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Sunday

8.9 out of 10 based on 23 ratings

142 comments to Sunday

  • #
    TdeF

    I was amazed by the Prime Minister’s story that if we spend $0.5Trillion on Net zero, the Australian economy will grow by $2Trillion by 2050.

    But consider the ‘fun fact’ that the Australian GDP is already $A2.5Tn, and that means compound growth of only 2.3% per annum over 25 years. So given the current inflation rate alone at 2.1%, that’s zero actual growth in the economy presented as a boom?

    How is this a benefit and not a disaster? Has genius Treasurer Chalmers calculated this exciting result?

    And apparently we only get this $2Tn windfall if we follow his net zero story that he will control Australia’s climate for a mere $500Billion. Not that it is conditional on anyone else in the world doing anything, but only if we install a lot more Chinese windmills and buy at least 5 million Chinese electric cars, we will be saved and much richer.

    Does he think anyone will hold our PM to his promise when he is 87 years old in 2050? By then we will be a Renewables superpower, a hydrogen super power, a solar panel super power and a quantum computing super power. Or not.

    I seriously doubt anyone believes our Prime Minister’s incredibly silly statements. But it is clear that he intends to proceed on his plans regardless.

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    • #

      The way the Marxists are going, Australia will soon have NO Power.

      All that coal, gas and uranium not being used here. What a waste of a Continent.

      The rest of the World are larfing’ at us.

      Vale Australia.

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      • #
        Steve

        The good news is that no matter how docile a population may be, they are only nine meals from anarchy. Politicians may be dim, but no so dim as to expose themselves to the population turning on them after two or three really nasty blackouts cause people to start missing meals. Even the dumb ones know that if that things REALLY go off the rails, they’ll be the first ones wearing a blindfold up against a wall. So after the first really nasty blackout hits that causes deaths and screws up logistics (like the one in Spain earlier this year), they’ll start to get really jittery about Net Zero and start putting contingency plans in place (like postponing coal plant shutdowns and maybe even opening a few new ones).

        The bad news is …. one or two blackouts that kill people and cause shortages have to happen first to put the fear of an hungry, angry population into them.

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      • #
        ozfred

        The way the Marxists are going, Australia will soon have NO Power.
        All that coal, gas and uranium not being used here.

        Not to worry. The mining companies will have their own on site power generation facilities.

        30

        • #
          TdeF

          And the big coal generators which really power the country are buying huge batteries. So when they are suddenly and disastrously turned off, the wasted power is saved and charged again at extortionate rates when needed.

          No one is going to store their power in Snowy II, not when half the value disappears in the process and you are charged for the privilege. As a way of paying back the $24Billion which we can kiss goodbye, when and if they finish. 10x the original price and 5x the completion time and no actual cost justification.

          We do not need a ‘National Grid’. Not when most people in Australia, 80%, live in half a dozen places and the solar and wind generators are so far away. And such grids do not power the country as to cover the distance they need to be at such high voltage that the country people never see the benefit. It’s all insane. But at least we are helping those poor Chinese out of being a third world country. And of course supplying them with all the coal they need.

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        • #
          Ted1

          Where then will they get their water?

          Touring Liddel while it was under construction, I was told its requirement was would be 34 cusecs

          00

    • #

      So ‘Albo Tross’. What will the Debt pile grow to by 2050?

      Any rubbery projections from Dim Jim and the Muppets at the Treasury?

      Can’t wait for the latest promise. Any minute now.

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      • #
        Ronin

        “Can’t wait for the latest promise. Any minute now.”

        Whatever it is, I wouldn’t recommend taking it to the bank.

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    • #
      Graham Richards

      Oh dear, we appear to have an epidemic of dementia or senility on our hands. Maybe it’s a new mental disability brought on by climate change originating from Blackout Bowen.
      Where are the vax experts when we need one!,

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    • #
      David Maddison

      Good analysis TdeF.

      If we had a competent media who weren’t just shills for Big Government, Big Pharma and Big Green, that’s exactly the sort of question they should be asking.

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    • #
      Dennis

      And by 2050 the wind and solar installations will all have been removed and replaced, maybe, but more likely the shareholders will sell their assets before that decision time arrives.

      200

    • #
      Steve of Cornubia

      In that same time frame, Australia’s population will probably double, making that ‘growth’ look even worse.

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  • #
    Honk R Smith

    For historical perspective on political turmoil.

    Being of the ‘Born To Be Wild’ generation, I was reading the Wiki bio of Sonny Barger, famous head of the Hell’s Angels chapter Oakland CA.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Barger

    “Oakland and Berkeley suffered a spate of approximately 80 bombings in the late 1960s and early 1970s”

    Wild times then of gubmint interplay with the Angels and cultural conflict.
    I do think there are elements of gubmint involved in radical politics.
    Ostensibly in effort to monitor and control it.
    Often for ‘reason to exist’ bureaucratic self interest and just because they get off on it.
    SSDD.
    One of the differences is, I think, in those days there was less Congressional support for The Revolution.

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    • #
      Steve

      I do think there are elements of gubmint involved in radical politics.

      Without a doubt. Obama was mentored by Weather Underground founder Bill Ayers, who was responsible for quite a few of those bombings. How many Obama acolytes are still hanging around in the permanent bureaucratic state or have jobs as thought leaders and policy shapers/writers in Democratic think tanks?

      That’s a big reason why the Democrat freakout about January 6th 2021 rings so hollow to many Republicans. Sure, 1/6 was bad. It was a protest that turned into a riot that got out of hand and a couple hundred troglodytes got into a scrum with the Capitol Police and broke into the Capitol, then were followed in by about 1000 looky-loos who did not participate in the violence and took what for all intents and purposes was an unsanctioned tour of the building. Very not good, but hardly an ‘insurrection’ or ‘sedition’.

      Meanwhile, there are still thousands of Obama-acolytes in the government who worship at the feet of a guy who was trained by an actual insurrectionist whose organization literally declared war on the United States government and in 1970 and BOMBED THE CAPITOL in 1971. But sure, a few drunken louts wielding flagpoles on 1/6 are the real problem, and not the internal enemies who have partaken in the long march through the institutions.

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

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

      212

  • #
    David Maddison

    Yesterday in a response to a poster Jo wrote:

    We see what you’re doing.

    People who are genuinely curious ask open ended questions.

    People with a different aim ask loaded questions. They misinterpret someone in an obvious way, and then expect them to jump through pointless hoops to correct the record. It’s a way to wind people up and waste time and control the conversation. It’s not done with goodwill. They also make blanket generalizations that are wrong — “No-one here seems able to give a simple answer”.

    When caught the baiter says — “I was only asking”.

    I thought she articulated her point and summed up the intentions of the poster brilliantly.

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    • #
      John Connor II

      The left has a lot of master baiters..

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    • #
      Dry Liberal

      The reply is bordering on the ridiculous. I am not trying to bait anyone. It’s a simple question and I’m interested in what people here think. Strop (yesterday) has answered it very clearly and succinctly (thanks Strop). That’s all I was after.

      Asking difficult questions is a constructive tool used to promote understanding, critical thinking, and innovation by exploring complex issues and revealing gaps in knowledge or practice. In contrast, baiting is a manipulative and often abusive tactic to provoke a specific emotional reaction, such as anger or distress, to control or harm others. The key difference is the underlying intention: difficult questions stem from a desire for deeper insight and positive outcomes, while baiting is rooted in malicious intent to cause negativity and achieve a manipulative goal

      If every time someone asks a difficult question here you see it as “baiting” then you’re not going to have much meaningful discussion as no-one will pose the question. And accusing someone of “baiting” is a simple way to avoid answering the question.

