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
Tuesday morning wake up!
https://youtu.be/vUWnjzj-JsY
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This is typical of the vision of the anointed (Malcolm Turnbull). When their vision comes up against reality they don’t admit they were wrong but double down.
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The only vision Turdbull saw in this, was personal glory in the polls and the next election as a result of being the mouthpiece that pushed another impressive but dud infrastructure scheme.
Straight from the “Utopia “ playbook .
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Managed to replace PM Abbott in 2015 and at the 2016 Federal Election PM Turnbull lost all of the electorate seats won from Labor in 2013 by the Abbott led Coalition.
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An issue storm forecast.
Beware the offshore wind oligarchy
By David Wojick
https://www.cfact.org/2023/10/22/beware-the-offshore-wind-oligarchy/
The beginning: “The Atlantic coastal states are painting themselves into a financial corner with offshore wind targets and mandates. These purchase requirements may be creating a seller’s market for offshore power providers. Even worse, given that there are only a handful of developers it may well become an oligopoly market. If so then the question is how high the prices to the states will go? This alarming possibility is in sharp contrast to how the situation is being reported. Some developers have bought out their existing power purchase (supply) agreements as uneconomical. In New York the State rejected a large scale request from a bunch of developers for price increases averaging over 50%, on the grounds that it violated their competitive procurement policy.
These events have been reported as serious setbacks for the industry, but in every case the developers are expected to rebid the PPAs at much higher prices. In fact these States are rushing to get new procurements underway. Other states are doing likewise. The New York developers can hardly be expected to bid lower than they already asked for, as that would suggest their ask was dishonest. They may well bid higher, arguing that their costs have continued to increase. Developers for other states are likely to want similar amounts.
The driver here may be the huge targets already set by the states. Reports often cite the Biden target of 30,000 MW but the combined state targets are much bigger. Just New York, New Jersey and Virginia sum to over the Biden target. The combined targets from Maine to North Carolina exceed a whopping 50,000 MW of offshore wind capacity. Given the huge targets the question is how high a price will these states eat? If I were the developers I would come in very high. As the saying goes, it is easy to go down but hard to go up.
Not only is it a mandated seller’s market, it has the makings of an oligopoly. These are short term procurements so the only viable bidders are those ready to build. That is a very small number of developers, perhaps a dozen or so, if that. For each state there may only be a very small number that can deliver to them.”
The end: “Of course it is possible the states will simply ditch the targets, or slip them harmlessly into the future, so they can repeatedly reject the high bids. This might even wipe out offshore wind, which is what it deserves. Watching that happen, perhaps even helping it along, could be great fun.”
More in the article. Please share it.
A $200 billion dollar issue storm is about to break.
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“Your Tax Dollars at Leisure”
“Long duration storage is the current rage. As an example of long term energy storage, consider the venerable alkaline AAA primary battery. It has a shelf life of ten years. If discharged at only 25mA it will deliver 1200 mAhr of charge before it is completely spent. Using its nominal 1.5V rating, it will deliver about 1.8Whr of energy. AAA cells cost around a buck ($1 USD); so, in other words, its cost of stored energy is $556 per kWhr. “How can a person afford such expensive energy?” one wonders. The obvious answer is, by using it only in tiny amounts.
Now for the $24,000 question. Will grid scale energy storage remain so expensive that people can afford it only in tiny amounts or will it become as inexpensive as, say, cheap coal or hydro power?”
More at
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/10/22/your-tax-dollars-at-leisure/
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I need to ask the question, why do people use expensive Li ion batteries that could burn down the house for storage at home? Cheaper and safer deep cycle batteries might be too bulky and heavy for a car but not a home. They are still preferred for diesel subs and locomotive s.
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Primarily because they work out cheaper over time .
Even good deep cycle batteries have a relatively short life expectancy. (<1000 cycles) whilst Lithium (LiFePo4….the non explosive type !) can have a cycle life of 4-8000 cycles.
So even though the cost more (x2–3 ?) , they are the smart choice financially.
