JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
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Statistics
Green Blues…As Fog Persists For Days In Germany, Green Energy Output Falls To Near Zero!
From The NoTricksZone
By P Gosselin on 10. November 2024
At 5 p.m. last Wednesday, Germany’s 1602 offshore wind turbines in the North and Baltic Seas stood still…solar output was also near zero. Germany had to scramble to keep supply going.
The enemy of green energy: the high pressure system
By KlimaNachrichten
…
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/11/10/green-bluesas-fog-persists-for-days-in-germany-green-energy-output-falls-to-near-zero/
220
We only have to look at the Broken Hill debacle to see how useless the unreliables are, a bit like Flinders and King Island.
120
Here in Nepal they’re trying to advance their society not regress it. So, for example, they promote electricity use, not discourage it as in Australia.
So too, for modern conveniences. In Australia, conveniences like free plastic shopping bags were banned by the Left. They told a lie, as usual, calling them “single use”. No one I know had a single use for those wonderful bags. And when they had finally served their multiple uses, they were disposed of to go to landfill, not the ocean. (In proper countries they burn them as a valuable hydrocarbon fuel, not allowed in most of Australia.) Ocean plastic comes from third world countries. It’s a behavioural problem, not a plastic problem.
Anyway, every time you shop here, you are offered a free plastic bag. It’s wonderful, coming from plastic bag deprived Australia. Of course, they are not the high-tech, thin, strong, ultra high molecular weight biodegradable ones the Left banned in Australia, but they are good and useful nevertheless.
It’s so wonderful coming to a country that wants to advance, not regress.
BTW, compared to last time I was here, WiFi speeds at hotels in Kathmandu are excellent. My trek hasn’t started yet so I’m not sure yet what the speeds will be like high up in the Himalayas.
Overall, they are certainly advancing their country, not dismantling it as in Australia. Another good thing here is very low street crime and you can walk the streets, even women, in safety late at night or any other time.
One annoying thing is that no Australian phone carrier has low cost roaming here. If I connect to the Nepali network I have to pay 75c/minute to make or receive calls or 75c/MB for data. In most other countries I pay $5 per day for unlimited calls and data on my plan.
320
Thanks for the travel notes David.
I have not been to Nepal myself but I have seen photographs.
I hope you get a view of Qomolangma (Mt Everest).
110
And the sherpas get climbing Qomolangma banned on tribal religious grounds on the basis they saw it first. And someone wrote on it.
Like Mt Arapiles in Victoria, one of the most famous climbing spots in the world and bringing international tourist traffic to Victoria. Apparently it has a few examples of aboriginal graffiti.
Like the way the Victoria Government tripled the coal fees on all Victorians, forcing up electricity prices for everyone. And forcing out manufacturing, except for Alcoa in Portland where we the taxpayers pay the wages. We even bought and operated a sawmill so we could close it down.
And tripled the $5 to $15 for each tourist that cruise ships brought to the Port of Melbourne, which is now a dead zone with no ships. Virgin and Cunard and others have now stopped all ships to Melbourne.
Meanwhile the Trans Tasman ferry was forced to move to Geelong because of overcrowding at the pier. And the new TT Ferry just delivered cannot be used because it is too big for the dock at Devonport. Cancelling the Commonwealth games also helped Melbourne’s image as a dead city.
P&O brought one ship for the Melbourne Cup, which protesters want banned because horses should run free. Along with the culling in the high plains to save other forest species. And the Flemington Race course flood fence is an abomination because it allegedly causes Climate Change flooding of nearby houses built on the same flood plain without fencing.
The destruction of Victoria’ tourist income is in line with it’s destruction as the leading manufacturing state with soaring electricity costs. Banning climbing on Mt Arapiles is just part of the master plan.
You would have to think the leftist woke Labor government of Victoria is determined to bankrupt the State not least by discouraging every tourist. Going to Nepal will soon be banned too, leaving your 15 minute village prison.
280
Mt. Arapiles.
The traditional owners of this land and 53% of Australia do NOT welcome you to this area.
140
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if a Liberal government came along to put things right. But no, they sent Pesutto and his team, no, group of LINOs into the arena to fight the pit bulls of Labor and the CFMEU. No matter how disastrous the ALP in Victoria they are safe as houses because the Liberals would rather fight a capable and strong woman who dares to support other women who want to play sport against other women rather than men in dresses.
300
They are LINOS. We need a Nigel Farage. A real Conservative. In the end Tony Abbott just gave up, so unlike John Howard, who fought back to the top against the sneering of the appropriately named Andrew Peacock and Jeff Kennett and friends.
The closest we have so far is Pauline Hanson who has performed remarkably well while despised by so many professional politicians and the righteous left of the ABC/Age/Guardian. A few billionaires playing games. And a very few backbenchers who stood up to the pack. The rest are in the wet lettuce, soggy tramticket brigade. Like Labor, more conspirators than politicians, all climbing the greasy pole.
140
And appalling opportunists in the Greens like avowed Communist Dr. Adam Bandt to which everyone and everything is just a means to his evil ends. He would cheer at the total destruction of Australia, if only to get political power.
120
You would think the Opposition would have an easy time getting into govt, just do the opposite to what the reds are doing, they would win in a canter.
The likely reason is they don’t want govt, having decided being in opposition is an easy gig.
80
In Victoriastan, that is.
60
Absolutely Ronin.
Pesutto and Southwick have comfortable, well-paid positions as “Opposition” “leaders” with excellent perks and they get invited to lots of social events. Essentially they are taxpayer funded full time socialites. Why would they bother doing the hard work of winning government? In any case, most of their policies are even more Left and more extreme than Labor. And Pesutto’s treatment of Moira Deeming was bizarre and incomprehensible.
170
Wonderful points TdeF.
The bans on rock climbing at Arapiles have basically destroyed what was considered one of the best rock climbing sites in the world that climbers came from everywhere to experience. Plus the report that led to it was secret and there is no appeal etc.. Apparently a lot of the allegedly sacred graffiti is invisible to the eyes of all people not of a certain race so it’s not possible to see it, you have to take it on trust that it’s there.
