Thursday

9 out of 10 based on 14 ratings

107 comments to Thursday

  • #
    TdeF

    It’s amazing how closely the language of Julie Louis Dreyfus’s (ex Seinfield) character in VEEP mirrors Kamala Harris as VP. ” In the third season, she contemplates challenging the president for their unnamed party’s nomination in light of his political weakness, but the issue is mooted when he abruptly resigns, and she becomes president. ”

    The language exactly copies the same painful pattern. Are her speech writers copying the VEEP? One of these is comedy.

    70

  • #
    David Maddison

    As social(ist) media ramps up its US election interference more and more, conservatives are getting censored, banned or shadow banned, at an even greater rate than ever before. I even had a post deleted from Farcebook that I posted in 2021 because it was arguably pro-Trump as it featured an artwork of him.

    Thankfully there is now free speech X/Twitter but nevertheless search engines like Goolag still show biased search results in favour of DemonRATs and their agenda plus Gmail classifies many Trump campaign ads as SPAM.

    Unfortunately Trump was unable to reform section 230 of the Communication Decency Act. This gives social(ist) media companies protection for anything said on their platforms as they are considered a common carrier like a telephone service.

    However, that is not true. They do not act as common carrier. The mere fact that they censor content make a them a publisher therefore they should be liable for what they publish, like a newspaper, for example.

    The CDA still allows indecent material to be removed by carriers which is fine however. It is mainly their biased censorship of political material (including censorship of anything not fitting the Official Narrative on climate change and covid) that needs to be addressed.

    If they want to censor conservative content, fine. They are privately owned platforms. But if they do do that, stop considering them common carriers and remove section 230 protection as they are publishers.

    X/Twitter is a good example of how it should work. They don’t censor according to any particular agenda. It was the sort of free speech model the CDA was meant to protect.

    140

  • #
    David Maddison

    Elon Musk Tweeted.

    https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1810454245109571615

    When combined with mail-in ballots, the system is *designed* to make it impossible to prove fraud.

    Mail-in and drop box ballots should not be allowed, as cameras on the in-person voting stations would at least prevent large-scale fraud by counting how many people showed up vs ballots cast.

    150

    • #
      Honk R Smith

      Unfortunately the coup has already taken place.
      First there were false impeachment charges against Trump.

      Constructed out of thin air by administrative state cooperating factions.

      Then a ‘Pandemic’ of questionable origin that provided cover for ‘legal’ election changes, particularly in Democratic states, making it nearly impossible for Republicans to win. (Leaving remote plausibility as to not be obvious.)

      Pandemic exposed the underlying fundamental corruption of the administrative, academic, media, and medical establishment. Not just in the US but across the Western ‘democracies’ .
      Should we be using the D word anymore?

      It is unrealistic that Trump can ‘win’ under these circumstances.
      Democratic (DS) confidence is on display by the fact they’ve allowed themselves to get into their current absurd political situation.
      They’re likely not dumb but in control.

      They don’t campaign competently because they no longer have to.
      The pretense will be clear by the end of the year.

      I hope DJT can maintain safety for himself and his family.
      Many of his supporters have already been jailed, if not subject to status destroying lawfare.
      Those currently flying under DS radar should be making contingency plans.

      262

      • #
        Honk R Smith

        To support my assertion.
        The Heritage Foundation, a historically ‘conservative’ think tank, has supposedly released a projected Trump wish list.

        Project 2025
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025

        I believe Trump has claimed no association with this, and it is contrary to his style.
        Looks an obvious attempt at DS sabotage, as it has been latched onto and publicized primarily by the liberal press as Trump’s plans for dictatorship … which is its’ likely true agitprop purpose.

        There will be more such surprises.
        And like this, will come from establishment Republicans.
        The Administrative state and their media sycophants, view the American people, and traditional American values with contempt, and will stop at nothing to prevent the populist uprising.

        Once upon a time not so long ago, the Democratic Party was anti war.
        And the ACLU was for Free Speech.

        MAGA
        Maybe Afford Groceries Again

        80

    • #
      John Connor II

      At this stage, the election is pointless.
      We all know 2020 was rigged.
      We all know Captain Sniff is incompetent.
      We all know the neocons run the show.
      We all know the MSM are lying spineless puppets.
      We all know they want WW3 to destroy Russia, and the USA in the process.
      We all know Ukraine is corrupt.
      We all know illegals will be voting en masse.
      We all know they’re being heavily armed too.
      We all know that whoever wins all hell will break loose.
      We all know there’s only a few months left.

      40

      • #
        Leo G

        At this stage, the election is pointless.

        On the contrary, Biden Democrats need the election to pointedly demonstrate their all-knowingness.
        Trump Republicans want a change of point man.
        Confused electors expect Biden disappointed.

        00

      • #
        Honk R Smith

        Turns out all hope is not lost.
        George Clooney has spoken.
        He has opined in the hallowed NYT that POTUS Biden is indeed naked.
        It is now safe for all us lesser subjects to say it aloud.

        00

  • #
    Reader

    The real story behind Trudeau’s pledge for electric buses — and the problems with these lemons
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aAk9gURr1g

    40

    • #
      David Maddison

      It says the buses break down daily.

      That sort of thing is how they claim “renewables” etc. create jobs.

      They create jobs because renewables is very labour intensive and low efficiency therefore needs a lot of labour to run and maintain. And thus are also very expensive to run.

      As for the 30km range of the buses, that seems low even by the low standards of EVs. In Australia they claim EV buses have a range of up to 300km for some vehicles, see https://www.busnews.com.au/behind-victorias-zero-emissions-bus-trial-pioneers/ but they might be making that up. Most wokeness is based on lies. The 30km range might also relate to Canada’s cold climate where batteries perform poorly. But maybe a better range in summer (which It is now over there)?

