar, then you clearly can't be taken seriously as a 4WDer and more importantly, a man.
Rooftop tents are a bit of a hoax, so are fixed modular alloy canopies.
You forgot the bright orange clean as a whistle Maxtrax Recovery Tracks mounted in as prominent a position as possible.
gsco wrote:
Can’t believe Andrews bailed on Victoria only half way through its transition to socialism. He should have done the right thing by the proletariat and seen it through to the bitter end of tyranny and concentration camps..
Dude you need to have a good long look at yourself with that kind of impotent fury.
@frog "The debt graphs head up steadily over time then seemingly leap into outer space since Lockdown Dan tried for 2 years (and eventually failed) to save Victorians from the "horrors" of covid - which by mid 2020 was known through hard data to create only mild discomfort for 99% of people."
ABS data released today states covid was the third leading cause of death in 2022 in Australia.
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/causes-death-aust….
I bet the people who died and their families would be comforted by your "only mild discomfort" comment.
Andrews and Victoria didn't fail. They succeeded in knocking it on the head seven times before the vax.
No other jurisdiction in the world did that, not even close. NSW and Berejiklian were the covid failures.
I've lived in Victoria under every premier since Bolte. Good and bad on both sides. Andrews had to win me, I didn't like him at first. I now consider him to be the best Australian leader in my lifetime, state or federal. I hope he has a good break and resumes his political career in Canberra in the coming years, leadership like his is sorely lacking in the federal ALP, and absolutely impossible in the federal LNP.
Don't really care what his opponents think, I've watched the guy in action over a number of years and I think he's a fucken gun and the new Vic. premier has some big shoes to fill.
frog wrote:
September 25 is now officially to be celebrated annually as Dan's Debt Day by Victorians.
The debt graphs head up steadily over time then seemingly leap into outer space since Lockdown Dan tried for 2 years (and eventually failed) to save Victorians from the "horrors" of covid - which by mid 2020 was known through hard data to create only mild discomfort for 99% of people.
And they voted him back in.....
It's such a relief he is gone, but the damage and debt he has left is going to take a long time to recover from.
"All the gear and no idea" applies to many 4wd'ers these days.
Though you left out a few must haves.
You'll need a couple of side awnings to go with the rooftop tent, preferably one of those 270 degree wrap around jobs.
You'll also need a range of UHF aerials mounted on the bullbar.
And don't forget to get 35 inch mud terrain tyres, great for long highway stints.;)
Of course, you will leave those tyres set at 40PSI + , especially when you drive on the beach. And once you've sunk to the chassis, those handy to reach orange max trax will be a saviour. Cos you know what you're doing, that much should be obvious to everyone.
School holidays certainly bring this crew out in big numbers.
indo-dreaming wrote:
September 25 is now officially to be celebrated annually as Dan's Debt Day by Victorians.The debt graphs head up steadily over time then seemingly leap into outer space since Lockdown Dan tried for 2 years (and eventually failed) to save Victorians from the "horrors" of covid - which by mid 2020 was known through hard data to create only mild discomfort for 99% of people.
And they voted him back in.....
It's such a relief he is gone, but the damage and debt he has left is going to take a long time to recover from.
Andrews looked after Victorian nurses… meanwhile most of the vociferous commentariat here seem to be interstaters or blokes who don’t pay there way (but still have the nerve to spruik there own businesses on this forum)
tubeshooter wrote:
"All the gear and no idea" applies to many 4wd'ers these days.
Though you left out a few must haves.
You'll need a couple of side awnings to go with the rooftop tent, preferably one of those 270 degree wrap around jobs.
You'll also need a range of UHF aerials mounted on the bullbar.
And don't forget to get 35 inch mud terrain tyres, great for long highway stints.;)
Of course, you will leave those tyres set at 40PSI + , especially when you drive on the beach. And once you've sunk to the chassis, those handy to reach orange max trax will be a saviour. Cos you know what you're doing, that much should be obvious to everyone.
School holidays certainly bring this crew out in big numbers.
