Monday

7.7 out of 10 based on 29 ratings

156 comments to Monday

  • #
    Ireneusz Palmowski

    Pray Europe and get the fuel ready.
    https://i.ibb.co/hC73M9S/hgt300.webp

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  • #
    tonyb

    Biden has always been doddery but it seems to be getting worse

    https://slaynews.com/news/biden-unsteady-confused-vacation-expert-warns/

    My guess is that he will stand down at the next election citing ill health.

    I have no idea who might replace him as the Political hopefuls, as in the UK, Europe and further afield is very weak. If he is replaced by someone charismatic and “electable” and not called Hilary, I would guess that will cause problems for Trump.

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    • #
      John Hultquist

      He will need to go soon.
      15 states hold (Dem) primaries on March 5; only 4 before then. There isn’t a nationally known substitute with charisma. Well, okay, a few have negative charisma.
      An alternative is to have a candidate decided at the National Convention scheduled for Chicago Aug., 19-22.

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      • #
        Hanrahan

        It is too late to replace him on the ticket before the convention. They will go through the sham primaries, pronounce him candidate at the convention and then, later, he takes a bait and and is suddenly unfit. The DNC then has a blank sheet to work on to pronounce a black woman not named Kamala as candidate.

        They really are in a bind.

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        • #
          paul courtney

          Mr. Hanrahan: The dems seem to be in a very tight bind, but it’s nothing 30-40 million paper ballots can’t fix.

          20

    • #
      David Maddison

      They are talking about replacing Biden with Michelle Obama who has no merit but the correct skin colour. They would have to get Harris to resign as VP as she is unelectable so would probably encourage a Leftist USSC justice to resign and appoint Harris. Then the question would be who would be VP.

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      • #
        Lawrie

        Harris as a supreme court justice? Are you kidding me David? The woman can’t make a sentence. I could imagine her utter embarrassment during confirmation. What is your name? Can I take that one on notice? The woman is a fool who attained her current position by spending a great deal of time horizontal.

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        • #
          David Maddison

          I wasn’t suggesting she’d be competent Lawrie, but she would be woke and tick the quota boxes for skin colour and gender.

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        • #
          Hanrahan

          Why would you think any of that would be of concern to the dems?

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        • #
          STJOHNOFGRAFTON

          Lawrie, The Three R’s and a basic education count for nothing.The only quals necessary for these positions is the desire to destroy America and to maintain that 2+2=5 is necessary to pass the math test and think logically.

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        • #
          BrianTheEngineer

          She did her job, making Biden look good!

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      • #
        Simon Thompson

        ‘Big Mike” for POTUS is perhaps why trans issues have been ramped up 3 orders of magnitude David.

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        • #
          David Maddison

          Yes, indeed Simon. I thought of that but decided not to include that as an additional issue. But that would certainly tick another quota box.

          When Trump entered the WH I thought he might obtain and publish the result of a DNA test of objects “Big Mike” might have touched to establish once and for all he/she/its gender.

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          • #
            David Maddison

            Barack Hussein referred to his wife as “Michael” at least twice. Once when addressing the Joint Chiefs of Staff and another time when talking to Bear Grylls. In addition Joan Rivers spoke of Michelle/Michael as a transgender after which she mysteriously died a few weeks later during a simple medical procedure.

            Goolag/YouTube has made these videos hard to find or deleted them.

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      • #
        John Connor II

        They are talking about replacing Biden with Michelle Obama

        I believe that’s now Michael Robinson…

        30

    • #
      skepticynic

      Hillary’s nephew Gavin Newsome, the smiling assassin who wrecked California, has been suggested for the Federal Democratic Party nominee.

      70

    • #
      Just+Thinkin'

      Which one of the three “Let’s go Brandon” are you talking about?

      50

    • #
      Honk R Smith

      Joe Biden’s recent unifying and uplifting speech at Valley Forge.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ictnsmrAntc

      He chose a place made famous by an ‘insurrection’ to warn of ‘insurrection’.
      He utters the word ‘Trump’ roughly 40 times.
      He boasts about putting 1200 ‘insurrectionists’ in jail, sentences adding up to more than 800 years.

      Joe Biden will big be inaugurated POTUS in January 2025.
      Shortly thereafter, it will be illegal to express less than certainty about the ‘democratic’ integrity of the process by which that happens.

      The unity Mr. Biden promised in 2020 will finally be restored.

      70

  • #
    John Hultquist

    Western North America from Seattle, WA to Calgary, AB and regional points between and on to infinity are expected to cool this week. Calgary is looking for -30°C next Friday night. Me?,in Central Washington State, only -13°C {8°F}.
    Not threatening the record lows of 1909, but still dangerous. The residents of the streets in Seattle will need shelter at 25°F {-4°C}.
    Welcome to 2024!

    200

  • #
    tonyb

    Shoplifting seems to be rising exponentially all over the world

    https://nypost.com/2024/01/06/news/grocery-chain-reveals-shoplifting-losses-outpace-earnings-as-theft-ticks-up/

    The police don’t seem to take it seriously, so the net result is that more people do it and loot increasingly valuable items, knowing the chances of their being apprehended, let alone charged, let alone sent to prison, is virtually zero. Today shoplifting, tomorrow, even more serious crime.

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    • #
      CO2 Lover

      I would not be alive today if a female ancestor had not been caught for shoplifting one shillings (12 pence) worth of linen in London and then sent to Australia for punishment. She mighty have been hung!