      David “the Menzoid” Menzies is a great and very brave genuine reporter/journalist.

      121

    • #
      Dave in the States

      Canada’s climate renders the whole idea of electric busses infeasible.

      60

      • #
        CO2 Lover

        USELESS: Electric buses CAN’T COPE with the COLD

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23hygEhZ1CY

        @tmur2124

        I’m a fleet mechanic at a small school bus company in Canada. A electric school bus salesman came in trying to convince us to buy some. We asked how they provide heat in the winter which here can sometimes be -30C. He said they use a diesel webasto heater. We all laughed

        .

        100

        • #
          Graeme#4

          When I had to design some products for Canadian buses, we were told that the outside temp went down to below -20C. Checks showed that most of the electronics would cope with a cold start, but not the printer. Solved the problem with a fridge butter compartment thermostat and a large resistor as a heating element. Careful placement resulted in a nice temp cycle to warm up the printers in the contracted 15 mins.

          10

      • #
        Yarpos

        Summer buses maybe? You know, just like wins and solar have “fossil fuelled” back up.

        10

    • #
      Graeme#4

      Buses are produced by Volvo. At least they weren’t Proterra buses.

      10

  • #
    mwhite

    Wind turbines are VANDALISING Australia’s countryside

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

    “Proposed renewable energy projects across Queensland.”

    Trashing Australia

    200

    • #
      David Maddison

      They are incredibly ugly and destroy pristine landscapes from great distances away as you can see them for many kilometres.

      For thinking people it’s far worse than that because we (present company) understand their economy and civilisation-destroying characteristics. They are monuments to stupidity.

      And they are also getting bigger and more intrusive. In fact, one of the reasons they want to put wind plantations offshore is because the blades are becoming too large to transport by road.

      The subsidies payable to offshore wind plantations will be much greater than onshore ones because they are much more expensive and probably even shorter lived than onshore windmills.

      181

      • #
        • #
          OldOzzie

          When she asked about lightning and fire suppression systems?

          They told her that it’s cheaper to clean them up after they burn than it is to maintain the lightning protection and fire suppression systems. You’ll see why later in this article when you discover what they actually did to “clean” up the mess they left behind.

          The company has removed the first turbine but has not cleaned up any of the debris. It is now completely worked into the ground. Because it was windy and the wind changed direction the next day, the second turbine spread debris over at least 300 acres, which included 3 neighboring farms. They now have a cornfield that is growing fast and full of wind turbine fiberglass. They bale corn stalks to feed their cows. She didn’t know what they would have done if this had happened in October as they would not have been able to feed those cows. As it is, they can’t graze them on land that is heavily contaminated with fiberglass.

          After the first fire, the wind company contracted with a clean-up crew to clean up the damage. It was three people with three shop vacs to clean up the “heavily contaminated” areas over an area of around 20 acres for three days. Yes, you read that right. Three people, three shop vacs, three days, to clean up around 20 acres of land. They have no intention of cleaning any of the land that is less heavily contaminated and plan to just leave the debris in the fields.

          No cleanup plan has been made yet for the second turbine, and they are not allowed to talk to the cleanup company anymore. Is it any wonder it is cheaper to “clean them up” after they burn than it is to maintain fire suppression and lightning protection systems so they don’t burn in the first place? She and her family are now picking up the debris by themselves.

          90

    • #
      CO2 Lover

      Wind Turbines are Eco-Crucifixes who purpose is to appease the Climate Gods.

      40

    • #
      Graeme#4

      Have just completed some wind turbine calculations. Would appreciate folks reviewing and commenting. All costs in AUD.
      2.5 MW nameplate purchase and installation @ $1.92m/MW: $4.8m. Excludes cost of interest.
      O&M cost over 20 years @ $65,000/ year: $1.3m
      Total cost over $20 years: $6.1m. Cost excludes land purchase/rent, removal and site remediation, extra transmission lines, firming.
      Electricity generated over 20 years @ 97,236/year: $1.945m.
      If these figures are correct, I don’t believe that the turbines will be profitable without continual subsidies.

      00

      • #
        RickWill

        Electricity generated over 20 years @ 97,236/year: $1.945m.

        This doesn’t make sense without having a capacity factor and the assumed wholesale price the wind turbines get plus the value of LGCs. The LGCs are guaranteed by both flavours of government until 2030. And their price is generally increasing because the grid scale stuff has to compete for market against rooftops and rooftops get top priority. That means it is getting harder to meet the RET so the LGC price is responding. It simply means the negative wholesale price where the grid scale stuff offloads is getting more negative.

        Average wholesale price for wind over the past year has been $43/MWh. LGCs now back up at $47/MWh. So unit income averaging around $90/MWh. Taking CF of 25% gives income for a 2.5MW turbine of $492,750pa. So revenue over 20 years is $9.8M. You would need to set out cash flow with cost of capital to seee if it is economic. The increasing cost of capital and inflation make them less likely to have a positive return. That is why governments need more ambition – translated it means willingness to increase the subsidies.

        There is no point bringing more grid scale suff onto the grid without Snowy2. Any new stuff just reduces the CF of existing stuff. And more rooftops making it a losing battle for grid scale stuff.

        10

        • #
          Graeme#4

          Thanks for the comments Rick, sheds quite a different light on the subject. The CF was built into my electricity output figure. The info source used a number of different CFs, from 35% upward. I used 30%.
          Why include the LGC? Surely this is an added subsidy?
          If they are receiving $43/MWh, surely that would pay for the turbine over 20 years? Then why do they always need to be subsidised?
          Totally agree with you that no more renewables should not be added unless more firming/backup is added, and that’s not going to happen.

          00

    • #
      MeAgain

      Will shaving off the top of the Great Dividing Range cause landslides?

