Tuesday Open Thread

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200 comments to Tuesday Open Thread

  • #
    OldOzzie

    In Illinois there’s a class of gun owner that effectively has to re-apply for their gun licence each year.
    That’s why Illinois background checks are the highest or second highest in the nation but their gun sales are so low comparatively.

    The Left/Democrats will concentrate on the Highland Park Shooter ignoring

    Chicago’s Extreme Gun Control Hasn’t Stopped 60 being Shot And 15 Dead This Weekend

    Press Room July 4, 2022

    In Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s progressive, gun-control-laden city of Chicago, at least 60 people were shot and 15 killed from Thursday evening into Monday as the city celebrates the 4th of July.

    Over 60 people have been shot, 15 fatally, since Thursday evening, Chicago police report.

    According to a report by WGN9 in Chicago, no one is in police custody for the homicides.

    In 2021, The Chicago Tribune reported that more than 100 people were shot and 17 were killed during the July 4th weekend.

    The fatalities include 29-year-old Keishone Roberts, who was shot Friday evening. He was transported to a hospital, where he later died.

    That same evening a 26-year-old was shot and killed “in the 6500-block of South Wolcott Avenue.” He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

    The violence continued Saturday when a 30-year-old man was shot in the head and killed “in the 9000 block of South Escanaba Avenue.”

    Another fatal shooting occurred at 3 a.m. Sunday; a 35-year-old man was shot while riding inside a vehicle “in the 3800 block of South Kedzie Avenue.” The man was shot in the neck by someone outside the car and died at the scene.

    One person was shot and killed, and two others were shot and wounded early Sunday morning. The victim was a 24-year-old man who was shot numerous times and pronounced dead at the scene.

    Breitbart News reported that at least 11 people were shot and two stabbed on Monday in Chicago.

    Sunday night a group of residents surrounded Chicago Police during a gathering, vandalizing the police vehicles and shooting fireworks at officers.

    Reporters noted, “Crowd of people in the Loop attack Chicago police after some civilian cars do donuts in an intersection. Crowd shoots fireworks and physical hit CPD vehicles.”

    Data compiled by the Sun-Times shows 320 people were killed in Chicago January 1, 2022, through July 3, 2022.

    Note: and 15 killed from Thursday evening into Monday presumably excludes Highland Park Shooting

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    • #
      Steve of Cornubia

      The most effective measure against these crazed mass killings is not gun control but marijuana control. The majority of such atrocities – including those committed by designated terrorist organisations – are committed by marijuana users. Marijuana is implicated in the tsunami of mental illness affecting young people today. Early adoption seems to be the prime risk factor and the slow relaxation and normalisation of its use will undoubtedly mean things will only get worse. In this respect, it is yet another disaster resulting from the Left’s decades of liberalisation and soft-on-crime policies.

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      • #
        Zane

        What about crystal meth?

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      • #
        MP

        It’s not a left thing. It’s not a right thing. It’s an every thing.

        The pot heads I knew could not be bothered enough.
        The common denominator of a lot of these shootings seems to be drugs provided by phycologists.
        https://truthcomestolight.com/pharmaceutical-murder-mass-shootings-caused-by-drugs/
        https://rickthomas.net/psychiatric-drugs-mass-shootings/
        https://thewashingtonstandard.com/mass-shootings-psychiatric-drugs-connection-youre-not-told/

        Dennis, just providing evidence to support my claim.

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      • #
        GlenM

        Never had a problem with it son.

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      • #
        John Connor II

        Not Marijuana but a wide range of psychiatrist-prescribed mind-altering drugs but of course the MSM never dares cover that.

        On a sidenote Turdeau is now moving to ban hunting rifles.

        How long before the masses revolt like they all claim they will? 😊

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        • #
          Steve of Cornubia

          There is widespread reluctance to accept or acknowledge just how dangerous marijuana is, because its promotion as a chill-out drug with zero side effects has been so successful. For an alternative viewpoint I highly recommend checking out the tremendous work done by UK journo and writer Peter Hitchens – a very bright fellow indeed. It’s a real eye-opener. He spent a lot of time putting together a pile of factual research on marijuana’s insiduous effects, steadfastly ignored by the liberal establishment, and presented it to the UK government who, as expected, completely ignored it.

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          • #
            KP

            I disagree. The widespread use of maryjane since the 1960s and the extreme lack of shootings by almost everyone who has used it would refute your claim.

            Ritalin was a common factor in recent shootings in the States I saw, if there are so few shootings there must be a factor only taken by so few people.

            One could also count the lack of mass shootings prior to the 1930s before dope was banned. Having it freely available didn’t make people go on shooting rampages then.

            Shooters may be cannabis users, but that is coincidental to their actions. Don’t forget, they also drank alcohol I am sure…

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          • #
            tonyb

            steve

            there was a big article in Sundays UK mail examining the effects of deregulation of cannabis in california. as you say hitchens has done some very good work on this and the link between many types of mental illness and crime of various sorts is overwhelming. part of the problem is that the active content of marijuana is far more concentrated than it was years ago so the often mild effects of yesteryear have been overtaken by something much more virulent

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      • #
        Graeme+P.

        From my reading into this some years ago the far majority of mass shooters are young men from fatherless homes that are on anti depressants.

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      • #
    • #
      yarpos

      Funny that politicians and the MSM now suddenly notice Chicago when a white guy shots up a crowd that includes white people. The toll is horrendous but is really just equivalent to a couple summer weekends in Chicago, were many hundreds are killed annually and thousands wounded https://heyjackass.com/

      But that is predominantly (95%+) black on black violence, which goes unreported while the MSM wails and wrings its hands about events elsewhere. It seems the US has a culture/drug/mental health problem and tinkering with gun laws when 100s of millions of firearms are already in the community is pointless tokenism. This far down the rabbit hole I fear there is no answer. Maybe the had it right in the movie The Purge.

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      • #
        Zane

        It’s mostly black drug dealers shooting each other in turf wars.

        Best to stay out of it unless you’re Chuck Norris.

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    • #
      OldOzzie

      Media Ignores Yearly Fourth of July Carnage in Chicago to Focus on Suburban Shooting: Wonder Why?

      Police arrested 22-year-old Robert Crimo III (AKA Awake the Rapper). Lefty media was pleased to learn the shooter is white, but he doesn’t look like any conservative I know. He looks a lot like Antifa. And who were his victims? Patriots celebrating the Fourth of July.

      The tragic shooting has gotten a lot of press coverage. It was one of seven mass shootings on July 4 and 17 over the holiday weekend that started on July 1. But the press hasn’t given much coverage to shootings in other cities. The mainstream media also seems to have missed the weekend carnage in Chicago, a mere 27 miles away.

      Why isn’t the media focusing on the weekend mass shootings in Boston, Kansas City, Chicago, and the Queens neighborhood of Corona in New York City? Aww, you know!

      Rather than take a good, honest look at the people who commit most of the gun crimes, the left focuses on two things: mass shootings committed by white men and those big, scary AR-15s.

      As I’ve reported in the past, black people commit most mass shootings. Also, as the FBI tells us, semi-automatic rifles aren’t even in the top three weapons of choice for murderers.

      Not only is the media ignoring the butchery in Chicago (and the 24 people shot in NYC on the Fourth), but lefty social media clowns are also engaging in mental gymnastics, hoping to convince people that Crimo is a “right-wing conservative.”

      Heather the Ultra MAGA🇺🇸
      @heatherj513

      Top 2 pics.. Crimo.. bottom 2 pics LIBERALS… the similarities are deafening….he was not a conservative.

      Leave it to lefty jackpuddings to try to pretend a pink-haired freak-show with tattoos on his face gunning down Fourth of July revelers is a conservative while simultaneously ignoring the ritual slaughter taking place in America’s large, blue cities every weekend.

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  • #
    OldOzzie

    Up the Workers! said…
    O/T, but just saw an interesting stat.

    On 22 Feb, 2021, the first Covid vaccinations in Australia commenced.

    On that date, the TOTAL number of Covid deaths in Australia was exactly 909.

    Since that date, some 9,130 more deaths have occurred, bringing the total Australian Covid deaths up to today’s total of 10,039.

    So that is 909 deaths BEFORE vaccines became available, and a further 9,130 deaths SINCE vaccines became available.

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    • #
      RickWill

      So that is 909 deaths BEFORE vaccines became available, and a further 9,130 deaths SINCE vaccines became available.

      Proof positive that all the enforced isolation in Australia was highly effective. More effective than the vaccinations in terms of limiting the spread of the virus.

      Australia continues to have one of the lowest Covid death rates by a long margin from most other countries.

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      • #
        Eng_Ian

        RickWill, Complete isolation will ensure that you do not contract any communicable diseases. However, the costs are…. Do you live in a box? Can you work from the same box? Can you shop for food and supplies from inside that box? Would you want to live in it forever?

        One thing for sure, people get carried out in a box. It’s not where I want to be now or anywhere soon.

        I’ll vote for freedom any day. Feel free to live your life as you chose, just don’t encourage government to look up the people again. Once was bad enough.

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        • #
          wal1957

          Agreed.
          Life in isolation is not living.
          Those that want to lock themselves away can do so if they want to. I want no part of it.

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        • #
          StephenP

          Whatever happened to the suggested use of Ivermectin to reduce hospitalistions due to Covid?
          Is it still a no-no?
          The main problem with isolation is that you are still totally susceptible when you come out of your box.
          We used to have a saying “brought up in a barrel” for anyone who was very naive and inexperienced in the ways of the world.

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          • #
            Sceptical+Sam

            Was IVN or HCQ that the Queensland Chief Medical Officer recently removed from the “banned” list?

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      • #
        Honk R Smith

        Too bad, self imprisonment doesn’t work for heart disease, cancer, and substance abuse.
        Might help with iatrogenic risks.
        Which in the US is the third leading cause of death after cancer and heart disease.
        https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/study_suggests_medical_errors_now_third_leading_cause_of_death_in_the_us
        Fact … exposure to medical care is more dangerous than exposure to SARSCOV.
        Science.
        Fact … the damage and death rate that can attributed to lockdowns, initial panic medical injuries, and long term effects of mandated vax (particularly in younger demos) is yet to be calculated.
        Because that calculation will paint too many rich and powerful folk as criminals of historic proportion.

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      • #
        Skeptocynic

        Proof positive that all the enforced isolation in Australia was highly effective

        No such thing.
        It’s merely your assumption that isolation was the key factor, where’s the proof?
        It could have been any one or any combination of many different factors.

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      • #
        Graeme+P.

        *Presents evidence showing the covid vaccines don’t work*

        Conclusion – gee those lockdowns were effective.

        Facepalm

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  • #
    OldOzzie

    ‘Hell on earth’: Ukrainian soldiers describe eastern front

    BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AP) — Torched forests and cities burned to the ground. Colleagues with severed limbs. Bombardments so relentless the only option is to lie in a trench, wait and pray.

    Ukrainian soldiers returning from the front lines in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region — where Russia is waging a fierce offensive — describe life during what has turned into a grueling war of attrition as apocalyptic.

    In interviews with The Associated Press, some complained of chaotic organization, desertions and mental health problems caused by relentless shelling. Others spoke of high morale, their colleagues’ heroism, and a commitment to keep fighting, even as the better-equipped Russians control more of the combat zone.

    Lt. Volodymyr Nazarenko, 30, second-in-command of the Ukrainian National Guard’s Svoboda Battalion, was with troops who retreated from Sievierodonetsk under orders from military leaders. During a month-long battle, Russian tanks obliterated any potential defensive positions and turned a city with a prewar population of 101,000 into “a burnt-down desert,” he said.

    “They shelled us every day. I do not want to lie about it. But these were barrages of ammunition at every building,” Nazarenko said. “The city was methodically leveled out.”

    “On the TV, they are showing beautiful pictures of the front lines, the solidarity, the army, but the reality is very different” he said, adding he does not think the delivery of more Western weapons would change the course of the war.

