News and tips Friday

Just trying to see if this is useful.

h/t Leo

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127 comments to News and tips Friday

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    OldOzzie

    The Censorship Party

    House Democrats use a hearing to target conservative media.

    By The WSJ Editorial Board

    Imagine if a pair of Donald Trump’s allies in Congress had sent a letter to cable company CEOs in 2017 blasting CNN and other progressive media outlets and asking why their content is still broadcast. Then imagine that a GOP-run committee in Congress staged a hearing on the societal menace of fake news and the need for government and business to rein in the hostile press.

    The media would have treated that as a five-alarm political fire, an existential threat to a free press, the First Amendment and political norms, and a step toward authoritarian rule. “Democracy dies in darkness,” and all that. Yet that’s exactly what Democrats in Congress did this week, targeting conservative media outlets, but the media reaction has been silence or approval.

    Rep. Mike Doyle, chair of the subcommittee on communications and technology, declared in opening remarks that “it is the responsibility of this subcommittee to hold these institutions”—meaning press outlets he doesn’t like—“to a higher standard.” He said later that “more free speech just isn’t winning the day over the kind of speech that we’re concerned about.”

    Progressives seem to believe that they are in a position to dictate the terms of what is acceptable speech in a more controlled media environment. As committee witness Emily Bell of Columbia Journalism School put it, “there has to be a will among the political elite and the media elite and the technology elite to actually do the right thing, as it were.” That means tightening speech restrictions. To borrow another progressive cliche, this is a dog whistle for tech companies and other businesses to censor or block conservatives if government can’t.

    This thinking is dangerous at any time, but especially so now as the Democratic Party runs both Congress and the executive branch with the power to punish companies that don’t oblige. The danger is worse since most of the media are abdicating their role as defenders of the free press because they aren’t the political targets. The First Amendment dies in media darkness.

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    OldOzzie

    Boeing’s issues with 787, including SC-made jets, have ‘mushroomed,’ says Air Lease

    Dreamliners made in North Charleston and Everett, Wash., have been under inspection for several months as Boeing looks for flaws and reworks them as necessary.

    The South Carolina plant is taking over all 787 assembly in March, but, given the inspection work still left to do, workers in Everett will continue to assess the jets made at the Seattle-area plant. Boeing also has established a site in Victorville, Calif., to check Washington-made Dreamliners.

    When Boeing first disclosed the 787 production issue, it said it was specific to one part of the fuselage. By late 2020, the scope of the inspections was expanded to include all areas where fuselage segments are joined together. Suppliers were also asked to do their own checks.

    Boeing, hit with $6.6 million FAA fine, faces much bigger 787 repair bill – sources

    a setback that comes as Boeing wrestles with repairs to flawed 787 Dreamliner jets that could dwarf the cost of the federal penalty.

    Boeing is beginning painstaking repairs and forensic inspections to fix structural integrity flaws embedded deep inside at least 88 parked 787s built over the last year or so, a third industry source said.

    The inspections and retrofits could take up to a month per plane and are likely to cost hundreds of millions – if not billions – of dollars, though it depends on the number of planes and defects involved, the person said.

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      Hanrahan

      Boeing is in the do do over its arial tankers they are delivering. I’m not sure how things are now, I haven’t read about it lately, but the USAF suspended deliveries of of the KC46 which was years late anyway, over issues involving FOD.

      This company has serious problems that are not reflected in its share price. I guess it’s too big to fail.

      Foreign Object Damage is taken seriously by services. There were always safety posters on the topic around hangars and smoko rooms. Fighter pilots in particular are less than impressed when they pick up nuts & washers in the canopy when they fly inverted.

      Some FOD posters:
      https://duckduckgo.com/?q=FOD+poster&t=brave&iax=images&ia=images

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        Tilba Tilba

        I really prefer to fly on A310, A320, A330, and especially the now-endangered A380 … I avoid modern Boeing wherever I can

        Although I fondly remember the earlier years … with 727, 737, 767, and 747 … all great to fly in. But their newer planes have no romance … 757, 777, and 787 Dreamliner … and it appears that their safety is not especially good.

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          OldOzzie

          747-400 my favourite (and I go back to Qantas V-Jet 707) but like Emirates A380, especially in forward cabin in Economy – 5 toilets up front and galley immediately behind, means like a private cabin area up front (and enjoyed Shower at 40,000 Ft in First Class on Emirates A380)

          Prefer A350-900 over 787 Dreamliner

          Airbus A350 XWB vs Boeing 787 Dreamliner: Which new long-haul carrier is best?

          The total electrical power generated on a Boeing 787 is 1.45 megawatts, about five times greater than aboard a conventional commercial aircraft. This represents an evolutionary step in commercial aviation but it comes with teething problems.

          Boeing developed powerful new lithium-ion batteries for the 787, which pack a big punch relative to their mass, but they’re prone to pyrotechnics. In 2013 the US Federal Aviation Administration grounded the entire 787 fleet of US-based carriers for six months after fires broke out on ANA and JAL 787s, caused by lithium-ion batteries.

          Both aircraft offer a leap in passenger comfort. Given a choice of economy-class travel, the quieter cabin, wider seat, fourth gen inflight entertainment system, bigger overhead bins and full-dark cabin give the Airbus A350 XWB the edge in my book.

          Claims of Shoddy Production Draw Scrutiny to a Second Boeing Jet

          Workers at a 787 Dreamliner plant in South Carolina have complained of defective manufacturing, debris left on planes and pressure to not report violations.

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            Annie

            I’ll have to give you an uptick for your comments on the A380; my favourite present day aircraft.
            My previous, long ago favourite was the Vickers VC10. I liked it better than the 707. Quite a few flights on the 747 too; a long-lasting workhorse. I have always hated the 737; flights included our entire family in a brand new one which had trouble with the hydraulics landing in a gale in England and being met by an array of emergency vehicles…yuk. They are always horrible on the approach to PER; well, they were when we could travel!
            It’s sad that Boeing are having so much trouble though.

