Thursday Open Thread

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74 comments to Thursday Open Thread

  • #
    Richard Ilfeld

    In their own circles, scrofulites on the left can walk basked in glory for having cheated well, and
    secured the victory. Those who live in liberal bubbles, and they are many, will remain unrepentant,
    perhaps, lauded, and wallow in their own happy narcissm. Those who benefit from having won illegitimately
    but must live and work among those who were victimized may not be so happy.

    “Don’t buy from Democrats” is not something you are likely to see on a bumper sticker; nor
    is “defund the public schools”. The right tends not to be as brash as the left. But those who feel
    cheated today, and then will be goaded repeatedly by stick-in-the-eye legislation, will not let sleeping
    dogs lie….nor should they.

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    • #

      Will America simply refuse to be ruled by Biden’s puppeteers?

      “That all changed overnight for a number of reasons I don’t propose to explore, but the net effect was a certain critical mass of ordinary people became politicised. Once that happened and as a result consent to being governed was withdrawn until national independence was granted, its secession from the Raj was both inevitable and unstoppable. Through a campaign of civil disobedience and the huge disparity in numbers, it became plainly impossible for the colonial power to exert any control. They simply didn’t have that amount of manpower.”

      https://thepointman.wordpress.com/2020/12/01/will-america-simply-refuse-to-be-ruled-by-bidens-puppeteers/

      Pointman

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      • #
        Ted O'Brien.

        Was it two years ago or three? You declared that the Global Warming battle had been won. You didn’t say who won, but I interpreted it as saying we won.

        This wasn’t at all visible in Australia at the time. It seemed to me that your turning point must have been the Mueller report. But you gave me hope that you might have been right. And our government, hampered by our own version of democracy, did wind back a little on the AGW plan. But only a little, when Clive Palmer, standing with Al Gore on the steps of OUR parliament in 2014, announced that his Palmer United Party, which held the balance of power in our senate (our upper house, the “house of review”) would “protect” the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd government’s Renewable Energy Target, which was an insidious carbon tax by another name.

        This thwarted the Abbott government’s landslide mandate. Abbott did wind the RET back a bit, but that was all that Palmer allowed him. As a result we now see windmills and solar farms springing up all over the countryside, funde by a tax on coal fired power stations, which is paid as subsidies to mostly foreign owned “investments”.. I believe we are among the world leaders in the rush to “renewable” energy, but the Greens refuse to acknowledge this. The Greens insist that it was Abbott who established the RET!

        Despite all our new windmills and solar “farms” and that we are already rationing power to heavy industries, which surely they cannot survive, when Biden signs up to the Paris thing we will be left as pariahs.

        As regards the presidential election. I believe the election was stolen. And I suspect that China could indeed be key players at the back of it. The near blanket censorship of Trump’s campaign needs explanation for me. Could it be that our MSM is somehow beholden to China? China, favoured by the Western notion that it was in everybody’s best interests that China should become a developed economy, has been investing big bikkies in the US for twenty or more years. Have they been allowed to gain control of our means of communication?

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      • #
        Ted O'Brien.

        I have now read your blog.

        I doubt that anybody will recognise the tyranny until it is too late. Unless the tyranny strikes early. As we saw with CV19 in Victoria in particular and Australia in general.

        An absolutely tyrannical government in Victoria according to polls had the support of 70% or more of the population. Despite the introduction of fines of $1,000 to $5,000 for such things as sitting on a park bench.

        Thanks to the expertise of her partner who must have transmitted the video live from his phone to a recorder before his phone was confiscated, we saw a young mother arrested and handcuffed in her home by police in front of her kids charged with “incitement” in regard to a Facebook post. She too was subjected to those outrageous fines.

        To date those 70% have accepted this. It won’t be till the businesses don’t reopen that they will wake up to what has been done to them. Then they’ll blame somebody else.

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        • #
          Serp

          Let us see if Andrews tries to push through another six month extension to the emergency powers which are at the heart of the mischief; the enabling legislation must be removed from the statutes –but I don’t expect the Liberals to include such an initiative in their platform for the next election as it could be an election winner which is not what they are about.

