Ozi

As I said, it's not my intention to buy into US domestic politics and I only suggested some wider thinking when analysing other countries and the history behind their current status. However, I can't accept the terminology of communist totalitarianism, they are two totally different concepts. North Korea is not a communist totalitarian state, it's just a totalitarian state. China is not a communist totalitarian state, it was totalitarian state under Mao Zedong, it's now a communist, or more accurately, authoritarian state. No one ever considered Iraq communist, but under Saddam Hussein, it's was a totalitarian state. As for confusing socialism and communism, once you remove the word totalitarian, that's not hard to do. Both want to control production, the key difference is how they divide the spoils. Socialism will eventually mutate into it's big brother, communism, as soon as a few people decide they want more than just their fair share under socialism. Either way, ultimately you take away peoples rights, freedom, property, incentive, turn them into The Borg, which is neither socialist or communist, but totalitarian. Want a classic example of media propaganda, government interference, all based around power, oil, gas and ideology? The war in the Ukraine. As far as the majority of people in the eastern Ukraine are concerned, they are Russian and don't want to be anything else.

I am not going to buy into this debate about American domestic politics because I really don’t know enough about it and it really is a pointless exercise in this forum. However, I will provide some food for thought for those truly interested in current (post WWII) world politics. It must be remembered that the US is probably the only country that came out of WWll unscathed financially and they have been using that financial power to control and dictate many, many world events. You need to first understand this involvement, interference and to some degree quasi dictatorship of many nations. To name a few: • Check out the Truman Doctrine; • How poor or bleak would Russia be today without the sanctions imposed against Russia and their allies in 1948; • American financial support after the war to Greece and Turkey, which not only led to a change in government in Greece, but the removal of a Monarch; • Who knows what the middle-east would look like now if Eisenhower didn’t enforce sanctions against their own allies, France, Great Britain and Israel, stopping the invasion of Egypt in 1956 during the Suez Crisis; • Were sanctions really necessary against Cuba after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991? Only if you wanted to protect the 25 electoral votes coming out of Florida. Based on what’s actually happening now, did it really change or achieve anything except keeping the poor peasant population poorer; • The US led embargo of products from Rhodesia in 1968? How different would Africa look today? The list is endless, it involves almost every country in every continent and you need to understand at least some of it before you can judge what’s good, what’s bad and what’s ugly, or whose right and whose wrong.

Probably explains why I can't find a traditional recipe 'that I like', hers was likely an Aussie version. We had a State Premiere, Joh Bjelke-Peterson, who's wife was famous for her pumpkin scones. He was mostly remembered for running a police state, including a Minister for Police who said he couldn't see what all the fuss was about, after all, he was running the police department at a profit! Visited Queensland a few times, never met one person who would admit to voting for Joh, but he was Premier of the State from 8 August 1968 – 1 December 1987, a bloody good run by anyone's standards.

Last time I had a really good Yorkshire pudding, it was Christmas dinner at friends place. Coincidently, they had not long returned from a posting to the US so it was my first exposure to pumpkin pie, which I think is normally served at thanksgiving. Loved it and still looking for a traditional recipe.

Aussie Christmas dinner focuses around seafood, especially big, juicy prawns and crayfish on the barbecue. I always add a turkey roll, easier to cook and carve with no waste and it's nice cold, plus a good quality ham. Other than that, good quality salad, avocado, tomatoes etc. Far too hot for the usual roast dinner. Most of Australia is currently in a heatwave with many bush fires, except up north with a cyclone brewing and flash flooding. Will stretch to a good old fashioned Christmas pudding, with a very hard to get double thickened cream flavoured with Baileys Irish Cream.

Let's all spare a thought for the families and friends of the six US airmen killed in Afghanistan. There are still almost 10,000 U.S. troops and an estimated 4,000 NATO troops still currently deployed to Afghanistan. How many more of our soldiers are we going to lose?

Edit: Apologies if this has been posted before.

FOR FUCKS SAKE AND YOUR OWN SANITY, GIVE IT AWAY. WE JOKE ABOUT IT OFTEN ENOUGH BUT SOME OF YOU HAVE SOME SERIOUS MENTAL ISSUES IF YOU CAN'T JUST LET THIS GO. GET A FUCKING LIFE OR GET SOME STRONGER MEDICATION.