More information here: https://savegrampiansclimbing.org/2024/11/04/huge-increase-to-arapiles-climbing-bans-and-this-time-its-permanent/
Here in Nepal, they want to share their sacred mountains with others regardless of race, they are proud of them, and tourism and climbing are major and profitable and employment-creating industries. There is only one mountain here that is not allowed to be climbed because it is sacred to the natives, Machapuchare, and the locals don’t go there themselves and visitors aren’t given permits. (The Gurung tribe, a Gurkha people of Chomrong believe the Hindu god Shiva lives there.) Everything else is encouraged to visit and share (and earn money).
Meanwhile back in Australian you have to think that the self-destruction can’t possibly be accidental or due to mere incompetence. Something as big as destroying the whole country has to be deliberate as Donald Trump found out when trying to save his country. Unfortunately we have no Donald Trump to save Australia that is capable of being elected as PM. Even that great hope Dutton is a believer in the anthropogenic global warming scam and a believer in the censorship bill as I posted yesterday. (And the censorship bill and the e Safety Kommisar came from his fake conservative party.
Next election vote for Australia’s only conservative parties:
United Australia Party
Libertarian Party
One Nation
150
TdeF,
Tourism in Victoria is a plaything, not an industry.
Social activities are in two groups, those that generate new wealth and those that consume it. We have to maximise the former. Events like the Melbourne Cup do not produce wealth. They simply move money from one place to another. People who compute the Cup cash flow, then scream that we cannot afford to do without it, do not understand economics.
Motorists are complaining about pothole damage to vehicles, not enough $$$ being spent on roads. Think how quick the fix could be if the money spent on tickets to the football was suddenly directed to roads.
There is a childish mentality that wrongly values the entertainment, sports and tourism sectors as necessary. They are not. They are optional extras that we all enjoy as a break away from work that generates wealth.
I have a personal bias about this because I worked in the mining sector. There is new wealth generated when a few sq km of wheat farming land is developed into 5 big copper/gold mines, like we did at Parkes NSW. The value of that land was multiplied 10,000 times and everyone benefited.
Farming is another wealth-generating activity. Yet silly greens are throwing threats at it. Education is wealth- generating. We would all be in a poorer country if we were all uneducated and unable to comprehend economic theory and history. Medical research can generate wealth – or reduce losses from ill health.
The gambling sector has no good economic results. It is a good example of moving money from one person to another but generating no new wealth.
We all like a bit of fun, but we have to be more diligent about how much we spend on new wealth production versus moving existing money around. We need to have eyes wide open when ignorant, greedy people dishonestlyq promote the latter and describe it as good for everyone.
Geoff S
150
Thank Peter C, I won’t be seeing Everest on this trip but I have previously been to Everest Base Camp in Tibet to see it and I have previously seen Annapurna from Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal. This trip I will see a number of other mountains . And the natives will proudly share them with me, not ban me from seeing them or climbing them if I so wish. And their country benefits from the money I deposit here, money that won’t be spent in Australia as more and more tourist sites are shut down.
120
Everest Base Camp in Tibet
And you drive up to it rather than hike for multiple days
11
A good series – up to part 3 with more to come. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH9qaTawttE Most will already be aware of the issues raised, but a useful wrap up for the uninitiated.
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It’d have been good to say what the series is about.
It’s called Escaping Calypso’s Island, and narrated from the perspective of a woman who grew up in Vancouver immersed in ideals of nature’s paradise, but who now realises that was all a fantasy and that it’s only through our industrial technology that we have the easy lives we do.
As you say, not really news here, but would be therapeutic for people with a similar upbringing to hers, who might be starting to question their faith.
80
Produced and funded by Rising Tide Foundation
Trojan Horse? Where was the ‘Rising Tide’ when the boats were sinking in the Covid 19 vaccination and lock downs? What are all these motherhood statements actually achieving?
Maybe they will fund this blog and Jo in her attempt to promote freedom in scientific discourse.
A brief look at the organisation does not appear to disclose the history of those involved.
Here is a more definitive discussion for private clients on the future of the human race
40
I think you made a mistake and are quoting from the WEF handbook.. Especially the arguments about population QUANTITY and not QUALITY!
00
I was amazed to see a video clip of Kamala Harris using a teleprompter at a Town Hall Q&A. Couldn’t she answer a simple question without some people off screen dictating and typing the answer for her? Or more likely scripted answers for scripted questions? That’s fraud.
Was the audience paid as well? Did they use actors?
And you get CBS cut and pasting Kamala’s answer to a different question, subject to a $10Billion lawsuit by Donald Trump.
Surely what was done to make her look competent to the American public was illegal, as Trump argues.
In a nation of so many people, how is it possible that Kamala made it to be the Presidential candidate for the Democrats in the 2024 election and like Biden, the media and Democrats hid the disabilities of both candidates.
At what point does fraud like this become interference in the US election? What the Democrats feel they can do like the DNC/Clinton funded Steele file, lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop and more makes Nixon’s Watergate wire tapping seem trivial. Even the head of the FBI Comey wore a wire into his meeting with Trump in an attempt to trap the President and was already tapping the Trump team before the election by lying to the judge to get a FISA warrant.
The FBI/CIA needs a clean out as well. And the FISA act penalties tightened.
390
Yes, it has been amazing to watch the whole US election campaign, esp through the filter of the Gateway Pundit and the JoNova blog.
I think the Kamala’s audiences were paid, or at least given a free bus ride and a free concert.
261
‘ … how is it possible that Kamala made it to be the Presidential candidate …’
When Biden became ill and reluctantly dropped out of the race at short notice they were stuck. The Clintons didn’t want her.
101
Biden didn’t suddenly become ill. His handlers discovered he was going to lose big, so they administered placebos before the debate, I’m pretty sure.
It was pretty clear during the March SotU speech he was on something.
Today, he gave the Presidential Veteran’s Day address. It was obvious he was high as a kite. And there he was bragging about Afghanistan to that audience. Seriously? Some people had to be looking at him and saying to themselves, “What have you been smoking?”
