Friday Open Thread

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164 comments to Friday Open Thread

  • #

    My latest article: https://www.cfact.org/2020/03/20/clintel-president-says-zero-carbon-is-a-crime-against-humanity/

    I looked into the law on crimes against humanity and Professor Berkhout may have a strong case. At its simplest, a crime against humanity is a government policy that systematically and knowingly harms a specific group of innocent people. Zero carbon laws certainly do this. They harm the poor.

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    • #
      Lionell Griffith

      They intend to do harm to as many people as possible in as many ways as possible in hopes of converting them to submissive sheep. Who will then willingly go to their demise without so much as a bleat. After all, it is for the good of [Fill in the blank]. Is it worth loosing everything just to save whatever it is? I think not unless it is freedom, liberty, and justice. THAT is worth fighting for.

      However, this is how societies and civilizations collapsed into a piles of rubble and a mountains of dead bodies. It doesn’t have to be this way but it’s the way it is right now. Study history. It has happened before. Only the names of the perpetrators have changed but it is the same old same old same old. Repeated since the first government took over many thousands of years ago. A minor variation on a theme.

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      • #

        I tend to doubt this was the motivation of the MPs that passed the UK zero carbon law. They either believe the catastrophe narrative or felt they had to do something to satisfy the screamers, so did something waaaay in the future.

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        • #
          Lionell Griffith

          Since they so consistently do harm and continue to do it, they really do mean it. Either that or they are so detached from reality they are insane. Either way, they do much more harm than good and shouldn’t be in the positions of power they are in.

          In fact, no one should be in such positions of power. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. The already corrupt are attracted to power and will always seek to aggregate more of it. If you are in office, there is a very high probability you are corrupt to a significant degree or you wouldn’t be there. Naturally, always with the pretense of doing good for [fill in the blank].

          I want nothing of power. Neither the power nor to be the victim of it. If you want to do good, do it with your own resources. I have no right to stop you and won’t. Just don’t try to do it with my resources. Especially not without my consent and cooperation. Especially not at the point of a gun (the government gun in particular).

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          • #
            OriginalSteve

            I think it will come to a show down between the Elite and the rest of humanity.

            Th Elite appear to be insane – their approach is consistent harm to the rest of humanity, which in effect is a declaration of war, whichever way you want to put it.

            Some thoughts about cov19 is that its a way to crash the global economic system that has been pillaged by the Elite such that there was no way to fix it, so a global “reset” via a global economic “emergency” would be required. It was either that, or a war. I predicted this some time back, and lo and behold…

            A war also isn’t off the table – if we don’t “play ball” with the elite and cower with this virus thing – witness the shut down of Bondi beach – people “dared” to actually have 1.5 m between them in the open air & UV and salt water…..

            Its worth also pointing out that Big Pharma has a turn over about 10x that of Big Oil, so there is lots to be made in drugs etc in this “crisis”…..

            Fortunately ( or unfortunately ), I understand how they work. They are brutal and care more about power and money than anything else.

            I also think there is war within the Australian govt with various factions aligned with the N W O and those not , which is why we get conflicting directions – one part appears to be doing its best to make things worse, the other genuinely trying to help.

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          • #
            robert rosicka

            Lionel you seriously underestimate the power of stupidity!

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    • #
      Deplorable Lord Kek

      china unleashing cv-19 would also appear to be a crime against humanity.

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    • #
      PeterS

      Good article. I always believed the rush to lower emissions let alone zero ought to be considered to be similar to a terrorist attack on our society. I just hope the current crisis is a wake up call for PM Morrison and he changes his tune and policy on emissions reductions. He should also go further and come down hard on any state that continues with their emissions reduction policies. This is no joking matter. We need all hands on decks and all our means at our disposal to avoid a crash and burn scenario we are facing right now thanks to the massive disruption to our economy by the actions taken and yet to be taken to overcome the pandemic.

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    • #
      Maptram

      It’s a crime against humanity, particularly when society has become more reliant on energy, also due to government policy. Back in the 1950s and 60s, before airconditioning and when temperatures were often higher than now, houses were built with wide verandas and eaves to reduce the effect of the heat, now they are built with no eaves and cooled by air conditioners.

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  • #
    Travis T. Jones

    Excuse me if I have zero confidence in any incompetent fool politician or bureaucrat who has pushed the failed UN doomsday global warming farce.

    Yes, I am looking at SloMo and his merry band of renewable energy fools, and the head of the RBA.

    What global warming fool allowed this:

    “‘Chances are we might get it’: 2700 on infected cruise ship not checked upon Sydney arrival”

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/chances-are-might-get-it-2700-on-infected-cruise-ship-not-checked-upon-sydney-arrival-20200320-p54cdu.html

    Incompetence on steroids.

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    • #
      PeterS

      Incompetence that we the people will have to pay dearly for if PM Morrison continues his plan to lower our emissions. If he refuses to change his tune we need a new leader ASAP.

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      • #
        el gordo

        I’m pretty sure our leader has already brought an end to renewable subsidies and our emissions are stable, to reflect any MSM criticism.