    A senior presidential aide reported last month that 100 to 200 Ukrainian troops were dying every day, but the country has not provided the total number killed in action. Oleksiy claimed his unit lost 150 men during its first three days of fighting, many from a loss of blood.

    Due to the relentless bombardments, wounded soldiers were only evacuated at night, and sometimes they had to wait up to two days, he said.

    “The commanders don’t care if you are psychologically broken. If you have a working heart, if you have arms and legs, you have to go back in,” he added.

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    • #
      Mal

      The reality and brutality of war with a brutal invader. Total destruction of cities and infrastructure, the genocide of the local civilian population or rape and enslavement.
      The Russian way.

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      • #
        GlenM

        Tell that to the Vietnamese villages napalmed or ” rolling thunder “. Fallujah? ” shock and awe”. Ok because the ” goodies ” dunnit.

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        • #
          GlenM

          Maybe that Zelensky idiot shouldn’t have been leant on by the yanks in order to get their proxy war. Minsk agreements anyone?

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        • #
          Sceptical+Sam

          Well, it stopped the commies taking over all of South-east Asia and it ended the rule of the extremists from the religion of peace.

          That’s the difference.

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          • #
            Ted1

            Nobody noticed that the Vietnam War achieved its objective, which was to hold up the USSR’s war machine until it ran out of puff.

            The problems were that 1. The cost was far higher than was anticipated or planned, and 2. Territory and population were lost.

            After Vietnam the Soviets had just one more puff left in them, and they spent that in Afghanistan.

            Had we not stopped the communists at Thailand, we would have soon been fighting them at Darwin and Cape York, as they operated out of Indonesia and the Phillipines.

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          • #

            The Vietnamese were Nationalistic first and maybe Communists second. They call the War ‘The American War’. Go and travel there. They were never really communists and are most certainly not now. They are now friends with the USA and their main enemy is China.

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      • #
        StephenP

        This seems to be mankind’s way.
        When the Romans invaded Caledonia in AD 83 (as Scotland was called at that time) the Scottish leader called Calgacus was quoted bt Tacitus as saying:
        “Neither East nor West can sate their appetite. They are the only people on earth to covet wealth and poverty with equal craving. They plunder, they butcher, they ravish, and call it by the lying name of ’empire’. They make a desert and call it ‘peace'” (XXX).”
        However the Romans never did conquer Scotland, and the Scots disappeared back into their mountains and forests. (A bit like the Afghans when you look at it.)

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  • #
    TdeF

    My question for everyone is what should we do to use real facts to end the insanity of Coal Kills, the earth is on fire and we are facing extinction as a species because of a 50% increase in CO2, man made or not. It’s not enough to be against insanity, you have to reach people and my concern is that we are not.

    One idea I have is to get a reputable group to publish the precise amount of man made CO2 in the air on a continuous basis by direct measurement with C14. Except I expect everyone with credibility is far too scared to do it. A government web site would have enough credibility, certainly the CSIRO, BOM, ANSTO or a New Zealand site? If the CO2 is not man made, there is no argument.

    Any ideas?

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    • #
      Philip

      Our side thinks you can win with logic and reason. This is not true. People decide matters on the general flow and emotions. The sooner we work that out the better. The left is winning here as a result of a long long campaign of defeat after defeat, many decades. We expect to win by just providing some facts and expect to win immediately. NO. We must examine our foe and see why they are being so successful with such a rubbish case. They did not win over night and they used peoples weaknesses (habits, laziness of thought) to sway them, quite brilliantly. I rather admire them for it. WE are right, but hopeless at propaganda.

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      • #
        Steve of Cornubia

        In the case of climate change or, to be more precise AGW, we cannot win by exposing the scientific nonsense at its heart, nor publicising critical, contradictory data.

        This is because AGW is a means to an end, not an end in itself. The people driving it don’t themselves believe in it and they’re not stupid, but it is a weapon they are using very effectively to destroy western economies. Then they can set about implementing the New World Order.

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      • #
        TdeF

        That’s all pretty defeatist.

        A brick missing can bring down a wall. I am not talking of endless arguments about reflectivity or the complex matter of climate or the opinions of so many people, just one brick. The right brick, the one on which the whole fantasy is built.

        Say REALCO2.COM shows fossil fuel CO2 is 3.51% of total CO2. It can be backed up with real time analysis based on indisputable data.

        Fossil fuel CO2 is tiny.

        Now try to argue for man made Climate Change, coal kills, climate extinction, anything at all.

        We humans are irrelevant on a planetary scale.

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      • #
        Ian

        “Our side thinks you can win with logic and reason.”

        You clearly do not read the comments here. Any comment here that dares to put a view that is not shared by the majority is not treated with logic and reason but with anger, scorn, denial, insults, offensive personal remarks, opprobrium, contempt and many other unpleasant remarks.

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      • #
        TdeF

        ” The left is winning here as a result of a long long campaign of defeat after defeat”

        I am curious. When did the left win anything? They don’t bother. They write the script for every journalist and record keeper in the world.

        There never was a debate between scientists. Ever.

        And as for BLM, CRT, Defund the Police, Equity, slavery, Russia, Donald Trump, Male Toxicity, White Privilege … we are just told what to think. When was there ever a debate?

        As a largely Irish person, I cannot understand how Irishmen have gone from an impoverished, starving, slave population and factory fodder barely surviving to white supremacists in the same time that black slaves have become the only victims in history? Whoever is rewriting history is just making it up.

        And they don’t lose because they write the history. The universities are stuffed with experts and the now have taken over science, because they can.

        The fact that there is almost no fossil fuel CO2 in the air is just ignored. Coal kills. In fact Coal has lifted most of humanity from abject poverty.

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      • #
        Ted1

        Nobody seems to have understood that one of the most significant events in Australia’s, and the world’s, political history was the association formed between Clive Palmer and Al Gore after the 2013 federal election of the Abbott government.

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    • #
      RickWill

      I am currently writing a letter to my pre-school grandchildren. I will ask their parents to keep it for the time any of them get concerned about climate change.

      I am trying to keep it simple. It focuses on the ocean temperature limit of 30C – the bright red portion of this image is the only region higher than 30.5C:
      https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aq1iAj8Yo7jNhFgevL7dNDmLll0p
      You have to look hard because it is mostly around PNG. The largest spot is just east of PNG. The bright blue zone is the “goldilocks” zone between 22 and 26C.

      Then I am going to talk about the brightness (reflectivity) of the oceans and the atmosphere above. The brightest portion of the oceans is white in this image:
      https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aq1iAj8Yo7jNhFlYv97bzUIWGXhH
      This one is interesting because the atmosphere over oceans has two modes. The cold mode below 15C where there is condensing cloud that actually keeps the region warm and very high cloud that get really bright over the 30C water. You can see bright zones around PNG. The least bright is between 26 and 27C.

      I may discuss deep convection to point out why the ocean does not sustain temperature above 30C. However I am going to single out the Nino34 region because it has significant influence over global weather. I will separate the plots on this chart to first show how consistent the temperature is in the Nino34 region and then bring in the model predictions:
      https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aq1iAj8Yo7jNhFZN77M55Pcnw-WW

      I will then explain that climate models cannot resolve cloud formation. It is just parameterised; unrelated to surface temperature. Resolving the operation of deep convection requires high vertical resolution; orders of magnitude higher than what current models have.

      If you understand that oceans cannot sustain temperatures above 30C, then you can readily see how all climate models are prediction the impossible.

      I will also demonstrate the CO2 levels and Nino34 temperature are are not correlated.

      I ill also bring in sunlight and show how the intensity is varying over time as this underpins actual climate change rather than decadal variation.

      My aim is to have it set at about grade 5 level.

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      • #
        ghl

        Rick, you talk of a 30c limit to ocean temperature. Why is that? Is there a known mechanism?

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        • #
          RickWill

          The 30C limit has been observed for some time. The earlier published documentation that talks about the limit that I know of dates back to 1970. A few have speculated but I know it is due to the deep convection literally running out of steam. Basically the cloud persistence increases as the surface temperature gets warmer. At 30C there is at least 80mm in the water column and the Level of Free convection is close to the freezing. When the instability occurs, the water is ejected above freezing and solidifies to bright cloud.

          Ramanathan wrote an interesting paper in 1990 that refers to it. There has been some very good work on the 30C limit but it has been quietly buried. Ramanathan is now ensconced in the IPCC circus.

          At 30C there is around 200W/m^2 sunlight reaching the surface and this is just enough to keep the convection powered up by evaporation matching condensation.

          If you want to do some research then look up Convective Available Potential Energy, Level of Free Convection. If you understanding how a heat engine works then you will pick up on CAPE quickly.

          I have developed a high resolution column model that allows me to investigate the process. That model is available in Excel and you can get my contact details from JoNova.

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          • #
            Kalm Keith

            Hi Rick, could you break that down a bit. There doesn’t seem to be a point of focus.

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    • #
      John Connor II

      Already covered. There’s little point trying to convert the die-hards as their brainwashing is complete.
      It’d be like trying to convince a religious zealot that their god doesn’t exist.
      For every fact and expert on one side there’s a fact and expert on the contrary side.
      The amount of data on any topic is massive and the average person has neither the time nor desire to expend the effort to decipher and evaluate it.

      Big bad reality however has a way of forcing people to confront the narratives.
      The energy crisis is a case in point.
      Post-vax adverse events another.

      I have no interest in converting people’s thinking. I’ll just provide information so that the switched-on players are always up to date.
      Like it or hate it, believe it or not, either way you’ve been told. 😉

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      • #
        TdeF

        Yes there are people who would protest the opening of an envelope, but I have met very passionate believers too. It seems almost a substitute for religion.
        And proving God does not exist will not change them. It is an age old problem as with the story of Chicken Little and “the sky is falling”, a parody of Climate Change/Global Warming.

        But there are also those who believe their teachers, their lecturers, their government, the journalists, the politicians, their publicly funded CSIRO and BOM and NASA and NOAA and the multinational unelected world governments like the UN/IPCC/WHO and EU. It’s an overwhelming set of people. And in that group are plenty of people who don’t like being deceived. The Teals in Australia for example, the highly successful educated middle class who believe what they are told because that is why they have succeeded.

        And as energy costs skyrocket, grids fail, solar and wind are useless, electric cars are not affordable, food supplies fail and the planet cools rapidly and cold kills, everyone will want to know who is responsible, what they can do, who is telling the truth and vote accordingly. Then if they can have just one absolute killer fact to defeat every argument, it may change the world.

        There is no man made CO2. And without it coal cannot kill, the planet cannot warm and the ridiculous prices people want to pay for fertilizer, hydrogen, Green steel, Green concrete and being forced to eat fake meat, fake eggs and fried insects, it just might change everything. The emperor has no clothes.

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        • #
          TdeF

          And I wonder how many people writing here actually believe there is no man made CO2? And believe the argument is really complex and beyond explanation and beyond ordinary folk, that the man made CO2 driven Armageddon Global Warming aka Climate Change is based on a incredibly simple lie?

          The Teal revolution in Australian politics tells us clearly that the proponents of Climate Change over 34 years have convinced and therefore deceived some very smart people, a large section of middle class highly educated Australia. I think Malcolm Turnbull and Andrew Forrest and thousands of medical doctors actually believe in man made Global Warming and the the Great Barrier Reef is dying, or at least most of them. The people who are skeptical are the people who can’t afford Teslas and to pay huge money for electricity and heating and petrol and rocketing government charges, council rates for five rubbish bins and a collapse of local medical services as so many underpaid and at risk GPs walk away, here and in the UK.

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    • #
      Simon

      Read up on CO2 residence time and carbon pool flux. Atmospheric C14 is not an indicator of historic anthropogenic emissions.

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      • #
        TdeF

        Really? Why?

        Metamorphic fossil fuel has no C14 at all. Modern CO2 has C14, about one atom in a trillion, but easily measured.
        It is the entire basis of radio carbon dating. You can date anything containing carbon up to 50,000 years. Why not CO2 itself?