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              Richard Jenkins

              The new Dreamliner 747 seems great. It was wise for boeing to stick with the iconic shape. Comparing with the A380 the 747 only loses on total capacity. I often see lots of empty seats on planes. The 747 uses less fuel per passenger mile. A very important feature is airport compatability. Many airports are not A380 compatible. When I buy an airline I will choose the new 747 Dreamliner.

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                Annie

                A lot of airports cater for the A380; I believe it takes a shorter runway than the 777 but figures not to hand. It’s the ground handling that needs plenty of room.
                Presumably you meant 787 for the Dreamliner?

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                Richard Jenkins

                I meant Dreamliner 747. It was a play on the evolution. Early days of A380 the suggestion was add the Dreamliner features to the 747
                A completely new plane was also discussed. Boeing decided it was more economical to retain the iconic shape as a lot of plant, parts and designs were fine. It became the 747-800. or 8 or 8b. Comparisons were made with the A380. Bias seemed to influence preference.
                I was flying from LAX to Melbourne. An ill passenger caused a landing in Hawia. They were not equiped to handle the A380.
                Seems Boeing have focused on other options. Jets maybe more reliable but flying over oceans I like 4 engines.
                QANTAS only had a small pipe burst in an A380 Rolls Royce engine and the damage resulting was huge. Severed pipes and loss of hydraulics don’t look bad. The captain was a genius and brought a seriously disabled plane down safely. His skill enabled the cause to be idenified. A plane lost in the sea without explanation would have looked bad for Airbus.
                Air crash investigations agreed a helicopter crash was caused by lightning. The materials used in the fuselage were blamed.
                Airbus and Boeing disagreed. It seems their lightning controls work as I have never heard of a modern plane being destroyed by static attracting lightning.

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                Annie

                A good pilot, yes, saved the day. No further such incidents that I am aware of. Never heard references to a Dreamliner747, that’s news to me! (Not that I’ve searched, mind you!). You are a Boeing person, I am an Airbus person, it seems. There are good and bad points to be made for each, but you won’t get me on the 737Max, nor very willingly on any 737. We’ve also been in some bad moments in a 777. The 777 is also noisier than the A380; that matters on long-haul.
                Added to all that, our son is an A380 pilot and his favourite quote is ‘2 engines good, 4 engines better!’. He loves his big bus but this last year he hasn’t seen much time in it.

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                Richard Jenkins

                Annie you probably won’t hear of a 747 Dreamliner It was topical editorial licence mentioned when Boeing were considering competing with the A380.
                I was playing with the notion. I like 4 engines. My best flight was with Thai on an A380.
                Direct flights to England are incredible.

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              Lucky

              Annie- who has great taste in having the VC10 as a favourite-

              I was at the take off of the first flight of the VC10 at Weybridge!
              When I got my first flight in the prototype I was very impressed, admittedly I did not have experience then of all the rivals.

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              Annie, I miss the 767 on the BNE PER BNE trips especially the PER BNE QF598 which often took less than 4 hours due to the 350 Kmh W-E jetstream. After a few years, Qantas changed all my suitable daylight flights to 737 800’s which I find completely unsuited to that route. The longest trip I had on a 737 to Perth from BNE was 6.5 hours (W-E jetstream induced) from boarding to disembarking. I have done that trip more than a hundred times and the 767 was comfortable, plenty of toilets, space to work on my laptop and usually boring. An early morning 737 departure from Perth is akin to sitting on a bench outside a public toilet waiting for a spot, with the que extending the length of the aircraft.(Around 200 Pax + coffee + 2 toilets, 6 seats in business class if you can get one + 1 toilet.) Airbus 330 is nice but after 2 incidents that were traced to altitude data being applied to the flight computer pitch control, I can’t help but wonder about “fly by wire”. I write a lot of software for my work (not as complex as that required to control an aircraft) but can’t imagine how it is possible that this could happen. It is not much reassurance that they claim to have found the cause but apparently this anomaly passed the original certification of the Qantas aircraft involved. One incident caused serious passenger injuries and a forced landing at Learmonth. I don’t think I will be getting on a Max8 even if they put 10 toilets in cattle class.

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                Annie, I meant to add that the son of a good golfing mate used to fly 747’s for Korean airlines. He was getting ribbed by other KAL pilots asking why he was still flying aircraft with 4 engines; his response was “because they don’t make any with with 5”.

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          Harves

          Must cost you a fortune in carbon offsets, or are you like most supporters of climate change that expect others to pay the price?
          As Qantas says: “ Currently, around 10% of Qantas passengers choose to pay for carbon offsets when they fly.”
          While the media keeps telling us that the majority believes climate change is the biggest issue facing the world – fact is normal people don’t think it’s even worth a few cents.

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      Kim

      I wonder how all those wokey employment practices are working out? 😊️

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    Dave

    Green Energy Markets analyst Tristan Edis at it again!
    Wants Yallourn Power Station to Close early in 2025, just 4 & 1/2 years away!
    That’s only 1,450 MW every hour they will lose!

    You’d have thought they may have learn’t something from 2017 closure of Hazelwood?

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    I sent this along to Joanne in an email two weeks back as perhaps a thought for a future Thread, (Joanne, Feb 12 a little after Midday your time) but as she must get hundreds of emails each day (each comment made at her posts generates an email) I can easily understand how a lone email might get lost in amongst ‘the forest for the trees’.

    However, it was just too juicy to resist, so if this is a ‘Tip Line’, then this is a tip, otherwise just general reading for the rest of you.

    Here’s the link to the article at the NYT.

    It’s about, and wait for this ….. should we dim the Sun to fight the climate emergency crisis.

    I couldn’t believe if it was a leg pull or what, but I’m sure these two were actually serious.

    Read it and laugh till you break.

    Tony.

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      Mal

      What a dimwit idea!,!

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        OriginalSteve

        Dont underestimate the dimming of peoples minds by relentless leftism…..