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    • #
      Tides of Mudgee

      Yes Travis, incompetence on steroids indeed. This just proves that there is no such thing as “low risk” as they thought. Everyone and everywhere should be treated as if they’re a risk and act accordingly. Just because there isn’t a “rule” doesn’t mean that we should not apply common sense. The churches and church groups who believe they are protected by God (the Greek Orthodox attitude comes to mind) should be treated as if they’re engaging in criminal activity if they don’t stop their gatherings. How many more cases coming from groups like this have to happen before they are forced to go into lockdown and live by the old adage “Pray to God, but row like hell”. As for the masses on board the ship now heading to Venice to disgorge them all telling them to get themselves home, are you serious? I know that no-one else would take them, but for the poor 300 Aussies stuck on the ship, they should all be bundled onto the one plane and flown to Christmas Island. ToM

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  • #
    TdeF

    The Ruby Princess cruise ship released 2700 people into Sydney yesterday and now four have been found to have carried coronovirus.
    Quelle Suprise! The hunt is now on, not just for those 4 but for all the people on the ship who are now carrying coronoavirus into the
    community. Unbelievable.

    And you expect our Coronoavirus numbers to soar from just this one incident.

    However it makes you wonder if they will keep soaring given that all incidents are traceable to people returning from overseas in the last few weeks. Once that stops,
    will the numbers drop? It is an island country. Without fresh contact, it can only die quickly and from what I observe in Melbourne alone, the streets are empty,
    the traffic has stopped as self isolation is the norm.

    The threat is and was entirely from overseas. Will it keep growing, doubling every 3.5 days? Two weeks of isolation will make a huge difference in the numbers and there
    is real hope they stop growing. We are already among the lowest growth (island) countries and without international connections, places like Perth, Darwin, Adelaide, Tasmania are geographically and demographically islands too. As are most country towns and homes.

    There is reason to hope Australians have voted with their feet to stay home. Why they need so much toilet paper is the question, but at least a sign that people think they are going to lock themselves up for a long time. Nothing could be better to defeat this terrible contagion utterly.

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    • #
      Peter Fitzroy

      I had your optimism until,yesterday, when my TAFE teaching wife was informed that she may have been in contact with 3 possibly infected students, this is a town of around 50,000

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    • #
      TdeF

      I mean that while the growth is still exponential, it is still on a relatively small sub 1,000 total number of cases. The next two weeks will show if these are sufficiently isolated to defeat the exponential growth. Personally with the level of Australian tourism and the huge number of overseas students, it is surprising that the total number of cases is as small as it is. With airports closed and ships stopped and the panic indicative of an expectation of a popular and early belief in total isolation, it is really possible that the reinfection rate drops rapidly. We will know soon.

      When we are successful in eliminating this virus, the question is will Australia open again for mass tourism both ways to reimport the disease and the new flus?

      Australians may have to learn to holiday at home. Not a bad thing. It was not necessary in the last generation to holiday overseas. You would question whether going to Bali every year should be part of being Australian. Maybe people will take the time to see their own country more. Imagine if all those tourist dollars were spent in Australia and the South Pacific, including New Zealand? That European rive cruise, safari in Africa or trip to Disneyland or Las Vegas may have to wait. Not a bad thing for Australia.

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      • #
        TdeF

        And if we get new fast RNA testing for coronavirus, under half an hour, perhaps we can stop the mass import of viruses into Australia each year, instead of suffering the disaster and death they cause. Instead of getting all Australians immunized, we could just make sure that our island country was safe from a rapidly growing set of endemic and mutated flus, including corona viruses.

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      • #
        Yonniestone

        From flying a lot last year and not having done so for a long time we were shocked to see how many people flew everyday domestically, I mean the flights were packed all the time coming and going from everywhere, I’m surprised also at the low infection rates for Covid-19 and anything else really.

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      • #
        TdeF

        Or to put it bluntly. Will Australia have 10,000 cases by next Saturday and 40,000 by the following Saturday?

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        • #
          Sceptical Sam

          More likely 3,400 by next Saturday and 13,000 by the following.

          That would follow the growth pattern to date.

          60 Friday two weeks ago. 230 last Friday week. 900 Friday (yesterday).

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        • #
          TedM

          Quite likely.

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    • #
      Kalm Keith

      Yesterday.

      ?

      Did the ship’s doctor vouch for them all.

      Yesterday.

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      • #
        TdeF

        It is in contrast to the docking in Melbourne where passengers had to wait on board for the test results, presumably for all passengers. Surely they could all have been tested, even when they were at sea. All were clear, so they all left. What happened in Sydney really needs explanation. Was this the triumph of economic interests over public health? If so, it is criminal or should be.

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    • #
      OriginalSteve

      Has the ship in effect served as mobile incubation centre?

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  • #
    John in NZ

    On the radio news this morning they said NZ is going to be doing double blind trials of anti malarial drugs efficacy against the coronavirus.

    Does anybody know if it chloroquine is being used in Germany? They seem to have quite low number of deaths.

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  • #
    Yonniestone

    My observations from doing work rounds, most businesses have Covid-19 quarantine notices up either warning possible infected persons from entering or banning sales reps etc from entry with many having the reception locked and limited access to load/yard areas.

    We (AusPost) are going to staggered start times to reduce the amount of people in one work area, no one is allowed to touch the scanner except for the user and I’m wearing a mask inside and outside of work, gloves are on the agenda for Monday.