220
When the military officer passed Biden the wreath to lay, he kept hold of it as Biden would have likely dropped it.
See https://youtu.be/bbbqvP9vLHE
70
Has it occured to anyone that the demonrats “threw the fight”?
They just gave up and said they wouldn’t obstruct Trump.
Looking at Trump’s staff picks of recent days, it’s nowhere like salvation time.
…which explains a lot…
They WANT Trump to take the reins.
Oh, the deviousness. 😉
00
If the Dems had chosen Roy Cooper they might have won.
11
There is no evidence that James Comey ever wore ‘a wire’ – but he did illegally leak memos (FBI work product) he allegedly wrote after select meetings with Trump.
Comey also allegedly presented the most salacious elements of the DNC funded dirt file “the Steele dossier) that the FBI knew was false, to then President-Elect Trump, in what could be described as a warning/threat to POTUS45’s authority.
.
The NY Times did report that Rod Rosenstein had discussions about wearing a wire in meetings with POTUS 45, after Comey’s firing – specifically to pursue invoking the 25th Amendment, but Rosenstein insisted it was ‘in jest’ & that he had never sought to invoke the 25th Amendment.
50
Mr Comey sure had history in terms of improperly based allegations. His work in charging Martha Stewart with insider trading in the early 2000’s was highly questionable. It seemed like he was a man keen to make a name for himself, and so went after Martha. She went to jail for a short term on a lesser charge and Comey was lucky in that although super rich with a big following, the lady wasn’t well liked. Hence, the court of popular opinion tended to disfavour MS.
10
I posted yesterday about a recent decision by a motorsports authority to ban EVs from a ‘Test & Tune’ event due to safety concerns, one of which was the possibility that the electric door locks might not work following a crash, making it hard for occupants to get out.
And then today comes this story, saying that four people died in exactly that way after crashing a Tesla, when they became trapped inside after it caught fire:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14069607/friends-burned-death-trapped-inside-tesla-electronic-doors-failed.html
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Wonderful cars Teslas, I support every Govt vehicle being one! Especially the Parliamentary pool and the Highwaymen Patrol. Stopping CO2 and saving the planet should be their priority.
120
Electric vehicle owner’s massive fail is called out by Aussies
A driver has been called out for charging their electric vehicle on the street by running the charging cable through a stormwater pipe.
2GB host Ray Hadley shared a photo of the car on Monday morning, and described it as ‘the most remarkable photo I think I’ve seen’.
‘This is how one EV owner charges his car. He drags the electrical cord through the stormwater pipe and onto the street,’ Hadley told listeners on Monday.
‘This is priceless.
‘He’s actually got his electric vehicle charging with the lead going through the stormwater pipe.
‘I don’t know whether he knows that water and electricity don’t really mix and could cause him some sort of problem.’
Electric vehicle sales continue to rise in Australia, but the quick transition from combustion engines to battery-powered cars presents several major challenges.
Many councils are cracking down on, or even banning, EV owners from placing charging cords across footpaths, creating challenges for owners without garages who struggle to charge their cars.
100
Toyota USA Chief: Hey, About Those IMPOSSIBLE EV Mandates…
California’s electric vehicle mandates, which go into effect next year, are “impossible” to meet and will result in reduced choices on dealer lots.
“I have not seen a forecast by anyone,” Jack Hollis, chief operating officer of Toyota Motor North America, said on a Friday roundtable discussion, “government or private, anywhere that has told us that that number is achievable. At this point, it looks impossible.”
Hollis continued, “Demand isn’t there. It’s going to limit a customer’s choice of the vehicles they want.”
That’s thanks to California’s Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II), adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in 2022. CARB consists of 12 lackeys appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, two more members appointed by the state legislature’s environmental justice committees, and two non-voting members providing “legislative oversight” for the Assembly and State Senate.
CARB enjoys broad regulatory powers and isn’t shy about using them. ACC II requires that 35% of 2026 model-year cars and trucks sold in California be zero-emission vehicles. Mostly that means electric vehicles, although fuel-cell cars (anyone still making those?) and certain plug-in hybrids also qualify.
“It’s going to distort the industry. It’s going to distort the business,” Hollis also said. “Why? Because it’s unnatural to what the current demand in the marketplace is.”
20
California Tightens Climate Fuel Rules That Could Add $0.50/Gallon To Gas Prices
Despite the incoming Trump administration’s likely move to deregulate all things EV, that isn’t necessarily going to stop California from continuing down its ‘green’ agenda path.
And people wonder why there’s exodus from the state to places like Texas and Florida?
Last week, the California Air Resources Board voted to amend the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which requires fuel producers exceeding carbon targets to buy credits from low- or zero-carbon suppliers, according to Bloomberg.
The updated rules accelerate target reductions, despite concerns over affordability as the state faces rising housing and energy costs. Governor Gavin Newsom is grappling with the economic strain on the nation’s largest state economy amidst this push for stricter climate measures.
Its a move that is projected to raise gas prices by nearly 50 cents per gallon.
00
WoW!! A whole 50c, taking it from $4.50 per gallon to $5…That’s $1/Litre at the moment, going up by about 10c!! If only we were so lucky!
00
I don’t have a fundamental problem with doing that. It’s certainly not code-compliant but as long as the circuit is properly protected and its an industrial quality cable it’s a good way around rules not allowing overhead wiring from your property to the street to charge your EV. Not that I’m a fan of EV’s either.
80
I doubt that the method would comply with the Wiring Rules.
10
I have a bore on my block with 240V cabling going down the bore pipe to the pump at 10 meters. Immersed 24×7, used daily. As you say its feasible, but I have doubts the average EV owner could make it safe.
20
Is it a special cable intended for immersion?
