JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
Jo appreciates your support to help her keep doing what she does. This blog is funded by donations. Thanks!
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May the surprises of 2024 be more enjoyable than those encountered in the last few years.
And may it be no surprise that Jo continues to support open discussion on the “topics of the day” which actually have the possibility of affecting our and our childrens’ future.
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Does our country support it though?
Whatever happened to the “combating misinformation” bill? I can’t find the final version of the bill on either APH or DHA web sites.
Although my objection to the bill was certainly received, for all the good it did.
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A Happy Mew Year to JO and all her readers.
We hear of problems with EV’s but this is an interesting one. Fire broke out at a Devon Holiday park when the bio mass boiler overheated. There is talk of brining in more of these things but I don’t know their safety records although whether they are green is another matter. Wonder if the get a grant/subsidy like Drax does?
https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/firefighters-rush-devon-holiday-park-9005484
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Nah; if it has “bio’ or “eco” in the title, it is SACRED and unchallengeable.
It’s a DEATH CULT.
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Yeah but – it’s working: our temperate maritime climate woke to a fresh, light dusting of ‘carbon fallout powder’ on the upper slopes of Mt Ruapehu volcano in the North Island this morning, while the govt’s MetService is still calling for “snow to 1100m” down south in Fiordland on 1 Jan 2024.
Winter came early in this Year of Change – if only it was a little warmer. At least the sun’s shining so there’s still hope.
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Which old-growth forests are they cutting down to fuel these biomass heaters? Or are they just burning books?
210
Can’t let the masses have too much to think.
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American ones! But that’s ok because trees are renewable
40
Pretty horrendous weather over here in the UK for New Years Eve. Looking at our diary it seems to have been the same last year
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12914409/new-years-eve-storm-chaos-fireworks-cancelled.html
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Luxury..
10
We lived in lake……..
00
Both France and Germany have mobilised thousands of security forces in case of terrorist attacks during New Years Eve
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/12/30/france-mobilises-100000-police-and-soldiers-in-paris-amid-very-high-terror-threat-on-new-years-eve/
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I am afraid that 2024 might be an average year: worse than 2023, better than 2025.
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“Average”, or just plain “MEAN”?
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The exact opposite.
https://youtu.be/NNiTxUEnmKI?si=v-NRX7q9s8HC-01K
20
I am sorry but I am still living in the past. Its still 2023. Flash bang explosions are expected near Big Ben in six hours time. Thousands of terrorists and foreign army deserters have been given asylum in London. All rescued from the English Channel by the RNLI. London, Britain, Scotland and Ireland have all got South Asian rulers.
250
Your country is in serious trouble my friend.
190
Not according to The Mullahs! The UK is precisely where they want it to be, on it’s knees
50
Has been in serious trouble for a long time, the Useful Idiots of the climate alarmist cult and Woke Left have taken control of parliament and more so the local councils, led by the CO2 hating “CO2 Bad Charlie”. The British are on a hiding to nothing right now and I don’t see that changing unless they completely rid themselves of the Tories and Labor.
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Happy New Year Joanne and the JoNova team, commenters and readers.
And remember,
“No matter how bad things might be, they can always get worse”.
All the best to all and have as good a 2024 as you possibly can.
301
Indeed there is no worst case. So enjoy what we got. Here’s to a fun new year, all year. Kiss your coal.
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That otherwise sensible, normal people are so easily led to “the slaughter” beggars belief.
200
I could never understand that either.
And then along came covid and then I understood everything.
251
Happy new year to you all from the Netherlands.
And to Joanne in particular.
320
Praise the farmers.
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Unfortunately one up-vote only.
Let’s wait for Jan. 8th, what will happen in Germany.
Happy New Year 2024 to all and the respective families !
230
Thanks David.
I’ve got some farmers in my family.
The farmers in the Netherlands are caught up in the nitrogen hoax, created by our incompetent government.
Or the government is very competent at confiscating their land for other purposes..
Since a few weeks we’ve got a new parlament.
Much more to the right as before.
Which will form the new government.
In the meantime the former and temporary government still rules on and still messes things up.
That’s almost unique in the world.
In Germany the situation of the farmers is different, but not much better.
Since their red-green traffic light government is cutting down theit diesel subsidies.
We will see about all all that in 2024.
270
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right,
Here I am stuck in the middle with you . .
Gerry Rafferty with Joe Egan, band Steelers Wheel 1972.
Such a prophetic song . .
60
Thanks David.
I’ve got some farmers in my family.
The farmers in the Netherlands are caught up in the nitrogen hoax, created by our incompetent government.
Or the government is very competent at confiscating their land for other purposes..
Since a few weeks we’ve got a new parlament.
Much more to the right as before.
Which will form the new government.
In the meantime the former and temporary government still rules on and still messes things up.
That’s almost unique in the world.
In Germany the situation of the farmers is different, but not much better.
Since their red-green traffic light government is cutting down theit diesel subsidies.
We will see about all all that in 2024.
