People who post on this platform but then block the ability for anyone to reply are simply cowards. To publish an opinion but refuse to discuss or defend that opinion is cowardly. I think it best for us all to block or mute such accounts so their useless opinions are made redundant.

Trump just slapped huge tariffs on Australian pharmaceuticals and the Coalition’s response is “disappointed.” These people scream about sovereignty when it’s China, but bow and mumble when it’s Trump. No principles. No strategy. Just submission #auspol

I think they call him the former chief medical officer because he is the former chief medical officer.

If only these protests actually produced results.

I haven’t seen any “brand” or single “logo” being attributed to the “Resistance” in America. If this loose confederation can’t even decide on a unifying symbol for their actions, there is practically no ability to unite people behind the ideas making up the “resistance”. Get a brand and get started!

If you use the word “must” a lot or “if only”…. care is required not to develop into a bigot…a person who is obstinately attached to a belief, or opinion,especially one who is prejudiced against or antagonistic towards a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group.

I’m no fan of our PM but I think the closure of this office could also be seen as being responsive to his neighbours. Continued protests outside his office could well have made life difficult for the surrounding outlets and this could be a sensitive reaction to those outlets. Maybe?

“The more partisan the individual and the issue they are evaluating , the more directional their reasoning will be. They weigh evidence more heavily if it supports their partisan identity. They will dismiss evidence that is against the party line”..The Skeptics Guide to the Universe - Steven Novella

How good is your memory? And how confident are you of its accuracy? We all (the generalisation is deliberate) have seriously faulty long term memories. What we think we remember, often with great clarity, are usually, at least partially, untrue.

I have the great misfortune to live on a street with parks at either end. It is a thoroughfare for dog owners to walk their charges in either direction at all hours of the day. And dog owners and their sense of responsibility for cleaning up after their dogs seem incompatible. Why is this so?

A thought: if we reframe gambling ads as incitement to problem gamblers to self harm would we have more possibility to curb these ads? So a straw man (self harm) is constructed to gain approval and the phrasing would be such that the definition of “self harm” would capture gambling ads.

Very pretty. The framing is interesting and invites one in.

That’s the lure that keeps gamblers on the hook. Every loss is a “could have” won and every win, no matter how small, is an omen of big things to come.

This post highlights a salient fact. To those with belief in something, attacking it simply excites their defences and they double down on that belief. To overcome their stance, one has to find ways to combat without directly attacking them. Reframe one’s criticism into inclusive language.

The competition to be the most obsequious is truly sickening to watch. To see grown adults debasing themselves so publicly to gain favour from a buffoon is appalling.

The gentle pastels blend well with the reflected scene in the water. This person has a really good eye for colour and composition.

The restriction of comments or quotes on one’s post is becoming too prevalent on this platform. Are people now too “sensitive” to allow comments? Are egos now to prone to damage? This is supposed to be a public forum but restricting replies destroys that. It becomes a bullhorn for one’s opinions.

What is patriotism? Why do you love your country? Is it familiarity, is it that you agree with the common mindset of the population? Is it that you know little in depth of other countries? Is it that you can’t imagine a better place to live? Is it you have never known an alternative?

The arrival of troops from red states in blue states is horribly reminiscent of Union troops moving into Virginia at the start of the Civil War. When asked why he fought, a Confederate was reported as saying “because you’re here”. The same should apply in the blue states.

I waged a minor war on the ABC 7.00 pm Victorian TV news during last year and earlier this year to try and get them to reconcile the temperatures shown on their Aust weather map with those announced in the main bulletin. They always differed . This seemed like incompetence. 1/2

Went to Collingwood-Melbourne (AFL) match at the MCG last night. As a supporter of Collingwood for 68 years I have to admit I think their finals success chances are pretty slim. Not even slightly convincing but it was a win. However, I foresee a very short finals series for the Magpies.

“Women who are assertive, dominant, and independent face the most (work) harassment, particularly in male dominated organisations”….Adam Grant

More on Adam Grant: Think of a political figure (not the buffoon) you don’t like. Now list 12 things you don’t like specifically about that person. Was it easy? Did you run out of ideas part the way through? After completing the list has your opinion of that person changed at all?