      Crimes eligible for the death penalty in England included shoplifting and stealing sheep, cattle, and horses, and before abolition of the death penalty for theft in 1832, “English law was notorious for prescribing the death penalty for a vast range of offences as slight as the theft of goods valued at twelve pence.”

      Every cloud has a silver lining!

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      • #
        Lawrie

        There are few countries that one could send convicts to these days. Just the same Tony B has a point. Remember the broken window is a crime that Rudy Giuliani introduced in NYC? He cleaned up NY. Ignoring minor crimes leads to encouraging major crimes. Is it just a case of another attack by the socialists on the fabric of society? I believe so. They are making the country ungovernable. Eventually citizens will demand stronger police forces with stronger powers and restricted freedoms. Sounds like a rehash of the Thirties in Nazi Germany but only if you read your history.

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    • #
      John Hultquist

      Also, stealing cars and driving through a store front, especially places selling “weed” and related products. Those places, in the U. S., deal in cash because such compounds are not approved at the Federal level.
      So, the car is ruined, the store front is ruined, and the cash and product disappear.

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  • #
    CO2 Lover

    When money had real value

    The guinea was introduced in 1663 as a gold coin worth twenty shillings, just as the later sovereign or pound were to be. Shillings were made of silver. Differences in the relative value of silver and gold soon meant that the gold guinea became worth more than twenty shillings. By 1694 it was worth twenty-one shillings and sixpence and it reached even thirty shillings at one time. In 1816 the mint issued sovereigns, worth twenty shillings and which contained less gold than the guinea, which itself had then levelled to twenty-one shillings. Thereafter no guineas were issued. The professions continued to charge in ‘guineas’ of twenty-one shillings.

    Old enough to remember $ Bill?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtyNLwqljzI

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    • #
      CO2 Lover

      Both 1 and 2 cents coins were withdrawn from circulation commencing in February 1992.

      When will 5 cent coins be withdrawn with inflation now running away in Australia under Labor’s policies?

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    • #
      CO2 Lover

      Remember these terms?

      Trey, Zack, Bob, Two Bob, Quid, Fiver?

      Reliable as a two-bob watch or carrying on like a two-bob watch?

      To make a quid?

      Not worth a zack?

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      • #
        GlenM

        Many coin names had a German origin like the Schilling and the Florin. Pfennig for Penny is another.The Dollar comes from Thaler(an impost or tax on goods between valley).

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        • #
          CO2 Lover

          pounds/shillings/pence written £ (L) /s/d – come from the Roman libra, solidus, denarius

          The denarius contained an average 4.5 grams, or 1⁄72 of a Roman pound, of silver, and was at first tariffed at ten asses, hence its name, which means ‘tenner’. It formed the backbone of Roman currency throughout the Roman Republic and the early Empire. When introduced, the denarius contained nearly pure silver at a theoretical weight of approximately 4.5 grams, but from the time of Nero onwards the tendency was nearly always for its purity to be decreased {Inflation in Roman times!}

          The as (pl.: assēs) coin was originally made of bronze. Following the coinage reform of Augustus in 23 BC, the as was struck in reddish pure copper (instead of bronze).

          The solidus was a Roman gold coin.

          Libra is one pound in weight – the basic Roman unit of wieght.

          The pound was originally the value of one troy pound of sterling silver (hence “pound sterling”). The currency symbol is the pound sign, originally ₤ with two cross-bars, then later more commonly £ with a single cross-bar.

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        • #
          Gerard Basten

          I think that “Dollar” is derived from the Dutch “Daalder”.

          20

      • #
        another ian

        And various “tuppenny commodities”

        20

        • #
          CO2 Lover

          When I was a kid the “Tuppenny Bunger” was the biggest was the biggest firecracker you could buy.

          We used to thrown them when lit at each other like grenades!

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      • #
        mawm

        CO2 – I remember farthing, ha’penny, sixpence, bob, half crown, crown, 10 shilling note, pound, guinea. It was the currency of my childhood.

        10

    • #
      Ian Hill

      Loved the film clip.

      Conspicuous by their absence were the one and two cent coins. I was at primary school when we were being educated by the changeover and had to learn an absurd table showing each penny value from (its abbreviated) 1d to 11d and its decimal equivalent. 1d = 1 cent, 2d = 2 cents, 3d also = 2 cents, 4d = 3 cents, 5d = 4 cents and 6d = 5 cents. This pattern was repeated for amounts up to a shilling. We quickly worked out that if you cashed in four threepennies separately you would only get eight cents, so it made no sense to do that (pun intended)!

      Then there were halfpennies and even the farthing (a quarter of a penny). Hence the penny-farthing bicycle.

      I was in grade 7 when changeover day occurred. I started university in 1972 and it was still common to receive threepences and sixpences in your change.

      60

      • #
        GlenM

        Click go the Shears.

        20

      • #
        Ian Hill

        Come to think of it you would also still get shillings and even the two-bob coin (florin) in your change. The round 50c piece was soon converted to its current shape because it was easily confused with the 20c piece.

        60

        • #
          KP

          A comment here yesterday lead me to watch a 1960s Round Australia Rally, and in the background of a scene the petrol pump showed a a gallon of petrol for 4shillings & tenpence.

          60years and the currency has depreciated to a twentieth of its value, from 10c/L to $2/L

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        • #
          beowulf

          Whilst the 1966 version 50 cent coin WAS too similar to the 20 cents, the ACTUAL reason it was withdrawn was due to its bullion value exceeding its face value by around mid-1967 as the price of silver rose — the silver content (80% silver) was worth about 70 cents at the time. Things got a little ridiculous.