        The problem will be ours, as starving people fight each other for scant food supplies when the cold snap hits.

        The standard NATO eqipment option will be a reluctant necessity at that point to protect ourselves.

        Ugly reality…..is what it is.

        Dont forget the wealthy already have thier bunkers ready to go.

        Mind you, the globalists appear to be instituting this…..

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      robert rosicka

      Tony I’ve been getting quotes for either a new inverter or a new solar system and a quote I’ve just received claims a whopping 115% energy from the sun from their system ! All quotes proudly tell me how much green house gas I’m going to be sparing the earth from but all the companies will know my power comes from Snowy Hydro .

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      Chris

      I have read that the mad, bad, billionaire eugenist – Bill Gates is enamoured with the idea of dimming the sun and if there is a dollar or ten in it for him, he will be in the thick of things.

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      Annie

      Oh good grief; I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

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      Chris

      My post disappeared .
      “Listen to the experts” ….. http://newtube.app/TonyHeller/Ne5upEo

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      Ed Zuiderwijk

      There is stupid, there is deluded, and then there is this. I propose to use the term doing ‘a kolbert’ for off-the-scale idiocy.

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      Contemptible Blackguard

      I know what they can do: they can sneak up to the sun at night and douse it with water!

      But hasn’t Zharkova, Shaviv, Svensmark, Soon et al hypothesized the Grand Solar Minimum which is doing it for them in any case?

      The collective theory of the above scholars seems to be correct with all the cloud around for a large part of 2020 and now cooling off everywhere. Solar Cycle 25 might well be the the start of a decade or more of cold. But I live in Melbourne, so my judgement is ‘clouded’ anyway. I bet it will snow in Melbourne this winter.

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        el gordo

        Theoretically, all things considered, there were a couple of cold years in south east Australia during the 19th century and this feels like a rerun.

        The dates are 1835-36 and 1848-49.

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    OldOzzie

    Kavanaugh and Barrett’s Share of the Shame

    The Trump-appointed justices’ alliance with the liberal wing of the Supreme Court is not a betrayal of Republicans or the president who appointed them. It’s a betrayal of the Constitution.

    With Election Day looming and early voting underway, Judge Amy Coney Barrett pledged at her confirmation hearing in October she would not act as a Republican “pawn” in any election dispute.

    Democrats and the media, anticipating a close vote in the Electoral College, warned Barrett would rule in favor of the man who nominated her if the ultimate decision reached the Supreme Court as it did in 2000; Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) demanded Barrett recuse herself “in any case involving Donald Trump’s election.”

    Blumenthal, in essence, got his way. Democrats must be thrilled—laughing all the way to 2022 and 2024—at the de facto recusals by Justices Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh in every post-election lawsuit petitioned before the court, even those not filed by the Trump campaign.

    Kavanaugh and Barrett, sold to the country as “originalists” who would counteract the bench’s Left-leaning jurists, instead joined their liberal colleagues and Chief Justice John Roberts to reject each case. In doing so, Barrett and Kavanaugh broke their promise to defend the Constitution and gave their imprimatur to lawless state elections—a clear and present danger to the future of the country.

    The court this week rejected unanimously several election lawsuits filed by other parties to contest elections in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona; the only remaining election lawsuit pending before the Supreme Court is Trump’s lawsuit against the Wisconsin Election Commission. The Badger State’s election, which Biden won by only 20,000 votes resulting in a gain of ten electoral votes, was as bad as Pennsylvania’s, I explained last November.

    “One wonders what this Court waits for,” Thomas concluded in his dissent. “We failed to settle this dispute before the election, and thus provide clear rules. Now we again fail to provide clear rules for future elections. The decision to leave election law hidden beneath a shroud of doubt is baffling. By doing nothing, we invite further confusion and erosion of voter confidence. Our fellow citizens deserve better and expect more of us.”

    We certainly deserve and expect more from Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh. We don’t know, as Thomas asked, what they’re waiting for—Trump’s exit from the political scene, perhaps? Or was their move more craven, an abdication of their sworn duty in a selfish attempt to fit in with the Trump-hating Beltway?

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      Sceptical Sam

      They’re likely concerned that the corrupt Democrats will move in Congress to “pack” the Supreme Court will Democrat “Yes chest-feeders”.

      Either way, justice is the victim.

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      Lucky

      While the SCoTUS ordered release of Trump’s tax records (after the NYT pirate version) they declined to hear the election fraud claims stating it was ‘moot’.

      I do have some sympathy for those two especially when considering the number of .err. suicides among past enemies of certain deepstate characters.

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      Tilba Tilba

      If the court rejected several lawsuits unanimously, how does Thomas issue a dissent? Not making a lot of sense to me.

      Anyway – Thomas is wrong as usual … it’s actually a very good thing (for America and democracy, and Constitutional law) that the Supreme Court has voted overwhelmingly to not interfere in the electoral process. Not only does it signal that it is not going to take up the cause of a sore-loser Republican candidate, it has apparently learnt its lesson from the shocking decision in Bush v Gore in 2000.

      Donald Trump learnt the hard way that you can’t buy a Supreme Court that easily … that the pro quo might not have a quid!

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        Broadie

        it’s actually a very good thing (for America and democracy, and Constitutional law) that the Supreme Court has voted overwhelmingly to not interfere in the electoral process.

        Should be an interesting soccer game played under your idealistic interpretations TT.

        The umpire should not interfere to enforce the rules of the game. By your same logic defunding the Police makes sense as they would be useless at any rate.

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          Tilba Tilba

          Firstly Broadie, I have a home in Broadbeach Gold Coast, and the place is called “Broadie” by everyone.

          Secondly, the official in a soccer match is called a “referee” and not an umpire – that is distinctly an AFL term, and not to be countenanced nor tolerated by New South Welshpersons!

          And thirdly the main point … I am totally and utterly agnostic about whether there was any electoral shenanigans that led to a Trump voting majority being turned into a Biden voting majority.