      00

  • #
    David Maddison

    Donald Trump releases his manifesto:

    Green haired soy latte sipping Leftists are in meltdown.

    Naturally, there is nothing extreme in any of this.

    These are simply traditional American and conservative values and common sense.

    1) SEAL THE BORDER, AND STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION

    2) CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY

    3) END INFLATION, AND MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN

    4) MAKE AMERICA THE DOMINANT ENERGY PRODUCER IN THE WORLD, BY FAR!

    5) STOP OUTSOURCING, AND TURN THE UNITED STATES INTO A MANUFACTURING SUPERPOWER

    6) LARGE TAX CUTS FOR WORKERS, AND NO TAX ON TIPS!

    7) DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION, OUR BILL OF RIGHTS, AND OUR FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, INCLUDING FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF RELIGION, AND THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS

    8) PREVENT WORLD WAR THREE, RESTORE PEACE IN EUROPE AND IN THE MIDDLE EAST, AND BUILD A GREAT IRON DOME MISSILE DEFENSE SHIELD OVER OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY — ALL MADE IN AMERICA

    9) END THE WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT AGAINST THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

    10) STOP THE MIGRANT CRIME EPIDEMIC, DEMOLISH THE FOREIGN DRUG CARTELS, CRUSH GANG VIOLENCE, AND LOCK UP VIOLENT OFFENDERS

    11) REBUILD OUR CITIES, INCLUDING WASHINGTON DC, MAKING THEM SAFE, CLEAN, AND BEAUTIFUL AGAIN.

    12) STRENGTHEN AND MODERNIZE OUR MILITARY, MAKING IT, WITHOUT QUESTION, THE STRONGEST AND MOST POWERFUL IN THE WORLD

    13) KEEP THE U.S. DOLLAR AS THE WORLD’S RESERVE CURRENCY

    14) FIGHT FOR AND PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE WITH NO CUTS, INCLUDING NO CHANGES TO THE RETIREMENT AGE

    15) CANCEL THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANDATE AND CUT COSTLY AND BURDENSOME REGULATIONS

    16) CUT FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ANY SCHOOL PUSHING CRITICAL RACE THEORY, RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY, AND OTHER INAPPROPRIATE RACIAL, SEXUAL, OR POLITICAL CONTENT ON OUR CHILDREN

    17) KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS

    18) DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC AGAIN

    19) SECURE OUR ELECTIONS, INCLUDING SAME DAY VOTING, VOTER IDENTIFICATION, PAPER BALLOTS, AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP

    20) UNITE OUR COUNTRY BY BRINGING IT TO NEW AND RECORD LEVELS OF SUCCESS

    *****

    240

    • #
      RickWill

      13) will require a lot of bridge building. Thee world banker cannot have a political perspective. If Nigeria wants money for a coal fired power station than the provision of the loan should be on economic merit without consideration for UNIPCC doctrine.

      50

    • #
      RickWill

      It is interesting to apply this manifesto to the situation in Victoria.

      With regard borders – Victoria is exporting competent people and important incompetent people.

      Inflation – when you are paying stop-go traffic controllers two to three times the average Australian wage you are bound to have inflation.

      On energy – Victoria is going all out on weather dependent energy so it becomes totally reliant on China burning coal to keep replacing the junk as it wears out. That is despite Victoria having the highest fossil fuel energy per capita of anywhere in the world.

      On manufacturing – the only thing that gets manufactured in Victories are compounding lies from government officials.

      Taxing workers – money for all the wasteful bungles and bloated bureaucracy has to come from somewhere.

      Weaponaising government – the government needs to be weaponised to injure and/or permanently mame any of the population who do not obey the rules.

      Migrant crime – Victoria has the toughest bail conditions in the world but it is not unlawful to break bail conditions. It is unlawful for the waponised police force to use their weapons against migrants other than English speaking white men but it is not racist.

      Rebuilding cities – there will be a Minogue laneway before the sisters pass on.

      Regarding medical care – build a rail tunnel under the largest State hospital so the expensive sensitive equipment vibrates too much to be useful.

      EV mandates – Irrelevant because the roads are mostly parking lots due to never ending road construction projects to nowhere.

      Funding for schools – ensure public schools are appropriately racist by displaying the three flags of Australia and have those claiming to have aboriginal origin welcome everyone else to any special events. Ensure preaching on the Climate Change ™ doctrine is adequately resourced but they are not religious.

      Sex orientation – people are free to choose their gender identity and do whatever they want with regard the sport they choose.

      Radical racists – These people have immunity against action from the weaponised police force. Same goes for all the groups supporting the Climate Change™ doctrine.

      Elections – support all Labor candidates from government coffers because big business apparently supports the LNP.

      Unity – ensure all Labor parliamentarians are set for a luxurious life after the cut and thrust of Victorian politics.

      The best thing for Victoria would be to sack all public workers. The State is broke and needs to go into administration.

      30

  • #
    MrGrimNasty

    “House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) blasted President Joe Biden after the White House announced Biden would veto H.R. 8281, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would prevent noncitizens from voting.”

    https://www.dailywire.com/news/johnson-rips-biden-for-saying-hell-veto-bill-preventing-non-citizens-from-voting

    150

  • #
    Reader

    Hmmm… what is infamous for causing fires besides arsonists?

    Northern Maine fire department still shuttered months after blaze
    https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/07/09/penobscot/penobscot-government/stacyville-maine-fire-department-bad-shape-months-after-blaze-joam40zk0w/?utm_medium=email

    40

    • #
      David Maddison

      I haven’t done it yet but I’d like to create an outdoor storage area where all lithium polymer batteries and devices that use them are stored and charged.