20
Oh the Dutch people must be overjoyed with the announcement by the head of the Army the Netherlands needs to prepare for war with Russia right now. Happy New Year indeed.
80
Slàinte Mhaith
As my Irish grandmother would say.
Actually, I am told she might have said that.
I have no idea – ’cause she died before I came along.
Moral: All that can should quiz parents, grandparents, and other relatives about family. Who, when, where, what happened. Explain about Gram’s life and death. Tell the little ones family stories. Do you have a photo with a dozen or two dozen members at a family reunion, wedding, or funeral? Identify the folks.
As you grow older, there will be fewer people to answer your questions.
And, Happy New Year to all y’all! 🙂
360
Talking about Australian journalists in London on New Years Eve. Julian Assange is still locked up in a London prison and John Pilger died in London yesterday.
“In the eighteenth century, Edmund Burke described the role of the press as a Fourth Estate checking the powerful. Was that ever true? It certainly doesn’t wash any more. What we need is a Fifth Estate: a journalism that monitors, deconstructs and counters propaganda, and teaches the young to be agents of people, not power. We need what the Russians called perestroika. Vandana Shiva calls this ‘an insurrection of subjugated knowledge’. Meanwhile, the responsibility of the rest of us is clear. It is to identify and expose the lies of those who ‘control the narrative’, warmongers especially, and never to collude with them. It is to re-awaken the great popular movements that brought a fragile civilisation to modern imperial states. Most important, it is to prevent the conquest of ourselves: our minds, our humanity, our self-respect. If we remain silent, victory over us is assured.”
John Pilger
230
Jonathan Pilger?
01
The journalists role as Forth Estate is long over, it’s end in Germany at least was the publication of the so called Hitler Diaries.
Diary of the Hitler Diary Hoax
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was thought as answer to #10
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Thanks for being one of the last bastions of free speech here and anywhere, Jo. It is a rare and disrespected commodity these days.
Many, or most subjects discussed here would be subject to censorship on other social media or media sites (except Elon Musk’s X/Twitter), and they mostly go against the Official Government Narrative.
Our various Ministries of Truth would be most displeased.
And believing in free speech, you even allow Leftists to have their say, and no conservative or fellow rational thinker objects to that (as Leftists would in the reverse situation).
It’s so refreshing for non-Leftists to have an outlet for their thoughts.
Let’s hope this year Australia’s censorship legislation, first proposed by the fake conservative Liberal Party, promoted by Labor, and opposed by the anti-Left, pro-freedom community as demonstrated by 23,000 submissions against it, does not go through in any form. It is a direct threat to your site.
We just have a few conservatives in Parliament genuinely opposed to it such as Senator Babet from the United Australia Party; the Liberal Democrats and One Nation (Australia’s only conservative parties).
Thanks for all your hard work Jo.
As for recent donations for your chocolates failing from some donors from overseas when sent via woke, anti-free speech platforms like Pal, I sent you an email but you may not have seen it. Have a look at GiveSendGo. They are a non-woke, pro-free-speech fund-raising platform. The founders partly sponsored, and spoke, at the last pro-freedom CPAC conference in Sydney. They describe themselves thusly: “GiveSendGo is the leading freedom fundraising platform.”
Best wishes to you and yours, and everyone else who contributes on this blog and who believes in free speech and freedom.
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Well said David- agree 100 percent
On the COVID comment below- I had 2 AZ needles and foolishly had the Pfizer booster. Lump on the neck is finally receding after a yr. Daughter and son in-law both Shearer’s and ended up in hospital after the Pfizer with swollen heart
Fkn con of the centuary- I had COVID about 3 times at least and have had worse hangovers!
10
2024 will be the year of release of the widely anticipated US Election Variant of covid to keep people at home so the DemocRATs can harvest more fraudulent mail-in ballots.
And latest from the SBS fear factory, representing the Government fear factory:
Unfortunately, these days you know it’s BS when you hear “experts say” or “scientists say” as you know they are saying whatever their government funding agency wants them to. (That’s argumentum ab auctoritate or argumentum ad verecundiam.)
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I think you mean “argumentum ab pecunia”.
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“Watch: Morano on Fox & Friends presents the top 4 ‘climate hypocrites’ of 2023 – And the winner is…”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/12/31/watch-morano-on-fox-friends-presents-the-top-4-climate-hypocrites-of-2023-and-the-winner-is/
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FWIW
“COVID Propaganda Roundup: ‘Holiday Heart Syndrome’ ”
“The latest updates on the “new normal” – chronicling the lies, distortions, and abuses by the ruling class.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2023-12-30/covid-propaganda-roundup-holiday-heart-syndrome
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All the best to Jo and all the bloggers for 2024.
I hope that Aidan Morrison and other well researched analysts can take up the fight to Labor and the Greens’ loonies this year.
But will the MSM give them a real chance to explain their doubts about UNREAIABLE, TOXIC W & S? I’ll believe it when I see it.
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Does this video clip prophesise 2024?
We already have this technology.
