100 Comments

It's probably more that Aussie customs is just incompetent than they're specifically targeting your book.

"Never attribute malice to that which can adequately be explained by stupidity"

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LOL! Sorry Alex at your expense. Admiration for trying. Next time put a mask on the book.

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Try UPS next time. Always worth the extra postage. If they're wrong and unreliable on everything else, why would you trust the government with your mail?

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I seem to recall about two years ago, many things--most things--seemed to be accomplished just fine. Sure there were screw-ups and minor inconveniences.

But these days it seems there are more screw-ups and annoyances than pre-pandemic.

Or perhaps I'm just regularly pissed off by day-to-day life with mask-clad, finger-wagging, moronic Kool-aid drinkers.

This contagion of incompetence could have infected the postal systems.

Or not.

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Mar 10, 2022·edited Mar 10, 2022

Yes, Alex was “targeted.” My wife and I lived down-under for 12 years because of my job with MSC, Dept Of, The Navy. We just got back November 12th, 2019.

We made life long friends while we lived down-under and, we send things to our friends quite often. I am very familiar with the, “Australia Post”, formally the Australian Postal Corporation.

Which is the government business enterprise that provides postal services in Australia. The head office of Australia Post is located in Bourke Street, Melbourne, which also serves as a post office. Coming and going both ways. Including packages. This, was part of my job.

~

His book got wet on purpose. And concerning the other gentleman, same thing happened. “sabotage” They have a list of names of people the government does not want mail coming into Australia from.

They brought this to my attention by telling me to make sure that none of our employees subscribe to certain type literature from such said, “Alt”, organizations.

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Alex, next time place the book in a larger size ziplock and let’s see what happens!!!

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Come on Alex...we all know that since the Aussies live down-under anything you send by mail has to go down under water...wait. lol

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As my daughters would say, that sounds pretty sus.

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At least you received back the evidence - I'm relatively surprised that they don't just burn all books 'to be safe'.

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Try wrapping the book in saran wrap or put it in a waterproof bag. The thing about malice Vs. Stupidity, I dropped that formula a few years ago when I learned that our society runs on malice now. Ask any Canadian who had their bank account frozen for donating to a legal protest, then having the service hacked and the govt using the hacked data to punish contributors. Naw, Ill take malice.

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For my entire adult life I have been very dismissive about conspiracy theories. Since covid I assume they are all true...

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They have had record rain in Australia this past month. Massive flooding. So not surprising.

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At least they didn't just burn it.

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Well we have had EXTREMELY bad floods...! So maybe that...????!! Still odd.

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I have a brother in Australia and every year I send him a family calendar that I make. This year it cost many times the price it has in years past. There was some kind of explanation about how they have a different emergency policy due to COVID (eye-roll) that requires all packages to be sent priority, just as you said. Normally I could send his and it would arrive within a couple weeks. It might have, but I have not heard from him so I'm not sure and he lives kind of off the grid and has no computer so I can't easily check with him.

Another brother lives in South Korea. The past 2 years it has taken months for him to get his. Actually in 2020 I think he never got it and after 6 months it came back to me, even though I spent a similar amount of money to send it as you did the book (for a CALENDAR!). Last year it took several months. This year he called me after 2 weeks to say it had come! And it cost less than it had before! So weird.

I have not tried sending one to my nephew in Ecuador. He cautioned me never to send anything to them in the mail because they would never get it.

I had never appreciated the USPS much before, but these experiences reinforces on my common sayings: Everything is relative.

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Don’t want none uh thet Rooskie propagandie gettin’ through to the polis…

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Was there any way the customs agent could identify you as the sender specifically?

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I volunteer as liaison. If your subscribers agree I will ship them, my name and address, at the very least it would make for an interesting experiment.

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Hello Everyone. Pfizer just released 55,000 pages of it's clinical trials as ordered by the courts. Yet I am seeing next to no reporting on this? Not from Berenson or anywhere else. The most I found was from Latin America's largest newspaper the Rio Times: https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/modern-day-censorship/pfizer-covid-vaccine-has-1291-side-effects-reveals-official-documents/ They report nearly 1300 serious side effects. Surprisingly yahoo news reported it in a search on Google but when you clicked the link it was..."hmmm this link no longer exists".....but what about other journalists (including Alex)...what is going on here? Any ideas? This should be a big deal for people who pay for the censored news. The Texas court has ordered 55,000 pages released every month. This is the first drop.

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We had a similar situation with a package to Israel. That said...lesson is I will never send anything without it being in a "vacuum seal" bag and protected by ridgid box. We wrapped up or used zip locks for most items and the things we didn't were ruined. It's like they leave packages in the open exposed to the elements, etc....in this case I'd guess more sinister reasons, but the "seal it up" is just an FYI....should you attempt it again.

