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Tuesday Open Thread
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JoNova A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
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Statistics
The nerds have the numbers on precious metals investments on the ASX
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And you wonder why Putin Knocks America?
HOW FLUID CAN YOU GET?
Alpha News editor Anthony Gockowski reports: “Controversial energy official charged with stealing woman’s luggage at MSP.” Subhead: “The MIT grad went viral earlier this year when he announced his new role as the deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the U.S. Department of Energy.” The story opens:
Sam Brinton, one of the first “openly genderfluid individuals in federal government leadership,” was charged with felony theft last month after allegedly stealing a woman’s luggage at MSP Airport.
The MIT grad went viral earlier this year when he announced his new role as the deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the U.S. Department of Energy.
“As one of if not the very first openly genderfluid individuals in federal government leadership, I was welcomed with open arms into the Department of Energy all the way up to the Secretary whom I shared the stage with in a Pride month celebration panel just today,” Brinton wrote on Twitter at the time.
He said he is not a Biden appointee but instead was hired as a career employee in the Senior Executive Service. Brinton accepted the job in February and began in June, according to media reports.
121
Russia rebukes Canada over ‘alien’ gender beliefs
Embassy tells Ottawa that a family is “a man, a woman, and children”
The Russian embassy in Canada has blasted the country’s government over its opposition to a new law criminalizing the spread of LGBTQ “propaganda” in Russia. Canadians should keep their “alien” beliefs to themselves, the diplomatic mission stressed on Saturday, reminding them that there are only two genders.
Canada condemned the passage of the bill, accusing Russian lawmakers of creating “a climate of fear and intimidation” among LGBTQ people and “impacting the human rights of all in Russia.” The condemnation was signed by 33 other members of the ‘Equal Rights Coalition,’ a group of mostly Western nations dedicated to promoting gay rights around the world.
By opposing the bill, Canada is “deliberately distorting reality by conflating the concepts of individual sexual preferences and universal human rights,” the Russian embassy wrote on Twitter. “There is no discrimination in Russia with respect to the rights of sexual and other kinds of minorities,” the embassy continued. “However…a person’s freedom ends where another man’s freedom begins.”
“We believe that non-traditional relations propaganda…infringes the rights of the traditional majority of Russian citizens willing to protect themselves and their children from being imposed with precepts that are alien to their spiritual and moral values,” the tweet read.
421
Thank you Russia.. for stating the truth.. !!
501
This is anti-Klepto and unacceptable
30
Top Endersays:
November 29, 2022 at 4:59 pm
The non-binary drag queen who had been working in a nuclear waste job in President Joe Biden’s Department of Energy has been charged with felony theft after they allegedly stole a bag from the baggage claim at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Complete with pictures – you have been warned
90
The Environmental Battle Writ Small: Leaf-Blower Wars
Disputes over the noisy machines, like regulation generally, involve interest groups and economic winners and losers, as well as plenty of eco-hysteria.
Thanksgiving provided my household with a welcome break—less from work than from noise. In our suburb, it was a respite from the infernal din of leaf blowers.
The recent climate conference in Egypt drew global attention, but for municipalities across the U.S., the key environmental battle is over whether to regulate or even ban the gasoline-powered two-stroke-engine machines that blow leaves into piles for pickup. Some are as noisy as small airports and, according to a 2011 analysis at the car-review site Edmunds.com, may emit as much hydrocarbons in half an hour as a heavy-duty pickup truck would while being driven more than 3,500 miles. All to clear leaves off lawns.
As a noise-sensitive work-from-home guy, I initially found myself in the unaccustomed role of ardent environmentalist on the matter. I hoped my city council, like at least 100 such bodies in the U.S., according to the National Audubon Society, would limit or ban the noisy machines. But I’ve learned that eco-regulation isn’t simple. The leaf-blower wars, like regulation generally, involve interest groups and economic winners and losers, as well as plenty of eco-hysteria.
True, this issue mainly affects the affluent. The roster of municipalities that have passed or proposed bans on gas-powered leaf blowers reflects that: Scarsdale, N.Y., Santa Monica, Calif., and Aspen, Colo.
So why is it so hard to get rid of them? Just as Al Gore and John Kerry take carbon-emitting jets to rail against fossil fuels, there is no getting around the fact that many homeowners like their lawns to look green and tidy much of the year. My older neighbors aren’t about to pick up a rake, and my affluent younger ones with 1- or 2-acre lots pay landscape crews to do the job.
In other words, consumer preference matters when it comes to leaf blowers, just as it does for gasoline-powered pickup trucks or food flown in from the Southern hemisphere to please our palates during winter.
There was a time, before the advent of the blowers in the 1970s, when we all got out our rakes, drafted our children and gathered the leaves ourselves. No longer. I can even remember when we burned the leaves—a practice long since banned.
120
KFC to lift prices again as inflation eats into profit
KFC stores will lift prices on many menu items again after its profit margins were squeezed by sharp increases in the cost of chicken, oil, chips and energy, even as sales of fried chicken and burgers climb.
This followed a warning that inflationary pressures were increasing. Still, the company said sales had risen by 5.6 per cent over the past six weeks, ahead of the 5.1 per cent rate achieved in the six months to mid-October. The group added Uber Eats as a delivery partner on July 22, bolstering the popularity of home deliveries.
Collins Foods chief executive Drew O’Malley said the group would pursue more “menu pricing” measures and aimed to make savings in buying core items such as chicken, with negotiations under way with chicken processors. He said the group might not be able to fully claw back the rising costs until 2025.
KFC would lift prices in a measured way, to avoid annoying loyal customers and disrupting the “value” equation of the brand, which is reinforced in tougher economic times.
“We want to keep the brand affordable,” he said.
“Any time you raise price, you take risks around transactions. You need to keep that dynamic in mind.”
The group lifted prices by about 1 to 2 per cent in each of January and June, but he declined to be specific about the size of the next round. He emphasised the group studied the consumer landscape and the effect of broad cost-of-living increases in households.
‘There is a lot of sensitivity’
The company is in midst of negotiations with large chicken suppliers on new contract prices. “There’s a lot of sensitivity,” Mr O’Malley said.
There was a sense that price rises in some inputs such as grain and sunflower oil had now peaked, he said.
The group also operates 62 KFC outlets in the Netherlands and Germany, and 24 Taco Bell outlets in Australia. Mr O’Malley said history showed that in tougher economic times consumers shifted further towards well-known brands such as KFC.
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“Any time you raise price, you take risks around transactions. You need to keep that dynamic in mind.”
solidly grounded in management speak that one
60
Maybe they should go back to the original secret 11 herbs & spices that made Kentucky chook so good when I ate it regularly in the 80’s.
I’ll admit my taste buds may be slightly different now, but KFC is crap compared to back then.
60
The AFR View
Back to bad old protectionist Australia
Labor’s re-rigging of the labour market risks bringing back the kind of anticompetitive labour arrangements the arbitration system used to permit.
Most Australian businesses, big and small, have expressed concerns about Labor’s retrograde workplace shakeup.
The seeming outlier, as we report today, is the nine air conditioning manufactures in NSW and the ACT which are rushing to negotiate a multi-employer deal with the Manufacturing Workers Unions.
That would set a wages and condition floor that the Fair Work Commission could force onto suppliers with a “common interest” across the industry.
From its early days more than a century ago, Australia’s arbitration system served to protect incumbent businesses, such as trucking hauliers, from upstart competitors by negotiating away competitive advantages rival firms gained from more flexible labour relations.
Over time, this came with pervasive price-fixing arrangements and “protection all round” backed by higher tariffs on imports.
Labor’s re-rigging of the labour market risks bringing back the kind of anti-competitive arrangements that the Productivity Commission and the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission have warned could flow from multi-employer bargaining.
80
Whole Foods under fire after announcing Maine lobster will be pulled from shelves at stores nationwide
Sustainability organizations say Maine lobster industry threatens right whales
Maine politicians issued a blistering statement after Whole Foods announced the that store would no longer sell lobsters caught off the coast of the New England state in response to environmentalist concerns that the fishing industry allegedly threatens a rare whale.