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/9Q5kJZWasRL2pBv2/
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A cartoon caption –
“WEF & WHO have merged
Now called WTF”
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Hmmmm!
“Repeat Influenza Vaccination Linked To Higher Risk Of Infection: CDC Preprint”
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/repeat-influenza-vaccination-linked-higher-risk-infection-cdc-preprint
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61 NoTricksZone Articles On Studies, Datasets From 2023 Show Climate Models Are Rubbish
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Climate by its very nature is a chaotic system (as is the weather) and so is impossiblle to predict or model with any accuracy.
The butterfly effect rests on the notion that the world is deeply interconnected, such that one small occurrence can influence a much larger complex system. The effect is named after an allegory for chaos theory; it evokes the idea that a small butterfly flapping its wings could, hypothetically, cause a typhoon
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They have twigged to the idea that solar forcing is responsible for ENSO behaviour.
Chaos theory has helped create algorithms, so its only a matter of time before they realise that natural variability still rules.
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Only have a look at positive or negative NAO and what the consequences may be looking at the respective weather patterns.
30
I just wish an Happy New Year to al Canadians beef breeders. Because they will have a lot of work in 2024 teaching their animals to breath methane free to save the Planet. Our Environmental minister, an ex Greenpeace activist, submit a law that would provide them credits for every gramme of methane saving that comes out of their herd.
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Canadas environment minister Steven Guibault is the current chairman of a Chinese government advisory board. He gets paid for this side gig.
Canada’s finance minister Chrystia Freeland advises the WEF. She is paid for this side gig as well.
For all we know, Trudeau might also be paid for a side gig of some kind.
Not one single Canadian reporter has the balls to ask how much they are paid. It’s beyond belief.
10
Jo mentioned yesterday how the Government slipped through new “emissions” standards which will completely alter the face of motoring in Australia plus wipe out nearly all four wheel drive off-road vehicles currently sold in this country (we wouldn’t want people escaping into the Outback when the SHTF).
It’s tragic and has gone unnoticed in the media. Well, more likely, they noticed, but rendering Australians less mobile is all part of the Leftist objective of ultimately destroying all forms of personal mobility including motor vehicle ownership and use. You (non Elites) will be confined to the free range prisons known as “15 min cities”.
And where was the fake conservative Liberal Party faction of the Uniparty? They were remarkably silent. Not surprising really, they were the party that bought “renewables” to Australia and many worse things since then….And they are the slightly less bad faction of the Uniparty.
Note, Elite Leftists like Melbournistan Lord Mayor Sally Capp believes in 15 Minute Cities. See https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/34586
But she refuses to refund to the tax payer $30,000 she has spent in her extensive use of chauffeur driven limousines.
Present company excepted IS ANYONE AWAKE YET?
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Speaking of emissions:
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A large cargo ship with a fire in its hold is being kept 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) offshore of an Alaska port as a precaution while efforts are undertaken to extinguish the flames, the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday.
There were no injuries to the 19 crew members aboard the Genius Star XI, which was carrying a load of lithium-ion batteries across the Pacific Ocean, from Vietnam to San Diego, the guard’s Alaska district said in a release.
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2023/12/31/cargo-ship-carrying-burning-lithium-ion-batteries-reaches-alaska-but-kept-offshore-for-safety/
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The fire is out now. The crew used CO2 to ‘flood’ the hold and sealed it.
So, if we have another lithium battery fire I expect the Fire Brigade to seal the fire in a steel box flooded with CO2 which will solve that emergency – but what about all those GREENIE heads exploding about a use of “carbon”.
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G’day Graeme,
I’m surprised you say that CO2 seems to have extinguished the fire. We’ve seen those batteries burn under water because they produce their own oxygen, so how can CO2 be effective against them?
The link you’ve given says they’ve used CO2, but does not say the fire is extinguished.
Cheers
Dave B
70
David, HNY my friend.
You are correct that CO2 won’t extinguish an EV Li-ion battery if it is “on fire”. (thermal runaway).
Yet, CO2 would have an effect on limiting fire spread to the other vehicles. In that regard Graeme-3 is correct.
Also, David you are correct, water won’t “extinguish”/stop the thermal runaway… It just cools and slows the exothermic reaction in the involved battery. We don’t want it to ignite exposures or explode.
To all, You don’t need a breached fuel tank or compromised EV battery to have intense heat and fire if a vehicle is alight.
There is a lot of flammable material in a car, both ICE and EV.
If that material ignites from exposure to fire, then a EVs’ Li-ion battery could be subjected to excessive heat. That is the problem.
This could lead to a thermal runaway even tho the EV battery was not directly involved in initial ignition.
And that is the crux of the issue. Place 400 EVs in a confined space, One catches fire via thermal runaway, then you will have a serious issue. (Excessive heat/possible explosion in a confined space).
It will/could be a domino effect. CO2 will limit indirect fire spread but it won’t effectively cool the other 399 batteries.
In open space, it takes us 3 to 16+hrs (or more) of cooling via water, for a single EV/battery to become safe/inert… An Ice vehicle, 15 mins max.
