Sunday

8.3 out of 10 based on 19 ratings

197 comments to Sunday

  • #
    John Hultquist

    Look out Houston, you have a problem!
    Tuesday morning wake to about -6°C {20°F}.
    Much of the Northern Hemisphere is C O L D.
    Many large cities have an “unsheltered” population.

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    • #
      Ted1.

      ™ 32ºS 3:06 am it’s 21.1º C here now. Yesterday’ max was 33.6, a bit over average, while average max for month is a touch below. I thought we were promised an El Nino with heat, drought and fires, but so far we have had fair to good rain, the countryside is green and the livestock look happy.

      People who heeded the drought warning and reduced their stock numbers might be less than happy with the forecasters. There was a big crash in prices in early spring as people acted on that forecast.

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    • #
      MrGrimNasty

      The NH 2m temperature is the same as 2023, and one of the top warmest years, according to climate reanalyzer.

      Arctic air has blasted south in quite a few areas, but that means vast areas of the NH are also much warmer than ‘normal’.

      January in the UK is still warmer than average, although chilling day by day at the moment. Still no frozen rivers!

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      • #
        el+gordo

        Conditions have to be just right for rivers to freeze over, keep a weather eye open for blocking high pressure.

        ‘On December 22, 1962 a high-pressure system arrived in the north-east of Britain producing bitter winds across the country, and heavy snow remaining in place for the entire winter before a thaw finally arrived on March 8, 1963.’ (Weather & Radar UK)

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        • #
          Hanrahan

          What a wonderful curiosity that ice floats. If, like everything else, it just got denser then rivers would freeze from the bottom, the fish would freeze and die, the rivers would thaw later, freeze earlier ’til eventually they would be frozen permanently and Earth would be a lifeless ball of ice orbiting the sun no one, anywhere, would know about.

          Note: I am a mechanic, not a scientist. 🙂

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          • #
            el+gordo

            Snowball earth was an abysmal time, not sure of the mechanisms involved in bringing about a thaw. Must have been some internal dynamic, like volcanic eruptions.

            As a reference point, Mount Takahe brought the world out of the the last glacial period.

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        • #
          PADRE

          In the early 60’s we used to spend Christmas with my grandmother just up the ‘Prom’ from Blackpool. At Christmas 1962 we saw slabs of ice in the sea at Blackpool. Then when we returned home to Hertfordshire, my father’s first job was to unfreeze then repair the burst pipes. My school at the time had three sports seasons: cricket in the Summer term, rugby in the Autumn term and hockey in the Spring term. The hockey pitch was under snow for the whole season. So in 1963 the hockey became the cross-country season!

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    • #
      Ronin

      The homeless will be doing it tough.

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    • #
      John B

      Calgary was the coldest place I have ever been.
      I see they are experiencing a cold evening-early morning.
      Alberta weather report says, “A long period of extremely cold temperatures and wind chills continues. By Sunday morning, temperatures are expected to range from minus 40 to minus 50 degrees Celsius, with wind chill values near minus 55. Wind chills could even be a bit colder in open and exposed areas.”

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  • #
    CO2 Lover

    While Australia experiences a wet summer – Norway is buried in snow

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUADBzcP5qM&ab_channel=WINTV

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    • #

      Best conditions for EV 😀

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    • #
      Greg in NZ

      As Bob Marley noted long ago:

      ‘We’re sick & tired of the ism schism’

      For those who can see (or are at least inquisitive) huge swathes of the Earth’s surface are well-below freezing and buried under either snow or ice. Yet perusing various media to ascertain what nonsense they’re pushing today, it’s as if the UN has infiltrated all mouthpieces, preaching the complete opposite to the great unwashed, the ‘useless eaters’ as Kissinger called us.

      Case in point, NZ, where ‘heat & drought’ is pushed 24/7, regular summer temperatures are now described as ‘scorching’, and of course the oceans are ‘boiling’ – odd as the sea here is 22C and down south 17C, a long way to go yet. Plus, viewing webcams from our southern mountains, a strange white fluffy globular thing is falling from the sky, not enough to stick to the ground yet beautiful to observe, in ‘summer’ time.

      The hotter they shout,
      the colder it gets.

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    • #
      CO2 Lover

      With Northern Europe buried in snow – what is CNN reporting?

      At this time of year, the slopes of Gulmarg are normally packed with snowboarders and skiers, all taking advantage of the fresh January powder that annually blankets the Himalayas.

      But as with many popular winter ski destinations right now, this resort town in Indian-administered Kashmir is facing a snow shortage due to unseasonably dry weather, disappointing both travelers and tourism operators.

      The Gulmarg Ski Resort – one of the highest in the world – sits in the Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas just over 50 kilometers from the city of Srinagar and about 20 kilometers from the Line of Control” (LoC), the de facto border that divides this disputed region between India and Pakistan.

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      • #
        Greg in NZ

        Give it a week or two… it’s only weather.

        CNN headline next month:

        SNOWMAGEDDON HIMALAYA
        Boiling Causes Blizzard Chaos!
        UN Demands Action Now™

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  • #
    CO2 Lover

    Have sales of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) already peaked in Australia?

    In 2022 the % of vehicles sold in Australia that were BEVs rose strongly from 2% to 7% and then peaked at 9% in Q2 2023.

    Since then they have fallen back to 7%.

    Do all the wealthy woke now have a Teslsa in their driveway as a second car?

    Or is all the news on EV fires, high insurance rates and high depreciation rates starting to have an impact on sales?

    https://data.aaa.asn.au/ev-index/

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    • #
      Klem

      The more people learn about EVs, the less they want to buy them. The more insurance companies learn about EVs, the less they want to insure them. EVs will be history by 2030.

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    • #
      Ted1.

      There are a lot of batteries out there that haven’t caught fire. If fire was the only problem we could probably manage it.

      But I think your Tesla in the driveway might be right on the mark. I wonder how long they will keep them?

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    • #
      Hanrahan

      Teslas are as bland as my Camry which has been the same for over a decade. Is that why they buy red ones, to look exotic?

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    • #
      wal1957

      The resale value of EVs drop more rapidly than conventional ICE.
      That probably won’t worry those with money but it does ensure that the rest of us peasants won’t even consider them.
      I am also looking forward to the used car buyers remorse that will occur if they decide to buy an EV that is 10 years or older.

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      • #
        Hanrahan

        I have a conventional hybrid so think about them a bit. It’s 13 yrs old and I have no idea if, or how much, the HV battery has degraded, it hardly matters as long as it isn’t DEAD.

        If it were to degrade to 50% capacity it would work fine as long as it had enough grunt to spin the hybrid motor, engage the electric clutch and start the ICE. Fuel economy would fall a little but range would be unaffected and you may not have the grunt you would expect when overtaking a road train but I doubt it would be noticeable for Joe Sixpack.

        Plug in hybrids are the worst of both worlds.

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    • #
      CO2 Lover

      In the USA only about half of Ford dealers are on board to sell electric cars.
      The automaker’s certification program can cost dealerships over $1 million.
      Some dealers aren’t happy with the requirements, like training and installing a charger.

      It does not help that Ford dealers are having trouble selling the EVs on their lots.

      If you do purchase a Ford F150 Lightning with the idea of travelling around the USA towing a mobile home – you will have to recharge every 90 miles (140km), waiting an hour every time!