      Cheers!

      17

  • #
    David Maddison

    Australian total Government debt (federal, state and local) now over

    $2.158 trillion.

    That’s around $83,000 for every man woman and child.

    Given that many of those are too old or too young to work, or are non wealth-generating public serpents or welfare recipients, and pay no net taxes, the burden left by those few who do work, create wealth and pay net taxes is much larger than that.

    As Australia’s energy supply continues to be shut down, taking what little industry we have left with it, plus other economic damage caused by excessive regulation, taxes, charges and other unnecessary government interference in the economy the future doesn’t look bright, especially as there is no effective or conservative “opposition” political party.

    When was the last time you heard the fake conservative Liberals say they’d fully abandon Net Zero, deregulate, get government debt and spending under control, stop Internet censorship, stop excessive unsustainable and inappropriate immigration etc.? They don’t complain because they believe in the same things. In fact they initiated many of them.

    Enjoy!

    http://australiandebtclock.com.au/

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    • #
      David Maddison

      What exactly is the limit of unrestrained Government spending given that there is no opposition to its expenditure?

      Will.it be the digital equivalent of a wheelbarrow full of cash to buy a loaf of bread? Few people would even know about the significance of that since real history is no longer taught.

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      • #
        Ronin

        “Will it be the digital equivalent of a wheelbarrow full of cash to buy a loaf of bread? ”

        Not many people born after 1980 would even know what you are talking about or when it happened

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        • #
          el+gordo

          It was hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic.

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          • #
            John Connor II

            It was hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic.

            …and the others, Hungary, Venezuela & Zimbabwe.
            We’ve all seen the photos of wheelbarrows of worthless paper to buy a loaf of bread from the Weimar and Zimbabwe events, but did you know Hungary was W-A-Y worse?
            Weimar’s inflation compared to Hungary was like comparing 10,000 to a quadrillion (1,000,000,000,000,000).
            Hungary’s prices doubled every 15 hours, Zimbabwe doubled daily.
            Printing FIAT, wars, economic mismanagement, all the usual…

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            • #
              David Maddison

              And of course there was the Zimbabwe 100 trillion dollar note.

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

              And just think of all those Australian politicians, senior public serpents and ordinary voters who aspire to an economy just like that as they keep wanting to give or receive all the “free stuff”.

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              • #
                John Connor II

                And of course there was the Zimbabwe 100 trillion dollar note

                I’ve owned a proof collection for 20 years now. 😁

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              • #
                el+gordo

                There was hyperinflation in Russia from 1917 to 1923, the Bolsheviks reckoned they didn’t need money, but they eventually came to their senses.

                Then there was the hyperinflation of the early 1990s, printing more money only made things worse.

                On this occasion they run the risk of stagflation.

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        • #
          David Maddison

          Not many people born after 1980 would even know what you are talking about or when it happened

          That’s sad Ronin. I wasn’t alive then either but still know about it.

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        • #
          David Maddison

          People burned paper money for fuel as well. It was that worthless. It was cheaper than wood or coal.

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          • #
            Broadie

            A conversation I heard was from a Rhodesian who explained how having bought a house or houses in the new Zimbabwe using bank finance meant you only requried a loaf of bread to pay off your mortgage owing on the house.

            The question is do we by assets on the ‘Never Never’ if it is that obvious that we are being paid in a collapsing Aussie Peso?

            00

    • #
      Dennis

      And consider interest liability on that debt to budgets every financial year.

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    • #
      RickWill

      The debt is mostly held by Australians – it is a circular economy.

      Assets held in regulated super funds at March 2025:

      Total superannuation assets were $4.1 trillion at the end of the March 2025 quarter, decreasing by 0.8 per cent over the quarter.

      https://www.superannuation.asn.au/super-statistics/

      Balance of payments and net international position are more important to Australians than the government debt.

      The current account balance, seasonally adjusted, rose $438m to a deficit of $13,654m.
      The capital and financial account surplus was $17,669m, an increase of $3,570m on the March quarter 2025 surplus.
      The net international investment liability position was minus $664,715m at 30 June 2025.

      https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/international-trade/balance-payments-and-international-investment-position-australia/latest-release

      It is not good but it is not terrible either.

      I expect NIIP to deteriorate as Australia signs on to the Chinese B&R initiative. But the current account depends on the price and volume of commodities shipped. Q1 2023 was the last time Australia managed a current account surplus.

      USA has a NIIP of minus $24.6tr. Slightly above the $26.5tr at the beginning of the year. Until China emerged, the USA NIIP did not matter because USA was clearly the world banker but China is changing that through the BRICS, which Australia is now aligning to rather than the USA. TDS runs deep in Australia. I dare anyone to walk the streets of Canberra with a placard proclaiming “I love President Trump”.

      Without the USA bankrolling “climate ambition” the facade is dead. COP30 could well be the last one – we can only hope that it degrades into a shemozzle and Blackout leaves in disgust; withdrawing Australia’s offer to host the circus.

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      • #
        Geoff Sherrington

        Rick,
        If all countries carried debt to other countries, would a part of even near all of the debt cancel on paper? Or are there just a few countries to which most of the money is owed and so are in credit?
        I used to follow this but now have no idea. Are there significant countries owing us a lot, on which we can foreclose? Geoff S

        00

    • #
      Steve of Cornubia

      I’m sure our leaders intend that inflation will take care of that mountain of debt. What’s a few trillion when a loaf of bread costs $200?

      20

      • #
        Mike Jonas

        4:11pm. Hmmm. You are now 12 hours behind the times. Your $200 loaf of bread is now what – $220? $250? $300?

        20

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW – for the covid record –

    “he news was that the CDC’s vaccine committee (called ACIP) met again yesterday for its second full day. They ultimately voted to further limit the covid mRNA shots, this time adding a requirement for “shared clinical decision-making” before anyone under 65 or not in a ‘high-risk’ group can get the shots. They nearly voted to require a prescription, it was so close, but that vote failed by a small margin.

    Corporate media and its pet experts were alarmed, worried, fretful, and terrified, squawking things like this is the end, nobody’s following the science, and so forth and so on.

    But, apart from that, the meeting was a bloodbath for the jabs. In the clip above, Pfizer and Moderna declined to respond to a direct question from a committee member. Even worse, they were forced to sit through a several lengthy presentations by the newly formed “Vaccine Working Group” about all the growing questions and problems over the jabs.”

    More at

    https://open.substack.com/pub/coffeeandcovid/p/unprescribed-saturday-september-20?

    And an “immigration rejig”

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    • #
      Geoff Sherrington

      A I Another Ian,
      This CDC action is at severe odds with recent credible papers referenced by Dr John Campbell on his blog. He talks of toxic spike protein from the “vaccines” entering the inner parts of cells throughout the body, where it is theoretically possible for derived messenger RNA to substitute for natural and so alter the fundamental natural genetic code to produce artificial hybrids, mutations.This is genetic engineering, not carefully done in a lab for agricultural products like rice (still objected to by many) but uncontrolled, poorly researched for humans and to some like me, has the potential to be the greatest human disaster of any type to date.
      While CDC debates if a medical prescription should be needed for future shots, Nero fiddles ….
      Geoff S

      00

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW – for the covid record –

    “he news was that the CDC’s vaccine committee (called ACIP) met again yesterday for its second full day. They ultimately voted to further limit the covid mRNA shots, this time adding a requirement for “shared clinical decision-making” before anyone under 65 or not in a ‘high-risk’ group can get the shots. They nearly voted to require a prescription, it was so close, but that vote failed by a small margin.