          For that reason the mint withdrew the coin in March 1968, taking the opportunity to also re-design it to avoid confusion, replacing it with the current thicker 12-sided copper/nickel version.

          The old 50 cent coins are readily available in bulk on the coin market, but for anyone intent on buying fractional silver they are extremely poor value for money, since you have to pay numismatic value and GST, neither of which apply to base level pure silver coins/rounds/bars. Also in a SHTF scenario try passing a 50 cent coin and convincing the other party that it is 80% silver when nowhere on the coin does it say it contains any silver at all, unlike an actual silver bullion coin or round. Its silver content becomes illusory.

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          • #
            Coochin Kid

            Sold my collection of 50c rounds, in 2017 received neat $2000 for them at $12.75 each.
            Dealer was melting them down and making good money from it then.

            20

    • #
      Graeme No.3

      Jose Beraha Zdravko was an Italian businessman who saw an interesting opening after WWII. He set about making 1926 sovereigns in 1946. Because sovereigns were just about the only money many would accept after the war, they traded at quite a premium to the gold price. Beraha bought the gold and made 135 sovereigns out of every kilogram of gold ( The Royal Mint makes 136.5 ) and was able to make a profit of $700 a kilo from his coins even though they were a little heavier than the real thing. He ended up amassing quite a fortune and retired to Switzerland where the British Authorities Eventually caught up with him. He ended up winning the case against by saying the coins were no longer legal tender, to emphasise this , he sent an assistant to the UK with some sovereigns to attempt to buy some goods with them. No-one would accept the coins as payment and thus this turned the Swiss Court to his favour.
      Bloom, Murray Teigh, Money of their own: The Great Counterfeiters, London edition, Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1957.
 Out of print and hard to get.

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  • #
    CO2 Lover

    Another Churchill blunder.

    In his first budget in 1925 Winston Churchill as Cancellor of the Exchequer, controversially announced the return to the gold standard at its 1914 parity of £1=$4.86. The principal opponent of the proposal was the economist John Maynard Keynes who argued that the measure would lead to a world depression.

    In 1971 Richard Nixon directed Treasury Secretary Connally to suspend, with certain exceptions, the convertibility of the US dollar into gold or other reserve assets, ordering the gold window to be closed such that foreign governments could no longer exchange their dollars for gold.

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    • #
      David Maddison

      The gold standard should be returned.

      It stops governments printing cash (or electronic equivalent) and inflating the money supply and deflating the value of money.

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      • #
        CO2 Lover

        Exactly the reason no government will now do it – they are addicted to debt.

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      • #
        John Connor II

        Oh come on DM, you’ve been reading the CNN trio’s rot too much.
        The gold standard was a fundamentally flawed disaster, and hype won’t make it valid.
        Asia used to be on a silver standard before the west had a gold one.
        What happens when new huge gold deposits are found? Waves of inflation.
        What happens to currency exchange rates?
        You can’t fix the value of money and allow everything else to float. eg wages, house prices.
        Bretton Woods failed for that reason.
        There has NEVER been a global gold standard and for good reason.
        It’s just a gold bug’s fantasy, just like gold only goes up, gold protects you from the government and currency crashes etc.

        10

      • #
        Coochin Kid

        Suggest you Google Goldback.com to see a modern iteration of Gold standard currency, which is now becoming popular in the USA

        10

  • #
    DD

    The 14-second video linked to in this post covers much of the plans the ruling class have for us:
    https://x.com/MRobertsQLD/status/1744078999993688156?s=20
    Where are the ‘conservatives’?

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    • #
      Ronin

      The water sprinklers and power isolators would seem redundant, they must have got a wakeup call from Luton.

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    • #
      CO2 Lover

      Last week the local fire brigade was at the local Coles which has an underground car park.

      I asked one of the firemen if a Tesla was on fire!

      In this case it was due to a sprinkler head being accidently knocked off.

      I will have to wait for a Tesla fire!

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    • #
      william x

      This is my personal opinion as a concerned Fire Officer. This is not a position statement from my employer:

      Electric vehicles should not be parked or charged in a confined space.

      If you own a BEV that is involved in fire whilst parked/charging underground or in a confined space … no problem… I will give you my PPE , GRNr, TIC and a 70mm hose and you can go cool it for 10 hrs.
      It would be nice for you to be held responsible for your underground “High voltage toxic time-bomb”.

      I am not paid enough or fool enough, to put my life or health at such risk fighting a confined EV fire… Good luck.

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    • #
      David of Cooyal in Oz

      96 pages!

      30

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    “The Diabolical Dozen: The Twelve “Most-Significant COVID Events” ”

    https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/diabolical-dozen-twelve-most-significant-covid-events

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  • #
    David Maddison

    Harry S. Truman was an old-style Democrat from the time when they actually believed in freedom of speech. The modern Left has ensured that Truman’s prediction has come true.

    Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.”

    [Special Message to the Congress on the Internal Security of the United States, August 8, 1950]

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    • #

      We must be in the zeitgeist? I opened up the blog to post something I had just read this morning.
      “The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know.” Harry S Truman

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  • #
    David Maddison

    An interesting US expression is “not worth a plug nickel”.

    What is a plug nickel?

    https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/plug_nickel

    Some early United States coins (minted in the 18th and 19th centuries) were made with a small silver disc added to the center of the coin in the planchet (blank metal) before striking. This was done to increase the value of the metal in the coin up to the coin’s face value. A plug nickel or plugged nickel is a nickel (now a five-cent coin, but originally a one-cent coin and later a three-cent coin) where the “plug” (center disc) has been removed, thus decreasing the metal value of the coin. People would often examine their change after a cash transaction to ensure they did not receive such a coin.