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      • #
        Adellad

        Yeah sure, but it provides more time to just sit back, close one’s eyes and soak up that lovely sense of virtue.

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      • #
        David Maddison

        Of course, the limited range and towing capacity of an EV is not a problem.

        They only need to have enough range to take you around the limited confines of the open air jail they expect you to live in known as the 15 Minute City.

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        • #
          David Maddison

          And what is the practical limit of a 15 min city, at least while motorised transport is allowed?

          An average urban speed is 40kph.

          During Australia’s covid lockups you could not travel more than 10km, at least in Victoria.

          That is the distance you could drive in 15 min.

          Covid lockups in one of the world’s most extreme Nanny States, Australia, may well have been a trial run for 15 Min Cities.

          Remember also, at the time, Australia’s “health” minister was Greg Hunt, a “former” WEF head of global strategy.

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  • #
    tonyb

    We often talk of the decline of the West or how we are following Ancient Rome into decadence and oblivion. So this book sounds as if it might be interesting

    https://www.voiceofeurope.com/the-decline-of-the-west-insights-from-history-and-present-realities-die-welt/

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    • #
      Broadie

      I am sure that the ‘West’ is in fact well preserved with what is largely a curry and/or ginger & soy flavour.
      If this ‘West’ is defined by a style of dress, than it is well preserved in the suit and tie, and in the beautifully dressed women of those populations.
      If the ‘West’ is defined by education , then it exists in the children of those people. Children who have worked hard in their studies and who have graduated in the Sciences and Arts and are some of our leading Practitioners of those professions.
      If the ‘West’ is defined by access to food, consumer goods and technologies that improve our quality of life, than this production has never been more efficient.
      If the ‘West’ is protected by the ability to travel and share the experience of viewing some of the wonders of the world with people of different regions, than this thrives from my experience.

      I make these comments having spoken to citizens from all over the world, both at tourist traps and in business. Forget the picture being painted, these people are more ‘Western’ from my experience than John Wayne. Their children are educated, have great work ethics and have aspirations for a lifestyle of the Hollywood actors of the Golden Era.

      Like the response to Covid, drop the ‘S’ from ‘scare’ and just care. Speak to your neighbours and fellow travelers. Do not build a fence around yourself as this is the ‘Un-West’ and represents victory for Tyrants.
      Maybe the ‘West’ is just a label for an evolutionary nature of the human condition and remains unchallenged as the best way to nurture children within the security and common aims of a wider community.

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      • #
        KP

        Isn’t the West more defined by our legal and political systems? Our Christian ethos? Our ability to stand in an orderly queue to get served? ..or to argue over something with a neighbour without instantly screaming and yelling and reaching for a machete or knife?

        Maybe we’re really characterised by our wokeness and desire to sacrifice ourselves on the altar of global warming and greeness..

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        • #
          Broadie

          Isn’t the West more defined by our legal and political systems? Our Christian ethos?

          I am arguing these are the fashion of the day. When you look at the Reformation where Charles II is not reflecting the wishes of the Parliament to sort out the political, legal and religious choices of the day by agreeing to behead enough of his people, so they decide to dig up Cromwell and a few others and mutilate their remains instead.

          Our ability to stand in an orderly queue to get served? ..or to argue over something with a neighbour without instantly screaming and yelling and reaching for a machete or knife?

          I agree the ability to sort out an argument with a neighbour independant of race, religion, faction etc with the support of the community is probably an advantage of what I believe to be the ‘West’.

          The first step is to know and communicate with neighbours.

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        • #
          el+gordo

          ‘Isn’t the West more defined by our legal and political systems? Our Christian ethos?’

          We have appropriated democracy from the Greeks and law from the Romans. South American Christians are not part of the West.

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_world

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      • #
        mareeS

        I think you are correct in a lot of what you have said, that the western Christian and Asian cultures have become a very good blend of decency, education and co-existence. What disturbs me is the determined way that DEI/DIE discriminates equally against Christians, whites and asians in the academies of USA in preference to African/American ascendancy.

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  • #
    tonyb

    There is no love lost between most EU leaders and Trump with the former increasingly worried Trump might be re elected

    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2024/01/12/top-banker-christine-lagarde-warns-trump-clearly-a-threat-to-europe/

    Lagarde is a particular bete noir for Brexiteers as she forecast ruin and devastation if we dared step outside the charmed circle

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  • #
    tonyb

    Bit startled by this one where it is forecast that dealing with US autism will in a few years coast trillions

    https://slaynews.com/news/america-suffering-autism-tsunami-top-study-warns/

    As Dealing with climate change is said to be of a similar cost I wonder if the promoters of the boiling planet realise they will have competing claims on budgets.

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    • #
      John Hultquist

      Retracted article – see retraction notice
      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34278527/

      Autism Tsunami: the Impact of Rising …

      Lead author: “MB is the CFO of the Holland Center, a public and private insurance-funded day treatment program serving children and young adults with autism.

      My guess — with an ageing population dementia and over-weight issues will be more a burden.
      {“burden” is the word choice of US Govt when they need wiggle room for such things.}

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    • #
      RickWill

      Autism has increased in Australia in the past few years. There is now a handout for families with children diagnosed with autism. Screening has increased so cases have gone up. Diagnosis has been incentivised.

      This link has an evaluation form:
      https://novopsych.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Autism-Spectrum-Quotient-AQ.pdf

      When you look at the questions you begin to realise that some of the Covid response may have contributed to isolation particularly those under 8 years old who missed social contact during their early years.

      In the USA, there is higher incidence in hispanic and black children. Their parents may have been out working during Covid rather than socialising their young children.

      Screens likely have a role in increasing autism. Modern suburbia in Australia has houses that fill the entire block. There is little room outside the house for kids to explore and limited interaction between children unless it is organised.

      I was speaking to a neighbour who has a 7yo child diagnosed with mild autism. She was involved in a limited way with the State primary school her child attended in year one and decided it was not a good place for her son. She moved him to a church run school where she was strongly encouraged to get involved in the classes because her flexible work allowed the time. Her son is flourishing there and she has been helping other children with learning difficulties that are worse than her son.

      My wife was heavily involved at the primary schools my boys attended and she taught numerous kids to actually read. She made it entertaining. There have always been kids with learning difficulties but not always the attention to give them a step up.

      Another neighbour set off for 12 months in van to tour around Australia in 2022 with the 5yo son before he started school. His socialising after 12 months on the road was dramatic. He was a bit shy before that 12 months but is now an extravert. Maybe a little too demanding on his parents but certainly not shy.

      Finally, a lot more children are in one child families so a good part of their socialising comes from TV. The Australian kids TV show “bluey” is their main source of socialising for lone pre-schoolers. Apparently it is popular in the USA as well. A bit like Sesame Street a generation or so ago.

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      • #
        Harves

        Autism is no different to any other mental health issue … as soon as you provide Govt funding provided to test for it, research it, treat it and support those who have it, then miraculously, you start finding it everywhere you look. And then the threshold gets dropped so more and more kids are diagnosed.
        When I went to school there were real autistic kids, a few naughty kids and 95% normal well-behaved kids. There are clearly still ‘real Austin kids’ but now, a kid that misbehaves or is overly exuberant is put on the spectrum rather than disciplined. Once, “oh, he/she is on the spectrum” became a reason for parents to forgo disciplining kids, the whole game was lost.
        Are academics so stupid that they can’t look back 20 years and go:”Geez, what was different then when we had virtually zero kids with mental health problems?”
        Like most things in Western society, the more academics are paid to “research and fix” a non-existent problem, the bigger the problem becomes. Funny that.😒

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    • #
      Hanrahan

      Autism for the kids, Alzheimers for the aged and sudden death syndrome for the working age – there will be no budget for boiling oceans.