    Corporate media and its pet experts were alarmed, worried, fretful, and terrified, squawking things like this is the end, nobody’s following the science, and so forth and so on.

    But, apart from that, the meeting was a bloodbath for the jabs. In the clip above, Pfizer and Moderna declined to respond to a direct question from a committee member. Even worse, they were forced to sit through a several lengthy presentations by the newly formed “Vaccine Working Group” about all the growing questions and problems over the jabs.”

    More at

    https://open.substack.com/pub/coffeeandcovid/p/unprescribed-saturday-september-20?

    And an “immigration rejig”

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    • #
      another ian

      In there –

      ” Even more astonishing, following the meeting, the CDC itself tweeted a very critical comment from Dr. Malone, questioning how the drugmakers can even tell the shots work.”

      “Some may wonder why, with all these evident problems, the Committee didn’t just withdraw authorization from the shots altogether? The short version is, this problem didn’t develop in a day, and it won’t be fixed in a day. The Committee appears to be carefully building an unassailable scientific record before pulling the plug. Still, every time they get a whack at the Pfizer piñata, they hit it a little harder.

      The clock is ticking, louder and louder.”

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    • #
      another ian

      Not sure how that double post happened – I didn’t see a “You seem to have posted that” message.

      FWIW – more on those “H1B” immigration changes

      “Orange Man…. Good?”

      “I call ’em like I see ’em folks and while I’m sure tech firms will howl about this I will note that this is the first Administration in thirty years to take this on and address it in a form and fashion that will, at least temporarily and if followed through as promised in the NPRM process, will permanently end this abuse.

      It’s about damn time.”

      https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=254033

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      • #
        KP

        I think all countries have some sort of temporary work visa for particular job skills and I expect it gets abused everywhere for the same reason, importing cheap labour to displace expensive locals.

        So putting a $100,000 dollar fee on the visa will make companies think twice, less than you would pay a specialist, but more than workers are worth.

        10

    • #
      Graham Richards

      The vax manufacturers claims to immunity from prosecutions for the outcomes of their so called wonder drug must now be ended.

      All manufacturers must be held accountable for the outcomes of their various patented poisons!!

      General practitioners in the medical field should be immune from prosecutions for & loss of licence to practice their professional role, for criticism of these poisonous vaccines.

      Big Pharma is not some god like industry that can do no wrong!!

      20

  • #
    • #
      John Connor II

      An ultra-restrictive diet but all diets are based on calorific intake so you could go on a beer diet (look into the history) and achieve the same, but beer is low nutritional value.
      Of course, primitive cultures throughout Andean history have subsisted solely on potatoes and there are hundreds of unique varieties unknown to the west, including a super potato with high protein content recently created and currently being sold in Peru.
      Always wanted to go there to see for myself…

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    • #
      Steve of Cornubia

      I have only struggled with my weight since my heart attack at 52yo. Since then, I have carried around 10-12kg excess baggage. Turns out, despite being married to a world-class dieter, I’m useless at it.

      But a low-carb approach worked well for me and, if my wife’s cancer permits us a reasonable respite, I will give it another go. Cutting out all the high-carb stuff like bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, etc was effective, though I constantly craved bread.

      The best part of the diet was guilt-free bingeing on meat. I got rather fond of a simple dish of minced beef, cabbage, onions and garlic. I could eat mountains of it yet still lose weight.

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  • #
    KP

    I don’t know why we put failed politicians in charge of our research centers, what particular quality do they have that universities need?

    Bill Shorten wants to drop three-year degrees and turn Universities into TAFES. Of course he wants MORE universities, but these new ones better… I can see he brings his politician’s view of bureaucracy with him!

    ““First, we must break the monopoly of the three-year degree as the primary unit of educational currency,” he said. Smaller, modular credentials would help fill skills gaps more quickly, Shorten said, citing a hypothetical example of a defence industry worker who could complete a micro-credential co-designed with industry and defence to fill a skills gap in four to six weeks.”

    No, that’s a TAFE job, you are learning something that someone else already knows and they just have to tell you. Universities are where people research things they don’t know, and you learn how to do that.

    Still, he’s got this bit right-

    ““The structural fragility of our economy is the single greatest threat to our long-term security. And I put it to you that our university sector, the engine room of our national intellect, is crucial to solving this crisis but, in its current form, is a reflection of it,”

    No mention of the source of that poor economy being the red tape strangulation from politicians at the top of the pyramid. All very typical of a politician with no understanding of the free market..

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/unis-must-rethink-three-year-degrees-to-survive-shorten-20250919-p5mwdh.html

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    • #
      Dennis

      Labor flips on ‘robo-debt’ system Shorten, Plibersek pioneered

      7 January 2017
      Rick Morton
      The Australian
      Labor’s leadership team of Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek pioneered the “robo-debt” data-matching system Centrelink is using to target current and former welfare recipients for apparently not declaring their income properly — but they now argue it should be suspended.

      The automated system of matching income data from the tax office and income as reported to Centrelink to identify discrepancies was announced in a joint release­ by the then minister for human services, Ms Plibersek, and the then assistant treasurer, now Opposition Leader, in June 2011, adding an extra $71 million to the budget. The release said the “tax garnishee process had been carried out manually once a year for the past 15 years and involved a significant amount of time on the part of departmental officers”.

      “The automation of this process will free up resources and result­ in more people being referred to the tax garnishee process, retrieving more outstanding debt on behalf of taxpayers,” Mr Shorten said at the time.

      The measure was forecast to “identify” 63,000 former customers over four years in addit­ion to the 43,000 captured in 2009-10.

      The amount of debt recovered from welfare letters in 2010-11 was $1.8 billion, jumping to $2.2bn in 2013-14.

      Under a dramatic escalation of the same system, the Coal­ition plans to recover almost $4bn in debt over the next four years, partly helped by a bipartisan vote in parliament that extended the statute of limitations on old debt that can be chased.

      Source link to full item:
      Labor flips on ‘robo-debt’ system Shorten, Plibersek pioneered

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    • #
      David Maddison

      I think it’s all about the Left’s anti-meritocracy viewpoint to give EVERYONE a “participation” prize.

      Mind you, with the overall dumbing-down of universities and educational institutions in general, it’s just about like that now anyway.

      The lack of knowledge of some recent university graduates is appalling.

      I agree we need fewer people being graduated from “universities” with useless studies like “feminist theory”, “political economy”, “intersectionality”, “critical race theory” etc. and more from TAFE (trade school) with useful skills like car mechanics, electricians, carpenters etc..

      Universities should be kept in their present form but stop teaching woke degrees such as the above and devote themselves to genuine scholarship.

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  • #
    David Maddison

    Message from President TRUMP to Taliban.

    And TRUMP also needs to try and get back what’s left of the billions of dollars worth of equipment that O’Biden abandoned there.

    https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1969514564065583516

    If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those who built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!! President DJT.

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    • #
      KP

      The hubris of the Yanks is amazing! Its someone else’s country and here they are demanding land that they built on WHEN THEY INVADED THE PLACE!

      Just think of the extension of this to the whole world- which countries suddenly demand land back because they owned it sometime in the past. Just because they invaded Iraq and stole the oil wells, and Syria, and …

      Not to mention they got kicked out of there by the same people they are trying to threaten now… don’t they ever learn?