All the gear on so many of them and it's all traction control and independent suspension on the newies so you don't get as much of the axle articulation, less wheels on the ground, more up in the air and crashing down. Lockdown + massive stimulus + offroad still OK = masses of Covid Rigs.
Big bickies compared to the old 2H, hats off to this honest fellow though
and also hats off to this fellow:
re dictator Dan, it's easy to pacify the masses (and win elections) by handing out money and racking up huge debt, but contrary to the hopes and dreams of the MMT worshipping cult, debt and its consequent inflation actually matter, and too much of them has been one of the main causes of the collapse of entire societies and civilisations in history. Just another example of a Labor government thinking economics doesn't matter and/or is in fact the enemy.
adam12 wrote:
@frog "The debt graphs head up steadily over time then seemingly leap into outer space since Lockdown Dan tried for 2 years (and eventually failed) to save Victorians from the "horrors" of covid - which by mid 2020 was known through hard data to create only mild discomfort for 99% of people."
ABS data released today states covid was the third leading cause of death in 2022 in Australia.
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/causes-death-aust….
I bet the people who died and their families would be comforted by your "only mild discomfort" comment.
Andrews and Victoria didn't fail. They succeeded in knocking it on the head seven times before the vax.
No other jurisdiction in the world did that, not even close. NSW and Berejiklian were the covid failures.
I've lived in Victoria under every premier since Bolte. Good and bad on both sides. Andrews had to win me, I didn't like him at first. I now consider him to be the best Australian leader in my lifetime, state or federal. I hope he has a good break and resumes his political career in Canberra in the coming years, leadership like his is sorely lacking in the federal ALP, and absolutely impossible in the federal LNP.
Don't really care what his opponents think, I've watched the guy in action over a number of years and I think he's a fucken gun and the new Vic. premier has some big shoes to fill.
Way back at the start of Covid in early 2020 , the Diamond Princess cruise boat in Japan became an unexpected, but very important, case study of the health implications of Covid with 677 individual testing positive for Covid being able to be studied in isolation. This data was available back in 2020 and has been analysed many times since. It was before the mutations began leading to milder forms dominating in late 2020 - so sort of worst case.
Here are some results:
677 PCR-positive individuals.
- Of these individuals, 377 (55.7%) were symptomatic that means 300 had NO symptoms!
- No cases aged <40 years experienced severe disease.
- No-one below 60 years of age died
- In a sample heavily skewed toward people over 60 only 1.9% died
- if the population composition of the boat had represented that of society as a whole, the likely death would be well below 1% - that is less than a bad flu
The data says - protect the elderly. But no more so than in a flu outbreak. That should have been the dominant policy imperative.
Studies indicate that the cost in terms of mental health, undiagnosed or untreated cancers and heart diseases, debt, inflation, livelihoods and businesses destroyed or saddled with debt etc of the lockdown policy far far outweighed the benefits. These costs roll on and on. Huge debts will burden generations of Victorians.
Excess deaths spiked around the world from 2020 to 2023 well beyond what covid caused. Lockdown disruptions are the cause. Cure worse than disease.
It was a mass psychosis as much as a pandemic.
Leaders should base decision on data and what is best for society as a whole. Good data was available from mid to late 2020 that did not support lockdown. Dan and many other leaders did not act on the emerging data, they stuck to the dominating narrative for some reason.
Anyone who believes the Covid data from the Diamond Princess and, subsequent to that from across the world, justifies society wide lockdown, should then support a similar lockdown every winter during flu season forever. Who is up for that?
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971221012133
"Of course, you will leave those tyres set at 40PSI + , especially when you drive on the beach."
It's one of the modern world's biggest wonders - with a squillion magazines and youtube channels people still haven't got the message about tyre pressures.
Makes me almost piddle with glee when old mate in his massive Patrol gets bogged and I cruise past in my very modest ute complete with torsion bar front end.
But I suppose if everyone dropped down to 16 psi or lower, we couldn't scoff at all that footage coming out of DI Point, Indian Head and Ngkala Rocks :)
Have it cunts