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    • #
      Ted1.

      Haven’t read it yet but I suggest it can’t happen because nobody’s got the trillions.

      However I can’t imagine what those competing claims might deliver.

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  • #
    David Maddison

    Yes, there is a well funded institute promoting globalisation in Australia:

    https://www.deakin.edu.au/adi

    The Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation

    Research to deliver equitable and sustainable change in society

    Our commitment to addressing the significant challenges of our time is underpinned by a critical mass of leading scholars and a robust interdisciplinary research agenda. ​

    Our work has a proven track record of knowledge creation that enables more inclusive, democratic, and sustainable societies. Our researchers create cutting-edge knowledge about citizenship, diversity, inclusion and globalisation that only shapes scholarship and scientific progress but also informs public debate and policy.

    Our research themes
    Through our research, we create transformational knowledge that can influence public debates and shape policy agendas. Our research tackles major local, national and global challenges around transnational process, social inclusion, diversity and intercultural relations. ​

    And from:

    https://adi.deakin.edu.au/

    150+ researchers
    100+ students
    200+ partner organisations
    $36m research funding

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    • #
      John Hultquist

      That text is “word salad”** and got so tangled the writers left out a word:
      “… that only shapes…” – not –

      … that not only …

      **See: Kamala Harris

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    • #
      Adellad

      Looks like (and is) cut & paste from the WEF guidebook.

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    • #
      CO2 Lover

      “a well funded institute”

      Albert Einstein did his most important work while a clerk at the Swiss Patent Office.

      Thomas Edison dropped out of school began working as a trainboy on the railroad between Detroit and Port Huron. Edison took advantage of the opportunity to learn telegraphy and in 1863 became an apprentice telegrapher.

      Is it time to reconsider the role of “well funded institutes”?

      As the saying goes “97% of scientists agree with whoever is funding them – the other 3% are banned from social media”!

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    • #
      Gerry

      The last thing we need is more of the left producing “transformational knowledge”. They think they are God and want to transform the rest of us into their image.

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    • #
      Annie

      What gobbledegook! How does one ‘create’ knowledge?

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  • #

    UK.

    We’re getting wall to wall coverage of the Post Office Horizon IT disaster; a faulty IT system used, by the Post Office, to ‘prove’ hundreds – if not thousands – of loyal honest sub-post-masters and -mistresses were each scamming thousands from the Post Office.
    ‘Cos the computer says so! Literally.

    Many imprisoned.
    Many lost businesses.
    Many lost homes – and marriages.
    Hundreds sacked.
    Perhaps thousands instructed to make good the monetary ‘shortfall’ – reportedly up to £75,000 each.

    At least four committed suicide.
    Many have died before being exonerated. But only 93 have had their convictions overturned.
    Little Rishi is now – in 2024, no sooner – talking about a ‘law’ that will declare them all innocent … if they each sign to say they did not defraud the Post Office.
    Coming Soon. Honest.

    All the while the Post Office – who had been told in about 2003 that the Horizon system was probably faulty – insisted, under oath, that it was perfect and – suddenly – a large percentage of their sub-posties had turned crims.
    Coincidentally with the new system being forced on them.
    And the bosses, too scared of the Post Office’s reputation getting trashed [where is it now??] – to whisper even a word of caution, it appears.

    Where was the media – honourable exception of ‘Private Eye’? https://www.private-eye.co.uk
    [See also: – https://www.private-eye.co.uk/special-reports/justice-lost-in-the-post ]
    Where were the pollies?

    Meanwhile, the senior staff were creaming bonuses – seven figure bonuses!
    And lower functionaries were getting juicy bonuses for successfully prosecuting innocent sub-posties.

    So far only one bigwig, apparently almost appointed the Bishop of London! [FFS!] – has given back her award [gong] – a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
    But not a penny of her bonuses. Name of Vennalls or similar.
    And a then-government minister, responsible for the Post Office, in the 2010s, said – no point in meeting a campaigner; now, today, he leads a political party – and aspires to relevance.

    So much, so wrong.
    And the glitterati, the blob, doesn’t give an eighth part of a flying fuck.

    And the Leader of HM Loyal Opposition?
    He was Director of Public Prosecutions when a number of these poor posties were judicially smeared and ruined may prosecuted by the Post office its self, but others by the – HIS – Crown Prosecution Service [CPS].
    And ‘none crossed his desk’.
    His level of inquisitiveness is seemingly a little low.
    It was in Private Eye – which surely he read. It’s practically mandatory in UK public life ….
    But – no.
    It wasn’t mentioned. Not by anyone at the CPS. At any stage.
    We must accept his word that he knew nothing whatsoever about this.
    Obviously.
    He is a Knight of the Realm.
    He hopes – expects, such are the polls – to be Prime Minister this time next year!

    I weep for my country.

    Auto

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    • #

      Have you watched the I’TV four part drama? Very powerful.

      Computer says say No, then combine it with obfuscation on an epic scale and season it with third rate bosses Trying to cover their backsides, and you have a potent combination.

      There were many reasons we voted Brexit, one of the most quoted ones is that we wanted to give our intellectually challenged arrogant elite a bloody nose.

      It’s taken 8 years but at last the elite seems to have started to get the message

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      CO2 Lover

      From 2016 to 2019, the Robodebt in Australia scheme raised more than half a million inaccurate Centrelink debts through a method of ‘income averaging’, which has since been ruled unlawful. Debts were imposed on people on welfare payments which they then had to prove they didn’t owe.

      The Rise of the Machines.

      Going into the 2022 Australian federal election, Australian Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese pledged to hold a royal commission into the Robodebt scheme if his party was elected. After winning the election, the Albanese government officially commenced the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme in August 2022. The commission handed down its report in July 2023, which called the scheme a “costly failure of public administration, in both human and economic terms”, and referred several individuals to law enforcement agencies for prosecution.

      The report also specifically criticised former Prime Minister Scott Morrison {“The Minister for Everything”), who oversaw the introduction of the scheme when he was the Minister for Social Services, for misleading Cabinet and failing in his ministerial duties.

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        Ronin

        Can you imagine what it will be like when AI really takes hold, remember the old saying, ‘To err is human, to really stuff up takes a computer.’

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      CO2 Lover

      The Dutch childcare benefits scandal is another example of goverment over-reach. This was a political scandal in the Netherlands concerning false allegations of fraud made by the Tax and Customs Administration while attempting to regulate the distribution of childcare benefits, that led to the collective resignation of the government in early 2021

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      Gerry

      What’s that I keep on hearing about …..I think it’s something about “speaking truth to power”….I think that’s it.

      The great pretenders in our society are the journalists who comment on the surface tension of the sea of distress and refuse to dive in. The politicians pale in comparison. The lawyers are mere acolytes.
      The journalists set themselves up as the protectors of democracy and have laws to protect them. They are more than complicit. Yet they prance around giving themselves awards for work that’s often shoddy and often dodgy.