    Many of the public are taking the isolation seriously but there are exceptions, I get responses from “better to be safe than sorry” to “its rubbish just another flu” so nothing much changed there.

    The thing that strikes me about all this is how we’re hurting our already weak economy and China is buying cheap stock and ramping up manufacturing as winter approaches.

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    • #
      Yonniestone

      Sorry when summer approaches.

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    • #
      Dave

      All cash will be gone by this time next year and we will all have a globally standardized smart ID we’ll have to use for everything.
      It will come loaded with fresh credits to get started. You will be informed of the obligations for it to be fully activated.

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      • #
        Yonniestone

        Agreed, this is what I was talking about the other day with a big government in bed with globalists and communists taking advantage of a public threat real or invented, those bureaucrats aligned with totalitarian politics must be wetting themselves in anticipation of stripping the public of assets and tracking /controlling expenditure, the mandated isolation has already impaired free movement, just waiting for news of a war with Eurasia.

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      • #
        Sceptical Sam

        Nonsense.

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    • #
      RickWill

      The postie yesterday insisted on placing my package on the ground at the front door rather than handing it to me. Do not know if that is his own initiative or AusPost requirement.

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      • #
        Yonniestone

        Rick it would be their initiative nothing personal but as you know the less chance of close proximity the better for them and yourself, we handle anything from 50 to 100+ packages every day including signature items so the chance of contact is high.

        Mind you a few older folks will still walk right up close to say hello which is more of a concern for them than myself, this is going to hit our economy hard.

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        • #
          RickWill

          Maybe AusPost could take out a full page advertisements to advise the public that Posties are aiming to avoid contact. My initial response was to feel a bit slighted as I often have a chat to the Postie. But then a visitor who was with me suggested he was probably advised to keep some separation.

          Rather than actually requiring a signature, it would make sense that they just write the name. If that is deemed inadequate then photograph the individual with the parcel. The photograph could be held in the Auspost cloud using the tracking number as a tag. Probably require issuing camera phones to posties or providing some compensation but it would be crazy to require signatures in the current circumstances. There is a business opportunity.

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          • #
            yarpos

            I doubt Apost could complete that in less than 18 months

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          • #
            Yonniestone

            Yes we’ve been advised to try and keep distances Rick, the scanners we have are actually a phone that takes photos of safe drops and cards for pick ups, we’re not allowed to take photos with people or vehicle license plates in them for privacy reasons even though most people wouldn’t mind.

            There was a case a few years back when the Postie took a photo of a young lady with her parcel and her friend in the background lifting her t-shirt exposing the “girls”, it didn’t go down well with the bosses.

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      • #
        Graeme No.3

        RickWill:
        The postie delivered a parcel yesterday. Just dumped it by the front door and left. Didn’t even press the door bell. Standard operating procedure.

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  • #
    Another Ian

    “Hopeful: Summary of Wuhan #Coronavirus Therapies and Potential Cures”

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/03/20/wuhan-coronavirus-therapies-scientific-background/

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  • #
    yarpos

    Funniest meme pic I have seen in a while. Just highlighting the many people who would be so much better at running the world, our country, our economy and our epidemic response than those that are.

    http://catallaxyfiles.com/2020/03/20/im-now-inclined-to-widen-the-meaning-of-social-distancing/

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  • #
    Furiously curious

    This shone a light of clarity to the why and how, of the fairly fuzzy, apple pie concept, of hand washing.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LKVUarhtvE&t=39s

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    • #
      Furiously curious

      And does this make dish washing liquid, with all it’s ‘power to cut through grease and grime’ a fairly potent ally?

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  • #
    Dave

    It looks like the totalitarian feudal system is here.

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  • #
    Dave

    And no I’m not a “covid denier”.

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  • #
    TdeF

    It is always amazing that there are only 92 elements, most not involved in life. The big ones are Oxygen, Hydrogen and Carbon and Calcium and Nitrogen. Three are gases. Capturing the energy of the sun in photosynthesis, producing hydrated carbon dioxide (carbohydrate) has enabled all life on earth. All built from Carbon Dioxide and Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen are 95% of the weight of everything living. Chemistry.

    However I think a lot of people do not believe in chemistry. They think people are made from people stuff and Carbon Dioxide is a dangerous industrial pollutant and should be eliminated. What is happening right now is the realization that life is complex and precarious at the level of an individual and the world is not your friend, that Gaia will not save you and cares nothing for you. You make of the planet what you need to survive. Medicines, housing, electricity and you have to stock water and food. And it’s best if you keep away from bats.

    So the journalists who have given up on facts have nothing to say this week about carbon dioxide killing everyone. Even they recognize a complex man made chemical called coronavirus is really deadly.

    After 32 years of waiting anxiously for Carbon Dioxide to cause mass drowning, wars, pestilence, bushfires, starvation and climate change the whole world is finally going into battle and lock down. Ironically it might bring some sanity back and satisfy the emotional needs of the preppers and anxious and doomsayers and stop the crazy fantasy that carbon dioxide is somehow causing the extinction of life on earth.

    The most likely culprit to end humanity is a virus or a bacterium or a fungus. And the first is man made and not alive.