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    • #
      Steve of Cornubia

      “And TRUMP also needs to try and get back what’s left of the billions of dollars worth of equipment that O’Biden abandoned there.”

      No chance. Most of the big stuff will have been sold.

      10

    • #
      Tel

      Bagram Airbase was built by the Soviets and used as the main hub of their failed attempt to subdue the Afghans.

      00

      • #
        Geoff Sherrington

        Tel,
        I remember that Russian invasion. Just before it, someone in the Federal Government selected me to represent Australia in a 3 month scientific exchange on geochemistry with Russia. All the clearances had been done, the family was calmed down about my 3 months in Moscow and then it was suddenly terminally canned.
        (No, I had no fluff planned as cabin baggage). Geoff S

        10

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    “Big Advertising Joins Banks and Asset Managers in Ditching Sustainability”

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/09/20/big-advertising-joins-banks-and-asset-managers-in-ditching-sustainability/

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    • #
      h p

      Isn’t the mantra re massive debt, that the debtor doesn’t have the problem, the lender does. Good luck Albo, financing your dreams.

      40

  • #
    KP

    Other headlines include a strange one actually talking about the lack of enthusiasm for ruinables in the private sector-

    “Australia needs to quadruple its number of wind farms. This year, none have been funded-Meanwhile, years-long delays are blowing out rollout times on critical transmission lines needed to carry renewable power to the cities, while electric car purchases are stuck in the slow lane at 10 per cent of new sales…The government has distanced itself from Climate Change Authority modelling that suggested the renewables’ rollout would cut $1000 from annual power bills. On Friday, both Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese refused to promise power bill cuts….”

    …and it seems our power lines are going to take twice as long to build and cost at least twice as much as we were told. That will also need the full force of Govt thugs behind it-

    “is expanding the compulsory acquisition of private property, which would infuriate farmers opposed to development on their land, to remove the roadblocks to building over 4000 kilometres of new transmission lines by 2030.”

    The madness will continue-

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-needs-to-quadruple-its-number-of-wind-farms-this-year-none-have-been-funded-20250919-p5mwfc.html

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    • #
      RickWill

      No sane private investor would risk their money on grid scale assets. Rooftops are taking their demand away.

      The only way more grid scale wind and solar gets built is if the government puts taxpayers on the hook for it. It is quite obviously a stranded asset now. The only “renewables” investment worth doing is rooftops and either grid scale batteries or household batteries. As more household batteries go in, the grid batteries will lose their opportunity for price arbitrage..

      Not so sunny across SA yesterday but rooftops still managed 75% peak and 18% average; eroding the demand for both grid wind and grid solar.
      https://explore.openelectricity.org.au/energy/sa1/?range=1d&interval=30m&view=discrete-time&group=Detailed
      And the solar zenith is just at the starting line for its southern trek this year so rooftops start to sing for the next few months.

      Australia still needs coal and gas generation on the grid but grid scale wind and solar are now stranded assets. Rooftops are winning and will continue to win until the wholesale bidding system is changed to prioritise dispatchable generation. Only Texas has done that.

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      • #
        David Maddison

        grid scale wind and solar are now stranded assets.

        Will the Government use taxpayer money to rescue these stranded assets? That would be a terrifying thought.

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        • #
          RickWill

          Will the Government use taxpayer money to rescue these stranded assets? That would be a terrifying thought.

          Not the existing ones but the AEMO contracts has taxpayers on the hook. But the government is only guaranteeing a return on the bid cost not the actual cost as far as I know. So the proponent caries the risk of overrun. Blackout is obviously surprised at the lack of interest in building these things but every investor should now realise the risk. Rooftops have to be lower cost and their proponents own their demand so have control. Rooftop solar/battery is expensive electricity but a fraction of the cost of grid scale electricity produced using wind and solar.

          The Chinese B&R will be different because the Chinese will have tighter control over the construction and have a guaranteed return whether used or not. It will be interesting to see how the Chinese engineers and technical staff are received. If they come in with a heavy handed approach, they might cause an almighty backlash. I expect the Chinese will get first refusal on offshore wind now in Victoria. Offshore work will have less interface with locals. China has already built large offshore wind farms in SE Asia so lots of relevant experience and construction equipment.

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            Geoff Sherrington

            Rick,
            Oh what a tangled web they weave …
            Having lived and worked through Australia’s golden years when coal made most electricity cheaper and more reliably than other nations, the simplicity of that coal system is in conflict with the complexity of the present unreliable system. You need to be in the generation industry to work out the benefit:cost of huge subsidies to taxpayers to install rooftop solar and to calculate other jigsaw pieces like the added costs of bureaucracies like AEMO and their overlookers like ASIC or whatever acronym plus the people keeping it all alive by monitoring and correcting electrical frequency, phase etc and complicated price schemes like payment to compensate windmills for no-wind days, plus plus lots of other functions no nearly so big or needed for simple coal burning.
            The insanity has to stop! Geoff S

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    KP

    For something really laughable, there’s a whiny Leftist hack writing in there about the downfall of America’s democracy because of censorship by the Right!

    “Free speech (and a free media) is not a fun side benefit of a democracy – it is a key element of it. The first task of an authoritarian leader is suppression of free speech…..They predicted that “US democracy will likely break down during the second Trump administration”, as the protection of civil liberties, free and fair elections, and full adult suffrage are all swept away.”

    Straight from the people who invented ‘cancel culture’, internet censorship and oversaw our Covid tyranny!

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/under-trump-america-s-descent-into-authoritarianism-may-be-unstoppable-20250919-p5mwb9.html

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    el+gordo

    Dump the Net Zero target says Jacinta and Tony rallies the troops.

    ‘Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, recently dumped from the shadow frontbench, exhorted the Conservative Political Action Conference (Cpac) in Brisbane to stick with the Liberal party, and encouraged her parliamentary colleagues to dump a net zero climate target, to cheers from attendees.

    ‘Abbott told Cpac in his headlining speech: “We must be a better opposition this time than last time, and we must be a better government next time than last time.” (Guardian)

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      el+gordo

      Labor exposes its weak underbelly.

      ‘Chris Bowen has declined to offer a timeline for setting a 2035 renewables target, despite the Climate Change Authority’s projection that more than 90 per cent renewables would be needed to achieve its recommended climate target.

      ‘The energy minister said this projection was not government policy and refused to offer a target beyond the 82 per cent slated for 2030.’ (ABC)

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  • #
    David Maddison

    I have yet another reason to hate Microsoft.

    I left my laptop on power last night and in the morning I discovered MS had decided to update itself, close all my Apps which included LibreOffice with about ten open documents which became corrupted (but fortunately I could save them, I hope).

    I usually unplug the laptop power so MS won’t update itself because it won’t do so on battery power. As I understand it you can’t stop it installing endless updates.

    It shouldn’t update itself without user permission – ever.

    The sooner I move to Linux the better.

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    • #

      David. I bought a Microsoft Surface Laptop computer in 2018. This year a month or so ago the keyboard and battery got separated from the base. It’s a long story.

      So, I went to a Computer repair shop to see whether it could be fixed. They quoted me $600 to have it fixed. I said – No way. I then went to Office Works and bought a brand new Taiwanese made PC for $347. And it had more storage and grunt.

      And that is how Microsoft and Google and Apple and all the others make so much money. We get ripped off here Down Under.

      Happy Sunday everyone.

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        Earl

        May I request clarification please? You bought in 2018 and it was not until June/July 2025, 7-years later, that you encountered a problem?!. Are you talking human years or, in line with my experience with the product(s) in question, dog years?

