Weekend Unthreaded

….Late. :- )

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218 comments to Weekend Unthreaded

  • #
    john

    https://deadline.com/2018/12/neil-degrasse-tyson-sexual-misconduct-accusations-below-metoo-timesup-harassment-1202512371/?amp

    What is it with these CAGW high priests being unable to keep their britches on? This is not an isolated event but a pattern. Need to do a study on it. Now to find grant $$$$$!

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    • #
      Roy Hogue

      When a complaint is made public so long after the event it loses credibility with anyone who can think. I watched this happen during the Brett Kavanaugh hearing in the senate.

      At the same time, a man has a certain obligation to avoid the appearance of sexual harassment or worse. If you make certain statements or talk about certain subjects to any woman or are alone with a woman that society will think you shouldn’t be alone with be sure that you know her well enough to know that they it will not be misinterpreted or come back to haunt you years later.

      I worked for nearly 17 years before retirement for a small subsidiary of a larger company. The office manager was one of those types who could hold a place together with her bare hands. She knew where everything was and with the exception of software, knew how everything should be done.

      Being a small company she and I along with two technicians were frequently the only ones there and because there were frequent quiet times without too much activity between the emergency level demands we developed a friendship and would talk about any subject that came up. I was never afraid to be blunt about how I viewed current sexual mores or any other subject touching on sexuality. I was confident that she understood that none of it was personal. But I would not hold such conversations with very many women I have met because that level of trust was never there.

      It’s a mistake to innocently assume something that isn’t true, even if it appears to be.

      I have that level of trust with only one other woman beside my wife and she has cut my hair for more than 20 years.

      Gentlemen, be careful what you say and do. It can bite when you least expect it.

      And call me a prude or whatever you like but remember the many examples that have been used maliciously against anyone someone doesn’t like.

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      • #
        MatrixTransform

        relationships with women these days be like driving home from the pub when drunk.

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        • #
          toorightmate

          I thought women were really beautiful when they thanked you for opening the door for them
          Haven’t times changed?

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          • #
            PeterPetrum

            Some years ago I held a door open for a well dressed woman who was enetering he law courts in Sydney as I was leaving.

            She looked at me with contempt on her face and said “ do you think I am incapable of opening a door?”

            I still open doors for ladies, but it did shake me at the time.

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            • #
              yarpos

              I would have let it go and walked away

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            • #
              Roy Hogue

              Peter,

              I can relate to that from the other side. In recent ears my sense of balance has deteriorated and for safety I use a cane. I have never been licked by any door no matter how hard it is to open. You just push or pull a little until you can tell what you’re up against and then go on trough without trouble.

              Very frequently when someone sees me coming they open the door and hold it for me. But I decided I would not reject something someone did wishing to help me so I just say, “Thank you,” and go on trough.

              I can’t see my pride getting in my way the way you describe. It’s not worth it.

              By the way, I will still open the door and hold it for a woman or for anyone if I have the chance. I’ve yet to encounter what you describe but I’ve seen it written about numerous times. If it ever does happen I’m likely to say, “You’re welcome,” and see what happens.

              Common old courtesy would easily solve some of the world’s problems I think.

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        • #
          AndyG55

          I still open doors for women, and others, give way at supermarket entrances, aisles etc

          Nearly always get a “thankyou”, or “My, aren’t you a gentleman, so few of you left” etc.

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          • #
            Annie

            Thank you Andy and all the other real men who take the trouble to do things like opening a door for a woman. 🙂 I love it when someone does that for me…makes my day.

            I’m sorry to say there are some women who don’t acknowledge gracious behaviour; I encounter them each time I go to town and try to help those struggling with little children and lots of shopping. I’m lucky to get any sort of indication I’m even visible! Then there are the others, who smile enchantingly…makes my day again.

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            • #
              Greebo

              I always opened the door for my late wife, and also for anyone else I called a woman, which is where it becomes complicated. Also for elderly or infirm. We called it courtesy.

              I am still hurt and confused by the abuse I got when I was opening the car door for Jan, in the last ten days of her life, by someone I can only describe as a pierced, high vis maggot, presumably female. Jan was so frail a five year old would have held the door for her. Not for much longer, if the Roz Wards of the world get their way, which they will it seems. I truly despair, but we are outnumbered by FaceBook.

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              • #
                Annie

                How awful for you Greebo. Of all the times to encounter such nasty behaviour.
                My lovely husband does the same as you did for Jan. I am very blessed, as she was to have you.

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              • #
                Roy Hogue

                Greebo,

                From recent revelations I would say you’re right about Facebook. If it keeps on being the number 1 interpersonal communication medium the human race is doomed.

                Its only 2 objectives appear to be liked by everyone and friends with everyone. Any sane person should be able to realize that the world doesn’t work that way.

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            • #
              yarpos

              I gotta say Annie, I just dont bother anymore. I will hold a door for an elderly/infirm person, someone carrying more than me, a mum struggling with a pram that sort of thing. Everyday females have to make their own arrangements I’m afraid.

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        • #
          Ted O'Brien.

          A local entertainer wrote a really good song about that. “She’s the designated driver, I’m the designated drinker.”

          He wrote some other good ones too, including one about a nursing home named Dunrootin.

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        • #

          Matrix:
          “Relationships with women these days be like driving home from the pub when drunk”.

          correction:
          Relationships with women these days be like driving home from the pub when drunk,
          in reverse, using the rear view mirror to steer !

          10

    • #
      el gordo

      In the modern era men must stop thinking of women as sex objects and simply think of them as objects. Also, women should stop treating men as cash cows and in this way western civilisation will come to an end within a couple of generations. sarc

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    • #
      Another Ian

      From the last thread

      “Global warming made him do it”

      Or as Gordon Lightfoot put it

      “And they talked about the weather

      98.6 and rising down by Boulder Dam that night”

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      • #
        Greebo

        Or as Gordon Lightfoot put it

        Wasn’t that Nanci Griffiths? Not saying Gordon didn’t record it.

        OT, perhaps, but Lightfoot, however, had this to say:

        “Does anyone know where the love of God goes
        When the waves turn the minutes to hours?

        And this:

        “Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
        In the rooms of her ice-water mansion
        Old Michigan steams like a young man’s dreams
        The islands and bays are for sportsmen
        And farther below, Lake Ontario
        Takes in what Lake Erie can send her”, and:

        “The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
        Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
        Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
        When the gales of November come early”

        The Edmund Fitzgerald was sunk in 1975, by weather on the inland lakes of the US/Canada. No doubt CO2 was involved. The temperatures were sub zero.

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  • #
    • #
      Roy Hogue

      The blades of a wind turbine are nothing but airfoils, the same thing as the wings of an airplane or its propeller.

      Any pilot knows about the wake turbulence behind a big jet. It gets worse the slower the jet is flying and can literally crash a smaller plane landing too close after a big jet has landed.

      That wake also represents more drag thus more fuel consumption. The problem is that air rushes around the wingtip from the underside were the pressure is greater to the upper side where it’s lower, reducing the pressure difference between bottom and top of the wing which is what supports the plan in flight. It also causes a swirling mass of air behind the wingtips that can persevere for as much as 5 minutes. It can be felt in the form of a rolling frce that a smaller plane cannot overcome and down it goes.

      Those little winglets you see sticking up on the ends of the wings of newer jets are the countermeasure. They reduce the amount of air that can escape from the bottom to the top of the wing in flight. Wake turbulence is reduced and wing efficiency is increased.

      Let us hope they do not learn to use his countermeasure on wind turbines, this making them a little less bothersome to their neighbors and at the same time making them more efficient.

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      • #
        john

        Ray, I’ve worked as a wind energy consultant from 1997-2007. We knew of this problem then. Idiotic, corrupt, unregulated, no experience political cronies jumped in and now we have a giant charlied foxtrot going on. Don’t need to be lectured. As far as the Kavanaugh issues goes, a couple of country club kids with an axe to grind politically and gofundme riches and fame at stake.

        Do tell how many tenured college/univ profs take advantage of students and staff. Just saying…

        Memo to all: Keep yer skivvy britches on,and treat your people respectfully.

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      • #
        The Depraved and MOST Deplorable Vlad the Impaler

        Hi Roy,

        You are indeed correct: the wing-tip vortex is worst when the generating aircraft is heavy, slow, and “clean” (gear and flaps retracted).

        Just in case you missed it, one of the best demonstrations of the large-aircraft wing-tip vortex comes at the very end of “Die Hard II“, the one where John McClane rescues his wife from the terrorists at Dulles International. After the terrorist 747 crashes and leaves all of its burning fuel as a guide for the almost empty aircraft to land, a 727 comes in, and passes through the “smoke” (actually, what you see is ‘Hollywood’ smoke — a non-toxic smoke-look-a-like), but it shows the vortex perfectly.

        I have no way of proving it, but back when I was a Private Pilot candidate, taking my first ground school, we learned about ‘wake turbulence’ and ‘wing-tip vortexes’, and my very first thought (this was the early sixties) was, ‘put up a vertical fin “barrier” at the wingtip’ to alleviate the problem. Fast-forward to the 1980’s, and the industry starts to get the message.

        Oh well; should have patented the idea back then; it never occurred to me that everyone didn’t have the same thought. Just think how rich I’d be now … … …

        Vlad

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        • #
          Roy Hogue

          Vlad,

          I suspect that the industry incentive was to reduce drag thus reduce fuel consumption. I doubt that anyone making jets of any size was worried about what wingtip vortexes could do to a following aircraft. It was all about fuel which as you know experienced a large inflation compared to other things.

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        • #
          Roy Hogue

          I stay away from movies that can’t do a credible job of depicting aviation. So I never saw it.

          I was once parked eating my lunch up at the top of the sand dune at the end of LAX runway 24 left. I had my little radio tuned to departure and I heard a big 747 go to the end of the runway and then return to the gate because some construction had part of the beginning blocked off. I stuck around to see what would happen and sure enough after the runway was fully opened he went back for takeoff.