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    • #
      TdeF

      And in communist Victoriastan, our Great Leader Daniel Andrews has allowed private companies to explore for onshore gas, again. So what was the problem again?
      Why are governments only good at stopping things except when they really need to act as in a real viral emergency, not Climate Change? If 0.5% of Victorians die, 30,000 people, blame Daniel Andrews.

      Are they waiting for a poll of voters? Like the near catastrophe with the Wivenhoe dam where no one would open the gates and half of the people of Brisbane would have drowned as the dam collapsed. Luckily the committee saw this coming a few years before and had emergency plugs installed and they blew. So the politicians took the engineers to court for not opening the dam.

      Now Daniel wants private companies to invest quickly to save us, if they find gas quickly, and he will sit back and decide if it is a good thing or he will stop it again and they have wasted their money. Maybe if they find enough gas, he can stop coal power? Either way it costs him nothing, not even credibility as they haven’t found any yet. That is what governments do, dither. Unless it is a killer virus in which case they think stopping things might mean they become unpopular and will lose votes.

      It’s the one problem with Democracy which is shared with every other political system, that politicians act only from extreme self interest. It is the only explanation for most decisions.

      Thankfully with Trump driving them, the governors of California, Illinois and New York have all declared people have to stay home (that’s 100 million people confined to homes). And the borders have been shut. At last!

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      • #
        Yonniestone

        When they find gas rest assured it’ll be sold for export only with a cut for the Andrews regime, the welfare of the plebs that voted for the specimen are of no concern while there’s resources to be plundered, until the promise of more handouts for the voter herds next election of course……comrades.

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        • #
          Dennis

          Recently the Federal Government reached agreement with the NSW State Government for them to release substantial amounts of gas for the exclusive use of the East Coast market. Negotiations were continuing with Vic Gov.

          And since VicGov have announced a similar agreement.

          The gas export agreement is binding and was signed by the Gillard Labor Government. The present Federal Government has been trying to negotiate for a better deal for Australia from the gas exporters.

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      • #
        yarpos

        further evidence that governments dont solve problems, usually they are the problem.

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    • #
      Geoff Sherrington

      We often include P, sometimes also S & K, but then you start towards trace, but required, elements.

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  • #
    Dennis

    An interesting comment I received via email today: ” I knew about this before we left for Africa, but it’s not the quinine, it’s the long chemical in the malaria preventative drug which I took when we went to South America. Trouble is you can’t stay on it too long and she decided not to give it to us. At that stage we didn’t think this would spread so rapidly.”

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  • #

    And here’s boring old Tony again with the same old same old.

    Let’s hope all the power plants stay in operation eh!

    Without electrical power, all there is ….. is …..anarchy.

    No electricity in the homes, what will people do? No phones. No TV. No social media of any sort. No cooking. Nightmare when the Sun sets.

    No mobile phones (think no power for the towers) No lights after dark anywhere. Nowhere to buy anything at all, let alone food, as no power at Supermarkets or any shopping malls.

    No power at petrol stations.

    And hey, no power at hospitals, of more importance, and when the Auxilliary power runs out, no way to pump diesel (closed petrol stations) to get it to the hospitals to fill the tanks for the fuel to run the auxilliary power generators.

    Think your barbecue gas is enough to get you by?

    Grid connected Rooftop solar power useless without ….. the grid as a reference.

    So much relying on so little.

    Let’s hope there are no problems.

    It gives reliable, constant, large sources of power a whole new meaning eh!

    Tony.

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    • #
      TdeF

      As Benedict Cummberbatch said in an Edison movie clip, (roughly) whoever controls electricity controls the world. I have always seen the move to NBN, RET as the left fight back against 1990s privatization and trying to seize the power they lost with the privatization of State electricity companies, Telstra.

      Political power might come from the barrel of a gun as Mao Zedong said, but in Western democracies it is now electrical power and the internet.

      And all power must be vested in Canberra, despite the constitution which gives Canberra control only over international trade, currency and the military. That is the real reason for the assault on coal power, Federal control, a National Grid, Clean energy, all a push by the Federal mandarins and politicians. Why else would Steven Conroy so want an NBN, drawn on a beer coaster. Power and control. It’s why Andrews has allowed gas exploration, having stopped it.

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      • #

        TdeF
        I read Andrews has not allowed increased gas exploration. His temporary moratorium on land based drilling is to be extended from June 2020 to June 2021 and he has decided to ban coal seam gas drilling and fracking permanently.

        If true Andrews has actually ensured the demise of Victoria’s future gas supplies.

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    • #
      John in NZ

      I am very grateful to you for your same old, same old. It is an important message.

      At a time of crisis it is madness to destabalise the grid with too much wind and solar electricity.

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    • #
      AndyG55

      “No electricity in the homes,”….

      All those freezers full of panic purchased meat !

      At least toilet paper doesn’t need freezing 🙂

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      • #
        Sambar

        Oh Andy, the little lady and I sort of live in isolation ( of a sort ) by choice on a rural property, and while we have a freezer with “stuff” in it, thousands of years of the wives heritage means the shed has more than a few few salamis, the odd salt cured ham, various cuts of pork that have many names but all last for years preserved by that dastardly chemical ” common salt’ . Fridges are for beer and milk. If the power fails it’s rum and cafe nero, ( short blacks or long blacks depending on the time of day) olives, preserved tomatoes etc etc. This latest hick up is just a hick up, it will affect the plans for the golden wedding anniversary but we can stay home and I’ll give the hot little Italian granny a Barbie and a squeeze.