          20

    • #
      Another Ian

      Richard

      This Winston Churchill quote comes to mind – hopefully

      “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.”

      https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/winston_churchill_135259

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      • #
        Ted O'Brien.

        I read a few of those. One there for Trump:

        “In war you can be killed only once. In politics, many times.”

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  • #
    Chris

    The federalinquirer.com has noted that 3 republican congressmen have died in a space of 5 days, all were supporters of Trump.

    30th Dec 2020 Louisiana congressman elect Luke Letlow aged 41 died from Covid complications.

    1st Jan 2021 Virginia Senator Ben Chafin aged 60 died from Covid complications.

    3rd Jan2021 Pennsylvania Congressman Mike Reece 42 died from a surprise brain aneurysm.

    What are the odds….

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  • #
    Wet Mountains

    Please forgive my naivety but I have always wondered, “At what point on the road to the gas chambers do you turn and fight, as you stand naked in front of the doors of the crematorium or somewhere back up the road?” While in a perfect world violence would not be necessary, we do not live in a perfect world. I wish all swords could be turned into plowshares, but I think of Jefferson’s words, “Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.” “Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum.” If you want peace, prepare for war.
    Yesterday’s events in Washington D.C., while tragic, were long overdue. If the passive conservatives had taken such actions 30 years ago, we would not be where we are now. You confront a bully with a hard, swift punch in the nose. You may get your tail whipped today but they will have to do it again tomorrow and the next day, until one of us quits. And that is their goal, get us to quit. We lose when we quit, not until. Give them exactly what they give us and improve upon it.
    There is not a round of rifle of pistol ammunition to be found in the US! There is not a primer on the shelf! There is not a pound of rifle of pistol powder to be had! You cannot find a box of bullets to hand load…anywhere! We have seen the handwriting on the wall. Millions have been preparing for this day for decades and I fear that yesterday will be remembered as possibly the last peaceful day in America for a long while.

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    • #
      Jojodogfacedboy

      I expect the Democrats to come out with so many more laws that even wearing or seeing anything Trump will get you arrested as supporting hate crime as the media has deemed President Trump as racist.

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    • #
      el gordo

      ‘ … as you stand naked in front of the doors …’

      Our minders said it was a public bathhouse, so there was no need for immediate concern.

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  • #
    John of Cloverdale, WA, Australia

    I normally watch the 7 o’clock TV news. But tonight I tuned into Heartbeat on GEM.
    Oh, for the simpler times with coppers worried about poachers and not an aged pensioner, without a mask, to forceably take down and arrest. Loved the music too.

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    • #
      Annie

      You do need to switch off from the misery at times. Heartbeat is a good choice! We have just finished watching our boxed set of the Rowan years. Apart from anything else, it gives us a little time in the Yorkshire Moors. All Creatures Great and Small gives us our beloved Yorkshire Dales. Perhaps it’s time to revisit To The Manor Born or The Good Life or even fish out the ballet set or The Magic Flute. I think we need to consider the good, the beautiful and the genuinely funny for our mental health when things are horrible and seemingly intractable.

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  • #
    Wombat

    Jo. I just listened to a senior meteorologist from the BOM, Dr. Blair Trewin on ABC radio, promoting their latest climate report. He announced that 2020 was the fourth hottest on record. When questioned about time periods he repeated the party line of standardized equipment post 1910. Subsequently he revealed that the comparison period for hottest on record didn’t begin in 1910 or even 1961 but 1990. So 2020 was the fourth hottest on record (in the last 30 years). Roll on the great reset!

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    • #
      Ted O'Brien.

      Yes. Thanks for that. And thanks to whoever asked the question.

      There is no greater lie than half the truth, when used for the purpose of deception.

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    • #
      el gordo

      It may not be so bad …

      “Certainly Biden is the most well-versed American President in the sausage-making process of foreign policy, and in terms of learning about every country and how each functions,” Douglas Brinkley, a scholar of the Presidency at Rice University, told me. “Nobody’s had the experience on foreign policy that Biden has had.”