          But my sceptical (and gut) instinct is no – there was nowhere near enough fraud whatsoever to change the result.

          My overall view is that Trump believers literally can’t accept that the Big Orange was hugely unpopular by a majority. I appreciate that he was HUGELY popular among his own supporters, but it was never more than about 40% of the punters.

          As a result, Biden won all the committed Democrat voters, and probably another 10-20 million votes from people who REALLY didn’t want Trump to win a second term.

          Can you please explain what is so hard to understand about this description of what happened?

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            Broadie

            Dear TT

            Allow me to expose the techniques you have used to discredit my simple argument and the dissent of Clarence Thomas.

            These are smears not arguments and straw men not debate on the subject.

            Whether Soccer is called Football or other such rubbish about the umpire is simply a deception.

            Oxford Dictionary definition of Umpire for your information.

            a person who is present at a sports competition in order to make certain that the rules of that particular game are obeyed and to judge if particular actions are acceptable:

            If one person did or did not vote for Trump is irrelevant, there are laws that govern the conduct of an election. The evidence these laws were broken could not find a Court brave enough to adjudicate on the facts presented.

            Another simple observation would be that the US Government is in the hands of Lawyers at all levels and they simply did not want someone from outside to rock their fat trough.

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        yarpos

        Probably dissents because he has a mind of his own and uses it, a skill/trait long forgotten by leftists who just wait for the next meme or talking point to be handed down to them.

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    OldOzzie

    STUNNING! Joe Biden Holds Presser on COVID Vaccine — Only 669 Are Watching… But This Guy Got 81 Million Votes?

    Joe Biden held a press conference on Thursday celebrating the 50 millionth COVID vaccine shot in the United States — Thanks to Donald J. Trump!

    Biden held the event in DC and it was broadcast on the White House YouTube page.

    Only 669 people were watching!
    669!

    And there were 3,800 downvotes and only 209 up votes on the video!

    And they want you to believe this guy got 81 million votes!

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      Tilba Tilba

      You need to appreciate that President Biden isn’t a showman, isn’t into flim-flan … for him it’s not all about inauguration size, rally size, hand size, etc. It’s about being a whitebread politician, and to bring sobriety back to Washington.

      And I don’t think Joe Biden really got 81 million votes … probably about 61 million from committed Democrats, and another 20 million from those who really wanted to vote Trump out, so held their nose and voted for Joe Biden.

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        Travis T. Jones

        Swampy Joe is joke.

        You need to appreciate that.

        The notion that Swampy Joe can prevent deadly freezing climate in Texas whilst simultaneously cooling the planet with frozen wind collectors is incredibly stupid.

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        Great Aunt Janet

        Hard to convince on sobriety levels, if you can’t string a sentence or two together. Might be better if he actually took a decent swig of some hard liquor.

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    OldOzzie

    China Ban on Lobster benefits Australian Federal Politicians

    Politicians did well out of ban on Lobster – Rock on at the National Press Club

    The National Press Club was left with 220 lobsters after Defence Minister Linda Reynolds cancelled her sold-out speech. Reynolds provided a doctor’s note, putting her cardiologist on the phone to the Prime Minister. Curiously, Strewth’s spies say the Perth-based senator didn’t actually confirm her appearance until last week, well after Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations aired. The minister left the Press Club (and dozens of defence execs who had flown in) between a rock and a hard place. “It’s Lobster Day at the #NPC! Don’t miss out on Champagne poached Western Australian lobster for just $10! Today only,” they tweeted, after Reynolds was admitted to Canberra Hospital. This paper’s own Peter van Onselen got in on the takeaway action, purchasing 15-plus crustaceans in the fire sale for his team at Ten News. The Guardian Australia also scored some seafood before stocks ran out. The Press Club kitchen noted: “220 lobsters in 72 minutes. That’s gotta be some kind of record!”

    No press club address today but that doesn’t have to mean the $10 a pop fire sale lobster is off the menu…Network 10 Parliament House bureau, here I come! pic.twitter.com/O725c6Edjy
    — Peter van Onselen (@vanOnselenP) February 24, 2021

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      glen Michel

      What a waste on that shower .I’d love to jam one up van Onselens cloaca (clacker for you) sideways. I paid 25 for a half at Surfers yesterday and I’m piss3d off that these NPC types get this .

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    R.B.

    Morrisson is copping more grief over a Dutton comment about he said/she said than a labor leader who was given the benefit of the doubt on the grounds that it was he said/she said.

    What a warped media we have.

    A post on a HS blog that was accepted then rejected after a couple of replies that I never got to read. It would be nice if you branched out a bit. Mainly, the lack of just treatment by social justice warriors in the media.

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      Harves

      Yes, it’s only women with accusations against conservatives that are to be believed. Those with accusations against Democrat or Labor leaders are just out and out liars, right?
      Morality and integrity have been politicised by the left.

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    el gordo

    Don’t take your eye off the ball, a global cooling trend in the North Atlantic.

    ‘The North Atlantic has been rapidly cooling in recent decades. A cooling of “more than 2°C” in just 8 years (2008-2016) and a cooling rate of -0.78°C per decade between 2004 and 2017 has been reported for nearly the entire ocean region just south of Iceland. The cooling persists year-round and extends from the “surface down to 800 m depth” (Notrickszone)

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    OldOzzie

    Worst bond bloodbath since 1994

    It’s one of the worst blood-baths “long duration” bond lovers have endured since the great crash of 1994, ramming home the interest rate risks that have been lurking behind these investments for years.

    It is one of the worst bloodbaths “long duration” bond lovers have endured since the great crash of 1994, ramming home the interest rate risks that have been lurking behind these investments for years.

    A massive jump in 10-year Australian interest rates, which have more than doubled since November, has hammered the price of fixed-rate, as opposed to floating-rate, bonds.

    The massive leap in interest rates undeniably creates challenges for the Reserve Bank of Australia, which had been hoping to keep our risk-free rates low for long, especially vis-a-vis rate changes around the rest of the world.