???

Only if it's full of people from the mainland. We have the highest unemployment rates, the lowest incomes, languishing investment, the lowest home prices, the least educated, the lowest literacy, the most chronic diseases, the poorest longevity, the most likely to smoke, the greatest obesity, the highest rates of teenage pregnancy, the highest petty crime and the worst rates of domestic violence, so we don't want any of those fucking mainlanders contaminating our gene pool!

My sincere apologies Foamy, I'm sure if you don't deserve one now you soon will, there's always some fuckers out there, including me, that will rock that small boat, maybe even capsize it occasionally.

What, none of you fuckwits can find her? I could find her if I wanted to, that's related to what I do, what my team does, but I won't because I'm not into stalking. Bet I could find you. Wouldn't that be an awesome sensation, knowing there's a bunch of crazy fuckers out there watching every move you make.

Careful Foamy, don't make me open up Pandora's Box. I have stuff that could destroy reputations. Want proof? That's certainly not Pepe's wife. In fact, would that be considered interracial or beastiality? And who's this Mrs Foamy caught you with? Didn't know squirrel jizz was green.

Mate, stay on topic. After 1635 posts you must be aware there's a thread for jokes. Hint, they need to be funny not stupid.

I think anybody on cc with even half a brain already knows Leora is an exhibitionist, not a wannabe porn star. Try watching some quality porn and you'll see some of them have real orgasms. As for making statements like slam it hard right in her pooper, you are right, my mistake, you're not a hero, just a fucking wanker, who knows nothing about women and wouldn't have a fucking clue how to treat one.

So you know all about women and how they orgasm? And yeah, slam it in real hard. Wow, what a fucking hero.

I know many people will find this hard to believe, but I’ve reviewed hours and hours of footage and I’m convinced that Huey, Dewey and Louie are not Donald’s nephew’s but Daisy’s children from an adulteress relationship she was having with Donald’s cousin Gus. If you look closely, you can see a real likeness in the kid’s features and similar colourings, white feathers, orange beaks and black eyes. The story was made up to save further embarrassment for the Disney group. There had already been rumours that Daisy had been having it away with Gladstone Gander. It’s no coincidence that when April, May and June Duck turn up at family functions, always explained away as Daisy’s nieces, there are never any parents around. Just one look at the family resemblance to Daisy, and the way she fusses around them, the maternal instincts are very strong. But don’t think Donald is an angel, he always flirts with Belle Duck and has spent many nights and weekends alone with her on Scrooge McDucks riverboat. I think he knows what’s going on but happy to play sugar daddy as long as he gets a leg over Belle once and awhile. Oh sorry, I thought this thread was about fairy tales. My mistake.

Can't claim credit for the content. Was doing some research into the two pipelines and discovered this little gem, which summarised the issue, hidden away in the dark recesses of the local internet news, so I left it intact. Almost hidden from view, if it had been in one of the tabloids, you would probably have found it tucked away between food and fashion.

K & K? Nora? 2016 is just around the corner, lets hope everyone finally moves on.

