Tuesday

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80 comments to Tuesday

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    I predict that the hotly proposed language “phase out fossil fuels” will not appear in the final COP 28 document. A lot of sensible countries are agin it.

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    RobB

    RAF intelligence officers joined Whitehall and Army in ‘spying’ on Covid lockdown critics – including David Davis and Peter Hitchens

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12846259/RAF-intelligence-officers-joined-Whitehall-Army-spying-Covid-lockdown-critics-including-David-Davis-Peter-Hitchens.html

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      KP

      Says everything you need to know about a Govt-

      “The MoS revealed in January how the Army’s secretive ‘information warfare brigade’ was tasked with scrutinising online posts – an activity the Ministry of Defence, in public, repeatedly denied doing. Now this newspaper can show that the military’s assistance to Government cells, such as the Counter Disinformation Unit, based in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and Rapid Response Unit in the Cabinet Office was far more extensive than previously thought.”

      The military/Govt always go to war against their own taxpayers.

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    tonyb

    We arrived back at Bristol airport around 1.30 pm after having been in Austria.

    We had deliberately parked in the open air Silver zone car park rather than the multi storey because of the fire that engulfed the Luton airport multi storey a couple of months ago.

    We arrived without problem around 3 hours after a fire at the Silver zone car park destroyed 11 vehicles!

    https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2023-12-10/large-fire-tears-through-airport-car-park

    There is a video in the link. I don’t know if the smoke is indicative of an electric vehicle fire or whether it might be an ICE car. The authorities say its too early to tell and they are investigating

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    • #

      Starting to look like sabotage. Perhaps a green no-fly nutter.

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      Earl

      Curiouser and curiouser. Seems Bristol could become known as the “accidental ignition” capital of the world or as David suggests above maybe the “green no-fly nutter saboteur” capital of the world.

      Exact same set of circumstances occurred back in February this year when a stationary car, also within Bristol Airport’s Silver Zone car park, caught fire (referred to as accidental ignition back then also) around 7:00 GMT on 26 Feb. That fire was quickly extinguished and according to the Bristol World involved a Range Rover vehicle.

      The news report also identifies that 3 days earlier on 23 Feb and near the airport on the A38 in Redhill another car had also experienced “accidental ignition”.

      Can a car suffer separation anxiety to the extent that it is driven to self-immolation?

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    • #
      Graeme No.3

      Perhaps it was an EV parked by the owner not wanting to be caught up when another “fired up”.
      Or could it be a battery problem caused by cold weather?

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  • #
    another ian

    “Lazard’s levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is cited on the internet all the time as the source for “solar and wind are cheaper than fossil fuels.” They don’t really mean “energy,” they mean “electricity.” The world consumed only 18% of its energy in 2021 as electricity, so LCOE is just the cost of 18% of our total consumption, a fact often lost in these discussions.

    However, just a quick look at their data shows that solar and wind are clearly not cheaper. Even within their April 2023 report they are not consistent in their numbers. To make matters worse, they bury critical details in the fine print and do not define their terms. I doubt some of their numbers, but for this discussion I only use the numbers in their report.”

    More at

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/12/11/lazards-lcoe/

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    • #

      LCOE is just the cost of 18% of our total consumption, a fact often lost in these discussions.

      Err ?…NO !
      LCOE is a calculated cost figure, ( $/MWh), that is used to COMPARE different electricity generation technologies.
      It has nothing to do with “total consumption” of energy.
      But for sure there are many reasons to doubt the way it is calculated !

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        Graeme#4

        Certainly many reasons to doubt the use of LCOE, as it doesn’t include the additional costs over the full life of the longest energy source, when used as a comparison.
        Many of the world’s think tanks, including IEA France, IEEJ, OECD and EIA, have pointed out that LCOE is “incomplete”. Instead, FCOE or Full Cost calculations, should be used.
        As one very good article states, “LCOE is inadequate to compare intermittent forms of energy generation with dispatchable ones”…

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  • #
    RickWill

    There have been a number of disruptive demonstrations in Melbourne over the past few days. Most are climate botherers.

    The demonstrators have banners and placards that are not thrown together in minutes. They require organisation and funding. So I wonder where does the money come from for these disruptive and often illegal efforts? It is no good putting a few dills in overnight lockup. The source of funding needs to be identified and prosecuted for supporting illegal activities.

    https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1l3hzH.img?w=1920&h=1080&q=60&m=2&f=jpg

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      Greg in NZ

      Groganpus* spent a lot on a YUGE advertising banner in downtown Sin City (Wellington, NZ) depicting our ménage a trois government as (cough!) ‘climate extremists’ because… I dunno, because…

      The HUGE billboard is on the same building advertising Apple, Samsung, Smartphone Deals… birds of a feather?