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      KP

      Amazing! Disgusting! ..and not unexpected at all! No one will be taken out and shot, probably no one will go to jail for doing this and no-one will even get fired!

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    • #

      How did that ‘f’ word get through the moderator?

      “And the glitterati, the blob, doesn’t give an eighth part of a flying ‘f’.”

      Mind it’s very appropriate when it comes to the Post Office Scandal. Heads should roll and money/gongs be given back.

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    David Maddison

    The following is extremely concerning.

    A new bioweapon from China.

    One hundred percent lethal in humanised mice.

    Outrageous.

    Just in time for release for the US Presidential election.

    Dr John Campbell discusses:

    https://youtu.be/CP4lkYS3yTM

    NOTE: I PREVIOUSLY WATCHED THIS BUT THE MESSAGE NOW PROVIDED BY YOUTUBE IS “VIDEO REMOVED BY UPLOADER”.

    You can see the original preprint paper here:

    https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.03.574008v1.full.pdf+html

    Lethal Infection of Human ACE2-Transgenic Mice Caused by SARS-CoV-2-related Pangolin Coronavirus GX_P2V(short_3UTR)

    As originally described by Dr Campbell the Chicomms basically took a new coronavirus from a pangolin, ran it through human or humanised cell cultures and selected mutations most compatible with human ACE2 receptors then infected humanised mice whereupon it was 100% lethal.

    It is not a natural virus because it was selectively bred to be most compatible and infectious for human transfection.

    I don’t know why John Campbell deleted the video, presumably he was concerned YouTube censors would delete it for him.

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      David Maddison

      He also did a followup video which I saw last night and that is also deleted.

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      David Maddison

      More “research” from China along those lines:

      https://www.nature.com/articles/s41421-023-00557-9

      A pangolin-origin SARS-CoV-2-related coronavirus: infectivity, pathogenicity, and cross-protection by preexisting immunity

      An extremely dangerous thing to do at all, especially in known leaky labs with poor quality control as well as the known Chicommm interest in bioweapons.

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        Broadie

        An extremely dangerous thing to do at all

        Here in lies the unanswered question. How does the Tyrant and their mad scientist protect themselves, their servants and those they love from this ‘weapon’?

        Of recent times the plan appeared to be to administer the actual weapon subcutaneously into the arm of your victim. From memory John Campbell was all for that !

        So let us be wary of a story whose very withdrawal by the Author may in fact add to the perception of its veracity. We appear to be the subject of a campaign of a well resourced marketing team that has the time and ability to control whatever message it choses to send. If they were truly willing to release a weapon that could potentially wipe out humanity plus modified lab mice or potentially one of the false idols with similar cell receptor sites (Koalas/ Polar Bears/ Fur Seals/ Pandas / Killer Whales/ etc) as worshipped by actual nutters who would happily press a button to exterminate the human race and themselves, they could have done this with gas after WWI or the bomb after WWII.

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        • #
          Skepticynic

          they could have done this… after WWI or… after WWII.

          But that would have been a self-defeating timing disaster.

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      Ronin

      “One hundred percent lethal in humanised mice.”

      Hang on, humanised mice, have I missed something.

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      • #
        Skepticynic

        humanised mice, have I missed something

        I don’t think so, because we’ve all met plenty of “mice-ized” humans.

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  • #
    David Maddison

    (Copied.)

    Huge party at Davos starts on Monday.
    Bring your own private jet.

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    • #
      David Maddison

      https://ops.group/blog/davos-world-economic-forum/

      The World Economic Forum will take place in Davos from 15-19 Jan 2024. Parking at airports in the region will be limited – make sure you reserve your spot asap!

      More info about private jet parking:

      https://www.universalweather.com/blog/world-economic-forum-2024-busniess-aviation-destination-guide/

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      • #

        My wife and I will be coming in separate private jets. How do I make sure we can get two parking spots? Can you square it with Soros for us?

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        • #
          Geoff Sherrington

          TonyB,
          We used to squirt around in a bizjet. Did Melbourne to Lockhart River and back in a long day, once. Our outback offices named it “The Flying Overheads”.
          It used to fly high because its narrow fuselage could take the higher inside air pressure better than a commercial.
          But, it was quite deflating to look down from 41,000 feet, to watch a bloody great lumbering Jumbo 747 at 35,000 feet, going quite a lot faster. And with hosties and movies and leg room. Not as romantic as it sounds, this private jet thing. Geoff S

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      • #
        Greg in NZ

        Wonder if our ex-tyrant filly’n’chief will be appearing with her new husband (they tied the knot yesterday). At least we can now legally refer to her as the Fishmonger’s Wyfe.

        Am loathe to guess how much the taxpayer was charged for extra security: sumpfink stinks in the land down under.

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        • #
          Ross

          The media still love her. In Australia yesterday her marriage was reported but also headlined with “anti- vaxxers” protest at the event. The fact the media still use that abhorrent term is exasperating.

          90

      • #
        Ronin

        ‘Valet parking available’.

        20

    • #
      CO2 Lover

      Brings to mind the sceme in Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” where Dr. William “Bill” Harford (Tom Cruise) is outed by arriving by a taxi at the orgy of the well to do when everyone else arrives by limousine.

      If you do not arrive by private jet at Davos – you do not belong there!

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      • #
        Greg in NZ

        Re my post above:
        perhaps Jabcinda Gayford will hitch a ride with her commonwealth partner in crime, Justin 2-d’oh! Unless, now the Crown has anointed her, King Charley might send his personal jet – halfway round the planet and back again, as a small token of his gratitude. Can’t have royalty mixing with low-brow commoners fergoodnessake!

        60

  • #
    David Maddison

    Herr Kommandant Klaus Schwab talks about his concern for the “anti-system” which he describes as that advocated by Libertarians, i.e. who believe in minimal government intrusion into the private lives of people.

    Because the Left just love sticking their noses into your private lives and see it as a right of government.

    https://twitter.com/WallStreetSilv/status/1744991248056770795

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  • #
    MrGrimNasty

    EV bus service suspended after the fire. So how do they get out of this if fires are an inherent risk of the technology?

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-67967421

    71

    • #
      Adellad

      Lying or obfuscation, as anything “unfortunate” (were it to be widely understood by the proles) is managed with the assistance of the mendacious and complicit fourth estate. Why alter a winning formula?

      30

  • #
    another ian

    “Wind and solar grid penetration at 5% harmless, 10% nuisance, 15% expensive waste, 20% grid destabilization and economic destruction, 25% insanity (OK, with flexible hydro the insanity can be deferred to 30%).”

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/01/13/a-federal-power-grid-would-be-everyones-worst-nightmare/#comment-3847280

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    • #
      CO2 Lover

      The climate boffins claim to be able to “model” future climate out to hundreds of years – but where is the modeling of imposing highly unreliable energy sourcing of an electrical grid while at the same time removing reliable energy sourcing to the same grid without factoring in sufficient back-up or energy storage?

      This is not a particularly difficult modelling challenge and techniques such as Monte Carlo simulation can be used. Monte Carlo simulation is a mathematical technique that predicts possible outcomes of an uncertain event. Computer programs use this method to analyze past data and predict a range of future outcomes based on a choice of action.

      Even a “back of the envelope” calculation determines that an Australian electical grid using only wind and solar (with some hydro) would need battery backup so large that it would cost around A$10 TRILLION – and so is economically unfeasible.

