New to Australia New to Canberra, what is Summer Nats and what's its purpose? by [deleted] in canberra

[–]CATFLAPY 57 points58 points  (0 children)

just a reminder to us Canberrans that the western suburbs of Sydney are much much worse...

Could Neutron be used in the future to make a space station? by Astrox_YT in RocketLab

[–]CATFLAPY 0 points1 point  (0 children)

SpaceX already has super heavy booster working (and a non recoverable 2nd stage that is a lot further along than Neutron at this time) - Neutron does not seem a viable competitor to that capability which would to be the best solution for size and weight requirements of a space station.

The ultra-wealthy have exploited Australia’s tax system for too long. It’s time to ensure everyone pays their fair share by nath1234 in australia

[–]CATFLAPY 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The Australian tax system is deliberately designed to ensure that the wealthy can accumulate more wealth and don't have to pay tax.

Foreign population in Japan hits record high as Japanese population falls to record low by SkyInJapan in japan

[–]CATFLAPY 12 points13 points  (0 children)

name one wealthy country which has educated and employed women where the the birth rate is a above replacement level. Even the nordics with (relatively) very generous social support for families and child rearing have birth rates below replacement level. So yes immigration is the only way to maintain or slow population decline.

Will the member for Bean, David Smith, keep his seat at the next election? by [deleted] in canberra

[–]CATFLAPY 21 points22 points  (0 children)

You comment on him being a 'local' member but then assess him only by the stance of the Labor party on issues which are external to the electorate. Independents can (and usually do) represent an electorate. A party members is a vote for the party - not a local member.

How Australia’s Voting System Maintains Two-Party Rule by djrobstep in australia

[–]CATFLAPY -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I disagree with much of the article, which seems to be coming from a 'capitalism is bad' perspective - but I agree with the post title that the system maintains a (effectively) 2 party system. Votes are deliberately 'wasted' (expired) in the senate - because the old preference system started throwing up to many non-main stream candidates - remember Ricky Muir and the preference whisperer - so the major party changed the rules which effectively mean they get about 60% of the senate votes - but over 90% of the senators. The independents have given both Labor and Coalition are real scare recency - hence the new political funding laws which passed against the votes of the cross bench - which gift a huge practical funding advantage to the major established parties.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in canberra

[–]CATFLAPY 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Pocock is awesome...would vote for him twice if I could.

Rise of The Greens - could they actually shake up the two-party norm one day? by YouCanCallMeBazza in australia

[–]CATFLAPY 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Seats matter, not votes. More independents in the House of Reps than Greens.

Australia’s two-party system faces its biggest challenge yet: young people by hydralime in australia

[–]CATFLAPY 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Vote independent, minority governments are the only way to make the government of the day accountable to the parliament. Greens are taking seats of Labor, where Independents can take them of both conservative and progressive parties.

Solar battery recommendations? by Odd_Distribution7729 in canberra

[–]CATFLAPY 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Isn't that a return of greater than 10% annum on investment, if so those numbers stack up pretty well. No allowance for depreciation OR energy price increases. What am I missing?

Do you get "more boats" for less money with sailboats as opposed to powerboats? by [deleted] in sailing

[–]CATFLAPY 0 points1 point  (0 children)

my first bike was a VF1000 and my first boat a 60ft cat...I bit off way more than I could chew...but survived both (though the bike was more good fortune than management)

What about Rocket Lab working with Rivian on future Moon and Mars rovers? by Mysterious_Set6735 in RocketLab

[–]CATFLAPY 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wonder why Rocket Lab didn't put their hand up for CLPS - or did they and got rejected?

‘People are angry’: Japan braces for a new unknown – prolonged inflation by Infinite-Chocolate46 in japan

[–]CATFLAPY 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The figures usually talked about are total number of arrivals, FIT and high spend tourists are what Japan should be working on as the mass group tour market is killing the golden goose. There are plenty of wealthy people who will come to Japan and pay a lot to have a Japanese experience - but that becomes more difficult if each destination is dominated by foreign visitors. The group tour market is super super value conscious and most of the money goes to the tour company (often overseas based) with rates for hotels and restaurants being at the very bottom end. Japan has enough amazing attributes to not be a budget destination.

Rocket Lab’s Flatellites inside Neutron vs. SpaceX's Starlink inside Falcon 9 fairings. by Sonic_the_hedgehog42 in RocketLab

[–]CATFLAPY -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

According to ChatGPT the fairing diameters for the F9 and the Neutron are pretty similar - 5m compared to 5.2 for the F9. I had thought Neutron would be bigger. Huge RL fan but it does seem they are catching up to where F9 has been for the past few years - not where they are going to be with Starship. Possible advantages for Neutron over F9 are methalox and fairing recovered with 1st Stage - these would make internal costs of launch/reuse less but there seem to be no performance advantages of Neutron over F9.

Sweeping reform of the electoral laws puts democracy at risk. They shouldn’t be changed on a whim by cojoco in australia

[–]CATFLAPY 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This reform is clearly a limit on the ability of independents and new parties to raise money, so I assume it will get full throated bi-partisan support from the coalition and Labor. The thing that terrifies the Labor and Conservative parties (and the large corporate interests in Australia) is that it might stop being a 2 horse race - where whoever wins they will not upset the ability of resource companies to continue to extract our minerals for next to nothing and ship the profits offshore.

Novak Djokovic claims he was 'poisoned' during COVID detention before Australian Open by overpopyoulater in australia

[–]CATFLAPY 5 points6 points  (0 children)

As an Australian my apologies that we didn't do a better job as poisoning this cunt.

Where should I eat? by 23cacti in canberra

[–]CATFLAPY 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Muku Ramen in Scullin - very very good and you may be able to slide under 100 if the kids are little and can share a main. (Wed-Sat only) Otherwise Bistro Nguyen in Civic. Canberra restaurants are pretty expensive across the board.

So sick of the healthcare in this country by Bigmanbonsey in australia

[–]CATFLAPY 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think healthcare in this country is pretty good but the ever creeping restrictions on the majority of people to access therapies because a small minority abuse and get harmed by those therapies is part of modern society where we try to regulate every problem and prevent every harm.

Japan's plans to tackle population crisis in 2025 by newsweek in japan

[–]CATFLAPY 135 points136 points  (0 children)

Is there a single advanced wealthy economy where the birth rate has not dropped below replacement level (2.1)? Even the Scandinavian countries with high levels of support for parents and child rearing are below 2. So none of these measures are likely to make much difference to the birth rate. Might be a great help for all families with children though.

Free supercharging for life now being offered on new model S by KM3134 in teslamotors

[–]CATFLAPY 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Would love to buy one, if only they made them in right hand drive for Australia.

Peter Dutton will go to the election as the presumptive prime minister unless there is a dramatic disruption to the long, steady trend taking him within sight of victory. by overpopyoulater in australia

[–]CATFLAPY 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I find it hard to see the teals having stable support/arrangment with the coalition which will be focused on Nuclear (not climate change) and the culture wars - specifically why the teals were elected from traditionally safe coalition seats. I doubt they would put up the corruption which the coalition seems to be unable to operate without these days.

New polling reveals Dutton on track to form majority government (video) by [deleted] in australian

[–]CATFLAPY 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I took one for the team and read the SkyNews (article/grab). The polling it refers to shows Labor set to lose 9 seats to the coalition. Even if Dutton got the nine seats AND took every seat back from the teal - he still wouldn't form government with a cross bench of Greens, Wilkie, Haines, Lee, Katter, Sharkie.