You need to remember that not all lithium batteries are the same chemistry. !
PS, have you ever seen the results of a “deep cycle” lead acid battery explosion ?
They produce hydrogen gas during charging, and if that is not well ventilated and kept awayfrom ignition sources………bang !
PPS… modern diesel subs and trains use Lithium .
Australia considered buying the Japanese Lithium batteried subs.
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What type of lithium batteries are used in cars? Why do they catch fire?
Do cars use the LiPO4 chemistry? How about the Tesla power wall for homes?
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When I last checked, the Tesla Powerwalls use essentially the same battery cells as used in the EVs.
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PS only the Japs have built 4 such subs, doubling the price in the case of the first class.
Pretty sure that there are no locomotives. Still too expensive for what works as a hybrid ie not running on batteries for days.
I can pick up a 138Ah 12V battery that has 1800 cycles for $229.
Have I seen a deep cycle battery fire? No. Never. I’ve heard of car batteries going up when on old chargers overnight. But set ups are not jerry rigged by amateurs.
Chad, not everything you said was wrong but it was not informative
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I have read that Indonesia has a proposal from France for a submarine that runs on lithium batteries.
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There is an advantage to using more energy dense batteries in a sub. It did, initially, double the cost of the sub.
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FWIW
https://westminsterdeclaration.org/
In March of this year, two of us, Matt (Taibbi)and Michael (Shellenberger), testified to Congress about the existence of a Censorship Industrial Complex comprised of government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and Big Tech companies working together to suppress disfavored views and disfavored people.
At that hearing and ever since, elected members of Congress, the mainstream news media, and the NGOs have argued that there is no Censorship Complex, just people doing research into and trying to correct misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation.
But now, a group of 138 scholars, public intellectuals, and journalists from across the political spectrum have issued a strong call warning the public of the Censorship Industrial Complex and urging governments to dismantle it in the name of the “first liberty,” freedom of speech. It’s called The Westminster Declaration.
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“138 scholars, public intellectuals, and journalists……”
Oh dear.
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Yes, but check out the names of the signatories!
There were only 138 but there is a fair selection of well known advocates for freedom of speech.
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Yes won’t take no for an answer
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12659907/Voice-Aboriginal-leaders-open-letter.html
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Here’s the actual letter.
https://ugc.production.linktr.ee/2e09849a-25e6-4743-8317-e33dfb437728_Statement-for-our-People-and-Country.pdf
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One of the comments in the letter is that Sovereignty was never ceded. A comment that is being said more often in recent years and become a part of some welcome to or acknowledgement of country ceremonies.
Up until the 1967 referendum the federal govt. could not make laws about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people’s. This was a specific exclusion in the constitution. Laws could be made about any other race and be particular to a race. The activist ATSI peoples look back on the constitution alteration in 1967 as a significant point and celebrate it.
So, it makes me wonder. How does celebrating giving the govt powers to make laws specific to ATSI peoples marry up with also claiming that Sovereignty was never ceded? The two do not seem compatible and it seems to me that accepting that change in 1967, and actually embracing it, is equivalent to giving up sovereignty.
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Interesting point.
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Yes – The 1967 referendum effectively recognised ATSI people as Australians. From that time, they have been literally counted as Australians.
The 2023 Voice referendum was aimed at making ATSI people “special” Australians. How is that not racist?
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There is an argument that it wasn’t based on race. That it was based on ancestory/heritage. The descendants of ATSI peoples these days are generally mixed race and some predominantly anglo in ancestory. Given we’re dealing with a situation that involves two races, the Australian Aboriginal and the Melanesian (Torres Strait) their descendants are going to be that race at least in part. So it could appear racial. But perhaps it’s about descending from ancestors who were here before 1788 and that’s based on heritage rather than truly on race.
e.g. If the people here before 1788 were made up of the same race as those who arrived after 1788, the descendants of those here prior may still desire the special privilege of a Voice and, in that instance, it wouldn’t be race based but rather heritage.