        Between 2018 and 2022 I was gifted first a 10-months old surface tablet which went great for a further 6-months but then fan issues had it over-heating which was mitigated by positioning a desk fan behind the battery area before I was then gifted (twinged with a degree of original giver guilt) a 12-month old Surface IV. That one lasted about 12-months before the expanding battery issue manifested and split the screen. My replacement HP ($380-odd) is still chugging along.

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      John Connor II

      Set your internet connection to “metered” and you won’t get updates until you change it back to unmetered.
      You can use Group policy tools if you’re NOT on home version.
      10 open docs, no auto-save or manual save?
      Shakes head…
      Tools – Options – Load/save – General
      Tick “always create a backup copy”
      Mark “Save AutoRecovery information every” and select the time interval.
      Probably 5 minutes or so.

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        David Maddison

        I do have my docs on auto save every 2 minutes, a backup is also made and I manually save them also but LibreOffice still said they were corrupted.

        00

        • #
          John Connor II

          I bought MS Office Pro Plus dirt cheap off Stacksocial for my new laptop.
          Libre is ok, but has its issues.

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          Lance

          Libre Office has an option to attempt recovery of corrupted documents. It has always worked for me, but your mileage may vary.

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        liberator

        You can get group policy for your windows home version, it’s not installed by default but there are ways to get it on Windows 11 home. I’ve done it and have made use of it to shut that infernal Copilot down, as well as made a few other tweaks. Now I read that MS are going to force you to use their CoPilot AI without an option to opt out in a future update. I’m so over all of this forced AI BS.

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          John Connor II

          I think you’ll find that while extracting the package works, GPE doesn’t, but just looks like it does. Been there.
          Policy Plus is the freeware alternative of some value.
          Better off just getting the W11 PRO version to start with.

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      Steve of Cornubia

      You say that like YOU own your computer.

      Ha!

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      Mike Jonas

      Many years ago, Microsoft would regularly ask my permission to upgrade my operating system, and I would say No. Then one day it said it would upgrade in 15 minutes time anyway. In that 15 minutes, I found, insatalled and ran software that blocked the upgrade (phew!). But I also bought a Linux computer for everything that didn’t require Microsoft software (in the end, not much). That old computer’s battery failed a few years ago, but it still worked plugged in. It was still on Windows 7 when it eventually died totally last year.

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      RexAlan

      Just in case. The story of Linux. https://linuxpi.ca/a-list-of-the-orignal-linux-distributions/. As I’ve said before I use Linux Mint https://linuxmint.com/ Cinnamon Version. I find it absolutely stable, never had a problem, works like a charm.

      Mint never updates unless you say yes to the update. You can install updates whenever it suits you. Not in the middle of work if that’s what you want.

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    another ian

    FWIW

    https://accordingtohoyt.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/1815103932398047232.jpg?w=1024

    Text from image

    “3000 year old Indian Proverb
    Only a fool believes that electricity
    used for air conditioning harms
    the planet, but electricity used to
    charge a Tesla does not.”

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    Greg in NZ

    No, NZ Media, it’s not ‘climate change’, it’s Equinox Week. Odd how ancient Neolithic folk knew their seasons, yet supercomputer nerds sucking on a government slush fund, identifying as ‘climate scientists’, haven’t a clue.

    Sugarcane Express slams into the South Island’s Southern Alps as a blocking high (1034mb) to our east stalls a cold front (departing Australia) in the Tasman Sea, creating wild wet windy conditions down south, closing ski resorts, toppling trees & powerlines, causing a little ‘Spring havoc’ which regularly occurs around this time of year.

    Warm humid air from Queensland and New Caledonia & Fiji is being squeezed southwards (hence my ‘sugarcane’ analogy borrowed from Hawaii / California’s Pineapple Express) throw in a little orographic effect and Mt Hutt’s anemometer recorded 121 knots, or 224 kmh, before going off-line, ie. obliterated.

    Despite its ferocity, the wind has a long way to go to beat 1970’s record of 250 kmh, 155 mph, at Mt John Observatory just down the road. Likewise, out hottest evaaah day in modern times was back in 1973, fifty-two years ago, with a foehn-effect 42.4°C … oh for the good old days when it was actually ‘hot’.

    Even though this weather is coming down from the tropics – it’s snowing and sub-zero up on the peaks – it is being blamed on a Sudden Stratospheric Warming above Antarctica… caused by Grandma driving her car to the secondhand shop to buy another cheap cardigan as it’s soooo cold and she can’t afford to pay the electricity bill.

    It ain’t science – it’s a cult!

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        KP

        A nice explanation but I don’t trust the writer-

        ” A strong warming wave is pushing against the cold core, raising temperatures over 30°C above normal.”

        “The core of the Polar Vortex remains cold, but the warming wave will start with temperatures 25-30°C above normal for this time of year.”

        “Above normal temperatures are taking over and are forecast to displace the main cold core of the Polar Vortex, with temperatures near 50°C above normal.”

        Three time he mentions temperatures will be hotter, but never tells us the actual temperature expected. Is he talking -80degC to -50degC?? Does he see -50 as a problem? Once you’re below -15degC no biology worries, its all just frozen.

        Anyway, it will be interesting to watch into next year!

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      RickWill

      All that tropical air working hard to warm up the higher southern latitudes.

      The increase in tropical advection southward in November has been on a rising trend this century.. Northern Australia has been more cloudy in November than earlier in the century..

      The Sun is in the starting blocks for its yearly trek across the Southern Hemisphere and it will bring some eagerly awaited heat.

      In the other hemisphere, there are a couple of intense cyclones heading for Philippines/Taiwan and Japan. The last gasp in shifting the remnants of summer heat northward.

      Northern hemisphere will have above trend winter snow cover this year. Something some might look forward to but not me.

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      Graeme No.3

      RickWill:
      Thursday we had lots of wind blowing in the Adelaide Hills. Don’t know where it came from, but certainly not over Parliament House as there was no hot air.

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      Greg in NZ

      Thank you gentlemen – every year the erroneously claimed settled science discovers some new trick they weren’t privy to last decade – the one where it was all going to tip over and whatever.

      As for the European SSW article, the author/s make it very clear regarding the coming months: “Of course, this is just an example forecast from a single model, but it best shows the idea…” that Antarctica does what it does – surprise!

      At least Tassie and New Zealand might have a decent summer (like we used to) while South America gets the opposite: ah well, round and round she goes…

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        Mike Jonas

        “just an example forecast from a single model” allows them to present something convenient (to them) as a prediction. The IPCC have a simpler approach for that: “low confidence”. That allows them to present something convenient (to them) as a prediction, when its probability is well below 50%, IOW it’s the opposite of what’s actually likely to happen. But the media still swallow it as a prediction.

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        Jon Rattin

        Thank you Sugar Man….I mean Greg. So strange how so many people watch the nightly news and not notice that 7 day forecasts are regularly inaccurate. And yet they blindly accept climate models presented by “experts” that project decades into the future.

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  • #
    Geoff Sherrington

    Elon Musk and I have quite different backgrounds and outcomes, especially $ ones, but here he is with a monologue about classes of people on the US described with reference to John Bolton (Us National Security head 2018-9) who was hot/cold for Trump.
    The talk is 28 minutes, but I have tasted it twice because despite our different backgrounds, his likes and dislikes and hypotheses expressed here are almost word for word with mine. Like, we agree closely on the big basics, derived independently.
    I’d be interested if other readers here have the same closeness of philosophy and view of history that Musk has.
    Geoff S

    https://youtu.be/H2yPEJ0DfKY

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      RickWill

      I believe you will find that it is AI generated voice. I do not know how well it reflects Musk’s mindset. You and I contributed to the 10 views in 2 weeks.