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    • #
      CO2 Lover

      Australia has its “Holey Dollar”

      The holey dollar was created to address a shortage of coins in the new NSW colony. Governor Lachlan Macquarie imported 40,000 Spanish reales in 1812 and had convicted forger William Henshall cut the centre out of each, to double the number of available coins.

      The coins were counterstamped and the outer ring became known as the holey dollar, with the centre renamed the dump.

      Macquarie set the value of the holey dollar at five shillings, with 15 pence for the dump. These coins went into circulation in 1814 and were replaced with sterling coinage from 1822. Can be seen in the National Museum which has a holey dollar – one of about 300 in existence.

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      • #
        KP

        “40,000 Spanish reales in 1812 and had convicted forger William Henshall cut the centre out of each”

        Jeez! That would be worse than any prison sentence!! I am awaiting the withdrawal of cash by our Govt and the resulting free-market in unofficial currencies that will follow. Aussie has quite a history of mixed coinage, as does any colony I suppose, and the Govt will be trying its hardest to suppress anything not its digital dollar. They will instantly destroy any large company issuing their own tokens, although that was common back in the 1800s, but a black market in tyres, booze, small hardware or corner-store food is likely.

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  • #
    Neville

    So what would so called Net Zero really cost the global economy?
    Lomborg is calling this out and trying to warn us of the horrific cost until 2100 and into the 22nd century.
    And the return or benefit would be tiny or about 16 cents for every dollar WASTED. THINK about that.

    Here’s part of his article in the New York Post. But who really thinks that the range of 10 to 43 TRILLION $ WASTED every year for SFA return is a good investment?

    “Despite this likely being the single costliest policy ever promised by world leaders, it was made without a single peer-reviewed estimate of the full costs. Earlier this year, a special issue of Climate Change Economics made the first such analyses”.

    “This astonishing work has gone almost entirely unreported by any major news outlet. It shows that even with very generous assumptions, the benefits of pursuing net zero will just slowly inch upwards over the century. By mid-century, the benefits — meaning the avoided costs from climate change — could reach about $1 trillion each year”.

    “But the costs would be much, much higher. Three different modelled approaches all show far higher costs than benefits for every single year throughout the 21st century and far into the next. By 2050, the annual costs of the policy range between $10 and $43 trillion. That’s 4-18 per cent of global GDP. Consider that the total tax intake of all governments across the world today is about 15 per cent of global GDP — and politicians would potentially have us spend more than that”.

    “Article content
    “Across the century, the benefit is 1.4 per cent of global GDP while the cost averages out at 8.6 per cent of global GDP. Every dollar in cost delivers perhaps 16 cents of climate benefits. Clearly, this is an atrocious use of money”.

    “The only thing that could avoid this summit being a retread of 27 other failures is if politicians acknowledge the real cost of net zero policy — and instead of making more carbon cut promises, vow to dramatically increase green energy R&D”.

    “This would help innovate the price of low-carbon energy below that of fossil fuels so every country in the world will want to make the switch. Instead of subsidizing today’s still-inefficient technology and trying to brute force a transition by pushing up the price of fossil fuels, we need to make green technologies genuinely cheaper”.

    https://nypost.com/2023/11/29/opinion/uns-summit-will-again-push-multi-trillion-dollar-cures-that-are-worse-than-climate-change/

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  • #
    David Maddison

    The following quote is from commentary by the poster of the video of the Tucker Carlson interview of Bret Weinstein:

    https://www.bitchute.com/video/XN2SDPn8mc04/

    Regarding (at 28:57) W H O Pandemic Plan. The enforcement measures will require police/military willing to violate our civil liberties. This will be achieved by allowing non-citizens in our police & military. It also explains why millions of fighting age men have been selected and ‘brought in’ to western countries.

    Please talk about this. Our government has already openly talked about doing this and some places like California have already made it ‘legal’ to be policed by non-citizens. This is called, laying the groundwork. It’s going to get really ugly…everywhere.

    The Australian Government is currently talking about employing non-citizens in the Australian military.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/government-considers-poaching-defence-talent-from-overseas-in-major-shift-20240105-p5evew.html

    Foreign citizens could be allowed to serve in the Australian military under options being explored by the federal government as it seeks to fix a recruitment and retention crisis.

    The globalist plan is coming together.

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    • #
      KP

      ” it seeks to fix a recruitment and retention crisis.”

      If your own citizens won’t fight to save you, you’re not the Govt they want.

      How much of this is caused by their own immigration policies?? How many immigrants that they have let in over the last 40years have ever volunteered for the services? The citizenship ceremonies look really cute but its going in the army that really shows commitment to a country.

      Are they going to follow one failure with exactly the same thing? Surely they should have bought back half the Afghan army that had so laboriously trained and then abandoned? Open the doors right now to Ukie POWs in Russia who would come here to serve..

      or just hire Wagner when we need to go to war!

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    RickWill

    On December 6 2023, the DEFUND act was introduced. Some details here:
    https://roy.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-roy-rep-rogers-and-sen-lee-lead-fight-defund-united-nations

    This legislation would defund the United Nations and remove the United States from its membership.

    Representative Roy said, “This year, the United Nations’ corruption, and its despicable, brazen political agenda have been on full display.