      Insurance companies should give you a discount if you do that.

      I think cylindrical 18650 and similar cells are OK and safe, however.

      21

      • #
        Tonyb

        There are an awful lot of devices that use these batteries. Many you would not want to take outside to be either stored or charged. It would be a considerable hassle as well.

        The problem comes with relatively large batteries especially where quality is suspect, cheap electric bikes being a prime example as well as scooters.

        20

      • #
        Chad

        I think cylindrical 18650 and similar cells are OK and safe, however.

        ??….why would you think that ?
        You do realise that most ebike, scooters, etc ,..use those cells ?
        Together with the vast majority of “cordless” power tools, vacuum cleaners rechargeable flashlights, etc etc .
        They are also the basis of most of the Tesla cars on the road
        The “format” ( size, shape) of the cells has little to do with its safety. The primary factor in cell safety is the design and quality of how they are assembled into multi-cell battery packs, and the reliability of the onboard Battery Management System which should control the charge/discharge parameters, cell ballance, and temperature monitoring.
        As with all manufactured items, it is the inherent design and quality control that dictates safety.

        50

        • #
          Graeme#4

          Tesla cars haven’t used 18650 cells since their Roadstar and Model S cars, 5376 to 8526 cells. The Model 3 used 2170 cells, requiring less batteries (4416). There is a new battery format, but cannot locate the details ATM.

          00

      • #
        RickWill

        I think cylindrical 18650 and similar cells are OK and safe, however.

        There is a lot of effort being applied to lithium cell technology to reduce the fire risk but, as fas as I am aware, there is no inherently safe lithium cell. Puncture them, overcharge them, short them etc could cause thermal runaway and a serious fire.

        I have first hand experience with a lead/acid fire caused by a short. The plastic case stopped burning when it got down to the mostly water electrolyte. Lithium cells have a volatile and flammable electrolyte that can flare when the cell is heated by internal or external heat source. The cell can explode if there is no pressure relief designed in.

        I think everyone should be conscious of where there is a lithium battery. Avoid stacking them together inside a living space. Avoid burying a computer, phone, torch etc under piles of paper or other combustibles.

        The outside storage box is a good idea. I keep LiPoly cells in a waterproof box outside away from the house. There are metal battery storage boxes for hobbyists using a number of LiPoly batteries. These boxes vent if a battery goes up and there are compartments to separate the batteries.

        50

      • #
        Graeme#4

        That’s an old battery format David. What about the newer formats?

        00

  • #
    David Maddison

    I think these cars a lot of ethical issues here, not that the Chicomms would care.

    https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/chinese-scientists-develop-artificial-brain-to-control-brain-on-chip-organoid-robot/

    Chinese scientists develop artificial brain to control ‘brain-on-chip organoid’ robot

    Scientists in China have developed a ‘brain-on-chip’ system that combines lab-grown human brain matter with a neural interface chip to power a so-called ‘organoid’ robot.

    It was developed by researchers at Tianjin University and the Southern University of Science and Technology.

    The artificial brain that controls the system can apparently interact with external information by encoding, decoding, and responding to stimulus feedback when hooked up to electrode chips, with a report from state-owned Science and Technology Daily stating that the robot can be instructed to avoid obstacles, track, and grasp through what the news outlet described as “mind control.”

    SEE LINK FOR REST

    10

  • #

    “US in fresh crackdown on Chinese steel imports”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd1ede11d45o

    It’s per the beeb.

    “The US has announced new rules targeting firms from China and other countries that are routing shipments of steel and aluminium through Mexico to try to evade tariffs. The White House said firms shipping via Mexico must now prove the origins of their products if they want to avoid the border taxes. The move comes as President Joe Biden seeks to prove his tough-on-China credentials as he faces off against his predecessor, Donald Trump, in the 2024 presidential election.”

    And if the UK tried this trick – Mexico or not – we’d soon find we have no steel, as Tata close the furnace in Port Talbot in Wales [to make it greener, of course … ].

    This does make it look – to some voters – as if there is a bit of a border to the south of mainland USA.

    Auto

    30

  • #
  • #
    CO2 Lover

    Here is another Good News story

    Thieves increasingly target copper-rich cables at electric vehicle charging stations across US

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0EowLVkfxc

    00

  • #
    David Maddison

    Why you should never let the Left take away rights, even those that don’t affect you directly. Quote:

    So true is it that men close their eyes on encroachments committed by that party to which they are attached. In the delusive hope that power, in such hands, will always be wielded against their adversaries, never against themselves.

    – The Life of George Washington, Volume 1, Chief Justice John Marshall.

    20

  • #
    environment sceptic

    Narratives within narratives, within narratives, within psyops and free boxes of chocolates which reminds me, the reason mice keep getting caught in traps is because they cannot figure out why the cheese is free 🙂 I mean, why would the government keep giving away free cheese and stuff?…IS IT A TRAP????…..and where is it all coming from….the moon??????

    Tracking back the footprints of the alleged *Novel Virus, mRNA Shots, Remdesivir, and Ivermectin Psy Op Timeline
    Getting easier and easier to sort this out over time
    Sage Hana
    Jul 10, 2024

    https://sagehana.substack.com/p/tracking-back-the-footprints-of-the

    20

  • #
    CO2 Lover

    Everyone loves a hypocrite

    The staggering cost YOU are paying for Chris Bowen’s global climate change tour… including the embarrassing trip to Dubai where he was largely ignored
    Climate change minister Chris Bowen took three big trips
    Increased his carbon footprint by about 47 tonnes of CO2

    Climate change minister Chris Bowen spent $30,564 of taxpayer money on flights to attend three international environmental conferences in under six months, all while urging Australians to reduce emissions.