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        • #
          sophocles

          Sambar:
          Did you pay her a salary?

          (Salary: n. a payment received by the Roman Legionaries, over and above wages to purchase salt for personal consumption.)

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    • #
      Annie

      You are never boring Tony.

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    • #
      Peter Fitzroy

      You could say the same about water, which is, in Australia, scarcer.

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      • #

        Hmm!

        You could say the same about water, which is, in Australia, scarcer.

        Just me musing here.

        I wonder how water is moved around?

        Couldn’t be with electric pumps now could it?

        I suppose we could all walk to the nearest river and carry it back home, you know like in those Developing Countries.

        Tony.

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        • #
          Peter Fitzroy

          I see – without electricity we’ll die, but we can live without water.

          Asinine comment of the day to you

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        • #
          Another Ian

          Time to reinvent the shoulder pole

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        • #
          Yonniestone

          Talking about water now Tony?…..sorry that’s bore-ing also…….. 🙂

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        • #
          Sambar

          Noticed that along with the rush on toilet paper, there was also a rush on the bottled water which has also sold out. We are lucky, if the power goes out our tanks will gravity feed fast enough to fill the kettle and cistern, might have to wash in the river though, Brrrr bit cold.

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          • #
            Annie

            In late January, the week of a big downpour there, we visited our son and his family in East Gippsland. His large old concrete water tank split, having flushed through well and completely filled. We stopped at Aldi to pick up some bottles of drinking water; not needed as he had managed a temporary fix with 2×1,000 litre tanks attached to the house on a trailer. Those bottles are still sitting in our hallway!
            We can manage, with difficulty, gravity feed from the tank near the house. That’s where a small generator comes in…saves grovelling in the gravel!

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          • #
            Mark D.

            You would normally wash with bottled water? 🙂

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            • #
              Annie

              They rely on their tank water for drinking and cooking, as is normal in rural areas. We do too, hence the filtering of the house supply.
              In the days we used to caravan, we would have a bowl of handwashing water with Dettol in it. Everyone was required to use it before touching food. No little bottles of hand sanitiser in those days! We never had any bugs in our family of six while caravanning.

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      • #
        el gordo

        Water is in short supply out my way, we have been told that the town may have to be evacuated within six months if it doesn’t rain.

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        • #
          robert rosicka

          elgordo I’m draining a few thousand litres from one of my rainwater tanks to top the pool up , if I could I’d send 15,000 litres your way .

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      • #
        williamx

        Fitz you can say the same about dams and catchments which are scarce.

        In my home state, I haven’t seen a new dam in decades. They have become an endangered species.

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    • #
      OriginalSteve

      Happy to volunteer to run power stations ( use of my Elec Eng knowledge …) if needed.

      May also need to be give a side arm as part of the deal.

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    • #
      yarpos

      There is a mountain of meat out there sitting in freezers, if the power goes down for even a day or two the stench will be epic.

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      • #
        robert rosicka

        I’m prepped for a power outage , via generators and inverter with batteries and solar , water isn’t a problem or sewage but I will lose the oven but the cook top is gas (bottled) .

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  • #
    el gordo

    Air B and B will take a big hit, they have little choice but rent them out to the locals. Hobart’s housing shortage and homeless people wandering the streets should theoretically come to an end.

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    • #
      TdeF

      It’s an ill wind that blows no good. We will reassess many things, including the fact that half of Australia’s entire population, men, women and children go overseas every year. And that does not include Tasmania.

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      • #
        el gordo

        Socialism with Australian characteristics is not a bad thing, its part and parcel of our political system.

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      • #
        BoyfromTottenham

        TdeF – I fixed your typo:

        ‘half of Australia’s entire population, men, women and children USED TO go overseas every year’.

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  • #
    Dennis

    Unfortunately the focus on our PM continues ignoring his position as one of the decision makers in Cabinet, he alone does not decide without Cabinet discussion and voting.

    And at this time of crisis the Council Of Australian Governments (COAG) are meeting regularly to make decisions, State and Territory Premiers and Prime Minister together.

    The leaders of course make decisions based on advice from the Federal and State Departments of Health professionals and foreign advice.

    This reminds me of how the media smeared the PM during the Bushfire Season 2019-2020, ignoring that responsibility was State Government and State Emergency Services of which Rural Fire Services are part. The Premiers are the leaders during Bushfire Season and now State Health Departments and Hospitals are the front line.

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  • #
    STJOHNOFGRAFTON

    Needless COVID-19 panic is ruining what’s left of the fabric of society. Most of it is due to information via the MSM.
    24/7, mega-hyped Coronavirus headlines, scrolling headlines identifying the latest cases and deaths, nonstop discussions with experts with differing opinions, the media focusing on the deaths — hardly mentioning the recoveries. Like it or not, the media, especially television, is the real controlling force in our world today, and the coronavirus seems to be a very lucrative disease for the networks.

    Watching these nonstop, breathless warnings and dire predictions are not conducive to the healthy mental attitude required for objectively dealing with the depredations of this virus.

