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Nath

@ Nath @aussie.zone

Posts
80
Comments
1866
Joined
3 yr. ago

  • Former US Marines pilot Dan Duggan loses bid to avoid extradition from Australia

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  • Really? Giving lessons on taking off/landing on short runways - lessons that could be applied to air operations on an aircraft carrier, constutute state secrets? He hasn't denied teaching pilots this stuff, though he claims he never knowingly taught Chinese airforce pilots. He also taught tight formation aerial exhibition flying, which again could have military applications.

    From what I can tell, that's the main thing he's accused of. There's been no accusations of weapons or combat training, actually landing on aircraft carriers etc. As I read it all, I thought "that's it?" He's also accused of sending money abroad in some sort of laundering thing, but I can't see how the US military would care about that enough to extradite him.

    They might have more charges once he's in US hands, but from what I've seen in the indictment documents, people could probably learn that stuff in Australia.

  • Former US Marines pilot Dan Duggan loses bid to avoid extradition from Australia

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  • What a fascinating case! Former US fighter pilot becomes an Australian citizen. Then trains pilots in Australia and overseas.Is he training pilots in military flying? Or just civilian flying? Is he breaking any laws? Who bloody knows?

    Reading more about his case:

    The 2017 indictment said "Duggan provided military training to PRC (People's Republic of China) pilots" through a South African flight school on three occasions in 2010 and 2012.

    He's denying this. Though the fact that he lived in Beijing for eight years looks pretty sus. He claims he's just teaching civilian flying.

    His defence lawyer is claiming that ASIO gave him a security clearance to acquire an aviation license in 2022 while he was still in China, enticing him to return to Australia. That clearance was revoked a few days after he arrived and suddenly he's facing extradition to the USA. The defence is saying they lured him to Australia only to extradite him. And to be frank, that holds water. Though, I could probably also be convinced that US officials were monitoring his movement and started proceedings once he entered a country they had an extradition treaty with.

    Dude has been in solitary confinement in Lithgow for over three years so far. That's frankly pretty damn harsh all on its own for the accusation of 'three cases of military training'. Three years in solitary for a person who hasn't even got a guilty verdict? Are the yanks saying that you go to prison for a year per military flying lesson? Are they going to recognise time served if they find him guilty? Are both government going to compensate him for what this has all cost him and his family if he's found innocent? They have frozen the family home half-built. It can't be sold or lived in. The family have racked up half a million dollars defending the case so far.

    I have trust issues around releasing an Australian citizen to the mercies of the present US administration/military. I am unconvinced he'll face a fair trial.

  • What would happen if the PM enforces an automatic draft register in Australia towards all adult male citizens?

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  • You ask this like we don't know the answer. We had the draft in living memory.

    We need a proclamation of a call to war before parliament 90 days before it can be activated. The government needs parliamentary approval from both houses. All Australian residents 18-60 can be called up (not only men in the 21st century) but the government can call up a subset of this cohort ('only men', 'only women with red hair', 'only residents of Bankstown' or whatever 'class' they wish).

    Then everyone loses their shit, we storm our politicians and threaten them with being the first to war or something if they even think of voting this in. It would be so wildly unpopular and I can't see any government passing it.

    It's not something the PM or Governor General can unilaterally do. Hooray for checks on politicians in Australia.

  • Gen Z men want babies more than gen Z women. What’s behind the 'cluck gap'?

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  • 57% vs 45%? That's the "cluck gap". It's a significant gap, but also means that most people who want kids can find partners who want kids, while most who don't can also find compatible partners.

    The headline makes it sound like the "cluck gap" is going to be 90% vs 10% or something.

    Also, the oldest Gen Z are still in their 20's. Let's see their attitudes in a decade or so. Yes, many will have unchanged stances. But if Gen X is anything to go by, some will change their minds.

  • UK man jailed for sexually abusing nine-year-old step granddaughter has Australian visa reinstated by tribunal

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  • 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.

  • Billionaire Gina Rinehart says ‘I don’t understand’ arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith over alleged war crimes

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  • 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.

  • Kyle Sandilands claims he ‘suffered humiliation’ after he was sacked by Kiis FM over on-air spat with Jackie O

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  • 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.

  • Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith arrested, expected to be charged with war crime of murder

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  • 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.

  • It took 3 years for PlayStation to earn $300 million in PC sales

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  • 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.

  • It took 3 years for PlayStation to earn $300 million in PC sales

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  • 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? 😔

  • PC Gaming @lemmy.ca
    Nath @aussie.zone

    It took 3 years for PlayStation to earn $300 million in PC sales

    www.gamesradar.com /platforms/playstation/it-took-3-years-for-playstation-to-earn-usd300-million-in-pc-sales-according-to-former-manager-which-makes-the-platform-less-than-half-as-lucrative-as-the-ps4-and-ps5/

  • Fugitive Dezi Freeman shot dead by Australian police after seven months in hiding

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  • 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.

  • Australia will be left with no submarines if it abandons Aukus, senior defence official warns

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  • 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.