          It was spectacular good marginal runway technique, keep all wheels on the ground until it can fly then rotate and lift off. The glide slope antenna was right at the end of the pavement because no displaced threshold on the west end so here he came and jumped into the air at the last second, stirring up dust around that antenna tower as he lifted off.
          He went over my head so low I could have shaken hands with the flight crew.

          After he was way out to sea and engine noise was silent I could hear the wake turbulence above me for several minuets. A 747 is heavy. And this guy was loaded down with everything they could get aboard — over the pole to London and from there fuel to his alternate plus 2 more hours.

          After seeing how little runway he had left, essentially none when he lifted off I gained some new respect for ATPs. A little letup in the wind and he would have been on top of me instead of above me. I always thought that was a chancy takeoff.

          I wish I had a camera with me instead of that aircraft band radio.

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      • #
        The Depraved and MOST Deplorable Vlad the Impaler

        Here’s one fer ya, Roy:

        As Santa was preparing for his annual trip around the world, the FAA sent a team up to the North Pole, to make sure everything was in order.

        A team of Veterinarians checked out the reindeer, taking blood samples, inspecting their stalls, checking their hay for nutritional content, reviewing their medical records;

        A maintenance team did a thorough inspection of the sleigh, talking to the elf mechanics who maintain it, checking the inspection records, pulling some inspection panels, and asking questions about the various Airworthiness Directives issued for that model of sleigh;

        And another team of inspectors reviewed Santa’s logbook, checking to see if he was current (minimum of 3 take-offs and landings within the preceding 90 days), and if he was current on Instrument Flying Rules (IFR), the Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH), and his First-Class Medical certificate was within the past six months.

        All was well; things were looking good for the upcoming trip. One Flight Standards Inspector then turned to Santa and said, “Hey, Santa; how about you and I go up and do some normal procedures, a couple of approaches, some emergency procedures, and we’ll sign you off on your trip!”. Santa agreed, and had the elves hitch up the reindeer for the flight check.

        The elves, carefully double-checked everything, taking a bit longer than the normal few minutes to complete the pre-flight procedures; they even spit-shined some of the brass, and the runners, just to impress the Inspector.

        Then, Santa, and the Inspector, climb into the sleigh, and prepare to taxi out to the runway. The reindeer are frisky, and Santa has to pull back on the reins to slow them down (fast taxi speeds are a recipe for disaster, ya know), and while they’re taxiing out, Santa notices that the inspector has a pump 12-guage by his side.

        As they approach the turn to line up on the runway, Santa, confused by the presence of the firearm, turns to the Inspector and asks, “What’s the shotgun for?”

        The Inspector nonchalantly says, “Well, I’m not supposed to tell you this, but there’s going to be an engine failure on takeoff.”

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        • #
          Roy Hogue

          Yeah! Right! Nice try but the long arm of the FAA has not yet reached clear to the north pole.

          Santa has been doing an incredible job for a very long time and I doubt that any FAA airworthiness directive could improve anything.

          Cleaver story tough. But Santa and the FAA are disjoint sets — thankfully. 😉

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          • #
            Roy Hogue

            It surprised me to learn not long ago that the venerable old J3 Piper Cub has been reclassified as an ultra-lite and no longer requires an FAA pilot’s license to fly. But being a tail draggier you might want to start with some good instruction and take it slow, lest you ground-loop it.

            I was watching someone get into one of those and go for a demo ride that first gave me the idea that I might want to become a pilot.

            I was all of about 13 or 14 and school was out so my neighbor, who was an A&P mechanic asked if I would like to go to work with him one day. Sure, what kid wouldn’t so he got my parent’s permission and off we went. All I had to do all day was stay out of his way and avid spinning props. But a pair of J3s were parked out front of the hangar. I never saw another one again except in pictures.

            10

    • #
      Graeme No.3

      So? More turbines reduce the amount of available wind. This has been known for 20 years or more by everyone except the gullible AGW believers.
      The obvious answer is for all new turbines (and most of the old ones) to be sited in the ocean, preferably the Marianas Trench.

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    • #
      RickWill

      An optimised wind turbine will extract 9/16ths of the energy in the approaching airstream over its swept disc. That means the airflow has been reduced to 67% downstream compared with upstream. The average loss in airflow velocity will depend on proximity of turbines. It is inevitable that downstream turbines will have reduced airflow.

      What the story fails to recognise is the generator curtailment of output, which is the inevitable consequence of generators feeding into a demand constrained system. Why should upstream wind generators be paying some penalty to downstream wind generators when the downstream generator is robbing the upstream generator of demand. Yesterday, Sunday Dec 2, the wind generators in SA had system limited output for more than 12 hours. So if downstream wind generators get compensation for upstream generators reducing the airflow velocity why shouldn’t the more recent generator be compensating the earlier generators for the demand they have robbed.

      Taking it further, if the most recent generator has to compensate the earlier generator then there becomes a very messy situation. Again looking at the demand yesterday in SA, the total network demand at 1345hrs was 1146MW. Local rooftop solar was supplying 799MW of that. Leaving a lousy 347MW for the grid connected generators to supply. Without the 670MW battery (Victoria) wind curtailment would have occurred for the entire day. This is the first time that I have seen rooftop supply more the 2/3rds of the midday demand in SA:
      https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aq1iAj8Yo7jNgxTbiGs9ZlZ85uZW
      This should be waving a red flag to all wind generator proponents. Rooftop solar will continue to eat away at their demand. The high cost of grid power will encourage more people to install rooftop.

      There has been no detailed system modelling that looks at time varying intermittent generation and actual time varying demand. The AEMO modelling is based solely on unconstrained capacity factors for intermittents fuelled by hopium dished up by the diversity fairy.

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      • #
        robert rosicka

        Is there anyone left in the state to use electricity? South Australia the new Nimbin.

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      • #
        yarpos

        Interesting how all the piecemeal growth of intermittents with no apparent plan is turning out. While the fans have their rose coloured glasses firmly on , the unintended consequences keep on flowing out now critical mass is being reached.

        I think it was you that mentioned eventually they are going to run out of people to sell their RET certificates to. Now they are devouring one another. A little bit of karma perhaps.

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    • #
      beowulf

      Well slap my bottom and call me Marmaduke — wind turbines in Germany are collapsing or catching fire at an ever increasing rate as they age. Who’da thunk it? This is the future for Oz with the added excitement of consequent bushfires.

      Will this be another Infigen bushfire summer?

      http://notrickszone.com/2018/12/02/german-wind-turbines-go-up-in-flames-or-simply-collapse-federal-government-refuses-to-investigate/#comments

      For some authoritative figures on turbine failure rates check this link:

      https://windpower.sandia.gov/2009Reliability/PDFs/Day1-17-PeterTavner.pdf

      Note especially the graph of comparative failure rates of different power generating sources as in steam turbines versus wind turbines etc (p.11) and the conclusions. Larger turbines have higher failure rates, and what are we building more of?

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      • #
        yarpos

        “Will this be another Infigen bushfire summer?”

        Sadly as numbers increase, it seems like a rolled gold certainty at some stage.

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  • #
    john

    Offshore wind sea floor scouring:

    https://www.americanbar.org/publications/natural_resources_environment/2012_13/fall_2012/extreme_weather_impacts_offshore_wind_turbines_lessons_learned/

    Also, these foundationd cause nutrients from the sea floor to rise. This will cause more Red Tide problems.

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    • #
      Roy Hogue

      May I hope the dad gum turbines fall into the water? I’m told that man made structures make good foundations for reef formation and that can only be a good thing all the way around.

      Problem solved it they wold only let them fall.

      Well…probably some work would need to be done so it isn’t quite that easy. But still, it sounds like a good thing to me.

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    • #
      Annie

      What is all that about ‘extreme’ weather in the North Sea? Since when wasn’t there any? Many, many years ago I remember a ferry-crossing from Rotterdam to Immingham; in a full gale! The ship was unstabilised too (Late ’73 IIRC).

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  • #
    RicDre

    I recently had to replace the post on which my mailbox is mounted and while shopping for the post I noticed that the store carried a cap for the post which has an LED light that runs at night off of a rechargeable battery charged during the day by a a small solar cell mounted on the top of the cap. Since I live on a 2-lane highway with few street lights, I decided to buy the cap as it would help me find my driveway at night. When I got the cap home and read the instructions I found out the the cap requires 5 hours of direct sunlight during the day to fully recharge the battery so that the light will run all night. Since there are a lot of trees in my neighborhood, 5 hours of direct sunlight is pretty unlikely. In general I am getting enough charge from the solar cell to run the LED light for about 2 to 3 hours each night. I guess the moral of the story is a solar cell is not a reliable way to provide electricity for a small night light.

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    • #
      PeterS

      On a similar note battery storage power has a long way to go before it even comes close to replacing coal and nuclear. That’s the point all anti-coal and anti-nuclear global warming alarmists just don’t get.

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    • #
      sophocles

      Rick said

      I guess the moral of the story is a solar cell is not a reliable way to provide electricity for a small night light.

      You’re learning. Now, you could try mounting the solar cell on your roof …
      … and you would be in a position to try some real experimentation. You could add to it, with another solar cell, then you could power a second LED … the possibilities are manifold. Just watch out for snake-oil salesmen 🙂

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      • #
        RicDre

        I may try a solar cell on my garage roof; it has a nice, south-facing side (important if you live in Northern Ohio, USA). I could use it charge a battery for a night light in my garage. I don’t think I’ll use it to power the night light on my mail box post, it would not be cost effective to run wires from my garage to my mailbox post. 🙂

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  • #
    PeterS

    I had a dream; well perhaps one would call a sort of nightmare. Shorten becomes PM and accelerates to closure of coal fired power stations. They finally realise it’s not going to work so they panic and suggest the only solution is to build nuclear power stations in the name of saving the planet from global warming. The LNP is in shock horror like a stunned mullet realising the ALP stole their thunder. The only good feeling I got from this is the fact the LNP is exposed for what they are – clueless without vision and guts. As a party they ought to die.