“We are disappointed by Whole Foods’ decision and deeply frustrated that the Marine Stewardship Council’s suspension of the lobster industry’s certificate of sustainability continues to harm the livelihoods of hardworking men and women up and down Maine’s coast,” Maine Gov. Janet Mills wrote in a joint statement with Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden.
Whole Foods announced that it would stop selling lobster from the Gulf of Maine at hundreds of its stores around the country earlier this month. The company cited decisions by a pair of sustainability organizations that pulled their support for the U.S. lobster fishing industry.
The Marine Stewardship Council and Seafood Watch recently pulled their endorsements over concerns about risks to rare North Atlantic right whales from fishing gear. Entanglement in gear is one of the biggest threats to the whales.
Political leaders in Maine, which has the largest lobster fishing industry in the country, slammed Whole Foods’ decision, arguing that no right whale has died due to Maine lobster gear and that the fishing community in the state has long worked to protect right whales.
“In an appeal to retailers just weeks ago, we outlined the facts: there has never been a right whale death attributed to Maine lobster gear; Maine lobstermen have a 150-year history of sustainability; and Maine’s lobstering community has consistently demonstrated their commitment to protecting right whales,” the governor and the four other leaders in the state wrote.
“Despite this, the Marine Stewardship Council, with retailers following suit, wrongly and blindly decided to follow the recommendations of misguided environmental groups rather than science. We strongly urge the Marine Stewardship Council and retailers to reconsider their potentially devastating decisions.”
80
Landmark Land Court ruling suggests Palmer mine would imperil human rights
A proposal for Queensland’s largest coal mine has suffered a serious setback with a landmark court ruling that it could limit the human rights of First Nations and Queensland children.
Land Court of Queensland President Fleur Kingham on Friday recommended that the Minister responsible for the Mineral Resources Act 1989 refuse the mining lease application of Waratah Coal Pty Ltd.
The court also heard evidence that “climate change was a key issue” in opposition of Waratah Coal’s application.
Youth Verdict, along with co-objectors the Bimblebox Alliance and John and Susan Brinnand, argued that approval of the lease would significantly impact on their human rights.
Youth Verdict, according to its website, is a coalition of young people from across Queensland using their legal rights to fight for justice and human rights under the guidance of First Nations people committed to doing the current generation’s part in fulfilling the legacy of caring for Country.
“Waratah’s assessment of the economic benefits at $2.5 billion suggests the potential benefits are considerable,” Judge Kingham said.
“Waratah says the Project would not limit any human rights because the relationship between approving the mine and climate change is too remote, indirect and not specific to this mine.”
Under the Human Rights Act 2019, an act or decision can limit a human right if the limit is “no more than is justified in a free and democratic society, based on human dignity, equality and freedom”.
“I have found that several human rights would be limited by the (Waratah Coal) Project,” Judge Kingham said. “For the owners of Bimblebox, that is their right to property and to privacy and home.
“In relation to climate change, I have found that the following rights of certain groups of people in Queensland would be limited: the right to life, the cultural rights of First Nations peoples, the rights of children, the right to property and to privacy and home, and the right to enjoy human rights equally.
“Doing the best I can to assess the nature and extent of the limit due to the Project, I have decided the limit is not demonstrably justified.
“For each right, considered individually, I have decided the importance of preserving the right, given the nature and extent of the limitation, weighs more heavily in the balance than the economic benefits of the mine and the benefit of contributing to energy security for Southeast Asia.”
Read the decision. – Judge Kingham, in 372-page decision, recommended Waratah’s mining application – MLA 70454 – be refused.
50
Australians rip into Anthony Albanese as the PM enjoys yet ANOTHER big night out after returning from his overseas tour – as working families struggle to keep up with the cost of living crisis
. Anthony Albanese has been slammed as the ‘Party Prime Minister’
. PM has been spotted enjoying beer at the cricket, partying at Nick Cave concert, and at GQ Awards over the past seven days
. Single mum urged Anthony Albanese to address Australia’s rental and homelessness crisis instead of going to fancy events with celebrities
. Mark Latham says Albanese is enjoying the party – but millions of Aussies wanting for lower electricity prices are not invited
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The old saying: all show, no go!
100
Being there with a miserable 32.6% of the primary vote at last election “Big Night Out Albo” is not there for a long time – but a good time.
2022: the lowest Labor primary vote since 1903 when it was just 31%.
40
Where were the Coalition parties? Safe seat Liberals being outdone by a bunch of billionaire backed housewives. And Morrison was in the advertising game.
Geeze!
20
Top Endersays:
November 29, 2022 at 4:56 pm
Vote here:
Is Anthony Albanese partying too much?
No – he’s working hard and deserves a break 16%
Yes – he needs to focus on bringing down the cost of living 84%
Australians rip into Anthony Albanese as the PM enjoys yet ANOTHER big night out after returning from his overseas tour – as working families struggle to keep up with the cost of living crisis
70
I guess the honeymoon is over.
50
Not for Australians. This particular hangover will last for at least 3 years….
40
Nope!
10
Enjoy the high life while you can Elbow, it won’t last.
10
Nero Albo
20
It’s Lonely out here!
30
I sighted a stray Dog this morning, would you like me to catch him for you?
30
Nope – have neurotic 18 Month Old Female Beagle – thinks it’s a Human and hates being alone.
30
How 33,000 will have their Covid penalties repaid as authorities admit they had no legal right to fine Australians for ‘offences’ such as not wearing a mask, sunbaking or travelling 5km from their homes
. Two Sydneysiders challenged fines for Covid Public Health Order breaches
. Case was run by Redfern Legal Centre in New South Wales Supreme Court
. Thousands more such fines across NSW could now be found to be invalid
. There were 45,000 unpaid Covid fines worth millions of dollars as of July
More than 33,000 people who were fined for Covid breaches will get refunds after two Sydneysiders won a landmark test case and the NSW government admitted the fines were invalid.
In a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, the NSW Revenue Commissioner of Fines Administration Scott Johnson said he will withdraw all fines issued under two legal provisions during the pandemic.
“Recipients of public health orders who will receive a refund include all recipients of fines under the provision of ‘fail to comply with noticed direction in relation to section 7/8/9 – Covid-19 – Individual’ and ‘fail to comply with noticed direction in relation to section 7/8/9 – Covid-19 – company’.~”
130
This was always predictable. And it has a long way to go yet.
There has never been an action for which the term “unAustralian” was so applicable.
Bring on the Royal Commission!
10
A Canadian poll that could use a little help.
40
Voted Yes
30
Surprising reason theatres have two ‘missing rows’
Theatres around the world often skip over the same letters when it comes to labelling rows, and there is an interesting reason why.
The theatregoer, who had recently been at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne, noticed there was no I row between the H and J, so they emailed the venue to find out.
Sharing the Regent Theatre’s response on Reddit, it was explained there is a long tradition on no I or O rows in theatres around the world.
“The origins of the tradition – like most traditions – have been lost to time but the working theory is that the letter I is easily confused with number 1, and O is of course almost identical to the number 0 and letter Q,” the theatre’s explanation read.
“In dimly lit theatres, and particularly when tickets were handwritten back in the 1800s, these were easily confused by box office staff and ushers when showing patrons to their seats.
“Of all Melbourne’s city theatres, only the Comedy Theatre has a Row I and Row O (actually, the Athenaeum has a Row O as well).
“When the Comedy was built in the late 1920s, the theatre owners made a specific decision to dispense with many traditions of theatre to be as contemporary as possible, to the point that they included in some of their promotional material that they had rows I and O.”
30
They’d be the Intersex rows and the Outersex rows then?
10
Similar to motels with no room 13.
The first time I came across this was installing phone systems in motels in North Queensland. Many smallish motels avoided room 13, due to it’s “unluckiness”.