        And the half life/residence time is about 5 years. Carbon pool?

        All that matters is how much fossil fuel CO2 actually in the air. Nothing else. Ideas like residence time, biosphere, exchange rates are irrelevant.

        I will let the world judge the answer. It’s only one number. And in 1958 after two world wars it was 2.03+/-0.15%. Now how did that produce Global Warming?

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        • #
          TdeF

          Actually I may have to republish the article myself as the Royal Society looks to have stopped access. Now why would they do that?
          However it is also here.

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        • #
          Honk R Smith

          TdeF,
          I’m curious about the question “how much CO2 is modern anthropogenic origin?”
          I’m not as up on the atmospheric physics as I’d like to be.
          So, there seems to be evidence that the man made contribution to modern observed increases in CO2 is about
          2-3%.
          Meaning 98% is ‘natural’.
          Am I getting this right?

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      • #
        rowjay

        CO2, as far as I know from an (almost) lifetime of geological studies, has been resident since the birth of this planet. Some may quibble about the concentration, with ~200 ppm being definitely on the low side, and values in the multiple thousands being on the high side, but never through earth history has “thermageddon” occurred.

        We should all forget about what happened from a climate perspective on this planet before the Eocene. Those with blank looks on their faces, which applies to just about every arts/humanities graduate I come across, should take note of this image, based on work by Hansen and others. Strange concepts like continental drift, majestically illustrated at this link, and the opening up of a free run for the circum-Antarctic current about 40 million years ago (not fully attributed on the opengeology diagram by the way – sloppy science) that has led to a prolonged (10’s of millions of years) planetary cooling trend. Some surmise that the lowering of atmospheric CO2 concentrations were the cause of the prolonged temperature fall, but where did the CO2 go? It is universally acknowledged that a cooler ocean absorbs more atmospheric CO2. So did the CO2 send a subliminal cooling message to the oceans that it wanted to vacate the atmosphere, or did the oceans cool from another signal that allowed the CO2 to exit the atmosphere. The arts/humanities say the former, while the geologists who graduated last century say the latter.

        So there are many on this planet that are convinced that by attempting to keep a single factor like CO2 levels at ~280 ppm will save humanity will be saved from variable weather, aka climate change. Forgive me if I and many other earth scientists who obtained their degrees before geological studies was consumed as a bit player in “environmental” science disagree.

        BTW, the geomorphic descriptor “flood plain” should ring a few bells among the relatively new arrivals to this country of extremes.

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        • #
          rowjay

          China should be patient and wait another 100 million years, as according to the continental drift projection provided here, we and Shanghai are one, with the Philippines and a few other islands squashed in between.

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          • #
            TdeF

            Good stuff. Yes, it’s all nuts. And you can write pages of why it is crazy non science. That is precisely the view of the ‘post modernists’ that facts don’t matter. Even sex is an illusion. Mathematics is a tool of white supremacy, even though most of it was invented in India.

            Since 1968 in Paris, Post Modernism has spread through every institution and its main target is science, which is to be belittled and destroyed because science kills jobs in philosophy.

            Facts like the utter devastation of the 20th century with failed socialism, fascism and communism societies are to be hidden because they are just facts and facts are irrelevant. The new victims are not the working class but oppressed minorities like LGBTIQ and all women. Long live the revolution, of which Climate Change is just a tool like Black Lives Matter. And we are even told fascists were really extreme conservatives like Hitler’s National Socialists. And who said socialists could not be racist? BLM is all about racism.

            The attack on science is growing strength quickly. As only 1% of people are scientists and most are employed by governments, they can be cowed into silence. It’s working. And the only defence scientists and engineers and geologists have is in facts.

            There is no significant fossil fuel CO2 in the air. It is all natural and in equilibrium.

            But long words like anthropogenic, holocene and now anthropcene are used up to make nonsense sound scientific and profound and true. Faux science is now being written by science idiots. And you can identify as a chipmunk if you like with your own preferred personal pronoun. You can even have your birth certificate changed to reflect your choice.

            Once again, there is no fossil fuel CO2 in the air.

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              Ian

              “And we are even told fascists were really extreme conservatives.” That’s because they were

              However, the economic programs of the great majority of fascist movements were extremely conservative, favouring the wealthy far more than the middle class and the working class. Their talk of national “socialism” was quite fraudulent in this respect.

              https://www.britannica.com/topic/fascism/Conservative-economic-programs

              The National Socialists were originally A socialist movement but the name was maintained even after it was transformed into a far right facist reality.

              Many if not most here argue that because the name of the ruling party in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s was National Socialist it could not be Fascist. A quick look at reliable sources of history will show Shakespeare to have been correct when stating “a rose by any other name would be as sweet”. The reference is used to state that the names of things do not affect what they really are.

              Commenters here might like to ponder on that with regard to the National Socialist Party

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              • #
                Kalm Keith

                I choose not to ponder.
                That still leaves the issue of what to do with Elephants, they are ponderous.

                30

              • #
                Ian

                Kalm Keith

                “I choose not to ponder.”

                Of course you do. Best not disturb your prejudices.

                01

              • #
                Kalm Keith

                Thank you for biting.
                🙂

                00

              • #
                el+gordo

                ‘The National Socialists were originally a socialist movement but the name was maintained even after it was transformed into a far right fascist reality.’

                Good point, China is applying the same principle, everyone thinks they are Communist. Fascists are a nasty piece of work, but we may have to live with them.

                They may let us keep our democracy and way of life, if we quit the US Alliance. Can we trust their word?

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    • #

      Starting to teaching proper science in schools, colleges and universities again might be a good places to start.

      00

  • #
    OldOzzie

    Quo Vadis, America?

    We have become a country ruled in many public and most major private institutions by people who hate its founding ideals, who hate its traditional liberties and moral norms, who hate the race of the majority of people in this country and who wish to stir up racial hatred among us, who hate orthodox forms of the religion of a majority of its people, and who are busy destroying the pillars of national life and cleansing the memories of the next generation so they will forget what America ever was. One party promotes this, and the other party is too cowardly or otherwise disengaged to defend their own country’s traditions. The business class is all in on celebrating decadence. The military-industrial complex and the foreign policy elites want to spread it throughout the West. The light unto the nations has turned itself into the neon filaments of the trans strippers’ neon.

    What is it going to take to make America great again? It’s not going to be politics alone.

    In 2020, I wrote about this phenomenon — that is, of the future of the nation depending on strong families, and how we are busy sabotaging that. Excerpt:

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    OldOzzie

    NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant has urged people to “disregard anything we said about two doses” providing protection against COVID-19.

    Chant says the next virus wave is here and has implored people to get vaccinated with all doses available to them.

    She stresses existing vaccines provide excellent protection against severe illness and death, but not infection from omicron itself.

    “My message to everyone is disregard anything we said about two doses; it’s three doses or more.

    “As ATAGI continues to watch the evidence, they might broaden the criterion (for a fourth dose). It’s important that you keep engaged with those messages and know if you’re eligible for further vaccines.”

    25

    • #
      OldOzzie

      Que? – NSW hopes COVID-19 antivirals to be made more widely available

      On antiviral medication, Brad Hazzard says they are currently limited in their usage for a number of reasons including supply.

      He hopes the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation will advise the Albanese government to make antivirals more accessible to a broader age group.

      Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant, speaking alongside Hazzard, expects the latest surge in COVID-19 cases to lead to a similar number of people in hospitals to January.

      “We predict that hospitalised patients levels will be similar to in January. There’s lots of other viruses such as flu and RSV. So that’s also a difference from what was occurring in January where we hadn’t seen those that uptick in flu and RSV at that time.”

      60

      • #
        OldOzzie

        You’re crazy if you’re not fully vaccinated: Hazzard

        More than 1200 people who weren’t up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccinations have died in NSW so far this year.

        NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said BA.4 and BA.5 variants were increasingly able to evade vaccinations, but it was still important to remain up-to-date to prevent severe illness and death.

        “These rather pesky little variants are quite intelligent, and they’re working their way around the current vaccines to an extent,” he said.

        “But what we do know is that we’re fully vaccinated, we’re far less likely to get as ill and far less likely to die.

        “If you had two, for example, or one, and you haven’t had your full three, to put it bluntly, you’re crazy.”

        So far this year, he said 1232 people not up-to-date with their vaccines had died from complications related to the virus.

        Hazzard said busyness was not an excuse to not be fully vaccinated and urged people to continue to wash their hands and wear masks in situations where social distancing wasn’t possible.

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        • #
          Hanrahan

          “These rather pesky little variants are quite intelligent……”

          Pity our health ministers, not so much.

          271

        • #
          Leo G

          You’re crazy if you’re not fully vaccinated: Hazzard

          Catch 2022: The more who are vaccinated, the more all need to be vaccinated again and again. The more that all are vaccinated, the more rapidly the virus effectiveness wanes for successive strains of the virus. The more frequently all are vaccinated the greater the risk to all from waning innate and specific immunity.
          The craziness began with the first vaccination and became progressively crazier.
          Only the craziest think the best response to primary vaccination failure is to increase the failure rate.

          40

        • #
          yarpos

          So Hazard says 1200 who died were not “up to date”?

          Covid live says 3000 people have died of Covid year to date in NSW.

          So it would be fair to say that the remaining 1800 who died were “up to date” as Hazard would have loaded that 1200 number to the max.

          What point was he trying make again?

          10

        • #

          Thanks Hazzard by name and hazard by nature, however, I will remain ‘crazy’ and ‘unjabbed’. That way I do not compromise my immune system and minimise to zero any experimental drug (alleged vaccine) side effects.

          10

  • #
    el+gordo

    Climate Council says ECL is a new phenomenon and the Sydney floods are caused by CO2.

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/07/04/shameless-aussie-climate-council-now-claims-floods-caused-by-co2/

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    • #
      GlenM

      Greg Mullins! An expert? Wasn’t he the chap who headed up our bushfire lot? Looking at him I wouldn’t trust him with a bbq flare up. Amateurs posing as experts.

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    • #
      Robber

      And the floods/fires/droughts will stop if only Australia stops burning coal /sarc.

      80

    • #
      RickWill

      I blame the desalination plants. Without that, Sydney and Brisbane would be as dry as a bone. Give them artificial water that short circuited the atmosphere, let them put it on their lawns and, hey presto, all that artificial water makes real rain.

      Tim has fixed the problem he observed in 2007 and Clare Stevens backed up as recently as 2020.

      Before bestowing too much praise for creating Sydney floods again, there appears the possibility they may have gone too far and have overshot the mark – gone from dams never filling again to Camden always under water.

      100

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    • #
      OldOzzie

      Brisbane, Cairns experience coldest day in 20 years

      Cairns and Brisbane experienced their coldest July days in more than two decades on Monday, the Bureau of Meteorology says.

      It said maximum temperatures on Monday were between 8C and 13C below average, while eastern and northeastern areas receive record daily July rainfall.

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      • #
        Hanrahan

        No warmer today. I’m miserable, don’t like cold. That may be because I have few warm clothes. 🙂

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        • #
          OldOzzie

          A sample of Monday’s chilly maximums included:

          . Toowoomba 7.6°C (coldest in 11 years)

          . Dalby 9.7°C (coldest in 15 years)

          . Bundaberg 12°C (coldest in 17 years and coldest July max in 56 years)

          . Yeppoon 12.5°C (coldest in 15 years and coldest July day in 28 years of records)

          . Gympie 13°C (coldest in 15 years)

          . Brisbane 14.2°C (coldest July max in 22 years)

          . Lady Elliot Island 14.8°C (coldest in 15 years, and noteworthy as it’s the southernmost tiny coral island of the Great Barrier Reef)

          . Townsville 15.1°C (coldest in 15 years)

          Cairns 21.4°C (coldest July max in 23 years)

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  • #
    Liberator

    Sydney floods and where is our Prime Minister? He’s been gallivanting around the world while our country drowns. Where’s the media outcry?

