Christopher Kremmer, Senior Lecturer in Literary & Narrative Journalism, School of the Arts & Media, UNSW, wants to help you shield yourself from worldviews that you don’t like, so he provides a detailed “how to” list of ways to make sure you filter out, specifically, news.com.
This man lectures in journalism. Instead of teaching journalism students on how to logically outplay and counter arguments and spot the flaws, he’s teaching them to cleanse their feeds lest they be exposed to inconvenient worldviews.
The team that has no evidence and no answers has to find a way to compensate for their intellectual vacuum.
Taking control of who gets to send us news
… before I had even typed in my search terms, it was apparent that my options had been narrowed. The news list that the aggregator threw up was dominated by websites whose idea of what constitutes news is very different to my own.
It takes a lot of effort to build an information silo:
One by one, I began blocking offending mastheads, then refreshing the browser to check the progress of my censorship. It takes a while because news websites use multiple addresses to maximise reader access. So with News Corporation, for example, I had to eliminate all their Australian regional mastheads, which provide backdoor access to stories that are often hidden behind the pay walls of their larger publications.
I would love to report that ten minutes of effort produced a remarkable change in the news of my world. But it takes more than that to curate news feeds until they perfectly match your worldview.
“News cleansing” made no difference to the top three stories that day which appeared in exactly the same order as before I tweaked my feeds.
Some of us choose who are we, others “get shaped” accidentally by the news they read:
News doesn’t just report on our world. It shapes it, and it shapes us. So the media choices we make matter. Instagram over Twitter, or The Conversation over The Daily Mail – all determine the horizon and characteristics of the known. Like it or not, we need to take control over who gets to send us news.
You have to feel sorry for those with jellyfish for brains.
If you can’t think for yourself, you’d better filter:
For digital natives, with their proclivity for tailoring their social media news feeds, this is a no-brainer. When I asked my students recently to find stories on a range of topics, most of their sources were stories on Yahoo7 and News Corporation mastheads delivered via Facebook. This stuck me as odd. Why would 18-year old undergrads with strong views on the need for action against climate change be reading The Australian? (sic)
Just let your ideology hang right out there… why would an 18 year old want to read our national masthead?
The answer is that as far as they are concerned they’re not reading The Australian. They’re reading Facebook. Yet much of their “news” reflects the attitudes of an aged generation that likes coal mines. Go figure.
Coal mines are bad, because Christopher Kremmer, polymath, genius is not just a lecturer in journalism, but a climate and energy expert, and he knows the best energy generation mix for Australia. Why don’t we just make him Prime Minister? Heck, King?
(PS: Who needs a coal mine — it’s only Australia’s second largest export earner... with earnings equal to or greater than our entire agricultural exports.)
That Kremmer-Cleanser trusts Google to micromanage his sources tells you all you need to know.
Please — send your polite thoughts on this to Uni NSW, and add them as comments to The Conversation. Copy your comments (and screencap) and write them here too. We want a record of the censorship of the Guide to Censorship.
We want our tax funds back too.
“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act”
– George Orwell
“1984”
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This is what is called journalism, but it’s anything but journalism.
The true journalists are now found on blogs and similar; those who question everything, investigate, seek out facts, present outcomes and accept rebuttals.
Most so-called ‘journalists’ are nothing more than opinion writers and produce opinions through no research whatsoever.
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Seems to be the topic for quoting Orwells dystopian literature:
“4 legs good, 2 legs bad…”
– George Orwell
“Animal Farm”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Farm
“Animal Farm is an allegorical novella by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union.[1] Orwell, a democratic socialist,[2] was a critic of Joseph Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed Stalinism, an attitude that was critically shaped by his experiences during the Spanish Civil War.[3] The Soviet Union, he believed, had become a brutal dictatorship, built upon a cult of personality and enforced by a reign of terror. In a letter to Yvonne Davet, Orwell described Animal Farm as a satirical tale against Stalin (“un conte satirique contre Staline”),[4] and in his essay “Why I Write” (1946), wrote that Animal Farm was the first book in which he tried, with full consciousness of what he was doing, “to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole”.
The original title was Animal Farm: A Fairy Story; U.S. publishers dropped the subtitle when it was published in 1946, and only one of the translations during Orwell’s lifetime kept it. Other titular variations include subtitles like “A Satire” and “A Contemporary Satire”.[4] Orwell suggested the title Union des républiques socialistes animales for the French translation, which abbreviates to URSA, the Latin word for “bear”, a symbol of Russia. It also played on the French name of the Soviet Union, Union des républiques socialistes soviétiques.[4]
Orwell wrote the book between November 1943 and February 1944, when the UK was in its wartime alliance with the Soviet Union and the British people and intelligentsia held Stalin in high esteem, a phenomenon Orwell hated.[5″]
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Paul Joseph Watson replies to Antifa supporters who state that George Orwell would have supported Antifa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pih9QAA3Idc.
20
Let’s be honest here. “Literary” and “narrative,” the current key qualifiers (in the vernacular) for news manufacture, no more than story telling consistent with the eco-Marxist polemic. It’s from the same stable of cultural
maximsMarxisms, like oxymoronically termed “progressive science,” (really a capital ‘P’ in drag).120
Правда, or Pravda in Latin text, was always seen as a bad joke, back in the day when it was edited by comrade Boris Komotsky.
Those of us on the other side of cold war always saw the name of the publication as a bad joke, on the part of the Communist Party.
But now, the joke appears to be on us.
Pack up your stuff folks. It looks like we lost the great idealogical debate, after all.
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Cultural Marxism appears to be imploding into a nihilistic void of its own creation, which is currently well underway (after all the bankrupt ideology requires the full and daily life-support of the news manufacturers to survive). Identity politics is becoming daily too complex and numerous for anyone to grasp, let alone remain “correct.”
The ideology appears fully engaged in the final stages of terminal auto-digestion, indeed, the rampant hypocrisy evident suggests to me that we are winning the ‘great ideological debate’ and doing rather better these days.
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All these cults which are solely about the achievement and maintenance of power eventually implode; they are structurally unstable.
A great example of this is the Khmer Rouge, which started off by executing foreigners and urban elites, then closed in on rural citizens who weren’t sufficiently ‘pure’, then it got to killing outer members of its own organisation, then inner members, in an ever-tightening spiral. It always, and inevitably, happens.
A good place to watch the depths to which this absurdity is falling is the Twitter feed New Real Peer Review, which shows actual ‘research’ carried out and published in fields of utter uselessness like gender studies. It is hilarious.
You will learn lots of new words like ‘heteronormative‘, and encounter a lot of ‘autoethnographic‘ research (writing down what you did this summer and how it made you feel).
The material is so absurd that some of the authors were actually embarrassed at having their research re-published and managed to get the original Real Peer Review closed down! (Hence the ‘New’)
10
Someone got a PhD for this one…
Walking My Talk as an Intentional, Embodied (Co)constructed Environmental Educator
….. (on and on and on)
20
Rereke, you are correct, the joke is on us here in Aus.
In Russia I’m sure they couldn’t give a stuff about global warming. We shouldn’t have to worry either.
Regards GeoffW
50
Those descriptors caught my eye immediately as well, Manfred. What does “Literary” and “Narrative” have to do with news? As you say, they are descriptors for literature, aka story telling, or with a news twist it would be better described as propaganda.
The Youtubers I respect the most invariably tell their subscribers to sample from many sources and not assume they have the ultimate truth on a given subject. This lecturer wants to narrow his search filters to the point where they exactly match his personal views. In other words he doesn’t wish to be exposed to new ideas. I would have thought this I the exact opposite of what a university professional should be doing. One should challenge one’s own prejudices and assumptions rather than seeking the comfort zone of ignorance.
80
Maybe the
professionallecturerworks foris employed by a UniViewSity.30
Gives a hole new slant on
investigative’journalism,
‘nullius in verba,’ doesn’t
it? Morphed to journalese
twelve-rules-for-radicals,
shapers and movers be,
pick yr target, polarize
and freeze it.
80
I don’t know what happened in other countries but in Australia in 1972 with Australia’s first Cultural Marxist Fabian Socialist regime under Gough Whitlam they changed the nature of the journalism profession from one that was learned as an apprenticeship “on the job” to a subject that was taught by Marxists in universities. That’s when the rot really started to set in. I suspect that similar things happened in other countries at around the same time. These “journalists” need to be held to account for their contribution to the destruction of Western Civilisation. No excuses accepted, ignorance is never an excuse, just as “I was only following orders” isn’t.
342
The Cultural Marxists have been on a roll since the 60s, but it really hit its stride from the 70s onwards and is now fully embedded in our education system. It is our education system. The same applies wherever you look in the Western world.
262
bemused. Yes, the intellectual stain of Marxism in its various forms and disguises has penetrated and corrupted the news through the West. If they did not filter their sources they would be exposed to the truth that Marxism in any form brings despair, violence, and death wherever it spreads.
Self censorship in journalism is like self flagellation or suicide.