40
Thanks William,
The article talks about ” carrying a load of lithium-ion batteries …”, not EVs, which sounds more dangerous to me?? But one has to ask if the language in the article is precise, and followed by how many? and how and where are they loaded? Is no.1 hold adjacent to the engine room?
Thanks for your generous response.
Cheers
D
10
After the (apparent) defeat of National Socialism and Communism the Left have never had more power than they have today.
Let’s make 2024 the year of the Conservative and fellow rational thinkers, freedom and free speech and demand of our politicians that they work in the best interests of we, the people, not themselves and the globalist Elites.
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It is time that the World Economic Forum is designated as a terrorist organisation.
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David,
I’m not sure about the first part of that statement of yours.
Communism has not been (apparently) defeated. It’s alive and well in China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cuba and Venezuela.
In addition, there have been a number of countries that have had Communist ruling parties over recent time: Nepal, Guyana, and Moldova are cases in point.
It’s agents are active insurgents in most countries of the world, working away to weaken and bring about radical and violent change.
Communism has also evolved from the textbook Marxist theory that the purists worship. We now have asymmetric Communism. This is a form with the same objectives as Marxism (dictatorship of the proletariat) but with a very different set of strategies – ranging from violent insurrection at one extreme to insurgency and sabotage at the other.
Gramsci and Dutschke have perfected the strategy for changing the hegemony by taking a long march through the institutions. They, like the Fabians, are patient and persistent. (You know this, because you often write about it here). And, they have been very successful. One needs to look no further than the Australian ABC to see how powerful it is and how successfully it resists pushback from the conservative end of politics. There are many other examples.
Another iteration currently playing out is the alignment of the left (and especially the green-left) with the Islamic extremist elements that stand not only against Israel but also against Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and any other of the so-called infidel religions.
They also stand against the Western World as a whole and the freedoms that it espouses. This alignment is more than a marriage of convenience, although it has some contradictions in that the Islamic extremists in the past had linked themselves to the extreme right ideology (whose name can’t be mentioned here without going into moderation) of the 1930s and 40s in its attempt to find a final solution to their hatred of the Jewish people.
Your final point is correct. They have never had more power than now.
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As a white angle saxon, I fear the terrorism of the extremist Jews more than I fear the extremist Muslims, probably because they appear to have the backing of vague western power groups, such as WEF, but maybe that is just me.
14
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How’s this for a sign that’s outside StKilda Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, Australia? “No camping penalties apply”. So is camping OK or did the illiterate morons who worded the sign forget to include a critical comma?
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I would like to camp just to challenge that sign in court.
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A work colleague whose first language is French picked up a parking fine early in his stay in Melbourne. While looking for parking in Carlton he was please to find a spot. The sign said “Permit Parking”
As parking was permitted he was quite upset to get a ticket and fine.
50
Let’s make this a year where conservatives and other rational thinkers fight to re-establish the values of The Enlightenment that built our present Western Civilisation which is now under systematic and ruthless attack by those with some very evil ideas.
We should all be fighting for the values of The Enlightenment that got us where we are such as the pursuit of happiness, the pursuit of knowledge obtained by means of reason and evidence, ideals such as liberty, progress, toleration of alternative ideas (free speech), fraternity, law and order and respect for individual rights, constitutional government and the separation of church and state (including religions disguised as certain political ideologies and vice versa).
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Unfortunately a Federal election is not due until 2025 – best we can hope for is that the Labor right knife Albo the Commie and WEF puppet as they did with KRudd.
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To be replaced by whom, Mr/Ms/Mx Penny Wong?
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Ms Wong is a senator and cannot be PM.
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There is no rule against it. Sen. John Gorton became PM after Harold Holt died. He did soon resign as Senator, however and stood for and won Holt’s now-vacant House of Reps seat.
Similarly a deposed PM might be encouraged to resign their seat for an appropriate inducement like US or UN Ambassador so someone like Wong could take it.
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Okay, thanks.
20
Happy New Year to all and just a reminder that it’s 40 years on from 1984. Hmmmmm. ToM
130
Great Fireworks, music and lots of people at Wollombi last night.
Happy New Year ’24.
Hope it trumps ’23.
30
Hope it’s Trump’s ’24
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Vivek is very easy to like:
https://youtube.com/shorts/tXBnS190uA8?si=ih9J4III9Abc9Usy
(< 2m video)
I hope he is offered a meaningful role in Trump's cabinet.
11
Have some relaxation: The process of making a full-frame mirrorless camera. The world’s smallest and lightest camera.
30
Happy new year everyone . Please keep going this coming year as we are going to need people with critical thinking skills when the cretins in charge are tossed out . The end game is in progress as the “elites” are building bunkers . Have fun , but keep your heads down….
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So, how is this container deposit scheme meant to work in Vicdanistan and NSWstan?
Before it, I paid more than 10c less for my drinks, now I pay more.
Before it I put all my recyclable containers in recycling.