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founding

Maybe they baptized them books in Putin oil!

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The Australian government have been defunding the Post Office for well over a decade now. What used to be a very good service is now not even passable. Add COVID theatre and staff issues that result from it and the result is that it takes ages to send anything to or from Australia at the moment. Here in NZ we're still waiting on packages sent from both ends from months ago to arrive.

I'd suggest that the wet delivery is rare but coincidental.

We're also waiting on a package from Germany sent 2 months ago to arrive. It seems to me for example that DHL ships from Europe/Rotterdam to say Sydney (a guess) and then flies your package from there to say Melbourne or Auckland. For 6-7 weeks (normal shipping time from Rotterdam to Australasia) your package is untraceable and then suddenly it just turns up on the tracking system and you have it in a day or two.

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Mar 10, 2022·edited Mar 11, 2022

In fairness, NSW has been deluged with record-breaking rainfall recently, so it could be a mail delivery caught outside. If it helps any, I sent a book to my brother in Ireland in January and it still has not been delivered. Still on its merry way from Dublin to final destination (60 miles) for over a month now......chalk it down to Covid....

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I subscribed to the Weekly Standard (pre-TDS) and I live in a very liberal county. Often as not my magazine never arrived. I finally quit the subscription.

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I live in Canada and I ordered the book when it came out from Amazon. The cover was ripped. I’ve never gotten a ripped book from Amazon before. Just saying.

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I never got mine either; bought a new one (unsigned). I blamed porch pirates but I maybe it was something else!

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Hopefully you kept all your receipts and could turn everything in for refunds and insurance claims. What a good guy you are though for trying so hard to get them there! The refund insurance does work. Speaking from experience.

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Mar 11, 2022·edited Mar 11, 2022

What a coincidence, my Australian order had also been through the wars. The bookseller was considerate enough to send a personal email and photo “The damage consists of a tear to the books slip cover (see attached image) Alternatively, we can cancel this title from your order, as it is currently out of stock.” My husband said I was just being paranoid when I felt it was targeted, hmmm. I much prefer my copy with its battle wounds.

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Alex. I'm jealous. Your life is so much more interesting than mine.

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There has been flooding in Australia........

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It got wet when they sprayed it with disinfectant to get the US Covid Cooties off - like we used to when our groceries and mail were delivered. (I actually did that in 2020...)

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Alex, you do make us laugh.

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I thought it was just American liberals who can't abide by alternate opinions to their own but apparently Australia has their fair share. This eventually turns into Fascism. Damn, I wanted to visit Australia!

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Still waiting on my copy down under too. Must be swimming around customs somewhere 🤣

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i guess the floods are pretty bad

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It looks as if Postal Workers get lonely and to pass the time, they sometimes filch a book out of its wrapper and read it in the bathroom while seated, but stopping a john from overflowing takes ingunity. and neither wind, rain nor snow will stop these stalwart legions from performing their appointed rounds or duty.

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I was told by my town’s postal employee in Massachusetts that Australia wouldn’t accept my mailing of 2 books because of Covid. This was a couple of months ago. Maybe it’s still the case!

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Alex, try buying it for these folks from the Amazon.com.au website and then it's "in country" already. That's probably less expensive than trying to mail them one. It won't be signed, however.

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I get fancy books sent sealed in waterproof plastic bags, ever since one got dropped into a puddle (allegedly)

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I do love physical books, but this is definitely a time when a Kindle is best.

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I'm in Australia, I ordered a copy of your book online from the very, very, very few stores that offered it. I received some strange message about additional signatures or money or something, to have the book released by customs. It was too odd so I gave up. Reputable book company too.

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They should purchase the PDF version - it's very plausible that this is a customs censorship tool by Australian government. If other books got wet coming in that would help us get more information.

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Sounds like the book 📕 swam 🌊 🏊🏻‍♂️ to Australia 🇦🇺

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It takes a lot of time and energy to run a police state effectively.

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I wonder if Australia's Customs offices and freight businesses are half empty, short on staff, with everyone double masked and scared to be there...like half the restaurants I visit in the USA. Maybe if the Aussies stopped terrorizing their population they'd be able to handle a simple package.

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I don't know about packages, but I do know that first class mail from US to Australia is very slow. Right now I have a letter that has taken 3 weeks and has yet to arrive at its destination down under.

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I'm thinking lots and lots of ziplocks & duct tape! Now it's the principle of the matter, dammit! American ingenuity!

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The authoritarian Left hates you Alex.

With a passion.

I’m sure of it.

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Any time you mail anything paper, put it in a ziploc bag before you put it in the envelope.

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are they doing this in new jersey also, because i never received mine?

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