      “Biden will be hamstrung to move the meter domestically, but he has the opportunity to be one of the greatest foreign-policy leaders, as everyone in the world is extending their elbows because he stands for global democracy,” Brinkley said. “He will be treated as a folk hero in Europe and Asia.”

      The New Yorker

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  • #
    Hatrack

    I think it was when Teresa May was Prime Minister there were concerns about wether on not Britain should be privy to Five Eyes intelligence.

    Will the same concerns be raised if Biden becomes President?

    In light of what’s happening now, can we ever trust the American intelligence services again?

    Suddenly, Australia doesn’t feel so safe.

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    • #
      el gordo

      Australia is quite safe even with Biden as POTUS, there is a structure in place to curb the ambitions of totalitarian regimes.

      ‘The 5 Eyes alliance is the foundation of an extensive web of partnerships between SIGINT agencies in Western nations to share intelligence with each other. In nearly all respects, the NSA is the global leader in SIGINT, thus most SIGINT agreements, be they multilateral like 5 Eyes or bilateral, focus on who has access to NSA data and technology.’ (Proton VPM)

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      • #
        Tilba Tilba

        Australia is quite safe even with Biden as POTUS, there is a structure in place to curb the ambitions of totalitarian regimes.

        Yes – two snippets in relation to this.

        (1) My brother-in-law worked for the NSA for decades … there are very serious defensive | offensive structures in place … Pine Gap in Alice Springs is a part of that, as is the Over-the-Horizon radar array.

        (2) I flew on the VIP with “Bomber” Beazley to Tindal AFB outside Katherine once (as part of a film crew) – he explained that our fighter-bombers based in Darwin and Tindal could fly to a lot of places, bomb the palace, and get home for breakfast. And that is our defence strategy.

        We have massive trade arrangements with China, and like it or not, we are locked in for decades to come (at least if we value our high standard of living). There is no incentive for them to invade – our resources go there at a price they’re prepared to pay anyway.

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        • #
          Chad

          Tilba Tilba
          January 8, 2021 at 10:40 am ·

          We have massive trade arrangements with China, and like it or not, we are locked in for decades to come (at least if we value our high standard of living). There is no incentive for them to invade – anyway

          That may be the view from your side of the water…
          ….but i suspect that it is not the way the Chinese see things !.
          Why are they behaving like Political/trade bully boys currently ?
          Why have they “rearranged” the well established Hong Kong trading arrangements. ?

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        • #
          el gordo

          Thanks for your inside information.

          Strategically we don’t have a leg to stand on if a hot war broke out, but that is unlikely to happen in the new world order. Biological warfare makes battle fleets redundant.

          Beijing is punishing Australia commercially, to force us to kowtow, which is a red rag to a bull in a China shop. They are not happy paying this high price for iron ore and asked Rio to cut it back, much laughter all round.

          My guesstimate is that Beijing will soon start to buy Brazilian iron ore and cut Australia out, with huge consequences for the bottom line.

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          • #
            Tilba Tilba

            I accept that the Chinese will always try to drive a hard bargain, and use trade sanctions and tariffs to achieve political ends as well as economic ones. And we are in delicate position, and we need to operate sensibly.

            It is so asymmetric – China is a very large part of our total export income, while we are a miniscule part of their export income. But they still buy our iron ore so far … and we trust they continue – we can’t readily find another market for it if they stopped.

            But we are still a trading partner of some consequence … they would have no incentive to send a fleet steaming up Sydney Harbour. (They could go to Port Darwin of course, since they run it!).

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            • #
              Chad

              #
              Tilba Tilba
              January 8, 2021 at 12:08 pm ·
              I accept that the Chinese will always try to drive a hard bargain, and use trade sanctions and tariffs to achieve political ends as well as economic ones. And we are in delicate position, and we need to operate sensibly

              00

              • #
                Chad

                TT.. that is the “Neville Chamberlain” methodology.. !
                It didnt work for Tibet, Hong Kong, The “Uyghurs”, and it isnt working so well for Vietnam and Japan etc, in the South China Sea dispute !
                And what do you believe the “Belt and Road” plan is all about ?..