    The worry is that 10-year Australian government bond yields have been climbing faster than interest rates across other developed countries, which is putting further upward pressure on the Aussie dollar. On Thursday night it pierced US80¢ for the first time since February 2018.

    This is being powered by a striking increase in the differential, or spread, between Australian and US 10-year government bond yields and buoyant iron ore prices.

    – Local businesses squeezed
    – Why Australia?
    – Housing hit limited

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      PeterS

      This is just a small taste of worse to come. The US is going to crash and burn, and the Democrats with the help of some Republicans are going to make sure of that.

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        Denny

        Democrats believe that the Federal Government, the Tooth Fairy and Tinker Bell create national wealth. For them the epicenter of the universe is government. They think they can legislate prosperity.

        For a robust economy we still need incentives, a culture of risk taking, a premium on innovation and cut throat competition. Democrats are bad for all four.

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    OldOzzie

    AGL faces an existential crisis

    Winning in the Australian energy market used to be about matching consumers to coal and gas-fired power. AGL Energy shareholders are making the painful discovery it is all about alternative technologies.

    When AGL Energy cemented its position as the country’s largest coal-fired power generator with the $1.5 billion purchase of Macquarie Generation in 2014, it marked the beginning of a purple patch for its shareholders.

    The company’s market capitalisation soared by about $8.5 billion in the three years after that deal. Along the way AGL shareholders reaped about $1 billion in capital management on top of generous dividend payments.

    It has been downhill ever since the stock hit a record high of $26.76 in April 2017.

    Today, the $8.5 billion in uplift in the coal-fired golden years has been wiped out. Worse still, the outlook is so bad that one well-respected analyst, Mark Samter from MST Marquee, believes the stock remains overvalued by about $1 billion.

    Samter says the carbon-intensive assets on the AGL balance sheet are actually worth less than their $4.2 billion book value.

    That is worrying given AGL chief executive Brett Redman is said to be looking at splitting the coal-fired generation assets from AGL’s 4.2 million retail customers. He is getting help on this project from the company’s long-standing banker, Macquarie Capital.

    – Redman’s rebalancing act
    – The best-case scenario for AGL is that the collapse in electricity prices is cyclical.
    – Structural change looms

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    OldOzzie

    The AFR View

    Junk politics break the surface once more

    After a year when government outperformed, the loss of majority and distracting scandals are obscuring what is important.

    Australians saw their government step up to decisively deal with the biggest health and economic crisis of our times, steadying the nation and shoring up the economy in ways no one could really have prepared for. The country has weathered the storm better than most. The huge national task of vaccinating Australians against COVID-19 got under way this week, after modern science rapidly found an answer to the virus scourge in place of the lockdowns and isolation we have relied upon since the plagues of antiquity.

    Yet some of the mad old politics is making a comeback. This week the government lost its working majority with the departure of Craig Kelly to the cross-bench. The government can still govern, assured of his vote on supply and manifesto pledges.

    The politicisation of everything – the same disease infecting Washington and London in recent years – also marred the vaccine rollout. Australia could approve and commence vaccination at a measured pace, because unlike the US and Europe, we are not inundated by rising infection levels. The ground operation is still huge: the system will need to hit 167,000 jabs a day to reach the October target of vaccination offered to all.

    Sadly, cheap grandstanding politics have not ended. The loss of majority in Canberra likely just means more instability and the distracting personal political theatrics that go with it. But it cannot be allowed to shape the business of governing as it did once before.

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      How can any reasonably researched story make the claim “…unlike the US and Europe, we are not inundated by rising infection levels.”

      It takes less than a minute to check any reputable data site and find that rates of infection have been declining for 6 weeks at least in Europe and the world as a whole — even the U.K., and have been declining for nearly two months in most of the U.S. I think journalists look at the cumulative curves and misinterpret what they are seeing, an instance of innumeracy, or they don’t bother with data at all.

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    another ian

    If the dems and rinos think they’re going to do a Tea Party wean of voters from Trump there is this cartoon I just got:-

    “The only reason I wouldn’t vote for Trump is if I found that he’d slept with Nancy Pelosi”

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    williamx

    With all that flying Tilba,

    I hope that you tick the carbon offset levy box when you purchase your ticket.

    Re the Boeings 57, 77 and 87.

    You will have a better chance of surviving the flight on a Boeing, than by surviving the mandatory hotel quarantine in the state of Victoria, Australia, on return.

    Don’t worry Tilba, the Boeings are much safer than the Victorian hotels

    Stay well my Friend.

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      williamx

      Out of place…reply to 2.1.1… ahh sorry all

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      Sceptical Sam

      CX4 to Control. CX4 to Control.

      I’ve landed on the North/South Runway. Over.

      Control to CX4

      Abort and go around. Tilba’s coming in on the East/West. Over.

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        Tilba Tilba

        That’s not so far from the truth … I could tell a scary story about a very near collision, when I was on board a RAAF C130 flying east-west through Sydney airspace, on our way back to Richmond. Very scary.

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    Frost Giant Rebellion

    I heard that there is a lobby group of millions of mice that are eager to get the Covid vaccine. But they have been persuaded to wait until the human experimentation is over with first.

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    • #
      williamx

      GBR,

      I have also heard that there is a lobby group of millions of greens that are eager to promote the climate vaccine. But they are not waiting for the human experimentation to be over with first.

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        Frost Giant Rebellion

        The situation is far worse than the mouse story implies. We already know the answers. They did do the animal studies early this century and they know that corona virus vaccines all hurt the critters in the animal studies. Seeing as we know that they have taken advantage of this information for their terrorist attack and social engineering campaign, it follow that they have already done the long-run human experiments a long time ago. Because we aren’t talking about nice people but we aren’t talking about people who lack attention to detail.

        So this vaccine is an act of war against the Australian people. And we already know how the vaccines will effect everyone.

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          williamx

          Oh dear,

          FGR, I want to believe what you state.

          For 20 years I submitted reports to the NSW Coroner.