The key question is how are we going to get good, patriotic, and honest people back in journalism?
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The real question must be, where can you find, “good, patriotic, and honest people”, who are not tainted by Marxism.
The twenty-somethings will not see it for themselves. Fish do not see the water, in which they swim.
181
Fish, Rereke, some are minnows, some are whales …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r1vqA2OJ18
10
Thanks, Beth. Very apropos.
10
The newspeak journalism is dictated by directions not decisions, nothing new here comrades.
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Hi Jo,
Sorry to be a pain again, but again no article and there are some other problems
What does “it shapes it” mean?
Oops. Fixed! Link. – Jo
20
Spot on Jo,
The Journalism lecturer must make his news feed a “safe space” free from anything that is not sanctioned by the cultural marxist’s “progressive” propoganda. I don’t blame him. There is no alternative for people who insist on maintaining a world view that is at all odds with the empirical evidence and common sense. This does not surprise me though, really it’s an act of self preservation. What if he was to read both sides of the argument and find out the Emporer truly has no clothes? Can you imagine the mental confusion and cognitive dissonance? And then imagine he finds his opinion swayed or changed by the people “who like coal mines”? Why, he’d have to say goodbye to all his academic friends and might even have to get a job in the real world. We can only pray that some of his smarter, less corruptible students might ask him how his preference to censor alternative news sources, can possibly equip him to be a well rounded Journalism Lecturer.
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If you’re a posh-green-urban-left-social-justice-warrior you should not censor out Murdoch’s news.com.au giveaway. Most of the stories there, though a bit garbled and juvenile, would be perfect to confirm you in your posh-green-urban-left-social-justice-warrior world view. Okay, so it reads like the bad first draught of a 1968 uni newspaper but you can get any amount of climate terror, Trump bashing and AbbottAbbottAbbott. Christopher Kremmer, Senior Lecturer in Literary & Narrative Journalism…give Rupert a chance!
But we live in a world where a hipster in Newtown, a trannie in Enmore, a conservative in Lane Cove and a migrant in Western Sydney will all have much the same opinions as the average CIA theorist or Davos/Bilderberger attendee, at least when it comes to the big things. Rest assured, we can all be counted upon to save the planet from coal and from naughty dictators who take little kiddies out of their humidifiers and from anything that’s bad for the petrodollar. We may vary in our voting, some liking the blue party and some the red, but we’re all good globalists now, thanks to all of the mainstream media and nearly all of the alternative media.
Christopher Kremmer, Senior Lecturer in Literary & Narrative Journalism, you really have nothing to worry about. You can have your giant echo chamber without any filters. War and debt are safe from coal and productivity. And you’ll soon be able to marry a lamp post.
160
This advice is solely for those who wish to remain intellectual pygmies, for those who are determined never to have an enquiring mind, and for those who are incapable of considering new facts and ideas and then reaching their own conclusions through critical thought.
Anyone teaching this as a sound approach is, by their own teaching of it, providing incontrovertible proof that they are not fit to teach any subject to any person.
160
Correct…and the best gift we can give our children is :
– a *backbone* – developing mental toughness
– the daily practice of individual reasoning ( which makes them a dangerous opponent to the leftie marxist media).
– the information that most journalism is distorted heavily by scruffy & unthinking left wing journo “seagulls”
– a need to always verify verify verify *anything* they see in the media ( also known as “assume its a lie” unless proven otherwise ).
– always shouting “Trump” around lefties, becasue they cower, rock back and forth sucking their thumbs, howling in pain…
30
Quote: Please — send your polite thoughts on this to Uni NSW, and add them as comments to The Conversation.
What is so special about Kremmer that warrants a campaign? Surely he is just another mildly evil nuff nuff among uncountable mildly evil nuff nuffs.
As for the Conversation, never argue with idiots. They will just drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
100
Kremmer? Exactly. But UNSW employs him, and The Conversation thought this was worth publishing. Let them defend his genius.
And correct me if I’m wrong, but I suspect both are funded with our tax dollars, so somewhere there is probably a govt minister who needs to explain to Australian taxpayers how this is good value for money.
If we want these standards at The Conversation and UNSW to improve (or at least not sink further) we can speak up.
Both will be hoping people don’t.
Do it for his students.
271
Jo, read the comments at The Monologue on Kremmer’s piece and consider their record. They won’t publish anything even slightly critical of their approved group think on any subject. I don’t expect UNSW to react any better. As a former senior university manager I am dismayed at how PC dominated Aussie unis are now. Truly, for all their self proclaimed support for every imaginable PC cause including diversity, the opposite of diversity is university.
70
If you critique his view on climate change it will rightly be deleted since it is off topic. Stick to the topic and don’t rant, provide evidence for any claims and you’ll be ok
25
You do realise the discussion is about “The One Sided Conversation” don’t you? Maybe they practise much more censorship than you are aware of.
20
Jo,
There are no ministers who are prepared to speak out because tenure matters more than truth. 12 months ago our local MP publically talked about the need for consistent and affordable electricity base load. Last week he mumbled about Malcolm’s (thought bubble)plans for the Snowy; how if we replaced old for new coal fired we would reduce CO2 output by 43%; about the coming blackouts.
However when asked what had actually been done to resolve the matter the answer, as expected, was nothing. These guys are all in denial and act like snowflakes looking for safe places. Letters to them and ministers go unanswered.
I strongly oppose criticism which is unaccompanied by “better” suggestions / solutions but this one has me beat.
30
Never have a battle of wits, with an unarmed person.
90
Nice one, Centurion….
40
Just missed this one:
Communicating climate change in the post-truth Anthropocene.
Date & time
6–7.30pm 5 September 2017
Location
The Finkel Lecture Theatre
The John Curtin School of Medical Research
131 Garran Road, The Australian National University
Canberra, ACT 0200
Speakers
Professor Will Steffen
David Pope
Su Wild-River
“Why do journalists still ask if decision makers ‘believe in climate change’?
Why does the media persist in ‘balancing’ public debates by pitching uninformed sceptics against the near scientific consensus on the urgency of tackling
human-induced climate change?
How can we overcome intentional ignorance to prevent catastrophic global warming in the age of the anthropocene where human activity dominates climate and the environment?”
http://climate.anu.edu.au/news-events/communicating-climate-change-post-truth-anthropocene
50
‘Why do journalists still ask if decision makers ‘believe in climate change’?
Because half the population remains sceptical on AGW.
‘Why does the media persist in ‘balancing’ public debates by pitching uninformed sceptics against the near scientific consensus on the urgency of tackling human-induced climate change?
Because the articulate sceptics have no faith in the scientific consensus.
‘How can we overcome intentional ignorance to prevent catastrophic global warming in the age of the anthropocene where human activity dominates climate and the environment?’
Industrial CO2 does not cause global warming and global cooling has begun, its hubris to think that humans can change the climate. Journalists have a responsibility to enlighten the world and overcome international ignorance.
171
El G
So far the ‘articulate skeptics ‘ have failed to provide any counter evidence that survives scrutiny outside their’ confirmation bias bubbles.
Is it not the height of hubris to think you know better than the ALL the World’s scientific bodies after continually failing to provide this evidence ?.
[Frank, only a deep denialist would claim that there is “continual failing to provide evidence.” Only a deep Denialist would claim “ALL the World’s scientific bodies” know more than what true evidence demonstrates. ]ED
48
Well done Frank!
You are asking the skeptics (sic) to prove a negative. That is your logical fallacy #1.
Can you produce a list of “ALL the World’s scientific bodies” who support the notion of AGW? I personally belong to a number of scientific bodies that reject the possibility of any anthropogenic influence. That is your logical fallacy #2.
At what University did you study logic, Frank? I suggest you ask for your fees to be refunded.
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RW,
So claiming you can’t prove a negative absolves you from trying and covers your failures, what a good scientist.
The fact that you’re stuck here in thumbsey land arguing with me highlights your impotency in the real world.
If I claim ” All the World’s scientific bodies” then asking for a list is illogical.
What are all of the august scientific bodies you personally belong to doing then ?, certainly not providing evidence.
Do they know you’re stuffing around here ?
38
AGW via CO2 is a model based fantasy.
Models are not evidence.
AGW via CO2 is an unproven, baseless hypothesis, which should have been thrown in the science scrap heap ages ago.
You are welcome to produce empirical evidence that CO2 causes warming of a our convective atmosphere… or ..
…. you could just keep yapping mindlessly.
32
Frank,
I know that you find logic to be alien to your thought processes, so let me spell it out for you.
Fact 1: El Gordo pointed out that, “… articulate sceptics have no faith in the scientific consensus.”
This is a reasonable statement, because science is not determined by a vote. Apart from Political Science, of course, but that is immaterial, because we are discussing the physical sciences.
Fact 2: It was you, who introduced the concept of “ALL the World’s scientific bodies”. Not I, and not El Gordo.