    Its not fair, our PMs should staying the country, gee a few years ago Australia was burning and our then PM was on holidays, oh the audacity of our PM’s.

    Stay in the country and we’ll be all right, dontcha just know it. They can fix climate change just by being here.

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  • #
    OldOzzie

    Top Ender says:
    July 5, 2022 at 12:54 pm
    Judith Sloan on the money:

    The idea of each participating state and the ACT being able to specify their energy sources within a capacity mechanism could potentially sound the death knell for the NEM. After all, an electron is an electron however sourced and there are interconnectors between participants. In other words, this idea makes no sense at all. The only conclusion to draw is that the NEM is a complete mess and there is a strong likelihood that its performance may decline even further. The idea that we require even more renewables investment – a sevenfold increase, in fact – has to be assessed against the highly subsidised investment that has already occurred.

    As the ESB notes, “since 2012, more than 90 per cent of investment in electricity generation in the eastern states has been in wind and solar. And, in per capita terms, Australia has the highest rate of renewable grid-scale generation in the world. It’s about 10 times the world average.”

    Without dispatchable power, we are heading in the direction of possible blackouts and load-shedding and even higher electricity prices. The Europeans have woken up this fact; we are just late on the scene. By the time it is fully recognised that we have taken the wrong turn, it will be a long, painful and expensive process to rectify the problems.

    Oz

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    • #
      OldOzzie

      Warning signs as Qld power climbs back towards cap

      Wild swings in Queensland’s wholesale power prices have revived the risk of caps being imposed that could trigger the same crisis in the National Electricity Market that caused an unprecedented nine-day suspension of the market last month.

      Market analysts warned that sustained periods of prices at nearly $10,000 a megawatt-hour and above through Monday afternoon and another spike early on Tuesday meant the running seven-day total of wholesale prices in the state was again nearing a threshold that would automatically trigger a $300/MWh cap.

      Based on forecast prices, the threshold could be breached on Tuesday evening, triggering the cap, market analysts said, after a feared breach on Monday evening was averted.

      Josh Stabler, managing director of adviser Energy Edge, said the 20 per cent headroom from the threshold that existed at the start of Tuesday had already been about one-quarter consumed after the price spike early on Monday. That followed what appeared to be a trip at one unit of the Wivenhoe pumped hydro storage plant in Queensland.

      “Conditions are very tight with cold weather, low solar output and limited additional availability,” he said.

      “Queensland is more likely to be in CPT [Cumulative Price Threshold] this evening than not.”

      Prices marching up

      It was the imposition of that cap last month that led to the Australian Energy Market Operator eventually seizing control of the dispatch of electricity from power plants after plant owners withdrew some capacity from the market.

      AEMO said at the time it had become too difficult to manage the market and ensure the lights stayed on, with so much capacity withdrawn from the market, on top of the chunk of capacity that is out of action because of coal power unit outages.

      “The cumulative prices have been steadily marching up since the market restarted,” said Dylan McConnell at the University of Melbourne’s Climate & Energy College.

      Specialist information service wattclarity.com.au blamed cold weather and cloud coverage over almost all the state’s east coast for the bout of extreme prices on Monday. It noted that Queensland’s output from large solar farms had the lowest midday reading on Monday for some months.

      Meanwhile, the apparent temperature was below 13 degrees in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast even at midday on Monday, while Toowoomba had apparent temperatures in the low single digits for most of the past 12 hours.

      That resulted in demand on the grid in Queensland of 7303 megawatts at midday, 57 per cent higher than last Monday.

      The rules around the price threshold, which is $1.398 million for a running total of prices over five-minute trading intervals over seven days, are designed to protect consumers from extreme prices. But because of very high gas and coal prices, the price cap that is then triggered makes it difficult for some plants to run economically.

      AEMO said sufficient supply was available to meet forecast demand in all regions of the NEM, although supply remained tight.

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      • #
        Hanrahan

        That resulted in demand on the grid in Queensland of 7303 megawatts at midday, 57 per cent higher than last Monday.

        It’s 8gW today.

        This is stoopid! A cold day and the grid groans. As you would expect solar/wind aren’t doing any heavy lifting.

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  • #
    el+gordo

    Once again they fail to recognise the large blocking high in the Bight, bringing cool south easterlies.

    https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/coldest-july-temps-in-56-years-in-parts-of-qld/671576

    60

  • #
    another ian

    And so it goes

    “Facing Defeat in Lysychansk Ukraine Military Retreats, Russia Takes Full Control of Eastern Ukraine Region of Luhansk
    July 4, 2022 | Sundance | 123 Comments”

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/07/04/facing-defeat-in-lysychansk-ukraine-military-retreats-russia-takes-full-control-of-eastern-ukraine-region-of-luhansk/#more-234808

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    Dennis

    The fact is that natural disasters such as floods, bushfires and cyclones are the primary responsibility of State Governments, including repairs and compensation where appropriate, the Federal Govermment provides financial assistance and even ADF support when requested by State Governments.

    There is no Commonwealth (Federal) Emergency Service or Rural Fire Service and others, they are State budget expense items and State Premiers and Cabinet Ministers have responsibility for the services that are maintained prepared and ready.

    However, Federal Labor had no problem blaming PM Morrison for, according to Labor, being away during bushfires and didn’t do enough during the floods that followed. So applying the same standard today where is PM Albo?

    I noticed that the Labor excuse includes their claim that Australia’s relationships internationally were not good and blame the Morrison Government for PM Albo and many Ministers having to leave just after the election to travel the world meeting leaders.

    How pathetic.

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    • #
      Dennis

      I note that the $5 billion compensation for cancelling the French Submarine Contract that Labor predicted in Opposition became about ten per cent of that amount, PM Albo is such a good negotiator isn’t he.

      Don’t consider that the design phase of the contract was running far behind the schedule agreed and that the estimate of cost had well exceeded the original estimate. And that the failure by the French contractor to meet commitments unfortunately for them coincided with the formation of AUKUS defence arrangements and US-UK decision to offer the RAN nuclear submarine technology that until now had been restricted to those two nations only.

      Soon after the Federal Election now former Minister for Defence Dutton commented that from his discussions with the AUKUS partners the RAN is likely to be given priority delivery for two new nuclear submarines that should enter service several years earlier than the speculated period the Labor Opposition and sections of the media were indicating. The new Minister for Defence complained about the information being made public, obviously planning to claim credit for himself.

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    • #
      MP

      Just give it a bump with the hand, the records stuck.

      25

    • #
      Grogery

      blaming PM Morrison

      Seriously Dennis, this man crush has got to stop.

      Scomo proved he wasn’t really a conservative (along with his party) and consequently lost government.

      Entirely predictable – and was predicted by many here – and at Micheal Smith News (where I’ve noticed you are still showing your man crush as well).

      Please give it a rest.

      81

      • #
        Hanrahan

        Why?

        Your hatred of ScoMo gave us labor, as you knew it would. Bon appétit.

        43

        • #
          MP

          Yeah, got rid of Smirko, one small step.

          Nobody here voted labor, but according to you not voting liberal is a vote for labor.

          Must be lonely being a liberal party stooge in Townsville.

          54

          • #
            Hanrahan

            according to you not voting liberal is a vote for labor.

            That’s the result you got and it was inevitable. You didn’t like the guy with aspirations of net zero by 2050 and got the guy who is committed to net zero by 2035. Congratulations.

            You taught that bustard Morrison a lesson, that’s all that matters.

            26

            • #
              MP

              It appears I was the only winner in the last election. If you and your brain dead mates would of voted independant, maybe we would of avoided any of these trecherous puppets.

              What did Smirko achieve in his term, beside trampling our constitution and inflating his personal wealth 150%.

              You think AnAl just got on a plane and flew around the world two days after the election, these were all sheduled well in advance, there was going to be a puppet on those planes no matter who won and what is comming is irelevent of the party we think was elected.

              Fascism,
              A political regime, having totalitarian aspirations, ideologically based on a relationship between business and the centralized government, business-and-government control of the market place, repression of criticism or opposition, a leader cult and exalting the state and/or religion above individual rights. Originally only applied (usually capitalized) to Benito Mussolini’s Italy.
              Or as Smirko called it, a combining of government and private partnerships.

              Sorry, its the Russians.

              In the last 21 years we only had 6 of labor, we are where we are not because of labor but because of liberal traitors, yet you can’t or won’t see this.

              Smirko’s gone, ding dong that witch is dead.

              20

  • #
    Zane

    India is now the second largest country of birth in the state of Victoria after Australia. That explains much of what I’m seeing on the street. China is the second largest ethnic source for NSW. This is where our demographic future is headed. Here they come, ready or not.

    Er, shouldn’t a country that wishes to lower its carbon footprint and fossil fuel emissions be limiting its population growth by prudently moderating the immigration intake? Don’t our politicians want to be green goodniks and win accolades at climate summits?

    Something ain’t dinkum. What happened to the Limits to Growth, Club of Rome? Outer Melbourne property developers certainly missed the memo.

    91

  • #
    another ian

    You only thought it is cold –

    “Ian, at minus 40 C is the same as minus 40 F . For every 5 degrees on C is 9 degrees on F scale e.g minus 45 C is minus 49 F and so on.A few years ago ,I was moving a Longyear 38 drill rig about 100 miles up in the Arctic(helicopter move ,lots of loads ) one January. We were in a tent at Minus 53 C ( minus 63.4 on F scale )plus we had about 45 mph wind on top of that. With wind chill at that wind speed ,was near minus 90. I had two sleeping bags ,inner and outer ,diesel heater going full bore ,big arctic parka on top of sleeping bags ,and still bloody cold . Any wind speed added to the ambient temp ,the “windchill” factor increases the temps exponentially, up to about 45 mph when after that there is not much difference .The helicopter was rated to a max operating temp of minus 40,so I had to wait till ithe outside temp ” warmed ” up to minus 40 before I could flash up. The move took a while as we only had less than 3 hours of daylight.”

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    OldOzzie

    RBA lifts rates 0.5pc to 1.35pc, energy leads ASX higher

    The RBA statement says:

    At its meeting today, the Board decided to increase the cash rate target by 50 basis points to 1.35 per cent. It also increased the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances by 50 basis points to 1.25 per cent.

    One source of ongoing uncertainty about the economic outlook is the behaviour of household spending. The recent spending data have been positive, although household budgets are under pressure from higher prices and higher interest rates. Housing prices have also declined in some markets over recent months after the large increases of recent years. The household saving rate remains higher than it was before the pandemic and many households have built up large financial buffers and are benefiting from stronger income growth. The Board will be paying close attention to these various influences on household spending as it assesses the appropriate setting of monetary policy.

    The Board will also be paying close attention to the global outlook, which remains clouded by the war in Ukraine and its effect on the prices for energy and agricultural commodities. Real household incomes are under pressure in many economies and financial conditions are tightening, as central banks increase interest rates. There are also ongoing uncertainties related to COVID, especially in China.

    Today’s increase in interest rates is a further step in the withdrawal of the extraordinary monetary support that was put in place to help insure the Australian economy against the worst possible effects of the pandemic. The resilience of the economy and the higher inflation mean that this extraordinary support is no longer needed. The Board expects to take further steps in the process of normalising monetary conditions in Australia over the months ahead. The size and timing of future interest rate increases will be guided by the incoming data and the Board’s assessment of the outlook for inflation and the labour market. The Board is committed to doing what is necessary to ensure that inflation in Australia returns to target over time.

    40

    • #
      Dennis

      Withdrawal of the Federal extraordinary monetary support for employers and employees when State Governments, emphasis on Victoria, imposed Emergency Powers based in legislation in State Parliaments to impose lockdowns, other restrictions and including vaccine mandates.

      The Labor Opposition criticised the Morrison Government when that funding ended and called for it to be extended indefinitely. But later criticised the Federal debt increase resulting from that funding exercise. Labor refers to the Forward Estimate of future debt of one trillion dollars but the actual debt Current Account for Budget 2022/23 is around $800 billion.