          I was a forensic investigator…

          So I don’t want an opinion without the supporting facts.

          What you state would make a journalist, a Pulitzer prize winner.

          If you have the facts, Why do you not publish?

          That is not to say that you are wrong.. Far from it.

          Substantive evidence is what I need

          Can you provide the evidence?

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            Frost Giant Rebellion

            What a lot of suicidal nonsense you talk william x. Did Christopher Bollyn get a Pullitzer for his work? No he got beat up and had to move to Sweden. Did Jim Garrison get the Pullitzer?

            Plus a Pullitzer takes some digging. Some real journalism. Whereas what I have said doesn’t require any investigation. The facts are known to all. You may claim to have been a forensic investigator but you weren’t much of one. Another taxeater it would seem. Can I provide the evidence? Do I sound like your google mommy?

            There is a 2012 study that shows that animal trials for corona virus vaccines lead to ongoing lung damage in the animals. Out of the vaccines that you have heard about in the last month which one has gone through long-term animal trials? That they skipped the animal trials …. This didn’t raise an eyebrow with you did it williamx? Some forensic investigator you turned out to be.

            Why not try Bitchute, place in the search term “vaccine” and see what you find out. But if you haven’t seen that something is amiss by now, you are going to continue your officer Bar-Brady act even as your own lungs are deteriorating.

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            Frost Giant Rebellion

            Oh dear. Your Pullitzer argument gets you your new dumb left prize. Where are all the prizes for global warming skeptics? Where are all the prizes for those who oppose the current 9/11 thesis? For those who opposed the Warren Comission. For those who have resisted the Einstein stupidity?
            [Enough said. snip – J]

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            Frost Giant Rebellion

            They skipped the animal trials williamx. That didn’t raise an eyebrow with you did it. Spare us these lies about you being a forensic investigator. You are not even a curious individual.

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    Peter C

    Pentagon reports ALMOST 75 PERCENT of troops turned down Wuhan coronavirus vaccine

    https://www.naturalnews.com/2021-02-25-pentagon-almost-75-percent-reject-coronavirus-vaccine.html

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    Hanrahan

    I guess with a thread header like this there is hardly anything “off topic” so I’ll run this past you.

    I sit up at nights watching anything I can find on youtube, a lot of B westerns, but I have just watched a classic movie, No Highway In The Sky (1951) based on a Neville Shute novel. I saw it in the cinema nearly 70 yrs ago. It is a trip down memory lane where the simulated flight scenes before CGI and absurd looking aeroplane just add to the enjoyment.

    I won’t post a link due to copy write but a search will find it. Bon appétit.

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    • #
      RicDre

      No Highway In The Sky, an old Jimmy Stewart movie. It was shown here recently on one of the broadcast movie channels.

      One of my favorite old airplane disaster movies is Fate is the Hunter, a 1964 Glenn Ford movie.

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        Hanrahan

        The interesting thing is that this was filmed before the Comet disasters. The irony is that the windows in the movie were rectangle square and square windows brought down the Comets, not the tail.

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        • #
          RicDre

          Interesting. The movie review contains this paragraph:

          The concept of an airliner suffering catastrophic failure due to metal fatigue after a certain number of flight cycles, as outlined in the 1948 novel and this 1951 film, came true with the failures of the de Havilland Comet in 1954. There are a number of eerie parallels between the fictional account and the later actual events.

          https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043859/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv

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      Richard Jenkins

      James Stewart was a genuine service man. Nota protected showman.

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    Kalm Keith

    That’s typical convoluted waffle.
    Try to express yourself.

    What science is involved with “denialism”?

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      Frost Giant Rebellion

      You always act like your lack of reading comprehension, general knowledge, or understanding of scientific subjects, is my fault. Don’t furrow that unthinking brow at me, in a futile attempt to understand. Just keep re-reading until you do understand, or ask an intelligent question.

      Obviously if four billion years of evolution could not lead to the exploitation of Lamarkian advantages, that would be a mystery that needed to be solved. Extreme Lamarkian denialism is a very stupid doctrinaire set of ideas. But supposing these ideas turned out to be true? Stupid and illogical that they clearly are? But supposing we could prove that full Lamarkian denialism turned out to be the correct point of view?

      We’d have to wonder how that was even possible. That would be a mystery that needed to be solved. How could it be that way? How could such potential for evolutionary advantage go by the wayside, not for just one species, but for all life on earth?

      [Snip the personal fire OK? – J]

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      Lucky

      With the numbers of birds killed by the wind turbines that could be right.
      The birds are raptors, hunters, their eye positions prevent them seeing the blades. Their prey would be multiplying and there would be ecological consequences followed by climate change.

      These birds, not being vegetarians, are not a concern to the Greens.

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      • #
        robert rosicka

        Just seen a comment about wind turbine bearings being built as small as possible in surface area to reduce friction , which is why the need a special lubricant and also why if stopped for too long the bearings get damaged.

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  • #

    Solar panels and wind farms alter the landscape.

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    neil

    Melbourne had it’s coldest summer in two decades, the BoM is calling it “weather” not climate variation and the ABC failed to mention it at all. North America is suffering it’s coldest winter in four decades and again the ABC only reports the sensations but fails to report the data.

    The BoM’s computer models are predicting a much colder wetter than average Autumn, but then they embellish their projection by speculating/praying “there may be some summer like periods”.

    The UN’s latest attempt to get control of 0.7% of the western economies revenue is falling apart again they have been at it since 1945. First it was war reconstruction, then post war poverty then, post war refugees, then African famine, then global warming then climate change, climate refugees, global dying, global extinction.

    Now it looks like they will have to come up with a new scam.

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    • #
      RickWill

      Homogenisation can only deliver so much. At some point the need for long socks suggests it is cold in Melbourne in February. So hard to homogenise this year into an upward trend.

      However memories are short and this year will not need to be cooled in ten years time to get an upward trend.

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        yarpos

        I hear people skated on the Yarra between the wars. There is much of the past yet to be cooled enough.