So you configure the extension numbers (the last 2 digits) to match the room number but you end up skipping ?13. Superstition anyone?
I can’t say if is was the same Australia-wide as I haven’t installed phone systems in motels outside of NQ.
20
O I C
20
Anyone else having email problems with bigpond.com?
Mine have been going on for about 2 weeks now. A lot of time outs for various reasons. I was told that “they were having server problems and no idea of when a fix would be in”
Latest error is “UID Fetch failed”
20
good news.
Dilbert is back. https://dilbert.com
Auto
20
Scott wasn’t optimistic it would happen. Maybe the simulation programmer decided to pull a few levers?
Remember Paul Keating being the chief lever puller? We need him back to fix the economy /sarc.
00
A cartoon I hoped to see around that time would have had
Keating’s cartoon face peering around the door of
A room full of levers being frantically massaged by the treasurer of the week in a lather of sweat saying
“You know, Paul, it would help a lot if these levers had labels on them”.
Never did and I’m no cartoonist to draw one
00
Tax cut for electric vehicles passes Parliament
Australian Treasury
The Albanese Government has delivered on our election commitment to make electric vehicles more affordable for more Australians.
The Electric Car Discount Bill, which passed Parliament today, will encourage greater take‑up of electric vehicles and reduce transport emissions as part of the Government’s broader climate action agenda.
This is a win for motorists, a win for businesses and a win for climate action.
This is a tax cut which will make EVs cheaper.
More Australians will be able to get behind the wheel of an electric car thanks to these changes which will reduce up‑front and ongoing costs.
The legislation provides a fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemption for eligible cars made available for employees by employers.
For a model valued at about $50,000, it means a $9,000 benefit to an employer or a $4,700 benefit to an employee using a salary sacrificing arrangement.
The Government will apply the exemption retrospectively to eligible cars first used on or after 1 July 2022.
Eligible plug‑in hybrid electric vehicles will also be FBT exempt when provided under arrangements entered into before 1 April 2025.
The fringe benefits tax exemption is complemented by the removal of the five per cent import tariff that is already making eligible electric vehicles more affordable and accessible to Australian families.
We have enshrined in the law our commitment to review the measure after three years to ensure it remains effective.
The Electric Car Discount is one of the first new initiatives in the Government’s plan to improve electric vehicle uptake, with further measures to be delivered as part of the National Electric Vehicle Strategy.
This includes a $500 million investment to boost electric vehicle charging infrastructure right across Australia.
We are also committed to ensuring 75 per cent of new Commonwealth fleet purchases are electric by 2025.
We worked in good faith with the crossbench for this result, and we thank the Australian Greens and Senator Pocock for their support in delivering this outcome.
It’s disappointing but not surprising that the Opposition has chosen to vote against lower taxes for Australians and lower emissions.
/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) may be of a point-in-time nature, edited for clarity, style and length. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s).View in full here.
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Lack of public charging facilities makes owning an electric car a challenge for Sydney residents
By Sue Daniel
Posted 9h ago9 hours ago, updated 4h ago
Miriam Hechtman and Guy Shalvi wanted to do their bit for the environment so when the time came for a new car, an electric vehicle (EV) was their first choice.
At that point they had a garage where it could be charged, and the decision was relatively easy.
But then they moved to a new apartment without garage access in leafy Darling Point, one of Sydney’s most densely populated eastern suburbs only kilometres from the CBD.
They discovered the only solution was to roll out a 20 metre cable from the first floor to reach the car on the street.
“It wasn’t simple because you always had to find a park outside the house, so Guy got a really long cord and we managed to get it the footpath and over the street sign,” Ms Hechtman said.
“It was not ideal — [but] we only did it overnight, we knew it was safe in the sense that no-one was going to trip over anything.”
The arrangement caught the eye of independent MP for Wentworth Allegra Spender, who took a photograph one day while on her morning run and posted it to social media.
Ms Spender captioned the photo “EV charging the Wentworth way” saying it highlighted the lack of public charging stations for apartment dwellers living in her electorate.
A couple of weeks later the local council put a note on the car asking them to stop.
Ms Hechtman said while the publicity generated by the tweet and Instagram posts did cause them to worry, the responses were positive.
“When I was reading all the comments it was like ‘that was so creative … and that’s great because there is nowhere to charge’,” she laughed.
About 60 per cent of the 160,000 residents in Ms Spender’s electorate live in stratas and apartments where it’s still uncommon to have chargers installed.
She wants the federal government to introduce tougher emission standards to force the importation of fuel efficient cars, and the introduction of more publicly available fast chargers.
“What’s really crucial is to get the ones where you can leave your car, do your shopping — those are the chargers we need and we need about 130 of them by 2030 to get the community to uptake on EVs,” she said.
30
The joys of owning an EV:
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Warning: Carrying a heavy generator in your boot will not only reduce cargo space but also reduce expected range. It is also recommended that petrol for the generator be stored in a separate metal can so it can be easily jettisoned in case of battery fire.
30
Yes. All of that’s correct Hanrahan.
However, what I like about OldOzzie’s snap is how the flat wokester was not above getting his “partner” (Wife, Girlfriend, Sister, RACV employee?) to load the genset into her vehicle and deliver it to him while he stands around with his hands in his pockets.
Priceless.
20
A fossil fuel powered EV none the less. Huge carbon footprint for such a small vehicle. Not to mention the inconvenience.
20
Consider all the losses. Inefficiency in carting extra weight. Inefficient small electricity generating unit. Losses in charging. The owner has been had.
20
“wanted to do their bit for the environment “
The ridiculous thing is that anyone thinks an EV makes “the environment” any better, anywhere in Australia.
A massive brain-washing scam !!
90
Heart rending tales of the battlers in Darling Point struggling to charge their EVs. Surely we could shut down a few superfluous domestic violence refuges and homeless shelters to fund what is truly important.
40
A Tesla Smartphone Is Not an Idle Threat
In what I suspect is a spate of misinformed zealotry, Apple has threatened to remove the Twitter app from its App Store. At least, according to Twitter CEO Elon Musk.
This is all part of the effort by left-wing zealots to “punish” Twitter for proposing to end censorship based on political leanings. Mr. Musk said that, if pressed, he would launch his own line of phones in response. Should Apple CEO Tim Cook take such a threat seriously, or can he laugh it off?
I think he’d best take it very seriously.
In Tesla, Elon Musk has the only ‘tech’ brand name that comes close to Apple in terms of panache. A Tesla Phone actually has a chance of becoming The Next Big Thing. More worrisome for Apple, Tesla could realistically blossom into a complete lifestyle brand with phones, tablets, home security… all the toys. And Musk already has the car, something Apple has been tinkering with in a “skunk works” for years.
Also in Tesla, Musk has what everyone agrees is the best battery technology in the world, bar none, in terms of cost, capacity, and lifespan. This is an important consideration when buying a phone. Many people who are perfectly happy with their smartphones otherwise would switch brands tomorrow if they could get one that would go all day without a charge. A smartphone with noticeably superior battery technology would immediately become a formidable competitor in the segment.
Musk also has Something Interesting that only he has, in the form of a nearly-completed worldwide network of communications satellites in low Earth orbit. This may or may not be applicable to smartphones; I am not privy to the “feeds and speeds” of Starlink. At a minimum, he has a way to offer “no dead zones… anywhere” that would be unique in the industry.
At this point, smartphones — especially Android smartphones — are a commodity. The infrastructure and supply chain to build them are everywhere and cheap. There are no technological challenges. It’s just a matter of having the resources to get started and tolerate the bleeding during the start-up losses. This Musk has.
Android is Open Source technology. Anyone can take it and make anything they want out of it. Amazon designed a unique user interface for its phones. Several Chinese companies have also done that. Turn Tesla’s interior designers loose on a smartphone interface, and they might come up with something just stunning.
Tim Cook should pause before thinking he has the upper hand here. He might not.