      There are lots of AI generated videos of Musk; all out to benefit from his fame.

      When Musk posts on X he gets millions of views in a flash. He has 200M subscribers.

      It is getting harder to know what is real and what is not. My 7yo grandson has come out and said we only exists in other people’s brain. Maybe that is now AI.

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        Vladimir

        Albanese and Dick Smith, absolutely genuinly looking and sounding, advertise on Youtube sort of Pyramid with multi-percent gain in a few weeks.

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        Geoff Sherrington

        Thanks, Rick.
        I had not thought of AI.
        Yes. it was a bit of a wooden presentation.
        Thanks for the heads up.
        Geoff S

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    el+gordo

    I like the way this is heading.

    ‘Put heat on climate deaths data and shock factor falls away.

    ‘The number of heat-related deaths is far below those from scores of health problems and accidental fatalities such as road deaths and falls.’ (Oz)

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    RickWill

    I have been pointing out that grid scale wind and solar are fast becoming stranded assets as the competitive advantage of rooftops prevasil in the race to extinction.. I am no longer the loan voice pointing this out.
    https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/07/14/solar-farms-in-southern-australia-face-major-curtailments-by-2027/

    New large-scale solar farms in southeastern Australia could be forced to curtail up to two-thirds of their power generation by 2027 due to delays in energy transmission infrastructure projects, according to new analysis from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

    The story goes on to state that it is caused by the stalling of powerlines but all states have rapidly growing rooftop generation so the powerlines are completely pointless and just more waste:

    The AEMO has forecast that major solar farms in Victoria and South Australia could be forced to shut off 35% of their capacity by 2027 while several may be forced to shed more than 65% of their generated power as transmission project delays cause major bottlenecks on the grid.

    AEMO and its useful idiots have made grid electricity so expensive that they are forcing the rapid uptake of rooftop solar and batteries.

    The grid up to 2000 grew to power industry. The RET promoted intermittent generators onto the grid and made grid electricity very expensive and industry has shut down due to uneconomic cost of electricity. Households and businesses are now well down the road to making grid scale wind and solar stranded assets.

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    yarpos

    Just watched a video singing the praises of a new electric bus fast charging station. They are using and overhead pantograph type system to make connection to the buses. Looked like half a dozen could be charged at one time. All this sits right beside ranks of batteries to sustain the charge levels needed. I hope they have cctv overlooking all this because it seems a recipe for a spectacular fire at some stage.

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      Vladimir

      That is what we used 50 years quite successfully, except of course when women-drivers needed to connect back those t0′ feet long sticks.
      So what is the advantage of batteries there? Thinner overhead cables? I guess they were selected based on mechanical strength…

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        ozfred

        So what is the advantage of batteries there?

        Perhaps increases the level of the maximum power draw?
        The grid can supply only the level of power the power lines and substations can support under the current Australian electricity standards. And the premise of fast charging 6 buses simultaneously would likely exceed most urban grid networks.
        Perhaps one of the “local” engineering experts can provide numerical support?

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        Graeme No.3

        One of the Baltic States (sorry, can’t remember which) had trolley buses with pantograph lines on top.
        The bus ran on electricity from batteries but at each stop the pantograph met lines above to recharge.
        Advantages no trailing cables, short range from batteries (about 10 km) so less battery weight, and the bus was able to get around any holdups e.g. crashes, potholes etc.

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          OldOzzie

          The Sydney trolleybus system included a line serving the Kogarah area, which began operations on 3 June 1937, replacing the Kogarah to Sans Souci steam tramway.

          This service ran from Rockdale station to Dolls Point via Kogarah station and from Kogarah station to Sans Souci via Dolls Point, both closing on 29 August 1959.

          The Kogarah trolleybus fleet consisted of 11 Leyland TTB4 and 10 AEC 664T double-deck, three-axle buses, all bodied by Ritchie Brothers in Auburn.

          These vehicles were the largest double-deck road vehicles in Australia at the time, seating 63 passengers each.

          The service was based at the former Ritchie Street tram depot in Sans Souci.

          After the trolleybuses ceased operation in 1959, the depot was used by the New South Wales Police for storing recovered stolen vehicles before being passed to the Housing Commission.

          One of the AEC 664T trolleybuses, number 19, is preserved at the Sydney Tramway Museum.

          The Kogarah trolleybus service was part of a broader shift in Sydney’s transport network, where the Department of Transport began replacing trams with buses from 1937 onwards, culminating in the complete transition to buses by 1961.

          Today, the area is served by modern Sydney Bus Network routes, including routes 476 and 477, which connect Kogarah Train Station to Calvary Health Care Kogarah.

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      • #
        yarpos

        Yep, and all with sigificant losses with each each charge/transfer. The only benefit I can see is removing (or maybe relocating) tailpipe emissions. I hope its worth it.

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      Jon Rattin

      That would add new meaning to the description Bus Terminal.

      20

  • #
    Furiously Curious

    We have exploding bureaucracies, finding ‘make work’, and soaking up the unemployable, but at the other end of the spectrum we have vampire capitalism, buying or creating monopolies, overloading them with debt, pumping up costs, syphoning away cash, then walking away from the carcasses scot free! We seem to have a major shortage of good men. We’re all in it for me.

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      KP

      It because we aren’t building a country, or have to struggle. We are at the peak of our society & culture, where no-one needs to work if they don’t want to, so the incentives are different.

      Most money moving around is in speculation rather than capital investment, so the bosses are the sort of people who will strip-mine a company someone else built. Investment from people working hard and saving ends up in their super account, where it gets poured into non-tangible pyramid schemes.

      Wait until we have a shortage of energy, all this is on the back of coal and oil from decades ago.

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    John Connor II

    NEW STUDY: Cell phone radiation at 20× below legal limit induced brain damage in rats

    A new peer-reviewed study in Neurotoxicology has found that everyday cell phone–level radiation, 20 times below the US legal safety limit, disrupted brain development in infant rats and caused DNA damage in neural stem cells.

    Researchers exposed pregnant rats and their offspring to 900 MHz radiofrequency radiation — a standard cell phone band — at the public whole-body safety limit of 0.08 W/kg, the threshold recommended by international regulators (ICNIRP).

    For context, US regulators (FCC) allow cell phones to emit up to 1.6 W/kg as a localized dose near the head — twenty times higher than the level used in this study.

    Even at this tiny fraction of the legal maximum, the young rats showed clear signs of brain injury and cellular stress — including fewer proliferating brain cells, reduced synapse formation, and disrupted brain chemistry

    https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/new-study-cell-phone-radiation-at

    Hence the term dumbphone…

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    • #

      So that’s how Airbus Albo and Blackout Bowen got it from.

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      Graeme4

      There is a time factor in RF exposure standards, and nowhere have I seen this mentioned.

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        John Connor II

        There is a time factor in RF exposure standards, and nowhere have I seen this mentioned.

        Covered quite well here:
        https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10094704/

        “A comprehensive 2020 meta-analysis of 46 case-control studies worldwide found that about 1,000 hours of lifetime cell phone use (roughly 17 minutes a day over 10 years) was linked to a 60% increased risk of brain cancer.”
        https://www.rfsafe.com/the-dangers-of-cell-phone-radiation-uncovering-the-risks-of-emfs-and-how-to-protect-yourself/

        17 minutes?

