Play Nice Random Chat Thread VI

[Val Keating]

There's absolutely no reason why this can't and shouldn't be done here.



Edit: For more info on the policy: 'It’s a miracle': Helsinki's radical solution to homelessness | Cities | The Guardian

They have a democratic socialist set up don’t they? They complain about their high taxes but man they look after people. Those Scandinavian countries have it set up right imo.

 

[Sphynx]

Hilux by a mile. Next would be Triton. Stay away from the Rangers, they’re very popular but Ford and Holden 4WD’s have been pox historically. Hilux’s just keep going. Most reliable by far.

The new Rangers are decent and I've got a lot of mates with Colorado's who are very happy with them.

Tritons would be way down the list imo.

 

[Val Keating]

The new Rangers are decent and I've got a lot of mates with Colorado's who are very happy with them.

Tritons would be way down the list imo.

So many tradies have gone out and got the new rangers. I think it’s because they’re big and look good, time will tell how they hold up.

 

[Royal Flush]

Want to get a 2nd hand Dual cab ute. My budget is 30 k. Thinking 4WD, torneau cover, turbo diesel (3.2 L) and the extras (roof racks, reverse camera, blue tooth).

Any suggestions? I am thinking Navara, Tritton and Rangers over Amarok, Hilux or DMax.

I don't know much about these cars, but I've read that Dmax stands above the pack for reliability and value.

On Pixel 4 using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Hojuman]

Want to get a 2nd hand Dual cab ute. My budget is 30 k. Thinking 4WD, torneau cover, turbo diesel (3.2 L) and the extras (roof racks, reverse camera, blue tooth).

Any suggestions? I am thinking Navara, Tritton and Rangers over Amarok, Hilux or DMax.

 

[B4Bear]

There's absolutely no reason why this can't and shouldn't be done here.



Edit: For more info on the policy: 'It’s a miracle': Helsinki's radical solution to homelessness | Cities | The Guardian

Sure there is. There has never been a member of the undeserving poor that didn’t deserve a good kicking.

It will never be undertaken at a federal level, as in funding. And unlikely to be undertaken by a conservative state government, or continued if already in place.

 

[rooboy_07]

Sarah Jones is a milf.

 

[koshari]

There's absolutely no reason why this can't and shouldn't be done here.



Edit: For more info on the policy: 'It’s a miracle': Helsinki's radical solution to homelessness | Cities | The Guardian

Fine in theory. But in practice many "homeless" are the product of mental illnesses and addictions. Prolly more resources in mental health would go far for getting these people in a position where they can support themselves.

 

[Lomas]

Sarah Jones is a milf.

Between you and Ligma all parents should be cautious.

 

[Ligma]

Between you and Ligma all parents should be cautious.

I connect humour to my statements thank u very much.

 

[Val Keating]

Listening to the BBC Global news podcast, obviously it’s mainly about Afghanistan. Someone from the UN speaks and says they need at least $200M to avoid a famine…. and I can’t help but think that’s nothing to billionaires like Bezos, Musk, shit even Rineheart could click her fingers to find that and not even notice. Something NQR about that.

 

[ferball]

What will China do in Afghanistan? | The Strategist

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has made comforting noises about China’s respect for the Taliban, but he’s also sent clear signals about what Beijing wants from Afghanistan’s new rulers and what Beijing worries about. And ...

www.aspistrategist.org.au

Can see the US trying to draw China into Afghanistan the way it did with Russia under Carter/Zbig Brev.

 

[Val Keating]

China is more likely to invade Taiwan then Afghanistan imo.

 

[ferball]

I’m not suggesting no one else is evil. I’m just not giving him any pass at all by using whataboutisim. The guy killed thousands of civilians.

Bill Clinton's admin was responsible for the deaths of 500,000 iraqi kids via santions and that was "worth it".



There are no good guys in power.

I'm not a Christian but I find it interesting that in the bible when Satan tempted Jesus he took him to some high spot and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and said wtte of "These are mine. You can have them if you worship me."

 

[ferball]

China is more likely to invade Taiwan then Afghanistan imo.

Exactly, which is why the US would rather them mired in Eurasia.

 

[ferball]

Thanks mate. just gotta find a Hilux in that price range.

No mazda's then?

You in Qld?

Five or six years ago a mate of mine picked up a 2008 Hilux for 22K from an ex rental supplier in Toowoomba or Ipswitch. It was less than 10 years old. It was in excellent nick. He still has it, hasn't missed a beat and his place is a wild property so it gets a bit of abuse. I can't remember the company, whether it was rental company or one that handled ex rentals from a bunch of places but it would be worth checking out.

I'll see if he can track down the company. First thing he did was stick a massive North logo on the drivers door.

Legend.

 

[ferball]

Fine in theory. But in practice many "homeless" are the product of mental illnesses and addictions. Prolly more resources in mental health would go far for getting these people in a position where they can support themselves.

Remember when Kennett shut all those places housing mentally ill people? I think homelessness in Vic has been high since then. But they'd have the same issues in Scanenavia with mental health i reckon.

 

[Val Keating]

Exactly, which is why the US would rather them mired in Eurasia.

Aren’t both Afghanistan and Taiwan on the Eurasian plate? Either way China is too calculated to make a knee jerk reaction to the coalition pulling out of Afghanistan. I think they’ve wanted to take Taiwan back for so long and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity. America has promised to keep Taiwan safe as long as Taiwan lets them have a base there. I just wonder what America’s appetite would be like right now to hold up their end of the bargain if China went for the takeover. I think America would have a hard time convincing their people that they need to protect Taiwan. Most wouldn’t even understand what it means. If China makes America back down then they can make a significant claim to be the top dog, if not now, it’s only a matter of time.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

China is more likely to invade Taiwan then Afghanistan imo.