  • Fugitive Dezi Freeman shot dead by Australian police after seven months in hiding

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  • 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.

  • Fugitive Dezi Freeman shot dead by Australian police after seven months in hiding

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  • I hate that I was right about this dude. 😞

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

  • 'Fuel is our home': How the petrol crisis is hitting Australian 'vanlifers'

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  • 'Fuel is our home': How the petrol crisis is hitting Australian 'vanlifers'

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  • Yes and no. My family's personal carbon footprint is negligible. And it's less than average because we reduce it intentionally. Let's say for example that we reduce our footprint by 40% (I don't know what the number is, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were around this). Big deal - 40% of an average family's greenhouse emissions is still 40% of bugger-all.

    But now imagine three million families doing this. 40% of three million average families suddenly is a significant number.

  • Australia @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    Not so express post

  • 'So lucky': Burke warns failed Perth bomb attack could have killed many

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  • I love that he managed to get this article out before the ABC strike took effect, but at the same time it feels rushed and a bit all over the place. It's probably not helped that the speech from Mr. Bourke spoke of terrorism from a wider perspective, and that the incident in Perth was a part of that speech. Yes, Perth was phenomenally lucky that the IED thrown into the crowd Forrest Chase failed to go off. But the point that he was making was that four terrorism events in recent years were all carried out by people born in Australia. Three of the four men in custody behind these incidents are white nationalists. We need to look closer to home to tackle the threat of terrorism and not simply point the finger at immigration.

    Even with the incidents from the last couple of months, the terrorism threat level in Australia remains at probable.

  • Australia @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    'So lucky': Burke warns failed Perth bomb attack could have killed many

    www.abc.net.au /news/2026-03-25/burke-says-luck-saved-lives-in-perth-bomb-plot/106493642
  • On the Telly @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    Swedish Dads: An Australian Documentary on the Benefits of Sweden's Paid Parental Leave Scheme

    vimeo.com /360756638

  • How do Australia's petrol prices compare globally?

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  • Having worked petrol retail through my late teens/early 20's, I can assure you that people have no idea how much of our society depends on diesel.

    Electricity, too: Ten days without power would be almost enough to send us to the Iron Age. It's scary when you think about it, you could seriously cripple any modern nation by attacking just those two vectors of infrastructure and they're both pretty soft targets in terms of the damage you could do.

  • Australia’s new physical activity guidelines won’t shift the needle – here are 4 better ideas

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  • Australia @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    Man charged with traffic offences after child allegedly detected driving

    www.police.nsw.gov.au /news/article
  • Australia @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    Christmas Present Inspiration Thread

  • Australian News @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    Cloudflare apologises for outage which took down Aussie.Zone

    www.bbc.com /news/articles/c629pny4gl7o
  • Australian Politics @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    Liberal Party formally abandons net zero by 2050 climate target

    www.abc.net.au /news/2025-11-13/liberals-ditch-net-zero-commitment/106003712
  • Australia @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    How racing makes its deadliest moments disappear

    www.abc.net.au /news/2025-11-02/horse-racing-disappearing-video-replay-ethical-concerns/105812252
  • Australian News @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    NSW Mine Explosion at Cobar Leaves Two Dead

    www.abc.net.au /news/2025-10-28/nsw-mine-explosion-at-cobar-leaves-two-dead/105941058
  • Perth / Western Australia @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    Anyone know why hundreds of people (mostly men) are queuing up around the street and down into an alley?

  • Fedora Linux @lemmy.ml
    Nath @aussie.zone

    Fedora on a 2012 Macbook Pro (Retina)

  • Aussie Enviro @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    Owner switches off solar farm powering area twice the size of Tasmania

    www.abc.net.au /news/2025-10-03/normanton-solar-farm-turns-off-after-ergon-energy-negotiations/105843958
  • Australia @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    Three people died after Optus network failure impacted triple-0 calls

    www.abc.net.au /news/2025-09-19/optus-network-failure-three-people-dead-triple-zero/105796226
  • Australian Politics @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    Australians too dependent on government, says Sussan Ley

    www.abc.net.au /news/2025-09-17/australians-too-dependent-on-government-says-sussan-ley/105781276
  • Australian Politics @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    Hastie flags demotion or resignation should Liberals not abandon net zero

    www.abc.net.au /news/2025-09-15/andrew-hastie-flags-resignation-or-sacking-over-liberal-net-zero/105776432
  • Bluey @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    Huge News: A Bluey Movie is Coming!

    www.bluey.tv /blog/huge-news-a-bluey-movie-is-coming/
  • Perth / Western Australia @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    PERTH'S COLDEST DAY ON RECORD - Snowfalls Reported In Stirling Ranges - The West Australian - 6 Aug 1951

    trove.nla.gov.au /newspaper/article/48984026
  • Perth / Western Australia @aussie.zone
    Nath @aussie.zone

    Australia v. India hockey tour

    www.olympics.com /en/news/india-hockey-team-vs-australia-tour-2025-schedule-live-match-start-time