                10

              • #
                Tilba Tilba

                And what do you believe the “Belt and Road” plan is all about ?..

                World domination of resources?

                It has nothing to do with Neville Chamberlain and appeasement – we are a minnow in these matters. So we hold our nose and see them as a very valuable market – I guess until they are not.

                We have no territorial disputes with China – so the comparisons with those other hotspots are not particularly relevant, it seems to me.

                If they wanted to invade us (or Taiwan or Japan or South Korea) they could succeed militarily, but the economic cost would be enormous – the whole world pretty much would stop trading with them. They know that.

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              • #

                Why would the Biden-US do anything that China didn’t want, apart from window dressings to “look” like it was opposing…

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              • #
                el gordo

                Tilba is correct on all points, Beijing sees Australia in the new world order as a quarry and pristine tourist destination.

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              • #
                Yarpos

                Australia was and is primarily a quarry ; and an LNG filling station if you like

                20

            • #
              Tilba Tilba

              Tilba is correct on all points, Beijing sees Australia in the new world order as a quarry and pristine tourist destination.

              We’re going on holidays to the Gold Coast on Sunday (first flight since February) – the place is going to look very different I expect, without hordes of Chinese on group package tours.

              In relation to the Biden administration being beholden to China because China has the goods on Joe and Hunter … I actually agree there might well be some grubby stuff hidden in here.

              But to be “both sides” about it, the same was said about Trump and Russia, but it didn’t really have an impact on his presidency after Mueller.

              US foreign policy and trade policy is bigger than just one man – it’s a very complex structure. Some call it the “deep state”, but in a positive view of it, it’s about keeping an even keel and for individuals to be stopped from going rogue.

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              • #
                el gordo

                Ah yes, beware the demagogue. Donald achieved quite a few plusses in foreign policy and Joe should be able to build on that.

                Enjoy your holiday.

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          • #
            Peter C

            Strategically we don’t have a leg to stand on if a hot war broke out

            I am not sure what you mean by the el gordo? Are you talking missile strike or invasion?

            10

            • #
              el gordo

              If the majors began to throw their weight around Australia would be crushed. We are unprepared for a hot war, in the same way the British used horses against tanks in WW1 until they realised their error.

              Meanwhile, the Alliance is holding up and should stay strong under Biden.

              11

    • #
      Serp

      Last I looked he was grizzling about being excluded from Pentagon briefings.

      Let’s wait and see who is inaugurated in less than a fortnight.

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      • #
        Tilba Tilba

        Let’s wait and see who is inaugurated in less than a fortnight.

        Do you still hold out some hope that it will be someone other than Joe Biden? Even Donald Trump himself has given up on that.

        10

  • #
    el gordo

    Willis tackles the question of CO2 and is surprised by his discovery.

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/01/06/sins-of-omission-sins-of-emission/

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  • #
    • #
      Tilba Tilba

      What’s Happening to California’s Middle Class?

      I watched the program, and some of the broad assertions are hard to really agree with.

      Sure, there are multi-millionaires, and also millions working in low-wage jobs that have no career path at all. But there are also millions who are still in well-paid “middle class” jobs throughout the economy.

      Google alone has 25,000 employees at Mountain View … not all (or even many) would earn huge salaries. Same in the public service, education, health, biomedicine, defence, aerospace, and automotive industries, the professions, used-car dealers, a wide range of small business-people, the huge film & television industry, etc.

      It’s still a pretty long list in a prosperous economy of 40 million people, I would have thought. Perhaps socially and culturally the middle class has lost its prominent position – that is another story maybe.