Also, capitalisation of the word “ALL” was your affectation, presumably intended to lend emphasis. But the word is all inclusive. You can’t have “all” and “some”, at the same time. They are exclusive concepts – logic, Frank, logic.
But since you appear to believe that you can speak for ALL the World’s scientific bodies, I asked you for a list, of the subset of those who support the notion of AGW, as means of proof for what you claim. You failed.
Now, I am not prepared to provide my Curriculum Vitae, to any unwashed troll that asks for it, especially if you are going to accuse me of “stuffing around”.
Let me know, when you figure out how you can definitively prove a negative. A first year course in logic, might just do it.
52
RW
In the end the logical thing for the sceptic to do is prove otherwise.
This has not happened.
This whole site is a fallacy .
13
No Frank. Why do you insist in getting it wrong?
It is a fallacy to ask somebody to prove a negative. It is Logic 101, Frank.
In fact it is earlier than that, because it is taught to children in primary school:
The onus is on you, to present observable and repeatable empirical evidence for the hypothesis you claim to be the case.
Once you have presented such evidence, it is my role to try as hard as I can, to refute it. If I cannot, then your hypothesis stands, for the moment.
If I can refute it, by showing that the hypothesis is flawed, then that is an end to the matter. That is how real science works, Frank.
At least that is how real science works, with the notable exception of “climate science”, as distinct from Meteorology, Climatology, and Atmospheric Physics.
Since you fail to produce any repeatable empirical evidence for what you claim, I have nothing to refute. You loose by default.
If it is not repeatable, then the null hypothesis is random chance. The onus is on you to show otherwise.
51
RW,
Have you run your lazy “can’t prove a negative” spiel past any scientists ?, I can see why you hide it here.
The scientific consensus is based upon empirical data from many sources, you disagree ?, then prove otherwise, your presence here confirms your failure.
It’s not me you need to convince, please stop the reverse demand for evidence and get out into the real world.
01
All right Frank. You keep alleging we “fail to provide evidence.”
You can drive a search engine … can’t you? If you can, why haven’t you found the evidence you see for yourself?
Let’s see if you can:
1. Read the linked paper and
2. Understand it and its ramifications:
Here you go: https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/a-novel-investigation-about-the-thermal-behaviour-of-gases-under-theinfluence-of-irradiation-a-further-argument-against-the-greenh-2157-7617-1000393.pdf
Frankly, I doubt it.
102
To quote the real Sophocles:
“The foolish cannot be made to understand”
Wow, you’ve presented a single piece of evidence and have disproved AGW———- Sorry, I was channeling you.
That’s not how it works Soph, you actually need to build a stronger case and run it by the greater scientific community
36
““The foolish cannot be made to understand””
We have tried to make a fool understand.. but you cannot because you WILL not.
Come on Frank….Build a case for AGW via CO2.. start with empirical evidence of CO2 warming of a convective atmosphere.. the very basis of the AGW fantasy religion that has got you so completely sucked in !!
We are all waiting.
32
Thanks for admitting your’e a fool Andy
Obviously, no evidence coming from Frank. Pure bluster as usual. – Jo
12
Poor Fwank.. so good to see you are TOTALLY INCAPABLE of producing one iota of evidence.
Except that you are a brainwashed amoeba.
21
Poor Frank
Evidence produced = ZERO !!
11
I repeat, since your response is that of a 4 year old having a tantrum.
Build a case for AGW via CO2..
start with empirical evidence of CO2 warming of a convective atmosphere..
the very basis of the AGW fantasy religion that has got you so completely sucked in !!
We are all waiting.
So far… you are EMPTY.. DEVOID.
11
Accidental touch on green thumb…definitely not intended Frank.
40
Bad Annie! I will have to talk to you later …
40
🙂 Still not very with it after ‘flu. That’s my excuse anyway.
20
Hmm, OK. But don’t do it again.
30
[SNIP red thumbs discussion]
33
[SNIP]
30
[SNIP]
22
[SNIP]
01
Fronk,
Can you prove to me that the world will not end next Tuesday? I know it’s asking you to prove a negative but you seem to believe that is possible. Please provide the detailed evidence or are you just full of piss and wind?
31
‘So far the ‘articulate skeptics ‘ have failed to provide any counter evidence that survives scrutiny outside their’ confirmation bias bubbles.’
Admittedly I have a global cooling bias because the science is not complicated, even a layman can understand my cycle theory.
31
“have failed to provide any counter evidence”
Counter evidence to what ??
AGW is an UNPROVEN, BASELESS hypothesis, with very little, if any, evidence to back it up.
Yes Frank, we KNOW that not one of the scientific bodies can provide empirical evidence that CO2 warms our convective atmosphere.
Your point is ?????
That is what science is MEANT to provide, evidence.. not just “belief”, that is religion.
So come on Frank.
Provide empirical evidence that CO2 causes warming in a convective atmosphere.
Or remain, as always, mindless and empty.
31
Howsitgoin El G?
20
In good health, thanks.
I miss the old days, there is no art appreciation around here.
10
Are my comments not art?
I am now insulted.
40
There is a consensus that your Kiwi wit is the driest and sharpest.
20
Now now, I thought your interpretation of “Boy with Apple” using crayons was inspirational.
20
So many people believe in global warming that its going to come as a huge shock when the weather turns nasty.
https://www.kristenkoster.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/frost-fair-1.jpg
Of course this couldn’t possibly happen these days because the hydrology has changed.
00
I’ve never met anyone who did not believe in climate change. There’s just the odd type who denies the natural history of our current geological epoch and who imagines that there is some “stable” point in recent climate to which all must be restored. On being questioned, these odd people have no idea of when this stable point was reached or even whether it existed. They just like it. Seems to be a religion thing.
Here’s the funny part: the odd people in question consider themselves more educated and in fact many have spent a great deal of time in educational institutions. Yet they act surprised or indignant when, for example, the great Atlantic hurricanes of years like 1635, 1780, 1821, 1900, 1926, 1935, 1938, 1961, 1969 etc are mentioned. Their religious beliefs seem to override their education and they insist that severity, frequency and extremity of weather events are determined solely by date, the most recent date always being the most salient. Recent events are often described as “unprecedented” though no point of reference is ever allowed to establish the lack of precedent.
Not all faith-driven people are weird. But this lot are. Very weird.
211
These alleged events happened before the date of their birth, thus, have the same veracity as the Tales of the Brothers Grimm.
Nothing of any consequence happened in times past to match the horrors of the present, and/or the future.
50
The key word here :
“institutions”
Implication, thereby being…
30
Needless to say, there is a very different meaning between COD ‘climate change’ and UNFCCC ‘climate change’. It is useful to understand which is being discussed from the outset. They are utterly different by definition.
30
Hypothetically, I would like to take these “Journalists” up onto the Yorkshire Moors, in the middle of an English winter, and leave them there overnight, as an experiment, to see how human activity can “dominate” climate. I would suggest that they bring their own spade – they will need it.
Seriously, the mouth-parts are moving, but nothing sensible comes out. Calling them “weird” is an understatement.
130
Been there, done that during basic military training. The spade was in almost continual use, first to dig shelter and then to dig our way out after End-ex. The climate won on points.
10
The UNFCCC defines “climate change” as solely and entirely due to anthropogenic direct and indirect influence upon atmospheric composition and land usage.
The insanerati and propaganda meisters either believe or peddle this definition, or both. The rest of us ignore this mêlée as noise.
The UNFCC defines natural variation as “climate variability.” This is the herd of elephants in the room that the insanerati and propaganda meisters intentionally or ignorantly, or both, ignore.
Whenever someone prattles on “climate change,” always, always ask them for their definition of terms. It leads to a faster unraveling.
10
I went to The Conversation website but I did not find this article. Does anyone have a link?
10
Which article? What article? What are you on? Where did you get it? We wants some, my precious!
20
At least the man will never be a threat to a thinking person. He not only couldn’t counter any argument, if ever he hears one it’ll be the first. He’ll sit there either in rage that he was asked such a question, or he’ll be completely confused by it. Either way, he’ll asking for a hard fall in the future.
60
Why doesn’t he just recommend they stick to Das Capital.
20
Das Capital is passée. It doesn’t explain things in three-second sound bites.
90
I do wish this News article was not behind a paywall. hope someone will excerpt it, as I can’t find any other coverage:
Weather bureau’s temperature errors caused by old hardware
The Australian-57 minutes ago
A review into the bureau’s automatic weather stations, sparked by a series of reports in The … not compromise Australia’s long-term climate record and the network is sound, the review said. … Old hardware caused BoM woes.
20
The article in the Australian is likely derived from information on the Jennifer Marohasy blog site;
http://jennifermarohasy.com/2017/09/two-decades-temperature-data-australia-not-fit-purpose/
30
PDF: 77 pages: Australian Govt Bureau of Meteorology: Review of the Bureau of Meteorology’s Automatic Weather Stations
http://www.bom.gov.au/inside/Review_of_Bureau_of_Meteorology_Automatic_Weather_Stations.pdf
7 Sept: 4-traders: BoM Bureau of Meteorology : Bureau welcomes findings of Automatic Weather Station review
The Review’s findings support the Bureau’s initial investigations that outages at temperatures below minus 10.4 degrees at both locations were the result of equipment in those locations not being fit for purpose…
The Review found that these outages had no impact on the official temperature record used for measuring long-term temperature change.
