I'm only annoyed that when I was starting out interest rates were 17.5% and we struggled to exist with 2 incomes. Now that we are totally debt free with bags of money the interest rates are down to nearly nothing ........ bring back 17.5% ................
I'll echo that. Same here. Cash rate is s||thouse.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kunama
Really we should ban politics, religion, content of sexual nature and reflectors from all IIS discussions it just leads to trouble.
Seriously guys, lighten up ................ I have been to 39 different countries only to discover that we live in the very best of them, yes times are tough for some and politicians only agree on their own wage rises but we are still in the best country of all.
Sure is. Just a bunch of monkeys at the reins. Not for long though. So we can keep it this way
Originally Posted by Kunama
I'm only annoyed that when I was starting out interest rates were 17.5% and we struggled to exist with 2 incomes. Now that we are totally debt free with bags of money the interest rates are down to nearly nothing ........ bring back 17.5% ................
I've had a vision... Mike likes, visions, so... come Septemeber 14, the Ranga that had the sanga chucked at her will be kicked out of Kirribilli, with her hairdresser... There, a vision... a fortune telling forecast for Australia.
NBN - the LAST thing we need. Peter puts it at 99 on his list, much further on mine. I come from a VERY long line of land holders, farmers, graziers, stockmen. We have properties all around Leyburn, Pittsworth, Monto, Moonford, Biloela and beyond. They could not care LESS about the NBN. No importance whatsoever, compared to the matters of farmers receiving the funding and help required to feed this nation, let alone provide valuable foreign income from surplus. Vision - feed the country rather than feeding a information (read: porn) super highway.
So, our family currently live - DEBT FREE (apart from the $150 I owe Kunama ) - on a copper rim. We cannot get ADSL 2, and struggle with ADSL on some days. Telstra have no plans for the next 4 years to change it. Do I care? NOT ONE BIT!
Yet, I can drive for 5 minutes and arrive on the Bruce Highway (M1) - the major highway through SE-QLD. I will be confronted by a major highway in worse state than many of the roads I have seen and driven on in rural Russia! Let alone consider taking this major route up past Gympie, where this major road becomes a 2 lane highway, with B Doubles, B triples, school buses and cars (and you NEVER see a train!). But, we need a fast information superhighway more importantly.Because that may give vision to people about how pathetic our roads are and why QLD now has the countries HIGHEST car rego prices to fund the repair of the roads that the Federal wont help with... visionary.
Labor is, and always will, pander to the minorities to win their seats. Doesn't take much vision to see where NDIS, NBN and other specifically targeted scams...err...schemes are aimed at. It's not caring for Australia, its vote buying. And the problem is, many Aussies have vision and can see through the shallow agenda through to the real, under-laying VITAL agenda that needs to be fixed before we consider these other trivialities.
I love Australia, and yes, our economy is O...K... but the price of living is abhorrent (I can buy milk, bread, and cheese in Russia STILL for less than I can buy just a loaf of bread here!!! Let alone car prices), rents are outrageous (we own and rent out property and we try to keep it low, but then you face ever-increasing electricity costs... carbon tax.... and water cost and we don't provide them internet ) ), fuel crazy. When I flew for a living, I was being taxed $0.47/$1 earned - the government essentially took half my wage, and then of course, I was not entitled to the NHS, any Centrelink etc, because on PAPER, I earned too much...
Oh, I love Labor vision.... if of course the visionary ideas fail - which they usually do - we are all accused of being short sighted (and it is a common rhetoric!). Sheesh... let's set realistic expectations rather than throw out grandiose plans so that perhaps the visionary DREAMS can become reality by working through them properly and appropriately.
Vision requires fore-thought. Fore-thought requires planning, feasibility study, MONEY, and an agreement by consensus, and the vision that such endeavours can take some time and effort, rather than HERE, NOW.
I have to agree with this ( and Lewis's Vision ) .....why....because it's reality ....nothing but reality....everyday life in Oz.... I'm still trying to find ' Shang-ri-la '....that's my vision....no Redheads or Hairdressers allowed.