10
FWIW
Academic terms translated
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7HUcTbWuUQVJl6oU_x2XphEJdWxRhjvnIYtcDpUbMC6PQD8fDkHBK7KJQPhBl7boxTaGZIjgjp5j_JTVh25nbE7nVGZJcbvIBfbYsFtyEqA5-hr0jQjzSSjX7vvd8TC-WboHTG88WqJsDLrquApryAge05x-LLJPXJmSsGjpuMPxKtFfXIA-I5wdK-4/s1196/Meme%20-%20Academic%20Translator.png
More at
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2024/11/memes-that-made-me-laugh-235.html#more
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UN climate conference — just an excuse to shake West down for cash
By Bjorn Lomborg
The UN climate summit in Azerbaijan kicked off Monday in the shadow of Donald Trump’s election and with many key leaders not even showing up.
With low expectations set before it even began, the summit will nonetheless see grandiose speeches on the need for a vast flow of money from rich countries to poorer ones.
Unrealistic even before Trump’s victory, such calls for trillions of dollars are misguided and sure to fail.
The main problem is that wealthy countries — responsible for most emissions leading to climate change— want to cut emissions while poorer countries mainly want to eradicate poverty through growth that remains largely reliant on fossil fuels.
To get poorer countries to act against their own interest, the West started offering cash two decades ago.
In 2009, then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised “new and additional” funds of $100 billion annually by 2020 if developing countries agreed to future carbon cuts.
70
COP29 isn’t an ‘opportunity’, it’s an embarrassment
Starmer saying he preferred Davos to Westminster tells you everything you need to know about the globe-trotting exploits of our leaders
What will you do to save the planet this week? Scrub out your jam jars ready for the recycling? Ask for your latte in a reusable cup? Endure the sweaty bike ride to work to save the world a few petrol fumes?
Well spare a thought for Keir Starmer, who will be suffering a week at COP29, forced to eat catered buffets, sitting in air conditioned rooms talking with the great and good about how best to nail the global public on a green agenda. For the good of the planet, our Prime Minister will join the private-jet class in annual talks about the environment. Defending his presence there last year, Starmer said it was “very important that we go all-out for clean power [in] 2030”.
COP is something of a jolly for our prime minister, who has had a bit of a rough few months in power thanks to all the miserable decisions he keeps telling us he’s been forced to make. Last year his travels to Dubai were to the tune of £25,508, including being sent home by Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs via private jet.
Despite Labour’s keenness to decry private-jet usage as a scourge on the health of mother earth, Starmer seems fairly keen on the mode of transport – infamously using one to get to a campaign rally in Scotland for clean energy usage. It remains to be seen whether he will turn up to COP29 in the same manner or go back-packing Greta style.
But the usual spectacle of world leaders networking in fancy event spaces while condemning their voters to punitive green policies isn’t the only hypocrisy on display during this year’s COP.
The fact that it is being held in Baku in Azerbaijan – home of fossil fuels and an autocratic government – seems to have been skated over.
140
The Australian Spooner Cartoon today
91
Coalition calls out Defence’s ‘insane’ net zero pursuit as Albanese government urged to let troops focus on ‘real threats’
A Defence Department plan charting the military’s path to net zero has drawn criticism from the Coalition, which argues the Australian Defence Force should remain focused on “the real threats that are at our doorstep”.
The Coalition has hit out at the Defence Department’s “insane” Net Zero Strategy, calling on the Albanese government to keep Australia’s military focused on combating “real threats”.
Defence released the strategy late last month, with the document outlining an “emissions reduction plan that provides an actionable pathway to support net zero targets and accelerate Defence’s transition to clean energy”.
Alongside the Future Energy Strategy, the plan aims to reduce the Australian Defence Forces environmental footprint “without detriment to military capability, preparedness or interoperability with allies”.
However, the approach has drawn criticism from shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie, who argued it was impossible to meet the military’s energy needs with renewable sources.
“Intermittent solar and wind power is not enough to deliver the industrial outcomes we need as a country if we’re going to be strong and rebuild our defence force,” he told Sky News Australia on Monday.
“The only way to do that is with reliable base power and that comes from coal, gas and nuclear power, which is why we’re making the argument for nuclear power.”
70
COP29 is only 1 day old yet the s#!t is flowing in bucket-loads:
RadioNZ reported Pacific Island delegates wanted “more money” to fight “rapidly rising sea levels”. How does one say in Latin, ’tis but a figment of their imagination?
BBCCCC reported delegates were already complaining about the price of food, with a snack of “soup, bean salad and a dry roll” costing £18 or $24. Welcome to the land of Cl!mate Capitalism Comrades!
Is the West Antarctic ice sheet already doomed? headlined an RNZ article today by Climate Change Correspondent (CCC©️) Eloise Gibson.
“While Earth has been hotter than this before, due to natural causes, Levy said this pace of heating is not like anything humans have lived through”. My emphasis.
Um, like, y’know, I mean, so… what’s the problem? And don’t start me on these climate gloomers’ childish command of English grammar and spelling: flack for flak, ot for to, form for from, be for been, my favourite new toxic compound “COp” as if it’s a deadly pollutant (which it is) and the shortest, most succinct, sentence I’ve seen in a while, which ironically sums it all up so well: “The government.”
Here’s hoping January 20th 2025 is an even BIGLIER party than November 5th was – and that was bigly! The bigliest ever!
131
FWIW
“Fareed Zakaria Lists Biggest Mistakes Dems Made — And #3’s a Doozy”
https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2024/11/11/fareed-zakaria-lists-biggest-mistakes-dems-made-and-3s-a-doozy-n3796879
30
Quite good.
Was puzzled at this snippet of Zakaria’s screed (referring to lawfare against Trump):
When did those polls solidify? We kept hearing they were too close to call, until the poll that mattered was called for Trump not very long after counting started.
Could they have lied about the polls? Surely not.
60
There were a few polls that got it right, but the MSM made sure to either bury them or call them outliers. Rasmussen, for example, had Trump up for most of election and up by 3 in their last poll before the election: https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/archive/election_2024_archive/election_2024_trump_3_over_harris_in_final_poll ).
40
So polls are like climate models: choose whichever one you like. And any resemblance to reality is entirely coincidental.
70
Zakaria says, “When Kamala Harris went on “The View” and was asked how she would have differed from Biden, instead of basically saying nothing different, she should have said, I would have shut down the border early and hard.”