    Ultimately, obsessively trying to kill every single germ that is in our vicinity is a game we cannot win, because no matter how many precautions we take, how many surfaces we disinfect — we simply cannot control everything.

    Wash your hands, wipe down doorknobs and handles, cover your coughs and sneezes and stay home if you are sick or have been around someone that is sick. Social distancing, staying at least meter & a half away from others while we are in public, is a great idea right now. And by all means, obey any and all travel restrictions that have been put in place for the good of everyone.

    We must try to keep our economies going as much as we possibly can, through whatever means we can, while still obeying all the restrictions placed on us. We must avoid Kungflubar.

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    Dennis

    Revealing, why has Italy been hit so hard by COVID-19?

    https://uncoverdc.com/2020/03/20/why-italy/

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      Environment Skeptic

      Dennis it is not a mystery...

      When you lock everyone down into over crowded apartments with two generations of families due to the decades long recession, the best way to describe it IMO is that we are looking at a can of worms. The kids never leave home, and even the grandchildren live in the same family home and that is quite normal there.

      It is really basic…

      One worm sneezes and the rest get it….then each worm in the lock-down take in turns passing it back and forth.

      Imagine millions of apartments each apartment filled to the brim with sputum, going back and forth in small crowded rooms and so forth..

      This is life in areas of very high population density.

      Nobody can do what we can do in Au …Here in Au i live by myself. How many in Italy and China etc can do that??

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        David-of-Cooyal-in-Oz

        ES
        Sounds like you haven’t read what’s in Dennis’ link yet.?? Suggest you do. It’s fascinating, but rather scary. Especially the 2020 exhortation to “Hug a Chinese”. Did you get that far?
        Cheers
        Dave B

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      Kalm Keith

      That takes understanding of the Italian situation to a new level.

      All we could see here from Australia was that Italy was part of the dysfunctional EEU and would have the same “migrant” problems as the rest of Angela’s domain.

      Now it can be added to the list of countries that all have a China Belt Problem.

      Tibet.

      Ethiopia.

      Italy.

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      TedM

      Because they did what we are doing.

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    RicDre

    Iran Admits to One Coronavirus Death Every Ten Minutes

    https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2020/03/20/iran-admits-to-one-coronavirus-death-every-ten-minutes/

    From the article: ‘Based on our information, every 10 minutes one person dies from the coronavirus and some 50 people become infected with the virus every hour in Iran,” Jahanpur, the Health Ministry spokesman, posted on Twitter, according to Reuters’

    If true, these are some pretty scary numbers.

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      WXcycles

      That’s only 144 per day.

      In Italy they’ll be approaching 1 death every 2 minutes by the end of today, 1 every 1 min 30 sec by the end of tomorrow, a near constant stream of new bodies.

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      • #
        RickWill

        Yep – Coffins are in short supply in Bergamo province.

        Anyone advocating letting CV-19 loose in the broad community should study what is happening in northern Italy.

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      Andrew McRae

      Two questions about mortality of COVID-19, so if anyone knows where to find the answers, please pipe up.

      • The “severe” cases are not considered critical (does not need ICU) but still typically need oxygen therapy to recover. If they do receive the hospital treatment it sounds like mortality rate is near zero. What is the mortality rate of “severe” cases if they do not receive this hospital treatment?

      • Is the Iran strain more deadly than the original Hubei strain? Queensland has mostly received the original Hubei strain, and some of it went to Sydney. But most of what has been encountered in Sydney is the Iran strain. Given equal healthcare, we may see different CFRs out of Sydney and Brisbane over the coming week that point toward different deadliness of the strains, and predictive models should then be adjusted.

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    Dennis

    A comment I read elsewhere …

    “how the third world works ,I have a friend in Bandung Indonesia up their among the poor people they are using chloroquine , chloroquine first went on the market as an anti-malarial in 1934 and was eventually used in 2004 to fight another coronavirus strain now known as SARS. They are not waiting for a FDA approved drug to make money out of in 12 months , they are treating and curing people already , the poor are surviving.”

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    Ross

    Like many on here, for years now I have never really understood how so many people got hooked into the AGW scam. Having seen how the panic buying of toilet paper etc. has gone on and grown I now have a better understanding , I think.
    Some very bright student who wants to a PhD in psychology has a great opportunity to make a name for themselves , if they can keep an open mind.

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    • #
      farmerbraun

      40 years ago I took a 300-level paper- The Determinants of Free Will: the Psychology of Freedom.

      What we are witnessing may have something to do with both of those things i.e. freedom and free will.
      Drive states , such as fear , hunger, cold etc. are important in the thesis.

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      yarpos

      Jeez you guys really want make an ‘ology out of it dont you. There is a significant part of the population that just isnt very smart and is easily scared and herded by the MSM and careless govt announcements.

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      yarpos

      Another on the ground report from the basic world of supermarkets.

      Our Aldi spy says things are calming down in regional north VIC and they reached closing time with most items still in stock.

      Visited our local town Foodworks today around midday for a couple of small things, was expecting chaos but it was just comfortably busy, plenty of meat, only toilet paper and sanitiser missing really. Generally well stocked.