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    • #
      Dennis

      And on the opposite side ……….

      Union controlled Labor even more committed to RET, Paris Agreement etc.

      And prepared to sign the Compact on Migrants.

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    • #
      RicDre

      In your dream, does the ALP realise it’s not going to work before or after all of the coal fired power stations are closed? If before, it was definitely a dream. If after, it may be a premonition of things to come.

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      • #
        PeterS

        My dream did not have that much detail. Upon reflection in the real world I suspect we would eventually switch to nuclear power regardless of who is in power as long as the CACGW hoax continues unabated.

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    • #
      el gordo

      ‘…clueless without vision and guts.’

      We’ll have to wait until after Xmas, I strongly believe the government will seek tenders for three new coal fired power stations. On the question of nuclear power, the infrastructure build is hugely expensive compared with Hele, so its not an option.

      ‘As a party they ought to die.’

      If the Coalition doesn’t return to the centre right then the Westminster system could collapse, having morphed into a one party state.

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      • #
        Annie

        I hope you are correct about that EG.

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      • #
        PeterS

        Since when did cost become a factor especially for the ALP? It has become abundantly clear all Western governments have given up on reducing spending and paying off their national debts. We are only achieving our first budget surplus for a long time thanks to rising commodity prices yet again. As always it won’t last. So many new nuclear power stations are being built as well as coal based ones in many other nations. We have an abundant supply of both coal and uranium but because we as a nation have decided to fall for the CAGW hoax in a big way we are instead we are relying on more and more renewables to show the rest of the world we are serious. OK then why not be really serious and not just pretend? We should stop exporting coal and Cranium forthwith. Of course we won’t for obvious reasons. Goes to show Australia is overpopulated with too many brainless twits.

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        • #
          el gordo

          Nobody on the east coast wants nuclear power because they have an abundance of quality cheap coal. The crow eaters may do some virtue signalling and demand clean nuclear, but I think Cory should look at the price point and carry out some due diligence.

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        AndyG55

        “having morphed into a one party state.”

        Which is exactly the reason why once Liberal seats have been stacked with leftist infiltrators.

        The only way the left could win is by subterfuge. They have pull off the big con very successfully, and those remaining in the Liberal party are ony just waking up to that fact.

        There are NOT ENOUGH VOTES to be gained from going to the far-left with Labor and the Greens.,

        and MANY votes to be lost.

        Normal Victorian voter turnout is 93%

        This election was 87% minus 6% informal

        That is lot of votes NOT to get.

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        • #
          el gordo

          So there was a 6% Informal vote, clearly a grass roots movement.

          Andy its now obvious that Premier Gladys has learnt a lesson from the Vic bloodbath, the people like the promise of rail transport infrastructure.

          So the NSW Coalition should win comfortably.

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      • #
        AndyG55

        A couple of nice long power outages over summer would make things very interesting.

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  • #
    robert rosicka

    Turdbull at it again destabilising what’s left of the Liberal party , interfering in Craig Kelly’s PM rescue bid .
    I know MSM and ABC are just muck raking but the more they throw the more seems to stick .

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    • #

      rescuing someone from being dumped by the local members who don’t want him representing them?

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      • #
        robert rosicka

        You mean the hard left branch stackers don’t want to endorse a non warmist ?

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        • #

          You are making that up. Luckily I am not a member of the NSW branch. I know a lot of people who were joining Malcolm in making phone calls about this. You know it affects every branch and the voting rights of members. How many do you think would resign?

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          • #

            *Division not branch

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          • #
            AndyG55

            “I know a lot of people who were joining Malcolm in making phone calls about this”

            So you know lots of leftist suckophants.. That is no surprise.

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            • #

              What can I say to that. Hi mods

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              • #
                philthegeek

                What can I say to that.

                Probably not a lot. But……quiet amusement at the level of unhingiment inherent would be appropriate. 🙂

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              • #
                AndyG55

                “What can I say to that”

                Just accept the facts for a change, and stop whimpering.

                Surly GeeUp! isn’t DENYING that he lives PURELY and TOTALLY in a far-left oriented part of society. !!

                Surly he wouldn’t DENY that most of the liberal-far-left is sucking up totally to the labor/green agenda???

                Yep, you are showing almost complete delusional unhingement, phlip

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          • #
            FarmerDoug2

            Unfortunately Leaf may have a point.

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        • #
          Dennis

          That’s how sitting Liberal Peter King MP was replaced as candidate for Wentworth by Malcolm Turnbull, branch stacking and one the the worst examples on record.

          It is very clear that manipulating is going on, remember the links provided very recently here to school children brain washing from the leftists and a meeting at Warringah electorate organised by outsiders claiming to be voters wanting Abbott to be dumped. By the way his Liberal branches endorsed him recently as candidate again.

          I cannot recall a time in political history when so much widespread manipulating was being carried out.

          The Turnbull Liberal left Black Hand Faction teamed up with Labor’s GetUp from 2009 onwards to get Opposition Leader and then Prime Minister Abbott.

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            AndyG55

            The really bizarre thing is that phlip and geeUp are trying to DENY it.

            Quite funny watching the lengths and mindless rhetoric that go to trying to keep that DENIAL going.

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    • #
      philthegeek

      interfering in Craig Kelly’s PM rescue bid .

      Kaos, Confusion, and straight out Nastiness. 🙂

      From the Libs…who’s a thunk it??

      An update on who is out in the Senate at the next election, based on Senate tickets and well, common sense:

      Jim Molan

      Lucy Gichuhi

      Ian Macdonald

      Barry O’Sullivan

      Fraser Anning

      Brian Burston

      David Leyonhjelm

      Election 2019 aint over yet……but all the omens looking good. There is a real chance of getting stable Govt that actually does policy and governance instead of constant party games. 🙂

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      PeterS

      Well if after all this time the LNP is still not bothering to expel Turnbull from the party then they deserve each other and I will be writing a thank you note to Turnbull.

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      • #
        el gordo

        Turncoat is a vengeful creature, lets not give him air time.

        Importantly, the next Federal election will be won by the Coalition in a canter, by offering financial support for Premier Gladys very fast rail.

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      • #
        el gordo

        ‘Gladys Berejiklian’s utopian vision — a high-speed train costing billions — is a laughable idea straight out of political satire.’ Oz

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  • #
    Mark M

    President Trump is the only one telling the truth …

    “The US was the only G20 member which refused to back the global action on climate change,”

    “The president often falsely cites cold weather as proof global warming is not as bad as scientists say.

    Scientists, however, are quick to point out that weather is a short-term event and climate science looks at weather patterns over an extended period of time.”

    Whoa. Wait. What?

    IPCC author Will Steffen, director of the Australian National University’s Climate Change Institute supports President Trump:

    “Previously, ”weather is not climate” was the mantra, but now the additional boost from greenhouse gases was influencing every event.

    A few years ago, talking about weather and climate change in the same breath was a cardinal sin for scientists.

    Now it has become impossible to have a conversation about the weather without discussing wider climate trends, according to researchers who prepared the Australian Climate Commission’s latest report.”

    https://www.theage.com.au/national/climate-change-a-key-factor-in-extreme-weather-experts-say-20130303-2fefv.html

    Winning.

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    Dennis

    As citizens in France riot over fuel tax increases with similar happening in Belgium and Holland now this.

    Is the anticipated implosion of the EU now underway?

    https://www.coolinfo24.com/2018/12/01/civil-war-erupts-in-sweden-as-irate-swedes-burn-nine-muslim-refugee-centers-to-the-ground/

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    robert rosicka

    Tasmanian businesses struggle with massive power price increase .

    Isn’t tassie mainly hydro ?

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-03/tasmanian-businesses-close-to-breaking-point-over-power-prices/10576008

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    • #
      TdeF

      Not when the hydro company sells all the agricultural water for cash over the Tasman link. Then Tasmania runs out of both water in summer and electricity. The backup diesels cost $11Million a month. Of course this comes out of the electricity bills but it is governments getting the cash and the people having to pay the evil electricity companies. Just like the RET. Robbery.

      So perhaps they should build a giant French desalination plant to back up the hydro and pump the water uphill with diesel power. Plus German windmills and Chinese solar panels. You know it makes sense. Self sufficiency shot to pieces thanks to the Federal National Grid and the move of the Canberra public service into power distribution.

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        RicDre

        “So perhaps they should build a giant French desalination plant to back up the hydro and pump the water uphill with diesel power. Plus German windmills and Chinese solar panels.”

        Instead of diesel power and German windmills they should get the Dutch to build the windmills to pump the water from the French desalination plant uphill; The Dutch have a great deal of expertise in using windmills to pump water. 🙂

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        Greebo

        Why not run a pipeline from the Wonthaggi White Elephant to Tassie to power the hydro generators to send electricity to power the WWE. Hey presto, perpetual motion, and Andrews will get another four years.

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      AndyG55

      Isn’t tassie mainly hydro ?

      Yes, but when Victoria is low in electricity , and the SA wind isn’t blowing, they SELL most of it to Victoria.

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      Robber

      Tassie is part of the AEMO grid, so those hydro generators are free to bid as high as they can to meet Vic demands.
      Tassie wholesale prices:
      2014/15 $37/MWhr
      2015/16 $103/MWhr
      2016/17 $75/MWhr
      2017/18 $87/MWhr
      2018/19 $62/MWhr
      Plus all that hydro is a “renewable”, so factored into retail prices is the extra $80/MWhr they receive through the sale of renewable energy certificates to retailers.

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      Graeme No.3

      But the Hydro Corp. just loves selling their generation to Victoria for a higher price, hence the repeated calls for another BassLink (paid by someone else). If they stopped being worried about non-existent global warming and concentrated on their State, they would have cheaper electricity and business moving into the State.
      They should convert the existing wind turbines into pumping water back uphill to the dams. Fixes the intermittency problem and helps the water levels.