    From UNRWA actively protecting Hamas and acting against our ally Israel, the delayed condemning of Hamas, to China being elected to the “Human Rights Council,” to the propagation of climate hysteria, and covering for China’s forced abortion and sterilization programs, the UN’s decades-old, internal rot once again raises the questions of why the United States is even still a member or why we’re wasting billions — indeed, $12.5 billion in 2021 — every year on it.

    The UN doesn’t deserve one single dime of American taxpayer money or one bit of our support; we should defund it and leave immediately. I am proud to lead this critical effort alongside Mike Lee and Mike Rogers,” Congressman Roy concluded.

    “No more blank checks for the United Nations. Americans’ hard-earned dollars have been funneled into initiatives that fly in the face of our values –enabling tyrants, betraying allies, and spreading bigotry,” said Senator Lee. “With the DEFUND Act, we’re stepping away from this debacle. If we engage with the UN in the future, it will be on our terms, with the full backing of the Senate and an iron-clad escape clause.”

    This would be a step in the right direction. Climate Change ™ has emerged as the front runner in delivering complete power to the UN. As woke nations sign up to its Sustainable Development Goals they give away sovereignty. Unelectable has-beens like Kevin Rudd go to the UN to make their tilt for power without accountability.

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      KP

      It would be lovely if it happened! We could have a NATO-centered coalition of willing countries, a BRICS organisation of countries and a UN group of the leftovers.

      We could call one Oceania, one Eastasia and one Eurasia…

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    The WHO & Its Tyranny to Dominate the World

    “Let me Clarify this WHO agenda. They were supposed to get the amendments finished by January 27th, 2024, for the May conference, which is supposed to be on the 27th of that month. They admit that they will not meet the January deadline, and in the process, they will most likely pass this in May, violating the very basic principle of law – fair notice, which is embodied in Due Process of Law.

    Since they are pushing this agenda that really has nothing to do with world health but world tyranny, it is my understanding that it will NOT require every country to sign. By extending this deadline until May, they will most likely assume that the entire world has surrendered to this authority.

    This will be used for tyranny, and the WHO will declare pandemics, and the world is supposed to bend the knee to their awesome tyrannical power. They will criticize countries that do not follow, and they intend to use the United Nations to impose sanctions against countries that do not bend their knee.”

    https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/disease/who-its-tyranny-to-dominate-the-world/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS

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    Graeme#4

    Australia’s Federal Environmental minister Tanya Plibersek has vetoed the construction of a terminal at Hastings, Victoria, which would have been used to assemble offshore wind farm components, saying that the risks to local flora and fauna were “clearly unacceptable”. She also said the the project would also present a threat to the habitat of native species that breed or live in the area.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/plibersek-ruling-on-victorias-offshore-wind-strategy-an-illwind-for-alp-energy-policy/news-story/1e36e1ba893c1a62df278db37ac2b48f
    (Behind paywall)
    The Victorian state government is now concerned that the lack of suitable port alternatives may derail the timeline for offshore wind farms, leaving Victoria dependent on coal energy for years longer. This is despite the fact that Victoria has its own gasfields that could be easily tapped, also providing water for local farms. Yet the goverment refuses to use this gas, instead banning the fitting of gas appliances into new premises.

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    • #
      CO2 Lover

      “Assemble offshore wind farm components” – made in China using coal – some imported from Australia.

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    • #
      MP

      We have coal, we already have coal fired power stations and at no extra cost, on the same grid.
      We don’t need to use gas, we have coal.
      Stop pandering to the fools, there is no compromise, we don’t need an alternitive.

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    • #
      CO2 Lover

      The Environmental Minister should also demand an environmental impact statement of the well being of Whales and other marine life on any offshore wind farm proposals

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      John Connor II

      …and with the breaking advance in machine learning, things are moving very fast, and this is week 1 into 2024.😁

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    Simon

    Nice analysis from Tamino that suggests, with caveats, that there has been an acceleration in global warming.
    https://tamino.wordpress.com/2024/01/05/global-warming-picks-up-speed/

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    • #
      RickWill

      acceleration in global warming

      This is something that I forecast some years ago now. It has to occur as the peak solar intensity moves northward in combination with the NH have greater proportion of land than water. The Northern Hemisphere peak solar only started increasing 500 years ago. It has 9,000 years to go and will accelerate for the next 4,000 years.

      It is the same reason why new snow records will be a feature of weather reporting for the next 9,000. This year more than most so far because the September northern ocean surface temperature was a record.

      This is the summer solstice solar intensity in W/m^2 at 40N for last 10kyr to next 10kyr:
      -10.000 522.768281
      -9.000 519.494999
      -8.000 514.655067
      -7.000 508.761959
      -6.000 502.579838
      -5.000 496.621032
      -4.000 491.323953
      -3.000 487.296037
      -2.000 484.566608
      -1.000 483.246596
      0.000 483.416933
      1.000 484.797655
      2.000 487.148140
      3.000 490.359137
      4.000 493.908045
      5.000 497.482445
      6.000 500.842710
      7.000 503.454104
      8.000 505.095510
      9.000 505.715120
      10.000 505.075519
      0.000 is J2,000. This actual bottom was 500 years ago. The system has some thermal lag so it took a couple of hundred years to see the change from cooling to warming but warming of the oceans is locked in. The land will eventually cool as the permanent ice extends south and down from high ground but that is only occurring on Greenland so far.

      When you think that the CO2 bothers talk about a watt or two being significant they are completely blind to what the orbit is doing. The increase is 12W.m^2.