The Review found that overall, the Bureau’s equipment, verification process, quality checks, and processes for finding and acting on equipment failure are sound.
Notwithstanding, the Review found that there were failures in some of the Bureau’s internal processes dating back to the mid-1990s. Inadequate communication meant that hardware, unsuitable at very low temperatures, was inadvertently installed during repairs.
CEO and Director of Meteorology, Dr Andrew Johnson welcomed the findings of the report.
‘I thank the Review Panel for this comprehensive and valuable report. The Bureau acknowledges its findings and will be implementing all of its recommendations to ensure the ongoing community confidence in our robust data quality control processes,’ Dr Johnson said…
‘The Bureau will be taking a highly precautionary approach in the future to ensure what happened in Thredbo and Goulburn doesn’t happen again. We will make sure any location that has recorded below -5 degrees celsius in the past has equipment capable of recording down to -25 degrees.
‘This Review has demonstrated the Bureau’s commitment to maintain the highest international standards of practice for meteorological services.’…
http://www.4-traders.com/news/BoM-Bureau-of-Meteorology-Bureau-welcomes-findings-of-Automatic-Weather-Station-review–25073677/
40
Staggering, yet sad and typical of previous reviews of the BOM temperature manipulations. Despite acknowledging the failures in managing equipment change, recording transient temperatute spikes are maxima and minima and then trimming off the minima below arbitrary levels,
The review panel was supposed to include independent experts and suppose it could be argued that it did but look who they were; two from the New Zealand bureau and one from another government department. All of the very friendly to the Bureau and it ideology on Climate Change.
61
There is an old English word that describes the utterances of the BOM. It is “bollocks”. But I would not recommend its use in polite company.
20
So we are not polite company eh, RW?
10
I did not say that. I was using the word, in regard to the BOM, as defined in the Shorter Oxford Dictionary: bollocks Nonsense; a mess, a muddle.
Often confused with bollix bungle, confuse, mess up.
10
From the independent report:
“The Bureau of Meteorology should seek accreditation of its laboratories and measurement processes under the ISO 17025 standard, and extend its existing ISO 9001 certification to include AWS management, operation and maintenance, and associated data management.”
“The documentation of the Bureau’s automated quality control tests and processes is not readily accessible. The gaps in the Bureau’s formal documentation of its automated processes mean that there is a risk of technical expert knowledge being lost.”
A scientific organization not accredited and with inadequate processes? Surely a sacking offence?
excellent commentary at Jennifer Marohasy’s website
21
btw billion-dollar-plus taxpayer-funded ABC does not appear to be interested in the BoM review so far but, if President Trump sneezes, they’ll be on it in a heartbeat:
two must-read pieces – lots of important details in both – one not from News and one from News:
7 Sept: AFR: Ben Potter: ‘Decarbonised’ future for AGL Energy’s Liddell site
AGL Energy plans to convert its Liddell coal power station site into a clean energy facility – such as a wind, solar and battery farm – if it closes down the 46-year-old plant on schedule in 2022.
The company’s rehabilitation report (LINK) published last month says it will consider “options for the site that are consistent with our commitment to a decarbonised generation fleet and sustainable energy future” and a decision will be made in 2019…
An AGL spokesperson confirmed that Mr Vesey will explain the company’s plans to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Monday…READ ALL
http://www.afr.com/news/decarbonised-future-for-agl-energys-liddell-site-20170907-gycliz
6 Sept: Australian: Simon Benson: Unions amass $1.5bn war chest as membership falls
The nation’s largest trade unions have amassed a political war machine totalling more than $1.5 billion in assets and a combined income stream estimated at $900 million a year, despite a continuing decline in their membership base.
The first comprehensive analysis of union financial records has revealed the real wealth of the Labor Party’s industrial wing, now largely funded through “rivers of gold” from superannuation funds and workers’ entitlement trusts…
Membership has fallen to just 10 per cent of the private sector workforce…
The CFMEU, now arguably the most powerful left-wing campaign arm of the Australian Labor Party, has an accumulated asset base of $206m, with a yearly income stream of $123m, putting it well within comparable fortunes of mid-ranking top 500 listed private companies in Australia…READ ALL
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/industrial-relations/unions-amass-15bn-war-chest-as-their-membership-falls-away/news-story/387917d6e0cdcfb227b3e59ffe62488f
40
Those articles help put things in proportion.
30
Interestingly, many people are now starting to wake up about the power situation.
Having an engineering background in this space helps, by being able to explain complexities, but able to boil it all down , to what will happen if they continue to shut down power stations :
– No jobs
– No future for your kids
– Deaths of elderly relatives in nursing homes
That seems to get their attention, and cuts through the noise.
People are starting to listen.
50
Better still, if they shut down power stations, how will they get the power to pump beer?
We will have to go back to ale from the keg, pulled by hand. But, IT WILL BE WARM BEER!
30
Warm Beer? Civilisation reaches the antipodes at last!
20
Safe spaces and infantile needs,
Is the norm for the new snowflake breeds,
Who just can’t handle news,
Which conflicts with their views,
Needing minders to cleanse all their feeds.
130
One of your best Ruairi. My compliments.
40
pity none of the media bosses quoted mention political bias or CAGW advocacy:
7 Sept: Australian: Darren Davidson: Media chiefs demand review of ABC and SBS charters
Michael Miller, head of News Corp Australia, publisher of The Australian, said it was time to “question” whether the mission statement of the ABC was correct for the 21st century, and said the government could do no worse than follow the British government’s recent “root-and-branch” reform of the BBC.
“The ABC’s charter is so outdated that they’re finding ways around it and pushing boundaries because they know it’s not relevant. They’re looking at what can they do without being sprung,” Mr Miller said. He noted the ABC’s increasing practice of funding Google marketing campaigns to sideline commercial media outlets in search engine results…
Angelos Frangopoulos, chief executive of Sky News operator Australian News Channel, said the ABC’s $1.04 billion base funding in 2016-17 should be contestable…
The ABC this week refused to clarify whether managing director Michelle Guthrie and the board of directors approved commercial deals after the organisation held talks with advertising technology firm NewsMaven about a deal to share ad dollars. Both the ABC and SBS declined to comment.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/media-chiefs-demand-review-of-abc-and-sbs-charters/news-story/3c8bac5b74c1acd07277c8a61e48b86a
10
“The ABCs increasing practice of funding Google marketing campaigns ….”
So, the ABC is implicated in a scheme to restrict access to “news” that they believe sends the wrong message.
Occasionally when driving and in need of a reminder of how sad the world has become I switch to the government kiddy radio JJJJ.
The domineering, relentless, sneering avalanche of doctrinaire material is amazing.
Any opinion contrary to accepted doctrine is demolished with the coolest background music of the moment.
People once dug around for news, now it is created to manipulate and a wall is built around the alternate reality to prevent people getting the “wrong” idea about the world.
We have been in trouble since the late sixties and seem to be moving round and round in ever decreasing circles.
The electricity/CO2 crisis may bring on that “blinding blue flash of light” sooner rather than later.
The problem will then be to deconstruct the existing social framework that has brought us here.
Not an easy task.
KK
40
KK, it will all come to a head when someones loved one dies in hospital in the middle of an operation, when the power goes off, due to shutdown power stations.
On *that* day, I would not want to be a politician nor power company offical, for love nor money….
30
Most surgical hospitals have emergency power, driven by diesel generators.
In fact, I think that having such emergency power is a prerequisite for being considered as a surgical hospital.
Let’s not get emotional, over what might be …
10
There is no emotion in this.
Based on what I have seen, and talked to people who work in the HVAC industry, you have roughly a 50/50 chance of a backup generator starting when it should.
It is what it is.
10
Good point.
10
The Daily Planet, albeit fiction, is a far superior form of journalism than what we mostly see today.
70
But then, they had Super Person on their payroll, albeit unknowingly!
30
To be fair to him, he is not making any secret of his fear of news, nor of how he feels about the sensitivity of others: “…check the progress of my censorship.”
What a pity he is a journalism professor, though, as one would have thought that unfiltered news is essential to the job, and should be reported without shame if anyone is offended.
40
What odds he’d filter this one?
http://blog.dilbert.com/post/165048861836/are-the-hurricanes-and-temperature-records
20
These too probably
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2017/09/now-is-the-time-136.html#comments
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/09/07/hurricane-irma-is-not-the-most-powerful-atlantic-hurricane-ever-recorded/
20
Tricky Question; What is the connection between the first reference; http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2017/09/now-is-the-time-136.html#comments
and the recent port visit to Melbourne by a US aircraft carrier?
20
Answer tomorrow.
