Hey, I hear Kid Rock and Ted Nugent are available... :^)

There maybe a few down here that would too (so long as all expenses are paid). ;-)

ROFLMFAO!!!!!

Have you brought any gold from the Perth Mint? It may not be all that you think.

Perth Mint sold diluted gold to China, got caught, and tried to cover it up.

The historic Perth Mint is facing a potential $9 billion recall of gold bars after selling diluted or "doped" bullion to China and then covering it up, according to a leaked internal report.

Four Corners has uncovered documents charting the WA government-owned mint's decision to begin "doping" its gold in 2018, and then how it withheld evidence from its largest client in an effort to protect its reputation.

While the gold remained above broader industry standards, the report estimated up to 100 tonnes of gold sent to Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) potentially did not comply with Shanghai's strict purity standards for silver content.

One Perth Mint insider, who asked not to be named as they could face five years' jail if their identity is revealed, says it is a "scandal of the highest level".

"I don't know if I've ever seen one this big," they say.

The mint is the largest processor of newly mined gold in the world, one of Perth's top tourist attractions and well known for producing commemorative coins to mark everything from royal weddings to a new James Bond film.

Last year alone it sold $20.3 billion in gold. It is the only mint in the world that has a government guarantee.

But in recent years the 124-year-old institution, officially known as Gold Corporation, has been plagued by a series of scandals....

And that's just the tip of the iceberg which could cost them hundreds of million buckaroos (we'll take cash only).

More on the Perth Mint scandal.

Perth Mint chief executive admits 'doping' controversy hurts reputation as WA opposition calls for royal commission.

Lol #Satire Female Pilot Hoping The Check Engine Light Will Just Go Out Eventually

A female airline pilot was preoccupied during an otherwise routine flight yesterday, as she kept hoping the plane's blinking "CHECK ENGINE" light would eventually just turn off by itself without incident.

"What's that light mean?" asked Pilot-In-Command Avery Gaffney. "I sure wish my husband was here to tell me what this means! Oh well, I'm sure it's nothing. I'll just keep flying until it turns off."
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Lol #Satire Female Pilot Hoping The Check Engine Light Will Just Go Out Eventually
...

For my own personal view:

That article shows up very badly a culture of uneducated misogynist stereotypes.

I find that bit of puerile made-up fiction far from in any way amusing. The article is too jaundiced to even bother groaning at.

Is that how "Fox (made-up) 'news' Entertainment" stays in business?

All very stupid and totally removed from reality.


Is USA culture long long overdue for "growing up" to more modern better days where women are properly appreciated and valued and can be allowed to make our world a better place for everyone?

Note: No guns needed for that!


Only in the USA?

Enjoy the world and all the good people of the world,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Another bank goes down, but not because of cryptocurrencies this time.

One of America’s biggest banks has collapsed and been taken over by the government in the biggest financial crisis since the GFC.

One of the largest banks in the US has spectacularly collapsed after it faced a bank run with customers scrambling to withdraw their cash.

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), based near San Jose, closed its doors on Friday after the California state government and US federal government stepped in after fears it woes could spread to the rest of the banking sector.

It’s the biggest bank failure in the US since 2008 when Washington Mutual collapsed in the middle of the global financial crisis.

The New York Post reported that on Friday morning building managers at Silicon Valley Bank’s Manhattan branch reportedly called the police after a group of tech founders showed up and attempted to pull out their cash....

Not again young Andy.

Disgraced Prince Andrew considers new TV interview to rebuild image and boost public support.

Will it be as bad as the last 1 was?

And what did he do with all the money that he got while mummy was alive?

Prince Andrew complained he was left no money by the Queen when she died.

Did he pee it up a wall?

One less to prosecute. Dumb crook of the week award goes to:
Chatham Co. Police confirm death at auto shop was result of attempted catalytic converter theft

Chatham County Police are calling it an “accidental death” but Mike Abouharb found the body crushed under the car Tuesday morning. From what he saw and what was left behind, he said the man was trying to steal a catalytic converter

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Volunteering for a Darwin Award.

---

Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Someone doesn't know how to use a simple web search such as Google...
(Newark NJ) Major Metro Fooled in Sister City Scam - Would You Have Been Fooled by Something So Obvious?

On Jan. 12, Newark officials signed a “sister city” agreement with the United States of Kailasa that was going to support trade and other activities that would allow Newark to cite a connection with a Hindu nation.

But alas for such good intentions, Kailasa does not exist except in the alternate reality of the internet.