    He posted a single photo of the trip on social media, with a caption saying he had a ‘busy few days promoting Australia as a renewable energy superpower’ and met with other climate ministers to ‘call for greater ambition in clean energy’.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13618095/The-staggering-cost-paying-Chris-Bowens-global-climate-change-tour-including-embarrassing-trip-Dubai-largely-ignored.html

    We can only hope that Senator Fatima’s new Australian Muslim Party takes Bowen’s seat at the next election proving that there is a god after all – even if it is the wrong god!

    50

  • #
    KP

    How much Govt help do you need to park your bicycle?? How many people from Spaceship B can we put on the job to determine where you should park it? SMH knows!

    “Riders are likely to be forced to park bikes in designated areas under a future regulatory regime being worked on by no less than 13 government agencies.”

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/geo-fence-technology-to-be-used-in-sydney-share-bike-crackdown-20240708-p5js13.html

    10

  • #
    RickWill

    How many ways – can John Cadogan use the initials BYD:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcv9Tk-jON8

    This may have been posted before. It is a good news story, depending on perspective, about losing the faith.

    20

  • #
    CO2 Lover

    Species declared extinct in the US after hurricanes ravaged the South

    Climate Change is blamed.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13620215/Species-declared-extinct-hurricanes-ravaged-South.html

    10

  • #
    KP

    “The Productivity Commission report on economic mobility in Australia found that about two-thirds of “Xennials” – Gen Xers and Millennials born in the late 1970s to early 1980s – were earning more than their parents did at a similar age.”

    I wonder how they measured that? Sure my son earns $170K a year, more than I did, but when he was a teenager a house cost under $100k.

    and this-

    ““Wealth seems to be more important in cementing cross-generational privilege, so even though we found that income is pretty mobile, wealth is a lot more sticky,” Wood said.”

    does lead to this-

    ““Younger people whose parents were on income support payments are twice as likely to end up on income support payments themselves, compared to others,” she said. At the opposite end of the spectrum, people whose parents were in the top income bracket were more likely to remain there, ”

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/gen-x-millennial-australians-better-off-than-their-parents-but-not-all-20240710-p5jses.html?js-chunk-not-found-refresh=true

    10

    • #
      el+gordo

      The poverty trap is real and lingers around the lower middle class.

      11

      • #
        KP

        Yes, I would believe that EG, the middle and upper part of the middle-class can survive not going overseas for holidays, but the lower part is easily dragged down permanently by debt. Give us a decade to see what endless inflation and exporting all our manufacturing really does.

        10

        • #
          el+gordo

          Looking at the bigger picture, capitalism needs an underclass to survive.

          ‘Optimum unemployment rate for a healthy economic expansion is between 3.5% and 4.5%. If the unemployment rate is significantly higher than the country’s target, the central bank can cut the interest rates to cheapen bank loans for businesses and encourage them to employ more people.’ (AvaTrade Australia)

          01

      • #
        Leo G

        The poverty trap is real and lingers around the lower middle class.

        Isn’t the middle class supposed to have the fairest share of wealth and income?

        00

  • #
  • #
    el+gordo

    A recent paper says extra CO2 in the atmosphere, over half a century, has greened the planet.

    https://notrickszone.com/2024/07/08/new-study-carbon-dioxide-and-a-warming-climate-are-not-problems/

    11

  • #
  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    “When Failed Eating Made Complex Life”

    https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2024/07/10/when-failed-eating-made-complex-life/

    Concludes with

    “We (and all animals and plants really) exist entirely because nature likes to play “mix and match” with various living things and parts of living things.

    Think about it. Especially next time someone in a Lab Coat assures you that “mixing can’t happen”… and it is entirely “safe and effective” because they Know Exactly what will happen…

    Brings a whole new meaning to “you are what you eat”, or maybe “you are what they ate”… or injected. So plan accordingly.

    FWIW: I’m not against playing with genes. I’d love to have a photosynthetic skin and just lay on the beach when hungry. I’m just pretty sure we are not bright enough to do that with 100% safety and accuracy.”

    00

  • #
    OldOzzie

    Who do you believe in today’s MSM?

    ‘Abhorrent’: Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemns deadly Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and children’s hospital in Kyiv that killed at least 30, injured hundreds

    or

    Russia’s UN ambassador responds to Ukraine hospital attack accusations

    If a Russian missile actually struck the clinic, there would be nothing but rubble left, Vasily Nebenzia has told the UN Security Council

    Nebenzia explained that Russian forces targeted the Artemov missile plant in Kiev on Monday, and that “this target was hit.”

    “Since the plant is located approximately 2km from the children’s hospital, there is every reason to believe that the Ukrainian air
    defense missile that hit it was intended for a Russian missile that hit the plant,” he stated, adding that “this tragedy could have been avoided if the Ukrainian Armed Forces had not deployed air defense in residential areas.

    The Russian Defense Ministry has also explicitly denied striking the hospital. In an official statement on Monday, the ministry said that “photos and video footage from Kiev clearly confirm” that the building was hit by a falling “Ukrainian air defense missile launched from an anti-aircraft missile system within the city.”

    Pro-Kiev media outlets have claimed that the weapon that struck the hospital was a Russian air-launched Kh-101 cruise missile. However, others have argued that the projectile, which can apparently be seen in a video filmed from a distance by a witness, was more likely an AIM120 fired by a NASAM missile system or a PAC-3 interceptor fired by the MIM-104 Patriot missile system. Western donors have provided Ukraine with both of these weapons systems.

    and

    UNITED NATIONS, July 9. /TASS/. The missile that hit a children’s hospital in Kiev was most likely fired from a Norway-supplied NASAMS air defense system, Russia’s UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya said.