10
“Christopher Kremmer, Senior Lecturer in Literary & Narrative Journalism, School of the Arts & Media, UNSW,” On how to be an ostrich.
80
Brilliant piece of journalism there.
Brevity and imagery.
KK
20
Thanks KK
20
Perhaps he’ll write a book: “The Joys of Proctocraniosis”.
20
I also was taken by the proctal imagery.
10
My journo school of a mere 17 years ago emphasized fairness, balance, accuracy and the strict separation of news and ads.
Now radio stations offer public services editorial content in news bulletins within advertising packages.
60
There used to be a principle of demarcation between radio as a factual information medium, and radio as an entertainment medium. This was encapsulated within the licensing provisions. The need for a divide was supposedly brought about, by the panic that ensued when “The War Of The Worlds”, was broadcast in the UK, and was taken seriously by the listeners.
As far as I am aware, the Commercial Radio Stations in the UK still need to clearly demarcate between news, entertainment, opinion, and advertising. But it was a long time ago, since I lived there, and it may all have changed by now.
If it has, that would be sad. Because it then is beholding on the recipient to filter the few grains of useful information from the dross spouted by the overpaid, and under-educated, talking heads.
40
AGL replacing storage batteries fitted to homes as part of the storage scheme being introduced in SA , also putting program on temporary hold .
To be replacing storage batteries so soon after installing them makes you wonder what’s wrong and what’s this costing them !
40
The other issue with using storage batteries at home is most insurance companies will refuse to insure your home(or pay out a claim if they were not told they were installed) unless very strict measure have been undertaken to house them a certain distance away from the main house. Batteries can and do catch on fire albeit rarely. The insurance companies have proposed some very tough requirements, such as fire bunkers. There is currently a lot of debate on this topic, with the battery makers claiming the new proposed regulations are overkill. I disagree – they are just playing it safe. I personally would not feel comfortable sleeping in a house that contained a whole bunch of solar batteries. I would pay the extra cost of housing them as far as possible from the house. That cost by the way would make it even less financially attractive to go off grid but I have no problem people doing so if that’s what they want. There are of course other advantages going off grid, and perhaps the main one in due course is when blackouts start to be common place once more and more coal fired power stations are shut down.
40
Morning PeterS,
The ABC report mentions and extra cost to be able to use the batteries during a blackout – $1000 – and one user has been asked to turn off that function
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-07/battery-scheme-under-the-spotlight/8883330
And AGL hasn’t provided any explanation for the changes.
The report also mentions government sources of financing for the trial.
Cheers,
Dave B
40
Morning RR,
I doubt you need to worry about what it’s costing “them”. It’s us who’ll foot the bill, either through their subsidies or our bills.
Cheers,
Dave B
30
What a brilliant idea! Decide what you believe (largely by testing the alignment with orthodox liberal/socialist political thought) and then build an information cocoon that only allows in conforming information and advice. What could go wrong?
Meanwhile in the real world, sane problem solvers and those with a keen interest in the future of humankind and the health of the global environment want to know all the facts pro and con for any proposal of science or policy so they can make the best possible decisions in a setting of uncertainty.
20
This scheme is subsidised by AGL , they were trying to get 1000 homes hooked up to create one big battery so they could then draw power from the homes when needed .
20
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has provided $5million funding – $5000 per home.
https://arena.gov.au/projects/agl-virtual-power-plant/
Retail price is apparently $16000 and AGL provides them for $3500. If AGL is getting them for wholesale price it may be costing them very little.
10
What did he do wrong exactly?
He discusses a news aggregator that sends him a particular subet of news sources for an item of news and set about finding out why this aggregator has these biases. He then tries to reproduce bias himself in an effort to see how the aggregator ticks. This is a key paragraph
He is openly discussing the presentation of media on he web and how it is done and the, obviously from comments above, lack of awareness that it is happening. He is trying to expose how media feeds are being manipulated. I want to know about these things even if others here don’t. To write an article decrying his efforts because they show bias is laughable and dishonest.
44
Within his call to filter news out lies a pearl of truth.
Google and the big compilers of news are filtering what the audience wants and suppressing uncomfortable news for that audience.
Try to find something remotely sane on the GBR, it won’t be on google.
My response is to quickly look at google and not read anything much.
The headlines tell me what they want me to believe.
Given time I look up Pakistani and Indian world and local news.
Occasionally the Boston Globe and Catholic Herald, which gives religious news.
The Papal visit is interesting, Google never discusses South American World news unless someone is shot.
With the near East there is a lot about China, Korea and the USA, not to mention all the gas deals that Google does not want you to know about.
Say the USA sending LNG to Pakistan, or Pakistan getting it from Africa.
Today I learned about Hillary’s swan song
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/world/hillary-clinton-reveals-explains-reasons-behind-her-loss-in-new-memoir/
which has not hit Google yet.
Here is a bit more
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/business/china-unveils-first-domestically-built-bullet-train/
Google tells me about the hurricane threatening the US seaboard and same sex marriage.
Its more interesting to read overseas papers.
Blog sites like this keep me up to date on Irma, Google is irrelevant.
I don’t share Google’s obsession with sex.
Google stops me learning about other people and cultures.
Religion is viewed through the prism of conflict.
But then, the Google algorithm profit motive does not care.
30
furthermore this is untrue on the evidence presented and potentially defamatory
where is the evidence that he teaches his students this and does so “instead” of teaching the other things? You are claiming he is not doing a particular thing that may well be part of his required commitments to the curriculum, which, if he were to challenge you to verify, could you? There is the potential here that you are claiming publicly that he is not fulfilling his obligations to his employer. He and they might take that seriously.
The thing he actually stated regarding students was that he was curious to find out what media they were exposed to as a result of a response from them to a task he set them. You might disagree with the students’ views on climate change but, nontheless, those are their views and your disagreement about their views does not invalidate his question
43
You missed this –
“News doesn’t just report on our world. It shapes it, and it shapes us. So the media choices we make matter. Instagram over Twitter, or The Conversation over The Daily Mail – all determine the horizon and characteristics of the known. Like it or not, we need to take control over who gets to send us news.”
Surely your not suggesting no such thing as media bias ? Even Shaun Micallef admits the ABC is biased , to me if your only reporting one side to a story no matter if left or right your biased .
The out right lies about CGAW is a perfect example as is the greatest President America ever had , both are good examples of media bias , only report negative views and not factual news .
41
How does that relate to what I wrote? He is talking about bias and you are saying there is bias and I said there is bias. His article was about how we are fed bias through hidden algorithms and he wrote about an exercise he undertook to examine how this algorithm works. His opinions on climate change might be different to yours but it sounds like you, he and Jo all agree about the bias.
23
Read the remarks inbetween quotation marks but read slowly this time , when a teacher is saying to students you need to vet your sources or as he puts it ” control over who sends us news” .
If you can’t find anything wrong that statement it says a lot about you .
21
He was saying it to the reader not his students. Where does it say he prescribed to his students what they should read?
And the context was understanding when you are being fed news with bias – the news aggregator being an example of undisclosed bias driven by an undisclosed algorithm – rather than as you requested it. We all vet our news and so we should so that we know when something is unreliable or dodgy and certainly so we don’t get dross about the latest celebrity baby clogging our screens.
33
How about we agree to disagree on what he meant
10
And just to prove a point , I was up in the shed listening to ABC world in focus program .
Three stories in a row all CAGW related .
First was an interview with someone in the Caribbean and he was saying he never believed in climate change but they only used to get really bad hurricanes , storms and tropical depressions a few times a year every couple of years but now they get three hurricanes every year .
Second was an interview with AEMO about renewables .
Third was how great electric cars are at reducing emissions and diss appointment in Australia for not embracing the wonderful technology.
11
no, I disagree that he said it to his students. That was never said or implied.
22
also it was not about climate change nor the content of the ABC. Those are things you want to discuss and I’m sure he didn’t know what you wanted to discuss them when he wrote his article.
23
Can we go back to agreeing on not agreeing .
20
‘News doesn’t just report on our world. It shapes it, and it shapes us.’
By that he may have meant News Ltd, its ambiguous.
The ABC shapes our world, peddles lies and disinformation and the masses believe every word.
50
Gee Aye,
You are selecting discrete phrases that, when joined together, out of natural sequence, support your opinion (whatever that might be).
That is not a valid approach to adult debate.
I was starting to appreciate your opinions as having validity, as least from the perspective of your overall point of view.
I respect that people have different view to mine, but I have no respect for people who resort to semantic tricks, in an attempt to prove a minor point. You belittle yourself by taking this approach.
Perhaps it is because you came into this discussion late, but that is not an excuse for using semantic tricks. You can do better than that.
40
Gee Aye is an obfuscation troll and knows nothing of the debate, preferring to split hairs over some trivial matter.
30
7 Sept: Townsville Bulletin: Scientist fraudster spent thousands on antique books
by LUCY SMITH
A ***RENOWNED climate scientist has been jailed for fraudulently claiming half a million dollars in reimbursements from his employer…
Alongi was sentenced to 3½ years jail. He will be eligible for parole in six months.