        Bear in mind how many HOURS every day ( 6 hours a day for social media alone) the average person spends clutching their phone and the time factor becomes moot.

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          Graeme4

          No, that’s not what I said. I referenced the emission standards. And I was also talking about the linked study. I had to work with these standards for over 20 years, so have some understanding of them.
          However, I agree with the concept that regular use of mobiles against the head is not a good idea. And I wouldn’t be keen on wireless charging of mobiles on bedside tables.

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            ozfred

            While I usually prefer and use speaker phone (out on the veranda), blue tooth is now seemingly mandatory for in car use.
            Probably no worse than a phone hooked to a car speaker.
            But what about the radiation involved with blue tooth head phones (or worse ear plugs)

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      KP

      To me its always been obvious since I read “The Invisible Rainbow”. Out bodies run on electron transfers between the protein molecules of catalysts, and just as one slightly positive molecule is reaching for that electron on a slightly negative molecule, along comes a photon wave of EMF and the electron has gone! Even worse, it may disrupt the hydrogen bonding with in the protein enzyme and have it assume a slightly wrong shape.

      Multiply that millions of times and you will find your body slows down and becomes inefficient. Even if the ribosome pauses while things get re-organised the reaction may not proceed, the dance inside a cell is very tightly choreographed at that level.

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    John Connor II

    COVID VAX HORROR: catastrophic nervous system destruction confirmed

    A major new study has confirmed that Covid mRNA “vaccines” are now linked to dozens more devastating side effects that are causing catastrophic destruction to the human central nervous system.

    The study found that mRNA shots disrupt the blood–brain barrier to unleash alarming neurological side effects, including meningitis, encephalitis, brain abscesses, and even prion diseases resembling “mad cow” in humans.

    The study was conducted by a team of leading American researchers led by Dr. James Thorp, Dr. Steven Hatfill, and Dr. Peter McCullough.

    • Meningitis was 34 times more likely after COVID shots than after flu vaccines.

    • Autoimmune encephalitis was 79 times more likely.

    • Limbic encephalitis, a rare but severe brain inflammation, was 146 times more likely.

    • Herpesvirus reactivations in the brain skyrocketed, with one form of herpes zoster meningitis appearing 1,260 times more likely after the jab.

    • Brain abscesses — pus-filled pockets inside the brain — were over 120 times more likely.

    • Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD), a fatal prion disorder often likened to “mad cow disease,” showed an 847-fold increase in association.

    https://zenodo.org/records/17148118

    Safe and effective eh.
    Hands up who’s up for another shot.

    /well, I did say things were worse.
    /but wait! 😎

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    • #
      Steve of Cornubia

      “Hands up who’s up for another shot.”

      There will be a long queue for every booster. Darwin’s Law in action.

      It terrifies me that me now 6w-old granddaughter is already pumped full of ‘vaccines’, including two (so far) for Hepatitis B.

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    David Maddison

    And there goes another $300 million of Aussie taxpayer money.

    This is from November 2024.

    This is loan guarantee money. I’d be willing to bet it is never returned to the taxpayer.

    Climate “investments” cost money, they never make money unless you happen to be a billionaire subsidy harvester or wind and solar plantation equipment maker.

    https://www.dcceew.gov.au/about/news/aus-commits-support-climate-action-asia-pacific

    The Australian Government has guaranteed up to USD $200 million (approximately AUD $300 million) to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support climate action in Asia and the Pacific.

    South-East Asian and Pacific countries are among the most vulnerable to climate change. Australia is committed to taking action at home and to supporting global efforts to address this challenge.

    Australia is joining an initial group of founding partners including the United States, United Kingdom and Japan to provide this support.

    The support is provided to a new financing facility, the Innovative Finance Facility for Climate in Asia and Pacific (IF-CAP). Collective contributions will support the ADB to deliver up to US$11 billion in climate-related loans, and boost private sector capital mobilisation.

    10

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    David Maddison

    This happened at COP29.

    The things politicians and senior public serpents get up to when they’re on taxpayer funded holidays to exotic places like Azerbaijan.

    https://www.dfat.gov.au/international-relations/themes/climate-change

    Additionally, the Prime Minister announced Australia had joined the United Kingdom-led Finance Mission of the Global Clean Power Alliance, at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, (during the second week of COP29).

    As part of the COP29 Action Agenda Australian officials engaged in over 20 Pacific events that spanned climate finance, the ocean-climate nexus, climate and health, and climate mobility. DFAT led seven events at the Australia Pavilion, which were well attended, including by Pacific leaders and Ministers and regional organisations. The Ambassador for Climate Change participated in a range of events including the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) Public Finance in Action at the United Kingdom Pavilion, and the Climate Mobility Pavilion’s Youth Day.

    DFAT worked closely across the Australian Government to ensure our international and domestic climate action were aligned. Visit their websites to read more on their climate change policies and activities.

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      David Maddison

      And in case you’re wondering what Climate Mobility Youth Day is all about, Gulag AI says:

      Its purpose is to transform the dialogue around climate-induced human mobility, amplify youth voices, foster new leaders, and ensure young people’s perspectives are integrated into global climate policy on human mobility. The event centers the experiences of youth and their innovative, practical solutions to climate mobility challenges, leveraging the GCCM’s fellowship programs to connect these leaders.

      Sounds a bit like National Socialist Youth in terms of indoctrinating the young and ignorant.

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      • #
        KP

        “Sounds a bit like National Socialist Youth in terms of indoctrinating the young and ignorant.”

        Absolutely! Pick the ‘new leaders’ depending on how well they take up the propaganda then pay for their ascent!

        Your tax money at work…

        30

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        Jon Rattin

        Sounds like impressionable young people being groomed to be the next generation of misguided climate change experts.

        20

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    David Maddison

    Does anyone know how many Australian politicians, senior public serpents and billionaire subsidy harvesters are going to COP30 in Brazil?

    The Government seems too ashamed to state the actual number.

    It’s during 10 to 21 November 2025 so a good time for a taxpayer-funded vacation.

    https://www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-change/international-climate-action/unfccc-cop

    I hope no one’s forgotten to book their private jet parking, it’s going to be tight.

    https://www.universalweather.com/blog/operating-to-2024-cop-29-comprehensive-guide-for-business-aviation-operators/

    Primary Airport: Val de Cans International Airport (SBBE)

    Val de Cans International Airport (SBBE) is the main international gateway to Belém and the primary airport for COP 30.

    Location and Accessibility:
    SBBE is located approximately 6.8 miles (11 km) from downtown Belém—roughly a 20–30 minute drive depending on traffic.

    Slot and Parking Restrictions
    Given the anticipated influx of VVIPs, dignitaries, and chartered delegations, SBBE will operate under strict slot and parking limitations during the COP 30 period.

    Slots Mandatory: All GA and non-scheduled commercial flights must obtain prior confirmed slots. VVIP and diplomatic movements will receive priority.

    Application Deadline: Submit slot requests no later than October 25, 2025. Late requests may be denied.

    Remote Parking: Parking space near the main terminal is limited. Some aircraft will be assigned remote parking, requiring shuttle coordination for crews and passengers.

    Tip: Secure slots and parking arrangements as early as possible to avoid last-minute issues.

    And do you know what a VVIP is?

    Gulag AI says:

    A VVIP, or Very Very Important Person, is an individual considered to be of extremely high status or importance, requiring a higher level of service and attention than a standard VIP (Very Important Person). The term is used to differentiate individuals with the highest socioeconomic rank, purchasing power, or those in government with a significant position, ensuring they receive fully customized, exclusive experiences, such as private access and dedicated service teams in hospitality settings.