Why am I reminded of simians at the zoo throwing their own excrement at each other all the while screeching at the top of their voice how terrible all the other simians are?
Why am I reminded of simians at the zoo throwing their own excrement at each other all the while screeching at the top of their voice how terrible all the other simians are?
Bert
Good on you Bert, I nearly choked on my morning coffee while reading that.
Why am I reminded of simians at the zoo throwing their own excrement at each other all the while screeching at the top of their voice how terrible all the other simians are?
Many years ago I was a young lad and my auntie and boy friend took us to the zoo in Melbourne. It was 1957 and chaperones were all the go. Three young boy nephews were close enough to stop them conducting themselves in an unsavoury manner. They bought us peanuts to feed to the monkeys. They were kissing on a park bench when they were informed that the monkeys were feeding your young charges peanuts! My brothers and I were happily accepting peanuts from the simians through the steel mesh. We had figured they had more than they could eat and we still had our bags of peanuts. I will never forget the glimmering of intelligence that told me 'why do you put us in indeterminate detention?'
I've been sitting back, holding my tongue, haven't even gotten to the last pages of the thread. Some nice discussion, not too much name calling (so far). I have opinions, but I won't air them yet, there are a couple of things I'd like to comment upon before they get lost...
Quote:
Originally Posted by strongmanmike
I think a donkey is still faster than a cow...was good enough for Mary to carry Jesus on. SNIP
Mike, Religion and Politics in a post and the thread hasn't been locked yet, quick call the Pope, it's a miracle!! I, for one, call for the beatification of Mike. Or is that beautification?....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stardrifter_WA
SNIP How about the Middle East; is that better or worse than Australia?
I wouldn't want to live anywhere else really, with the only exception maybe being Canada.
Currently residing in the Middle East, paying $150/month for 512kbps internet, it's f'ing hot, dry, dusty and grey. No the ME is NOT better than Aus.
Canada appears nice on the surface, but really it's just too close to the USA and just too cold. Aus is really in the "Goldilocks zone" I love it, I wish I was there.
What state of politics? That is such a wide ranging statement Lewis, and many have made the same statement.
I have no idea what the state of politics are, not a flaming clue, and I doubt many really do, unless they are an economist, an accountant or a political analyst, or something along those lines. Yes, I could believe everything I hear or read in the news or from other sources, but based on that it is merely hearsay. It is not a source of 'primary information'. It is a 'secondary source' thus must be analysed and research thoroughly to ensure its validity and needs to be checked against the 'primary source', if possible. Have you done this? I sure haven't. There is a major bias and that is that you can get facts to fit your particular argument. I am sure guilty of this, but I do try to keep an open mind, but that isn't always so easy, particularly in the heat of discussion.
Sorry, but you have said this in the thread earlier, but failed back that with any real facts, or sources, and without empirical evidence it is merely conjecture, nothing more. And that is essentially the problem, most people are basically clueless, me included, about the real state of politics and the economy, simply because we are not politicians or work within the political machinery. Nor would I want to.
The only thing I can say for a fact though, my belly is full and I have a roof over my head, and as long as I have that, all is well. I can still pay my bills and that hasn't changed. Things haven't really got any harder. I have spreadsheets, of my monthly budget, going back 15 years or more and these demonstrate that I haven't been going backwards either. Yes, cost of living pressures have risen, but so has my income. Sure I haven't got much further ahead, but I haven't gone backwards either, relatively speaking. So, nothing has really changed.
As for the cost of living, well.......it just isn't free. I don't like paying taxes as much as the next man, but it is one of the two certainties in life. Nothing has really changed there. Do I have control over how those taxes are spent? No I don't, so I am not going to worry about it. What gets done, will get done. Can I change that, well maybe, if I can do something, I do it, regardless whether I make a difference or not. At least I have tried.