    “We are also waiting for a reaction from the Norwegian government, who apparently supplied Zelensky’s clique with this NASAMS system,” he said at a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine that was convened at the request of Western countries. “Did they authorize it to be used to hit a children’s hospital and also to be placed in residential areas in violation of international humanitarian law?”

    40

    • #
      OldOzzie

      High-tech Western weapons ‘useless’ in Ukraine conflict – WSJ

      Satellite-guided shells are particularly vulnerable to Russian jamming technology, commanders in Kiev have told the newspaper

      Russia’s electronic warfare capabilities have rendered precision-guided Western munitions “useless” in the Ukraine conflict, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. With their guidance systems scrambled, some of these weapons have reportedly been retired within weeks of hitting the battlefield.

      When the US announced the delivery of GPS-guided Excalibur artillery shells to Ukraine in 2022, pro-Kiev outlets predicted that the $100,000-per-shot projectiles would make “Ukrainian artillery a whole lot more accurate” and “cause Russia a world of pain.”

      However, the Russian military adapted within weeks, Ukrainian commanders told the Wall Street Journal. Russian signal-jamming equipment was used to feed false coordinates to the shells and interfere with their fuses, causing them to veer off course or fall to the ground as duds.

      “By the middle of last year, the M982 Excalibur munitions, developed by RTX and BAE Systems, became essentially useless and are no longer employed,” the newspaper stated, paraphrasing the Ukrainian commanders.

      The Soviet Union invested heavily in electronic warfare (EW) during the 1980s, viewing jamming technology as a crucial bulwark against the guided missiles and shells that the US was beginning to develop at the time. While weapons such as the 1990s-era Excalibur shells were used by the US to devastating effect in Iraq and Afghanistan, officials and analysts in Washington have since concluded that they are far less effective against a peer-level opponent like Russia.

      “The Russians have gotten really, really good” at interfering with guided munitions, US Deputy Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante told the WSJ.

      20

      • #
        OldOzzie

        West ‘stunned’ by weakness of its military industry – US senator

        The Ukraine conflict demands much more money, Jim Risch (R-Idaho) has said

        The conflict in Ukraine has revealed problems with war-related industrial production in the West that need to be fixed, US Senator Jim Risch of Idaho has said.

        Risch is the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He made the remark during a NATO event in Washington, DC on Wednesday that was hosted jointly by the US government and several think tanks.

        “I think all of us have been stunned by the weakness and the holes in our industrial production when it comes to defense,” Risch told the NATO Public Forum. “We’re going to have to do more.”

        Risch noted that all members of the US-led bloc had agreed to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense back in 2014. Some states have not yet lived up to that commitment, “and frankly, now that this has happened, 2% probably isn’t enough,” he added, referring to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

        While the Russian military industry has scaled up production, NATO countries have struggled to do so, raising questions about their ability to replace their own depleted arsenals, let alone continue to supply Ukraine for “as long as it takes.”

        20

      • #
        KP

        Yes, America is panicking over finding its highly sophisticated extremely expensive world-leading weapons are not so hot in a real war. Ukraine will change modern warfare quite a lot, billion-dollar fortunes will be made and lost.

        As for who to believe, whoever you subscribe to for morality and motivation. Both sides lie, ignore accusations raised and censor stuff they don’t like.

        I figure morality is similar in both, the Yanks or the Russians would kill you if it helped their cause, so I look to incentives for what happens. No-one had a strong incentive to drop a missile on a hospital, maybe Zelensky would do that for NATO points, but it was most probably an accident of war.

        Anyone seen anything in the mainstream about the Russians finding chemical warfare labs in the areas they have taken over? There are now videos of them exploring the labs. They have had reports of Ukraine using chemical weapons since last year, but the West don’t mention it.

        20

  • #
    John Connor II

    Thursday entertainment: bring photos to life with AI

    https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_sge2vqO0Vt1z23obp_720.mp4

    10

    • #
      KP

      Arrrgh! Very realistic! We soon won’t need real happenings in the world, everything can be fabricated and filmed. Wag the Dog comes to life!

      10

    • #
      CO2 Lover

      Memo to Democrats:

      Take a still photo of Sleepy Joe Biden when he is looking alert.

      Take a voice sample when Joe is talking about ice scream

      Feed in the script for the Teleprompter to the AI software along with the voice sample and Hey Presto – a video clip that might save Joe from being added to the Clinton Body Count list.

      20

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    “Based Orange – President Trump Will Speak at Bitcoin 2024 Conference
    July 10, 2024 | Sundance | 79 Comments”

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/07/10/based-orange-president-trump-will-speak-at-bitcoin-2024-conference/#more-262017

    00

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW – a look at academia

    “My dream died, and now I’m here”

    https://youtu.be/LKiBlGDfRU8

    10

  • #
  • #
  • #
    Dennis

    Recognition of God and Religious Freedom

    The preamble to the Constitution states, among other things, that the people agreed to unite in a federal commonwealth “humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God.” When the Constitution was being drafted, several religious groups and denominations had advocated for the recognition of God in the Constitution [1]. Patrick Glynn, an Irish-Catholic delegate from South Australia, was its most articulate supporter. He put the case for a “simple and unsectarian” acknowledgement of God on the basis that religion is an important source of social cohesion. He said:

    The stamp of religion is fixed upon the front of our institutions, its letter is impressed upon the book of our lives, and … its spirit, weakened though it may be by the opposing forces of the world, still lifts the pulse of the social organism. It is this, not the iron hand of the law, that is the bond of society; it is this that gives unity and tone to the texture of the whole; it is this, that by subduing the domineering impulses and the reckless passions of the heart, turns discord to harmony, and evolves the law of moral progress out of the clashing purposes of life… [2]

    Although many of the framers of the Constitution were not as devout as Glynn, a majority eventually supported the recognition of God in the preamble. Some, however, were concerned that this might imply that the Federal Parliament had the authority to enact religious laws. If God were to be recognized in the Constitution, Henry Bournes Higgins argued, “a large number of good people” would need to be reassured that “their rights with respect to religion will not be interfered with” [3]. This concern about the effect of the preamble was exaggerated, as others pointed out [4], for the preamble could not be interpreted to confer power on the Parliament. However, the possibility that the Parliament’s other legislative powers might authorize laws that could interfere with religious faith and practice was a real one.