However, there is an argument that it is race based because the proposal’s wording was specifically Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. It did not say descendants from “First Nations Peoples” or “Pre-1788 inhabitants”. Australian parliament recognises ATSI peoples as a race. To specify ATSI peoples in the proposed amendment wording would appear to take heritage out of it and adopt race.
Racial prejudice or not, it was certainly discriminatory and giving special rights to one group (on whatever basis) and removing a fundamental aspect of our constitution. Which is civic equality for all.
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What’s the difference?
Discrimination on the basis of race = racism
Discrimination on the basis of family background = nepotism.
Both wrong.
We are signatories to the UN Declaration of Human Rights which proclaims we are all equal.
UNDRIP is in breach of that.
So is The Voice.
The left, who supposedly stand for equality are promoting inequality.
Typical.
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No difference in that the result is still the same. Which is why I said
I was responding to a question, “How is that not racist?” I offered one argument as to how it’s not. But still arrived at the same result. That it’s discrimination and would have removed civic equality from our constitution.
Yes, the “left” say discrimination is wrong until it favours any group that doesn’t represent Western culture.
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That’s it.
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We weren’t a nation until 1901. Nationhood and with it exercisable sovereignty did not exist before that. We are the ‘First Nation’ people.
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We weren’t the nation we know today until 1901. But was that the “first nation”? There were potentially many nations here prior, depending on your definition of a nation.
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No borders, No government. What does the word nation even mean without this?
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*A politically organised body of people under a single government.
The prior inhabitants didn’t have that back then, and the current ‘useful idiot’ activists are now trying to destroy what we have in that regard.
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I think there were borders between Aboriginal groups. The location of which are still in dispute today for some.
They fought each other over land and boundaries. Now they fight over who is or isn’t entitled to give a Welcome in a particular location or collect the fee for doing so.
The ATSI peoples were not united across this whole continent. Some hated and attacked the other.
I find it odd that they pretend to largely be one people and united today.
Does that mean their smaller groups or tribes laying claim to an area were a nation?
Or does it mean their groups were too small and disorganised to be considered a nation? Or is the latter only an issue by our idea of what government and nations look like?
What is government? Is it a system of organisation and rules and running society? Did ATSI groups do this in a simpler form? Or did they not? Or was it too simple to qualify?
If one group achieves that in a different or less sophisticated way to the Westminster or other democratic system does that mean it’s not really a nation?
I don’t mind if people say there was no nation here. As long as it’s a genuine belief based on proper consideration of what it means. Rather than just a desire for something to be the case.
Not saying you haven’t thought about it.
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https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/nation
The first nation in Australia was 1901.
The colonies were not nations. Tribes are not nations.
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A definition:
nation /nā′shən/
noun
1. A relatively large group of people organized under a single, usually independent government; a country.
2. The territory occupied by such a group of people.
“All across the nation, people are voting their representatives out.”
3. The government of a sovereign state.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Cheers
Dave B
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Reply to Jo #6.1.3.1.1
Given they did have borders and a social structure, I guess it comes down to whether it’s considered there was a political structure. I suppose they were an undemocratic socialist structure in nature. Maybe their setup was too simple to be considered a political structure. So on the Collins definition I’d say not a nation.
Under David’s posted definition it could be suggested there were many nations here. Each were independently governed and occupied their own territory.
“Relatively large group” is the question in that one.
I think there’s sufficient grey in all this in that we impose a civilised world idea of “Nation” and “government” on an “uncivilised” group who had their own territory, society structure, laws, customs etc. If they had pen and paper and thought it necessary to setup a structure to satisfy a definition from a different culture then maybe they would have.
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100 years ago when most of our constitution was written, was there was anybody who called a tribe a nation as if the words were interchangeable? Or are the definitions in our language being changed to serve political gain? If a tribe is a nation, why do we have two words? Asking sincerely.
I was not aware there were borders? Were they fixed for a week, a year or not fixed at all? Did they overlap in different seasons? I know tribes north of Perth are still arguing over the end of the freeway extension even 194 years after Perth was founded.