Dr Alongi was a prominent scientist and was published in national and international journals.
http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/scientist-fraudster-spent-thousands-on-antique-books/news-story/600596ff4bd364b25ed55c228bdd957b
8 Sept: Tim Blair blog: CLIMATE FRAUD GOES TO PRISON
The Herald Sun reports (LINK): “A renowned climate scientist has been jailed for fraudulently claiming half a million dollars in reimbursements from his employer.”
The fellow’s fakery goes back to 2008:
Over seven years, Australian Institute of Marine Science senior researcher Daniel Michael Alongi lodged 129 claims for fictitious purchases totalling $553,420…READ ON
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/blogs/tim-blair/climate-fraud-goes-to-prison/news-story/7a35359b60a615c2b61d99e08204b263
30
Presumably, none of those antique books contained the precept, “Thou shalt not steal.”
30
comment in moderation re sentencing of “climate scientist” Daniel Michael Alongi:
Townsville Bulletin: Scientist fraudster spent thousands on antique books
Tim Blair blog: CLIMATE FRAUD GOES TO PRISON
20
2 comments in moderation re sentencing of “climate scientist” Daniel Michael Alongi.
20
7 Sept: ClimateDepot: Warmist Brad Johnson urges: ‘Put official who reject science in jail’ – Blames Irma on climate change
Brad Johnson, formerly of Think Progress and currently with Climate Hawks, declared today: “Climate disaster response rules 1) save lives 2) global warming is here 3) put officials who reject science in jail.” Johnson linked to an article demanding “climate change denial should be a crime.” …
FOLLOWED BY –
RELATED LINKS:
The Nation: ‘To refuse to act against global warming…is murder’ – ‘Climate Denialism Is Literally Killing Us’…READ ON
http://www.climatedepot.com/2017/09/07/climate-activist-brad-johnson-urges-put-official-who-reject-science-in-jail-blames-irma-on-climate-change/
VIDEOS: 7 Sept: RedoubtNews: Joe Robertson Released from Prison
After months in federal prison, Joe Robertson’s appeal was heard by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle.
by Marjorie Haun
Elderly Vietnam Vet Convicted for ‘EPA crimes’
Robertson was released into his own custody to enter into a halfway house in Butte, Montana, with plans to later be admitted to the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Fort Harrison, Montana. Robertson hopes to enter a PTSD inpatient program at the Fort Harrison VA. He remains under Department of Justice supervision, and his formal release date is December 2 of this year…
An independent and patriotic man, Joe Robertson loves the outdoors and for years has taken care his own property in the Montana backwoods near the town of Basin, with his beloved service dog, Sasha at his side. He was prosecuted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for changes he made to a stock pond on a mining claim, which he owns.
Joe Robertson was convicted last year of alleged violations of the Clean Water Act related to activities on his Montana property. According to a May, 2016 report in Redoubt News: (LINK)…
***Below, independent journalist John Lamb, Roger Roots, and others are seen greeting Joe Robertson upon his arrival in Montana. His case is not over, and he remains a felon under federal law. His appeal has not yet received a final determination and Joe and his family still need prayers and support. Go here to donate to Joe Robertson’s defense fund.
VIDEO…ETC
https://redoubtnews.com/2017/09/joe-robertson-released-prison/
20
Recently The Australian revealed that a senior AGL executive is a former foundation executive of Labor’s GetUp, and now;
EXCLUSIVE
Gore grad now AGL point man
Tony Chappel. Head of Government & Community Relations at AGL Energy Limited. Supplied
BRAD NORINGTON
AGL’s head of government relations is a graduate of Al Gore’s climate change leadership program.
30
I seen this report Dennis and I’m not shocked or surprised in the slightest, if however I was a shareholder I would be dropping their stocks as fast as I could .
More than three quarters of their electricity generation is fossil fuel and now they’re anti fossil fuel, what could possibly go wrong .
50
I understand that on average less than 5 per cent is wind and solar.
40
Thanks for pointing me to the conversation. I’ve just returned from a location off the web and had not noticed that the sun is exhibiting some interesting behaviour. Will seek out some more info
https://theconversation.com/massive-sunspots-and-huge-solar-flares-mean-unexpected-space-weather-for-earth-83677
20
Yeah I seen a post over at the other great eye opening scientific deplorable site at WUWT , the flare just ejected was the biggest so far of the three .
Some ham radios were affected by the first one , not sure if this one has hit earth yet .
Interesting the question of it’s affect on weather but it’s just a coincidence that the flares are happening at the same time as the hurricanes in the US it seems .
40
A couple more references
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/09/06/sun-unleashes-a-second-monster-x-class-solar-flare-strongest-in-a-decade/
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/09/07/the-sun-belches-out-a-3rd-x-class-solar-flare-in-as-many-days/
It does not look as if they pointed towards us.
On the GBR, this author has been placed in shadow by Google.
As he points out you can find the local real estate agent on Google, but not him.
Yet what he writes makes sense.
So looking for this on Google is a waste of time. https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/08/26/an-ecologists-plea-to-dr-terry-hughes-the-public-needs-robust-science-regards-coral-bleaching-not-fearmongering/
So Google drives the inquiring person off their news site, leaving it to those best inspired by fear responses and clickbait, with money to purchase the goods advertised.
40
good to see you agree with the conversation article suggesting that you should be critical and skeptical about your news feed. Jo seems to think you should accept it because to do otherwise is shutting your eyes to the world (even if it is important like about a royal baby)
22
I have not read the article but agree one has to be carefull at understanding and selecting news sites.
I understand the lecturer’s distain for News Media, I don’t happen to share it.
An acquaintance journalist told me that the best recent investigative journalism was the holding of the Panama Papers by NYT and others before their international release.
This was in the context of a seminar held at UTS on the death of journalism.
Despite this the best place to find current commentary on the Papers is in Pakistan, where the elected leader has been found guilty of some crime, making him
ineligible for a political position.
The British Constitutional rule of law is flexing its muscles in Pakistan.
He was beholden to a foreign power.
Strike any chords.
The media is, like the curate’s egg, ‘good in parts.
30
don’t worry, you have friends there.
agree with your other comments though can’t attest to what is best and what is not.
btw, your formatting is unusual on my browser e.g
some crime, making him
ineligible for a political position.
22
I did it on a work computer, not this one.I used the edit function to make things clear but brief.It does odd things to paragraphs.
The ‘some crime’ was a payment of 200,000 Rials which he did not draw on so argued he had not received it.
The court pointed out that money in one’s own account is receivable.
‘No rest for the wicked’.
20
Gee Aye why the heck are interested in anything the sun might be doing, since it plays no part in any unusual or catastrophic warming that may/may not be occurring?
10
Looking down on the Forth Valley from the popular local hill, Dumyat. A temperature inversion below with only Stirling Castle and the top of the Wallace Monument appearing above the cloud. (at times!)
Spent the first twelve years of my life looking at Dumyat through the ‘scullery’ window.
“Climbed” it multiple times by age of ten but we could never boil an egg up there.
Now I feel cleansed
30
Kenny Everett at his funniest:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCR9JirYbvk
10
no reporting on the BoM Review as yet, despite BoM & Govt putting out Press Releases. only The Australian has it!
7 Set: JoshFrydenberg: Media Release: Release of review of the Bureau of Meteorology’s Automatic Weather Stations
http://www.joshfrydenberg.com.au/guest/mediaReleasesDetails.aspx?id=424
I commented on the following thread:
Joannenova: Scandal: Australian Bureau of Meteorology caught erasing cold temperatures
COMMENT #86: 2 Aug: pat – more than 24 hours later and still nothing at ABC/SBS/AAP/Fairfax/Guardian/Daily Mail/commercial TV stations, yet the story has developed with news of the review, etc.
what happens when the review is published? how do their audiences catch up with this story? or do they simply continue to ignore it?
http://joannenova.com.au/2017/08/scandal-australian-bureau-of-meteorology-caught-erasing-cold-temperatures/
WHAT AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE, MSM.
50
Quality Journalism featuring Peter Hannam.
Aug 5, 2017: Snowy retreat: Climate change puts Australia’s ski industry on a downhill slope
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/snowy-retreat-climate-change-puts-australias-ski-industry-on-a-downhill-slope-20170804-gxp74h.html
Sept 8, 2017: More Than 130cm of Snow – Best in 17 years
https://www.perisher.com.au/perisher-news/perisher-now/1075-best-snow-in-17-years
70
Mark please remember it’s warm snow so it doesn’t count .
