nigel99

And high quality news source Fox News fell for an onion headline that they had 4 trillion daily visitors https://x.com/oneunderscore__/status/1857133932351004828 Got to love MAGA maths

I was thinking similar, or one of the big gear stores (like Chutingstar)

It’s the land of no personal responsibility. If they can regulate it they will. Keep sweeping things under the rug and eventually the rug breaks.

I think it’s a great summary of the situation. Now that the US election is over Aussie news has become more internally focused. We have a rising far right problem with neo nazis. Last year Victoria passed a law that carries a 12 month jail sentence for the nazi salute in public. My gut says this is the wrong approach (admittedly I am against laws enforcing moral principles and against prison sentences for many types of crime)

When you elect a reality tv host as president and someone obsessed with ratings, you get a reality tv cast.

There is a process that Trump has in mind. It’s beautifully simple and straight out of the Department of Gov Efficiency

https://youtu.be/14S0JHnXhn8?si=-x5vMyZYNRd0qy6j This Aussie comedian is great and does a lot of social experiment comedy.

I wonder if the world’s richest man will think his companies still need gov subsidies and lucrative contract's?

In case there’s any doubt I think DEI is a good thing. I wasn’t implying that it shouldn’t be in place.

The biggest challenge with DEI initiatives is that good intentions go awry. It’s the same with any KPI and not unique to this challenge. Sometime around the early 2000’s in the UK it became common practice to not include photos (and possibly names) on CV’s for job applicants. This at least made the first step in recruitment blind to race and gender (and possibly fat shaming etc). Prejudice is so ingrained in humans that it is very difficult to break. I’m not sure if it’s changed much but in electronic engineering firms around Cambridge (UK), if you didn’t come from a Cambridge Uni it was next to impossible to get a job. If I understand Wendy correctly, I agree with her. The loudest anti DEI voices are often people who are effectively DEI hires themselves.

I thought prior to Trump most pardons were for some of the insane US sentencing practices. Like over 10 years for a bit of pot? If that is the case I can see high numbers of pardons. The US has a two tier justice system. I think TK and I bumped heads over this about 6 months ago. When the rich and famous like Trump get away with crimes, you don’t have a functional justice system that is ‘the envy of the world’

Why is it that some people either have continuous bad luck/accidents and the like and others lead a charmed life? I’m not talking about being born with a disability or winning the lottery, but rather a life long bias in a certain direction. Within my direct family it spans from living in a UK council house and lots of shitty things for that person, through to being worth over a billion dollars (and Joe before you hit me up for dz.com I’m closer to the council estate than the private jet). Take Elon Musk as a prime example. He’s not that clever, in fact he’s socially awkward and not all that bright. Yet he has gone from relatively little to being one of the richest and most influential people on earth. Trump is the same. I can see how Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs ‘won the lottery’ and were bright and in the right place at the right time. It’s surprising how often in my life I’ve taken a course of action that has then become invaluable in unforeseen ways years down the line. At the other end of the scale there are people who appear to have drawn the short straw and no matter how much they try life just beats them down. Of course life choices influence us. To quote the bible ‘you reap what you sow’. I don’t believe in predestination and that your life path is essentially laid out for you. On the other hand it feels like there is more to life than random chance. Maybe I’m falling foul of the gamblers fallacy. This shower thought is brought to you from sleep deprived musings on the meaning of life…

Easily my mistake. If that is all it is then like Joe I’m happy to throw in a once off donation. Bearing in mind there are the mods who give a lot of time. Maybe Bill or Wendy can clarify? If it is the case then I suggest we start up a go fund me (I don’t know how it’s done). In fact I would support that regardless of outcome as a thank you. As Bill has pointed out this is the most actively posted in forum - but the true value is in the skydiving forums that are the most comprehensive source of skydiving knowledge anywhere

Pretty sure in Bonfire Sangiro said operating costs are $3k a month

I wonder if Comical Ali can become press secretary?

I generally look for a few qualities in people to employ. Integrity, competence and character. Putting a guy in charge of the legal system who has an ethics complaint that even the spineless republicans would not wipe away. Invalidates any competence he may or may not have. As an atheist I don’t follow the biblical model of promoting rapists and murderers to high office.

You guys are going to need Jesus to get through this. Let’s just hope the late great Hannibal Lecter isn’t given a cabinet position. America has taken the crown as the leader of Banana republic’s.

I thought you were joking. I guess he’s the right pick for AG if you want to lower the age of consent

https://youtu.be/H_JoE2GioXY?si=VKE5Wt8ppF47xseO You mean Family Guy is a documentary?

https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/japan/japan-naoki-hyakuta-remarks-conservative-party-b2644795.html On medical treatment and women. Japan conservative floated the idea of mandatory hysterectomies for women over 30!

You sure did. it’s on the coverslip of the Trump bible just above his signature

If god looks at my heart and not my actions. I assume that I am predestined for heaven or hell? So what stops me from living a life of debauchery and making the most of my time here?

Back to the topic. There has been an unbelievable surge in misogynistic posts. Talk about the American Taliban. It seems the world has suddenly got permission to beat on women.

The autism argument is alive and well. Although I recently came across a new twist- there’s a new fad of mothers here giving toddlers THC as an alternative to vaccines (THC not CBD)

I had forgotten that. It’s fascinating how I was brought up that atheists had no moral compass. 40 years later I’m an atheist discussing with a Christian who is defending a person of no moral compass. i can’t even begin to understand Christian morality.