      Groganpus NZ is headed by a ginga Taswegian who used to be a NZ Green Party member… we’re rooted mate, truly.

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  • #

    Breaking

    Switzerland to host Ukraine peace talks in January

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that talks on a peace plan will be held in Switzerland in January 2024 – the day before the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
    he meeting on 14 January will be attended by the security advisors of several countries, the Swiss foreign ministry told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Monday.

    The topic is the so-called Ukrainian peace formula to put an end to the Russian war of aggression. The Swiss Tages-Anzeiger newspaper first reported on the announcement, which was made by Zelensky on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.

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      KP

      “talks on a peace plan will be held in Switzerland in January 2024”

      Maybe no-one has told Putin yet, or they’ve banned him from attending..

      “Atmosphere of impending doom in Kiev. Putin- “No negotiation- We are stronger than ever” ”

      https://warnews247-gr.translate.goog/atmosfaira-epikeimenou-olethrou-sto-kievo-psachnoun-stratiotes-pyromachika-dilosi-stathmos-v-poutin-eimaste-pio-ischyroi-apo-pote-kamia-diapragmatefsi/?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB

      The propaganda from both sides is always amusing.

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      • #

        There were earlier peace talks without Russia.
        That’s only what Ukraine thinks about peace.That has nothing to do with real talks about peace. So Putin isn’t involved in any way.

        If there weren’t the US and Boris Johnson, the war would have stopped in spring 22.

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        Hanrahan

        Russia is losing troops as fast as they can find fresh fodder. Best you stop listening to RT and broaden your news sources.

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        • #
          John Michelmore

          Thanks for the tip. Read Ukrainian Pravda which gives a totally different perspective. I’m now totally confused!

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        • #
          robert rosicka

          There are many sites to go to on updates for the Ukraine war , some are obviously pro Ukraine others pro Russia but I have found one that shows wins and losses from both sides and an up to date assessment of each battle as they take place . I am under no allusion that Ukraine has some corruption issues and are slowly fixing that extreme right wing element , at the moment it’s pretty much a stalemate with neither side having an upper hand . If the Russians attack an area they are basically slaughtered and if Ukraine try it’s basically the same result . I’ve heard so much propaganda about Zelensky that’s has all turned out to be rubbish but I do know Putin is seen less and less in public and when he is these days it’s rare and highly stage managed . Basically he is hiding for fear of his life and is now paranoid and trusts very few people . Let’s face it Russia for all its might and superpower status isn’t doing real well in its fight against the little skinny kid next door .

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    Ken

    Just saw a news report on TV regarding the huge vehicle pile-ups in the Melbourne area.
    The reporter (following a script of course) stated that it was all caused by heavy fog.
    What utter rubbish!
    Fog did not cause the crashes, it was careless drivers not driving to the prevailing conditions.
    If you hold a driving licence you must drive to the prevailing conditions at all times by law.
    It seems many have forgotten this.

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    Dave in the States

    Orwell wasn’t a fiction writer. He just got the date and a few of the names wrong.

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    • #
      el+gordo

      h/t to Gorbachev for ending the cold war.

      Orwell couldn’t have imagined Premier Xi as big brother, but Xi really takes the cake when it comes to keeping his people oppressed.

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      • #
        Adellad

        The Kims, Chavez, Castro, Stalin, Pol Pot, Enver Hoxa, Daniel Andrews are a few examples that provide enough competition to at least make a game of it. All from the hard Left oddly enough.

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        Hanrahan

        You don’t end a war unilaterally, you sign an agreement Reagan was the counter-party.

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          Gee Aye

          He ended power in January 1989, several years before the eastern block was dismantled. So. No.

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          • #
            Adellad

            Nobody seriously disputes that Reagan and his policies were the catalyst in the fall of the USSR and the rest of the old Warsaw Pact. GH Bush was his Veep and continued with the same policies, so Reagan was the de facto counterparty in my book.

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            • #
              Ted1.

              Reagan was the man for his time. He certainly did influence the breakup of the USSR.

              It is a fundamental feature of human nature that first hand information takes precedence over second hand information.

              The oppression that we saw in the USSR could only be justified by first hand memory of how bad things were before the revolution. It was always clear to me that once the old guard had faded from influence there would be changes for the better in the USSR. Attention would then be directed at how bad things were after the revolution.