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      • #
        RickWill

        This link has the basis of my determination of accelerating northern ocean temperature:
        https://1drv.ms/b/s!Aq1iAj8Yo7jNhHtudMEW7WbCojm3?e=rA6vDa

        In the closing prediction, I write:

        Ocean surface temperature is limited to 30C by the nature of convective instability and resulting cloud persistence. The Gulf of Mexico and ocean off Taiwan feeding the main northern ocean currents are already reaching this limit. Expect the warm pools to gradually extend further north in August and even September. This will result in increasing atmospheric moisture in the northern oceans in October that will supply the initial snow fall in late October and through November. Arctic waters will eventually become ice free by the end of summer thereby increasing the extent of sea ice free water to feed ocean to land advection in September in time for the land temperature in the high latitudes to fall below freezing.

        In September 2023, the 30C warm pool in the northwestern Pacific extended to 37N, off Japan. The September area extent of warm pools is trending up at 2.5% of the northern ocean surface per decade. It is currently only 10% so a lot more can reach the 30C limit.

        I confidently predict that people in the northern hemisphere do not know what real snowfall actually looks like yet. And I have four interglacials in recent history as the basis for this prediction.

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      KP

      Well, what a waste of his time playing around with Excel on his computer adding in guesses as to what factors have what influence on his made-up figures for a “temperature” for Earth. Without actually looking at the regions that have hotter or cooler air above them, it is all meaningless.

      Politics, not science.

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  • #
    Hanrahan

    Zhongzhi, one of China’s largest shadow banks has filed for bankruptcy. They have revealed a shortfall of $36.4 bil foretelling a $3 trillion contagion.

    Tell me again how China will replace America as top dog.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qz8-yjzk5Q

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    • #
      MP

      Tell me again how China will replace America as top dog.

      Bank failures happen more often than you might think—there have been 568 in the U.S. since January 1, 2000. That’s an average of almost 25 per year.
      https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/list-of-failed-banks/

      Shadow Bank. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/shadow-banking-system.asp

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    • #
      RickWill

      Tell me again how China will replace America as top dog.

      That horse has bolted. China already dominates the technology supply chain. They have manipulated the UN to get sovereign nations to give away their sovereignty in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals, which they are immune to by their developing nation status. Then they achieve a strangle hold on manufacturing all the stuff that the signatories need to meet the sustainable development goals. All countries have rapidly increasing reliance on China for manufactured goods. USA reduced dependence on China in the Trump years but imports from China are now back up over USD570bn per year.

      China currency has already overtaken the EUR in trade financing. Given China’s trade volumes compared to the USA, it is only a matter of time before it overtakes the USD as the basis of global trade. That will be a serious issue for USA because the USD currently enjoys the unique status of being the world currency. The USA is by far the most indebted nation. The USA owes the rest of the world almost a year’s economic output. You have to think that countries holding US debt will look to getting tangible assets for that debt rather than just rolling it over.

      China already uses 50% more energy than the USA. That makes it an industrial powerhouse unrivalled across the globe.

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      • #
        CO2 Lover

        The US dollar had already overtaken the pound sterling as the leading form of trade credit (as the currency of denomination for what were known as “trade acceptances” or “bankers’ acceptances”) in the mid-1920s.

        Just as the USD replaced the Pound as the economic growth of the USA surpassed that of the UK – the USD will be replaced in time.

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      • #
        John Connor II

        China already dominates the technology supply chain.

        That makes it an industrial powerhouse unrivalled across the globe.

        These messages brought to you by the CCP. Would we lie to you? 😆

        In the world of the blind, the man with one seeing eye is king. That’s an analogy of the global economy and why China will be on top.

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        • #
          KP

          “They have manipulated the UN to get sovereign nations to give away their sovereignty in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals, which they are immune to by their developing nation status. ‘

          That is why they will take over, end of story. The West has crippled itself with stupidity over CO2 and doubled down by moving its manufacturing to China. China is racing through from peasant farmers to industrial giant in 50years, something that took us centuries of development.

          Soon it will come to- We have 10 engineers working on a project, America has 140 and the Chinese have 450. Which team will complete the project first?

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          • #
            Yarpos

            The team with the best engineers and the best culture

            10

          • #
            RickWill

            Soon it will come to- We have 10 engineers working on a project, America has 140 and the Chinese have 450. Which team will complete the project first?

            It is not the number of engineers that matter. It is the regulatory framework in the USA and Australia that requires bus loads of lawyers, consultants and union officials to navigate. Then there are useful idiots, funded by charitable organisations, to glue themselves to the road or any other disruptive activity to stop projects. At least the same tactics can be used to stop wind and solar farms and power lines despite the government push.

            Victoria may have to keep burning coal because the Federal Government has not signed off on using Hastings as the port supporting the Gippsland offshore wind farm – Oh! the horror of coal. The planet or the eastern curlew. In this case the curlew won.
            https://vwsg.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/ecurlew_23april2020_MAUREEN.png

            Who would have thought that this little creature could do what millions of words on the JoNova blog could not achieve. More power to the eastern curlew. The project is not yet dead but it is a costly speed bump. Whales and wind stilling are still hurdles to be addressed.

            I wonder if old white men will ever become endangered! That reminds me – A friend who carried a little extra weight around his middle was asked by his doctor during his mid sixties – do you know any old fat men?

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      • #
        Hanrahan

        I hope you aren’t investing your retirement money in BRICs.

        It’s one thing to never outgrowing your uni socialism but another entirely to let politics rule your investments.

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        • #
          ozfred

          I hope you aren’t investing your retirement money in BRICs.