So he’s saying she should have lied in order to get elected. What a very leftist thing to say.
71
So When will Labor PM Albosleezy sack Rudd?
‘Village idiot’: US Ambassador Kevin Rudd sledges Trump as ‘incoherent’, calls America ‘increasingly incompetent’ in newly uncovered footage
Newly unearthed footage shows Australia’s US Ambassador Kevin Rudd calling President-elect Donald Trump a “village idiot” and “incoherent”.
The comments from the years after Trump’s first term add to an ever-growing list of Mr Rudd’s public criticism and undermining of the incoming US president.
Former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd’s 2022 appointment as US Ambassador followed his description of Trump as a “political liability”, a “problem for the world” and a “traitor to the west”.
SkyNews.com.au can now reveal footage from January 2021 which shows Mr Rudd speaking in a webinar with Dr Shashi Tharoor, an Indian politician and former diplomat, in which he compared China with the United States, calling the country he is special envoy to as “increasingly incompetent”.
“The United States, in the past four years, has been run by a village idiot,” Mr Rudd said.
“People have seen China continuing to be competent in its national statecraft and the United States increasingly incompetent in its national statecraft under Trump.”
In an interview with Sky News Australia days before the election, the president-elect’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, said it was “hard” to keep someone in a diplomatic position who had said “such nasty things about a person”.
“I do think it would be nice to have a person who appreciates all that Donald Trump has gone through to want to serve our country at this moment.”
Ms Trump, who also serves as the co-chair of the Republican National Committee, suggested Trump would look to have Australia appoint “somebody else”.
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From the Comments
– Australia’s best interests in the US would be best served without the assistance of the current ambassador.
– Rudd has to go…for the sake of Australia….but Albanese hasn’t got the backbone to remove him….
– Kevin Rudd- how to win friends and influence people!
– Not the man to represent our great country, he was useless as a Prime Minister, and unpalatable as an Ambassador to the USA. 🇦🇺 🇺🇸
170
Rudd needs to spend more time with his family, as they say
50
If they’ll have him.
00
Dutton is taking full advantage.
The Opposition Leader also broadened his criticism and pointed the finger at Mr Albanese and other senior Labor figures who have previously criticised Trump.
‘Mr Albanese has previously said Trump “scared the sh**” out of him and Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Republican was “prepared to trash alliances”. (Sky)
00
Unearthed footage shows Kevin Rudd calling Donald Trump a ‘village idiot’
New video shows the US Ambassador calling the President-elect a “village idiot”, raising fresh questions over his tenure in the diplomatic post.
Samantha Maiden
Mr Trump was previously asked about Mr Rudd’s comments in a British TV interview in March, suggesting that the former Australian PM turned diplomat was “not the brightest bulb” and “nasty”.
“He won’t be there long if that’s the case,” Mr Trump said.
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Anthony Albanese backs Kevin Rudd as US ambassador amid increasing pressure after new video emerges
Anthony Albanese has emphatically backed Kevin Rudd to continue as Australia’s ambassador to the US amid increasing pressure and questions about Dr Rudd’s previous disparaging comments about President-elect Donald Trump.
A recently unearthed video showed Dr Rudd calling Mr Trump a “village idiot” and “incoherent” in January 2021, after Mr Trump lost the 2020 election.
The comments add to a growing list of criticism Dr Rudd had previously levelled at Mr Trump. Dr Rudd last week deleted a number of previous social media posts in which he criticised Mr Trump following his election win.
Mr Trump himself has questioned Dr Rudd’s ongoing role as the Australian ambassador to the US but the Albanese government has maintained it has confidence in him.
The latest comments came from a video broadcast by Sky News, in which Dr Rudd told Indian politician Shashi Tharoor in a webinar that the US under the Trump presidency had been “run by a village idiot”.
00
I’m sure he meant to say, the US run by President Cabbage has been ‘run by the village idiot.’
00
Christmas gift ideas Aussie made – since protectionism is all the rage these days – Wrought Iron frypans by Solidteknics. Excellent!
Pre-seasoned natural non stick, no more horrible teflon, and will last forever. Expensive of course, but not too bad. Definitely excellent quality. Cooks wonderfully, and comes with full instructions on use – its a bit different to your typical frypan.
But the best thing is the cleaning of them, just run them under hot water while still warm after cooking, and give a wipe. Done! No more detergent and scrubbing that horrible greasy frypan in dirty water.
Best thing Ive ever bought in the kitchen. They also do stainless steel.
Solidteknics, highly recommend.
50
Talking about COP29 and the dreaded “climate change” tends to lead to the discussion of bushfires etc. Because if the coming summer produces big bushfires in parts of SA, Tas, Vic and NSW you can bet the governments will blame climate change. They’re probably already preparing the likely press conference statements – what you would call misinformation. In Victoria, our skies and atmosphere should be full of bushfire smoke already. But smoke from controlled burning/ fuel reduction burns. We’ve had a couple of days in the mid 20˚C’s, it’s been relatively dry for a number of weeks and not likely to get windy hot for the next week. It’s perfect for fuel reduction burns. But no, not a puff of smoke in the air. My suspicion is that the cash strapped Victorian government have not put a priority on this because controlled burn offs are expensive to undertake. Plus you now have a public service ( DEECA etc) now more pre-occupied with climate action (the CA in DEECA), rainbow days and whether they have included their pronouns in any emails. Come February when half the state burns, Premier Barbie ( Jacinta Allan ) will front a press conference and blame climate change not the government’s terrible mismanagement. It will be like watching the film Groundhog day- gee, I’m having that dejavu feeling.
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Cool burning only 2-3% annually of their forests is simply not enough to cope with eucalypt’s excessive litter and its low decomposition rate. Needs to be over 10%, if possible 15%.
10
More like 20%.
00
You’ve got to hand it to Shane, he never quits
I know what I’m thinking.
Hope you’ve all seen the video of Malcom Roberts in Senate quizzing the AFP about vaccine mandates where only the wymmins spoke.