170
Mr Tesla is a person I would vote for as leader of the world. His Starlink broadband is presently being used by an ever increasing number of rural Australians unable to get good service. I’m the same because my home location is restricted to NBN Wireless broadband. It’s pathetic and most nights chugs down to less than 5 mbps speeds- should be 25. I know Starlink would give me amazing speeds and capacity. I’ve seen the Tweets from many farmers who have installed Starlink and cant believe the performance. Originally Starlink was about $900 to sign on and get the equipment, plus $139 / month to subscribe. Now that sign up has been halved – currently $450!! Could Elon do a phone? Easy peasy, Apple better be careful. They do remember Windows don’t they?
80
Memoryvault you made a comment about Safety Act 2021, and reinstatement of taxes, but the taxes promised to be abolished for GST were mostly State taxes because States receive all GST revenue via the ATO collection point. The Federal WST of 17.5% to 27.5% was abolished at the time, Sales Tax, Payroll Tax and others are State taxes.
And as for the Act?: Online Safety Act 2021
No. 76, 2021
An Act relating to online safety for Australians, and for other purposes
31
F1 still eyes in-car video screens to replace mirrors, but faces key hurdles
Formula 1’s move to even bigger mirrors in 2023 has again highlighted the problems that drivers face with rearward visibility.
Jonathan Noble – Nov 28, 2022,
But for such a high-tech sport like Formula 1, it seems almost amazing that it is still relying on such an old-school concept of fixed mirrors that have been an ever-present on cars since they first raced.
Indeed, in an era of super-accurate GPS, on-board cameras and high-speed digital processing, it would seem logical for F1 to make the step and go cutting-edge.
That could mean making it mandatory for F1 cars to be fitted with rearward facing cameras that can display what is going on behind on to a small screen in the cockpit.
The idea of having rear-facing cameras and cockpit screens is nothing new in F1, and there were discussions several years ago between drivers and the FIA about the subject.
Carlos Sainz said back in 2018: “We’ve proposed having cameras, instead of a simple mirror, which is something that they have in other categories, and I think the FIA is going to have a look at it. But it is not something that has been clarified yet.
In-cockpit digital screens are indeed regularly used in other categories, and made their debut as long ago as 2012 in sportscars when Audi used them on its R18 at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
But while the FIA is aware of how well they work elsewhere, there still remain some big hurdles before such in-car screens can make the transition to F1.
The FIA’s single seater technical director Nikolas Tombazis has explained three critical issues that need to be overcome before the screens can be considered for F1.
Asked by Motorsport.com about the technology, he said: “We have given it consideration. It’s got three issues that need to be resolved.
“One is that there’s not much space for a TV screen in the cockpit. Second, it’s used sometimes in closed cockpit cars which have rather dark conditions inside, you can see if you put your phone in sunlight, you don’t want the drivers squinting to see if they can see something. So there’s that.
“Then, the third thing is that there’s a time of adaptation of your focus from one distance to another distance, which we’re also a bit concerned and we need to evaluate carefully.
“At the speeds you are going, you must not lose that half a tenth of a second to adapt, so that’s another issue.
40
I’ve spotted those on a number of trucks and coaches recently on the highway. They must be making inroads into certain commercial vehicles.
20
Taking your eyes out of the actual world passing you at high velocity and into the cockpit even for a second is a recipe for disaster. Its a bit like the scenes in Top Gun with people supposedly flying close to terrain at high speed and having time to look over their shoulder. High speed dirt is best avoided.
Will be interesting to see what they do. I can see the existing rear views mirrors becoming screens with a better perspective but would be surprised to see it in the cockpit. But that’s just me, I have been surprised by a new reality before 🙂
10
Rubbish. I always knew what was behind me and out to the horizon in front. A flick of the eyes is all it takes if you last did it a few seconds before. It is called memory refresh.
30
I’m sure your glory days were fantastic H but the world has moved on.
There is a reason defence built HUDs. There is also a reason that co pilots call the instruments and you fly the plane in commercial.
10
Side vision cameras just don’t offer the 3-Dimensional depth perception of mirrors, they just don’t work as well as mirrors. This from an ex Tesla engineer I know who was peripherally involved in trying to get them working.
30
Apologies to Dennis
Apologies Dennis, I did not read your request for information on the old thread until I got home just now – out shopping. The legislation details you requested are as follows: –
Online Safety Act 2021
Online Safety (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2021
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Together they comprise in excess of 300 pages, more than 300 Parts, and over 3,000 Sections, making it the largest and most complex piece of legislation passed in my adult lifetime.
I have yet to contact a federal MP of any political persuasion who has actually read it at all, yet they will all tell you, without a moment’s hesitation, that it’s just to stop online bullying of children.
51
Here’s an article on Ms Inman Grant at the WEF conference at Davos.
https://reclaimthenet.org/julie-inman-grant-recalibration-free-speech-human-rights/
41
So the Commissioner made a comment at WEF Davos, your point being?
PM Morrison addressed the WEF by video link and in his comments he included that Australia will not be adopting the WEF economic model.
He made a mildly sarcastic joke about the WEF model at that time.
21
Your comment was a complaint about the Morrison Government reinstating taxes but the Safety Act is not about that.
And the GST Agreement included the Federal Wholesale Sales Tax that was abolished and never reinstated and State taxes States promised to abolish and mostly didn’t bother once the GST revenue Agreement was signed, all GST revenue collected by the ATO but distributed to States and Territories completely. Part of the Howard tax reform process was to meet State demands for access to income tax to replace COGM based funding negotiations every year. Two kept and still operating are State Sales Tax and State Payroll Tax.
I have discussed the GST introduction with various people and if you do the maths, and example wholesale price $100 plus 20% WST (range 17.5% to 27.5%) the buyer pays $120 and adds margin of say 100% = $240 retail price.
Abolish WST and $100 is the wholesale price plus margin of 100% = $200 plus GST 10% = $220 retail price at point of sale, a saving of $20 with GST but of course services have GST of 10% too. The fact is that GST was not a Federal source of revenue and redistributed revenue from WST Federal to GST States at a loss of Federal revenue and a gain for consumers of goods.
41
Dennis,
You demanded legislation as though it didn’t exist, and I supplied it. You are now making assertions about it and you haven’t even had time to skim through it. It took me over two weeks to properly analyse.
You make light of the article about Inman Grant at the WEF again obviously without reading it. You pass off her involvement with a comparison to Morrison ignoring the fact that she is actually a working member of that organisation. She is a permanent member of their Global Coalition for Digital safety.
I really can’t see much point in continuing this discussion any further.
31
No I didn’t bother after reading what the Act is based on, And as for the Act?: Online Safety Act 2021
No. 76, 2021
An Act relating to online safety for Australians, and for other purposes
11
Mauna Loa, World’s Largest Active Volcano, Is Erupting For First Time in 38 Years
Mauna Loa, one of the world’s largest active volcanoes, is erupting for the first time in 38 years on Hawaii’s Big Island.
The eruption began in Moku’āweoweo, the summit caldera of Mauna Loa, around 11:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service in Honolulu.
The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said there have been “some reports of lava overflowing” into the southwest portion of the caldera, but said “there are NO indications” that the flow poses a threat to populated areas.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/hawaii-mauna-loa-erupts-largest-active-volcano-reawakens
😎
90
John C II, Isn’t the Mauna Loa Observatory, somewhere on this volcano?
The world’s primary benchmark site for measurement of atmospheric CO2 gas?
This is the link to the satellite map of Mauna Loa Observatory:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/19%C2%B032'10.0%22N+155%C2%B034'34.0%22W/@19.5362076,-155.5776177,916m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xcaf5fe1ed57710c9!8m2!3d19.536111!4d-155.576111?hl=en
It is good to know that they have this mechanism in place:
“The contamination from local volcanic sources is sometimes detected at the observatory, and is then removed from the background data.” (source wiki)
Could be a challenge for them at the moment.