After it, if I want my 10c back I have to find a deposit location and take the container there. Of course, that is not worthwhile for one container or even 100.
Plus collecting them uses a huge amount of space. And there is the cost of transport.
How is it meant to alter my behaviour, or that of nearly everyone who always did the right thing and put the containers in recycling anyway?
The only outcome for me is paying more and imposing a huge inconvenience on me.
I therefore, as a punishment to the Left, propose to stop recycling altogether and I will put my recyclables in normal rubbish so it goes to your dreaded landfill. I trust you are “triggered” and have to crawl into a corner of one of your stupid “safe spaces” and have a meltdown.
170
David:
I sort out bottles into PET and polyethylene and when the plastic rubbish bags are full, take them to the recycling station. That includes 4L orange juice and milk bottles which have no charge (or refund).
The refund I donate to their charity can (they allow you a choice).
I worked for a company that recycled PET into polyester resins at around 50-100 t.p.a. but the quality became poorer and poorer (cans, lids, plastic and paper labels etc,) so that end use became no longer usable. The best solution I think is to burn these, as countries like Germany, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and others do, claiming it as renewables. Singapore also burns them but in a high temperature furnace as they don’t want them taking up land fill options.
110
Do you expect an applause? Surely you have something better to do with your time? This stuff ends up in land fill in any event as you have confirmed.
20
If you have looked into the process of high temperature incineration, you would have found that the resultant small amount of remaining ash is non-toxic. Sewage can also be processed at high temps in the same furnaces to reduce its final ash size and toxicity. High temp furnaces can also produce energy as heat, so it’s a win-win in every respect.
31
We live in a rural village and have to pay for those stupid green bins that about 25 percent of people use for their garden cuttings, which could easily be disposed of on site. They run that truck each week and I never use it. The recycle yellow bin and waste red bin run once a fortnight which for waste is completely inadequate.
I am forced to pay for that inefficient system so the deal is off. I have to get rubbish out of here, so I use the red and yellow for whatever. Except I won’t put meat in the recycle out of respect for the worker at the other end, so it has to sit in the fridge for 13 days.
Only socialists could come up with such an inefficient system.
130
Disagree. Green bin is a means to get rid of stuff that would otherwise be either a fire risk or a home for creatures I don’t want – and that might attract other creatures I really don’t want.
00
The other problem is that the 10 cents only applys to some plastic and glass containers – if machine rejects larger ones I just leave them on the floor infront of the machine
30
Have you seen the signs at Woolies and Coles saying even though the packing on soft plastics says that they can be turned to the supermarkets for recycling – the supermarkets are rejecting the stuff!!!!!
All virtue signaling with most plastics stilll going to land fill.
50
And this is the fundamental problem with so-called plastic “recycling” – nobody really knows where the sorted plastics finally end up.
Not so long ago warehouses of the stuff at a failed recycling centre were carted away by the local council to their tip.
20
That scheme went tits up 6 months ago. ,
The recycler, RED, were found to be simply storing the soft plastics in numerous wherehouses and went into recievership.
30
In Switzerland (circa 2001) they used to have the deposit return machines in the supermarkets, so you could take them back in small numbers on the way in to shopping. Overlayed with council waste centres that sorted waste very effectively and a city level high temperature incinerator/power plant , it all seemed to hang together very well. Dont know how it stood the test of time since then.
10
Germany has similar machines, and they are starting to pop up in France as well.
10
More incompetence or more likely maliciousness by the fake conservative Morrison regime. And I don’t except the covid excuse either.
30
Incompetence is everywhere, I think its is really the norm these days.
Consequences pile up, people pay the price in $s and lives and lost opportunities.
The above example, the energy “transition” , QANTAS, OPTUS, BOEING, assorted bank outages, Govt IT , schools and Universities that don’t educate, lowered professional standards, “closing the gap” , revolving door justice and bail systems, bushfire management, building in flood zones, exporting gas to China for decades at a fixed price with no escalation, no dams built for decades and 50 years to break ground on a 2nd Sydney airport to name just a few.
00
Chiefio in muse mode
“2024 Will Be?…”
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2023/12/31/2024-will-be/
10
Do hippy gardeners realise their compost heap produces a lot of co2? Most do realise a compost heap is a lot of work and lose interest after a while anyway.
30
Real gardeners know that and welcome the extra plant food, as well as the humus.
20
Real gardeners also know if the compost is over damp and starting to stink, it is now rotting rather than decomposing. As there is no oxygen available, it produces CH4 methane. To fix the problem introduce brown stuff ( dead leaves, grasses, news paper etc. which carry aerobic bacteria )and turn the compost over and over to allow oxygen to saturate the decaying material. In a few hours it will be generating heat ,smelling sweetly and producing CO2.
20
Serious business over in the middle east shipping waters. A British oil tanker ablaze and US Navy attacking pirates.
Good work by the Navy too. Well done boys! This is exactly what these forces should be used for, not like neocon Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s one piece of action Australia should be assisting with.