          I understand Argentina decided not to join BRICs
          And he new government there wants to reduce the economic regulatory burden……

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    • #
      MP

      “We’ve got enough money in our kitty for about a month of veterinary bills and medical bills but that’s it,” she said.

      To donate, you can visit FAWNA’s GoFundMe page.

      Thats the story

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      • #
        Yarpos

        Sorry but I’m told the climate is in crisis and my donation went to Greenpeace after their last heart rending plaintive advert about rising sea levels, homeless polar bears, koalas and climate justice stuff. It’s quite a cocktail of stuff they have pushed together in their latest begging advert.

        20

        • #
          MP

          I have actually seen proof of sea levels rising, as a matter of fact I have watched it rise twice a day. It’s twice as bad as we are being told.
          It’s just like the media to water these things down, to prevent panic.

          The polar bears are a lost cause, nothing can save them. CO2 is reducing the ice sheet size which is causing the seals to concentrate on less ice, the bears don’t have to travel as far and will all get obese, diabetes and die.
          Do Canadians still have Family planning for seals, because they are going to need bigger clubs?

          10

          • #
            MP

            Furthermore,
            Koala bears must also be in danger of over eating, the (all arise) government have devised a cunning plan, we are going to remove millions of Koala foods, therefore making them exercise, studies have also shown that the lazy little stoners, will turn carnivore and feast on the carcasses of birds from around the base of the free energy generators to avoid exercise, a much leaner diet than the wind reduction devices could provide.

            20

  • #
    RickWill

    USA currently being impacted by “global warming”. Actually it is a result of northern oceans warming rather than “global warming” but the consequence is becoming obvious to intelligent observers in the USA:

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/snow-flooding-tornadoes-storm-systems-bringing-dangerous-weather-to-us-live-updates/ar-AA1mAywr

    Winter storm warnings and advisories impacted most of the country Sunday as three different systems put millions at risk.

    The first major storm began Saturday and brought heavy snow and strong winds to northeastern states and the central Appalachians, according to the National Weather Service. The second system is expected to heavily impact the Midwest while the third will arrive over the Pacific Northwest on Sunday night.

    UK is also experiencing impacts of “global warming”. The precipitation being experienced as water in England over the past few days is forecast to turn to snow this weeK;

    As of 4am on Monday (8 January), a yellow weather warning will come into force that states that both ice and snow will likely affect transport and roads in areas including Greater London, Kent, Surrey and both East and West Sussex.

    Trains are likely to be affected in these particular locations as of next week.

    The same warning has been issued to Brits living in areas of the North East of England, as well as Yorkshire and Humber, and East and South East of England.

    https://www.ladbible.com/news/uk-news/weather/met-office-heavy-snow-warning-uk-814760-20240107

    I hope UK parents do the right thing and keep the kids indoors because they are not supposed to know what snow looks like.

    Fortunately both USA and UK can turn up the solar panels and wind turbines to generate the power ended to keep warm. This is UN’s virtual reality.

    Australia’s climate tzar, Tim Flannery, has been proven partly correct with his forecast that the rain that does fall will not make it to the ground. It now falls on the water that is already on the ground:

    Large parts of Victoria are faced with a risk of flash flooding in the coming days following heavy downpours in the state overnight, with the SES undertaking a “mammoth effort” responding to hundreds of calls for assistance.

    https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/weather/victoria-on-flood-watch-after-heavy-rain-storms-as-emergency-services-conduct-mammoth-effort-to-rescue-stranded-residents/news-story/bcfc744bedfb62d0d39247084a30f11e

    Flannery could also sustain an argument that the rivers no longer exist. Water everywhere makes it hard to distinguish any rivers.

    My fish are eying the puddles in the pathway beyond their pond today as the water laps over the edge. New horizons I guess.

    90

  • #
    CO2 Lover

    I did not know that we have an “Assistant Minister for a Republic”!

    Assistant Minister for a Republic Matt Thistlethwaite told The Australian on the weekend that it is ‘a lot harder’ for the government to push for a national vote on ditching the monarchy in a second term, after the failure of the Voice referendum.

    55% said NO in 1999.

    A second failed $450m referendum is the last thing this Labor Goverment needs

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  • #
    David Maddison

    All this rain falling in Australia and most of it wasted by flowing out to sea.

    Imagine if all those billions thrown away on wind and solar was used to build dams and irrigation systems instead.

    Australia could have been substantially drought proofed, flood proofed and irrigated.

    Instead, we have absolutely nothing worthwhile to show for all this wind and solar except massive economic damage and a looming energy disaster.

    160

    • #
      CO2 Lover

      $20 Billion is beening wasted on Snowy 2.0 to pump water around in circles!

      How much would the Bradfield scheme cost?

      The scheme would have cost $30 billion.

      That is only 50% more than Snowy 2.0 with far greater benefits.

      60

    • #
      Maptram

      News today is that flood levels in Seymour are expected to exceed the record 1993 flood levels. The October 2022 floods did not get a mention.

      It appears nothing was done after the 1993 floods (except to spend money on wind and solar).

      40

  • #
    CO2 Lover

    Is this happening in Ausralia? Or Kiwiland?

    Most UK police forces now allow trans officers to strip-search women as campaigners warn the move will lead to ‘state-sanctioned sexual assault’
    At least 34 UK Police forces allow, or will allow, trans police officers to strip-search.

    Why are “trans officers” allowed in the police force to begin with? – They are mentally ill.

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  • #
    John Connor II

    Hackers can now take control of your Google Account without needing a password.

    Cybercriminals have found a way to gain access to people’s Google accounts without needing their password, and the new exploit gives hackers continued access to Google services even after a user’s password has been reset.

