Politics is a dirty word

The Super Saturday by-elections in Perth, Fremantle, Mayo, Braddon and Longman on July 28th promise some interesting results with talk of an early election and maybe a Labor leadership spill. The results are eagerly awaited by those poor mugs who follow politics. All will become clear on Saturday night. In Tasmania, the Braddon by election could be a real surprise. The major parties are attacking the independent fisherman Craig Garland which suggests he might poll better than anyone can be comfortable with. In Perth. It could be a fun time with a swag of independent candidates and parties like the sustainable Party, The Animal Justice Party, the Mental Health Party and the People’s Party as well as the Liberal Democrats and the Western Australia Party. Thew Fremantle election is a similar bad joke. \In Mayo. South Australia, Rebekha Sharkie is expected to win while it’s wide open in Longman, Queensland with candidates for the ALP. LNP, the Australian Country Party, the Science Party, ...

Pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine may have been responsible for shooting down Malaysian airliner MH 17. Many Western countries, including Australia, were quick to point their fingers and blame the Russian Federation for the action but what is the evidence? A number of Russian- made surface-to-air missiles were stolen in 1994 from an army base in Ukraine. The weapons were held at a base in the Cherkasskaya region of central Ukraine.It Was reported by the German Government that other conventional surface-to-air missiles have also been stolen by Ukraine separatists. If Governments are held liable for the misuse of weapons they supply to third parties, then the US, Britain and France are in real trouble, they, along with Russia, are the biggest arms dealers in the world.

Porton Down is the UK’s prime chemical weapons establishment near Salisbury It is understood that stores of Novichok and other nerve agents are held there for use in the Middle East and elsewhere.Novichok is part of a group of nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s. It is reported to be eight times more toxic than the nerve agent VX, which was used to assassinate the brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Novichok is usually stored as two less toxic chemical ingredients, making it easier to transport. When they’re mixed together, the chemicals react to produce a military-grade nerve agent. It can kill after being inhaled, injected or absorbed through the skin.It is the chemical used which the UK claim,s Russia used in Salisbury on a double agent and his daughter, and apparently has resulted in the death of a local women and the hospitalisation of her partner. No evidence has been revealed which shows how the Russians imported the chemical to the UK so its seems j...

Here's a proposal that could save many lives and billions of dollars. An American professor, Konstantin Balakiryan has proposed using hydrogen to extinguish bushfires. He says the use could save many lives as well as property and the environment. He proposes using hydrogen capsules producing directional explosions. The concept is not new, 18th century English scientist Henry Cavendish discovered the properties of hydrogen. He wrote about ; "Hydrogen in a mixture with hot air reacts to an explosion with the formation of water “ This can have tremendous effect in the fire zone; initially, a powerful explosion destroys the flame, then water is formed, resulting from the reaction of hydrogen with oxygen contained in hot air, covering the charred area while completely extinguishing the fire. A relativerly simple concept - let's hope the politicians allow it to be fully tested and implemented if it is successful.

There has to be a better way to fund the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to ensure that it delivers an effective service across the country. A fixed allocation should be set in the Federal Budget every year for public broadcasting. The ABC, SBS and any regional services that wish to participate could then lodge competitive tenders to provide particular services. The tenders would have to include detailed costings to assess their value for money.

The meeting between Us President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un appears to have achieved a positive result - Working towards the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula . But will the US really not send warships armed with nuclear weapons into Korean waters and park them in South Korea. Will the Generals in the Pentagon allow Trump to stop the war games with South Korea? If they don’t, Kim Jong Il will have valid reasons to hang onto his nukes.

China has developed a stealth drone – an unmanned supersonic fighter aircraft known as Dark Sword,The plane, built byShenyang Aircraft Corporation, has a low observable (stealthy) configuration and is capable of sustained speeds up to twice the speed of sound with remarkable agility. Dark Sword has been n concept form since early this decade. The aircraft seems well suited for making supersonic dashes across the Taiwan Strait during a conflict as opposed to flying medium or long-endurance surveillance missions. It's also possible that the design could also be used on China's catapult and barrier equipped aircraft carriers. Whether based on land or at sea, Dark Sword is able to operate ahead of manned fighters collecting data and essential target information.