      170

    • #
      RickWill

      Wind and solar grid penetration at 5% harmless

      Just like one rotten tooth is harmless.

      Back in the late 1980s, it took me a whole year of regular meetings with Elcom and their extensive testing to get a 10MW ‘dirty” load connected to the NSW grid. Every wind turbine and battery is a “dirty” generator and they are being encourage to connect. NSW was the only place in the world that required the level of reactive power compensation for similar size machines.

      Opening the door to intermittent generators that place higher demand on other grid stabilising machinery is the start of the system decay. Managing the decay is very expensive.

      130

      • #
        Ronin

        Well said Rick, wind and solar is as dirty as they come, they should have been required to provide for their shortcoming by either storage or some other sort of compensation, this would have sorted the wheat from the chaff.

        40

      • #
        Geoff Sherrington

        Rick,
        This Texas cold snap had me thinking a week ago when my car got a flat tyre. It was a bit inconvenient putting on the spare, but at least the modern car has a spare. I have been driving around without a spare for this week waiting for a tyre deal. If I get another flat, that will be more than inconvenient. It will also be very expensive.
        The Texas analogy. Wind and solar failed, but OK because gas was the spare. Then gas failed, so it became more than inconvenient, it was very expensive.
        Seems that modern engineers use probability math to aid planning. This tells them the risk of W and S failing is low probability, but gas failing as well is such small probability that they can chance it.
        Does not work that way. Double jeopardy happens, people die. No consolation that it was low low probability. Many accidents are.
        New tyres tomorrow, for sure.
        Did you use concepts like this in insurance?
        Geoff S

        10

        • #
          RickWill

          Wind and solar failed, but OK because gas was the spare

          I disagree. Wind and solar did not fail. They do what they do most of the time and provided no useful output. The guaranteed combined output of wind and solar is zero. Any utility signing more than zero to wind and solar generation are not applying sensible risk analysis.

          The gas generation is not spare. It is what the Texas grid depends on.

          The problem in Australia is that the dependable generation now has little margin for any failures. If one of the large coal station was knocked out by a rare event, the NEM would have to ration power during evening peaks.

          10

  • #
    Reader

    Woolworth’s and Coles no longer selling Australia Day items…

    ABC apologises for ‘rabid anti-Israeli’ TikTok video
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8UDSOxf2yw

    40

    • #
      revo of gong

      Hi Reader, I am not sure you are correct about Coles as we bought some Australia Day items in our local Coles Supermarket yesterday. As for Woolworths, my family will be boycotting their stores for the whole of January.

      100

      • #
        CO2 Lover

        Australians should do a “Bud Light” to woke Woolies.

        90

        • #
          John Connor II

          My local Coles has canned their assisted fast service lane much to my dismay, leaving the dreadful self checkouts which I refuse to use, or you can take your basket of 10 items and stand in a regular checkout lane behind some old chook shopping at lunchtime (always at lunchtime…) with a shopping cart the height of Mt Eiger.
          A local rag ran a story on Coles customers being upset at the change and a pathetic lame reply by the store manager.
          They don’t care about their customers but at least Easter buns are on sale now.

          Bring back customer service! People on checkouts!

          100

          • #
            Broadie

            Bring back customer service! People on checkouts!

            Get rid of the Fair Work Act and the National Employment Standards so that people can be paid at a casual rate if they so choose. This will allow employers and their employees the flexibility to work together to grow a business that competes with the big end of town.

            One question on this current post. Are they closing checkouts due to staff shortages? This is very common in many businesses at the moment, for some unknown reason.

            30

      • #
        MP

        Wow a whole month, thank you for your sacrifice.

        00

    • #
      David Maddison

      I think it’s “only” Woolworths and Big W not selling Australia Day items. Kmart Australia stopped selling them a year or two ago. Coles is selling them as far as I know.

      40

    • #
      Adellad

      Woolworth’s (huge publicity) and Aldi – for some reason far less publicity. These are two culpable retailers – for now.

      20

      • #

        Aldi – for some reason far less publicity. …

        Woolworths are Australian owned with a long local history.
        Aldi, are not Australian, only recently introduced, and consequently not such a surprise !

        00

  • #
    Tides of Mudgee

    This is a surprise. Pfizer is investing billions in looming heart failure pandemic. Can’t imagine what’s causing that. ToM

    https://slaynews.com/news/pfizer-invests-billions-treatments-coming-heart-failure-pandemic/

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  • #
    Laurie

    I hope the doors on the Buses aren’t electrically operated.

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  • #
    david

    Instead of developing new virus mutations that kill why don’t they put all their efforts into disabling naturally occurring viruses that cause us harm?
    We have become too smart for our own good.

    60

    • #
      MP

      Because their objective is to create not cure.

      And by we, you mean they. They have become to smart for our own good.

      We smart, 95% vacination rate!

      10

    • #
      Skepticynic

      why don’t they…

      Because they’ve already told you their objective:
      A global population of 500 million.

      20

  • #
    David Maddison

    Pro-freedom, pro-free-speech Rebel News including Australian Avi Yemeni is going to Davos to report.

    This is part of an email I got.

    Dear David,

    You know what the World Economic Forum is, right?

    That’s the unelected, unaccountable, secretive club run by a megalomaniac named Klaus Schwab.

    Every year, the WEF meets in the town of Davos, high in the Swiss Alps. That’s where they hatch global schemes like carbon taxes, “social credit” mass surveillance, and a future where “you’ll own nothing and you’ll be happy.”

    They have plans for you to eat bugs — while they dine on champagne and thick steaks.

    The WEF has some of the worst people in the world, from George Soros to BlackRock’s Larry Fink to Canada’s Mark Carney. Chrystia Freeland actually serves on their board. (How is that even legal?)

    Schwab is like a villain from a James Bond movie — he boasts that WEF members have “penetrated the cabinets” of governments around the world and he singles out Justin Trudeau as one of his most loyal disciples.

    Ideas like the “Great Reset” and “Build Back Better” are born there, in secret. None of it is scrutinized by the mainstream media. And if they cover it at all, it’s as cheerleaders, not real reporters.

    That’s where Rebel News comes in.

    I’m en route to Davos right now with a team of six journalists, including our star Australian reporter Avi Yemini. And we have one goal: hunt for VVIPs — “very, very important people” — and ask them questions that no one else does.

    Last year, we scrummed Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer, asking him questions about his vaccine that no reporter had ever asked him before. We also caught child actor Greta Thunberg and asked her why she never condemns OPEC countries, only ethical countries like Canada.

    It’s some of the most important journalism we do all year.

    SEE video: https://youtu.be/Q5G0CfS72Us

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    • #
      Ross

      Interesting, some commentary on social media that Mr Putin might attempt to “ disrupt” the WEF/ Davos event because he sees that mob as being real enemies. Probably baseless but we can only hope …..

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    • #
      John B

      Stockholm weather report for Monday, -6 to -15 deg C and nothing above -3 degrees for the whole of next week. But, I guess multi-millionaire (reportedly) Geta will have flown in a cooking oil powered private jet to Davos (sarc- but may be true.) No global warming in Davos either, with Monday’s forecast of -5 to -15 degrees. Keep warm Avi.