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      pat

      robert rosicka –

      one, it’s an ABC Tasmania story, when it should be on RN flagship current affairs programs.

      why no Four Corners program on businesses seeing these massive increases in the cost of electricity? guess that prog is on holiday for a few months now, so don’t expect one before the next federal election! lol.

      also, note the only solution mentioned in ABC/Angela Ross’s article!

      (excerpts) Some business owners said they have considered investing in renewable energy, but the cost is too great with continued uncertainty over a national energy plan at a federal level.
      Mr Jones said businesses will be too scared to invest until there is a clear long-term national plan.
      “Get a clear path that everyone knows that everyone’s going to continue to take, not for one year, but for five or 10 years so we can get some investment back in the sector,” he said.

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        robert rosicka

        Pat without looking I can’t imagine solar panels being of much use in tassie so maybe Dam the Franklin and put more hydro in then pull the extension cord to Victoriastan.

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          RickWill

          Solar panels may provide a little extra roof insulation for 4 to 5 months of the year in Tasmania. In those months they have difficulty getting the inverters buzzing let alone producing useful energy. Solar in Tasmania during the winter months, when energy is needed, maxes out at around 3% of demand; 50MW in 1500MW. On 24 hour average it is negligible.

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    Geoff Sherrington

    See WUWT for a piece I sent on school age children activism, Neil Mitchell interview. Geoff

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    David-of-Cooyal-in-Oz

    Morning all,
    The article below is from yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald (Sunday Dec 2), and is by Peter Hannam. It describes the Australian Capital Territory’s (ACT) interest in making laws to “encourage ” people to support renewables, and is quite frightening.
    First the link, then the article.
    Cheers,
    Dave B

    ACT seeks climate litigation advice as court action gathers momentum ;:; SMH Sun 2/12/18

    By Peter Hannam:

    ACT joins trend in suing over climate change
    The ACT will join growing global efforts to use courts to press for action.

    http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/act-climate-litigation-court-rattenbury-canberra-20181130-p50jk4.html?btis

    The ACT is set to join growing global efforts to use courts to press for urgent action to curb greenhouse gas emissions, with Climate Minister Shane Rattenbury seeking legal advice on how to lower litigation barriers.

    Mr Rattenbury, a senior member of the Labor-Greens government, said having the ACT sue fossil fuel companies including in the energy sector “is one of the options we should explore”.

    “I’ve asked my department about what options are available to help bring forward climate action,” he told Fairfax Media. “We need to look at other examples around the world to see if they are applicable here.”

    Mr Rattenbury said the work was “very much in the preliminary stages” and would need cabinet support before being implemented.

    It would include examining which barriers could be lowered to assist more third parties to use courts to seek climate-related damages or block new fossil-fuel projects such as coal mines – and so could affect other jurisdictions in Australia.

    Advertisement

    According to the UK’s Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change litigants have brought 1000 climate cases to court worldwide. The US has had jurisdictions at all levels seek damages, such as Connecticut state suing power companies and San Francisco city suing oil and gas producers for public nuisance.

    While initially favourable verdicts have almost all been overturned on appeal, the cases have drawn public attention to climate issues. Giants such as Exxon have also been forced to hand over internal documents showing their own scientists knew for decades of the catastrophic risks posed by burning fossil fuels.

    “They knew about climate change all along, they buried the science, they fought hard to prevent it being released, and they kept selling their health-damaging products,” Mr Rattenbury said.

    Still, climate litigation experts such as Melbourne University’s Jacqueline Peel said Australia’s laws make it “one of the hardest countries to bring a climate case”.

    “Australian governments have all kinds of immunities from being sued,” Professor Peel said. “There are not a lot of hooks there for good litigation.”

    Federal environmental law, for instance, “is pretty weak”, she said. “Governments merely need to take climate change into account.”

    Unlike the US, governments here often pursue losing plaintiffs for costs, such as charging the Australian Conservation Foundation for its challenge against the Adani coal mine. The total bill, including the appeal, was $230,000 according to ACF.

    Advertisement

    The Environmental Defenders Office in NSW and Queensland are among those trying to hold governments or companies to account.

    Cases include the Wallerah2 coal mine in NSW where the then Planning Assessment Commission’s approval is being challenged for the failure to consider the impact of carbon emissions on “intergenerational equity”,

    Other avenues being explored for legal action by the EDO include the failure of the $13 billion Murray Darling Basin Plan to assess the impact of climate change when divvying up water between irrigators and other extractors and the environment.

    The CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology say the basin is likely to become drier in a warming world, meaning the value of existing water rights may drop, Emma Carmody, an EDO lawyer, said.

    International lawyers such as ClientEarth have also succeeded in using existing clean air provisions to force governments in the UK, Germany and elsewhere to cut emissions of nitrous oxides and small particulates – often with the side benefit of forcing carbon dioxide levels lower too.

    Brendan Dobbie, EDO’s acting principal solicitor, welcomed any move by the ACT or elsewhere that brought laws more into line with those in Europe.

    “The longer we see governments fail to take serious action on climate change, the more desperate people will be to seek other solutions,” Mr Dobbie said. “Courts are very powerful tools to bring about change.”

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      robert rosicka

      Simple really , stop all fuel deliveries into the ACT and disconnect all electricity going into the ACT .

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        Annie

        Exactly my thought RR.

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        Greebo

        Great idea. Now, all we’d need to do to cap it off is find some way of keeping the pollies there on a permanent basis.

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        AndyG55

        Easy. Just cut off ALL CO2 created electricity to the ACT.

        Whenever the wind farms aren’t providing

        ACT isn’t receiving. See how long they last

        Preferable do it in mid summer (can get quite warm), or mid winter (can get BL**DY COLD).

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          RickWill

          No amount of wind generators can power the grid alone at the present stage of development. They are all synchronised to existing generators and have no rotating inertia. They could be synchronised to a clocking signal but that is not a feature of the present installations.

          The lack of synchronising inertia in the SA system during weekends must be a mounting risk. On Sunday Dec 2, rooftop solar was pumping 800MW into the network and the main synchronising inertia was from Victoria. The linked article shows why the system needs to be pushed beyond the breaking point because not many people grasp the intricacies of an electrical supply system:
          https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-11/electricity-distributors-warn-excess-solar-could-damage-grid/10365622
          Believe it or not both Dillon and Mountain qualified as accountants. Electrical engineers are no longer represented in influential roles. The grid needs to collapse before technical expertise will be applied to fix this mess.

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      Greebo

      Intergenerational equity

      Sounds like Kevin Rudd is involved somewhere.

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      yarpos

      The stupidity and hypocrisy of sitting in the middle of the NSW grid and demanding the closure of coal plants and talking about suing people is quite mind boggling. All the CO2 must be inhibiting their ability to think.

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        robert rosicka

        You can blame Co2 on whatever you want but not that it causes brain fade in Canberra , they don’t need extra Co2 to be in lala land ,they just are .

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    David-of-Cooyal-in-Oz

    Hello again,
    Here’s a second by Peter Hannam, again from yesterday’s SMH, but this time about what he’s expecting to happen in Poland in the next two weeks. And our government could well commit us to it.
    I find this terrifying.
    And again the link is first, and the full article follows. A bit lengthy sorry.
    Cheers,
    Dave B
    ;;;
    ‘New weapon’: courts offer hope for driving serious climate action ;:; SMH Sun 2/12/18
    By Peter Hannam

    Courting for climate change action

    Political inaction has led lawyers to press for environmental change through litigation.
    http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/new-weapon-courts-offer-hope-for-driving-serious-climate-action-20181129-p50jb0.html?btis

    In the not so far-off future, if your home is flooded by extreme rain or razed by an unseasonable bushfire, the first people to turn up on your property after the emergency crews could be bearing legal documents. In Australia and around the world, crack teams of lawyers and eminent law schools are systematically exploring available legal options to sue for climate justice – or seeking to create new ones where they don’t exist. “The truth is there’s a huge number of people about to litigate,” said Martijn Wilder, a partner at Baker McKenzie and an author featured in a special issue of The Australian Law Journal devoted to climate change and the law. “What we see all of a sudden is that people are realising litigation is a new weapon.”

    Sydney’s ‘one-in-a-100 year’ rain event this week left a damage bill of at least $10 million. Nick Moir

    Describing the need to curb greenhouse gas emissions as “an existential battle”, Wilder predicts people will be able to sue for the impacts of climate change and have a good chance of winning. “No doubt it’s going to happen – it’s inevitable,” he says. “Governments have a duty of care, they have a responsibility.”

    [snip]

    Also of interest will be whether countries that can claim credits for exceeding their pledges during the previous accord, the Kyoto Protocol, can use them to count for the Paris pact that runs to 2030. Australia is one of them. But besides the bickering over national pledges, businesses, academics and activists will be busy examining the fast developing field of climate law. “It’ll feature in the backrooms and the siderooms, for sure,” Hare says. “We certainly see more and more companies engaging with this issue.”

    One thousand cases

    And no wonder.

    A flurry of legal action is under way in a host of nations, particularly the litigious United States. The UK’s Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics estimates as many as 1000 climate court cases have been tried or are under way.
    [snip]
    Preston has seen firsthand a pushback from US lawyers in the past year, in part inspired by the Trump presidency’s backing of the fossil fuel industry, against development of a “model statute” for the International Bar Association. That statute was designed to “find what the barriers are to successful litigation in various jurisdictions and then lower those barriers, but that hasn’t yet to come to light” because American lawyers blocked it, he says. ”They saw a wave of litigation, and said, ‘we don’t want to encourage it’,” he says, adding he was “annoyed” at the intervention after working on the model for almost three years.

    [snip – we can’t publish whole articles here without permission ]

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      TdeF

      Lawyers. Climate justice. Not parasitic opportunists then? From ambulance chasers to fire truck chasers.

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    • #

      Tellingly — if there have been 1000 legal cases. How many succeeded? They only name one in that article from climate action. The others are tobacco, asbestos and thus actually have some scientific evidence to support them.

      Do any readers know a good list of climate cases and their outcomes? Seems to me this is a complete bluff… just because there is so much money on the vested interests side of climate action that they can afford to launch preposterous ambit claims in court says something about how much money they have to waste, not something about the legal strength of their case.