10
I was wondering why AUSTRAC stopped around 2014 with the Typologies and Case Studies reporting: https://www.austrac.gov.au/business/how-comply-guidance-and-resources/guidance-resources/typologies-and-case-studies-report-2014 – too many PEPs (Politically Exposed Persons) is my guess
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Taxpayers to cover $166,355 of single student’s eye-watering university loan bill under Labor’s controversial plan to cut HECS debt
Students who have failed to pay off eye-watering university loans will have taxpayers foot the bill instead, with one individual set to receive more than $165,000 under the Albanese government’s plan to axe student debt by 20 per cent.
Australian Tax Office data obtained by Sky News has revealed at least 50 students have racked up more than $250,000 each in HELP loans (formerly HECS).
Labor’s plan to shift debt from university students to taxpayers stands to cost Australians $16 billion while benefitting only about three million people.
The highest debts, many of which will never be paid off, include one student who owes $831,675.
This individual will benefit a total of $166,355 from Labor’s policy after recklessly accruing an astronomical debt far above the current loan caps.
The top 50 student debtors have accumulated loans exceeding even the highest caps –for medicine and aviation courses – of about $175,000.
Many of these large loan amounts appear to have been accrued before the caps were put in place in 2020.
The 50 largest debtors collectively owe more than $15.5 million which will put taxpayers on the hook for more than $3 million in loan reductions.
This has raised questions about whether working class Australians should bear the burden of financial relief to students who amassed irresponsible debt.
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Legal experts warn government against ‘outsourcing censorship’, as misinformation bill could create ‘constitutional problem’
Legal experts have told a Senate hearing the Albanese government’s misinformation bill risked “outsourcing censorship to foreign corporations” and could even create a “constitutional problem” by policing political speech.
The Albanese government has been handed a blunt warning from legal experts about its misinformation bill, who told a Senate hearing it could create a “constitutional problem” by policing political speech.
Support for the misinformation and disinformation bill from key crossbench Senators appears set to fade, leaving one of the government’s legislative centrepieces in limbo as Parliament approaches its final sitting weeks.
The Coalition has already announced its intention to block the bill, while independent Senators David Pocock, Jacqui Lambie, Tammy Tyrrell, Fatima Payman, and Gerard Rennick have all expressed doubts over the legislation.
Monday’s Senate hearing is unlikely to have shifted their views, as some of the nation’s leading legal experts called into question how the laws would function.
Constitutional law expert Anne Twomey issued some of the strongest warnings, telling Senators the effort to empower the Australian Communications and Media Authority to fine tech giants for false content it deemed harmful could “all go very wrong”.
From the Comments
– Dumb is a four letter word. It is not a rude word, but the most appropriate word when applied to Albo and his government!
– Labor is so inept We dint need a misinformation bill we just need ministers to just to their job Labor always looking at other things that are not needed, the economy is cr@p, living standards have dropped dramatically, cost of food through the roof, utilities gone through the roof, interest rates too high, failure of future proofing Australia, selloff of australian assets, immigration out of control, minorities pushing policies over majority and Ministers underperforming And you want to do a misinformation bill thats not required… or wanted by Australians yet you keep pushing your woke agenda to control all forms media thats called censorship at its best at worst f@scism. “
50
Australian Labor Governments & Inflation – “It’s Only Taxpayers Money”
NSW Police set to receive ‘highest ever pay rise in the last 30 years’ with some to pocket 40 per cent increase
NSW Police officers are set to receive a massive pay rise in a deal which will make the state’s police the best remunerated in the country.
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‘Priorities are all wrong’: Allan Labor government slammed for focus on ‘financially reckless’ projects as police walk off job
The Victorian Labor government has been slammed for pushing ahead with a “financially reckless” infrastructure project as the state’s police officers prepare to walk off the job.
20
pfftt! If they walked off the job no-one would notice for weeks!
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Airmiles Albo is just months away from his political reckoning
Labor’s shot at winning a majority at the next election is slim to none in the wake of Kamala Harris’ stunning loss that illustrated the folly of trying to demonise a worthy adversary, writes Nick Cater.
Nothing on the horizon can prevent Labor from losing seats at the next federal election, save for an unexpected own goal by the Coalition
Labor’s shot at winning a majority at the next election is slim to none in the wake of Kamala Harris’ stunning loss that illustrated the folly of trying to demonise a worthy adversary.
The Prime Minister may or may not have ignited fires in the bellies of Labor MPs and senators with his promise to increase his majority at the next election.
However, if history is any guide, his boast to the Labor Caucus earlier this week is unlikely to be fulfilled.
No Australian federal government since World War II has been returned with an increased majority in its second term.
Anthony Albanese may draw comfort from the fact that none of the seven incoming governments in the last 75 years have been thrown out after one term, not even John Howard, who survived a 4.6 per cent two-party swing and the loss of 14 seats in 1998.
Yet Labor starts from a lower base than any of his first-term predecessors.
Labor’s first-preference share of 32.6 per cent at the 2022 election was the lowest the party has ever received.
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I include a response to someone on Quora who claims the oil companies fund all Climate Denial..
Do you really think the oil companies are suffering? They just ran the COP in Dubai, Egypt on the Red Sea, Qatar and Azerbijian. It’s all funded by oil money! Azerbijian was Hitler’s target in Operation Blue. The oil industry started in Baku!
Why should they pay to debunk Global Warming? That’s absurd. It’s making them very rich. And they are even hosting the business deals because it’s such a blast for everyone in the oil/wind/solar/gas business and all the politicians on junkets to the home of Molossal black caviar on the Black Sea. A huge party run by the UN who now want $1000Bn a year in climate reparations, up from $100Bn a year. Cui Bono.
Get a life. Wake up.
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Linda Burney sure cleaned up Alice. Scroll quickly through the vids.
Bonus, you get to “sleep” with your probation officer.
20
Censored already when I went there.. ‘This page isn’t available’
00
Loverly Place
Spirit Airlines flight riddled with bullets while landing in Haiti
A budget American carrier was hit with a hail of gunfire while trying to land at a major airport on Monday, with one flight attendant wounded.