    While not as secularist as Higgins, Josiah Symon considered it important to “protect every citizen in the absolute and free exercise of his own faith” and “to take care that his religious belief shall in no way be interfered with” [5]. Similarly, Bernhard Wise thought that each person should be free to “follow his own religious observances” and not be permitted to “impose his will on anybody else” [6]. The prevailing concern was thus twofold: that the Commonwealth be prevented from imposing religious observances, and that it be prevented from interfering with the free exercise of religion. After extended debate, a provision was inserted into the Constitution in the following terms, modeled substantially on the religion clauses of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution:

    The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth (section 116).

    It has been argued in several cases that laws enacted by the Federal Parliament contravene this provision. However, in none of these cases has a law been found unconstitutional [7]. Notably, the High Court of Australia has held that the prohibition on establishing any religion only prevents the Parliament from making laws which constitute a particular religion or religious body as a state religion or state church [8]. The Court rejected the proposition that section 116 prohibits laws providing non-discriminatory support for religion, such as by funding religious schools, even though decisions of the US Supreme Court have come to this conclusion [9]. Members of the High Court noted that the preamble to the Australian Constitution contains an acknowledgment of “Almighty God” in the preamble, but declined to draw any legal inferences from this fact [10]. The preamble is not an operative part of the Constitution, but there are cases in which Justices of the High Court have relied on other statements in the preamble to inform their interpretation of the Constitution as a whole [11].

    00

    • #
      John Connor II

      Oh God, wherefore art thou?
      It’s been 2,000 years now.
      And still the people believe.
      Methinks he’s done a runner.

      12

      • #
        KP

        A blink of the eye John, a blink of the eye.. He’s busy finishing the universe, billions of years at it, and you’re worried about 2000 years??

        I reckon he wound it up and set it going, then went off for lunch and will return to see how its doing later as it matures into its final form just before it ends. I struggle to see why he would be interested in humans, or for more than a quick check every million years to see we haven’t ruined the place.

        00

        • #
          Yarpos

          Exactly, after all our universe only exists with one bubble in the glass of Champagne that God had at that lunch. Cant be everywhere you know, oh wait….

          00

    • #
      MeAgain

      So if you think of Climate Change as a religion, net zero laws are unconstitutional?

      10

    • #
      ozfred

      Perhaps it is “time” to consider a FDA like operation on word definitions. If the idea of a vaccine can be arbitrarily changed, perhaps human understanding of what constitutes a “religion” is also due for an update. Or perhaps what does not.
      Remembering the philosophy of Tome Lehrer, I will offer a “modest start”.
      If a group or assemblage supports the killing of another human for any reason other than self defense, that group shall not be considered to be or have the prerogatives of a recognized religion.

      20

  • #
    John Connor II

    The Rockefellers Created 990 “Climate Change” Institutions, Foundations, And Activist Groups

    In 1989, illustrating the family’s reach abroad, the Hague Declaration (with 24 signatories) called for a new international institutional authority that could preserve the Earth’s atmosphere and fight global warming.

    Thereafter, in that same year, 1989, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund under the leadership of David Rockefeller and Henry Kissinger founded the United Nations Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). and funded it with near unlimited resources going forward.

    In 2012, the U.N. Climate Fund announced the establishment of the model for the cities of the future, outside Seoul, Korea called Songdo. Songdo is failing. No one wants to live there. Those who visit describe the place as soulless, with no people, no vivid life. Billions were spent creating it.

    Nordangard describes:

    “Traffic flow and citizen behaviour is monitored in real-time via five hundred surveillance cameras. Household waste is automatically transported via the pneumatic system under the city and converted into energy. All apartments have smart locks, with smart cards which can also be used for loaner bikes, parking, subway, and movie tickets. All apartments have smart meters (enabling residents to compare their energy consumption with that of their neighbors) and built-in cameras everywhere. Floor sensors detect pressure changes and automatically alert an alarm service of a suspected fall. Systems are tested where residents via the TV screen can receive language lessons or communicate with their physician as well as neighbors and relatives, and bracelets for locating children via GPS.7 In other words, a futuristic dream straight out of the World Future Society’s 1970s vision—or Orwell’s 1984. And this is South Korea.

    Linky poo:
    https://ufile.io/mbtqbcq0

    epub format. If you want pdf, use freeconvert.com

    10

    • #
      Graeme#4

      Think you will find that con merchant Maurice Strong, along with Bert Bolin, were responsible for setting up the early Rio conference and inviting scientists. Wasn’t called IPCC at that time. What the scientists didn’t know was that Strong had also invited many activist groups to come along and influence the conference outcome. Strong, who was involved with the Montreal Protocol, at that time worked for the UN.

      00

  • #
    John Connor II

    Thursday sarcasm: JFK speaking to communists circa 1962

    https://imgbox.com/K9OiIJ1v

    00

  • #
    David Maddison

    Comments?

    https://www.skynews.com.au/lifestyle/health/hospitals-facing-immense-pressure-as-health-warnings-issued-over-concerning-surge-in-gastro-and-flu-cases-this-year/news-story/4eb7b80592e7858ee850e6c180b9d0de

    Hospitals facing immense pressure as health warnings issued over concerning surge in gastro and flu cases this year

    Australia’s hospitals are under major strain as a unique combination of surging flu and gastro cases spread across the country.

