I provided a statutory declaration affirming to whoever needed to read it that my friend and her English fiancée were a real couple; as well as photos I had taken of them at bbqs, concerts and zoo trips etc over the years as he was applying for permanent residency in Australia. What you are describing is a thing all immigrants go through - the white ones as well.

I personally think this portrait is rather flattering. Particularly in the context of Vincent’s other works. I think she’s far uglier in person.

This guy is about to learn that nobody likes him, isn’t he?

Even the people who listen to him and are entertained by his awful antics don’t tune in because they actually like him. He’s just on in the car and they’re a captive audience.

There was probably reluctance to accept it as true because he’s a VC recipient. One of the only seven living recipients in the world. These guys are meant to all be heroes. And what this dude did in 2011 was heroic. It’s just that he (allegedly) did stuff after that date that we don’t want to believe a hero is capable of.

“Support” is a bit strong. I don’t know enough about existing laws in Queensland to be an authority on the topic. It’s more that I can see why this is getting attention and agree that rules - or at least public attitudes around eridables are rightly in a state of flux. Many people see them as harmless, riders fail to wear helmets, drivers think of them as fast pedestrians. Not all of course, but enough that the issue is worth looking at.

I’m not conflating anything. I see all these vehicles (and that’s what they are - even the ‘kids’ eScooters) every day on the roads and paths. They are very popular in Perth - particularly in the CBD. I know that the assorted classes are. While you may not be interested in eScooters, the law covers them all, and so did my comment.

Legal ebikes are no more dangerous than legal analogue bikes. None. Thus, there is no justification for any restrictions being different for ebikes than they are for analogue bikes.

This appears to be your only issue with the proposal. Which in turn sounds like you are seeking an exemption on this one aspect of the law. That doesn’t sound like the whole thing needs to be scrapped. I don’t think I even disagree with this point. I also think the 10kph limit on shared paths is ludicrous. I run faster than that and I’m no elite athlete.

The other part is that needing a special bike and/or special permission is adding an extra barrier to entry.

This could likely just be a permit issued to the manufacturers. At the end of the day, these bikes are speciality bikes and not really consumer devices. It actually sounds easy to me to implement. I can’t name makes/models, let’s call them Ford Falcons. “Children under the age of 16 are permitted to ride Ford Falcons”. There - solved. Of course, there’s probably more than one make/model - but all that aside, they’re not being bought by you and I. They’re a niche thing.

But the vast majority of the problem is not with inadequate rules, it’s inadequate enforcement.

This I’ll readily concede - particularly in the city grid where people flout traffic lights, footpath speed limits and ride in malls. Though I have seen cops pull over eBikes and eScooters, and have been through radar traps (I’m allowed to go 30+ kph, because my legs are my motor) on the bike paths. They’re trying. And I recognise that WA Police are not QLD police. I’m pretty sure WA Police can already destroy illegal bikes. At least, I’ve heard that they intended to destroy one I saw pulled over.

Literally in the article:

The Department of Home Affairs has stressed the main aim of working holiday visas is cultural exchange rather than supplying long-term workers.

Five people per day are ending up in Queensland hospitals due to e-scooter crashes - this is a serious issue that does need to be addressed. The status quo is not the answer. If you believe the proposed legislation is too far, then propose a viable compromise.

I actually agree with the ‘not under 16’ part. Sorry, but kids absolutely should not be tearing around on eridables on public roads/paths. Professor Roy Kimble from QCH, is on record reporting 1 in 4 children admitted with e-scooter injuries need intensive care treatment, and two-thirds need surgery. That’s just admittances, it won’t cover simple crashes like broken arms etc.

The ‘disabled kids’ is a fair argument: I wouldn’t object to a kid in a specialty NDIS bike, though how you’d differentiate that in legislation is a thing that would need to be defined. I’ve only ever seen the trikes, and they’re not fast, but I assume there are other models.

Learn to ride/scoot first. Then, get an eridable. I’d even be in favour of a test that everyone needs to pass before being allowed to get one (did I just describe a license?); though I can see that being an unpopular opinion.

This is coming from someone who commutes by bike every day and regularly sees incidents/near misses with people on eridables. The units themselves are not the issue, I love how they’re getting people out and about and I see huge benefits in them - particularly in reducing car reliance. But they need some rules, it’s the wild west out there.

So, the problem isn’t Rottnest. It’s that hospitality in regional towns doesn’t qualify as remote work. If cultural exchange is the point, having backpackers doing hospitality in towns where people have time for a chat sounds like the right thing.

As to farm work, that’s a tough one. We want that to be an attractive option. Not knowing anything on the topic, I can only assume it isn’t attractive because workers are not compensated enough for the work.

I don’t think there’s a realistic way to measure that.

First of all, comparing sales of five-year-old games on PC to what’s going on in console land is unfair. Also, just how much does it cost them to port a game to PC and sell it? It’s gotta be cheaper than making the game to start with.

A significant portion of that $300 Million is pure gravy. I’m unlikely to buy a PlayStation, but I’ve bought four Sony titles so far and will likely buy a couple more. If they want my money, they need to come to where I shop.

I think if I only made 300 Million dollars in three years, I’d probably wonder what on earth I was even doing with myself as well. What is even the point? 😔

I was speaking of conventional warfare - which is what it would take for a “third front” to be necessary. There’s a huge difference between the assorted military operations we’ve seen in my lifetime and total warfare. Even in Vietnam, the major powers held back. The USA hasn’t actually declared war on a country since 1942.

If the USA actually decides to go all-in on a country, that country is in for a bad time. Even if that country is China. That said, any nation that invades China is also in for a bad time. The very idea of such a war is horrendous.

In a land of spy satellites, stealth bombers and ICBMs, “hiding” critical infrastructure in your remote mountain fortress is a little archaic in thinking.

I believe all nations should have strategies to defend themselves in the event of an attack by a foreign power. I see no controversy, here.

Plot twist: the protest was an April Fools joke. Only double-twist 10,000 people were fooled and the protest goes ahead anyway.

I’m on the other side of the country, so I have absolutely no idea. Your theory is as good as anything I’d come up with. That, and people suck at keeping secrets. Particularly in a rural setting. Crimestoppers exists because it works.

The Collins project taught us that building submarines is not trivial. And that was starting with another country’s R&D (Sweden). We also have no clue how to make a nuclear submarine.

While there issues with the French Barracuda subs, I think we should have had an open conversation with the French instead of secretly entering into the AUKUS pact. The French do have nuclear tech, so using that as an excuse to change after we’d asked them to make us diesel subs is a bit rich. I don’t know whether that’d have made nuclear subs, but I know it would have been something we could have asked about.

Was actually the weekend before. Maybe I should do a post about Sculpture by the sea.

If you are really off-the-grid, you can disappear fairly effectively. There’s a lot of country out there to hide in. All the CCTVs and cell tower surveillance in the nation will only help to locate you if you are in the areas where the people and that coverage are.

I hate that I was right about this dude. 😞

It was obvious at the time that he was never coming quietly.

https://xkcd.com/1732/