Ozexpatriate

For me (over 20 something years) Deadly snake sightings: Never Deadly Spider sightings: Never - I've seen Black Widows in the US Shark sightings: Probably many but never an actual threat (the Gold Coast has shark nets) Deadly seasnake sightings: Never Deadly Blue Ringed Octopus sightings: Never Deadly jellyfish sightings: Never, non-deadly jellyfish - innumerable, stung too* * bluebottle / Indo-Pacific Man o’ War, which not a jellyfish but a siphonophore

Something that permeable doesn't feel like it would function properly. Wax is the standard. A quick search came up with this which compares wax and wax-free options.

Birthday.

If I understand you correctly, this is mind boggling to me. This cheque cannot be deposited in a bank branch? (I sort of comprehend issues with a mobile telephone app.)

I think there's a pendulum effect in rule of law. There's no end of stories of highwaymen on the roads of jolly old, jumping in front of carriages with their trademark "Stand and deliver!". "Lawlessness" seems to ebb and flow in societies. The same tales exist in the "Wild" west of the US (holding up the stagecoach or robbing a train) or the bushrangers of Australia etc. Rule of law seems to sit better when societies have their "needs" (shelter, food, etc) covered. Lawlessness increases with opportunity and when a society does not offer basic needs.

Can you rent a storage shed on the downlow?

Officers per country: (multiple sources including Wikipedia) US: 708,000 Canada: 70,000 Australia: 65,000 Germany: 289,900 England and Wales: 135,301 Scotland: 17,296 Law enforcement killings per 1,000 officers: US: 1.44 Canada: 0.74 Australia: 0.24 Germany: 0.03 UK: 0.03 Yes, the US numbers are higher but only 2X that of Canada. I think your premise is sound, but relative comparisons should be used.

One of the problems with Police Unions here is that an officer's discipline record is not public or accessible outside the department. An officer can literally be fired for serious issues and get a job as a sworn officer in the town next door, because there is no tracking of their discipline record outside the original department. I support their right to unionize and their work to protect their members, but not at risk to the public.

In practice, they tend to be used as weapons of force - in the "put your hands up or I'll tase you" scenario. Or the local scenario in a recent court case with one pressed against a shoplifter's intentionally uncovered family jewels - to subdue someone who stole candy. Often not. It can take multiple charges to disable a determined individual. That is the hope. It doesn't always work that way.

We have a Scottish chippie in a suburban food cart pod who calls himself the "The Frying Scotsman". It's good.

Not the fifth - that's all jurisprudence - grand jury, double jeopardy, self incrimination*, due process, etc * "Taking the Fifth".

People have been proposing magazine limitations for years. In 2022, the citizens of Oregon voted on a Measure (114) to require gun owners to complete a gun safety class, have a permit to purchase, insist on background checks and limit magazine sizes to 10. Due to court challenges, it is still not in effect.

Yes and no. Sometimes they are effective. Sometimes their use (or threatened use) gets really complicated.

The reference is to the Yorktown campaign - which not coincidently, happened during hurricane season in the Caribbean. Cornwallis placed himself at Yorktown (his back to deep water, so the RN could rescue him if need be). Admiral de Grasse cut him off and at the Battle of the Capes prevented the RN (under Admiral Graves) from dislodging him. It wasn't just de Grasse though. The siege artillery that effected the victory at Yorktown (on land) all of which was French, was delivered by the French navy with a fleet commanded by Admiral de Barras who shipped it from Newport - by an intentionally circuitous route, avoiding British patrols. Without the French navy - there would be no artillery to bombard Cornwallis' position, and he could have easily escaped by sea, prolonging the war. Cornwallis did attempt to escape at night across the York River, but this was disrupted by thunderstorms. The British knew the French fleet was coming. Hood looked into the Chesapeake before heading to New York, but he had got there just five days before de Grasse and found it empty. Hood was junior to Graves who took too long to move the British fleet south from New York - by which time de Grasse had arrived in the Chesapeake - blockading Cornwallis ashore. It didn't help that Rodney had split his fleet - sending three ships of the line to Jamaica and taking three ships of the line home to defend his questionable* sack of Sint Eustatius, sending Hood's depleted squadron north to the 13 colonies. Had Rodney stayed in theatre the British might have had sufficient superiority to win at The Capes. * Britain was not at war with the Dutch Republic at the time - though they were supplying American traders. The whole of the campaign hinged on the movements of the two navies and the RN lost. Cornwallis' surrender led to the fall of the North government, ending the war in the 13** colonies, though war with France would continue in India and the Caribbean. There was no victory at Yorktown without the French navy - no artillery and Cornwallis escapes. The strength of the French navy would not have been deployed at all - were it not for the dangers of staying in the Caribbean during hurricane season. ** It was actually 14, but one of them was not part of the revolution. (And I'm not talking about British Canada.)

That's one firearm for every 7 people in Australia. In the US it is more than one per person (1.2) - though this is concentrated. 42% of households have a firearm. (Three in 10 say they own a gun and 11% say they live with someone who does.) A rough extrapolation suggests that gun owners have an average of 4 firearms per person, compared with zero for the other 70%.