90
CO2 trend history there:
https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/
These graphs show carbon dioxide measurements at the Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii. The graphs display recent measurements as well as historical long term measurements. The related website summarizes in graphs the recent monthly CO2, the full CO2 Record, the annual Mean CO2 Growth Rate, and gives links to detailed CO2 data for this location, which is one of the most important CO2 tracking sites in the world.
20
Is there no end to the catastrophists’ adjustments?
What don’t they adjust?
20
But do they?
10
John B, you know they do.
Here’s an example of Sydney Observations for May 1957 – from 1 May to 20 May 1957.
RAW ACORN Diff
25.1 24.6 -0.5
19.3 19.2 -0.1
19.4 19.3 -0.1
20 19.8 -0.2
18.9 18.8 -0.1
21.6 21.6 0
22.4 22.4 0
26.2 25.7 -0.5
26.9 26.4 -0.5
25.7 25.2 -0.5
27.5 27 -0.5
28.3 27.8 -0.5
29 28.5 -0.5
20.9 21 +0.1
16.5 16.7 +0.2
21.1 21.1 0
20.3 20.2 -0.1
23.7 23.8 +0.1
20.7 20.6 -0.1
15 15.2 +0.2
Acorn has lowered all but 4 of the 20 recorded observations.
Are you capable of seeing the adjustment?
20
Has anyone checked the weather report for Mauna Kea, next-door to Mauna Loa, lately?
Road access closed due to fog, ice, snow, -2C overnight temp, with a “chance of heavy snow”. Must be due to all that excess atmospheric ‘carbon’. I mean, WHAT ELSE could it be?!
20
Here is a webcam of the anomaly.
https://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/en/gallery/timelapse.php?cam=gemdome
10
They do the same for all ACORN sites. Bourke Jan, 1939 where every daily max temp was adjusted and went from 40.4C (AWAP) to under 40C in ACORN2. If you check the Yearly summaries for Aust since 2000, all yearly means have been adjusted. 2001 and 2011 were below the average mean – not any more.
10
This is a question for anyone who thinks climate did not change before 1850.
Why will the termination of the current interglacial be different to the last 4?
Each interglacial terminated with rising solar intensity in the NH as shown in the upper chart. The two lower charts consider the drivers of winter advection to land north of 40N. They driver bottomed in J1400. Since then the imbalance that drives advection has been increasing and is accelerating.
https://i0.wp.com/wattsupwiththat.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Interglacial_Termination-1669697875.5997.png?fit=720%2C1040&ssl=1.
32
Bit difficult to understand the graphs Rick. No x scale value on top graph, and why use Julian years on last two graphs?
20
The Younger Dryas put a damper on the Holocene, which prevented it reaching its maximum capabilities, but the end should be the same as the previous four as we drift into glacial conditions.
We can see it from the LIA perspective, in the northern hemisphere there is a cool wet phase and then a cold dry phase. Of course it was different in the southern hemisphere.
00
“Kids just won’t know what snow is !!’
So funny !!!
NH snow extent is pretty much at a 54 year high !!
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/11/28/the-end-of-snow-again/
Alarmists… massive FAIL ! …. as always !
40
Bruce of Newcastlesays:
November 29, 2022 at 4:21 pm
Joseph was the first climate scientist.
Except his long range forecasts were right.
Why are climate scientists obsessed with cows?
10
Much of the way the world works can be explained by our interaction with cows.
https://www.onenewspage.com/video/20221128/15169717/You-Have-Two-Cows-2022-Edition.htm
20
Zipstersays:
November 29, 2022 at 4:53 pm
Netherlands to close up to 3,000 farms to comply with EU rules
Government tries to cut down on nitrogen pollution in a move set to reignite tensions with farmers who say the industry is unfairly targeted
From the Comments on the Telegraph Article above – Most Comments negative
Sara Crawford – 6 HRS AGO
Good. Intensive pig farming is enormously polluting. The pigs are in horrendous conditions. It is about time this is being seen as an issue and curtailed.
Brian Starr – 5 HRS AGO
More info please.
Roger Brocklehurst – 58 MIN AGO
Have the pigs been trained to operate the lifts?
Why you should NEVER buy food from China: Fears of further pandemics due to 26-storey pig farming skyscraper – as experts warn it’s a breeding ground for disease
. A Chinese company has built the biggest single-building pig farm in the world
. The 26-storey pig farm skyscraper is located in Ezhou – about 80km from Wuhan
. It will meet the demand for pig meat, as China consumes half the world’s pork
. The facility has the space and tools to slaughter up to 1.2million pigs per year
. Experts have expressed concerns the high-density farm could spread disease
10
I love how the Left pluck words from the periodic table but have no idea what they mean or the actual chemical compounds they’re told they should be concerned about
80
Periodic not period. Unauthorised change by spell checker…
30
The war on Oxygen must start very soon as well. After all, it is responsible for all the degrading oxidation in the world today. I’d better write ” sarcasm”, just in case someone takes me seriously.
70
Not to mention di-hydrogen monoxide.
30
Remember, CO2 is actually twice as much oxygen, by number of atoms
… and nearly 2.7 times as much oxygen as carbon, by atomic weight
So… CO2 should be called “oxygen” pollution if was actually any sort of pollution.
10
Salted ants. Ground crickets. Why you should try edible insects.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/11/27/eating-insects-good-for-you/
On a clear August morning in southeastern Pennsylvania, more than a dozen adults and children stood in a park pavilion, listening to mealworms sizzling in a hot pan. They were learning about entomophagy — the human consumption of insects — from Lisa Sanchez, a naturalist with the Lancaster County Department of Parks and Recreation, who has taught the practice for 25 years.
Suddenly, one mealworm sputtered out of the pan. Six-year-old Adaline Welk — without prompting — popped it into her mouth. The crowd cheered for the newly minted entomophagist. “It’s not that bad!” she exclaimed. “It kind of tastes like kettle corn!”
Sanchez encourages people to eat insects, in part, to lighten environmental footprints. Farmed insects produce far less greenhouse gas and require much less land and water than conventional livestock. Insects also generate more biomass with less input. Crickets, for example, are 12 times more efficient than cows at converting feed into edible weight.
Already, 2 billion people eat insects, according to one estimate — primarily in parts of Africa, Latin America and Asia. The practice dates back millennia. “I always thought, even back in the ’90s, someday, maybe, [Americans] will do this,” Sanchez says.
The coming years may prove her right. The edible insect industry is ramping up — one report predicts the market will reach $9.6 billion by 2030. Consumers can already find foods like salted ants on Amazon and cricket powder protein bars in Swiss grocery stores. Recent years have seen numerous media stories extolling the virtues of insect-eating.
But before insects can become common fare, more diners must be convinced that six-legged critters are, in fact, food.
Through tasting experiments, surveys and educational demos, researchers, entrepreneurs and educators are delving into consumers’ psychology and finding that resistance to insect-eating can be strong.
– A First Bite
– Marketing as usual
– ‘Taste is king’
– Creating a new norm
20
Free Range Pork? ground floor only I’m afraid.
20
(Australia)
Wow! Government lied. Doctors not covered by C-19 injection indemnity as they had been told.
They can be held liable for vaccine injuries and deaths.
https://expose-news.com/2022/11/27/australian-doctors-are-not-covered-by-gov-indemnity/
70
CASA doesn’t acknowledge vaccine risks to pilots – 8 Mins 05 Secs – Senate Inquiry
Malcolm Roberts
Visit the site below to see CASA PMO principal medical officer Dr Kate Manderson state in her own words acknowledge risks to crew and that they’re happy with that risk.
https://www.aussiefreedomflyers.com/passengers
AussieFreedomFlyers.com is collating aircrew events. If you have a report of onboard crew medical events and or incapacitation send details and evidence to [email protected]
20
It will be fine https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/21/pilot_single/
10
Pfizer CEO rebuked by UK watchdog for ‘misleading’ statements on COVID vaccine
You might think an official rebuke of Pfizer’s CEO for misleading the public on the benefits of its COVID vaccine would be big news, especially given the full-court press by vaccine absolutists to compel people to receive the shots, but even with a Google search, I have not yet seen any U.S. media coverage of a startling rebuke delivered to Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla by a panel convened by the U.K. Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA). The criticism followed remarks he made in a December 2021 interview with the BBC. The following account is derived from an article in the Melbourne, Australia Herald-Sun by Frank Chung.