      And let’s think about legal cases we would be launching back at them, at our government funded science and media agencies, if we had funds…

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        RickWill

        Jo stated:

        And let’s think about legal cases we would be launching back at them, at our government funded science and media agencies, if we had funds…

        I detest litigation but it is presently a one way street. It would be useful to find just one climate change skeptic with appropriate legal qualifications to fund class actions for real material losses and hardship that have occurred through application of the RET for example. This is not some far off imagined risk but something that is happening now – damages would be huge even only targeting the value of government mandated transfer payments from disadvantaged to owners of ambient energy generators. Maybe start with the Saltbush Group for support. Interviewing disconnected electricity customer should provide a rich vein of evidence with regard to the hardship. There is no doubt the RET is an insidious immoral policy arming those with financial clout to extract income from those without a similar level of financial clout.

        Just the prospect of a legal challenge to the RET would raise its profile and those lined up for investments that benefit from it would be taking a harder look with more concern for the risk. At this point in time very few people understand how the RET works. I have recently heard Pauline Hanson and John Howard refer to it as a tax. If these somewhat dim but generally informed politicians have such poor understanding then what is the understanding across the populace.

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      Graeme No.3

      David-of-Cooyal-in-Oz:

      And if the Climate turns colder after 2019 as seems likely then there will be a lot of unemployed litigation lawyers.
      Perhaps they should turn around and sue the Greenies.

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    joseph

    Here’s a link to a fascinating 13 minute vid that is unthreaded enough . . . . .

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHiad18ZwcY

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      PeterS

      Fascinating indeed. Many thanks for posting.

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      Serp

      Defies belief. Surely a fabrication. I’d have to see the actual physical title page before accepting this.

      It’s reminiscent of the accurate description of the orbits of Mars’s trabants in Gulliver’s Travels leading a scholar in the 1930s to assert that Swift must have been a Martian.

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        Serp

        Should have mentioned that the final overreach which kills it for me is discovering the latitude and longitude of the Great Pyramid in the design.

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      joseph

      I found it quite surprising too so I’ve decided to spend some time with it. I’ve seen a couple of the other videos he’s produced and they’re every bit as interesting as this one.
      I’ve done a search on my search engine for Shakespeare’s sonnets and on the page that lists the sites there’s a box on the right hand side of the page with the title page of the sonnets and a commentary. I can’t distinguish any difference. That’s not to say there haven’t been some alterations, but it certainly does look like the same title page to me. Maybe something would show up if careful measurements are made. Have a look, see what you think. If I can be shown he’s not on the level it will save me a lot of time and effort.

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    Chad

    IS ROOFTOP SOLAR ACTUALLY PART OF OUR RE GENERATION EFFORT ?
    If you have a house that is using 20kWh /day of fossil generated electricity, and you convert your electric hot water system to a Solar thermal hot water system and reduce your grid supply electricity demand to 10 kWh (say) …..but you are still 100% fossil electricity supply
    If however you substitute rooftop PV solar to your system and reduce your grid supply electricity demand to 10kWh, still 100% fossil fueled,….BUT, your electricity supply is now considered to be 50% solar ..and that also counts towards the % grid solar conversion .
    But, both situations are identical in that they are behind the meter DEMAND REDUCTION Efforts, rather than any change of the utility supply to solar.
    Even any rooftop solar generation that is fed back to the supply (FIT) actually only goes as far as your neighbours on the local distribution area, and never does anything other than REDUCING THE LOCAL DEMAND from the grid ..
    The authorities are taking this REDUCED DEMAND as being part of the national grid capacity conversion to solar, (6% ?).. when it is no different to consumers switching off their A/C or using gas heaters instead of electric heaters.
    So , Rooftop solar Is just demand reduction and should not really be any part of the calculation for
    % of solar generation in our utility supply……
    …..in the same way your solar powered garden lights are not part of that calculation !

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      yarpos

      Isnt that what the AEMO is saying re SA? that if solar trends continue there will be zero grid demand for extended periods in SA.

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        chad

        Well that is an obvious conclusion, but my point is that the RE “supporters” will also be claiming at that point that they have achieved 100% solar supply ….When infact it is actually simply ZERO DEMAND .
        in SA it is often 50% RT solar and 50% gas/Vic coal supply,…but SA, and AMEO etc will claim its 50% solar, 50% gas SUPPLY,..when in reality it is still 100% fossil fueled supply, …with a reduced demand.
        RT Solar should be treated as a DEMAND MANAGEMENT option, not as a grid supply change.

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      RickWill

      The grid cannot distinguish where supply comes from. Some suburban neighbourhoods are quite large generating plants during the middle of the day. The voltage rises locally and electricity flows to the demand areas.

      Yesterday the rooftop solar in SA peaked at 800MW. The actual grid supply from grid scale generators was only 340MW. About 70% of the 800MW from rooftop goes back into the grid to supply other loads in SA and Victoria – in the middle of the day Victoria was taking 670MW. The wind generators had to be limited to avoid over voltage in the grid. South Australia is rapidly approaching the situation where all household solar will be self-regulating through the middle of the day to avoid local overvoltage and the ability to control frequency will become more challenging as frequency control currently depends on connected rotating inertia – the battery can do short term frequency services related to fault conditions but is useless for long duration stability requirements. Gas plant operators are getting extra money above their energy output for stability services; essentially staying connected and spinning but well under rated output to keep frequency stable. I posted a link to this chart in a previous post:
      https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aq1iAj8Yo7jNgxTbiGs9ZlZ85uZW

      Yesterday power prices in SA bottomed at MINUS $250/MWh. It makes sense for the battery to keep storage capacity available on weekends to take advantage of those circumstances.

      I have never seen total demand in SA as low as it is this December. That is indicative of very mild start to summer with little air-conditioning demand. The rooftop output grows each year and is nibbling into the demand on grid scale generators. A significant proportion of the rooftop solar is metered into the grid and paid for by the retailers. Output from rooftop solar is not the same as demand management. It is local generation that feeds into the entire network. It is challenging for local distributers and the network controllers to handle the rapid uptake of rooftop solar in many locations. The grid was designed for centralised generation and one-way energy flow. It now has a very large number of local generators feeding large and small loads as well as a handful of large generators trying to keep the whole system stable.

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        Chad

        Rick, i think you have the wrong understanding of how RT solar.functions
        It can NOT “go back into the grid”. / entire network.
        It is generated at 240-255 v (single phase) and cannot get beyond that level (and phase) from the local step down distribution transformer ..The local neighbourhood.
        So all it can ever be is a reduction in the demand for that local area.
        It is not contriuting any generation capacity to the grid…only reduced demand.
        If there happens to be no other load on that local line, you cannot feed any power back in.
        IE..you have no access to feed into the “grid” /entire network
        Further, if there are enough RT systems on that same neighbourhood line , all trying to feed back into the line, the voltage will be increased to the point where feedback is restricted and ultimately stopped

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          RickWill

          Chad
          I am an electrical engineer. All transformers are bi-directional unless they have special metering that protects against reverse power flow. Typical large scale grid generators operate at only 20kV and they are connected to transformers that increase voltage to transmission level typically 330kV or 275kV.

          Take a look at the power flow in the link between SA and Vic it typically reverses flow on a daily basis. It is quite reasonable that power generated on a rooftop in Adelaide is being used in a factory in Victoria; electrons are unmarked.

          Recent suburban subdivisions have power distribution networks to cater for peak generation rather than peal demand. This is from the p20 of Ausnets Distribution Annual Planning Report 2018-2022:

          Increased penetration of Solar PV and other forms of generation have resulted in significant reverse power flow at light load conditions in some parts of the network. The full impact of bi-directional power flow is yet to be observed however, it is envisaged that network augmentation may be required in future to cater for this emerging change in power system behaviour.

          This is another reason why consumers are paying more for electricity. On a sunny day almost all solar systems hit peak output at the same time and the system needs to be able to accept that output or solar owners complain to their installer who complain to the distributor. Think of the uproar if investors in rooftop solar could not produce because the system could not take their output. As a political group rooftop solar owners have become very powerful; even more powerful that the proponents of grid scale intermittents.

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    pat

    welcome back Jo. look forward to hearing from you re your trip…after a much-needed rest!

    TWEET: Roger Pielke Jr: Short threat on accurate reporting, which this is not
    LINK Economist tweet & Link: Even if the Paris climate agreement target is met, a warmer world could still shave $200-430bn a year off American output

    TWEET: Roger Pielke Jr: There is a strong tendency when it comes to extreme weather to tell people what they think must be true or what everyone knows must be true.
    Science and evidence are more reliable, but we have to rely on them. I’ve asked @TheEconomist for a correction /END
    2 Dec 2018
    https://twitter.com/RogerPielkeJr/status/1069224881026256896

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    pat

    giving a Berkeley prof the most space is CBC’s idea of ***true and objective news, no doubt?

    2 Dec: CBC: The psychology of climate change: Why people deny the evidence
    ‘This is not a time to be passive and allow this calamity to happen to us,’ says one psychologist
    by Nicole Mortillaro
    (Nicole has an avid interest in all things science. As an amateur astronomer, Nicole can be found looking up at the night sky appreciating the marvels of our universe. She is the editor of the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and the author of several books)

    According to some psychologists, there are a number of reasons, including the prevalence of deceptive or erroneous information about the topic.
    “But you’re also getting a lot of misinformation, what we call agnotology — misleading information and false information — from vested interests,” said Michael Ranney, professor of education at the University of California, Berkeley’s Department of Psychology. “And the internet, for decades, has been offering information that is misleading.”…
    And some recent studies suggest that false news spreads faster than ***true or objective news (LINK)…

    Another important thing to consider, Ranney says, is decreasing “information deficit,” or lack of knowledge. To this end, he created the website How Global Warming Works, which provides short videos explaining the mechanisms of global warming (LINK). And that, he believes, makes a difference with some people.
    “Even in places like Berkeley, we almost tripled their understanding of the mechanisms of global warming, and that increased their acceptance of global warming,” Ranney says of one study conducted at his university.
    “One high school, the students knew so little about global warming, we increased their knowledge 17 times … and they also increased their acceptance.”…READ ON
    (5,270 COMMENTS AT TIME OF POSTING)
    https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/climate-change-psychology-1.4920872

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    Mark M

    Heroic planet-cooling bicyclers battle “below-zero temperatures” as they ride to yet another UN carbon dioxide scam meeting …

    E-Cyclists Demonstrate Value of Low Carbon Transport at COP24

    https://unfccc.int/news/e-cyclists-demonstrate-value-of-low-carbon-transport-at-cop24

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    MatrixTransform

    I know its just the weather but interesting anyway.

    melbourne_degree_days

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      Mark M

      Further evidence that closing fossil-fuelled energy sources and building renewable energy can not stop doomsday global warming.