If a tribe murdered the tribe next door and stole their land, does that mean their descendants 200 years later should get more compensation?
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Yes, the word ‘nation’ is wrong in this context, the right word may be ‘tribe’ but I think the correct usage is the word- ‘Clan’.
My idea from science/historical fiction writer Jeanne Auel in her Clan of the Cave Bear series writing about 30,000 years before the present.
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There are definitely cases where word meanings are being changed to suit current agendas. I wish I still had my Oxford dictionary from the 70’s. This online stuff is too flexible. (We’ve seen online books get altered for political correctness, after people have purchased the original text as an online record and then their book has changed)
I don’t know how fixed the borders were. But they are disputed, which I mentioned in an earlier comment. There are many disputed borders around the world.
The question of historical land takes amongst the tribes who were here is a good point when the current descendants want compensation from current society.
I don’t have the answers. One of my posts above was mostly questions.
These are all just things to ponder.
What we do know is that people occupied or utilised areas of this country before 1788 and now we’ve got to deal with the activist groups who claim some entitlement.
I think the Mabo decision related to a group who were able to demonstrate some sort of stable occupation that met legal definitions. Obviously the rest of the tribes can’t establish a similar occupatiom or claim or they most certainly would have by now.
Maybe they’d have to re-write culture history to achieve it. Like Bruce Pascoe has attempted with Dark Emu.
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Excellent point!
Sovereignty = *Government free from external control.
Prior to colonisation each tribe had that, but that was tribal sovereignty, not national sovereignty over the whole country, only sovereignty of each tribal nation of which apparently there were over 300, with various cultures and ancestries and speaking a variety of languages.
Once the external government, (Australian Federal Government), is able to and makes laws in relation to a people, and those people yield to those laws, they have ceded their sovereignty whether they celebrate it or not.
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Yes. Ceded doesn’t mean it was done voluntarily or by agreement. However, involuntarily means there is potentially or likely to be an ongoing dispute over it.
I highlight the celebrating and embracing of the 1967 change because it shows the activists are trying to walk back their previous endorsement. Or the endorsement of their ancestors.
But yes, it doesn’t change that sovereignty was ceded.
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Only Australian citizens were able to vote in the referendum. So clearly any indigenous activist who voted must be an Australian and therefore subject to Australian law. Sovereignty ceded.
Senator Lidia Thorpe has taken this oath:
I, ., do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her heirs and successors according to law.
Sovereignty ceded.
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FWIW
A view from outside
“Australia’s ‘Indigenous Voice’ Vote Ends in a No”
https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2023/10/23/australias-indigenous-voice-vote-ends-in-a-no-n586960
No mention one page selling of the 126 pages of treaties aned reparations etc so “more research needed” (IMO)
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The term ‘First Nations’ is reasonably recent it certainly North American terminology. I always new aboriginals as as first people’s, this makes my sense as tribal nomads ( sorry Bruce Pascoe) never acted as nations.
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Yes, it does seem to stem from North American terminology. Perhaps only as recently as within the last 50 years.
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Sorry if this in twice. First Nations is a relatively new term is certainly North American in origin. When I was young and even as recently as 10 years ago aboriginals were called first peoples. A tribe of nomads does not make a nation (sorry Bruce Pascoe).
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The 17th century–
“…major revolts almost all broke out in a period of unparalleled climatic adversity, notably when a blocked climate produced either prolonged precipitation and cool weather, or prolonged drought. 1618-23 1629-32 1639-43 1647-50 1657-58 and 1694-96. Some areas suffered for longer: both Scotland 1637-49 and Java 1643-71 suffered the longest droughts in their recorded history. The century also saw a run of landmark winters, including some of the coldest months on record: two years without a summer – 1628 and 1675, and an unequalled series of climatic events (the freezing over of both the Bosporus in 1620, and the Baltic in 1658) and the maximum advance of the Alpine and Andean glaciers in the 1640s: Scandinavia experienced it’s coldest winter ever recorded in 1641…….The famines caused by these climate changes caused what would today be called a humanitarian crisis, in which millions of people died.” (maybe ‘food miles’ aren’t such a bad thing!?)