              Reagan’s sabre rattling highlighted for the new leadership the futility of sabre rattling. Then, when the Chernobyl disaster destroyed a lot of the soviet food supply and the US just happened to have 50 million tonnes of spare wheat it made it impossible to maintain the claim that the Soviets had a better system.

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  • #

    Interesting analysis of Napoleon and his strategic failure and the strategic failure of the modern West and the likely consequences

    https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/napoleons-strategic-failure-what-the-modern-world-can-learn-part-1/

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    John Connor II

    Argentine’s Javier Milei about-turns as he commits to Paris climate agreement

    President won the election on ‘radical’ policies in which he called global warming a hoax and socialist lie.

    Javier Milei, the new president of Argentina, has about-turned on his commitment to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.

    Mr Milei, who was sworn into office on Sunday, had previously said he intended to rescind Argentina’s participation in the agreement after calling climate change a hoax.

    But the country’s new top climate diplomat, Marcia Levaggi, told Reuters on Sunday that Mr Milei’s government had sent her to head the Argentine delegation at the United Nations Cop28 climate talks underway in Dubai.

    She arrived on Sunday just as Mr Milei was being inaugurated in Buenos Aires to chants of “Libertad!” and “Presidente!”

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/12/10/javier-milei-about-turns-commits-to-paris-climate-agreement/

    Suckered again. Another false hope pollie.
    As I said, end political parties and factions pushing their own agendas, thorough assessment of the competencies & political and psychological makeup of all political candidates, or you’ll just end up with more of the same.
    And you have.

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    • #
      Greg in NZ

      Buenos Aires! Oh sheep, here’s Henry (aka Heinz) again. Same as NZ’s corporate 3-way ‘change’ of grubbymunt… high-school level theatrics… fail.

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  • #

    Hey, just sayin’ here, nothing really in it, y’know.

    Umm, last week, the Queensland Premier got a pretty substantial pay rise, and I mean tens of thousands of dollars, and you know, well, times are tough aren’t they?

    So, pretty much seeing the writing on the wall ….. Umm, dear leader Madame Premier, the Left has the numbers, and hey, it’s my turn now ….. from that smarmy fella Steven Miles of the fake smile brigade. (Umm, in every opinion poll of who should replace Palaszczuk done in the last year or more, he has finished consistently the least popular of all choices)

    So, if Steven Miles called for a spill, and then won, (full in the knowledge that his Union backed Left Branch has the numbers) Palaszczuk goes back to being a back bencher, at a huge loss of pay. Then if Steven Miles loses the election, Palaszczuk again loses out, now going to an Opposition back bencher, again at a huge loss of pay.

    Parliamentary Superannuation is based on the percentage of pay you were receiving when you actually retired.

    Premier ….. backbencher ….. Opposition backbencher.

    Naah!! Surely not!!

    She wouldn’t do that , now would she eh?

    Umm, just sayin’.

    Tony.

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    • #

      She wouldn’t do that , now would she eh?

      If she does,….she is dumber than i thought !
      ….i expect her to turn up as a well paid CEO or on the Board of a Bank !

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    • #
      Steve of Cornubia

      I think Pale Chook made the decision to resign months ago. That’s why she’s been MIA for some time now, undoubtedly doing the rounds of potential employers, ‘some’ of whom might have been the recipients of QLD Gov’t largesse over recent years. Of course her search for acceptably-remunerated positions might not have borne sufficient fruit yet and the unions lost patience.

      I don’t expect her to remain on the backbenches for long, unless those NGO Board positions don’t turn up.

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      • #

        I don’t expect her to remain on the backbenches for long,

        .. she wont be there at all… she has retired from politics and as Member for Inala , as of the end of the month.
        Good riddance !

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    • #
      Bill Burrows

      You have to be a baby boomer or of an even earlier vintage to spot that Tony. Well done! I made a note of the Queensland Premier’s recent salary boost and it was not hard to put two and two together, given her collapsing polls. This game started with the then Queensland Treasurer (Sir Thomas Hiley) altering the rules and allowing parliamentarians to make lump sum Superannuation withdrawals after the 1963 State Election. Previously Parliamentary super just guaranteed recipients (or their surviving spouse) a lifetime pension. [Other governments in Australia adopted Hiley’s innovation with alacrity. Hiley himself retired at the 1966 election. Perfect timing – I would be astounded if he opted for a pension!].

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      • #
        Earl

        And let us not forget that other Queensland female premier, the doyenne of disasters (the 2010/11 floods and tropical cyclone Yasi) that turned her into the state’s darling – Anna Bligh.