      Labor also ignore that they inherited zero debt in November 2007 but had created debt by June 2008 after spending the $22 billion Howard Government Budget surplus they inherited. Labor did not raise the official debt ceiling after June 2012, they under estimated the cumulative budget deficit for 2014/15 Budget purposes and did not make provision to fund major expense items they committed to in their 2013/14 Budget, and after that funding was borrowed Labor are responsible for about half (just over $400 billion) of the Current Account debt at present.

      The Federal funding economic stimulus turned the State lockdown based pandemic recession into now 3.5% GDP growth and with the lowest unemployment since the 1970s.

      43

    • #
      Zane

      Wow, 1% on a term deposit. Go wild, savers! 2% for 5 years! The generosity of these banks is astonishing. 😄

      60

  • #
    OldOzzie

    And One Wonder’s “Why” Nothing ever gets done in Australia?

    Whitehaven faces new legal challenge to Narrabri expansion

    An environmental group has challenged the final approval given to Whitehaven Coal to expand its Narrabri underground coal mine.

    The NSW independent planning commission earlier this year gave the green light to the expansion of the mine, which will extend its lifespan by 13 years to 2044.

    The decision infuriated environmental groups, who had mounted an aggressive campaign to stop the expansion on the grounds it would exacerbate climate change.

    In what is likely to be a last ditch legal challenge to the expansion, Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action (BSCA) – a community activist group – has sought a judicial review of the IPC’s ruling. The challenge will centre on whether the IPC gave sufficient credence to the impact of the expansion on the climate.

    “The IPC had before it indisputable scientific evidence on the impact emissions from this mine extension would have on our climate.

    This mine produces not just thermal coal, but significant amounts of fugitive methane as well,” said Elaine Johnson, director of legal strategy at Environmental Defenders Office – the legal group representing the BSCA.

    Whitehaven said it will proceed with business as usual while it defends the legal challenge.

    “Whitehaven intends to vigorously defend the proceedings,” the company said in a statement.

    The legal challenge comes as areas including the Nepean-Hawkesbury and the Colo Rivers endure the third major floods in 18 months.

    Rains have lashed the region, forcing thousands of residents across Sydney spent Monday night under evacuation orders after three days of heavy rain triggered floods which are likely to see low-lying areas inundated for days.

    Environmental advocates have blamed the crisis on climate change and have urged Australia to do more to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

    Opponents, however, said Australia must take a measured approach to reducing fossil fuels and the recent energy crunch that saw warnings of blackouts across major cities is evidence that the country must ensure energy security.

    “High quality thermal coal has an important role to play in providing energy security during the decarbonisation transition,” Whitehaven said in its statement.

    Whitehaven’s Coal’s chief executive officer Paul Flynn last month said Australia’s energy crisis is the consequence of efforts to accelerate the demise of coal from the national electricity market, and increased generation from wind and solar will not eliminate concerns about reliability.

    The crisis has been fuelled by about 25 per cent of Australia’s coal generation being offline due to faults and maintenance – which Mr Flynn said is the consequence of efforts to accelerate the decline of the country’s traditional electricity source.

    Some climate advocates have said Australia must accelerate the development of renewable energy generation though others are worried it will not solve the problem of reliability.

    Mr Flynn said there is a “disconnect” between aspiration and the practicalities, and Australia’s largest sources of renewable energy are not yet reliable enough.

    42

    • #
      Dennis

      Yes, on Sky News last night Deputy Opposition Leader and National Party Leader David Littleproud explained that the Morrison Government had made $7.5 billion available to the State Governments as an encouragement for them to build much needed new dams.

      Contrary to what many seem to believe provision of water, electricity and many other services is State primary responsibility, development applications and approval for infrastructure like dams is State responsibility.

      36

      • #
        Dennis

        Don’t forget that the Morrison Government also proposed to the State Governments that 4 gas generators be built, 2 in NSW, 1 each in VIC and QLD, but only 1 for the NSW Hunter Valley has been given development approval to date.

        Also offered was Federal underwriting of finance for a coal fired HELE power station to be built in NTH QLD but the QLD Labor Government has not accepted that proposal, and have not accepted the dam funding on offer.

        36

        • #
          KP

          I can’t believe the cluster-fk that goes on between these Govts..

          The only clear thing is that Aussie MUST get rid of one of its levels of Govt. The place is so unwieldy and inefficient every time I look! This so-called ‘Federation’ is one of the most cripplingly expensive ideas anyone ever had.

          22

          • #
            Dennis

            Should have used the UK model completely, not just Westminster system of government with some US add ons.

            One government for the nation, councils providing local services.

            First past the post voting, the most primary votes received wins the election, no preferences.

            11

    • #
      Kippax

      I do wonder who is behind it.
      Having supported various legal challenges here and there, I know that it’s not cheap .

      This ‘Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action’ must have deep pockets. I guess it’s all those sausage sizzles.

      10

  • #
    MP

    This is Monkey werx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQyIqYUuEVE
    He was watching military aircraft back in the day, still does but has included shiping. The shiping out of china is interesting at 17:00 mins, but also the military happenings in the EU.
    38 mins all up.

    10

  • #
    Ian1946

    Austrian health minister blames the medical profession for vaccine injuries and death.

    https://mole.substack.com/p/vax_danger-2022-07-02-special-killjab?utm_source=substack&amp%3Butm_campaign=post_embed&amp%3Butm_medium=email&utm_medium=email

    What a low life after they were made mandatory and doctors could not criticised them for fear of losing their living.

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    • #
      Honk R Smith

      But … it was an anti-vax conspiracy theory wasn’t it?
      Surely, zhe/zher has been banned from Facebook and Twitter.

      21

  • #
    David Maddison

    Comrade Dictator Dan of Vicdanistan has extended his dictatorial plandemic special powers.

    https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/coronavirus/premier-daniel-andrews-extends-victorias-pandemic-declaration-arguing-covid19-still-poses-serious-risk-to-community/news-story/b7bf43e4646dd11d7ee81bdd223f8e96

    Premier Daniel Andrews extends Victoria’s pandemic declaration arguing COVID-19 still poses ‘serious risk’ to community

    The Andrews Government’s pandemic powers will be extended for another three months as the Premier declares COVID-19 still poses a “serious threat” to Victorians.

    July 5, 2022 – 2:50PM

    Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews has extended the pandemic declaration for additional three months under new powers introduced late last year.

    The move allows the Andrews Government to continue to make pandemic orders including to introduce mask and vaccine mandates as well as control venue capacities.

    Mr Andrews said the declaration extension would enable “key settings” to remain in place over the winter period as Victoria braces for growing COVID-19 infections and the spread of Omicron subvariants.

    SEE LINK FOR REST

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      Dennis

      Many people do not apparently understand the areas of responsibility and powers of the Federation of State governments as compared to the Commonwealth Federal Government, public health including public hospitals is State, the vaccine mandates are State, interstate border closures State, lockdowns and enforcement also State and even age care facilities are a shared responsibility with State Health responsible for admissions and care together with Federal Health.

      The pandemic declaration (emergency powers) legislation was passed by the State of Victoria Parliament, and in other State Parliaments.

      The National Leaders Cabinet is a forum for discussion and hopefully leading to cooperation and coordination between State and Territory governments, the Commonwealth cannot instruct the Premiers.

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      yarpos

      Timing is everything. 3 months , July, August , September maintaining the fear. Come October the good news can flow, restrictions lifted, smiley faces and surprise surprise election in November.

      41

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    another ian

    “Climate Activist Hypocrisy Example Eleventy Gazillion

    12 mins ago Charles Rotter 1 Comment

    Just Stop Oil Protestor Who Pulled ‘Hay Wain’ Painting Stunt Has Racked Up 50,000 Air Miles on Exotic Holidays”

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/07/04/climate-activist-hypocrisy-example-eleventy-gazillion/

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    John Connor II

    A new BA.2.75 Omicron sub-variant found.

    An Israeli health expert on Sunday said that India has a new sub-variant of the highly contagious Omicron lineage of coronavirus, BA.2.75, reported IANS. As per the expert, the new Omicron sub-variant is already present and has been detected in about 10 Indian states. This included 69 such cases from India were Delhi (1), Haryana (6), Himachal Pradesh (3), Jammu (1), Karnataka (10), Madhya Pradesh (5), Maharashtra (27), Telangana (2), Uttar Pradesh (1), and West Bengal (13). On the other hand, the Indian Health Ministry is yet to officially confirm the detection of the sub-variant in the country.

    In a series of Tweets, Dr Shay Fleishon, with the Central Virology Laboratory at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, said that 85 sequences from eight countries have been uploaded so far on Nextstrain, an open-source platform of genomic data.
    According to the expert, the Omicron sub-variant has also been reported by seven other countries besides India. This includes Japan (1), Germany (2), the UK (6), Canada (2), the US (2), Australia (1), and New Zealand (2), according to the Nextstrain data.

    https://zeenews.india.com/india/covid-19-fourth-wave-scare-new-omicron-sub-variant-found-in-india-may-be-alarming-israeli-expert-2481223.html

    Good old India again…

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    John Connor II

    Letter to the U.K. Gov from 76 Doctors. Dr Robert Malone

    Below is a letter signed by 76 doctors in the UK, to the Medical and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and other U.K. Government officials. This letter lays out comprehensive reasons why the recent U.S. FDA decision authorizing COVID vaccinations in infants and young children must not happen in the UK. The letter is well-sourced and accurate. Let us hope that main-stream media here in the USA and in the UK report on this letter in an unbiased fashion.

    https://rwmalonemd.substack.com/p/letter-to-the-uk-gov-from-76-doctors

    When the damage is done it’ll be up to the unvaxxed to rebuild…

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      crakar24

      Is there enough of us unvaxxed left to rebuild things?

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        Hanrahan

        Most of the unvaxxed are prolly too old to repopulate. The younger, more fertile among us HAD to have the jab to keep working.

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          OldOzzie

          Most of the unvaxxed are prolly too old to repopulate.. my wife wouldn’t let me and I do enjoy living (besides being ancient)

          Interesting 4 of live-in Family all currently have COVID (only 10 yr old. wife and self Not – only myself unvaxxed)- my wife’s sister actually asked where she could get my antivirals today

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          crakar24

          Nope……many children are in vaxxed and others older. The main problem is if it all TTS who here knows how to run a coal plant, or a cracker to make fuel?????

          40

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    John Connor II

    Geert Vanden Bossche on the consequences of the mass vaccination experiment.

    For the past two weeks I have been working on a document summarizing my conclusions on the immuno-epidemiological consequences of the mass vaccination experiment.

    The result of this is even more frightening than I had predicted. I’ve, therefore, appended a summary of my manuscript by way of ‘tsunami warning’.

    In a nutshell, here is what I am 100% certain of:

    The current SC-2 pandemic is still expanding as it is a pandemic of ‘more infectious’ variants and is thus enhancing the susceptibility of vaccinees to infection (infection-enhancing antibodies) while diminishing the susceptibility of the unvaccinated (infection-mediated training of innate cell-mediated immunity).

    If you’re not C-19 vaccinated: You should under no condition get the seasonal Flu shot as vaccination with inactivated Flu vaccines will dramatically increase the risk of catching ADEI in the event you get exposed to avian flu. Under no condition should you get a non-replicating smallpox vaccine.[i] Since surface proteins of smallpox (using cowpox as live attenuated immunogen) are different from those decorating monkeypox, and as the non-replicating vaccine primarily induces antibodies (Abs), you could expose yourself to a real risk of ADEI. However, C-19 unvaccinated people don’t need a smallpox jab at all (and they don’t need an avian Flu vaccine either – in case the industry comes up with a pandemic flu vaccine!)

    https://www.voiceforscienceandsolidarity.org/scientific-blog/the-immuno-epidemiological-consequences-of-the-mass-vaccination-experiment-summary

    Geert is also hinting at connections between avian flu, MP and the vaxxed. I can’t see any (and there are contra indicators to his claim) so I disagree with him there but I guess we’ll see in time.