Another quote from Adam Grant’s “Originals”…….”Focus groups are set up to make the same mistakes as managers”. “As we gain knowledge about a domain, we become prisoners of our prototypes.”

Izak Rankine gets four weeks suspension for his homophobic slur. Brilliant! Eventually these yobbos who also play football will realise that their pathetic attacks on others will have serious consequences. If Adelaide make the Grand Final he will play in none of the finals including the Grand Final

Reading “Originals” by Adam Grant. One of the earliest gems is that, to really succeed as an entrepreneur, quantity is more valuable than quality. If one spews forth a wide range of ideas, one is more likely to find a successful one than trying for the “perfect” one.

The sound track of this should be played LOUDLY by every worthwhile journalist at every press conference the White House or any of the buffoon’s minions call.

When one does a really stupid thing and it has serious consequences what does one do next? In America, one sues somebody to prove to oneself that it was not one’s own rank stupidity that caused the problem. The one thing one never thinks of is to take responsibility for one’s own actions.

The one thing that disturbs the enjoyment of reading library books is the propensity some ignorant armpits have of annotating the text. This is vandalism and rude in the extreme. How dare you deface public property for your own stupid needs.

The AGE, my local non-Murdoch news source, has an article with the headline “As Trump plays ‘chess game’ with Putin, many Alaskans aren’t happy”. If this journalist believes the buffoon is capable of playing chess in any way, he’s an idiot.

“Properly parent” is a really subjective phrase. One of those that the definition changes from person to person.

It seems to be an inherent part of our nature to react to another’s stories of loss, discovery, anxiety, depression etc by relating them to ourselves. This relating helps us classify these stories. In doing so, we then verbalise whatever knowledge we have that we would use ourselves to cope.

The dumbing down of America continues apace.

One of the fascinating things for an outside observer is to see how poorly most political posts here age. Often, by the time they appear on my timeline, they have already been rescinded, altered, extended or changed.

$80 “try on” fees for a wedding dress???? I know weddings have become the great rip-off in society but that’s absurd. Have we totally lost our marbles as a society?

Only in America

And redesigning the flag with odd numbers would be really tricky.

All of these people will be gone by April next year. They will be replaced by operatives from the Heritage Foundation. They, like the buffoon, are the “useful idiots” required to fill the high profile places until those places are eliminated or disgraced.

Anyone looking for evidence of a fully fledged coup occurring in America simply has to observe what happens in Washington D.C.

This is a weak attempt at humour. It is suggesting you do a really stupid thing for the amusement of someone devoid of a sense of responsibility. Don’t follow this advice, it could make you seriously ill. It should be flagged as sarcastic or intended to be humorous.

Weasel words: a word or phrase aimed at creating an impression that something specific and meaningful has been said, when in fact only a vague, ambiguous, or irrelevant claim has been communicated. Wikipedia

237 journalists murdered by the IDF. What a statistic to be proud of. Just so they can try to cover up the murder of Vivian’s, the bombing if hospitals and all the other crimes they expected the world to shame the Nazis for. What a disgusting regime. And silence from the world’s journos!

If the hostages were released, how many would desert the streets because they really couldn’t care less about the Palestinians?

That’s remarkable. And the flood of Vietnamese into the country only happened…….50 years ago. The AFL really have their collective fingers on the pulse! /s

He is surely the poster boy for witless announcements made as though he is announcing the start of WWIII. He is a bore and an ignoramus.

One of our biggest problems is the housing market. Whenever I ask for ideas I get grand, sweeping statements that would cost millions and probably never be implemented. I’m looking to rephrase the question. What is a better, more practical way that we can implement locally in each suburb?

If this works, and I fail to see why it won’t, it’s a brilliant idea!

Writing a post about spanking your daughter and then bragging she went to to a successful career but not allowing any interaction with that post, seems to indicate the writer is a coward. If you make statements but won’t defend them, you are pretty worthless.

If they had any visceral reaction, I’m pretty sure it would have been of revulsion. Demonstrations don’t elicit fear or panic in believers, they simply reinforce the already deeply held convictions. It’s government who would likely react with fear, fear of losing seats.