Emily Crane – New York Post
Multiple bullet holes could be seen in the overhead bins and a plane door in the aftermath, footage obtained by local outlet Media Libre Haiti showed.
The plane, which was en route from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., had to be diverted to an airport in the Dominican Republic.
“The plane has been taken out of service, and we are arranging for a different aircraft to return our Guests and crew to [Fort Lauderdale] today,” an airline spokesperson said.
From the Comments
– I heard the inflight meal was canine Beaujolais with a side of cat tail soup
– Coming to an airport near you. My flighttracker app shows a charter flight leave here every morning, go get some haitians, and come back. can’t find out what happens to them after that.
– Why we even flying there
– To bring migrants into the states, be careful with your 4 legged family members.
– One of Biden’s illegal migration flights?
– Yes, they fly to Springfield, Ohio every day.
10
“Olive harvesting season” in the West Bank.
I’m so lucky I wasn’t born into a Palestinian family that relies on growing olives to make a living:
Recently,
— settlers were caught on camera stealing crops of Palestinian-owned olive trees.
— not just crops but harvesting tools were stolen.
— armed settlers vandalized two houses and 30 olive trees in Birin village.
— since 1 October, more than 1,200 mostly olive trees were burnt, sawed-off or vandalized.
“… Israeli settlers … accompanied by Israeli forces, opened fire at Palestinian families harvesting olives near Far’ata village … injuring two Palestinians.”
“… Palestinian farmers, discovered that about 60 olive trees … had been uprooted on land they own … The affected families have been unable to reach their land during the 2023 olive harvest season and were only authorized by Israeli forces to access it this season.”
“… masked Israeli settlers … set fire to parked Palestinian-owned vehicles in Al Bireh city …. At least 18 cars were burnt and four inhabited apartments caught fire and sustained damage.”
Link to OCHA report
What’s the justification for treating people like this, while security forces do little or nothing to stop it?
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From the Washington Institute:
“Although OCHA has attempted to verify deaths and distinguish between combatants and civilians in previous conflicts worldwide, it has not done so with the current Gaza data it receives from the Hamas-run Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Government Media Office (GMO, a subunit of the Hamas-run Ministry of Information). Instead, OCHA merely relays fatality statistics from Gaza; it does not generate or check them. Although the organization openly acknowledges this fact, its relay effort has been imperfect at best, and several of its decisions about the data it disseminates are cause for concern.”
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D J Trump, known for his cruelty, made Elise Stefanic to represent US at UN. I can not view that nomination any other way, considering her views of that illustrious body.
00
Another vehicle (water tanker) running off the road resulting in death. This time a kindergarten teacher in north-west Melbourne died a heroine saving children. Investigations into possible “medical episode” affecting the driver with early reports suggesting roadway damage some distance from the kindergarten supports theory driver may have lost control of truck which continued for some distance before going into school grounds.
Starting to become a regular event.
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Vaccidents
10
I see the Meta symbol occasionally appear at the top of my screen while reading, for no apparent reason that I can discern. Is this a case of recording what I am reading online at that time?
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Hi Annie,
I have never had that problem but because Meta=Facebook if you have a Facebook account that might be part of the problem. Firefox has an add-on called Facebook Container which works by isolating your Facebook identity into a separate container that makes it harder for Facebook to track your visits to other websites with third-party cookies.
I don’t know if other browsers have something similar or if it would solve your issue.
10
No, I have never had a FB account. I do have WhatsApp.
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I know WhatsApp and FB share data but anymore than that I wouldn’t know.
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I used to have a Facebook account so installed Facebook Container. I still have it installed and for some reason it always activates when I visit Jo’s site.
20
Just when you thought Leftist insanity couldn’t get any more crazy….
It’s not clear if these are as yet unamed places or they are going to rename existing places or both.
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They’ll re-name existing places. Any bets on the new name for Victoria? It can’t have such a racist, colonial slavery name!
NZ re-did a handful of 1800s place names that had ‘bad’ words in like Nigger Creek a few years back. History being re-written, Orwell was right…
10
FWIW
World in shock!
“BREAKING: Arizona Announces They Have Counted Another Ballot”
https://babylonbee.com/news/breaking-arizona-announces-they-have-counted-another-ballot/
Via Instapundit
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Uncertainty looms as Boeing prepares to issue layoff notices to 17K workers this week
While 33,000 machinists will now be working under a new labor contract that includes a 38% pay raise over four years, the company has also announced that layoffs will be happening. This adds new uncertainty for the company’s employees.
Boeing has 170,000 employees, and 10% of the workforce, 17,000 workers, will be affected by this round of cuts.
https://kutv.com/news/nation-world/boeing-layoff-notices-loom-for-17k-workers-despite-recent-end-of-7-week-strike-debt-washington-state-everett-renton-local-economy-ceo-kelly-ortberg-employee-report-losses
38% pay rise?
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot, or both feet.
Go woke go
brokeBoeing.20
Another disaster for Albo – the 3G shutdown
https://youtu.be/zIJavqEzEIw?si=cHGx5MuDHxWpkywP
Australia’s great phone firewall just took out over 500,000 devices.
Even 5G VoLTE phones bought from a Telco may not work.
Some new 4G and 5G phones may require 2G and 3G to function.
They were warned but chose not to listen.
Fireworks ahead..
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I think Australia is only country in the world stupid enough to have done this.
And many foreign tourists will be unable to contact emergency services with their phones if needed.
30
Been to the US lately?
02
Telstra and Optus supplied a number to dial – think it was 3498 from memory, that you could phone to check to confirm your mobile would be ok when 3G was shut down. Service works very well.
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Scientists baffled after UK satellite ends up 1,000s of miles away – no one knows why
The UK’s oldest satellite has been moved into outer space, but nobody knows who moved it or how.
Launched in 1969, just a few months after humans first set foot on the Moon, Skynet-1A was put high above Africa’s east coast to relay communications for British forces.
The spacecraft stopped working years ago, and conventional wisdom would suggest that the Earth’s gravitational pull would move it eastwards over the Indian Ocean, but the opposite has happened.