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    John Connor II

    Nerve Regeneration and Repair: Intermittent Fasting May Help Heal Nerve Damage

    Scientists observed how fasting led to the gut bacteria increasing the production of a metabolite known as 3-Indolepropionic acid (IPA). This potent neuroprotective antioxidant is required for regenerating nerve fibers called axons – thread-like structures at the ends of nerve cells that send out electrochemical signals to other cells in the body. The new research is published in Nature and was conducted by researchers from Imperial College London.

    “There is currently no treatment for people with nerve damage beyond surgical reconstruction, which is only effective in a small percentage of cases, prompting us to investigate whether changes in lifestyle could aid recovery,” said study author Professor Simone Di Giovanni from Imperial’s Department of Brain Sciences.

    “Intermittent fasting has previously been linked by other studies to wound repair and the growth of new neurons – but our study is the first to explain exactly how fasting might help heal nerves.”

    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04884-x

    I run 48 or 72 hour parasympathetic OMAD diets every so often. One meal around 8pm every 2 or 3 days is actually quite easy (for me anyway). No hunger pangs at all.
    The benefits are considerable!

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    John Connor II

    The myth of ‘artificial intelligence’

    In his superb book, Dominion, historian Tom Holland finds parallels between the early Christians and today’s judgemental theorists of gender and race. Both can be called ‘social-justice warriors’, he notes. Each sees a judgement day close at hand, and each has zealots who relish their role as judge, jury and hangman. Wokeness is just one modern mania that has a distinctly religious quality. Arguably, there are two other modern religions that eclipse wokeness in their scope and ambition: environmentalism and ‘artificial intelligence’ (AI).

    Environmentalism expresses a desire to subordinate human development and welfare to a new, all-encompassing mission – that of reducing the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. An ’emergency’ or a ‘crisis’ has been declared by activists, one which supposedly requires the suspension of political and moral norms. Every aspect of our lives is recast into this new moral framework.
    Equally religious, and equally anti-human, is the current infatuation with AI. We are currently in the third wave of enthusiasm for AI in 65 years, during which periods of high hopes and investment in AI have been followed by periods of derision. This time, however, belief in the transformative power of AI has penetrated the policy, media and administrative classes as thoroughly as the belief in apocalyptic climate change.

    Environmentalism turns this celebration of humanity on its head. Human activities are measured by the ‘harm’ or ‘impacts’ they cause to the natural order, and all human activity is therefore sinful. We ate the forbidden fruit by burning fossil fuels and by daring to increase human welfare – and now we must pay. Even the UK prime minister signals his support for this philosophical belief when he describes the Industrial Revolution as a derangement of nature, or a ‘doomsday machine’.

    Equally religious, and equally anti-human, is the current infatuation with AI. We are currently in the third wave of enthusiasm for AI in 65 years, during which periods of high hopes and investment in AI have been followed by periods of derision. This time, however, belief in the transformative power of AI has penetrated the policy, media and administrative classes as thoroughly as the belief in apocalyptic climate change.

    The field is rife with anthropomorphic metaphors: AI is undergoing ‘training’, for example, or ‘deep learning’. But these terms are really misdirections, for the software has acquired no knowledge or understanding of the underlying data it is processing. Instead, the software has bludgeoned its way through a task using brute force – producing a statistical approximation to achieve a result.

    A better name for the various activities currently undertaken by AI may be ‘heuristic software’. But then this might remind us that it’s guesswork, and that things can go wrong. Sometimes this guesswork can be impressive. At other times it is sufficient to be useful. Often it is not, and AI’s ignorance of the real world can be painful, and hilarious.

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/07/04/the-myth-of-artificial-intelligence/

    Correct! Current so-called AI systems are predominantly neural-net and predictive programming systems not true AI.
    It’s important to realise, in my opinion anyway, that AI need not pair with sentience. In the animal kingdom intelligence and sentience go hand-in-hand but it need not be so in AI.
    That leads to some very interesting potential outcomes…

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    John Connor II

    NASA captures strange details of giant ‘tadpoles’ in Siberia: Scientists immediately issue a warning

    Scientists evaluating images taken by NASA’s Landsat 7 and 8 satellites (also known as the Earth Observation program) in Siberia received an unusual detail. It is in each picture that there seems to be a giant “tadpole” and it is growing, next to it is a very large cave. It is known that the time to take these photos is from 1999 to 2015. However, after discovering the growth of this “tadpole”, scientists immediately issued a warning.

    In fact, the pictures taken by NASA satellites are not giant “tadpoles”, but a sinkhole called Batagaika. Batagaika is one of the largest sinkholes in the world. It is located in the Verkhoyansk district in northeastern Siberia of Russia. According to NASA scientists, the first signs of Batagaika’s formation date back to the early 1970s.

    On August 27, 1999, the Batagaika sinkhole officially appeared. The original Batagaika sinkhole was about 1 km long and 90 m deep. According to photos taken from 1999 to 2015, it seems to be constantly expanding. According to researcher Frank Günther of the Alfred Wegener Research Institute (Germany), the average expansion of Batagaika sinkhole is 10 m per year. However, in fact, according to the image of remote sensing equipment, the crater is opening from 20 to 30 m per year.

    Beneath the Batagaika sinkhole, archaeologists have found many skeletons of ancient animals.

    In a study published in the journal Current Biology on June 7, 2021, scientists collected a strange specimen in the permafrost of Siberia. After the researchers drilled to a depth of 3.5 meters below the surface of the Alazeya River, they found rotifers of the genus Adineta in a state of metabolomics. Carbon isotope dating results show that this type of rotifer is about 24,000 years old.

    Remarkably, after being thawed in the laboratory, these rotifers came back to life and continued to reproduce parthenogenetically. In particular, the new rotifers are genetically identical to the ancient rotifers. According to previous studies, this microorganism can only survive up to a decade after being frozen.
    Because they can be viruses that can harm humans. As for the ancient viruses, the human immune system is unlikely to be able to cope with them. With just a little carelessness, humanity could be wiped out by these viruses. And the truth is that in 2016, an anthrax outbreak in Siberia killed more than 2,000 reindeer and left 96 people hospitalized. Germ spores that were determined to have escaped from the carcass of an infected deer were exposed when the permafrost that preserved it melted.

    https://scienceinfo.net/nasa-captures-strange-details-of-giant-tadpoles-in-siberia-scientists-immediately-warn.html

    I’d be a LOT more worried about organisms with a 24,000 year lifespan than rubbish like Covid!

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    John Connor II

    Eat Bugs and Live in a Pod: South African Entrepreneur Says Caterpillars Are “A Healthier Option” Than Steak in Latest Push to Convince People to Eat Bugs

    A start-up entrepreneur from South Africa wants to change the way edible caterpillars popularly known as “mopane worms” are viewed and eaten.

    South African chemical engineer Wendy Vesela has found ways of turning the spiky green and black caterpillars — which are packed with protein and iron — into a flour that can be used in savoury biscuits, sweet chocolate protein bars, cereals or smoothies.

    http://www.yourdestinationnow.com/2022/07/eat-bugs-and-live-in-pod-south-african.html

    Well…given my recent post on the meat agenda, I’m definitely sticking to real meat for the rest of my life 😆

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    John Connor II

    Iranians’ Remote Access to Banking Services Cut Off Over ‘Cyber Attacks’

    Iranians’ access to domestic banking services from abroad has been temporarily cut off in aid of “preventing cyber attacks”, according to the official news agency IRNA.

    The restrictions were confirmed on Monday, but Iranians outside the country first started reporting difficulties over the weekend. Follow-ups by IRNA with the “competent authorities” – who were not named in its coverage – established that the block on access to mobile and online banking facilities was only aimed at a “limited” number of banks with “the most foreign connections”.

    It comes after a number of high-profile cyberattacks on state digital infrastructure.

    https://iranwire.com/en/technology/105415-iranians-remote-access-to-banking-services-cut-off-over-cyber-attacks

    Well now…😉

    20

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    David Maddison

    Due to Green / Left policies of “urban consolidation” (now adopted by all parties), Australian cities are collapsing in upon themselves. This policy typically involves demolishing single family homes and replacing them with multiple apartments. I am the latest victim of this insanity with the former single family home opposite me demolished and replaced with ### seventeen ### tiny apartments with bedrooms barely bigger than beds. Our roads and infrastructure were not designed to cope with this massive over-development.

    The solution is, as it always was in the 50’s and 60’s to continue to develop land at the outer limits of the cities with appropriate roads and other transport infrastructure so that a drive or ride to the central part of the city is no more than an hour or so away.

    I can’t accept the oft-cited argument that it is too expensive to build infrastructure in the outer areas. It was done before, it can be done again, especially as it is cheaper to build now than in the past due to mechanisation and improvements in building materials and techniques. In any case, existing infrastructure needs to be expanded to cope with increased people living in the inner city so where is the saving?

    Existing policies do nothing but to make decent housing unaffordable for most, and the huge cost of land due to little new land being released not only increases housing prices but retail and everything else as well.

    Australia now has among the most expensive housing in the world. Even friends from New York City can’t believe how much we pay!

    And yes, we do need roads and cars. We can’t all be riding bicycles or waiting for hours for public transport.

    The whole thing is insane.

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    David Maddison

    Comment from Malcolm Roberts on Farcebook. He is one of the few, if not the only real engineer in Australian politics.

    All Australians should be free to choose the vehicle (diesel, petrol, electric or hybrid) that suits them without additional government costs. A government funded study has sounded the alarm bells about the government’s forced Electric Vehicle rollout.

    From The Australian, ‘if Australians start buying electric vehicles in big numbers, the power grid will come under enormous stress, with EVs potentially increasing demand by between 30 and 100 per cent, according to recent trials conducted by Origin Energy.’

    “At the moment, our electricity grid is not coping at all. If we were to add another 30 per cent of peak load to the grid during those periods of high prices and constraints on the network, this would require significant investment to increase capacity,” That’s a friendly way to say the electricity grid will collapse without billions in upgrades which we can’t afford.

    The solution being offered is deceptively friendly sounding ‘smart chargers’. They allow someone else to take over the charging cycle, deciding whether the vehicle charges or not at certain times.

    In the trial, Origin gave users the ability to override the charging takeover, but do we believe the user will always be trusted with this override in times of peak demand?

    All it would take is one flick of the switch and you are no longer able to charge your car as the government cites peak power demand or risk of blackouts.

    This wouldn’t be a problem if we could trust the government to build adequate electricity infrastructure, but the blackout risks of the last few weeks have destroyed that trust.

    Australians should be able to choose whatever car fits their budget and needs, electric, petrol, diesel or hybrid. The premature forcing of electric vehicles with subsidies, taxes and talk of banning petrol and diesel engines isn’t living in reality.

    If you want an electric vehicle no one should get in the way, but if the artificial EV push continues from Government, Australians will suffer.

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    robert rosicka

    Someone in Canberra won $60million in lotto last week , notice we are missing a leaf – Gee Aye if you’re out there maaaaatttteeee.

    50

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    Zane

    Just passed the deli counter at the local IGA which styles itself a Supa IGA. Pastrami is now $37.50 a kilo! Cripes!

    40

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    another ian

    Rex Murphy in full sarcastic

    “Rex Murphy: Tamara Lich is no danger. Unequal application of the law is”

    https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-tamara-lich-is-no-danger-unequal-application-of-the-law-is

    10

    • #
      rowjay

      From the (Canadian) article:

      Of all the environmental protests this country has seen, how many who participated in them or were their leaders, saw immediate arrest and jail? Were they denied bail? Or did they have the Emergencies Act hauled out of its dusty closet to land with its full powers and suspension of civil liberties on both leaders and participants?