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        • #
          another ian

          Wasn’t that back when it was known as “the river that flows upside down”?

          In the spirit of “The Platte River – a mile wide and an inch deep. Too thick to swim in but too thin to plow”

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          Tilba Tilba

          I hear people skated on the Yarra between the wars. There is much of the past yet to be cooled enough.

          Sadly, “I hear … ” is not good enough. Do you have any evidence to suggest that the Yarra has ever frozen over sufficiently to allow people to skate on it?

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            Bozotheclown

            Do you have any evidence to suggest that the Yarra has ever frozen over sufficiently to allow people to skate on it?

            Oh I can play this game: Tilba, do you have any evidence that no one ever skated on the Yarra?

            I do mean ever too.

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    Jojodogfacedboy

    Here is why our economies in Canada will tank.
    Government regulations upon government regulations with more government regulations on top of any environmental complaints adds more time in government regulations and this is just to build a mine that applied in 2008.
    That is even before the multitude of more safety regulations and building regulations and now more Pandemic regulations.
    https://www.howestreet.com/2021/02/red-tape-hurts-investment-in-canada/
    And then taxes on top including new carbon taxes.

    Our all levels of government are killing us taking over our live and making everything illegal to survive.
    Meanwhile other countries like China they get exemptions in government trade deals.

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    Kalm Keith

    Perspective from 2014. I don’t think that governments have improved their performance in the last six years and can understand now why people feel the need to protect themselves.

    Europe, the USA , Britain and Australia are a mess and inspire no confidence that governments are concerned about their clients.

    https://joannenova.com.au/2014/10/kill-santa-for-the-climate-is-that-isis-or-nobel-peace-scientists/#comment-1597952

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    RicDre

    Friday Funny- Fact Check?

    Josh writes: Who fact checks the Fact Checkers? Inspired by this superb article by @aDissentient in @TheConWom

    Referenced article: https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/the-farcical-climate-fact-checkers-who-dont-check-facts/

    WUWT Article: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/02/26/friday-funny-fact-check/

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    RicDre

    Russia and India Reject Climate Alarmism at UN Security Council

    Tuesday saw the highest profile discussion of climate change in the U.N.’s central body for promoting global peace. But Russia, which holds a veto as a permanent member of the Council, warned against any move to recognize warming as a threat to global security.

    Moscow’s stance left the Security Council’s U.K. presidency stabbing at a broken panic button.

    But Russia’s representative to the U.N. Vasily Nebenzya said the Council should not take on the work of other U.N. agencies that specialize in climate, “where this is dealt with by professionals.”

    More aggressive pushback came from India’s Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar. He said there was no “accepted methodology” to show climate change was a cause of conflicts.

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/02/26/russia-and-india-reject-climate-alarmism-at-un-security-council/

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    another ian

    “Gates To Gate Internet “Truth” ”

    https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2021/02/26/gates-to-gate-internet-truth/

    “If this doesn’t scare the hell out of you, you are not fully awake yet.”

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      another ian

      “In other words, orchestrated organized Group Think based on the most fanatic screamers who volunteer or are paid by Soros & his NGOs. Resistance if futile, you will be absorbed into The Body…”

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    another ian

    Government performance

    “And The Water Supply Will Look After Itself”

    http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2021/02/26/priorities-2/

    And a very useable last line

    “To be fair they were very busy not doing other things.”

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    RicDre

    Not a myth: State of the Polar Bear Report shows 2020 was another good year for polar bears

    The ‘State of the Polar Bear Report 2020’ is now available. Forget hand-wringing about what might happen fifty years from now – celebrate the fabulous news that polar bears had yet another good year.

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/02/26/not-a-myth-state-of-the-polar-bear-report-shows-2020-was-another-good-year-for-polar-bears/

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      Yonniestone

      Polar bears are obviously racist because they’re white…..but wait their hair is actually transparent……so can something be white, trans and racist all at once?

      Oh the humanity of 2021!

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      el gordo

      This caught my eye ….

      ‘The unavoidable consequence is that ‘a portion of the warming trend shown in global records derived from the adjusted GHCN archive results from the adjustments and not from the underlying data’. These adjustments increase the 20th century warming by 0.3-0.40C and this warming is now widely assumed to be real. Others have, of course, investigated this , at least informally, and have come to the opposite conclusion.’

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  • #
    el gordo

    New Antarctic Iceberg.

    https://www.livescience.com/brunt-ice-shelf-breaks-antarctica.html

    Scientists agree it has nothing to do with AGW.

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    Furiously curious

    Can anyone help me locate who said, in the last few days, that during the Occupy Wall St protests in 2010(?), suddenly the word ‘racism’ was appearing everywhere in conversation. Just maybe someone was attempting to create a distraction, so they could continue on with their looting? It looks like it was a pretty successful campaign. Someone has just done a poll of Democrats, and the biggest concern is ‘Trump voters’! And most of the rest of the worries were culture wars things. Climate never made it onto the list!

    30

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    another ian

    Woke hits the veterinary profession?

    For those who deal with animals

    “The Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine announced, without input from doctors of veterinary medicine students, faculty or external stakeholders, the cancellation of terminal surgical teaching procedures. For large and small animal owners, this means graduates will have more limited surgical experience upon graduation.”

    More at

    http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2021/02/22/this-is-not-your-grandmas-humane-society-59/#comments

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    el gordo

    Profound ignorance on Texan deep freeze.

    ‘Scientists have little doubt about what led to the deep freeze. Global warming has caused Arctic sea-ice to recede by about half-a-million square kilometres. This in turn has weakened the jet-stream, a normally stable band of low pressure and cold air surrounding the Arctic. Freed by the unstable jet stream, Arctic temperatures spilled south.’ (Age)

    … and the meandering jetstream in the Southern Hemisphere is caused by?