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  • #
    Rocket Rod

    It snowed last night…
    8:00 am: I made a snowman.
    8:10 – A feminist passed by and asked me why I didn’t make a snow woman.
    8:15 – So, I made a snow woman.
    8:17 – My feminist neighbor complained about the snow woman’s voluptuous chest saying it objectified snow women everywhere.
    8:20 – The gay couple living nearby threw a hissy fit and moaned it could have been two snowmen instead.
    8:22 – The transgender man, woman…person asked why I didn’t just make one snow person with detachable parts.
    8:25 – The vegans at the end of the lane complained about the carrot nose, as veggies are food and not to decorate snow figures with.
    8:28 – I was being called a racist because the snow couple is white.
    8:31 – The middle eastern gent across the road demanded the snow woman be covered up.
    8:40 – The Police arrived saying someone had been offended.
    8:42 – The feminist neighbor complained again that the broomstick of the snow woman needed to be removed because it depicted women in a domestic role.
    8:43 – The council equality officer arrived and threatened me with eviction.
    8:45 – The TV news crew from ABC showed up. I was asked if I know the difference between snowmen and snow-women? I replied “Snowballs” and am now called a sexist.
    9:00 – I was on the News as a suspected terrorist, racist, homophobe sensibility offender, bent on stirring up trouble during difficult weather.
    9:10 – I was asked if I have any accomplices. My children were taken by social services.
    9:29 – Far left protesters offended by everything marched down the street demanding for me to be arrested.
    By Noon it had all melted.
    Moral:
    There is no moral to this story. It is exactly what we have become….. all caused by Snowflakes.

    ..and now we sit back and watch the 2021 episode of “Crazy planet” brought to you by all the above mentioned.

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  • #
    OriginalSteve

    Whoops…

    “Do not look nbehind that curtain at the little man”
    – Wizard of Oz

    Presumably then , even in worst case scenario ( if climate change were real, and its not…)
    then islands “sedimenting up” would at least balance any mythical rise in sea level.

    It is school hols…maybe the normal “myth checkers” are on leave?

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-08/why-are-hundreds-of-pacific-islands-getting-bigger/13038430

    “New research says hundreds of islands in the Pacific are growing in land size, even as climate change-related sea level rises threaten the region.

    “Scientists at the University of Auckland found atolls in the Pacific nations of Marshall Islands and Kiribati, as well as the Maldives archipelago in the Indian Ocean, have grown up to 8 per cent in size over the past six decades despite sea level rise.

    “They say their research could help climate-vulnerable nations adapt to global warming in the future.

    “The scientists used satellite images of islands as well as on-the-ground analysis to track the changes.

    “Coastal geomorphologist Dr Paul Kench said coral reef sediment was responsible for building up the islands.

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    • #
      Serp

      Goodoh, but alas, that one paltry acknowledgment will soon enough be buried by the daily avalanche of lies.

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    • #
      Lucky

      About 15-20 years ago, when I was a New Scientist reader, there was the comment about growth in area of the islands, “the islands are adapting to climate change”.

      20

  • #
    Wombat

    So they have finally got him out! Why did they hate him so much?? Was it because he was an outsider? Not a globalist? Because he beat Hillary? Because he got in China’s way? It cannot be because of anything he did because they hated him even before he was elected!The Dems can laugh as much as they like, but they rigged a presidential election (Treason in my view ) and that is a stigma they will never escape!They have made themselves some bad Karma because some time,somehow, the steal will come back and bight them in the butt!!

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    • #

      Because they could not own him…

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    • #
      Analitik

      All the reasons you posed and few more. Which sums to Jo’s reason.

      The one area where he truly failed was to not reign in The Fed’s loose monetary policies since those exacerbate the wealth inequality through distorted asset appreciation. That he encouraged The Fed for short term popularity is one area where Trump’s narcissism overrode his generally good appreciation of life outside the swamp and will be the one item to blight his record when all the other alleged “failings” turn out to be false.

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    • #
      Peter C

      So they have finally got him out!

      Who says he is out?

      20

  • #
    R.B.

    This is so 1984

    A severe heatwave is set to sweep South Australia in coming days, with residents warned to prepare.

    It has been a relatively mild start to summer in the state but temperatures in Adelaide are set to top 30C by tomorrow.

    And they aren’t expected to drop anytime soon, with the heat forecast to stay there for the next six days.

    A heatwave is set to afflict South Australia for much of the next week. (9News)
    Temperatures of 37C are predicted for Monday.