THE Syrian war often seems like a big confusing mess but one factor that is not often mentioned could be the key to unlocking the conflict. Some experts have pointed out that many of the key players have one thing in common: a billion-dollar gas pipeline. Factor in this detail and suddenly the war begins to make more sense, here’s how it works: IT’S THE GAS, STUPID Many have questioned why Russia became involved in the Syrian war but often overlook the fight over natural gas. As Harvard Professor Mitchell A Orenstein and George Romer wrote last month inForeign Affairs, Russia currently supplies Europe with a quarter of the gas it uses for heating, cooking, fuel and other activities. In fact 80 per cent of the gas that Russian state-controlled company Gazprom produces is sold to Europe, so maintaining this crucial market is very important. But Europe doesn’t like being so reliant on Russia for fuel and has been trying to reduce its dependence. It’s a move that is supported by the United States as it would weaken Russian influence over Europe. This has not gone down well with Russia, which uses its power over gas as political leverage and has a history of cutting off supply to countries during conflicts. It has even gone to war in Georgia and Ukraine to disrupt plans to export gas from other parts of the Middle East. As David Dalton, the editor of the Economist Intelligence Unit, told The New York Times: “Russia has always used gas as an instrument of influence. The more you owe Gazprom, the more they think they can turn the screws.” Much of Russia’s power comes from established pipelines used to transport gas to Europe cheaply. But other countries are now trying to get around Russia and provide new sources of gas to Europe. Last year US President Barack Obama spoke openly about the need for Europe to reduce its reliance on Russian gas following the conflict in Ukraine. The US also wants to use its own natural gas supply, recently developed through fracking, to undercut Russian supply. But it will be years before the US will be in a position to ship this overseas. The US is not the only country trying to outmanoeuvre Russia, and this is where the role of Syria becomes more important. TWO NEW PIPELINES Before the civil war, two competing pipelines put forward by Qatar and Iran aimed to transport gas to Europe through Syria. Qatar’s plans were first put forward in 2009 and involved building a pipeline from the Persian Gulf via Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey. The gas field located 3000 metres below the floor of the Persian Gulf is the largest natural gas field in the world. Qatar owns about two-thirds of the resource but can’t capitalise on it fully because it relies on tankers to deliver it to other countries and this makes its gas more expensive than Russia’s. It was hoped the pipeline would provide cheaper access to Europe but Syrian President Bashar al Assad refused to give permission for the pipeline to go through his territory. Some believe Russia pressured him to reject the pipeline to safeguard its own business. The proposed gas pipeline from Qatar via Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey to Europe.Source:Supplied In the meantime Iran, which owns the other smaller, share of the Persian Gulf gas field, decided to lodge its own rival plan for a $10 billion pipeline to Europe via Iraq and Syria and then under the Mediterranean Sea. Pipeline from Iran via Iraq and Syria to Europe.Source:Supplied These plans apparently had Russia’s blessing, possibly because it could exert more influence over Iran, which, unlike Qatar, did not host a US air base. Assad signed off on the Iran plan in 2012 and it was due to be completed in 2016 but it was ultimately delayed because of the Arab Spring and the civil war. Many countries supporting or opposing the war against Assad have links to these pipeline plans. Failed pipeline bidder Qatar is believed to have funded anti-Assad rebel groups by $3 billion between 2011 and 2013. Saudi Arabia has also been accused of funding the terrorist group. In contrast Orenstein and Romer noted the successful pipeline bidder, Iran, was believed to be helping Assad by running the Syrian army, supplying it with weapons and even troops. Major Rob Taylor, an instructor at the US Army’s Command and General Staff College wrote in the Armed Forces Journal last year that the rival pipelines could be influencing the conflict in Syria. “Viewed through a geopolitical and economic lens, the conflict in Syria is not a civil war, but the result of larger international players positioning themselves on the geopolitical chessboard in preparation for the opening of the pipeline,” he noted. Just as the 2003 Iraq War has been linked to oil in the Persian Gulf, Syria may turn out to be all about gas. WHY DOES TURKEY CARE? One of the countries that has a lot to gain from getting rid of Assad is Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been vocal in calling for the Syrian President to step down and has also been accused of helping Islamic State, something it has rejected. While Turkey could have other reasons for supporting the rebels in Syria, such as Assad’s support for the Kurds, Harvard University Professor Orenstein told news.com.au that gas would definitely be one reason it was opposing the regime. Turkey, which stands at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, is an aspiring member of the European Union, and some consider it to be the best option for facilitating the movement of gas supplies from the Middle East to Europe. As a hub, Turkey would benefit from transit fees and other energy-generated revenues. It could also insure, with US support, that all gas suppliers in the Middle East could freely export their product. Qatar’s plans put Turkey at the centre of its plan. As one of the countries relying on Russia for gas, freeing it from this dependence would be an added bonus. But none of this can be realised if the pipeline bypasses Turkey and if Assad becomes instrumental in approving an alternative that does not involve it. Now that Russia is stepping in to help the Assad regime in Syria — possibly to protect its own dominance in the gas market — Turkey is facing a formidable barrier to its aspirations. When Turkey downed a Russian plane earlier this month, some speculated it may want to weaken any potential co-operation between Russia and the US which could see Assad continue his leadership. Russia’s motives for its air strikes have also been questioned. CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton, a retired air force colonel, noting that its bombing of Islamic State extremists seemed to have hit Turkmen in northern Syria, who had strong ties to the Turkish government. Prof Orenstein said the competition over natural gas could ultimately prevent co-operation between the two world powers on fighting Islamic State. “I doubt there is much basis for US-Russia co-operation due to opposite interests in gas issues and Iran,” he told news.com.au But despite fears that the world is facing a new Cold War, Prof Orenstein believes it’s more of a “free for all”, with the fight over natural gas acting as just another fuel.