      30

    • #
      David Maddison

      In Davos, Switzerland where the party is, this week the temperature will between 2C max and -15C min.

      I hope they have plenty of coal, gas, nuclear and real hydro electricity and gas to keep them warm.

      Or maybe not…. Make them use wind and solar.

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  • #
    David Maddison

    Bizarre extreme wokeness from Canada.

    Police warn not to post video of thieves stealing from them as it violates the criminals’ supposed right to privacy.

    https://youtu.be/U6OgDnWYrLg

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    • #
      CO2 Lover

      That is like what is happening in Democrat states in the USA.

      Criminals are not sent to prison because it violates the crimial’s right to freedom!

      As to the “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” – just look at what is happening to cities like San Francsico

      Under current state law, shoplifting merchandise valued under $950 is considered a misdemeanor and often not investigated.

      For the state of California, for licensed security guards, they are mandated to observe and report only. They’re not to take physical action.

      I visited San Franciso in the 1980s but would not bother going there now. A visit to Texas or Florida more likely now.

      My wife has a relative in Texas who owns a Ford F150 – I hope he has a rifle rack in the back window. I would love to take a ride and have a photo in the F150.

      40

    • #
      tolip ydob

      A trespassing thief’s flippin ‘right to privacy’ ends when they choose to parade themselves in front of my camera.

      20

  • #
    CO2 Lover

    Buck Passing and Airline Safety

    The plug door the blew out of the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max was made by Spirit Aerosystems – that was once part of Boeing

    Spirit’s history in the U.S. dates back to 1927, when aviation pioneer Lloyd Stearman moved his factory, Stearman Aircraft Company, from California to Wichita, Kansas. Two years later, Boeing — known at that time as the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation — purchased Stearman Aircraft Company. The Boeing Wichita site produced some of the most important aircraft in history, including the B-29 Superfortress bomber, the B-47 Stratojet and the B-52 Stratofortress.

    In 2005, Boeing sold its Wichita division and Oklahoma operations. The new company was named Spirit AeroSystems.

    Boeing now puts pressure on its supplier to keep cost down which means according to Spirit whistleblowers that a culture of not reporting problems has developed at Spirit.

    The FAA are now claiming that they will conduct an audit manufacturing procedures at Boeing – but who will be conducting an audit of the FAA?

    Just another example of a “Regulator” being captured by the industry it is supposed to regulate.

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    • #
      David Maddison

      I posted this the other day.

      Spirit Aerosystems was mentioned in the attached video and they pride themselves on their wokeness rather than the competence of their employees.

      This has been predicted for a long time but racist and sexist DEI (divetsity, equity and inclusion) policies that employ people on the basis of their skin colour and gender rather than fitness for the job are already affecting safety in the airline industry in the US and presumably elsewhere.

      Matt Walsh discusses:

      https://youtu.be/qlSbvmJt928

      Also see comments from pilots and others beneath the video. It’s a serious problem and we are well on the way to a serious crash with multiple fatalities.

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      • #
        CO2 Lover

        From the Babylon Bee

        Boeing CEO Assures Nervous Fliers That All 737 Aircraft Are Built To The Highest Diversity Standards

        SEATTLE, WA — Amid growing concerns over safety after several devastating mechanical failures on Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun assured hesitant travelers that all their aircraft are built according to the highest standards of diversity.

        “I know everyone is nervous about the doors of their planes blowing off the aircraft mid-flight or the entire fuselage buckling due to faulty parts, but let me assure you: Boeing is diverse,” said Calhoun in a CNBC interview. “In fact, our design and manufacturing crews are the most diverse in our company’s history. Nothing to worry about.”

        New Boeing Features Larger Lavatories So All-Female Crews Can Go To Bathroom Together
        ARLINGTON, VA — In an announcement that comes on the heels of history-making achievements in flight crew diversity, aerospace giant Boeing has revealed its new aircraft features larger lavatories so all-female crews can go to the bathroom together.

        60

      • #
        David Maddison

        From the Spirit Aerosystems page on their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

        In fairness, they do have a token white male in one of the four pictures.

        https://www.spiritaero.com/company/diversity-equity-inclusion/overview/

        Spirit values the full range of differences, perspectives and abilities that our employees bring to the workplace. We strive to create an environment where all employees feel welcomed and a sense of belonging.

        Cultivating a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion directly aligns with our values and is a key enabler to achieving our overall business strategy to enhance performance.

        I don’t see anything about employing the best people for the job, irrespective of race, gender or sexual orientation.

        40

        • #
          CO2 Lover

          Would you fell “Included” if you are the best qualified person and experienced person for a promotion and large pay increase if some else far less qualifed got the job due to the colour of their skin or their sexual orientation?

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          • #
            another ian

            There can be pay-offs.

            I was talking to a local magistrate a few years ago and he mentioned that his promotion to that level had been delayed as such country positions had been deleted in the name of “government efficiency”. Until they had to be restored in the name of “government function”.

            I said to him “You realise that was done by Goss and Rudd?”.

            The response was “I’ll never vote ALP again!”

            10

        • #
          another ian

          Tom Lehrer got in early –

          “The US military is the first organisation to ban discrimination on the basis of race, colour, creed – or ability”

          10

      • #
        Hanrahan

        You don’t go to pprune.org if you have time constraints but now that you have reminded me………

        10

      • #
        John Connor II

        In Texas, a hearing has finally, albeit quietly, been initiated concerning a July 29, 2023 incident at Houston’s Intercontinental Airport (IAH) where a new First Officer mishandled the landing of a United 767-300ER, slamming it to the ground and bouncing the nose gear multiple times so hard that the airframe of the plane was severely damaged.

        The United First Officer was a former flight attendant who had been fired, then rehired and enrolled in the airline’s DEI Pilot Training program despite being on a company “Do Not Rehire” list.

        While in training, the pilot candidate failed multiple simulator training sessions and scored poorly on training exams.

        After barely meeting the required tasks, he or she was put in a cockpit as a First Officer.

        United has gone out of its way to keep this story quiet. No word if the damaged 767 was reparable or if it has been placed back in service.

        Lastly, a story emerged this week that is likely the most disturbing thing I have heard over the course of my commercial flying career!

        Alaska Airlines knowingly kept flying a brand new 737-900 MAX that had had a pressurization alarm sound on three separate flights over its short eight weeks of service in the air.

        That is a huge red flag regardless of the equipment’s age.

        https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/airline-safety-is-off-to-a-bad-start-in-2024-thanks-to-biden-admin-policies/

        Flying now is about as safe as a vaxx shot schedule.
        I’ll drive thanks.

        31

    • #
      yarpos

      People seem eager to lynch Spirit, but they do just supply sub assemblies that are assembled, fitted out, painted etc at Renton by Boeing. Whether the door plug issue was in manufacture or assembly or reinstallation and fit out work is yet to be determined.

      00

  • #
    • #
      robert rosicka

      Everything old is new again , windmills , getting gas from burning wood etc etc .
      Have a set of blueprints thanks to a kind fellow JoNovian to build one of these and might come in handy the way things are going .

      30

  • #
    John Connor II

    Woman will suffer diarrhea FOREVER after Ozempic caused horror bowel injury – and weight loss drug made another vomit until her teeth fell out, claim dozens of lawsuits saying maker failed to warn of its dangers.