True, but they have interests on their Indian border. So Ferbs’ Eurasia assessment isn’t that far off the mark, as signified by the re-establishment of the Quad.

 

[Val Keating]

True, but they have interests on their Indian border. So Ferbs’ Eurasia assessment isn’t that far off the mark, as signified by the re-establishment of the Quad.

I had to look Quad up. Man our involvement is so flakey.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

I had to look Quad up. Man our involvement is so flakey.

It is a flakey arrangement in all honesty, but so is the ANZUS treaty if you ever bother to read it. That is why they are redoubling their efforts with naval exercises.

 

[ferball]

Aren’t both Afghanistan and Taiwan on the Eurasian plate? Either way China is too calculated to make a knee jerk reaction to the coalition pulling out of Afghanistan. I think they’ve wanted to take Taiwan back for so long and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity. America has promised to keep Taiwan safe as long as Taiwan lets them have a base there. I just wonder what America’s appetite would be like right now to hold up their end of the bargain if China went for the takeover. I think America would have a hard time convincing their people that they need to protect Taiwan. Most wouldn’t even understand what it means. If China makes America back down then they can make a significant claim to be the top dog, if not now, it’s only a matter of time.

We have a thread called the Devil's Chessboard...

Okay so I always read it as "grand chessboard" and have to catch myself...

Anyway The Grand Chessboard is a book by former Carter admin National Security advisor Zbigniew Brivinski. I think its available from the CIA website. Not linking it here. LOL. I've never read it but have read alot of articles he has published and seen a few interviews over the years. He was instrumental in the US arming the Mujahadeen and drawing the USSR into the mire that is Afghanistan via something called Operation Cyclone. In some ways he directly led to the 9/11 attacks because without him Osama Bin Laden would never have become that terrorist leader. "The Base" wouldn't have existed. Back to the Russians tho. ZB was instrumental in the US response to the invasion of Afghanistan. From a 1997 interview transcribed here.

INT: How did you interpret Soviet behavior in Afghanistan, such as the April revolution, the rise of... I mean, what did you think their long-term plans were, and what did you think should be done about it?

ZB: I told the President, about six months before the Soviets entered Afghanistan, that in my judgment I thought they would be going into Afghanistan. And I decided then, and I recommended to the President, that we shouldn't be passive.


INT: What happened?


ZB: We weren't passive.


INT: But at the time...


(Interruption)


INT: Right, describe your reaction when you heard that your suspicions had been fully justified: an invasion had happened.


ZB: We immediately launched a twofold process when we heard that the Soviets had entered Afghanistan. The first involved direct reactions and sanctions focused on the Soviet Union, and both the State Department and the National Security Council prepared long lists of sanctions to be adopted, of steps to be taken to increase the international costs to the Soviet Union of their actions. And the second course of action led to my going to Pakistan a month or so after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, for the purpose of coordinating with the Pakistanis a joint response, the purpose of which would be to make the Soviets bleed for as much and as long as is possible; and we engaged in that effort in a collaborative sense with the Saudis, the Egyptians, the British, the Chinese, and we started providing weapons to the Mujaheddin, from various sources again - for example, some Soviet arms from the Egyptians and the Chinese. We even got Soviet arms from the Czechoslovak communist government, since it was obviously susceptible to material incentives; and at some point we started buying arms for the Mujaheddin from the Soviet army in Afghanistan, because that army was increasingly corrupt.

Ironic that 22 years later the US made the same mistake and that the guy responsible (Bin Laden) was part of their original plan to do the same to the USSR.

The Geographical Pivot of History - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The central thesis of ZB's Chessboard book is that the US does what it can to undermine the stuff explored in the wiki link just above this. IE preventing a single power from dominating the Eurasian landmass is vital to US interests. Even US Republicans recognise this (ZB was a Democrat) which is why ted Cruz is giving Biden so much shit over this gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. Its in the US' interests to have the Taliban in power in Afghanistan cos it directly undermines any central power dominating Eurasia and the rest of the world.

Its also in China's interests to dominate eurasia and the rest of the world ... and Russia's and they aren't mates despite their commie connections.

The US did this once and it led to the collapse of the USSR so I can see them trying something similar, using the same actors (Radical Islamic types), against China. The head of the Grey Wolves lives in the US iirc as well. They set up training camps in central Asia 30 years ago and put alot of effort into Uyghur seperatist movements. I think they are a more secular (the are fascists imo) movement than many islamic radicals but you can see the potential to bring those two things together.


Taiwan might be on the Eurasian plate but its as much a part of the Western Pacific as is it anything else. Now the US has less commitment to the Middle east its in a better position to act in the western pacific. If the Chinese try anything in taiwan I reckon western China will descend into chaos.

In the long run that may mean China moves more effectively into central Asia so it might backfire but that is at least a decade maybe several away at this point (imo obviously who the **** really knows what will happen, i'm just some schmuck in the bush.)

 

[ferball]

Further to all that...

If I was an ambitious non partisan US national seciurity/geopolitics type (with no soul) in Washington I'd be pushing to start a low level war between the Russians and Chinese in central Asia over the next 5-10 years.

 

[DesertRoo]

Further to all that...

If I was an ambitious non partisan US national seciurity/geopolitics type (with no soul) in Washington I'd be pushing to start a low level war between the Russians and Chinese in central Asia over the next 5-10 years.

Somehow get the Chechens worked up about Xinjiang? then blame the Russians.

 

[koshari]

kid on the voice wearing a WPA shirt.