No you don't.

Australia is the second largest producer of iron ore in the world, second only to China. At its peak it was fetching $150+ per tonne, with a break even for most companies of around $90 per tonne. Companies grew and employed many more staff. Being mined in remote locations, many workers were fly in fly out, working varying rosters, like 3 weeks on and 1 week off. The unions soon took hold of the work sites, closed shops so no non members allowed, screwing higher and higher benefits from the mining companies. As an example, a cleaner in 2013, low education and no real skills, other than being able to use a mop and bucket, was on an average annual income in excess of $90,000. With not much to do outside hours the guys would often drink, the females would go to the gym. On their week off they would fly home, spending up big, like a pair of $280 Nike runners for the girls who would trash them within a couple of months. The managers of the stores that sold the footwear, many years in the industry were on about $45,000 in comparison, their staff even less. Not everyone can be a cleaner at a mine site, there's only so many of those jobs. Jump forward to 2015, iron ore is about $45 per tonne. China used to be our biggest customer, but produce much more than us now and have been stockpiling it so don't buy much anymore. The mines can't sustain the overheads, especially on less than break even income, but the good old workers still want their six figure salaries and the unions won't compromise. A comfortable wage is better than no wage, well not according to the unions. Mines close, people get laid off. In the meantime, the cleaner still wants her lifestyle, still wants her $280 Nike runners. Initially she stops buying them from the shoe store, instead buying them on the internet for $140 a pair. Bear in mind, the guy selling on the internet doesn't employ many, if any staff. If he does employ staff, unlike Australia, he doesn't provide them with lunch and tea breaks, pay them award wages, sick leave, annual leave, public holidays, long service leave, penalty rates for weekends. Nor does he pay compulsory worker's compensation insurance should his staff have an accident on the job, or pay any taxes to the government. So now the government not only doesn't receive royalties from the mines, it misses out on personal and business taxes. Sales at the store now drop to a level where they can no longer afford staff, so lay people off. Now our cleaner has spent all her redundancy money and can't even afford the discounted Nike runners, but wants to maintain the image, so starts buying $25 knock off look alikes, which feeds the Asian sweat shops, but kills Nike sales, so they lay off staff. In the meantime, the banks want their interest and repayments from the mines they have loaned so much money to but it's not forthcoming. To satisfy their shareholders, they look to their investments to boost their dividend payments, mainly commercial property like retail. But sadly, our cleaner no longer buys her $280 Nike runners and the other niceties that go with them, so many shops are closing, the retail properties aren't returning any investments either. But don't stress, the banks always have an ace up their sleeve, their customers. Even our now destitute, unemployed cleaner still has to have a bank to deposit her welfare cheques, so even she still remains a source of income for the bank. Read all your fancy financial reports on global economies, blame the high paid executives all you want, then maybe look at the facts. None of that has any meaning if you don't understand the micro economics that are going on around you. The unions used to be a valuable asset but sadly they took it too far. Australia is on the brink of a recession, as a country we, like America, are trading in the red. They are about to announce huge improvements to the economy this week. No increase in taxes, just cuts in spending. That can only mean reducing funding to schools, hospitals, pensioners and probably defence. But we are not using those savings to reduce debt, it's going to cover significant costs we have committed to like the extra 12,000 refugees we just accepted. Yeah, fuck the pensioners. The true evil is staring you in the face. Despite all this doom and gloom Australia's top four banks are STILL posting record profits, year after year after year, some of the biggest to date in 2015. And for the record, the cleaner was a bridesmaid at my daughter's wedding, her and her family have been our friends for years. The store manager is my previous Commanding Officer's wife. As for the unions, I was a shop steward in my late 20s early 30s and a card carrying member of the Labour Party, closest thing you could join to a Communist Party without being branded a traitor. And yes, during the Uniroyal purchase.