I think Australia's defence establishment is fighting the last war and has failed to learn lessons from conflicts like Ukraine. The strategic env. calls for neutral foreign policy, cheap, mass-produced drones made in Australia and rapid electrification to end reliance on imported oil, gas coal.

Remind me, how much is being spent on AUKUS and defence to meet the demands of a foreign leader again?

Update: I was too tired.
Probably

Why yes, that is a copy of Agatha Christie's 'The unexpected guest ' in my last post. It's pretty good, despite the book-of-the-play thing

(forget what was wrong with the textbook, but they had it coming)

A Chiuahua next to a paperback of Agatha Christie's 'The unexpected guest ' with some reading glasses on it

Good morning, especially to anyone else who has awoken from a dream about writing a complaint to an EAL textbook manufacturer then walked a Chiuahua

Selective incrementalism

Either I'm too tired, someone's stolen my car or both.

How will history regard the Albanese government? On turning a blind eye to war crimes in Iran, Gaza and Lebanon

Is there any moral limit to what Israel or the US could do, any war crime that goes too far, for Australia to place conditions on our loyalty? It seems there are no red lines.
New:

Should wild deer be protected or declared a pest? | 7.30 YouTube video by ABC News In-depth

A disgrace. Experts have explained why deer should be a declared pest, that should be controlled & where possible eradicated. This was ignored & deer remain *protected*. Shame on Victorian Labor.

Putting the hunting lobby before agriculture, road safety, & the environment!

youtu.be/fLFfRwDCiB4?...

Exclusive: University of Queensland scraps Indigenous children’s book, citing controversial anti-Semitism policy The University of Queensland has decided to pulp all 5,000 copies of a children’s picture book written by an Indigenous poet, after media queries from News Corp’s _The Australian_ newspaper that levelled accusations of anti-Semitism against the book’s illustrator. It’s a decision that also marks the first time a controversial definition of anti-Semitism, adopted by Australia’s universities last year, has been cited as the basis of a book cancellation. _Bila, a river cycle_ , was written by award-winning Wiradjuri poet Jazz Money and illustrated by Matt Chun. It’s an environmentally-focused book that tells the story of a river’s journey from mountain to sea and the people who pollute the waterways. Money and Chun began work on the book in 2022 and it was due for release this year. Jazz Money, the author of __Bila, a river cycle.__ In January this year, Dymocks announced that it was removing all of Chun’s books from its stores after he wrote an article titled “We don’t mourn fascists” in the aftermath of the Bondi terror attack. After the Dymocks announcement, _The Australian_ approached University of Queensland Press (UQP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University of Queensland, to ask about _Bila._ The chair of UQP, Professor Heather Zwicker, told the newspaper that the publisher had, “put the proposed publication on hold pending the outcome of an internal review and external legal processes underway,” effectively suspending its publication. ### This post is for subscribers only Become a member to get access to all content Subscribe now

The book's author has described the decision to pulp all 5,000 copies of the book as reckless and disrespectful, and says it "sets a chilling standard".

I did that last year, it's a terrific feeling. Wasn't too hard

WAR FIGHTER's body, WAR FIGHTER's choice

Dunno what's fully sick* in your life, but just now the ridiculously overpowered laptop I got from WA's Metabox is fully sick. I'm doing some work on it in an airport while Mark Butler blathers away on a distant tv.

(*note for people not as Australian as me this means 'very good indeed')

With my historian hat on, this is deeply frustrating, and I implore colleagues to pick this one up if they can, because there's vast evidence from the early NDIS period that really counters Butler's current justifications for shrinking the system.

Had no trouble from council doing just that when looking after a relative's house and EV

Hugh de Kretser is giving the annual Press Club Human Rights address. Hope he'll have time to cover Press Clubs that uninvite Israel critics and platform pro-genocide presidents

Lots of op eds about BRS. Many are some version of “I, a very right wing culture warrior, have many friends who work at the Hula Hoop Factory - they are Traditional Labor Voters™️ and are outraged about the charges.”

The visionaries TMW cartoon for April 21, 2026

new toon in phone friendly format

tinyview.com/this-modern-...

'Boom boom, acka lacka lacka' also gets a gurnsey
youtu.be/6yy2_NKJlkQ?...

Watching Sky News and the hate being dumped on the NDIS by Laura Jayes and Jane Hume is gross AF.

They only want "profoundly disabled" on the NDIS. And they really want to be the ones who decide who that is.

China has charging stations where you can just swap an empty car battery for a full one. Surely that could be done for electric trucks

That doesn't count because those are actual words

The diesel shock shows why government must help freight electrify As diesel prices surge, freight operators face mounting pressure, highlighting the urgent need for immediate support and a longer-term shift to electrified transport.

Diesel prices are surging – and freight operators are being squeezed.
Short-term support is critical, but the real solution lies in electrifying transport, Bruce Hardy writes.
#auspol #Energy #Transport #CostOfLiving

The Onion wants to make us submissive slaves to the New world order.

Correct.

Groomed, captured, deployed. How the Israel lobby runs Chris Minns - Michael West Police brutality, intimidation, harassment, free speech attacked. NSW Premier Chris Minns was groomed for Israel, writes Andrew Brown.

In 2003, before he held any significant office, Minns was selected for the AIJAC Rambam Israel Fellowship – an all-expenses-paid program with one purpose: take promising Australian political figures to Israel, immerse them, and bind them. michaelwest.com.au/groomed-capt....

"Minns will need to take responsibility for the police violence at Town Hall.The govt under Minns enacted bad laws, the police acted on the command of unlawful directions, they were emboldened & some were violent."

(Selection of the violence meted out by NSW police to anti-genocide protestors in🧵👇)

Great ad. Publishers please take note.

“It’s a small price to pay to make sure that we stay tippy top,” [Trump] added.

'tippy top' being how you talk about missile stockpiles if you're in charge of the biggest bombiest bombses