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      Greebo

      It’s currently (12:30) 13°C in Sassafras, Dandenong Ranges, so I guess Dan’s closing Hazelwood is vindicated.

      We had a little sleet earlier, but I’m not allowed to light a fire outside because of the declared fire danger period. I’ve lit one inside, though.

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    Peter C

    I attended the 75 anniversary dinner of the IPA (institute of Public Affairs) last Thursday night in Melbourne. It was a black tie affair held at Crown Casino.

    Speakers were Brendan O’Neil, who spoke optimistically about Brexit, Janet Albrectsen who spoke about the history and ongoing work of the IPA and finally Andrew Bolt, who had been asked to be optimistic but could not really manage it after the Victorian election results.

    The IPA is in quite good shape with some further growth in membership, particularly among young people and an expanding program of events, publications and podcasts. The university co-ordinator program is going well, now expanded to 13 universities.

    I talked with two Australian Conservatives candidates; Sophie York (NSW) and Kevin Bailey (VIc). The strategy is to put all the Party effort into the Senate in an attempt to get the balance of power, and hence block the worst parts of a Shorten Labor program.

    Kevin Bailey and Sophie York will have a hard time getting noticed. Main steam media will likely ignore them. Take a look at their profiles and photographs here.
    https://www.conservatives.org.au/our_team

    The federal election is only 6 months way now, assuming that the current government can hold out for that long.

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    Bulldust

    Silicon Valley is once again assaulting those who disagree with their far left world view. Patreon is probably suspending relations with YouTube challenger BitChute in order to undermine creators on that video sharing web site. Dave Cullen described this problem some time ago in a video where he explained the many layers of technology that hold up the monopolistic social media enterprises. At some point non-SJW politicians are going to have to make a stand before the systems become corrupted beyond repair.

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    Hanrahan

    What’s with thorium reactors?

    I get two different stories: One says they have been known for over 60 years and if they don’t work by now they never will, while the other says that they have been actively discouraged for all this time by competing interests. Originally the light water [?] reactor was chosen because it could supply enriched U for the Manhattan Project, for example.

    Are they our great hope or just another distraction?

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      Chad

      They have certainly beeen known for more than 60 yrs.
      The USA had an operating MSR Thorium reactor running tests from 1964 for 5 years continuous at their Oak Ridge Labs
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten-Salt_Reactor_Experiment
      They even went to the extent of loading one into a bomber aircraft to demonstrate Nuclear poweered flight was possible…. (but that reactor never actually powered the aircraft !)
      And basicly the program was dropped because the Nixon Administration wanted the fast breeder reactors to produce plutonium for the 70’s Nuclear arms race.
      IE..it was a political decision, not a technical one !

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      • #
        Hanrahan

        And basicly the program was dropped because the Nixon Administration wanted the fast breeder reactors to produce plutonium for the 70′s Nuclear arms race.
        IE..it was a political decision, not a technical one !

        That’s what I was trying to say but you are more accurate, better informed. 🙂

        30

  • #
    pat

    Bloomberg – what a CAG-biased set of people you quote! that’s not journalism:

    2 Dec: Bloomberg: A Climate Summit in the Heart of Coal Country
    By Maciej Martewicz and Jeremy Hodges; With assistance by Marek Strzelecki
    The meeting, known as COP24 in UN jargon, is being sponsored by two power-generating companies and Europe’s biggest producer of coking coal. The venue sits on the site of an old coal mine, and its design was inspired by mining culture: The predominant color inside and out is anthracite, and the hallways and meeting rooms have irregular angles meant to resemble mineshafts. And just a 15-minute drive to the south is the Wujek mine, the site of violent strikes during the Solidarity protests against communism, which has been churning out coal since 1899.
    “It’s like hosting a culinary conference at a venue that serves frozen pizza,” says Lauri Myllyvirta, a Greenpeace air pollution analyst…

    The Trump administration has made no secret of its skepticism regarding climate change. Australia has adopted that viewpoint, and Brazil is leaning toward it since the October election of Jair Bolsonaro as president, who has promised to prioritize jobs and mining over protecting the environment. And Brazil, India, China, and other developing countries bristle at being asked to make deep cuts to their coal consumption. Two centuries after the Industrial Revolution, they argue, the West is responsible for the problem and should bear the brunt of the costs for cleaning it up…

    With consensus required for any agreement, Poland’s envoy–presiding over the meeting–will have a powerful voice in shaping it.
    “Strong hosts can support parties to ensure that the whole is more than the sum of the parts, and negotiations spur faster action,” says Rachel Kyte, a top UN envoy on energy policy. “Weak hosts can see bad actors slow things down.”…

    The final agreement will require countries to find common ground on a tangled web of issues ranging from payments to poor nations, the scale and direction of mitigation efforts, and how to report emissions. It won’t be easy, says Rachel Kennerley, a climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, but the delegates have a chance to set the pace for global climate policy for a generation.
    “There’s an absolute mountain to climb, and lots of different countries have very different ideas,” Kennerley says. “We’re not pessimistic, but it’s a huge challenge to deliver a rulebook ***that will actually limit temperature rise.”
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-02/the-cop24-climate-summit-comes-to-poland-s-coal-capital-katowice?srnd=premium-asia

    00

  • #
    Hanrahan

    I notice no one has mourned the passing of GHWB.

    Me neither. He and McCain can keep each other company.

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    • #
      Chad

      By the standards of US presidents, he was one of the least dislikeable

      40

      • #
        Hanrahan

        Clinton was a charmer, everyone liked him. Even now is given a free pass with HRC being the object of hatred. They don’t chant “Lock him up!”

        00

    • #
      Greebo

      One good thing McCain did, IMO, was co-sponsor the Magnitsky Act with Democrat Ben Cardin. This Act was passed 92-4 in the Senate, against the express wishes of the Administration, forcing Obama to sign it into law, much to his chagrin. Whatever else one thinks of McCain, he should be congratulated for that.

      Putin went to enormous lengths to stop that Bill, and the Bill that championed it, Bill Browder. I’m not a huge fan of Browder either, but standing up to Putin the way he did and still does gets him my respect. Russia’s human rights record is despicable.

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    • #
      theRealUniverse

      GHWB was a war criminal and member of ‘skull and bones’.

      23

      • #
        Greebo

        Isn’t calling a US President, ANY US president, a “war criminal” a tautology, depending on which side your bread is buttered?

        00

        • #
          Hanrahan

          Carter boasts that he [read his forces] never dropped a bomb during his presidency. Reagan and Gorby signed Glasnost. Trump is trying hard NOT to reignite a cold war, let alone start a hot one.

          But I accept that most presidents have been criminals.

          10

  • #
    Another Ian

    This 6 months course got a mention on Macca (ABC) yesterday

    https://www.tsc.nsw.edu.au/glengarry

    Student interviewed referred to the “internet detoxification” – they actually have to write letters

    30

  • #
    pat

    hilarious…if you ignore the limitations of google translation:

    2 Dec: NouvelObservateur: COP24: but why does not everyone seem to care?
    by Arnaud Gonzague
    ***Neither Emmanuel Macron nor Edouard Philippe will go to the climate conference that opens this Sunday, December 2nd. Sign of serious disinterest for this meeting…

    This is an indication that does not deceive: a few days before the opening, this Sunday, December 2, COP24, we toured the environmental NGOs who must go there. And our interlocutors seemed as happy to spend twelve days at the twenty-fourth United Nations Climate Conference in Katowice (Poland) as if they were running to the dentist for a molar.
    And the conference of some of the major environmental NGOs (Climate Action Network, Greenpeace, WWF …) which was held Thursday, November 29 in one of the rooms of the city hall of the 2nd arrondissement in Paris, had a somewhat constrained appearance – ***not to say sinister.

    The fact that the host country, Poland, is still a very coal country, so a priori not very inclined to the surges of climate ambition, does not explain everything.
    Neither the announced absence of President Macron at this conference, even if the visit of a head of state proclaimed “champion of the Earth” would have been good. As for Edouard Philippe, who was to go there, he announced on Saturday, December 1 in the evening, he canceled his visit because of “yellow vests”.

    In reality, it is the very principle of the COP that seems tacky, explains in essence Cécile Duflot, former Minister Green and new director of Oxfam France.
    “NGOs no longer want to participate in something that is not proven useful, if the idea of ​​a COP is to force us to jump with joy, saying ‘Whaou, we have signed COP24 ‘, no … We want to say, ‘Guys, do some stuff at home first!'”

    Class of dunces
    “No country respects the Paris Agreement [signed at the end of COP21], deplores Célia Gautier, of the Foundation for Nature and Man (formerly Hulot Foundation) .The class consists only of dunces! ”
    The wealthiest nations are not in line with their reduction commitments for 2030, confirms Sara Lickel of Secours catholique-Caritas France. With two exceptions: China and Brazil. But their initial commitments were very low … And the European Union shows a very disunited front.”