From Geoffrey Parkers “Global Crisis- war, climate change, and catastrophe in the seventeenth century.” Thank god it was the abridged version, as that century of world wide politics, took some getting through! He feels like a modern climate changer, but who never wants to come out with actually how those times might relate to the present? That might be a challenge?
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Gen Z opts out of WW3 draft
https://twitter.com/TTEcclesBrown/status/1715385472913158430
Right on, kid!
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The human race is stuffed.
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No. Some will survive. Somewhere, somehow.
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An Ev charge point every 150 kilometres in QLD according to the palacechook gubbermint !
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-24/electric-vehicles-ev-charging-station-queensland-government/103011822
Somehow I seriously doubt it .
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on average maybe? that would be classic govt manipulation to look good
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And will they be solar and wind powered? 😊️
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Generators mainly inland which is where most of the state is , I would love to see one at Hungerford and Poppels corner for instance .
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Of course , in exactly the same way the ACT is
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And the money to pay for them is coming from coal royalties.
Scream worthy!
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And if you still want a laugh check this “fairytale” about a climate scientist who was gagged from reporting the truth about devastating climate change in and around Antarctica.
My favourite is the description of Heard Island covered in ice once with plants thriving but now suffering from the effects of climate change .
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-24/odyssey-climate-scientists-suppress-truth-or-risk-funds-careers/102968970
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Yes, I was watching this show on ABC with my mouth open!
That lady was so convinced that by killing petrol and coal we could still save Antarctica…
Save from what – the fate worse than death ?
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An interesting read about the state of the worlds political power balance. Some thoughtful comments also.
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/10/the-penny-drops-the-world-is-multi-polar.html#more
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‘On which side will the penny land? The side of a new global war? Or on the side of new negotiations?’
It is different, negotiations will continue and WW3 won’t break out.
Laugh if you like, but I see an economic collapse of Russia and China, followed by revolution. Having been repressed for so long the people will gladly embrace democracy and a free market.
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Galloping ice melt in Greenland is overblown.
https://notrickszone.com/2023/10/22/greenlands-tipping-point-cancelled-claims-of-a-runaway-melt-are-overblown/
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Tickle-Me-Giggle: Peace in the storm: how to overcome the chaos
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Xmas idea: Li-ion rechargeable ultrasonic kitchen knife
For some time now, industrial ultrasonic knives have been utilized for precision cutting tasks in places like laboratories and factories. The 369Sonic, however, is claimed to be the first such device designed specifically for use in home kitchens.
Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the 369Sonic is manufactured by a Czech startup of the same name.
The device incorporates a 12-volt rechargeable lithium battery, a printed circuit board and a titanium ultrasonic transducer, the latter of which is connected to a 125-mm (4.9-in) sharpened stainless steel blade. Once powered up, the transducer produces an electrical signal which is converted into mechanical motion of the same frequency.
As a result, the connected blade vibrates at a frequency of 40,000 to 50,000 times per second. These minuscule but rapid movements reportedly keep food from adhering to it as it’s slicing, allowing it to cut much more easily than a traditional kitchen knife. It’s also claimed not to damage delicate food items, as it places little pressure on them as it’s cutting.
https://youtu.be/5bnIRNp_ODI?feature=shared
https://www.369sonic.com/ultrasonic-kitchen-knife/
Finally, no more squishy cuts near the edges! Want!!
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Millions of smart meters will brick it when 2G and 3G turns off
A gaggle of MPs are calling for government to put together a timetable for the replacement of millions upon millions of smart meters that will be defunct when 2G and 3G mobile networks are switched off.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) comprised of cross-party MPs penned a report to update the rollout of the smart meters, with multiple deadlines missed along the way of the £13.9 billion project (c $17 billion).
The report echoes an earlier one by the National Audit Office (NAO), which found that as of March 2023, energy companies had rolled out the devices to just 57 percent (roughly 32.4 million out of a potential install base of 57.1 million) homes and businesses. Of these devices, around 9 percent were not functioning properly.