    A woman who will suffer diarrhea for the rest of her life after using Ozempic is among dozens of patients who are suing the maker of the blockbuster weight loss drug over claims it left them with crippling stomach paralysis, a DailyMail.com investigation reveals.

    Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, is facing lawsuits from patients across America who say they experienced extreme side effects which they were allegedly not warned about.

    Thousands more patients have also come forward to claim they suffered adverse reactions to the drugs and attorneys say many more could join the growing legal campaign.

    Most of the patients claim they suffered from gastroparesis, which is the medical name for paralysis of the stomach. The condition, which can be life-threatening, causes a build-up of food in the gut and symptoms include nausea, vomiting and severe pain.

    DailyMail.com reviewed more than a dozen lawsuits filed since November by patients who were diagnosed with gastroparesis after using Ozempic and Wegovy, including some who suffered ‘life-threatening’ bowel injuries and face lifelong consequences.

    In all of the lawsuits, Novo Nordisk is accused of failing to properly warn about the risk of gastroparesis on the drugs’ packaging.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12952757/Ozempic-Novo-Nordisk-lawsuits-gastroparesis-stomach-paralysis.html

    But at least the warp speed vaxxes are safe…
    Plus you won’t need weight loss drugs on a bug diet…

    20

    • #
      Hanrahan

      In all of the lawsuits, Novo Nordisk is accused of failing to properly warn about the risk of gastroparesis on the drugs’ packaging.

      No warning necessary, the bluddy drug shouldn’t be on the market. Better health advice would be a good start, excess weight isn’t inevitable but general advice is bad. The food pyramid is upside down for starters.

      00

  • #
    CO2 Lover

    Famous last words

    Remember the promise before the last election of “cheaper electricty” from Mr Albanese? Mr Albanese and his sidekick Chrissy Bowen are of the view that wind power is the “cheapest form of electricty” since the wind is “free”.

    “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”

    ― Abraham Lincoln

    Australians are waking that they have been fooled.

    The poll also showed that the public is deeply sceptical about Mr Albanese’s election promise to bring energy prices down.

    A massive 85 per cent of Coalition voters, 61 per cent of Greens supporters and 43 per cent of Labor voters said they don’t believe the promise to cut power bills by $275 a year.

    60

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    another ian

    FWIW

    “Robert Kemp Adair (1924–2020)—Notes on a Friendship
    Reflections on the life and work of a superb scientist, for whom integrity and rigor were paramount.”

    https://quillette.com/2024/01/12/robert-kemp-adair-notes-on-a-friendship/

    Science gets a critical look – particularly the climate and modern type

    10

  • #
    John Connor II

    Sitting in your EV at MINUS 45C

    Saw a fellow sitting in his EV at a charging station. The businesses were still closed for him to stay warm and dawdle while his car charged.

    I briefly spoke with him as he went into the store. He said he’s been sitting in the car running the heaters and it was taking about twice as long to charge. The car’s range was about 280km in the cold he said.

    The fellow said his trip to Saskatoon from Kelowna takes about 3 times longer for charging time (sitting time).

    His charges today were about $100 and two hours of sitting with heaters on and the battery was only 2/3 charged.

    https://twitter.com/m_bohaichuk/status/1746213265976504391

    The stupid is strong with EV owners.

    70

    • #
      another ian

      I wonder if “Stout Hearted Men” is his theme song?

      00

    • #
      RickWill

      The stupid is strong with EV owners.

      Not really. It is just their sacrifice to save the planet.

      You may think of them as a deluded morons but they believe that are making important sacrifices. Only time will prove they are deluded morons.

      A couple of decades ago I owned a Mazda MPV. It was one of the first purpose built people movers and enabled the three boys to separate across three rows of seats. They did not have the habit of falling over like the early Taragos. During that time I visited Canada and noticed that many of the Mazda MPVs there were 4WD. Something you could not buy in Australia. They sat higher and were better suited to snowy roads than the 2WD version. It struck me that cars made for Canada need to cope with the cold. In Australia, they need to cope with the hot. Many early European made cars had serious issues with plastics and fabrics that did not endure in sunny Australia.

      Thus it occurs to me that Canada would be the last place on Earth to own an EV – maybe with the exception of Siberia where no one is as silly as some Canadians. Australia probably the second last place to own an EV because there are potholes that can take out rims and suspension on conventional sedans; many floodways with knee deep water and sizzling temperature where road surface and body panels can fry eggs. None of these are conducive to a long, stable life for a lithium battery.

      40

  • #
    another ian

    Dr John Campbell on “Disease X”

    Note the bit on “repurposed drugs”

    Plus the delay in the UK covid enquiry and why his yesterday’s edition was pulled

    https://youtu.be/noNa3WUGpC8

    50

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  • #
    John Connor II

    Thoughts for the day.

    “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”
    – George Bush

    “A promising young man should go into politics so that he can go on promising for the rest of his life.”
    – Robert Byrne

    “Corrupt politicians are like bad dreams – you can’t get rid of them until you wake up and face reality.”
    – unknown

    60

  • #
    John B

    Tony Heller with his usual sarcasm.
    Global Boiling in New Zealand

    30

  • #
    RickWill

    I have been looking at the daily radiosondes over Darwin since late December to catch the onset of the monsoon. The trough is now established over and south of Darwin so they are getting regular rain.

    This is the radiosonde for yesterday:
    http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/aviation/IDS65024/IDS65024.94120.png
    Water column now up to 74mm. The 8pm local time sounding had 100% humidity to over 5km. It may have been raining during the sounding.

    There is actually a 999hPa low centred south of Darwin that originated over land. That suggests there is a lot of water already on the surface because the low originated in that location and is just sitting there but intensifying. It is a low intensity cyclone developing over land rather than over the ocean.

    There is an intense high at 1031hPa to the south of the Great Australian Bight. This is feeding water into southern WA. Only a small portion of central Australia is too dry to develop convective potential. But this will likely change in a week or so as the monsoonal trough moves south. There is more atmospheric water over northern Australia at this time of year for at least the last decade. Northern Australia is looking more like the Amazon this year. All Australia north of 20N has more Atmospheric water than anywhere over the Amazon. Is Australia’s climate shifting to become more Amazonian?

    Monday forecast for Darwin is up to 160mm of rain.

    There is a cyclone off Madagascar and a low that is just starting to spin up to the south of Indonesia. It could eventually come toward Australia but a week or more out.

    40

    • #
      David Maddison

      People may be surprised to know that, in Melbourne at least, there is a hobby of tracking and finding fallen radiosondes.

      Not so much in Sydney as they tend to blow put to sea. I’m not sure about elsewhere in Australia.

      They are easy to track with simple equipment and software and they broadcast their GPS coordinates. The sondes can be reprogrammed for other purposes.

      You can also track them online.

      30

  • #
    David Maddison

    Leftists love censorship and being told what to think while conservatives yearn for free speech. For conservatives, our current situation must feel as it was during The Enlightenment wanting free speech which culminated at the end of that period in the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution of 1791. We have now reverted to the Dark days preceding The Enlightenment.

    70

  • #
    David Maddison

    Here’s an idea.

    Let’s return to plastic bags, plastic cutlery, plates, cups and other wares so we don’t have to keep chopping down trees for the wood-based ones…

    30

    • #
      John Connor II

      We went to plastic bags to save the trees, now plastic pollution is at crisis level so we went to biodegradable bags and paper straws in plastic wraps.
      Now trees are a CO2 threat so Gates wants to cut down millions of acres of them and bury them.
      Round and round we go in a never ending circle of “solutions” and unforseen consequences of those “solutions”.