    10

  • #
    el+gordo

    This story is weeks old, nevertheless it has legs.

    ‘Australia Institute research has found that 56% of gas exported from Australia attracts zero royalty payments, effectively giving a public resource to multinational gas corporations for free.’ (The Australian Institute)

    20

  • #
    MeAgain

    https://shiftedparadigms.substack.com/p/13-ways-to-hide-the-bodies
    By this point you will have delayed any substantive inquiry for long enough for you to transition to a senior-executive role in the private sector or simply retire, collecting a handsome taxpayer-funded pension for the rest of your days.

    10

  • #
    MeAgain

    Funny how we are asked to cut down on heating and cooling in our homes while the AI no one asked for is slurping away at the grid to make an image of a girl with 5 tits… (copied from a post elsewhere)

    00

    • #
      KP

      Not to mention the massive waste of electricity being used to create and transact mathematical money like Bitcoin, something completely useless to nearly all of us.

      10

  • #
    Geoff Sherrington

    Out of my field in Climate Etc about heat events in the lower stratosphere UAH data, I found this graph.
    https://localartist.org/media/HT_Strat.png
    Eyeballing the many peaks and troughs, it seemed that a high in the Northern Hemisphere NH was usually opposite a low in the Southern hemisphere SH.
    But, there was one exception, in year 2021, when both NH and SH rose.
    I made my own graph, starting in 2010, to match the one above, plus a longer graph of all of the UAH lower troposphere temperatures from commencement in 1978.
    https://www.geoffstuff.com/2010start.jpg
    https://www.geoffstuff.com/1978start.jpg
    There is a tall red frame on each set of graphs to contain what I am calling the “different” peak at 2021. Different combinations of NH and SH show it better, like the blue 5 plot in the 1978 start set. That plot shows that there are two other similar peaks at about 1982 and 1991. These have been researched.
    Steiner et al 2020. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-19-0998.1
    Explosive volcanic eruptions such as El Chichón in
    1982, Mount Pinatubo in 1991 (Robock 2000) and also
    minor volcanic eruptions after 2000 affect short-term
    temperature trends in the troposphere and stratosphere
    (Solomon et al. 2011; Stocker et al. 2019).
    Solomon 2011. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1206027
    A reasonable hypothesis would have the 2020 peak caused by volcanic eruption.
    The Hunga Tonga simple timeline is –
    “In December 2021, an eruption began on Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai, a submarine volcano in the Tongan archipelago in the southern Pacific Ocean.[6] The eruption reached a very large and powerful climax nearly four weeks later, on 15 January 2022.[7]”
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Hunga_Tonga%E2%80%93Hunga_Ha%CA%BBapai_eruption_and_tsunami
    However, Life is not always simple.
    The UAH data show the “different” peak starting in January 2020 +/- a month, and lasting about 5 months, while the Hunga Tonga massive volcanic start was imaged on 15th January 2022, two years later. They are plausibly unrelated.
    What causes the warm. global “different” peak feature to exist? It is one of only 3 strong warming features in the full 46 years of UAH data observed by this method.. Volcanism is a candidate for the 2 stronger features, but there are no significant volcanic eruptions in 2019-2020 in the literature that I have searched.
    If I am not in error, we have an event of significant size that has not been described before in my reading. Please send links if you know of it.
    For closure, it is important to find a cause of this “difficult” feature, otherwise we face the prospect of future warmings in the lower troposphere with no clear cause.
    (Personal digression: On May 10th, I copped a difficult, painful, debilitating, undiagnosed ailment that sends my inflammation markers to high peaks, like CRP to 140 units and ESR to 45 units. I lost 12 kg weight in 16 days. Despite much blood pathology, we cannot find the cause of these elevations, nor a cure. A similar situation of “difficult” peaks exist. They are hard to understand and accept. More and more I see the term “Vaccine Damage”. Two Astra Zeneca and 1 Pfizer booster in mid 2020.)
    I am pleading for our blog community of bright readers to think about this discovery and to let me know if anything crosses your mind. Geoff S

    20

    • #
      KP

      “The UAH data show the “different” peak starting in January 2020 +/- a month, and lasting about 5 months,”

      That’s when White Island blew up, Dec 9th 2019, and ended the drought in Aussie. There was a large oceanic hot-spot created to the East of NZ that persisted for ages afterwards. I expect White Island was just a small symptom of what was going on under that hot-spot.

      00

      • #
        Geoff Sherrington

        KP,
        Thanks for your comment. I’ll look into it.
        Although the 2020 different peak is smaller than the 1982 and 1991 peaks – which relate to major volcanic events – the 2020 peak sticks out as globally significant. I have my doubts about White Island being that strong.
        Geoff S

        00

  • #
  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    “Switzerland Becoming A Hub For The Nuclear Revolution”

    https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/switzerland-becoming-hub-nuclear-revolution

    10

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW – things covid in Canada

    “Let Them Eat Taser”

    “It’s official: forced Covid-19 nasal swab PCR tests for incoming travellers under the Quarantine Act, were unlawful. This is according to Justice Paul Monahan of the Ontario Court of Justice. Stay tuned for full decision. The implications of this ruling are massive.”

    More at

    https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2024/07/11/let-them-eat-taser-35/

    10

  • #
    another ian

    “An Historical Examination of NATO”

    “Prior to the Soviet Union falling apart in 1991, the presence of NATO made complete sense. But after that, why did it grow and not contract?”

    https://youtu.be/XYgyZPLfveI

    Via

    https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2024/07/11/an-historical-examination-of-nato/#comments

    10

  • #
    another ian

    Emphasising what you feel –

    “Albonomics.”

    https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2024/07/albonomics.html

    10

  • #
  • #