      From an Australian article in 2015, although not quite in the same context:

      Pocock’s charges included entering enclosed land without lawful excuse and hindering the working of mining equipment, after chaining himself to a digger for 10 hours in November as part of a blockade at the Maules Creek coal mine.

      Magistrate Peter Miszalski said it would be a “disaster” for the high profile union player to have a conviction recorded against him after he pleaded guilty in court.

      The scales of justice in both cases do not appear equal to all. The fortunate ex rugby footballer is now an independent Senator representing the ACT in the Australian Federal Parliament. Let us hope that he listens carefully to the green, teal, red and blue arguments, and like the thinking footballer he once was, is able to change strategy when doing the same thing is a losing bet.

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    David Maddison

    https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361507107_A_statistical_evaluation_of_COVID-19_injections_for_safety_and_effectiveness_in_the_New_South_Wales_epidemic

    A statistical evaluation of COVID-19 injections for safety and effectiveness in the New South Wales epidemic

    June 2022

    Project: COVID-19 Epidemiology

    Authors:
    Wilson Sy
    Investment Analytics

    New South Wales data are statistically analysed to assess whether the experimental COVID-19 injections have been effective as vaccines in reducing infection, severe disease, and death in the NSW epidemic. The NSW data show that the experimental COVID-19 injections did not function as vaccines, because they did not decrease, but increase, infection, severe disease and death. Therefore, COVID-19 vaccination mandates cannot be reasonably enforced with the experimental COVID-19 injections which do not function as effective vaccines.

    SEE LINK FOR REST

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    David Maddison

    Problems with backyard wind turbine in Vicdanistan…

    https://youtu.be/uPR80VT_Fu4

    41

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      Graeme#4

      Typical belligerent attitude. I didn’t believe anybody could put up a tower structure without council approval.

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      • #
        Hanrahan

        There are plenty of councils that would do that.

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      • #
        yarpos

        In my region a guy got a service station mostly built (paved , pumps in) etc before the council twigged, and the State environment people.

        10

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      Kalm Keith

      Dangerous from so many perspectives.

      50

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      Philip

      LOL. That’s a good one. Where does one start ?

      30

      • #
        Kalm Keith

        Considering the pettiness of local governments in monitoring home building, their disinterest in this is unbelievable.

        It’s out of our hands.

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    David Maddison

    Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who posses it; and this I know, my lords: that where law ends, tyranny begins.

    William Pitt

    21

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    David Maddison

    Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.

    William Pitt the Younger
    Speech in the House of Commons (18 November 1783).

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    JB

    SARS-CoV-2 and the vaccines didn’t kill enough people. Western leaders are now working concertedly and avidly for WWIII:
    ———-
    https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/07/05/apad-j05.html

    The New York Times reported Monday that dozens of US ex-military personnel are operating on the ground in Ukraine and that retired senior US officers are directing portions of the Ukrainian war effort from within the country. …

    Last week, at the conclusion of this week’s NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, the members of NATO, including most European states as well as the United States and Canada, adopted a strategy document pledging to “deliver the full range of forces” needed “for high-intensity, multi-domain warfighting against nuclear-armed peer-competitors.”

    This language has not been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal or any of the major broadcast networks. Behind the backs of the American people the United States government is making preparations for world war, of which the conflict in Ukraine is just the opening salvo.

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    David Maddison

    This is beyond belief.

    Latest from Tony Heller talking about how the Dutch Government is shutting down meat farms to reduce emissions of supposed greenhouse gas nitrogen (not a joke).

    He also talks about the sinister forces behind this.

    Expect to see other governments follow.

    https://youtu.be/OMBRnO1gpfw

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      Hanrahan

      I’m at a loss.

      The animal pisses on the grass it eats, the grass reconverts the highly accessible urea back into grass. Where’s the problem?

      40

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    OldOzzie

    It’s The Planet, Stupid

    Malcolm, Tony, Bill & Scott – 2 mins 31 Secs

    41

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    OldOzzie

    What’s an Albo?
    Is it a car?

    The Ford Albo.
    Assembled in Australia. Some Italian parts. Three year warranty*.

    *Warranty void in WA, NT, SA, VIC, QLD, TAS and NSW.

    What’s an Albo?

    Is it a car?

    It’s a joint. Specifically, a type of elbow.

    It can move anywhere from centre left to far left, depending on the availability of Thai masseurs.

    Does Elbow have to stop over in Bangcock on the way home or is it a direct flight?

    Sancho Panzer says:
    July 5, 2022 at 9:57 pm
    Knuckle Dragger says:

    July 5, 2022 at 9:41 pm

    calli, 7.18:

    What’s an Albo?
    Is it a car?

    The Ford Albo

    The reliability of a Trabant.
    The style of a Reliant Robin.
    Priced like a Merc.

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    OldOzzie

    Bloomberg – US Court Ruling May Take 70,000 Truckers Off Road, Spur Jams

    . Decision to add fuel to ongoing supply-chain crisis, CTA says
    . Owner-operators in California have week to cease business

    A US Supreme Court decision that could force California’s 70,000 truck owner-operators to stop driving is set to create another choke point in already-stressed West Coast logistics networks, a truckers’ organization said.

    “Gasoline has been poured on the fire that is our ongoing supply-chain crisis,” the California Trucking Association said in a statement following the Supreme Court’s decision to deny a judicial review of a decision of a lower court, a process known as certiorari.

    “In addition to the direct impact on California’s 70,000 owner-operators who have seven days to cease long-standing independent businesses, the impact of taking tens of thousands of truck drivers off the road will have devastating repercussions on an already fragile supply chain, increasing costs and worsening runaway inflation,” the CTA said.

    The association asked the Supreme Court for a review of a case challenging California’s Assembly Bill 5, a law that sets out three tests to determine whether a worker is an employee entitled to job benefits or an independent contractor who isn’t. The trucking industry relies on contractors, and has fought to be exempt from state regulations for years because of federal law.

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    • #
      Kevin Kilty

      Twenty years ago Democrats disliked big businesses in favor of small business — Mom and Pop they called them and they just insisted these were more ethical than big business. It was an ideological bias they always display. However, everything they propose and demand has the effect of injuring small business and aiding big businesses. Also, the big financers of the Democrats are trial lawyers, unions (mostly government employee unions), and millionaires to billionaires. Democrats can’t do enough for these groups, and forcing independent contractors into becoming employees of a larger business will probably benefit unions — so think the unions and the Democrats. There are always unintended consequences, however; and Democrats aren’t very good at thinking about such. They have a bias toward expediency.

      I got caught in exactly this same situation when I lived in Washington State twenty+ years ago. I worked as a contractor to a huge international chemical firm, but had small contracts with other firms now and then. No matter. The unions became very militant about eliminating contractors in the State (even engineers are unionized in Washington State). I eventually joined Manpower, Inc. in order to reduce political risk to my major employer and all this did was aid Manpower, Inc. at cost to my employer.

      30

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    Hanrahan

    Maybe the other 48 states [forget Hawaii] will sign the Calexit petition.

    And the Desperate Dems think Newsom is presidential material.

    11

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    Hanrahan

    I wondered if Biden pardoned a turkey this J4 so did a search.

    Apparently not: Reversing Thanksgiving Tradition, A Turkey Will Decide Whether To Pardon President.

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    • #
      MP

      Is it November already.

      Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Liberia. It began as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Similarly named festival holidays occur in Germany and Japan. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and around the same part of the year in other places. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been celebrated as a secular holiday as well. (Wiki)

      Got nothing to do with independance day.

      10

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    Hanrahan

    Qld has been cold for the last few days and has been short of power. Where are our friends with all that free wind/solar power? MIA

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    • #
      yarpos

      Totally understandable given the vast distances the UK police have to cover 🙂

      The weasel words from the police manager are classic. Climate,green, EV blah blah blah …however…

      40

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      Dennis

      During 2019 Victoria Police proudly announced that a $180,000 Tesla X Highway Patrol Car had been added to their fleet and that recharging points were being installed to ensure access when patrolling the highways and other roads.

      And since not a word about it.

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    yarpos

    things are bad in Europe on the energy front, but wait there’s more

    https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/norwegian-strikes-could-sever-natgas-supplies-uk

    20

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    KP

    What a moron!!

    “The repeated flood events across the Australian east coast foreshadow a future of wild weather, disruption and loss unless we act now. Without a clear plan to confront global warming and its impacts, we can expect this disruption to ramp up over time.”

    Some clown called Mark Howden in the SMH.

    https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/flood-events-foreshadow-our-future-but-we-can-and-must-act-20220704-p5ayx8.html

    We go into our drought period and “Oh God! The rivers will stay dry, it will never rain again!”

    We come out of our drought period and its “Oh God! The rivers will flood forever and the rain never stop”

    ..and the public end up running around in circles shouting “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”

    I’ve decided they all deserve what they get, I’ll take my chances.

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    OldOzzie

    The facts don’t seem to matter to anyone when they’re “creating alarm” about the climate, says Sky News host Chris Kenny.3 Min 25 Secs Video

    Mr Kenny pointed to the “fearmongering” by former chief climate commissioner Tim Flannery who postured back in 2007 the world would be “lucky” to survive the following decade.

    “Tim, that was 15 years ago, and we are still here, the planet is still here,” Mr Kenny said.

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    OldOzzie

    EnergyAustralia lifts tariffs by up to 18.9pc

    EnergyAustralia has become the latest major electricity and gas supplier to announce steep increases in power prices for its customers, lifting tariffs by as much as 18.9 per cent in response to the surge in wholesale prices that is putting retailers under huge pressure.

    Tariffs will increase by 18.9 per cent on average for households in Queensland, equating to about $312 a year. As is the case for some other retailers, the percentage increase is greater than the increase allowed in the reference price as the squeeze on suppliers force them to reduce discounts, as expected.

    Price increases in the other states range from 17.9 per cent in NSW, or $362, to 5.5 per cent in Victoria, equating to $111 a year, said EnergyAustralia, which announced similar increases in tariffs for small business customers.

    The tariff increases echo those already announced by Origin Energy and AGL Energy, the other two of the “Big 3” power and gas retailers, which are better placed than their smaller rivals to withstand the impact of soaring wholesale prices.

    Some smaller retailers have announced bigger increases, or told customers outright to switch to another supplier to avoid tariffs that would roughly double. Last week a group of 10 smaller retailers wrote to federal and state energy ministers and regulators calling for urgent support to prevent more companies going under.

    EnergyAustralia’s chief customer officer Mark Brownfield said the price increases “reflect the more than doubling of wholesale electricity and gas costs that we pay to supply our customers”.

    St Vincent de Paul Society manager of policy and research Gavin Dufty said EnergyAustralia’s price hikes were in line with the other big retailers, Origin and AGL.

    “The price increases are similar to the Default Market Offer, but not quite up to the DMO,” he told The Australian Financial Review.

    Mr Dufty said most smaller retailers were trying to “fly below the radar” with their increases and waiting for the big players to move.

    “What we’re seeing is they are waiting to reprice to see what the big incumbents have done. It’s a bit of a cat and mouse game at the moment,” he said.

    “A lot of them are trying to shut up shop and keep prices as low as they can to hold their portfolio together so when this craziness finishes they can come out the other side.”

    EnergyAustralia, owned by Hong Kong-listed CLP Group, suffered a heavy loss in the first five months of 2022 after accounting for out-of-the-money electricity forward contracts that were expected to drag the whole group into the red for the June half.

    The Australian Energy Regulator in May ruled that benchmark prices for electricity, called the Default Market Offer, could be increased by up to 18 per cent in NSW and 12 per cent in Queensland from July 1.

    Since then, retailers have been finalising the increases for their competitive supply contracts, some of which are increasing by more than the increase in the benchmark price as they shrink discounts for customers that have historically been as much as 20 per cent or more.

    Momentum Energy, the retail arm of Hydro Tasmania, is increasing prices for household customers in NSW by an average of 32.2 per cent, while its Queensland prices will rise by 32.4 per cent. It has temporarily stopped taking on new customers on market offers.