        Upon becoming premier in 2007 she redesigned the state’s environment portfolio as she said it was important to strengthen the government’s capacity to lead Queensland’s response to climate change. As it later transpired it may have also been important to find a task for her displaced public servant husband Greg Withers.

        Then in March 2012 with no natural disasters to prop her up and instead stuck only with those she and her government ably manufactured by themselves (e.g. Traveston Dam) she lost in a landslide to Campbell Newman.

        Hubbie Greg Withers’ contract had been renewed in December 2011 by which time even Blind Freddie could see the March 2012 election would be a Bligh disaster and the new (very timely) contract provided for an additional payout should Greg be turfed by a new government – $600,000 compensation.

        Mr Newman was wise to this and trumped the contract move by making Greg responsible for undoing all the environmental work he had done with the promise of a redeployment on task completion. Greg did the honourable thang and resigned (seemingly) sans $600,000.

        The palace chook circumstances certainly have an uncanny déjà vu vibe to them i.e. female premier tanking in the polls, a potential face saving natural disaster (TC Jasper) close at hand but, this time, not close enough, and an immediate departure to leave on a monetary high. Queensland is no longer a backward state some 20 years behind the rest of the country rather, thanks to Labor governments, it is a state on a 20 year repeat cycle.

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    Destroyer D69

    So it begins,!!!!!!Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock has warned the decline of cash could see consumers struggle to find at ATM and one day be charged for the privilege of using banknotes.
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk… In the beginning— a passing mention , then??????? Also reported on ABC TV.

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  • #
    David

    My imagination or does the ABC and BOM USE A LOT SCARIER language for cyclone jasper effects than other networks.

    Maybe they see nth qld as a hotbed of AGW DENIERS that need converting and this is a perfect opportunity.

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    • #
      Hanrahan

      I don’t know about your comparison but I did hear this morning that it might be cat 3 by the time it crosses the coast. Pure scaremongering which would have come from BOM.

      The residents of Cairns would have had a restless night last night, I understand that, but this has never been a scary cyclone – Yet.

      The warnings of massive rainfall and flooding have been baseless.

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    Steve of Cornubia

    A crime wave has overtaken Townsville, the latest place to suffer ‘unruly teenagers’. Crimes include burglary, damage t public and private property, car thefts and assaults. At times like this, I believe one of the most important roles for our media is to help innocent people avoid becoming victims of crime. One way to do this is to let people know WHO is committing the crimes and provide means to potentially identify the criminals.

    However, the media seem suspiciously coy about who is to blame and who to look out for, other than describing the miscreants as “teenagers”.

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      Greg in NZ

      Odd how all that ‘carry-on’ has quietly vanished from our shores yet it’s popped-up (reared its ugly head) over there… 501s on return tickets? The next generation? Maybe Shar!a law could teach ’em a lesson or two… parody/humour off course*

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      • #
        Steve of Cornubia

        It’s been going on for years, but will get worse now that the Labor government has officially confirmed that white Australians are racists who hate indigenous Australians.

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      el+gordo

      The TCYDC is a festering sore.

      ‘Recidivism is a problem. The Project cited Queensland government figures that showed in the year to March, 2021, 95 per cent of people released from Townsville’s Cleveland Youth Detention Centre were charged with another crime within a year.’ (News)

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      • #
        Hanrahan

        Wally Tallis, Gordon’s father, worked there. [League football international] He too was a tough footballer, highly respected by the whole town. I spoke to him once and he was giving it away, even he couldn’t get respect from the brats.

        But the issues which were highlighted in Alice Springs are everywhere. The kids feel safer and better cared for in the detention centre than at home. There is no easy solution but labor’s talking point policy making only makes things worse.

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    Philip

    Any suggestions on why Miele (or however you spell it) backflip and commitment to the Paris Accord?

    (Sorry if already covered, haven’t time to read today)

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      Hanrahan

      I’d imagine it be dead easy to over a corrupt country with 140% inflation. He would have it all planned surely, no need to change any preconceptions.

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    • #
      Dave in the States

      In Latin America there is a saying: “Money or bullets?” That is to say; take the money and join with us or get shot, it’s your choice.

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    robert rosicka

    AEMO dashboard is telling a story right now and it’s not one that Bowen will admit to .

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    another ian

    FWIW

    “There’s a temple in Washington D.C. that deserves a visit from Jesus…”

    “A SACRILEGIOUS decision by the National Cathedral of the Episcopal Church (the even woker, if t’were possible, estranged American child of the C of E) in Washington to charge $7 per person for attendance at their Christmas Eve Eucharist has provoked a rightful furore in Christian circles.”

    More at

    https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2023/12/theres-temple-in-washington-dc-that.html

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