70
The impression I get is that journalists like Christopher Kremmer are “wannabe” novelists who have a subconscious (or conscious) desire to influence society–that is to be thought of as being important. I did a google search for the text string “Literary and Narrative Journalism.” I found two definitions that seem to be relevant:
Narrative journalism, also referred to as literary journalism, is defined as creative nonfiction that contains accurate, well-researched information. It is related to immersion journalism, where a writer follows a subject or theme for a long period of time (weeks or months) and details an individual’s experiences from a deeply personal perspective. source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrative_journalism
Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as academic or technical writing or journalism, which is also rooted in accurate fact, but is not written to entertain based on writing style or florid prose. source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_nonfiction
I see nothing inherently improper/wrong with Narrative and Literary Journalism as it applies to the description of human events. After all, aren’t most history books narrative descriptions of human events. I mean, I’ve never read a history book about Lincoln of the form: Abraham Lincoln, Born xxxxxxx, lawyer from xxxxx to yyyyy, elected President xxxxxx, died xxxxxxx, end of book. On the other hand, I’m not sure how Narrative and Literary Journalism applies to the factual nature of AGW. Maybe Narrative and Literary Journalism has a place in describing the actions of humans as they debate the technical issue; but how Narrative and Literary Journalism can contribute to the factual nature of the technical issue itself is beyond me. That is not to say that a Narrative and Literary Journalist can’t contribute to the technical discussion. Only that if he does so his use of literary and narrative prose will add little to his argument. His technical arguments will stand on their own, not on the literary nature of his writing. I see nothing wrong with such a Narrative and Literary Journalist contributing his opinion of the players in the discussion (I do it all time time in that I think Dr. Mann is a jerk); but using literary and narrative prose in an attempt to establish the validity or lack thereof of a technical issue is beyond me.
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‘Self censoring,’ ‘curating news feeds’ to correspond to your ‘world’ view,
‘world’ as in ‘dream world,’ … no trial and error feed-backs allowed.
You’ll have to get rid of the study of the past, as well, history as a human
record of actions over time and place. Clean slate then, nothing to compare to,
as though you’re new-borne, (and just as unaware.)
Of course you can by-pass history as a study of primary data and contextual
clues looking to locate decisive elements in some past actors’ problem
situation. You can revert to a study of history as ‘defender of the faith’ or
history as ‘destiny,’ humans at the mercy of inexorable laws.
Serfs go with context to help us transcend the myopia of point of view and
opacity of time and space and adapt to present situations, Difficult not to
succumb to myth for any of us fraught humans. Trial and error all the way
down.
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I think I’ll add the phrase “Creative Nonfiction” to my list of oxymorons.
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Here is where anyone gets to call me a conspiracy theorist and I practise welcoming the title.
What’s odd is that anybody would want to exclude Murdoch’s occasionally relieved globalist drivel to include more of the unrelieved globalist drivel of Fairfax, the ABC, The Guardian and Huffpo.
You get promotion of Big Green, war and debt most of the time now. Do you have to have it all the time? Should we just end up with local/regional versions of CNN and the Washington Post and get our beliefs and opinions straight from the permanent State?
The Conversation is funded in a sinister fashion which we no longer perceive to be sinister since privacy, individuality, free speech and peace ceased to be of any interest to the pensive classes. Top-down collectivism, centralised manipulation, violence, snobbery, state intrusion and authoritianism find few correctives anywhere. Look at the list of The Conversation’s “Partners and funders” and shudder.
While he’s happy to watch and even promote the advance of the new collectivism, Murdoch at least puts his own commercial interests ahead of anything else. That should not be healthy, but in the present climate it’ll have to do. When his kids get control we might miss him sometimes the way we sometimes miss Packer. A greedy, strong, arbritrary individual is to be preferred to a remote, oppressive, disembodied “it” you can’t name let alone chuck a rock at. A Packer or Murdoch might relent or change his mind. That big red and green “it” just keeps rolling no matter what.
The “it” knows how to throw the right switch at the right time. Consider how SSM was thrust upon all. One minute even Julia and Hillary were saying “marriage is fundamentally between a man and a women to the benefit of etc…”. Then the switch was thrown and within weeks the same people were declaring “if two people truly love one another etc…” It really was that sudden. A few months after that and you could be jobless or prosecuted for saying what Julia and Hillary were saying only a year before. Try raising just a dubious squeak now against SSM and see how you go. Go on, just try.
What will “it” be telling you soon about your electricity, your currency, your borders or your property? Will The Conversation contradict “it” when a switch is thrown? Or will The Conversation be a switch?
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The employment contracts of “Professors”, need to be tied to competence in teaching a detailed, rigid, fair and balanced syllabuses/bi. Our places of “Higher Learning” are infected with Lenin’s Long March Through The Institutions”.
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I received an email newsletter from the PM today telling me what his latest trick for energy crisis is. I was so angry I replied in some detail telling him what a farce it is, RET and subsidies must be abolished as PM Abbott tried to achieve, that no plans to build new power stations was disgraceful incompetence, etc.
The reply advised that the website is not monitored !!!
So I emailed a copy to Tony Abbott.
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Send it to Josh Frydenberg on his website.
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Before advocating old-style-Soviet-system media control, check that the only presenter to receive a standing ovation at the recent climate conference in Moscow was the mathematician and climate realist(denigrated as a denier) Viscount Lord Monckton – praised as the only western presenter who understood the science.
The reason being, that Russian Academicians are educated climate realists that have experienced communism and know it for what it is.
Western educators, politicians and journalists clearly have no idea that in advocating censorship of anyone that dissents from their mis-placed views must be denigrated and silenced; they are nothing more than blind communist agents.
The large numbers of skilled climate realists that have valid science data to back their views are, among many others, victims of this sick social manipulation.
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Wow. Those conversation guys really don’t like conversations.
Here is my comment on the above article. Naturally it was censored
Here is my comment after being censored. I won’t even check to confirm it was censored
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Update: having had three comments disappear I deleted my account.
After I deleted my account my comments above (and another) reappeared.
Such is life!
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Murdoch’s Times…behind paywall:
7 Sept: UK Times: We can’t allow superstition to trump science
by David Aaronovitch
Attempts to denigrate Darwin and doubt man-made climate change are part of a worrying trend to ignore the evidence
Prrriiinngg! It’s the doorbell. There’s a woman with a clipboard and a series of questions. The first one is: “People have different views about gravity. Which of the following statements comes closest to your view about what governs gravity?” and then you’re given a number of options to express whether or not you think it exists. “Thanks,” you might say, picking up her pen which has fallen to the ground, “but I think that one was settled some time ago.”
During May and June, 2,129 representative British adults were asked this question by YouGov, except that the issue was about evolution, not gravity. Which statement came closest to their opinion “about the origin of species and development of life on Earth”?
***Fern Elsdon-Baker, director of…
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/we-can-t-allow-superstition-to-trump-science-zs2hhb9q3
from CarbonBrief: An opinion piece by Times columnist David Aaronovitch argues that attempts to discredit evolution and deny man-made climate change “are part of a worrying trend to ignore the evidence”. “Once again the desire for the better story and the difficulties in counteracting CO2 emissions have created a powerful counter-scientific impulse”, he writes. “The desire to let go of the science in favour of the better story…was grimly illustrated by the MMR debacle. This showed what can happen when even a minority of the population, unhindered by a scientifically illiterate political class, go off on one.”
funny thing is Fern Elsdon-Baker doesn’t seem to relate the survey to CAGW, as Aaronovitch did in The Times!
6 Sept: New Scientist: A third of UK adults question evolution. Does that matter?
***By Fern Elsdon-Baker
It sounds startling. Nearly 30 per cent of adults in the UK say evolution can’t explain the origin of humans. That rises to nearly 50 per cent for human consciousness. Does that mean we’re increasingly following a vocal minority in the US who deny the science on fringe religious grounds?…
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2146455-a-third-of-uk-adults-question-evolution-does-that-matter/
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requires registration:
7 Sept: BusinessGreen: Madeleine Cuff: FCO climate headcount down 60 per cent since 2011, FOI reveals
Freedom of Information request reveals number of UK-based Foreign Office staff working on climate change has fallen from 554 to 221 over the last six years…
https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3016814/fco-climate-headcount-down-60-per-cent-since-2011-foi-reveals
lengthy, but doesn’t get around to mentioning Obama laid off more EPA staff until the end of the piece:
6 Sept: WaPo: EPA under Trump shrinks to near Reagan-era staffing levels
By Brady Dennis
The EPA employs about 14,880 people, but administration officials made clear this spring that they intended to reduce those numbers in several ways. The agency also has been under a hiring freeze. And in June, the EPA said it planned to offer buyouts and early retirement packages to more than 1,200 people by early September.