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    David Maddison

    The alternative for COP31 is Turkey who is competing against Adelaide.

    I think Adelaide will win because I am guessing Australia will probably offer the most subsidies and other free stuff to delegates. It’s also an exotic holiday destination for most delegates who live far away.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/13/australias-cop31-bid-teeters-as-rival-turkey-refuses-to-withdraw

    The Albanese government is privately downplaying expectations of winning the bid to host next year’s UN climate conference as rival Turkey refuses to withdraw two months out from the decision date.

    The government has ruled out using taxpayer funds to effectively buy off the Turkish bid but experts believe it will need to make other offers if it wants to break the impasse.

    Anthony Albanese plans to meet the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York this month with the hope of convincing him to withdraw his Cop31 bid – clearing the way for Australia to stage the global climate talks in partnership with Pacific Island nations.

    The Government desperately wants COP31 at any and all costs just to demonstrate its fanatical commitment to the Global Warming Scam and it will also prove to the Thinking Community, what huge idiots the Australian Government is.

    My prediction is Albanese will offer Turkey something big. And it will suit Turkey because they have no real interest in climate. They want to re-establish the Ottoman Caliphate.

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      KP

      “They want to re-establish the Ottoman Caliphate.”

      Some of these systems that people say they hate might seem quite a bit better than what we have a few short years… Democracy certainly doesn’t do it for me, when it has driven Australia into a broken hell-hole flooded with debt people might want alternatives to the grasping voting the politicians we have into power. Of course there will be hardly any middle-class left by then, so they won’t want regime change by ballot.

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        Speak for yourself KP. As a woman, the appeal of the Ottoman Empire is even less than a WEF-One-World-Government empire (as abhorrent as that is). Democracy has flaws but I can drive a car, don’t wear a sack, and am not a baby making machine for a warlord.

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          KP

          LOL! Yes Boss, maybe a Caliphate isn’t the best option for half the population! I’m sure there are other systems we can come up with where the Takers don’t overwhelm the Providors.

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            Strop

            Far more than half when you consider that gay men would be restricted from living, let alone driving. And it wouldn’t be a picnic for the 40% of men in Aus who are Christian. But if you like charades, the athiest men could enjoy pretending to be Muslim.

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    John Connor II

    The best antivirus packages for 2025

    https://youtu.be/AUykwXcy1kc?si=2POy0wH6w5JtqMxz

    Yep, Kaspersky is #1 followed by Bitdefender, followed by everything else.

    Kaspersky being dropped by the USG is just anti-Russia bs as I explained months ago…

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    John Connor II

    Bye UK, it’s over

    Council plans drones in the sky, AI cameras on every street, and loudspeakers giving orders.
    Hammersmith & Fulham is about to become the frontline of Britain’s surveillance state. In plans that sound more like a sci-fi dictatorship than a west London borough, the council is preparing to roll out drones, facial recognition, and AI-powered cameras in a £3 million taxpayer-funded scheme.
    Fixed cameras with live facial recognition to scan you in real time.

    Drones circling overhead, tracking movements from above.

    Retrospective face-matching to pull up your past whereabouts.

    500 AI-driven cameras monitoring vehicles, tagging GPS locations, and flagging “crowd build-ups.”

    And, in a move straight from Orwell, speakers mounted on lampposts, letting officers bark orders at passers-by.

    It’s being sold as “safety.” Critics call it “state snooping on steroids.”

    https://www.visionnews.online/post/surveillance-shocker-council-plans-drones-in-the-sky-ai-cameras-on-every-street-and-loud-speakers

    Gimmigrants excluded no doubt.
    Just like China, anything against the government is recorded in HD, anything they don’t want to acknowledge will be low quality useless video or technical issues.

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      KP

      “Fixed cameras with live facial recognition to scan you in real time.

      Drones circling overhead, tracking movements from above.

      Retrospective face-matching to pull up your past whereabouts.

      500 AI-driven cameras monitoring vehicles, tagging GPS locations, and flagging “crowd build-ups.”

      And, in a move straight from Orwell, speakers mounted on lampposts, letting officers bark orders at passers-by.”

      So, what were the advantages of a democracy again?? Did everyone vote for this to happen, is that how it works..

      I’m sure they will have microphones on the lamp posts with speakers, so you can tell the officer exactly what you think of his order.

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        another ian

        FWIW

        Find yourself a copy of “How to win an election or at least not lose by much” and the track of the would-be Labour Minister for Transport.

        This sounds like a mutation of sorts

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    el+gordo

    Pope Leo has just banned the practice of certain superstitious rituals, leaving Catholic Spain and South America in uproar. Clearly he hasn’t considered the impact, good effort none the less.

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    KP

    I’ll bet JC11 is all over this one-

    “Vietnam Freezes 86 Million Bank Accounts Overnight, US is Next Under Genius Act:

    “You’re going to have a financial panic of unprecedented proportions,” warns Jim Rickards, NY Times bestselling author, referring to the risks posed by stablecoins and unregulated digital assets enabled by the Genius Act. He points to Vietnam’s mandatory biometric IDs and mass account freezes as a “trial run” for centralized digital control, and cautions that similar systems could make it easy for governments to monitor, freeze, or confiscate money. “The time will come when people want their money back. The best definition of a financial crisis I’ve ever heard is everybody wants his money back,” he states, calling for a run on banks accelerated by AI. stablecoin holders, he explains, will sell treasuries to redeem their cash, potentially triggering a market freeze and unprecedented turmoil in the financial system.”

    The rest was a video so not worth worrying about.

    https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/News/384650-2025-09-20-vietnam-freezes-86-million-bank-accounts-overnight-us-is-next.htm

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      another ian

      Coming from the New York Times is no longer the guarantee of authority they assume

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      John Connor II

      Too slow kiddo. Old news now.
      You need to watch the EU and UK in upcoming months when they go into panic mode to stop mass capital exodus, not that it’ll stop what’s coming for them.

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    KP

    ..and when you’ve bribed voter with other people’ money and then had to borrow to bankruptcy to keep the money flowing, you will find you can’t turn off the tap!

    “Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets across France this week against budget cuts proposed by the government under President Emmanuel Macron as the nation battles a high deficit and debt.

    More than a dozen trade unions joined forces on Thursday, went on strike and rallied people in large cities, including Paris, Lyon, Lille and Marseille, to express anger against the economic plans.”

    ..and of course the answer is always-

    “Some held up banners that read, “Tax the rich”.”

    but that never happens. Goodbye France.

    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/18/frances-big-protest-whos-on-strike-why-and-whats-next

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    another ian

    FWIW

    “EH? Gawd!”

    https://x.com/OlgaBazova/status/1968376382452379753

    Don’t let “ElBowen” see this or they’ll treat it as a challenge!

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    another ian

    FWIW

    “Earth’s natural CO2 vacuum cleaners”

    “Natural weathering processes are removing CO2 from the air in a wide range of environments across continents and ocean. Until recently these ‘CO2 vacuum cleaners’ were often studied separately, without properly examining their complex interactions. Now, an international team of earth scientists is proposing an integrated vision of the many factors that influence the removal of atmospheric CO2 from the highest mountain peaks to the deep ocean floor, including their various interactions. The so-called weathering continuum provides a much more complete picture on what controls and regulates the natural removal of CO2, which could help in the development of enhancing weathering techniques.”

    More at

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/09/20/earths-natural-co2-vacuum-cleaners/

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