After 3 U.S. bank collapses it seems that almost 190 US banks are vulnerable to the same toxic recipe that tumbled SVB as customers frantically pull their funds, but there is little that can be done.

...There are 186 banks across the US that could fail if half of their depositors were to withdraw their funds quickly, according to a new study published on the Social Science Research Network.

While the US government insures bank deposits of up to $250,000, these at-risk banks have high numbers of uninsured depositors who the study claims are more likely to pull their funds for fear of losing them.

The banks also hold a significant amount of their assets in interest rate-sensitive financial instruments like government bonds, which are particularly vulnerable to interest rate hikes.....

It seems that a bit of political corruption has been exposed by the perps themselves on social media.

Indonesia's 'filthy rich officials' are being named and shamed by social media users to bring them down.

One Indonesian official is under investigation for posting photographs on social media showing him posing in luxury cars, on motorbikes and even in a Cessna plane.

Another has effectively humiliated his wife in public by declaring she owns numerous fake handbags.

And a third has been suspended over photos suggesting he'd showered his wife with several gold bars, a new car and a luxury handbag, as an anniversary gift.

All three are among the latest targets in a national scandal that Indonesian media have dubbed "Filthy Rich Officials".

The government has now ordered a crackdown on public servants who flaunt their wealth in a country where corruption is endemic, and the minimum wage is below $500 a month.....

This is not how you make chocolate chips...

Two people are dead, five are missing and multiple others are injured after an explosion at a chocolate factory Friday in West Reading, Pennsylvania, police and city officials said.

"In the initial incident report from Berks County to PEMA, a reference to a gas leak was included. It is really important to note that incident reports from counties are a snapshot in time of the understanding of the incident at the time the report was made," Ruth A. Miller, PEMA's communications director, said in a statement.

They may want to think about strengthening the landing gear next time. :-)

2 Cuban migrants flew hang glider to Key West airport.

The kids (and some parents) are likely going loopy because of grog restrictions now in an outback Aussie town. :-(

A local has perfectly captured the levels of distress in the crime-riddled Australian town.

An Alice Springs local has left a police officer stunned with a seven-word response that perfectly captured the levels of distress in the crime-riddled town.

Darren Clark, who runs the Action for Alice Facebook page documenting crime in the Northern Territory, shared a video on Saturday of a car engulfed in flames at the town’s Kmart carpark. He followed it with a video of emergency response teams at the scene.

Firefighters could be seen working hard to extinguish the blaze, before two police officers approached Mr Clark and asked him to leave.

“You’re in a crime scene right now,” one of the officers says, to which Mr Clark responded: “The whole f**king town’s a crime scene”......

1 thing us white fellows should never have exposed them to, but we wern't the only 1's to do it.

This is why better pay is required in the U.S. hospitality industry.

A waitress has slammed a group of tourists for leaving her with a 10 per cent tip after they were “over the moon” about her service.

A person should not have to rely on tips to make a living and quite frankly 5% is too much unless the service is really beyond what 1 expects here (and 1 would expect a lot) in top end joints (and tipping is not, or ever has been, a "thing" here anyway as their wages should be more than enough to cover the cost live on). It's basically slave labour when a person needs tips to survive.

This is why better pay is required in the U.S. hospitality industry.

A waitress has slammed a group of tourists for leaving her with a 10 per cent tip after they were “over the moon” about her service.

A person should not have to rely on tips to make a living and quite frankly 5% is too much unless the service is really beyond what 1 expects here (and 1 would expect a lot) in top end joints (and tipping is not, or ever has been, a "thing" here anyway as their wages should be more than enough to cover the cost live on). It's basically slave labour when a person needs tips to survive.

NY is a "tip credit" state, where LESS than the minimum wage is allowed to be paid.
https://dol.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2023/01/p717_12-22.pdf
This comes as a shock to most people who don't live in such an area.

A sad update on the chocolate factory explosion.

Death toll climbs to 7 in Pennsylvania candy factory explosion as all missing individuals are accounted for, officials say.

The latest crook of the week award goes to:
Ex-store clerk who forged Florida Lottery tickets ordered to prison

When a Florida Lottery vendor last June noticed “micro-scratches” on $50 and $10 scratch-off tickets for sale at a convenience store, the discovery led investigators to a cashier clerk arrested in a scheme to steal winning tickets and pocket the cash.

Investigators concluded she was altering scratch-off tickets to “expose play data underneath” and “was observed using her fingernail to alter multiple Florida Lottery tickets.”

This one won his Darwin Award.

Police chase suspect dies after jumping out of stolen CHP cruiser in LA County.