    The Independent report noted how Google accounts could be compromised due to a vulnerability in third-party cookies, which are used by websites and browsers to track users and increase their efficiency.

    In addition, Google’s authentication cookies help users save their login details and log in without having to re-enter them. However, hackers have now found a way to bypass two-factor authentication and retrieve these cookies.

    The blogpost by CloudSEK noted, “This exploit enables continuous access to Google services, even after a user’s password is reset…It highlights the necessity for continuous monitoring of both technical vulnerabilities and human intelligence sources to stay ahead of emerging cyber threats.”

    https://www.livemint.com/technology/hackers-can-take-control-of-your-google-account-without-needing-a-password-heres-how-it-works-11704599223938.html

    Clear your cookies out at the end of every session, or deny them to start with.

    30

    • #
      KP

      Wait! What?? The greatest tech company on the planet got hacked? But..but.. “Use your Google account to sign in” is on every website now!

      What chance my Govt Digital ID will remain secret.. Email, phone, date of birth, fingerprints, iris scan, face scan, sex, address… all gone at once. I wonder if these dickheads ever think of the corollaries as they up the ante in everything over the internet?

      Stronger security with more passwords means its worth more hacking. Joining different ID characteristics on one site means its worth more hacking. Adding personal information to a password to make it an ID means its worth more hacking…

      The larger the mass of information, the more it is worth attacking, William Gibson wrote SF about this in the last century. Nothing is above being hacked & stolen, its just a matter of when.

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  • #
    Surftilidie

    2.5 WEEKS TO ARGUE FOR OUR FREEDOM

    Both the former Liberal and current Albanese Government with Greens having been working to introduce Digital ID, a Great Reset initiative, and we have until January 19 to get submissions to a Senate Inquiry. They’re hoping that we’re too busy to stand for our freedoms. Digital ID, teamed with Central Bank Digital Currency allows the government to stop all forms of protest or political dissent at the flick of a switch and create a system of social credit as in China.

    Every Australian needs to flood this Inquiry with submissions challenging their move. Remember that last time we overwhelmed the last ACMA government censorship Inquiry with submissions, putting things off until June. You can get the background you need for all this by reading 1.5 pages titled Executive Summary linked below. Upload your submission, even if a couple of paragraphs on https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/DigitalIDBills2023.

    They also need to be flooded with submissions from those able to mount an extensive argument. Some may find Gary Christian’s 19 page submission with 52 hyperlinks to relevant evidence useful. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-c5E4Wc1rBAQwqUG-xQ_cU8059M2eR72/view?usp=sharing

    This literally can wipe away all Constitutional freedoms in Australia.

    30

    • #
      Joe

      What constitutional freedoms?
      There are none as COVID demonstrated.

      50

      • #
        MP

        You hate Grandma don’t you?

        As the great philosopher Arnold Schwarzenegger said, “Screw your freedoms”.

        (95% of Australians agree with the above statement.)

        00

    • #
      John Connor II

      Meh.
      Any rebellious country will be heavily sanctioned like Russia is, and do you think Oz pollies will do a damn thing if faced with that?
      They’ll do what they’re told like good little puppets, oblivious to the fact they’re going in the fire like everyone else.
      The crash and burn HAS TO HAPPEN for any (meaningful positive) change to occur.

      30

  • #
    Neil+Crafter

    Hi in the last week or so I saw someone posted a link to a new paper that proved the Covid 19 virus was laboratory produced and could not have come from the wet market as espoused.

    Could someone reply with the link please? Appreciate it.

    10

  • #

    I’m very impressed with the BOM . They are really rarely really rarely accurate!

    60

  • #
    el+gordo

    The next three months across the whole Australian continent is going to be dry and hotter than average.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-07/wet-el-nino-weather-pattern-explained-bureau-of-meteorology/103289232

    10

  • #
    liberator

    yup: Summer of severe heat predicted as Bureau of Meteorology declares El Niño

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-19/bom-officially-declares-el-nino-underway-2023/102495394
    “The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has declared two major climate drivers linked to hot, dry conditions are officially underway in Australia, prompting further warnings that extreme heat could hit this spring and summer.”

    But now they are saying El Niño doesn’t automatically mean it won’t rain. Here’s why it’s been so wet and stormy for Australia’s eastern states

    Are they going to get a please explain? Why was there nothing from the BOM about the SAM, it was all El-Nino this El-Nino that.

    “Climate experts say it’s a combination of misconceptions surrounding El Niño and several climate drivers that are contributing to wetter conditions.”

    No, we were all going by what the BOM was warning us about, no misconceptions, but the BOMS forecast!

    30

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    “The AARP Just Told Its 38 Million Members To Get An 8th (Yes, Eighth!!) Shot Of mRNA”

    https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/aarp-just-told-its-38-million-members-get-8th-yes-eighth-shot-mrna

    “But the article ends on a happy note: Researchers are even working on a combined COVID-flu vaccine, so a few years from now, a single shot from your doctor or pharmacy may be all you need to protect yourself fully…”

    00

  • #

    https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67873890

    BT Group to turn old street cabinets into electric vehicle charging points

    Nice puff piece.
    Tolerable idea on the face if it. These cupboards have electrics, so can charge EVs.
    But no mention of the currents available, or needed, not on the BBC …
    Those much more knowledgeable than I may comment on how likely it is that low voltage telephone kit can supply a – say – 75KW charger.
    Let alone two ..

    And
    “As the boxes become decommissioned, more charging points can be added”

    Auto

    00