    The SES is concerned about falling trees, and emergency services are all on high alert.

    Authorities have reminded people their time outside should be limited.

    SES spokesperson Ian Bonython said people should endeavour to only go outdoors in the mornings and the evening, and not leave pets or children unattended.

    “If you’ve got elderly family friends that are, especially, living at home by themselves, keep in regular contact with them,” he said.

    A cool change is not expected until next Thursday.

    https://amp.9news.com.au/article/6e099e54-8b5a-4d19-9d71-b6fd406716c3

    Adelaide typically has 5 days over 35°C in January even though the mean maximum is only a little over 28 (airport). 11 days are tupically over 30 for the cooler AP site. That’s not a heatwave. Summer has finally come.

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    • #
      R.B.

      The next article recommended for me by Google is Climate Change Is Turning Cities Into Ovens

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    • #
      Tilba Tilba

      We head up to the Gold Coast every year at this time for six weeks … even though we’re going closer to the Equator, the climate on the SE Queensland coast is much more benign than the tough continental weather that Adelaide and Melbourne can experience in January and February.

      So it can be 40° in Melbourne, but we’re having a nice time in 27° up at Broadbeach, plus we have a pool to fall in to, and we accept that the humidity is higher. We are not stupid!

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      yarpos

      “The SES is concerned about falling trees, and emergency services are all on high alert.”

      ??? trees fallover in SA, when the temp goes over 35C ? who knew?

      or is that just generic filler, and the SES always worries about these things.

      I worry about the luggage handling system at Heathrow myself.

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      • #
        Kalm Keith

        🙂 🙂

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      • #
        Annie

        The two worst airports for luggage damage, in our experience, are Melbourne and Heathrow. A new case can be untouched throughout a trip but come out at MEL with rips and knocks to it.

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        • #
          Annie

          We took a case of some nice Aussie fizz over to UK for a family celebration one year. It went into the ‘fragile’ cage at MEL. The next time we saw it, it was tumbling head over heels down a shute at LHR! The wine survived, to our considerable surprise.

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          • #
            Kalm Keith

            For some reason or other that situation reminds me of the work ethic dictated by the Union at the Newcastle State Dockyard before it closed and sent all the work to Korea.

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        • #
          Yarpos

          Never had an issue.

          I was in MLB/LHR/GVA groove regularly for a decade and never really had a problem. The US however seemed to not work well for me.

          00

  • #
    el gordo

    Monsoon trough snakes down to Antarctica.

    http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDY65100.pdf

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    el gordo

    South sea bubble pricked.

    ‘Health authorities are alarmed at the arrival of the new COVID-19 South African variant in Australia, with evidence it is not only more infectious but may make current vaccines less effective.’ Oz

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  • #
    el gordo

    With the passing of the Intelligence Authorization Act, a 180-day countdown has begun to expose the UFO phenomenon.

    ‘Included as a “committee comment” in the Intelligence Authorization Act, the committee directs the director of national intelligence “in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the heads of such other agencies” to submit a report within 180 days of the date of enactment of the Act to the congressional intelligence and armed services committees on UAPs.

    ‘The report, per the committee, should include a thorough analysis of available data and intelligence reporting on UAPs. Types of potential data specifically mentioned in the document are geospatial intelligence, signals intelligence, human intelligence, and measurement and signals intelligence.’ (Complex)

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    el gordo

    ‘The four “National Assessments” of climate change impacts on the United States have dramatically overstated the effects of our changing climate, in large part because the climate models used have systematic biases coupled with over-estimates of the expected changes in lower atmospheric radiation resulting from human activities.’

    Dr. Patrick J. Michaels

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  • #
    Dennis

    Twister and Farce Book, avoid.

    10

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    CHRIS

    Since 2000, I’ve thought that CAGW is two-faced ie: a tale of two hemispheres. Since 2000, the Northern Hemisphere has been cooling (despite being the major cause of human-created CO2), and the Southern Hemisphere has been warming…with an overall neutral result, which will continue until 2100, no matter how much CO2 is released into the atmosphere (mostly by natural causes ie: warming of the oceans).

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