    “Do what I say…”
    France is no exception in the table of “do what I say, not what I do”: far from being reduced, even at a modest pace, its greenhouse gas emissions have gone up again in 2017…
    “Our country has preferred to raise its emission ceilings by 6% for the next five years, rather than keeping its promises,” indignant Célia Gautier.France is lagging in the most emitting sectors such as transport, the habitat and agriculture and it does not act seriously to remedy this…

    Worse: while the COP21 of 2015 opened with the idea that the most refractory countries were relatively “small” (mainly oil countries), the twenty-fourth sequence hosts, within it, two huge potential enemies of climatic efforts: the United States of Trump and Brazil of Bolsonaro. Preventing contagion from self-defeating is always possible, but certainly more difficult than when Obama was in business…
    https://www.nouvelobs.com/planete/20181201.OBS6399/cop24-mais-pourquoi-tout-le-monde-a-l-air-de-s-en-foutre.html

    10

    • #
      pat

      2 Dec: EuroNews: World leaders scramble to rescue Paris climate deal in Poland’s coal city
      By Pascale Davies with REUTERS
      The two-week conference started a day early to give negotiations a better chance in the wake of deep political divisions…
      On Sunday four former UN climate talk presidents issued a statement calling for urgent action to tackle climate change…STATEMENT
      The statement was issued by Frank Bainimarama (Fiji), Salaheddine Mezouar (Morocco), Laurent Fabius (France), and Manuel Pulgar Vidal (Peru)…

      The Paris agreement does not become operational until 2020, but before then, officials will have to decide on how to measure, report and verify greenhouse gas emissions, and how climate finance will be provided to poorer nations…

      Why money also matters
      According to the Financial Times (LINK), climate financing falls short of where it needs to be under the Paris agreement.
      Wealthy countries have secured only $55 billion (€48 billion) for poorer nations, which is just half of the $100 billion (€88 billion) that countries are supposed to be delivering annually by 2020.
      The president of this year’s Conference of Parties (COP), Michal Kurtyka, said he wants countries to make climate financing a priority at this year’s summit…

      Who will be attending?
      Some 29 heads of states and officials will be giving statements, ***including French President Emmanuel Macron.
      However, all eyes will be on China — the world’s biggest polluter.
      The country has reaffirmed its commitment to the Paris deal, but its reliance on coal and how it will cooperate with the EU remains to be seen…
      https://www.euronews.com/2018/12/02/key-un-climate-summit-kicks-off-in-poland-s-coal-city-what-you-need-to-know

      Economic Times appears to know Macron has cancelled!

      2 Dec: EconomicTimesIndia: Crucial climate talks kick off in Poland, massive breakthrough unlikely
      By Urmi Goswami
      Despite the urgency, expectations of a massive breakthrough in ambition of action or finance are low.
      ***French President Emmanuel Macron, who was expected to attend the high-level leaders’ summit at Katowice talks on Monday has had to cancel in the face of escalating protests over fossil fuel prices and taxation in France…

      this is being posted on various websites today. some claiming it is in Paris, others saying Toulouse. however, best guess it’s in Pau, according to French people commenting on it, and it apparently happened on 30 November.
      as I’ve said previously, MSM is only interested in Paris violence:

      Youtube: 45 sec: French Police remove helmets to show solidarity with the people against Macron
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMBsv0EzGak

      10

      • #
        robert rosicka

        The police removing their helmets and showing solidarity should scare the pants of Macron , I reckon all those police will unfortunately face a disciplinary hearing though .

        20

        • #
          OriginalSteve

          President Le Biscuit will have to work out whether he lashes or, or sensibly rolls over and uses one of the many reverse gears we know he has….

          10

        • #
          Greebo

          Macron has already had his pants pulled down. Now what you see is his vulnerables retreating into dark, moist places, rather like a slug in your vegie garden.

          00

      • #
        theRealUniverse

        “However, all eyes will be on China — the world’s biggest polluter”. of course they mean CO2, CO2 isnt polution, only carbon particulates are.
        Remember Gillard saying..’The big poluderz.’

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        • #
          Hanrahan

          China IS the world’s greatest polluter.

          One case in point is the rare earths the refining of which was virtually banned in the US and by Malaysia [ref Lynas Corp] because it is such a dirty industry. China is happy to corner the market.

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    • #
      PeterS

      Perhaps another French revolution is about to take off – and it’s over the exact same things as before – prices and taxes. For one to happen here though they will have to go much higher – that’s assuming enough Australians give a damn – and I think there will be once they understand they have been fooled by the CAGW scam in a big way, not just by politicians but also by many big businesses. Let them eat yellow cake I say.

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      • #
        OriginalSteve

        Well, it wil be interesting once the sheep wake up and are ticked. I suspect the globalists will then create either a war ( something for the whole family…/sarc ) or some other crisis to divert attention and allow them to arrest any triublemakers under anti terror laws.

        The whole “V for Vendetta” scenario is actually becoming more likely by the day….never thought Id see it but there you go….

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        • #
          Hanrahan

          I suspect the globalists will then create either a war ( something for the whole family…/sarc )

          The globalists are desperate to create a war. Why else are they trying to stop Trump talking to Putin? And why is the murder of an Arab in an Arab embassy in Turkey the point of so many questions in the Press Room? Given a chance Trump will one day be recognised as the greatest Peace President in modern history. He alone seems to have heard Ike’s warning about the military/industrial complex although it is clear he still believes in peace through strength.

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          • #
            Greebo

            Given a chance Trump will one day be recognised as the greatest Peace President in modern history.

            Along with Reagan. Even today I hear people saying Obama was a President of peace. Nonsense, he was a President that TALKED of peace, beautifully read off the teleprompter.

            Trump and Reagan took Roger Waters to heart. Not sure Waters would like it, but he wrote it. Aptly entitled “us and Them”.

            “Well I mean, they’re gonna kill ya, so like, if you give ’em a quick sh… short, sharp shock, they don’t do it again.”

            10

            • #
              Hanrahan

              I mentioned Reagan and Gorby in another post on GHWB tonight. A poster claimed that “war monger president” was a tautology. There were exceptions but I’m not sure that, given time, JFK would have been one of them.

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              • #
                Greebo

                No, I said calling any US President a war “criminal “ ( your words ) was a tautology “depending on which side your bread was buttered “,
                JFK? Vietnam, Bay of Pigs? Let’s face it, the US has been involved in one crisis or another since the Great Depression, and probably longer. What POTUS is going to get through unscathed? That said, the worst in my memory has to be Obama. President of apPeacement. Useless, and a lame duck after the 2010 mid terms, to put it politely.

                10

  • #
    Another Ian

    “Old For and Against” Turnbull caught out again

    “Why was it OK for Turnbull to intervene in Craig Kelly’s preselection in 2016?”

    https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2018/12/why-was-it-ok-for-turnbull-to-intervene-in-craig-kellys-preselection-in-2016.html

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  • #
    pat

    he’s “controversial” in the opening line of the text on ABC’s “Just In” page:

    (excerpt) Controversial Liberal MP Craig Kelly’s political career looks to be saved

    at the link, he’s merely “outspoken”!

    3 Dec: ABC: New South Wales Liberal bosses step in to save Craig Kelly, defying former PM Malcolm Turnbull
    By political reporter Jane Norman
    The political career of an outspoken Liberal Party backbencher appears secured, with New South Wales party officials voting to endorse all sitting federal MPs.
    The ABC understands Prime Minister Scott Morrison directed the NSW State Executive to intervene in the preselection process to avoid a potentially ugly internal brawl and ensure Mr Kelly remains a Liberal.
    The outspoken backbencher had threatened to quit the party if he lost preselection but the party’s intervention means he would would not face a challenge…

    Another MP accused Mr Turnbull of outright hypocrisy given he saved Mr Kelly, Angus Taylor and Concetta Fierravanti-Wells from preselection challenges in the lead-up to the 2016 election.
    “He’s saying ‘don’t do what I did three years ago’,” one Liberal said.
    “There’s a lot of anger at Malcolm over the way he’s handled this.”
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-03/craig-kelly-political-career-saved-liberal-party-set-to-endorse/10577208

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    • #
      AndyG55

      ““There’s a lot of anger at Malcolm”

      There should be a lot of anger about him even having any say whatsoever. !!

      He’s OUT, GONE, QUIT.

      Just GO AWAY, Turnbull, you lowly arrogant leftist prat.

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  • #
    pat

    so much time wasted on CAGW over the years; so little time spent taking care of the basics:

    2 Dec: IOL South Africa: ANA: Eskom implements stage two load shedding from 8am
    Johannesburg – Eskom implemented stage two rotational load shedding from 8am on Sunday morning and it is expected to continue to 10pm, the state-owned power utility said…
    Load shedding was conducted rotationally as a measure of last resort to protect the power system from total collapse or blackout…READ ON
    https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/gauteng/eskom-implements-stage-two-load-shedding-from-8am-18351963

    1 Dec: IOL South Africa: Anger at Eskom’s load shedding Christmas ‘gift’
    https://www.iol.co.za/ios/news/anger-at-eskoms-load-shedding-christmas-gift-18344296

    12 Nov: Bloomberg: Risk of South Africa Blackouts Persists With Eskom Coal Shortage
    By Paul Burkhardt
    Stocks of coal remain low at Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.’s 15 baseload stations, presenting a risk of power cuts at any time in South Africa just as it makes efforts to regain investment…

    “Eskom is pursuing urgent coal purchasing from current suppliers and those suppliers that are currently not contracted,” he said. “The risk of load shedding is always there, the difference is how we manage it,” he said, using the local term for controlled blackouts…

    There are low stock levels at 11 stations, according to the utility. The rainy season in areas where coal mines are located has also started, which raises the risk of no production at surface or open-cast operations, potentially exacerbating the situation. The mines are taking measures to increase staff and pump out rainwater, it said…
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-12/risk-of-south-africa-blackouts-persists-with-eskom-coal-shortage

    ***some Bloomberg “renewables” spin:

    2 Dec: Bloomberg: Eskom Should Rely on Bond Market, Mboweni Says
    By Erik Schatzker, Amogelang Mbatha, and Andres R Martinez
    Eskom’s debt has soared to 419 billion rand ($30.2 billion), while sales volumes have dropped as businesses and residential consumers ***go off the grid because of unreliable supply and rising costs. It began imposing rotating power cuts last week as inadequate spending on maintenance has reduced the ability of its power plants to generate electricity. It has also run low on coal, from which it produces most of its power…

    Eskom “must go to the market and raise money,” Mboweni said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on the sidelines of the G20 Summit Saturday. “There’s a limit to what we can do, but nevertheless we have provided guarantees.”…

    The rotational blackouts could be imposed for as long as six months, the utility has said.
    Eskom’s woes are emblematic of the decline of South Africa’s state companies during the nine-year rule of former President Jacob Zuma, during which corruption surged…
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-02/eskom-should-rely-on-bond-market-south-africa-s-mboweni-sa

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    • #
      yarpos

      After law and order, water, then power, roads, railways and so on. The decay of South Africa continues. The inability to maintain and build on what was provided on a platter is on show. It is a sad spectacle that seems likely to accelerate.