The satellite is now halfway around the world above the Americas, baffling scientists who insist that orbital mechanics mean it is unlikely that the half-tonne spacecraft would have simply drifted to its current position.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1974012/uk-satellite-scientists-baffled
Probably the russkies.😆
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Reckon it was Y2K.
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Russkies? Pffft. Uranians.
Scientists say: Life may be possible on Uranus after they ‘discovered water’ underground on the 7th planet. Personally I still miss Pluto.
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Replying from the future John Connor II…Nah…..it was probably claustrophobic and needed more space 🙂
00
“baffling scientists who insist that orbital mechanics mean it is unlikely that the half-tonne spacecraft would have simply drifted to its current position.”
“its moved.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, orbital mechanics says it can’t”
“But, its moved”
“Rubbish, scientists says it can’t”
“But, it has moved”
“Lalala- I can’t hear you”
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Excellent. Enjoy driving while you still can:
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1BLt3ZNSnA/?mibextid=oFDknk
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Donald Trump talks about free speech.
(Trigger warning for Leftists.)
https://youtu.be/xJfUXVOoFBo
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Thanks David,
Love the comments and enthusiasm.
( I’ve seen his 6 min 36 sec speech before, was amazed, and hopeful, and delighted to see the same enthusiasm in the comments below this version.)
Cheers
Dave B
30
Hooray the fish are saved!.Pity about the people. In fact the world would be so much better if there were no people.
10
Life after people:
https://youtu.be/l11zPNb-MFg?si=zRMYcZi1C8d7t1LE
00
Hmm 1.5 hours. Pass.
00
FWIW
“Iran Strongly Denies US Claims It Was Involved In Plot To Kill Trump”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iran-strongly-denies-us-claims-it-was-involved-plot-kill-trump
But
“Deception, Lying and Taqiyya”
“Does Islam permit Muslims to lie?
Muslim scholars teach that Muslims should generally be truthful to each other… unless the purpose of lying is to “smooth over differences” or “gain the upper-hand over an enemy.”
There are several forms of lying to non-believers that are permitted under certain circumstances, the best known being taqiyya (the Shia name). These circumstances are typically those that advance the cause of Islam – in some cases by gaining the trust of non-believers in order to draw out their vulnerability and defeat them.”
More at
https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/taqiyya.aspx
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But don’t forget to ask, “who are the biggest beneficiaries of killing Trump” — it will include many in the US Deep State as well, and it would suit them to a tee if Trump is assassinated and they can blame it on Iran or China.
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Well, if there are any times that Muslims can’t lie, that puts them well ahead of the rest of us! Lets examine the Muslim MPs we have…
00
Britain’s wind power falls to virtually zero as Miliband prepares to cut reliance on gas
Much of the UK has seen zero hours of sunshine this month, and the first part of this week will see already-light winds hit fresh lows in many areas, according to Met Office forecasters.
Sir Keir’s speech, expected on Tuesday, coincides with a record “dunkelflaute” spell of low winds and sunshine that have already slashed output from renewables.
Wind speeds are expected to fall again this week, making gas more essential than ever to keep the lights on.
“Many of our weather stations have recorded zero sunshine so far this month,” said a Met Office forecaster. It’s very unusual.”
Over the last week solar generated just 0.7pc of the nation’s electricity and wind just 10.6pc, according to grid data.
By contrast, on sunny and windy days renewables have generated more than 87pc of UK power needs.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/11/10/britain-wind-power-fall-zero-miliband-prepare-cut-gas-use/
So long as the weather isn’t unusual you can have power!😆
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A tinsee bit of perspective and scale. Intentionally buried 11000 years ago for some reason…health and safety?? a single stranded RNA virus? Not sure.
The site is in part only of a huge complex of sites in the region of what is called ‘Turkey’ ..geographically more recently..
From Megalithomania: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=firrc_dPmfY
“19,286 views Nov 9, 2024
Explore Göbekli Tepe, Karahan Tepe, Sayburç and more of Ancient Turkey in May 2025 saving $200 for a limited time: https://www.megalithomania.co.uk/turk…. One of the most elaborate Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites that has come to light in recent years is Sayburç, located 20 km southeast of Sanliurfa dating to nearly 9000 BC. It hit the international headlines in 2021 due to a remarkable ‘narrative scene’ carved into one side of a rock-cut enclosure, partly buried under a house in the village. In September 2024 this house was removed and it has revealed the extent of the enclosure for the first time. In this video Hugh Newman explores the site, with exclusive access to the underground ‘hypogeum’ chambers nearby, and examines the second area of the site which is currently under excavation. At the end of the video a brand new photo reveals the fully cleared and excavated enclosure for the first time. Includes new 3D lidar scans.”
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Just reading about the latest absurd renewables proposal, the Western Green Energy Hub, to stretch 750 kms from Eucla through to Kalgoorlie, where presumably it would connect to the WA SWIS grid. But Kalgoorlie, being connected to a gas pipeline from Pilbara which is supplying cheap gas, certainly doesn’t more expensive unreliable renewable energy. And running a transmission line all the way from Eucla would mean a line cost of over $4bn.
And they are also talking about the production of green hydrogen…
10
But hang on – wasn’t Maggie a Tory? https://uk.yahoo.com/news/watch-blair-aide-says-labour-111157169.html “A former aide to Sir Tony Blair has called on Labour to “do to the farmers what Thatcher did to the miners”. John McTernan, Sir Tony’s political secretary, told the Chancellor not to budge on her inheritance tax raid on agricultural land, saying Labour “don’t need small farmers”. “If the farmers want to go on the streets, we can do to them what Margaret Thatcher did to the miners,” Mr McTernan told GB News. “It’s an industry we can do without. If people are so upset that they want to go on the streets and spread slurry then we don’t need small farmers.”
10
They obviously haven’t read
“We plough the fields” by Tristram Beresford
on the rise of British agriculture to 1975.
IIRC – wasn’t John McTeran one of Gillard’s “advisors”?
00