Straya!

[macdoc]

Australians at the voting booth

too perfect

[JimC]

Thank you, competent, efficient and politically neutral Electoral Commission. USA, take note...

[Joe]

There is a silver lining to our feudal system of elections. Trump doesn't run them.

[Brian Peacock]

and Dutton lost his seat.

Hey, he's not a monster you know.

[macdoc]

A good few Aussies would disagree as would I.
There is little sympathy for either Dutton in Aus or Poliviere in Canada.
Leaders of major parties losing their seats is pretty strong message.

Stamp out the infection before it spreads.

[pErvinalia]

The US wants a commitment from Australia that we will commit troops to fight China if they invade Taiwan. How about fuck you? And both the government and the opposition in a rare sign of unity tell the US yeah nah.

If it was up to me we'd have nothing to do with it. Taiwan is Chinese. It has nothing to do with us.

[Svartalf]

well, maybe Aus would commit if the USA made delivery of the virginia class subs promised under the AUKUS agreement?

[pErvinalia]

We should fuck that off too. Gigantic waste of money.

[JimC]

The US wants a commitment from Australia that we will commit troops to fight China if they invade Taiwan. How about fuck you? And both the government and the opposition in a rare sign of unity tell the US yeah nah.

If it was up to me we'd have nothing to do with it. Taiwan is Chinese. It has nothing to do with us.

Agreed, rEv. Mind you, a mainland Chinese takeover of Taiwan would not be a good thing for the Taiwanese, but, unfortunately, that's their problem...

[Svartalf]

well, we already saw that happen in hong kong, so do we want to see it happen in taiwan, without any promises to keep a veneer of democracy?

[JimC]

No-one wants it to happen, Svarty, but the question is whether attempting to prevent an invasion is worth a massive conflict in the Pacific between 2 nuclear powers...

[macdoc]

to keep a veneer of democracy?

It's not the main goal...

[L'Emmerdeur]

Armored lizards? Of course.

'Scientists uncover hidden bone structures in the skin of Australian monitor lizards and it could unlock the secrets to their evolutionary success'

Beneath the scales of Australia’s iconic monitor lizards (commonly known as goannas), scientists have discovered an unexpected secret: a hidden layer of bony skin structures known as osteoderms. These structures, which have been long overlooked, may hold the key to understanding how these ancient reptiles not only survived but thrived in one of the world’s harshest environments.

The findings, published today in the prestigious Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, mark the first large-scale global study of osteoderms in lizards and snakes. The international collaboration brought together researchers from Australia, Europe and the United States, who used cutting-edge micro-CT scanning to examine nearly 2,000 reptile specimens from major museum collections including those held at Museums Victoria’s Research Institute.

‘We were astonished to find osteoderms in 29 Australo-Papuan monitor lizard species that had never been documented before,’ said Roy Ebel, lead author and researcher at Museums Victoria Research Institute and the Australian National University. ‘It’s a fivefold increase in known cases among goannas.’

Osteoderms are most commonly known from crocodiles, armadillos, and even some dinosaurs like Stegosaurus. But their function has remained something of an evolutionary mystery. While they may provide protection, scientists now suspect they may also support heat regulation, mobility and calcium storage during reproduction.

[JimC]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-18/ ... /105666520

A surfer has had a "miracle" escape after a shark snapped his surfboard at Cabarita Beach on the New South Wales far north coast.

Shocked onlookers, including local yoga teacher Kym Falvey, watched as the man was launched from his board about 7:30am on Monday.

"The man was sitting on his board and the shark literally bit the board behind his butt," she said.

"The board just popped, like it exploded, and it flew up in the air and by this time there was a man up on the rocks going, 'Oi, come in.'

"The last time the shark came right into the shallows, so the surfers in the water were saying, 'We didn't want to stop paddling until we got onto the dry sand.'"

This is in perV's domain. Lovely beach, shame about the fangs...

[pErvinalia]

Yeah second attack in about a month. Not good.