      30

      • #
        Graeme#4

        Easy to solve the plastic problem – stop sorting, throw the whole lot into a high-temp furnace along with other non-recyclable rubbish. And dry sewage. The remaining small amount of non-toxic ash can then be safely consigned to the local tip. Works well in the smarter countries and can generate a bit of electricity on the side.

        60

    • #
      CO2 Lover

      Plastic drinking straws at Maccas woulld be a great improvement on the paper ones that fall apart mid drink

      10

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    “Embracing your Inner Communist Can Help with Climate Grief?”

    “Carly Dober is a psychologist living and working in Naarm/Melbourne. You can see more of her work here IG @enrichinglivespsychology

    Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/13/climate-change-crisis-fears-despair-younger-generations-impact
    What a sad bunch of fantasists. The only problem with global warming in Melbourne where psychologist Carly Dober is based, is Melbourne is not getting enough.”

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/01/13/embracing-your-inner-communist-can-help-with-climate-grief/

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/01/13/embracing-your-inner-communist-can-help-with-climate-grief/

    10

  • #
    another ian

    More of what we’ve got –

    “This Imam in Australia Has Figured Out the Key to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”

    https://pjmedia.com/robert-spencer/2024/01/13/this-imam-in-australia-has-figured-out-the-key-to-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict-n4925452

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    David Maddison

    BlackRock and Vanguard are shareholders in Woolworths. Perhaps they instructed Woolworths not to celebrate Australia Day?

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      CO2 Lover

      Friday, 8 July 2022: Woolworths Group has announced the establishment of its First Nations Advisory Board to guide Australia’s largest retailer as it seeks to improve engagement with Indigenous communities and continue to make a meaningful contribution towards Closing the Gap and Reconciliation within Australia.

      The eight-member Advisory Board has 75 per cent Aboriginal representation, comprising a cross section of Woolworths Group team members and Indigenous business leaders.

      The well known racist Adam Goodes is on the Committee.

      I wonder if the Committee deals with shop lifting by Aboriginal Youth!

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    David Maddison

    Before supercomputers and computational fluid dynamics, back in the day, people had deep knowledge and knew how to do stuff.

    The SR-71 first flew 60 years ago. As did the XB-70 Valkyrie. The XB-70 reached Mach 3.08 vs a reported run of Mach 3.5 in the SR-71 although top speed was generally considered to be Mach 3.3 after which the engines start to melt.

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      CO2 Lover

      When I started University I still used a slide rule! It was a huge deal when the HP35 became available. Do others have fond memories of the HP35?

      For those who do not know what a slide rule is here is a video

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYhOoYf_XT0&ab_channel=SuperVpower

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        Do others have fond memories of the HP35?….

        No! …..not fond at all !..
        Didnt it use some odd “reverse polish” input logic ? And it was horrendously expensive.
        A few months later , the Sinclair calculator was available for a fraction of the cost.

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          I learned at school working with the slide rule, liked that way to calculate. Later I used a Texas Instrument calculator I appreciated a lot and forgot my slide rule 😀
          The different calculators I remember had different ways to input datas, didn’t like that to much.

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            ozfred

            Funny thing with slide rules.
            You had to understand significant digits and where decimal points were likely to be correctly found in the “answers”

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              Graeme#4

              I note that many younger folk get the decimal point placing wrong, because they cannot initially estimate the answer in their head.

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          CO2 Lover

          Reverse Polish is a bit like German were the verb goes at the end of a sentence and not in the middle like English.

          Reverse Polish notation has been compared to how one had to work through problems with a slide rule.

          In comparison testing of reverse Polish notation with algebraic notation, reverse Polish has been found to lead to faster calculations, for two reasons. The first reason is that reverse Polish calculators do not need expressions to be parenthesized, so fewer operations need to be entered to perform typical calculations. Additionally, users of reverse Polish calculators made fewer mistakes than for other types of calculators. Later research clarified that the increased speed from reverse Polish notation may be attributed to the smaller number of keystrokes needed to enter this notation, rather than to a smaller cognitive load on its users

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          Graeme#4

          Also waited until cheaper calculators were available that used conventional calculation methods. I still have to teach advanced techies how to use their phones as a scientific calculator.

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        Geoff Sherrington

        CO2 lover,
        Recalling the episode at Brisbane airport where a random bag search revealed my new HP calculator, later than the 35.
        “What is in this box?”
        “That is my new HP 45.”
        “Sir, please stand back from your baggage while I call a gun security expert.”
        Geoff S

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          CO2 Lover

          The HP35 came out in the USA in 1972 and the HP45 in 1973 – maybe a little latter in Australia.

          Perhaps Colt did have a HP model?

          The HP35 still sells eBay for between $100-$500 depending on condition

          I wonder what one minnt in box would be worth?

          I should have kept mine

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          CO2 Lover

          More HP35 trivia

          Introduced on February 1 1972, the Hewlett-Packard HP-35 was the first handheld electronic calculator sold by HP, and the first handheld ever to perform logarithmic and trigonometric functions with one keystroke. In effect it was the world’s first electronic slide rule. As opposed to later HP calculators, it has an xy function, not yx, and the trigonometric functions work in degrees only. It does not have a shift key like later models, but there is an ARC key for use with SIN, COS, and TAN to give their inverses. The story goes that it was made after William Hewlett was shown the HP9100 desktop calculator by his engineers, and asked for a version to fit in his shirt-pocket. At first, HP thought they would only make a few HP-35s for their own engineers, as no-one else would be interested. Then they decided to try selling it – and sold hundreds of thousands. The HP-35 is of special interest to collectors because it was the first HP handheld, and the world’s first handheld calculator with transcendental functions.

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          CO2 Lover

          Even More HP35 trivia.

          The early versions said only “Hewlett Packard” on the faceplate and inside HP the product was simply called “The Calculator”. Bill Hewlett suggested naming it the HP-35 because it had 35 keys. Later as HP developed more models, “35” was added to the faceplate. The HP-35 and probably the entire HP pocket calculator product line was the sole result of a visionary CEO who chose to ignore the market studies (which determined a limited market for a pocket sized scientific calculator) and produce what he felt that engineers would want.

          We are now forced to buy things like Teslas that most people do not want – how the world has changed.

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          CO2 Lover

          If you were a HP35 fan there is a simulation available here:

          Brings back fond memories of RPN

          For those who have never used RPN put in a number such as [1] – press [Enter] then enter another number say [2] press the operator (+) and 3 appears. There is no “=” sign. Press CLR (top right to clear) and start again.

          https://www.hpmuseum.org/simulate/hp35sim/hp35sim.htm

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            Lucky

            From the same era, I still have an HP22.
            It still works, charger went long ago but 2 of AA go in. I agree about the RPN stack- it is noticeably faster and intuitive. I had a ‘meeting’ with an auditor over some unusual financial calculations, he had a Canon with keys for brackets. Only after I showed him how to use his Canon did my figures get the sign-off.
            I also still have a German Aristo slide rule that has performed sterling work. Has not been used now for years.

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    In German news I read that John Kerry resigns his climate job to help Bidens team to win the elections.

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