      Hopefully its settling down a bit on the food front in the burbs also

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    RicDre

    Wow, US presidential candidate Joe Biden just learned about Teleconferencing:

    Joe Biden: ‘They Tell Me There’s Ways We Can Do Teleconferencing’

    https://www.breitbart.com/2020-election/2020/03/20/joe-biden-they-tell-me-theres-ways-we-can-do-teleconferencing/

    Now if he would just pass along this new and exciting information to Climate Change activists, we could really make a dent in those CO2 emissions.

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    • #

      Sometimes I wonder about Joe Biden.

      Please elect me President. I can fix all this.

      Hmm, first elected in 1973, so he’s been part of all this for 46 years, and only now he says I can fix all this.

      If he can fix all this, I wonder why he didn’t tell President Obama how.

      Tony.

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        Mal

        What he meant to say was if you elect me, then the fix is in. (ie the destruction of USAs economy and western civilisation)

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        TdeF

        Joe is tinged by eight years with Obama, so he attracts the black vote. (Is that racist?) Wall Street and Washington see him as their man, their puppet. He has no intention of fixing anything and every intention of pleasing his friends. And the Press have and will find absolutely nothing wrong, just as they found nothing wrong in Hillary Clinton. He will be sainted, like the Clintons and Greta.

        Of course he is obviously an incompetent, do nothing very old man for the job who is already older than the oldest former US president in history, but no one in the media points that out. Even Reagan was not 78 when he left the presidency. However good old Joe will do exactly what he is told by the media and Hollywood and the beltway. Perfect. Their candidate.

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        • #
          TdeF

          Currently 77 with his birthday in November, President Joe would be inaugurated at 78. That really is a concern for the world. Maybe there was some damage from when he was jailed for trying to see Nelson Mandela. Imagine if Trump said such a ridiculous thing? You have to think old Joe is a sandwich short of a picnic, a chop short of a bbq.

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          • #
            TdeF

            And we all know woke Hollywood would prefer Hillary Clinton or a non white, non binary, socialist President. To go with the new Marvel superheroes, Snowflake and Safe Space. No, it’s not a joke. It’s just funny.

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              TdeF

              Only 4 out of 45 US presidents have been over 62. Eisenhower included at 62. A few at 61. Most of the rest were 50s and some 40s. Even Donald Trump just made it to 70. Electing an 78 year old President for 4 years raises real physical, health and mental performance issues in a most demanding job when most of the population is retired much earlier.

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            Yonniestone

            Biden would make a great ventriloquist act, sitting on Hillary’s knee “Delaware Joe” has the script already rehearsed but specialises in Ad-libbing with hilarious results.

            Joe: I’m going to ask Donald if he wants something to eat.
            Hilary: That’s nice Jo.
            Joe: And then I’m gonna offer him knuckle sandwiches.

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            • #
              TdeF

              There is a lot of bully boy anger lurking just under the surface with Joe. Sometimes it comes out. If the media did not hate Trump so much, they might be a little more critical of kindly Uncle Joe, but nothing is said.

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          WXcycles

          Joe is tinged by eight years with Obama, so he attracts the black vote. (Is that racist?) Wall Street and Washington see him as their man, their puppet.

          Wall Street could not possibly have done better than they have under Trump.

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    RicDre

    And as an interesting distraction from the news of late:

    “Newly-discovered comet Atlas could shine as bright as the MOON when it makes its closest approach to Earth in May – as long as doesn’t break up on its way towards the Sun”

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/newly-discovered-comet-atlas-could-shine-as-bright-as-the-moon-when-it-makes-its-closest-approach-to-earth-in-may-as-long-as-doesn-t-break-up-on-its-way-towards-the-sun/ar-BB11tsI3?ocid=msedgntp

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    Another Ian

    Check the idea on firing and unemployment benefits.

    “Since governments are overreacting, small business owners can help employees in many states by firing them so they can collect unemployment. Perhaps we need businesses to respond to this insanity that will force all local governments to see the costs of their stupidity.

    Yes, it is absolutely true if we all stay home, watch TV, we may not even get the flu no less this coronavirus. This may even be the cure for the common cold. That is NOT the question here. The real bewildering question is who came up with this master plan for they are killing the patient (world economy) to stop a flu-like infection that will never reach anything close to an epidemic.

    A joke is coming in that this is a plot between Bernie, Greta, and the vegetarians. Bernie gets everyone so they do not have to work or pay taxes, Greta keeps everyone inside so they do not see that this has been the highest snowfall this year since the ’60s, and the vegetarians are running ads that say meat markets spread disease. The socialists yell, “Shut up and don’t ruin a good thing! For once we don’t have to work and can just watch TV.”

    https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrongeconomics101/economics/ask-to-be-fired-if-you-are-told-to-stay-home/

    http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/index.php/2020/03/20/your-moral-and-intellectual-superiors-174/#comment-1297710

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    Another Ian

    Something about economic management here

    “Compare and Contrast: Bloomberg Spend

    “$935 Million to Lose, Trump Spent $66 Million to Win…”

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/03/20/compare-and-contrast-bloomberg-spend-935-million-to-lose-trump-spent-66-million-to-win/

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    Harves

    Sick of hearing overpaid sportsmen (Cam Smith, Andrew Bogut et al) saying that Sport (ie their job) should be stopped because of “player welfare”. No doubt they expect the rest of us to keep doing our jobs so they still have power, food, lattes and access to all the luxuries. Oh, and of course they expect to keep getting paid while they are not working.

