Apparently, if not for some espionage & subterfuge, Australia's European settlers could have come from France & not Britain...The British colonising fleet arrived in Botany Bay only a few days before 2 French ships turned up with the same idea. They had been delayed looking for some fabled 'treasure' islands that featured on a map of the South ( Read more... )

Well, it's 7pm on the 12th of March, here in Australia & I can still read & post on LJ ( Read more... )

You can always count on the Balkan states to give the Middle East a run for its money in the 'Most Likely To Kick Off A Tribal War' sweepstakes... The Serbs hate the Bosnians, who hate the Herzegovinians... they all hate the Croatians & Slovenians & the Macedonians don't even like each other!! And things only get more complicated when Bulgaria gets ( Read more... )

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'Impeachment II - The Insurrection' seems destined to return the same, disappointing numbers the first one did. Not that it's either surprising, or really important any more - just another portrait of a Party & probably a system that's more about personal gain & power, than it is about governing a country. The last 4 years only served to reveal to ( Read more... )

It may take a while to increase the average IQ of the US Senate, after 4 years of alternative facts, fake news, conspiracy theories & policy-by-Twitter

Example A: Sen. Ted Cruz tweeting about the USA re-joining the Paris Agreement Your man is either blissfully, or wilfully ignorant, or that's what he thinks his supporters are... & should continue to ( Read more... )

Was he the monster, or was he just the public face of it? Will it make things better, worse, or pretty much the same, now he's been removed from the top job. We've all seen what's behind the curtain of misty-eyed 'land of the free, home of the brave, beacon of democracy, bring me your tired etc...' now - There's a racist, bigoted, sexist, ( Read more... )

I'm still holding off on my own, personal, year-in-review, as I won't believe it's over until the clock hits 12.01am just under 2 weeks from now. But the Sydney Morning Herald's Peter Hartcher has chanced his arm & opts for praising, with faint damns...

( 5 Australian Lessons From 2020 )

Give it up, you orange buffoon. You lost. It's over. Get out

No matter how many baseless claims of electoral 'fraud' you make, the 'real' world is able to effortlessly refute them. And now you're getting desperate - claiming voting machines are owned by the Democrats & the Venezuelan government?!?!?!?!?!? Even your (hair)- dyed-in-the-wool clueless ( Read more... )

I haven't been posting about politics for a while, but that doesn't mean I haven't been watching... & watching is about all I can do

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade has issued a warning about not visiting the USA, due to potential violence around the election. I note from the article that many Walmart stores are removing guns & ( Read more... )