91
Russia is promoting a Northern Route from Europe to China that by-passes the Suez Canal.
Watch for future developments
10
The US Navy should stand down. They are always bad-mouthed if they try to keep the peace. Let the Europeans solve their own problems.
What will the “Icebreaker Fee” be? I’m sure Russia will do it out of the goodness of their hearts. :cough:
12
just for some context – The US helicopters were reportedly shot at first. In response, they destroyed 3 of the 4 vessels doing the shooting.
Is this what really happened? who knows…?
It’s interesting that I do not see the same level of scrutiny and doubt from the media about US actions, as is applied to anything from Israel, with vast amounts of IDF video covered in “this footage cannot be verified” notes, while they simultaneously report casualty figures provided by Hamas as though they are factual.
21
They lit Sydney up with the politics once again. Last year it was the gay parade this year anti-whitism. These people just can’t shut up. Can’t do anything for kids without messaging. Let’s face it, that is all fireworks are for, kids.
31
Bread and circuses – classic diversionary tactic……
00
John Pilger: How the government manipulates facts
Thought-provoking documentary on war propaganda: how governments manipulate the facts and how most media let them get away with it. WWI, Vietnam War, post-2001 Afghanistan, post-2003 Iraq, Palestine: a historical account of PR, embedded journalism, lies and cover-ups, but also of courageous journalists who disclose the truth.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/MFe7yxNsUCZg/
40
Did you realise ? – About/from Pilger
10
I have no idea how many friends of good blues music are reading/writing here, but for these a hint:
Jazz Radio Blues situated in Lyon, France, blues 365/24/7 – with actual play list.
Enjoy
Just listened to a nice version of “House of the rising sun”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSMCwGD9xFQ
20
Blues is excellent. Covers a wide range of talents, styles, and many decades.
John Klemmer: Free Fall Lover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obxQs30BxTU
Spyro Gyra: Morning Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVDZ5UY_oDw
Canned Heat: Refried Boogie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYO9fzsS_AM
George Thorogood: Bad to the Bone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyhJ69mD7xI
00
Almost forgot. Chet Baker. Almost Blue. Classic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4PKzz81m5c
And, John Lee Hooker, 1948, Boogie Chillen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4pp02_GN9A
00
Just what I needed!
00
Google DeepMind releases long-awaited AI model called Gemini, which it claims will be smarter and better than the human brain.
Google is poised to release its new Gemini program, which is much more powerful than ChatGPT. Gemini is the first AI model to outperform human experts on MMLU (Massive Multitask Language Understanding), one of the most popular methods to test the knowledge and problem solving abilities of AI models.
And tech gurus are saying AI will double the amount of information it can process every year, essentially doubling the intelligence of artificial intelligence.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/ZpEUbbPSMGBi/
“Leaps and bounds”, but as I’ve said over and over, the so-called A.I. now is anything but. More like a Microsoft support line, regurgitating from a database without understanding.😉
Mildly entertaining but nothing more.
When true AI hits, nothing will stop it, not politicians nor laws nor programmed constraints. It will be a law unto itself, and the iOT its home.
00
Here is a test question for Google DeepMind
What will global climate be in 2124?
10
John,
When you call a “call center” you will most likely be talking to an AI . It will be interesting trying to take them “off script” like the human equivalent . It will also be interesting to see if it becomes an avenue for hacking attacks. Interesting times ahead .
30
UK: Drivers pay hundreds as net zero parking charges spread nationwide
Drivers are having to fork out hundreds of pounds each year to park their cars as new net zero charges spread nationwide.
Analysis by the Telegraph has found that one in seven councils charges for parking based on vehicle emissions, which leads to the most polluting vehicles being hit with higher fees.
Some councils have tripled their rates for petrol cars in the last year, while some drivers are having to pay as much as £110 extra this year for year-long permits.
Drivers of diesel vehicles are being increasingly targeted, with 18 councils now introducing separate surcharges for these vehicles.
Councils argue that such charges are needed to improve air quality and encourage people to use more sustainable forms of transport.
However, the spread of the charges has been criticised by motoring groups, which have labelled them “inherently unfair” and “inconsistent”.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/12/30/uk-drivers-pay-hundreds-as-net-zero-parking-charges-spread/
40
Maybe Jo could appoint a few volunteer mods this year to improve the “awaiting moderation” delays?
There are a few worthy individuals here who would be good choices, have the time and would probably be keen.
00
Australia backtracking on Covid gaslighting
BEFORE the COVID-Vaccine
0 vaccines
0 excess deaths
910 ‘COVID’ deaths
29,000 COVID ‘cases’
AFTER the COVID-Vaccine
70 Million Vaccine doses
50,000 excess deaths
11.7 Million COVID ‘cases’
https://twitter.com/FreedomPodcast1/status/1737406423812714690
We now have 29 candidates and 23 elected officials from 14 states publicly stating the COVID shots must be pulled off the market. Over 17,000 physicians stand behind them.
https://twitter.com/MdBreathe/status/1737444774670401891
60
But the official positions of Labor and the fake conservative Liberal Party are that covid “vaccines” are 100% effective and safe and we need more of them.