Shortly after the interview was published, parent lobby group UsForThem lodged a formal complaint with the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA).
The complaint alleged Dr Bourla’s remarks were “disgracefully misleading” and “extremely promotional in nature”, breaching several clauses of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry’s (ABPI) code of practice, The Telegraph reported. (snip)
There is simply no evidence that healthy schoolchildren in the UK are at significant risk from the SARS COV-2 virus and to imply that they are is disgracefully misleading,” the complaint said.
[snip]
The full case report will be published in coming weeks.
20
Yes, Australia has a problem with live birth data
Malcolm Roberts
The fact-checkers at the ABC jumped to the government’s rescue when I asked a few pointed questions about the reported decline in birth rates following the national Covid vaccine roll-out.
‘It has been four weeks since the Australian Bureau of Statistics published data showing a 70 per cent reduction in Australia’s monthly birthrate between July and December 2021 as compared to the long-term average – a startling decrease.
I drew attention to this data during Senate estimates, hoping for some reassurance. None was forthcoming. Let me ask again: Minister [Gallagher], why has Australia’s birthrate declined from 30 June 2021 to 31 December 2021, revealing a 70 per cent reduction?’
After Minister Gallagher alluded to being in possession of a conflicting set of data – which is a concerning discrepancy that raises further questions about the quality of published statistical health data – I asked the follow-up:
‘Is there any systematic information-sharing between the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Department of Health to keep an eye on key indicators reflecting on our Covid measures, or does the Australian Bureau of Statistics just publish critical data like this in due course and hope that somebody notices at some time?’
The answer offered was not concrete, but rather a reference to ‘working closely with’ or ‘if they saw something’ and other vague platitudes that fall short of an official and rigorous reporting schedule to keep an eye on the mandated roll-outs of a vaccine with no long-term safety data in Australia.
Given that other nations are reporting a decrease in birthrates and increase in miscarriages and stillbirths, the government shouldn’t need to be prodded into a due-diligence approach with nearly 300,000 women (yes, women) giving birth in Australia every year.
It’s always tricky when governments are trusted to ‘investigate themselves’ and their corporate partners. Perhaps Australians would ‘trust the science’ more openly if that ‘science’ was subjected to a little more scrutiny…
To that end, I have joined Senators Hanson, Antic, Rennick, and Canavan to sponsor a motion to force the government to publish its contracts with Pfizer. After all, they were made with public money – your money. It was the ‘my body, my choice’ Greens who joined with Labor to block the motion, ensuring that when it comes to health, the government gets to choose what’s best – not you.
Fact-checkers rarely concern themselves with the hopeless inconsistency of health promises issued by government and Big Pharma. They’d much rather attempt to invalidate the necessary questioning process.
60
Senator Alex Antic ( LNP) recently did the same exercise in his home state of South Australia. Whether its excess mortality stats or declining birth rates, the health bureaucracy appears to be in a state of ignorance in Australia.
70
I don’t know anyone that voted for Victoriastan socialist dictator Dan Andrews.
And even the Liberals admit they will be likely in the political wilderness for a probable two terms (8 yrs) and likely three (12 years).
That means Andrews could be dictator for a total of 20 years, maybe longer. (He has already served two terms.)
It’s intolerable and as people’s businesses fail, and crime and societal degradation increase, decent people will suffer mental health issues due to his rule.
He also has a paramilitary police force, judiciary, union thugs and public service fully stacked with sycophants at senior levels to enforce his decrees.
And, note that all persons capable of thinking for themselves were sacked (fired) when they refused to be injected. The remainder will faithfully “just follow orders”.
110
Debt inevitably defeats Labor governments. States cannot print money so have to rack up debt to pay for their incompetence. That becomes smothering.
One thing that amazed me about Victorian politics was Jeff Kennett’s speed to rectify the mess he was handed. His agenda was truly blistering. I am not aware of anyone currently in the coalition with that ability to right the ship but we can always hope.
Kennett tore through the public service. He introduced the deficit levy and got debt under control with privatisation. Heavan forbid, he introduced privately funded toll roads that many older Victorians said they would never travel on. Dan aiming to reverse that. Another 2 years and Dan could really smell. Jacinta Allan may repeat Joan Kirner’s demise. The suburban rail loop looks like a journey to defeat.
40
The fellow who contested Dan Andrews seat had his preferences changed to labour. He’s instigating a recount.
Dirty Dan strikes…again
30
err. no.
10
Those small business people still in business in Victoria after Andrews’ Lock=up are currently trying to rebuild their businesses.
As soon as they get to break-even they’ll sell out and leave. They’ve had a gutfull and suffered enough. Most of them will, at some point, end up on the old age pension because of Andrews’ hatred of the private sector.
Victoria is increasingly looking like the East Germany of Australia. Andrews has established his “Shield and Sword of the Party” in Victoria. This structure comprises the Police, the “Public” Service, the education system, the unions and the Judiciary.
Victoirians who can still think for themselves need to sell up, pack up and leave while their assets still have some value.
50
SAVING AUSTRALIA WITH BUMPER STICKERS
In October, Quadrant Magazine published a short, satirical story of mine about Josie, an elderly woman who decided to sell bumper stickers. She wanted to protest at the outrageous push to change our Constitution to give special, additional rights to about 3% of the population based on their race. The stickers were incredibly popular, Josie became famous and the referendum failed.
The story was total fantasy and rather amusing. It touched a nerve in readers and I was repeatedly asked where they could buy Josie’s bumper stickers ‘to save Australia’. My husband and I designed a set of seven stickers and the demand is now so great that we struggle to keep up with the supply. It is a case of fiction becoming fact.
To date, we have distributed over 1,600 stickers from one side of Australia to the other. We do this on a zero nett profit basis. Our intention is to spread the word, to make Australians think about what is coming so that they can make up their minds from a position of knowledge, not ignorance.
The feedback from sticker buyers has made one fact very clear. Many Australians feel they have no voice, few of our politicians and business leaders (or indeed anyone) speak for them, and nobody listens to them. They have worked hard and paid their dues and now their country is being given away. They are angry, fed-up, and saddened at what their once-great and beloved country has become. Some who went to war for Australia now wonder why they bothered.
80
30 operations, coma, liver & kidney failure and amputated toes: How a mosquito nearly killed a man
A 27-year-old German named Sebastian Rotschke was hospitalised after an Asian Tiger mosquito bit him last year. He slipped into a coma, had blood poisoning and suffered from kidney and liver failures. He continues to be on sick leave.
Rotschke, had to undergo over 30 operations, had both of his toes amputated and was in a coma for almost a month after he was bitten by an Asian tiger mosquito, considered one of the most dangerous parasites.
Describing his nightmare, Sebastian said, “I haven’t been abroad. The bite must have happened here. Then the pure escalation began. I became bedridden, barely made it to the bathroom, had a fever, couldn’t eat. I thought it was coming to an end.”
Experts in the country have already flagged their concerns about an unprecedented growth of Asian tiger mosquito, particularly in the Rhein-Main region.
The world is accustomed to as many as 3,500 mosquito species but none are as harmful as the Asian tiger mosquito, the Asian bush mosquito and the Korean bush mosquito.