    The retailer pointed out that the percentage increases are not always comparable because it depends on the actual amount of the original tariff.

    “Even after these price increases, the vast majority of our residential and small business customers will be at or below the Default Market Offer (in NSW, Queensland and South Australia) or the Victorian Default Offer,” a Momentum spokesman said.

    Powershop, now owned by Shell since its takeover from Meridian Energy in 2021, has increased prices for household customers in NSW, Queensland and South Australia by an average of 17-19 per cent.

    Red Energy and Lumo Energy, owned by the Commonwealth’s Snowy Hydro, have increased their contract prices by the greatest percentage in Queensland, where prices are rising about 16 per cent. Prices are going up in NSW by about 11 per cent on average, in South Australia by about 9 per cent and in Victoria by about 5-6 per cent.

    “The price increases for market offers are competitive for our largest customer bases (in NSW and Victoria),” a Snowy spokesman said.

    Meanwhile EnergyAustralia said it has paused billing for customers in flooded areas of NSW. It also announced increases in gas tariffs, of 7.9 per cent in South Australia and 8.9 per cent in NSW and the ACT for customers not on fixed price contracts.

    The announced tariffs suggest that an average household customer of EnergyAustralia in NSW will pay about $444 more on average each year for electricity and gas.

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    OldOzzie

    Lurpak now a luxury in the UK as price hits $16 a pack

    London – It’s long been one of Britain’s favourite shopping list staples, a simple spread that claims “to make good food great”.

    But tubs of ordinary Lurpak spreadable butter have become the target of thieves as the soaring price of dairy has whipped up its price.

    One Asda store has resorted to protecting the costly 500g tubs of Danish butter, which were on sale for £6 ($10.55), with electronic security tags.

    It comes as retailers have reported a surge in shoplifting as the soaring price of food has turned many supermarket staples into high-value goods.

    The average price for 500g of Lurpak has increased by 33 per cent compared with June last year – far ahead of the current rate of inflation at 9.1 per cent, according to data analyst Trolley.co.uk.

    So pricey now are the tubs that Twitter users have joked that they would need to take out a loan to purchase it.

    Security tags are usually reserved for expensive products, often electricals, that are prone to theft. Martyn James, a consumer rights campaigner, said: “I have never seen a case of basic necessities being tagged like this. It is extraordinary.”

    Shoppers took to social media to express shock at Lurpak prices at supermarket Iceland where a 1kg pack of the spreadable butter is on sale at £9.35. At Sainsbury’s, a 750g pack is on sale for £7.25.

    One user on the social media website tweeted a picture of a 750g pack of Lurpak listed at £6.75, captioned “Bank: Purpose of loan? Me: LURPAK”.
    [snip]

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    OldOzzie

    Canada’s Health Minister:”You Will Never Be Fully-Vaxxed”

    This is the new ‘right way’ to think about vaccinations…

    Despite increasingly compelling data and peer reviewed studies coming out detailing the harms and side-effects of vaccinations, Canada’s Liberal-Socialist coalition government is doubling down on vaccinations, and appear ready move the goalposts on what constitutes vaccine compliance.

    As reported via Blacklocks Reporter (@mindingottawa on Twitter),

    Canadians will be required to get a Covid shot every nine months for the foreseeable future, says Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos. Previous definitions of “fully vaccinated” made no sense, he told reporters.

    “Nine months is very clear and will help people understand why ‘up to date’ is the right way to think about vaccination now,” said Duclos.

    “‘Fully vaccinated’ makes no sense now. It’s about ‘up to date.’ So am I up to date in my vaccination?

    Have I received a vaccination in the last nine months?”

    Duclos previously called for the provinces to make vaccinations mandatory and when asked by reporters if mandates would return this fall, he replied “We must continue to fight against Covid.”

    Canada seems to be one of the few countries outside Communist China who is frantically clinging to the COVID narrative, relentlessly pushing largely ineffective (and arguably dangerous) vaccines on an increasingly fed up population.

    The Trudeau regime is increasingly unpopular, a recent Angus Reid poll finding those who “strongly support” the government falling into single digits. The largest single category was “strongly disapprove” at 41%,

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    OldOzzie

    Electric police cars are ‘running out of puff’ on their way to countryside emergencies, police chief claims, as officers struggle to find rural charging points

    . Electric police cars are running out of juice before they can reach crime scenes
    . A police chief said that officers in rural areas often have to change vehicles
    . In the countryside there can be issues finding recharging facilities for the cars

    Responding to questions from County Councillor Steve Robinson, from Nailsworth, the commissioner accepted the future of the force was with electric vehicles.

    Asked if he backed the move to electric vehicles, he explained: ‘We’ve all got to go towards electric vehicles moving forwards,

    ‘We have the largest fleet by percentage size, that has brought its problems.

    ‘The design options available for electric vehicles for operational uses are not perhaps as advanced as I would like them to be.

    ‘So, let’s put it like this, I’m cautious about going any further down that road at this stage.

    ‘I’d like to see more operational choice so that, for instance, if an officer is out in a rural area on a road traffic accident and his lights are on, his radio is on, his heater is on, I wouldn’t want him to run out of power for all of those different facilities, simply because he or she is in an electric car.

    ‘I’ve heard lots of problems with officers driving around in electric vehicles having problems trying to find recharging facilities.

    ‘Running out of puff and then having to get another vehicle.

    ‘So, although the world is going down that road and I fully understand and support climate controls and green areas, it’s definitely an important thing but my first priority is to fight crime.

    ‘And therefore, I have to take the operational effect into account.’

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    Dennis

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government is finding a “long-term solution” to increased flooding by changing Australia’s position on climate change.

    “Australia has always been subject of floods, of bushfires, but we know that the science told us that if we continued to not take action globally on climate change then these extreme weather events would be more often and more intense,” he said.

    “And what we’re seeing, unfortunately, is that play out.”

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    OldOzzie

    Zulu Kilo Two Alphasays:
    July 6, 2022 at 12:30 pm
    No writing, poetry plays, science, technology, high culture, medicine, nothing. Just an unchanging procession of years.

    I’ve never seen a didgeridoo and tapping sticks as the equivalent of Mozart..

    Again just read

    Native Tribes of Central Australia
    London
    Macmillan
    1899

    Spencer, Baldwin, Sir (1860-1929). Gillen, Francis James (1856-1912).

    This massive anthropological study of the central Australian tribes is one of the primary sources for information on these cultures. Based on first-hand scholarly study just prior to the twentieth century, Spencer and Gillen describe their complex rituals and belief systems, including initiation ceremonies, kinship, mythology and material culture. The picture that emerges is that of a sophisticated culture living under what most others would consider very marginal conditions.

    Like its companion work, Spencer’s Native Tribes of the Northern Territory of Australia, this book stands far in front of everything else written on the subject, and is an indispensible reference on Australian ethnography.

    and

    Native Tribes of the Northern Territory of Australia
    by Baldwin Spencer
    Macmillan And Co., London [1914]

    This is a comprehensive ethnography of the Australian Aborigines of Northern Australia, particularly the group known as the Kakadu, and the tribes of Melville Island. This is one of about half a dozen ethnographies written before the destruction of the Australian traditional cultures. This book is well written and, for the most part, presented from a non-ethnocentric (non-judgemental) point of view, which sets it apart from most of the other available public domain material on this topic. As far as material on the traditions of these tribes, this is the only source text which we will ever have. Shortly after this was written, the traditional life of these tribes was devastated by the impact of European culture.

    This is a priceless record of a vanished stone-age civilization.

    Plus a large record of books

    The Online Books Page
    Online Books by Baldwin Spencer (Spencer, Baldwin, 1860-1929)

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    OldOzzie

    COVID wave yet to peak as state pushes for fourth shots, antivirals

    Has anyone seen information as to what antivitals they are looking at?

    NSW is facing a coronavirus wave tipped to rival the Omicron summer as the state government and health bodies push for better access to antiviral treatments and expanded eligibility for fourth doses.

    Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said the NSW COVID-19 wave was expected to peak in late July or early August with hospitalisations similar to those in January. She urged the third of people who have not yet had a booster shot to do so urgently.

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was simply a “question of when” a fourth COVID-19 vaccine was approved for the general population. “I know that the authorities including ATAGI are looking at that. It’s a question of when rather than whether it will happen. We need to make sure that people continue to keep up their vaccinations,” he said.

    “I met with the leaders … of the health department and others, the chief medical officer, just a short time ago, and I’ve certainly asked them to look at that issue [fourth shots] and to look at the availability of antivirals as well.”

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      OldOzzie

      duncanm says:
      July 6, 2022 at 1:09 pm
      OldOzzie:
      https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/management/antivirals

      Thanks – duncanm

      What kind of antivirals are available in NSW?

      The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved two oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19 in Australia called Lagevrio® (molnupiravir) and Paxlovid® (nirmatrelvir + ritonavir). They are both available in NSW.

      Most people who are eligible for antivirals will be prescribed oral antivirals, which come in tablet or capsule form, so you can take these medicines at home rather than needing to go to hospital for treatment. There are some other options available such as antiviral injections and in those cases your doctor may advise you to go to a hospital or clinic to receive your antiviral treatment intravenously. Your GP will let you know the best treatment option for you.

      For more information on antivirals available in NSW read the below medicine information sheets:

      Lagevrio® (molnupiravir)launch
      Paxlovid® (nirmatrelvir + ritonavir)launch

      Will give that a miss – sticking with Zinc, Vit D, Quercetin with Bromelain, NAC, Vit X, etc and given 4 live in household now positive to COVID, having had Senior’s Flu Vax as only unvaxxed in Family also healthiest – have HCQ and Azithromycin if needed

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    OldOzzie

    Virgin, Jetstar take aim at unvaccinated ex-employees’ unlawful dismissal claim

    An unlawful dismissal claim brought by 12 former employees of Virgin Australia and Jetstar who were sacked after failing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is “unintelligible and rambling”, the Federal Court has heard.

    Another eight former employees of Virgin and three former employees of Jetstar have joined his Federal Court challenge. Murdock appeared via video link in court in Sydney on Wednesday and spoke on their behalf.

    None of the former employees has legal representation, Murdock said at the case management hearing, and “we seem to be led down a path of needless expense to have our day in court”.

    “We are all unemployed since our terminations and … not in a position to fund the type of case the respondents are attempting to force upon us,” he said.

    Murdock said each of the 12 former employees had complied with the airlines’ directives to turn up to a vaccination site but could not provide “valid consent” to be vaccinated because they were only there under threat of termination. He said health practitioners refused to administer the vaccine once this was made clear.

    The former employees are seeking to rely on provisions of the Fair Work Act and a breach of contract claim.

    Barrister Pawel Zielinski, acting for Virgin, said the airline’s position was that the way in which the former employees’ claim was formulated was legally “bad” and “it’s really one susceptible to a summary dismissal”, meaning the case would not proceed to a trial.

    Zielinski said the unlawful termination application filed by the former airline employees was misconceived and did not fall under specific provisions of the Fair Work Act.

    “In my 20 years of practice I’ve never seen a statement of claim that appears to break every pleading rule. It seems to break all of the rules and every part of it, in my submission, albeit that’s not what I am asking to be done today, is liable to be struck out.”

    Burmeister suggested the court might give the former employees leave to “have another go to see if they can articulate their claim properly … before any other step is taken” in the proceedings.

    “Perhaps if they engage a competent, or any, solicitor, and perhaps counsel, they might be able to articulate their claim,” he said.

    Justice Stephen Burley gave the former employees four weeks to reformulate their written claims.

    The parties return to court on September 8 for a f

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    OldOzzie

    Julia Davis
    @JuliaDavisNews

    Meanwhile on Russian state TV: annoyed by Trump reportedly promising to destroy the Russian Federation and Putin’s hegemony, state TV host Olga Skabeeva said that Russia “will have to think whether to re-install him again as the American president. We haven’t decided yet.”

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    CHRIS

    Never knew this was the OldOzzie show

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