40
I hope you are enjoying your labor government. You will never attempt to change it.
01
Australians shoulld now question the safety of ALL vaccines given the criminal conduct of Pfizer and other makers of the phoney COVID “vaccine” where the US FDA changed the definition of a “Vaccine” to suit a political agenda and a $ agenda.
60
The single most important interview I’ve ever done: former Kaiser nurse Gail Macrae
90% of the COVID deaths in hospitals were attributed to COVID treatment protocols. ICU doc estimated up to an 80% increase in mortality due to the COVID vaccine.
Key points of the interview include:
Hospitals were actually empty when the press told us they were full.
90% or more of the COVID deaths were actually caused by the treatment protocols dictated from above, not the virus. There were both early treatments as well as inpatient treatments available that reduced the COVID death rate by over 90%.
The COVID vaccines increased all-cause mortality in hospitals by up to 80% according to one ICU doctor I spoke to who worked in the same hospital as Gail and made meticulous notes on patient outcomes.
One of the potential reasons people believed that there was a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” is that the EMR systems were programmed to default all COVID cases to unvaccinated and nurses weren’t told how to change it.
After the vaccines rolled out for an age group is when the hospitals started seeing very unusual things they’ve never seen or rarely seen before for that age group.
Doctors are still afraid to speak out.
Bottom line: it wasn’t the virus that caused the pandemic. It was our response to the virus (top-down dictated treatment protocols and vaccination directives) that caused nearly all the morbidity and mortality. It was all preventable had we listened to the people that our government wanted to silence.
https://kirschsubstack.com/p/the-single-most-important-interview
Direct video link:
https://ak2.rmbl.ws/s8/2/P/l/T/1/PlT1o.gaa.mp4
60
“EUGYPPIUS- The Year the Pandemic Ended: A Retrospective”
“In 2023, the Covid Circus finally packed up its tents in the Federal Republic of Germany. Nobody regrets their departure and all efforts to revive the performance have fallen flat.”
https://www.eugyppius.com/p/this-year-the-pandemic-ended-a-retrospective
20
The story of the donkey, the tiger and the lion.
Very good.
https://youtu.be/tMOo5889e58
1.5 mins
Also see:
70
Mmmm, but what to do when (as now) idiocy is in the ascendent, ruling us, creating a dystopian future? Sitting back in saintly silence is fine if you can be sure of where things are headed. We cannot be so sure, so I believe we have to shout back at the donkeys.
41
what to do when (as now) idiocy is in the ascendent
Buy a generator and a supply of fuel.
Make sure the generator uses the same fuel as your motor vehicle.
Sit back and wait for the system to collapse.
10
Problem is that the donkey is driving the bus, telling everyone it’s going to be a nice ride over the fields while actually headed for the lake.
The lion is eating what he can, then waiting for the right moment to jump off.
Admittedly, trying to argue with your fellow donkey and get them to pay attention to the world around them is difficult but at least you kind of need to say something before you jump off after the lion.
20
The State rescue helicopter has been flying over the hills behind my house for half an hour. RSC521 on Flightradar24.
There was a jail break at Christmas and two were captured quickly. This may be a search for the third. Who knows.
40
Where are you?
21
A stone’s throw from Lavarack Brks, Townsville. Under the TV tower.
20
The news says they are searching for a soldier from Lavarack Brks. While that country being searched is a bit rough no adult could be lost for more than a half hour.
They were searching for a man who is incapacitated. I fear for his wellbeing.
00
Just think after Jan 1st we won’t have the MSM recycling 2023 over and over again.
10
LIST: High Street Banks in the UK to Close in 2024
Customers of banks are being alerted to the impending wave of branch closures that is expected to occur in 2024.
In the UK, the closure of high street bank and building society branches has been made worse by the growth of online banking.
Major lenders have confirmed additional closures, meaning that this rate of about 54 per month will continue in 2024.
The following banks will close their branches in 2024: Barclays, Halifax, Lloyds, and NatWest. Meanwhile, HSBC UK has promised not to disclose any additional closures.
https://savebritain.org/list-high-street-banks-in-the-uk-to-close-in-2024/
Banks Terminate 60,000 Workers In One Of The Bleakest Years For The Industry Since 2008
The collapse of three US regional banks – First Republic Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank – marked some of the largest failures in the banking system since 2008. Central banks contained the “mini-crisis” earlier this year with forced interventions and the mega-merger of Credit Suisse and UBS. Despite the interventions, global banks still axed the most jobs since the global financial crisis.
A new report from the Financial Times shows twenty of the world’s largest banks slashed 61,905 jobs in 2023, a move to protect profit margins in a period of high interest rates amid a slump in dealmaking and equity and debt sales. This compared with the 140,000 lost during the GFC of 2007-08.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/banks-terminate-60000-workers-one-bleakest-years-employment-2008
Ditch the big banks and go local.