Last week, 362 employees accepted a voluntary buyout, according to one agency official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the figures have not been publicly announced. On Aug. 31, a dozen employees retired. Another 33 employees are retiring at the end of September, and 45 additional employees are considering retirement offers…
***If all those individuals depart, EPA staffing levels would drop to 14,428. The last time the agency’s workforce fell so low was in the final year of the Reagan administration…
Nearly 25 percent of EPA employees are eligible to retire with full benefits. Another 25 percent could retire in the next five years…
During his second term in office, President Barack Obama initiated a round of buyouts at the agency, paying more than $11 million to ***436 employees to voluntarily leave their jobs. But John O’Grady, a career EPA employee who heads a national council of EPA unions, said this spring that if the Trump administration tries to get rid of thousands of employees, as it has proposed, it would amount to “the utter destruction of the U.S. EPA.”…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/09/06/epa-under-trump-shrinks-to-near-reagan-era-staffing-levels/
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I browsed The Conversation because the subject has come up and because the site fascinates me like a strange growth or pustule. Pretty poisonous stuff and I’m pleased that this boil-squeezing episode is over and won’t be repeated.
While on the site I checked out an article, sloppy and juvenile of course, about the possibility of a military coup in the US. Far from being a horror piece it was more a lazily-informed speculation on how the present POTUS might be overthrown. When you see stuff like this in the slave media it’s worthwhile keeping in mind that it could be a type of pre-conditioning before some heavy conditioning follows in the centre mainstream.
To find out what the new neocons are up to I find it handy to check out Stratfor, which can actually make you believe at times that it really is an intelligent and impartial geopolitical consultancy. (It’s not.) In the same way, it’s worth popping in to dreggy but well-resourced leftist sites like The Conversation to see what may be around the corner by way of new statist/collectivist impositions. It’s not like The Conversation is a modest little indie rag. It’s got a lot of public and quasi-public resources backing it, and those things don’t come without arrangements and understandings. It also wouldn’t be a bad spot to dump money and tax-liability from some “foundation” or pseudo-charity.
Well, I’m pleased I went there briefly and I’m pleased I’m out of there…not briefly.
This sheila has the media’s number.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S2TZOdXAtQ
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Sorry…rotten autocorrect….
“I’ll post this again”
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Maybe, maybe not.
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a must-read. apparently it’s in the Business section of The Australian!
8 Sept: Australian: Adam Creighton: Solar Farm Burns Money
Imagine putting $100 in the bank and getting back a guaranteed $83 a year for four years, and then $59 a year for the next decade — all taxed at a maximum rate of 30 per cent. Your 2.9 per cent high interest saver account, taxed at 39 per cent, isn’t looking so good.
Courtesy of Australian electricity users, and the stupidity of the commonwealth government, Saudi Arabia’s Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, which bought Spanish solar farm builder Fotowatio in early 2015, has indeed struck such stellar returns.
In 2014 the Australian Renewable Energy Agency proudly made a $101.7m grant to the Spanish company for a $164m solar farm about 10km out of Moree, comprising 250,000 solar panels. An enthusiastic Clean Energy Finance Corporation chipped in a $47m loan to help, leaving Fotowatio with only $15.3m to put towards the project itself.
With a capacity of just under 150,000 megawatt hours a year, the solar farm, up and running, will generate about $12.8m in revenue a year for the next few years, based on the current Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGC) price of $85.
Assuming that price falls to $60 on average between 2020 and 2030, the farm will provide a tidy $9m a year to the Saudi owners.
All up, over the 14 years, the $15.3m investment would have reaped about $140m for the owners, a return of more than 900 per cent, which, by the way, is quite a bit better than the typical super fund.
“The project would not be possible without the unwavering support of the local community, Moree Plains Shire Council, the federal Members for Parkes, NSW state government, all the people who have dedicated many hours to development of the project, and last but not least, ARENA and the CEFC who have provided funding for the project,” said the Fotowatio regional manager for Australia. Full marks for honesty, at least…
Before you get jealous though, rest assured the project will, AREA said, create about 100 jobs, and provide electricity for 15,000 homes…
The 100 jobs that have supposedly arisen have come at a cost of almost $1.5m each, including the grant and the government loan.
And the 15,000 homes could have sourced their electricity from other, far cheaper sources. Too bad those cheaper sources are gradually shutting down…
My Energy Australia power bill arrived yesterday, for the three months to August, showing a 15 to 23 per cent price increase per kWh of electricity between June and July. The bill came to $527 for three people in a small house who are barely home.
A cynic might hope for blackouts across the eastern states this summer, to show voters the consequences of years of kneejerk, feel-good energy policy: extremely expensive, even absent power…
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/adam-creighton/solar-farm-burns-money/news-story/a68e6a83b2fc63583b0d14430f60cf6d
AUDIO: 7mins07secs: 8 Sept: 2GB: Solar farm burns money
Steve Price speaks with Adam Creighton from The Australian
http://www.2gb.com/podcast/solar-farm-burns-money/
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until his name cropped up recently, I would never have thought to look up his LinkedIn page – interesting!
LinkedIn: Andrew M. Vesey, CEO, Managing Director and Board Member at AGL Energy
February 2015 – Present
Education: New York University
Developed & launched the landmark Powering Australian Renewables Fund, a $2-3 billion innovative financing initiative with partner QIC which provides opportunity for investors to finance a portfolio of renewable assets to diversify risks and reduce costs
Launched the Future Forest program allowing customers to offset carbon emissions from their households’ electricity usage for $1/week
Exceeded first year objectives by delivering on an operational cost reduction target of $200M
Implemented AGL’s Greenhouse Gas Policy, including a commitment for AGL to close its existing coal-fired power stations by 2050
Led the way for increased transparency and alignment of sustainability reporting with mainstream financial reporting
Received the “2016 Business Leader of the Year” Award from the Climate Alliance
Identified as number 11 in the Australian Financial Review’s “2016 Corporate Power List”
https://au.linkedin.com/in/andrew-m-vesey
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Well here’s some real news with some real honest personal opinion
Massive Antarctic volcanic eruptions linked to abrupt Southern hemisphere climate changes — screams the headline.
The report is about chemical analysis of an ice-core and “New findings published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) by Desert Research Institute (DRI) Professor Joseph R. McConnell, Ph.D., and colleagues document a 192-year series of volcanic eruptions in Antarctica that coincided with accelerated deglaciation about 17,700 years ago.”
“Detailed chemical measurements in Antarctic ice cores show that massive, halogen-rich eruptions from the West Antarctic Mt. Takahe volcano coincided exactly with the onset of the most rapid, widespread climate change in the Southern Hemisphere during the end of the last ice age and the start of increasing global greenhouse gas concentrations,” according to McConnell, who leads DRI’s ultra-trace chemical ice core analytical laboratory.
Now don’t get me wrong I believe this is a important find, but what I find interesting is the comment —
Is this basically saying that good basic science has been overlooked in preference to just looking at CO2 in ice-cores. That climate science is and has distorted the approach that science has taken to the determent of all other analysises, and that this CO2 funding boondoggle is determining the direction of research. If so then a serious look is required to reassess why and what good has it brought us.
As far as I can see there is no good from it, except employing vast number of politically motived people in academia at huge public exspence, keeping the media employed generating evermore scare stories, while freloaders destroy Western electricity grids with mostly ineffectual and unrealiable power generation, and ensuring the retention of an inordinate number of beaucrats and NGOs in the UN. It certainly has not done the likes of Al Gore any harm.
https://phys.org/news/2017-09-massive-antarctic-volcanic-eruptions-linked.html
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Talk about integrity in journalism, Will Stephan talking about the earthquake and tsunami in Mexico and drawing a link to Co2 emissions .
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Apart from the fact that even a broken clock is right twice a day, a good tactician will always keep an eye on what his/her enemy is up to!!!!
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Years from now this particular subject will be illuminated by the diabolical travesty of the 2017 New Zealand election. At this stage I do not know who will win but I do know who has already lost, the public of New Zealand and the democracy they cherish. It seems the MSM of NZ, most of whom have both eyeballs within the left socket since indoctrination at education source anyway have made an all out effort to anoint St Jacinda queen of all their hopes and demands. The fawning, the bias, the CNNisation… Let me paint a picture for others from other countries here. Imagine an election where a major political party states as a major policy plank, that all decisions on a future tax policy will be decided post election on consultation with a “Tax Working Group”. I kid you not!! Nothing is off the table. It’s tax and spend with a vengeance as intimated by the refusal to deny anything by those concerned. It gets worse. Imagine poll after poll suggests this party leads despite all it has to go on is the seeming “niceness” of it’s leader who has a “vision’ for the future. Imagine the very successful (by international standards) fiscal policy architects of the incumbent government point out major holes in the (let’s call it the Jacindarella Party) budget. The media is embarrassed in it’s mute acknowledgement of such holes but focusses instead on the possible incorrect extent of the accusation in dollar terms. Has anyone reading this made a possible connection between this alleged fiscal hole and the “Tax Working Group”. My bet is the same ‘experts’ who ran their slide rulers over the Jacinderella Party fiscal policy will be on that “Tax Working Group”.
New Zealanders are not stupid but sometimes they seem to try damn hard to make me think that they are. And that is a real shame.
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I want some really intelligent young thing with an aptitude for critical thinking and a way with computer code to come up with an app for my iPhone that accurately measures bullshit within the torrent of rubbish I am subjected to when considering my vote. He or she will would be Nobel supreme.
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