The Asian tiger mosquito holds the capability to transmit more than 20 types of viruses like those that can cause dengue fever, chikungunya fever, yellow fever, West Nile fever, encephalitis and Zika virus.
https://www.timesnownews.com/viral/asian-tiger-mosquito-german-man-slips-into-coma-undergoes-30-surgeries-after-bite-article-95847158
I haven’t posted much on the disease front of late for 2 reasons, but I’m still ahead of the curve…😎
10
Revolutionary photocatalyst is huge news for green hydrogen and ammonia
A fundamental breakthrough in chemistry promises to unlock ammonia as a clean fuel, and it could help decarbonize the entire chemical industry in the process. Rice University researchers have created a small, LED-powered device that converts ammonia to hydrogen on the fly. It uses a light-driven catalyst that’s as efficient as expensive thermal catalysts that need thousand-degree temperatures to operate, and it’s made from cheap, abundant copper and iron. And it’s only the beginning of a technology that could radically reduce costs and energy use in industrial chemistry.
Ammonia is famously a better hydrogen carrier than hydrogen gas itself; each of its nitrogen atoms binds three hydrogen atoms, and while it’s caustic and extremely hazardous in high concentrations, it’s a stable liquid at atmospheric temperatures and pressures, and its widespread use in many industries means people have plenty of experience handling it safely under a wide range of conditions.
Ammonia might carry hydrogen exceptionally well, but if you want to use that hydrogen, you need to “crack” it to get the hydrogen out and release the harmless nitrogen back into the atmosphere. This has been difficult for two main reasons: firstly, the reaction is endothermic, so most ammonia cracking is done in large facilities operating at temperatures of at least 650-1,000 °C (1,200-1,800 °F). Secondly, the thermal catalysts required for the cracking operations are typically platinum-group metals like ruthenium – relatively rare and expensive.
With the green hydrogen movement gathering steam as a key pillar of the transition to clean energy, you can see why the Rice University team is excited to have discovered a compact and efficient way to catalyze this cracking reaction at room temperature, using nothing but copper and iron.
https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/rice-labs-catalyst-could-be-key-hydrogen-economy
Hydrogen haters still gonna hate…😁
00
This seems to be error riddled and pointless.
Ammonia has a boiling point of -33C. It is nasty stuff to handle. It needs to be at 10 bar to be liquid at room temperature.
There are already Diesel engines running on pure ammonia so it does seem a little pointless converting to hydrogen first, which is even more difficult to handle and has an extremely wide explosive range.
Hydrogen produced in electrolyses is proposed to be used for manufacturing “green” ammonia fertilisers. So going from hydrogen to ammonia seems to be the more common requirement.
40
“it’s a stable liquid at atmospheric temperatures and pressures”
is in complete contradiction to “It needs to be at 10 bar to be liquid at room temperature.” That’s 10 x atmospheric pressure.
00
John Connor II
” and it’s made from cheap, abundant copper and iron.” From the article quoted.
As I write [1015z 29th November ’22] Copper is about USD 7500 per tonne.
And I thought all those bat-busting bird-choppers were to be linked to the grid with thousands of miles of copper cables.
Copper is cheaper then ruthenium – sure. But ‘Cheap’?
You need to mine it. B.F. Randall posted – linked on here, IIRC – on that: – https://twitter.com/Mining_Atoms/status/1584306032653717505
Fascinating, if yu’ve not read it yet!
Auto
00
Global Copper reserves circa 800 million tonnes, Lithium around 20MT for conparison.
Hydrogen has a much higher energy density, 6x, than Ammonia so Ammonia for energy is a no go.
Granted there are problems (as with everything), but they’re diminishing by the day.
00
Those copper reserves of 800 million tons, will cover 20% of the copper needed by 2050 to replace fossil fuels! Already the easily dug up mines are closing, and it is becoming more difficult to find new sources.
00
The question for many in rural Australia will be – Will the new process allow for the cheaper production of urea (and related) fertilizers?
10
FWIW
“Claim: Psychiatrists Can Spur Climate Action by Flying Balloons Around the Planet”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/11/28/claim-psychiatrists-can-spur-climate-action-by-flying-balloons/
Another one flew over the something-or-other?
10
While Xi Jinping consults with Dan on how to use military force against State citizens and still remain popular, things are getting exciting in Europe:
https://euenergy.live
Germany day ahead electricity now EUR371/MWh. AND IT IS STILL NOVEMBER.
One thing Xi has going for him is that his administration is doing tangible things like building coal fired power stations. Dan has promised to bring back the SEC so the state can build an even more bloated bureaucracy that build useless stuff at great cost. As if that will somehow lower electricity prices!
40
The new SEC puts an entity between Dan and the consumers/voters. When it goes pear shaped he has a finger pointing target and one or more managers/directors to throw under the bus.
20
There is absolutely no reason why a State entity can’t run a grid system as efficiently as any QUANGO entity can.
I worked for one in a previous life and the weak link in our network was the union dominated Collinsville coal mine and power station.
Can Dan be trusted to control the unions? Hell no.
31
mmmm of course, Australia is so littered with competency at the State Govt level. I hear State Govt employees are the go to people for headhunters seeking real high performers.
00
“The End of Snow — Again”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/11/28/the-end-of-snow-again/
20
Eh Gawd!
“$19m investment to bolster ag’s climate resilience”
https://www.beefcentral.com/news/19m-investment-to-bolster-ags-climate-resilience/
00
“Sh* hot Jim, and Therapeutic Albo – affordable and just in time for Christmas!!!”
https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2022/11/sh*-hot-jim-and-therapeutic-albo-affordable-and-just-in-time-for-christmas.html
They’re actually Scalectric hybrids – you get a bonus wind-up key for when the power is out.
20
LOL…
EVs in Australia are powered by mostly by COAL and GAS
The more of them there are, the more COAL and GAS will need to be burnt to power them. 🙂
40
sure but Albo, Bowen and a raft of State level true believers are “fixing” that right now. One must be forward looking the the light on the hill powered by sun, wind, hydrogen and wishful thinking.
00
Interesting that the battlers in their [now old] Falcodores are again subsidising the aspirational class.
30
Vitamin K2 is very important but few people get enough.
Not promoted because there is no money in it.
https://youtu.be/D_UJaEZe9gg
40
I’m an old phart and my BP is, really, my only obvious health concern. Just tested: 137 over 69. This is typical. I understand this is a signal of hardening of the arteries.
I have never supplemented Ca because I’m not a vegan but recently I’ve been thinking of K2. This convinces me.
30
Fermenting the beans is pretty simple. Yes i can definitely confirm my vascular system/leaky gut/ and other microbiome and autoimmune related conditions ultra massively improved in my human experiment conducted on self opinion. A game changer, but subtle and consistent over time.
Soak the beans overnight etc.
Cook the beans by steaming or boiling. I prefer steaming for 40 minutes in a pressure cooker.
The spores from B Subtilis are extremely resistant to hot temperatures and so the spores which are in the air and on surfaces are the first to take advantage of the freshly boiled beans as a food source and so outcompetes any other bacteria from the get go.
Two days later at around 38 degrees C at high humidity and the job is done. The tray should be covered if doing this in a glass tray. Some use some glad wrap to cover the tray with some holes poked to allow the beans and Subtilis to breath. In my case i have found that the fermentation works best at high humidity without water drops falling back into the fermentation and so i have modified the process by using a cloth to cover the beans in a temperature controlled esky with some water at the base to maintain the humidity.
30
I’ve been adding some sauerkraut to the onions and capsicum in the pan. Too little to do much though, I suspect.
00
Shortness of breath from smoking, pustular psoriasis from leaky gut, a precursor of this autoimmune disease, opined by two skin specialists to be incurable.
Ok….when beans are boiled and left to ferment at roughly body temperature, Baccilus Subtilis takes over and the result is a sticky and smelly food which in my research has been consumed since the dawn of time, but forgotten after the dawn of refrigerators when this particular fermentation and it use evaporated into the sands of time. I strongly suspect that cowboys in the US boiled their beans, enclosed their beans in a leather pouch and while riding the horse, it was kept warm by the horse while riding and two days at approximately 38C temperature, the beans and B Subtilis would ferment the beans producing the wonderful K2 which B Subtilis has been outsourced by nature to produce better than any organ of ours and so problem solved…..until the spectre of the refrigerator came along meaning that this fermentation was not able to follow its normal course…..and was no longer a staple as it still is in many asian countries like korea and various parts of india and elsewhere.