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      • #
        Hanrahan

        Some have been whispering about race and IQ for some time. They must whisper because, although factual, it is forbidden to speak about this publicly.

        The highest IQs can be found in Ashkenazi Jews @ 115 [I don’t know what sets them apart from other Jews] and not far below them are Asians such as Chinese. Does this explain why both are hated when in other lands, the Jews in Europe and Chinese in Malaysia and Pacific Islands? A more successful race within another will cause jealousy. White European men are the standard at 100.

        Sub-saharan Africans are down around 85 which is also around the point of peak criminality: Above that they are more successful, below it more docile. I will leave it to those interested to do their own search on Australian Aboriginals.

        Even within the white community there are differences: Men have more geniuses and more idiots than women. That would be a flatter bell curve with more outliers.

        There is a lot that can be done to damage an individual’s IQ but little or nothing to raise it including early intervention. Search on McNamara’s Folly.

        Before hitting the red thumb remember that I am talking averages and individuals can and do vary widely from each other in their sub-set. I believe this explains the near universal failure of African nations.

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  • #
    theRealUniverse

    More for argument of CO2 and levels.
    In this video on https://www.iceagenow.info/astrophysicist-mini-ice-age-is-now-accelerating-important-video/
    Piers Corbyn mentions the CO2 levels, and Henr’s Law applying, and the FACT that 95% CO2 in in the oceans.
    “Carbon dioxide levels do not have any impact – I repeat, any impact – on climate,” says Piers. “The CO2 theory is wrong from the start.”
    “The fact is the sun rules the sea temperature, and the sea temperature rules the climate.”
    And a point I relooked at
    Henry’s law applies http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Kinetic/henry.html
    Means that the CO2 levels are controlled by this law of solubility. “When a gas is in contact with the surface of a liquid, the amount of the gas which will go into solution is proportional to the partial pressure of that gas.’
    More CO2 from humans is absorbed into the oceans therefore will make NO difference to the levels.

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    • #
      el gordo

      When the sun comes up, CO2 levels fall as photosynthesis kicks in. Learn something new every day.

      https://weather.usu.edu/multi_year_graphs/co2concentration

      30

      • #
        Serp

        Which is why plants were taken out of hospital rooms at night and returned in daylight, or so we were told in primary school in the 1950s.

        40

        • #
          Greebo

          I remember that. Shame they don’t teach it today. It would solve many problems we seem to have created.

          20

    • #
      el gordo

      ‘Official data also revealed that Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions increased in the June quarter at the fastest rate in seven years. Energy Minister Angus Taylor said Australians should “talk up” the nation’s record on climate change rather than talking it down.

      “We know there is a very strong climate change signal in the fire risk in this country – the number of severe fire days has increased over the last couple of decades and the severity of those fire danger ratings has also increased,” said Andrew Johnson, chief executive of the Bureau of Meteorology.’

      Fin Review

      10

      • #
        yarpos

        the existence and then categorization of fire danger ratings has radically changed over the last two decades. How they determine a trend would make interesting reading.

        10

    • #
      el gordo

      ‘Forest fires may produce as much CO2 as half of all fossil fuels burned. Globally, fires have been overlooked as a key player in the global CO2 cycle. Tom Quirk has dug up some studies showing that CO2 emissions from fires can be as high as half of the total emissions from human fossil fuel use.’

      Jul 7, 2015

      Forest fires may produce as much CO2 as half of all fossil fuels burned …
      joannenova.com.au/…/forest-fires-may-produce-as-much-co2-as-half-of-all-fossil-fuels-…

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  • #
    Another Ian

    From yesterday’s thread

    “Lionell Griffith
    December 2, 2018 at 10:01 am · Reply

    I suspect a lot of them don’t even know which direction is north, south, east, west, up, down, left, or right. there is a chance they know the difference between front and back. That difference is hard to miss. Though it is likely that some are confused about it.”

    Cue Flanders and Swan and the bindweed song

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  • #
    PeterS

    Some protesters in France showed signs with “Macron, stop treating us like idiots!” I wonder if we will ever see similar signs here against both major parties. Go the “deplorables”, may their numbers increase.

    40

    • #
      Serp

      The Australian population is too thoroughly diluted from its bloody-minded Irish origins and will not make a fuss about even the most egregious imposture by the powers that be; learn to enjoy it, there’s no alternative.

      21

  • #
    el gordo

    Cold Kills

    ‘There were 50,100 excess deaths in England and Wales last winter, when there was a prolonged spell of extreme cold, making it the highest number since 1976, figures have shown.

    ‘The Office for National Statistics said flu and the ineffectiveness of the flu vaccine were key reasons for the rise of excess winter deaths in 2017-18.’

    Guardian

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  • #
    liberator

    Gee maybe the greens should allow the govt to build a huge dam and fill it with sea water and use that for pumped hydro. win win!! We don’t use fresh water just keep turning over the sea water. build it big enough and we can lower sea levels and all of that excess solar and wind power can be put to good use.

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  • #

    At least you can trust those on the highest echelons of science and education not to buy into the you-know-what trail thingy. I’m not talking about DeGrasse Tyson with his 1970s waterbed-movie smirk. I’m talking real deal scientists. Could you ever imagine researchers from, say, Harvard and Yale not only believing but promoting that stuff about you-know-what trails? Not going to happen.

    Well, actually…
    http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aae98d/meta

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    Another Ian

    The last sentence might get your attention

    “The United Nations Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration seeks to make immigration a universal human right. MEP Marcel de Graaff said: “I would like to say some words on the global compact on migration. On the 10th and 11th of December there will be an international congress in Marrakesh Morocco. The participating countries are set to sign this agreement and although this joint agreement is not binding it is still meant to be the legal framework on which the participating countries commit themselves to build new legislation.

    “One basic element of this new agreement is the extension of the definition of hate speech.

    “The agreement wants to criminalise migration speech. Criticism of migration will become a criminal offence.” (My bold)

    http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/index.php/2018/12/03/more-pavilions-at-volkfest-17/

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    • #
      Serp

      What! MEPs sit around in the European Parliament competing in the advocacy of ever more totalitarian policies? This cannot end well. Little wonder that both our recent insufferable authoritarians Rudd and Turnbull are fans of the EU.

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      • #
        beowulf

        Morrison is not much better. He has just finished sucking up to Jean-Claude Junker and the other EU thugs at the G20 to organise a trade deal. That is part of the reason why he wants to keep us in the Paris Agreement — because the EU won’t trade with anyone who doesn’t meet their demands and mirror their policies. Maybe they won’t even allow us to opt out of the Migration Pact after all.

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  • #
    robert rosicka

    Libs have just announced the leader we vote for will be PM for the next three years and can only be changed by three quarters of the party room vote .

    Maybe too little too late but it’s a start .

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    • #
      Hanrahan

      We don’t vote for the leader, we vote for our local member. My observation is that our elected members are too timid to change leader, not the reverse.

      Until the liberals come to a consensus re AGW there will be no unity. They must sort that out among themselves.

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      • #
        robert rosicka

        No we don’t directly but at least now the leader at the time of the election stays the leader .

        01

        • #
          Hanrahan

          the leader at the time of the election stays the leader .

          Why is that good? If your designated driver hits the turps do you insist he see out his term of one night as driver?

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        • #
          yarpos

          no they dont, they just need a more solid majority to get voted out

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    Hanrahan

    I am watching a video What Happens When Democrats Run Your State?. Unsurprisingly Cali is front and centre. Texas is thriving.

    What strikes me is that they are reportedly in debt by $160 bill and that is considered BAD. But hang on, Qld has a debt of $80 bill [old figures, but coal royalties may have kept it stable]. [Conversion doesn’t matter].

    Reality: Cali is the seventh largest economy in the world [once 5th]. Where does Qld rate? And labor will be reelected.

    Death is the only relief for us. 🙁

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  • #
    robert rosicka

    Just seen a faceache post saying Victoriastan to rely on South Australia for power supply this summer !

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    • #
      Greebo

      Time to abandon state, methinks. This one is sinking fast.

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    • #
      Andrew McRae

      Not just on FB, in SkyNews too.

      https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_5974482801001?SpotCode=HOME
      Victoria is expected to rely on South Australia for stable power supplies this summer, with experts warning more storage is needed for the local grid.

      This hullabaloo is because NSW had 5 of its 6 coal fired generators go offline unscheduled at separate occasions during the year, which both the media and the market regulator have decided is enough to label coal fired power as “unreliable”. Tchya! So unreliable it was relied upon successfully for over 68 years.

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    el gordo

    The Green/left want to see the Liberal Party split.

    ‘Time is up. The Liberal party won’t reform, so it is time to stop fighting, split and take the opportunity to compete for the support of the public. The Liberal party is now broken, brand-damaged and unable to attract new members that would enable it to represent a “broad church”.

    ‘The failure of the existing Liberal party to address climate change or to support an integrity commission is unacceptable.

    ‘Nowhere is this failure more obvious than in its continued support for the Adani coalmine and new coal-fired power stations.’

    Oliver yates/ Guardian

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