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    el gordo

    Geopolitical world, virus works wonders.

    ‘At the beginning of March, Italy asked for help from its European Union partners though the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. No EU member state responded. In addition, France and Germany imposed a ban on the export of face masks. Many Italians feel deceived and humiliated by their European partners.

    ‘Beijing, however, responded bilaterally and promptly airlifted 30 tons of medical supplies to Rome. Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio posted a video of the arrival of the supply-laden aircraft on his Facebook page. It was an information and public diplomacy triumph for China — when Italy needed help, Europe dithered while the PRC was portrayed as Italy’s savior.’

    The Diplomat

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      OriginalSteve

      Hmmm……its almost like the EU wanted it to take hold…nahhhh…surely not…..

      Just sayin’…

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      yarpos

      portrayed as saviour from a virus that orginated from where? carried by workers in northern Italy originating from where? sounds like politics, create the urgency and then ride in to save the day

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    STJOHNOFGRAFTON

    Came across this article in an ilGiornale.it blog by Gioia Locati in an interview with Professor Stefano Petti , epidemiologist at the Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases of the Sapienza University of Rome.

    Prof. Petti says: “However, the more a virus spreads, the more it adapts to humans and becomes less dangerous. In fact, the higher the incidence, the lower the danger…….”

    If this is true, do we have some kind of struggling hope that COVID-19 will eventually fizzle out?

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    Bill In Oz

    Eighteen US tourists in the Barossa valley of SA. They arrived in Sydney days ago and were supposed to be in 14 days self isolation. Now most of them are sick with COVID 19 disease !

    In case anyone thinks that the Australian people are accepting what this idiotic government has foisted on us, please go read this post & commnets on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/7NEWSAdelaide/photos/a.213015848729078/3176266392403994/?type=3&theater&ifg=1

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    Andrew McRae

    We may one day look back on this pandemic with bemused pity at how strongly opinion was changing.
    January 20: Anyone saying this Wuhan virus will kill lots of people here is just being anti-China.
    February 20: Anyone saying COVID-19 will kill lots of people here is just being anti-Western.
    March 20: Anyone saying COVID-19 will kill lots of people here is just being fatalistic.
    So projecting the trends…
    May 20 ?: Anyone saying COVID-19 will kill lots of people here is just exaggerating.
    August 20 ?: Anyone saying COVID-19 will kill lots of people here is behind the times.

    Of course I hope the outbreak here changes direction and shows me to be pessimistic.

    On a more positive note, congratulations to the country of Nepal for reaching 56 days without a new case of COVID19. I don’t know if the Buddhists of Nepal are “at one with the universe”, but they are at 1 with cases of coronavirus. 😀

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      farmerbraun

      March 22
      Anyone saying that the curtailment of freedom is unnecessary is a pandemic denier liable to be arrested and silenced.

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  • #
    farmerbraun

    I got censored for using the bovine manure word.
    But in support of my thesis I offer the following:-

    https://thebfd.co.nz/2020/03/playschool-with-jacinda-ardern/

    “Unprecedented”?
    #pandemicdenier

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    farmerbraun

    Am I still in moderation for claiming that Covid is the new AGW?
    It’s another scam designed to make the herd beg to be deprived of their freedom.
    So far , it’s working.

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    farmerbraun

    Fixed it. 🙂

    Your comment is awaiting moderation.
    March 22, 2020 at 3:28 am · Reply

    I’d like to get ahead of the curve , just as I did on climate change; I earned the label of “climate denier” and suffered the consequence.
    But it’s official; this panic has been induced in order to achieve what AGW failed to do.
    The suspension of all civil liberties, and a “useful” reduction in the numbers of the wise.

    #pandemic denier

    I’m calling [redacted] on this; it’s all about Dear Leaders everywhere. Look no further than Ardern, Macron, and now Trump

    [ I will delete your other post farmerbraun. ] AD

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    Yonniestone

    I suggested this at work but no one believed me,

    Can Vodka Be Used As a Disinfectant?

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    farmerbraun

    NZers are waking up . . .slowly.
    C’mon fellow anzacs.

    Are we going to let Scott and Jacinda disrespect those who fell defending our freedom?

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    robert rosicka

    Rowen Dean from sky news outsiders just sunk the boot into BOM’s backside again for removing Wilcannia’s record temp from 1939 from the record books , embarrassingly for Bom it was in the 2002 census handbook .

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    Annie

    Golly! What a day. I promised to drop off some apples on someone’s doostep on Wed as I have a medical appointment nearby that day. Only to be asked, with surprise that I hadn’t heard about it; that our GP (once a week) and her nurse-receptionist are now in quarantine, thanks to being coughed over by a recent returnee from Singapore, whose excuse was that the quarantine rules didn’t yet apply. How many weeks now have people been advised to ring ahead if they have cough, etc and especially if they have returned from overseas. We are short of medics here anyway and now a good GP and good nurse have been denied to our area, thanks to utter stupidity.
    Next was an emergency app message to notify a fire very nearby; small and under control supposedly. It is very windy; did someone light a bonfire?

    20