I Predict 2023

RSLs are for dusty old dudes with dusty old minds. And I say that because the older vets that I've had chats with are ALWAYS welcoming and inclusive, but I've never had those chats inside of an RSL. You step foot through the front door of an RSL as a woman and you get glares instantly.

I'll never forget the way my gold card war widow grandmother was treated by the local RSLs in her area in the early 2000s. She used to go to two local ones for bingo twice a week. But the people going for bingo weren't allowed anywhere but in the main hall for the session and they had to leave straight afterwards. They had a little cafe that all the bingo players could see but weren't allowed to buy anything from.

Fancy that, refusing revenue from people a large group of people who were mostly either war widows or families of veterans because they were largely war-generation folk. It made no sense then and even less now when you see how badly RSL membership has tanked.

Saying that RSLs are not inclusive to women is utter crap in most places. Not sure why it's occurring to you, but it's a very unusual thing you are describing.

The bit about bingo isn't surprising though. As others have said, the RSL definitely has an inner and an outer group. The 'inner' group seems to be pokies driven and will seek to steamroll anything threatening them and usually succeed. The rest of the full and social members are pretty much meaningless to them, other than happy that they exist to maintain the illusion that the RSL has something to do with the military and veterans, which it no longer does.

Sad that the RSL carry's on that way, have been in the same position. Local RSL wanted my military ID (service number) to get entry, told them to stick it and never been back.






Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.

That's shameful on multiple levels ... 

I know how to recognise a man flogging a dead horse when I see one. I'll just leave this alone. Thanks for the chuckle though.

I'm going to return to the point of the original post now, and apologise both to you and all for letting it get off track. I should have switched on straight away that my comment helped stray from the original post. If it feels appropriate I'm happy for others to start a thread discussing the topics mentioned above. I likely will not interact with them. No need to get spicy over something that doesn't impact on anyone else's life.

I'm not the boss of anyone. I'm just not going to be responding to that topic any further.

Global food shortages is still accelerating. US being hit hard and pandemics are also continuing.   California orang crop hit by citrus greening disease..


Did You Know That U.S. Crops Are Being Absolutely Devastated By Nightmarish Disasters From Coast To Coast?
theeconomiccollapseblog.com/did-you-know-that-u-s-crops-are-being-absolutely-devastated-by-nightmarish-disasters-from-coast-to-coast/


Beasley said WFP was just forced to cut rations by 50% to 4 million people in Afghanistan, and “these are people who are knocking on famine’s door now.”
“We don’t have enough money just to reach the most vulnerable people now,” he said. “So we are in a crisis over the cliff stage right now, where we literally could have hell on earth if we’re not very careful.”

Less than 20 percent of Kansas winter wheat is in good to excellent condition. Colorado winter wheat was rated 27% good to excellent and 33% very poor to poor. Oklahoma’s and Texas’ crops were rated at 26% and 18% good to excellent, and 40% and 47% very poor to poor, respectively, he said.

California’s snowpack levels varied by region, with the Southern Sierra snowpack reaching 300% of its April 1 average and the Central Sierra reaching 237% of its April 1 average, officials said. And the critical Northern Sierra, home to the state’s largest surface water reservoirs, is at 192% of its April 1 average.

I'm updating my previous prediction. I had thought when I first posted in this that the metals bubble wouldn't be likely until 2024. I'm changing that prediction. Or rather, adjusting it.

I think we may see the metals bubble happen within this year. Either by the end of this year, or by mid-year next year. But the stage is setting now. Bitcoin is over $30k again for the first time in ages. People are looking for safe-haven places to put their money and while I don't think personally that crypto is that (still too unstable by far, in ten years maybe) there are plenty who do, and sentiment is starting to show it.

Shelves are definitely less stocked around us and people are starting to sell up things that they perhaps don't use as much anymore like caravans and boats. I've noticed a lot more with 'for sale' signs in yards lately. Not that people seem to be panicking yet, but there's a steady flow of second-hand caravans and the like on FB market place compared to a few months ago. Could be because the cooler weather is coming through, I'm not ready to make the call yet. But I think people are definitely starting to think more of the looming future. Quite a few people recommending buying a second-hand caravan as a home because the rental crisis here is off the charts.

So my guess about housing becoming worse is absolutely true, at least in our area. I have the feeling that for a lot of people no matter what happens, their end of year is going to look ENTIRELY different to how their year started.

Word on the street is that 40-60% of home lone applications are falsified, overstate income and understate expenses.  Now with interest rates up up up and paying an extra $1,000 to $1,500 on mortgage per month, not long and the credit cards run dry and it suddenly all goes belly up.  Construction companies are failing, in Aus.  

In the US Walmart are closing down all retail in Chicago and other large cities, McDonald’s going through a major downsizing.  Inflation is rising again, the IMF has now downgraded global growth for 2023 and 2024, they always overestimate growth, so it will be a lot worse than they are saying.  There is a lot of evidence that the US consumer is tapped out.  Trucking in the US a bellwether of how the economy is going is collapsing.  

Walmart Abandons Unprofitable Chicago Stores After Investing "Hundreds Of Millions" In City
After two decades of losses and "hundreds of millions of dollars" invested in Chicago, Walmart is shuttering four unprofitable stores in the metropolitan area, reducing its store footprint by half in the crime-ridden city.
www.zerohedge.com/markets/walmart-shuts-down-four-chicago-stores-due-never-making-profit


Truckload capacity flips from unsustainably tight to unsustainably loose  
www.freightwaves.com/news/truckload-capacity-flips-from-unsustainably-tight-to-unsustainably-loose
Rejection rates fall to 3-year low