The PAC says in its latest report: “A fifth more (an estimated seven million) will lose functionality when the 2G and 3G mobile communications networks are closed if they do not receive costly hardware upgrades (the cost of which will ultimately be borne by the billpayers).”
https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/23/millions_of_smart_meters_will/
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I’m sure this small issue will be handled with the same efficiency and professionalism as the initial roll out.
We probably have a good number of 3G installations from the early stages of smart meter deployment.
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2 G was already shut down, and 3 G is due to go in a few months also.
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World’s oldest dog Bobi dies at 31
Bobi, the purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo from Portugal who was the world’s oldest dog, has passed away at the age of 31.
Guinness World Records says Bobi died Saturday at his home in Conqueiros, Portugal, after living for 31 years and 165 days.
The organization cited Bobi’s owner, Leonel Costa, as saying that he was never tied up or leashed during his life and as he got older, spent most of his time in the backyard of his property hanging out with cats.
Costa also said Bobi exclusively ate human food that was watered down before serving in order to remove seasonings, according to Guinness World Records.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/worlds-oldest-dog-bobi-dies-31
When you hang out with cats, it’s “game over” time.
Happy dog, happy life.
https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_s2sieqZAtL1w5pr9j.mp4
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Really I can just say it; the pandemic was a conspiracy. The left, deep state, and the rich knew that if the US economy didn’t go over a cliff, Trump would walk back in. 100%.
The world military games were in Wuhan in Aug/Sept 2019. Some young, fit, and healthy people came down with a mysterious bug. But they were young, fit, and healthy.
Outbreak in Wuhan, people dropping dead in the street. Welding doors!
International flights continue. Trump a racist for banning Chinese flights.
The pandemic strategy books that had been worked on for decades, were chucked out the window.
Any medication that might have helped, was nuked.
The US economy tanked (unless you were rich)
Golly gee Jim Bob, what is that smell?
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Hey, did you know that Trump recently said, “our greatest threat is Nuclear Warming.”
https://youtu.be/Njsp3NyM7Fo
Yet another mic drop.
A pivotal personality in the history of Western Civilization, possibly all of civilization.
Slays me.
Donald Trump?!
Very powerful obscure global forces declared total war on him.
The fact that he maintains against this onslaught is a testament.
I think he and all of us had no idea what lurked in the darkness.
DC is a a corrupt and autonomous city state surrounded by the Peroikoi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perioeci
Just outside the wealthiest counties in the US.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewdepietro/2021/12/21/richest-counties-in-the-us/?sh=7f3907012ecd
Once an industrial an agricultural power, now a propaganda power … as your comment observes.
MAGA … people that make and grow things.
Opposed by those unable to define ‘woman’.
(I had not known that the Bosporus had frozen over in 1620. If that happens again do we win?)
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I would add …
assuming the the possible quality of our TFHs …
that the contemptuous disregard of the blowback on the common folk that certain political forces exhibit in the West, might not be that different than that of certain political forces in the Mid East.
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We’re all familiar with the awards industry – the Oscar, Logie, Darwin etc. I submit that we need a new category, the Clooleese. This award would go to the most Clueless individual, and be open to potential recipients world-wide. Perhaps readers could nominate their preferred contenders, one to ten, as clearly there many worthy nominees. Please give us your thoughts.
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Maybe the clueless are us, the trusting voters who think that their votes are actually counted and not assembled by the Domininators.
Look at the current lawfare in the U.S. that’s tying up all those who want proof and clarity that their last presidential election was not tampered with.
It’s time we got active and demanded honest voting.
The recent referrendem in Australia was something of a surprise in that it seemed to give the correct result.
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Just so we know the kinds of murder of which single sources of truth are capable:
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/corruption/poster-boy-for-covid-vax-dies-suddenly/
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As David M says:
expose the truth, identify the perpetrators and Prosecute!
It’s the only way to stop this
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