I cannot say who is and isn't doing, or will do, a good job, as I lack totally understanding of the countries actual economic or political state of affairs, nor the capability of the politicians concerned. After all, I don't get to see their curriculum vitae. Nor do I actually analyse the state of a our budget, and probably wouldn't understand it anyway, if I did. So I cannot, in good conscience, say anything about an individual that I have no contact with, as all I have is hearsay about their performance. And, furthermore, listening to Question Time isn't any more illuminating either, as our system is based on an adversarial system, that is the Opposition will mostly oppose anything anyway, and later introduce what they oppose.
Without a full understanding of politics and economics, I doubt anyone can make that statements with any real meaning.
I know I will end up with a politician, whether I like them or not. I am not a swinging voter, as I have a definite position based on ideology and not by its characters, which come and go anyway. mI haven't changed that position in 40 years.
Cheers Peter
Last edited by Stardrifter_WA; 17-05-2013 at 03:43 PM.
Canada appears nice on the surface, but really it's just too close to the USA and just too cold. Aus is really in the "Goldilocks zone" I love it, I wish I was there.
Hey Stuart, what's it like playing in the big sandbox? As for Canada, I like the cold better than the heat, any day. Mind you, may not like the idea of snow though.
I have no idea what the state of politics are, not a flaming clue, and I doubt many really do, unless they are an economist,
Cheers Peter
Most mainstream economists don't have a clue either (IMO). They think the debt problem can be solved with more debt. This will drag out the pain for decades instead of getting rid of the debt (pay off or default) and doing a few tough years now.
The greatest danger of dragging out the problem is the creation of a socioeconomic environment conducive to extreme views, as evidenced by the rise of extreme nationalistic groups such as Golden Dawn.
Currently residing in the Middle East, paying $150/month for 512kbps internet, it's f'ing hot, dry, dusty and grey. No the ME is NOT better than Aus.
Canada appears nice on the surface, but really it's just too close to the USA and just too cold. Aus is really in the "Goldilocks zone" I love it, I wish I was there.
Cheers
Stuart
Check out the photos I just took in my "backyard" this afternoon:
Mike, you make a joke of your own terms of service. It states quite clearly what is expected but then again it would appear certain people seem to have the right to extend themselves beyond the TOS agreement, me included at times.
As for the statement I made, completely true. Mike Sidonio is playing the Stooge, he will not be swayed in any direction away from the party line. He has plenty nipping away at him but still doesn't faulter.
Noone else has to read it is a very true point but again is one of the reasons you have a TOS and that is to make it fit for all.
As for my statement only being to incite a reaction, I can't see how making a statement which has been made several times in this thread already suddenly become an incitefull statement.
Sorry if you are offended by my comments Mike or Mike.
Ah Dougie...I thought you had left IIS Anyway, I really appreciate your personal derogatory comments, yet again and it is so nice to hear them Shame, once we were friends (I think?) ah but sigh... then I indictated who I bend toward politically (without name calling and vitriol but mostly exagerated and light hearted humour) and now you (and a few others) hate my guts I noticed comments on my images for example dropped off from a few regulars But hey, I am a big man with a thick skin and do not care one iota.
Please try and keep it real and easy going, much better that way.
Check out the photos I just took in my "backyard" this afternoon:
Well, if it was any more frozen I might even vote for Abbott. As it is I'll just grit my teeth and enjoy the spinach.
PS I heard Rudd on he radio the other day, something that probably didn't get wide coverage, speaking at the opening of a writers festival or some such thing. He reckons he's just finished a children's fantasy book 'The excruciating death of the red witch and the return of the golded-haired king'. Like he said - fantasy.
politics, religion and sport should not be argued because we all have varying opinions, preferences, beliefs, really nothing worth losing sleep over and besides
Just a bunch of monkeys at the reins. Not for long though. So we can keep it this way 
Anyway, I really appreciate your personal derogatory comments, yet again and it is so nice to hear them 
Shame, once we were friends (I think?) ah but sigh... then I indictated who I bend toward politically (without name calling and vitriol but mostly exagerated and light hearted humour) and now you (and a few others) hate my guts 
I noticed comments on my images for example dropped off from a few regulars 
...so I'll stop 