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    tom0mason

    America heats up the war in Syria.
    According to many news agencies “The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition troops..”
    That the war-mongering Democrats for you. With Biden trying to open up talks with Iran (see https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/feb/22/joe-biden-iran-outreach-backfires-pressure-builds/ ) so instead Biden’s deranged crew do no retaliation where the damage was done, no, just run-off and renew America’s involvement in Syria.
    Or as a woman on the ground in Syria says —
    https://twitter.com/i/status/1365500921145401349

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    CHRIS

    Well spotted, El Gordo. That “reasoning” by so-called ” scientists” is a big fat laugh. Since when have jet streams (north and south) directly influenced the seasonal patterns of weather? Jet streams are a factor in climate, but not so much year-to-year, mainly in long-term trends (just like the Trade Winds). This argument shows that the CAGW acolytes are losing the war.

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    john

    SPP recalculates prices after winter storm led to gas, power record highs

    https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/natural-gas/022521-spp-recalculates-prices-after-winter-storm-led-to-gas-power-record-highs

    SPP recalculates prices after winter storm led to gas, power record highs. New York — Southwest Power Pool has recalculated prices for several intervals on Feb. 14 due to system/software error after a massive winter storm struck the region and caused record-high gas prices that led to record-high power prices.

    10

  • #
    William Astley

    The Economic war is starting. Fake media hid, the super over spending (Starting with Obama administration) and loss of jobs to China.

    It is odd people do not understand that every country is competing with China.

    China has cheated by sabotaging our governments with the Green/CAGW madness and ‘racial’ fighting and historical issues which are weaponized to be unsolvable (such as past slavery or indigenous claims of say New York city or the entire state California).

    China had a plan to sabotage our governments by creating and nurturing toxic smiley fake caring ideas. China ‘donated’ money to universities worldwide with strings attached.

    https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2020/05/21/multiple-universities-refuse-to-cooperate-with-federal-investigations-into-ties-to-china/

    MULTIPLE UNIVERSITIES REFUSE TO COOPERATE WITH FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONS INTO TIES TO CHINA

    Interest rates are starting to rise. Governments will no longer be able to spend more than revenue.

    Zombie spending on green stuff for no reason …. kills economies. “in order to meet arbitrary climate change targets.”

    CAGW kills economies as it makes energy more expensive in our country than in China.

    The economic effects of Covid is the tipping point. Climate change the idiotic idea and the idiotic Zombis spending of borrowed money money on green scams…. Was possible because of super borrowing. We are now sort of at ‘war’ because governments are going to be forced to reduce expenditures to balance budgets.

    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/02/27/great-reset-wef-hails-quieter-lockdown-cities-as-businesses-collapse/

    Great Reset: World Economic Forum Hails ‘Quieter’ Cities as Businesses Collapse During Lockdown

    The World Economic Forum (WEF) faced a barrage of criticism before deleting a social media video which praised coronavirus lockdowns for “quietly improving cities around the world”.

    In the video, the WEF said that as a result of people using less public transport and factories closing down during the lockdown, noise and air pollution fell in cities throughout the world. The video also celebrated the ability of scientists to discover earthquakes due to the low level of seismic noise on the planet as populations were locked in their homes.

    ,…in order to meet arbitrary climate change targets.

    “There’s just one problem, the public won’t play along with their Great Reset nonsense. All of the things the WEF want to stop: work, travel, capitalism, are the things the vast majority of humanity lives for. The WEF have exposed themselves as ridiculously out of touch with the everyday man and woman. Sheltered in their ivory towers, they treat the rest of us with absolute seething contempt.”

    William: Idiotic dangerous over spending by every government.

    Every US administration has borrowed money with the excuse that the US Is facing a crisis. This out of control spending is cheating. The cheating is necessary because the US is run by special interest groups. The Chinese do not oare how they sabotage the US. The Chinese just made a corrupt system worse.

    https://www.thebalance.com/us-deficit-by-year-3306306

    Bush
    2004 $413 $596 3.4% Iraq War
    2005 $318 $554 2.4% Katrina, Bankruptcy Act
    2006 $248 $574 1.8% Bernanke chairs Fed

    2007 $161 $501 1.1% Bank crisis
    2008 $459 $1,017 3.1% Bank bailout, QE

    Obama
    2009 $1,413 $1,885 9.8% Stimulus Act. Bank bailout cost $250B, ARRA added $253B
    2010 $1,294 $1,652 8.6% Obama tax cuts, ACA, Simpson-Bowles
    2011 $1,300 $1,228 8.3% Debt crisis, recession and tax cuts reduced revenue
    2012 $1,087 $1,276 6.7% Fiscal cliff
    2013 $680 $672 4.1% Sequester
    2014 $485 $1,086 2.8% Debt ceiling crisis
    2015 $438 $327 2.4% TPP, Iran deal
    2016 $585 $1,422 3.1% Presidential race

    Trump
    2017 $665 $672 3.4% Trump Tax Act
    2018 $779 $1,271 3.8% Deficit spending
    2019 $984 $1,203 4.6% Government shutdown
    2020 $1,083 $1,181 4.8% Budget before COVID-19
    2020C $3,700 $4,226 17.9% With COVID-19 impact
    2021 $966 $1,276 4.1% Budget before COVID-19
    2021C $2,100 N.A. 9.8% With COVID-19 impact

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      Kalm Keith

      If only the general public could understand this.

      Our enemy is no longer over the sea or at the border; they’re running the country and are unlikely to be caught out because they have successfully complexified everything.

      Getting to the truth and real meaning of government action is almost impossible when most legislation passed by parliament is 500 pages with the critical rip off being a clause hidden deep on page 69.

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    Sirob

    KK,

    Dr. Reiner Fuellmich and his colleagues are preparing a case against governments and bureaucrats in connection with medical fraud and corruption.

    A very revealing deposition of a WHO whistle-blower.

    https://brandnewtube.com/v/9NSwKs

    How many of our domestic politicians and bureaucrats are compromised through these agencies and medical vested interests?

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    Sirob

    I forgot to log in so my posts are in moderation.

    00