The fermentation once actualised, results in food product much like cheese in that it can be stored and used without much bother with regard to cold temperatures. In this sense, it is like cheese which keeps for much longer than the the milk and butter fat which it came from.
A small serve of fermented beans contains about 900 micrograms i suspect and is way less expensive than buying K2 from a chemist or health food shop which only do 180 micrograms of K2……I could go on and on and on about K2 and fermented beans so if you have any questions about its production, feel free to ask and i will chek the comments and do my best to reply on this miracle.
20
An incredibly valuable resource:
https://www.soyinfocenter.com/pdf/151/Natt.pdf
00
Totally agree. Interestingly due to medical research blocking/lying no one has experimented with correcting all human primary input deficiencies.
The average diet has 30 mcg/day of Vit K2 (Mk-7). Vit K2 is required by all mammals to active calcium moving molecules, cancer stopping molecules, and brain repairing molecules. Vit K2 is produced by grass eating mammals which when they live outside produce MK-7 using synergistic bacteria. Our animals are fed grains and they live inside. The MK-7 the grass eating animals produce, is concentrated in the small blood vessels like the lungs, testicles, and so on, which humans no longer eat. The daily Vit K2 supplement to reverse osteoporosis is greater than 1000 mcg/day = 1 mg/day.
Vit K2 deficiency is the reason why there is calcium build-up in our blood vessels and organs with time and is the reason why it is not safe to take calcium supplements without first correcting the Vit D, Vit K2, and magnesium deficiencies. The calcium build-up, the Vit D deficiency, and excess sugar/alcohol consumption are the principal cause of metabolic syndrome. The micro deposits of calcium in blood vessels are sharp and break open the lipoprotein packages that transport cholesterol. The calcium build-up causes valve to fail, which causes varicose veins. The valve failure is the reason why men get enlarged prostates as they age (see prostate link). The enlarged prostate is cured/reversed in about 6 months with Vit K2 supplements of 2 mg/day.
The calcium build-up is also the reason why human hair becomes gray and looks like it is dying. Vit K2 supplements (Mk-7 2mg/day) removes the calcium from the hair follicles which causes the gray hair to turn dark and hair to regrow in about 7 months and the skin to repair/look young again.
Vitamin K: The missing link to prostate health
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306987715000110
Vitamin K2, a Naturally Occurring Menaquinone, Exerts Therapeutic Effects on Both Hormone-Dependent and Hormone-Independent Prostate Cancer Cells
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2013/287358/
Divergent effects of vitamins K1 and K2 on triple negative breast cancer cells
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6481349/
Apoptosis induction of vitamin K2 in lung carcinoma cell lines: The possibility of vitamin K2 therapy for lung cancer
https://www.spandidos-publications.com/10.3892/ijo.23.3.627
Vitamin K, an example of triage theory: is micronutrient inadequacy linked to diseases of aging?
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/90/4/889/4597018?login=false
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Louis Rossman talks about Apple threatening to ban Twitter on its phones and Elon Musk’s response that he’ll make his own phones.
https://youtu.be/oZTi-Z6ntXc
I’m glad I got off the woke Apple platform. Android is not much better as the common Android versions are controlled by Google however it is possible to load Apps onto Android even if woke Goolag doesn’t approve via apk files or alternative App stores.
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Dr John Campbell does a mea culpa, admits naivety re origins of Wu Flu. He now says he was misled by “science” and now believes the virus was a lab leak. Thinking back, in his mea culpa he never once mentioned “gain of function”.
I tired of him fairly quickly, I always thought him naïve, but thought he was constrained by the platform but he has been a positive influence in the debate, particularly if you read between the lines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FckD6qL76uA
20
Tucker on China’s zero covid policy (13-min video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_fPyew8WiQ
00
Tony Thomas at Quadrant
A Deluge of Bad Maths and Worse Reporting
20th November 2022
50
As I posted before, it originally came from the correct statement that 1/3 of the farmland in one particular district was flooded. It got corrupted and turned into the whole country from there.
30
Farmland, by definition, is formed by silt from flooding.
00
Coles expands carbon neutral beef brand to three new states
COLES is today expanding its carbon neutral beef range, with the product now available in New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania.
The carbon neutral brand, which is part Coles Finest range, is available in six cuts, including porterhouse steak, chuck roast and scotch fillet, which was recently awarded Product of the Year in the 2023 Consumer Survey of Product Innovation.
Coles first launched its Carbon Neutral project in Victoria in April.
While it has received accolades for the move, Coles’ use of Australian Carbon Credit Units it purchased from the Armoobilla project in south-west Queensland has been controversial.
Australian National University professor Andrew MacIntosh described the credits as low integrity and told media the project had likely lost woody vegetation cover.
https://www.beefcentral.com/carbon/coles-expands-carbon-neutral-beef-brand-to-three-new-states/
Buy carbon credits and save the planet…
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I hate how the Left randomly pluck element names from the periodic table that they have no understanding of the meaning and importance thereof.
Back in the day, even school kids were taught about the carbon cycle.
I.e.:
Now, of course, the Left are also at war against “nitogen” (sic).
00
“Non-binary” Biden mal-Administration freak charged with theft.
https://nypost.com/2022/11/28/non-binary-biden-nuclear-official-charged-with-stealing-womans-luggage-at-airport/
SEE LINK FOR REST
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So what’s going on in China?
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They’re busy building coal fired power stations to supply electricity to manufacture solar panels to sell to us fools in Oz.
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Xi is confronting civil unrest and the police are sympathetic, Xi is in trouble.
00
I find it astounding that AGL is moving to close down coal electricity in the Hunter Valley, throwing thousands out of work and pushing our electricity supplies to breaking point. Why?
The business of shutting down coal has reached a point of insanity. In the UK there is no coal based electricity, but 14% of their energy needs are met by US sourced wood pellets.
Nett Zero, anti Carbon Dioxide, Global Warming, ripping cash out of electricity bills to give (not subsidize) to windmill and solar panel owners. China can produce half the world’s CO2 without paying a price while everyone else self immolates?
What is the logic of shutting down all manufacturing and electricity outside China? Who is pushing this? There is no Global Warming and still it continues as if there is a major threat to humanity. The war is on Western Democracies, aided and abetted by politicians and tens of thousands of fake scientists.
80
It is really quite simple, TdeF. In fact so simple people just can’t accept it.
The world is cooling down. Not ice age cooling, just a couple of degrees as part of a natural cycle. Enough to shorten growing seasons and cause worldwide famine. The ‘Western’ (NATO aligned) countries are being set up to fail, and the BRICS countries are set to come out on top.
I don’t think this is quite as planned. Yes, China was supposed to be the winner, but I don’t think the planners foresaw the BRICS alliance, especially Russia’s inclusion.
But I’m just guessing.
30
There is a small amount of coal generation left in the UK. It was being phased out. The UK has significantly increased coal imports this year. It was making 1GW today.
20
A stunning admission by one of the chief oromoters of the covid vaccine in Australia.
SEE LINK FOR REST
10
There used to be bumper stickers saying:
I love oil.
Or
I love coal.
I think we need to take a step back given the Left’s war against “nitrogen” (sic), apart from “carbon” (sic).
We need a sticker that says:
I love nitrogen.
00
I love nitrous oxide?
Well for other people maybe
00
How can anyone be anti nitrogen? It is 78% of air and one of the three essentials for plants: N – P – K.
00
Just got this. 40 years old. Scary stuff. 4 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlIopC52S0s
20
German industries continue to be OBLITERATED by the government’s moronic energy policies. !
https://notrickszone.com/2022/11/29/destruction-by-energy-costs-fivefold-higher-energy-prices-cause-hotel-brewery-to-close/
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The other side of on-line ordering
“Where do our returned goods end up?”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2022/11/where-do-our-returned-goods-end-up.html
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