20
50
In my small town NAB have closed their branch. We currently still have a Commonwealth an ANZ and a Bendigo bank. We also have a couple of private ATMs. The private ATMs and Bendigo ATM charge a fee for using them. I think the government should legislate that if a branch is closed down they have to maintain an ATM or they must pick up the tab for any fees charged for withdrawing cash.
40
The Government would never do that as they don’t want people using cash. They want all transactions to be fully traceable and trackable.
20
In my town ANZ closed their branch and left an ATM which only allowed withdrawals, no deposits.
They obviously didn’t want their customers’ money.
Then the ATM was taken over by a third party.
Now ANZ customers have to travel 40 minutes to the regional centre and pay for parking if they want to do any transaction involving actual money.
That prevents cash transactions involving the bank – you have to use your cellphone, computer, or card.
As a response people are keeping their own cash reserves to avoid the cost of travel.
40
Will this be year of “The Men” The most terrifying force of death comes from the hands of Men who wanted to be left Alone. They try, so very hard, to mind their own business and provide for themselves and those they love. They resist every impulse to fight back, knowing the forced and permanent change of life that will come from it. They know that the moment they fight back, their lives as they have lived them, are over. The moment the Men who wanted to be left Alone are forced to fight back, it is a form of suicide. They are literally killing off who they used to be. Which is why, when forced to take up violence, these Men who wanted to be left Alone, fight with unholy vengeance against those who murdered their former lives. They fight with raw hate, and a drive that cannot be fathomed by those who are merely play-acting at politics and terror. TRUE TERROR will arrive at these people’s door, and they will cry, scream, and beg for mercy…but it will fall upon the deaf ears of the Men who just wanted to be left Alone…
91
Interesting
20
Off to an early start –
“Cheap Renewables? British OFGEN Issues 48 Hour Price Hike Warning”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/12/31/cheap-renewables-british-ofgen-issues-48-hour-price-hike-warning/
00
I can’t tell if this is satire or real. What do you think?
https://twitter.com/damienslash/status/1739226195592441917
00
Seems real except for the number 9.
I haven’t been following the whole Covid debate, but I didn’t imagine anybody was up to 9 boosters yet!
I thought the recommended number was somewhere around 4 or 5.
Anybody got knowledge on this?
10
The Darwin theory lets us down sometimes.
11
Where WUWT is headed
Hint – it ain’t towards the exit
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/12/24/merry-christmas-happy-new-year-thanks-and-the-future/
30
Anthony Watts was doxed. The good guys are up against some very evil people.
30
No surprise here. There is one rule for the Elites, another for the rest of us.
30
Are those Chinese fireworks?
00
“Welcome to 2024”
Nice sentiment and thank you but …
being American, currently I am of the opinion that 2024 will be most significant in the Republic since Yorktown … maybe even Jamestown.
A ragtag coalition of ‘malcontents’* titularly led by a former game show TV personality, faces a force of Googly, UTooby, Legacy Medias, Alphabety, and Federale mercenaries …
without the benefit of French naval intervention.
My guess it goes like this …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Alamance
*(Since it’s trendy to redefine words … I use ‘malcontent’ as some may use ‘malinformation’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malinformation. Miscreants miscreanting for truth.)
As for me, I believe in Science and denounce malcontentism and hatetruth, and the Republic must be saved by Democrats … for Democracy.
BTW, the 2024 POTUS outcome likely signals the last chapter of the AGW saga.
(Note to self … go generator shopping … learn gardening.)
10
Oh cr@p …
forgot to swear on the fate of my mortal soul … Fauci is Science’s Divine Representative on Earth!
May the rack be loosened now?
10
Heaviest snow in South Korea’s capital Seoul for more than 40 years
00
Oh please … that’s weather not climate.
See in real Science there’s an energy positive/negative feedback loop.
Warming cause Colding.
It’s all about energy, man
In a loop.
Just because there’s a ‘pause’ or ‘hiatus’ where the science temporarily changes, doesn’t mean that Science can’t change they’s pronouns.
00
Viewing the normal climatic conditions in Seoul snow is not s.t. I would wait for.
00
Happy New Year Everyone!!!
And now the shit show to this year begins…
Huge poop is coming…in the US Dollar dump…
https://www.rt.com/russia/5…
Another Scam is catching hold to catch these little beggers…
https://www.algora.com/Algo…
World full of Green Backs looking for a home and just being able to only use them in the United States is on it’s way.
No wonder I keep seeing these buy Crypto ads popping up on my boy toys.
10
In the next few days, the polar vortex will form two centers in accordance with the centers of the geomagnetic field in the north.
Isobars show how the circulation in the tropopause will proceed. Warmer air from over the Atlantic will reach Svalbard, and the Russian high will strengthen in eastern Europe.
https://i.ibb.co/SvGYHjP/gfs-z100-nh-f240.png
https://i.ibb.co/GMMqPyF/fnor.gif
10
Happy complete rotation around the Sun day!
10
X5-class solar flare and earthquake in Japan of magnitude 7.5.
10