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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Happy Friday the 13th.
30
That reminds me. I found a video of some Australian fiddling https://youtu.be/Bs_7IeuXgg4 It somewhat lacks the dexterity and finish of the Scottish fiddle, but it is certainly distinct.
I also discovered that the Shetland fiddle likely originated from the fiðla. This is a 1 yard long box open at the base with a couple of strings on the top. I have yet to work out how it makes any sound.
40
Was lucky enough to see Martin Hayes in a small venue many years ago. Quite mesmerising listen to and watch. Seemed like there was more music coming out than possible with his restrained style, at least back then.
10
The Port of Hastings shipping news reports 3 fuel tankers coming to the Crib Point Jetty this week. That is more than usual.
I expect that United service stations will not run out of fuel just yet, although prices may remain high,
30
With Bowen in his usual state, this might mean those tankers are to export any fuel.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/cartoons/johannes-leak-cartoons/image-gallery/de8f7d34d6dcf6dbb2f01239663cedd7?page=1
50
Was it just a year ago that the head clown decided Australia needed to bring vehicle emission standards up to European standards because “Australia uses the dirtiest fuel ” in the world. On last nights news, said clown announced that import restrictions on “dirty fuel” would be loosened to allow this into Australia. The obvious question is, at what point are we being lied to. The obvious answer is whenever it suits the purpose.
140
“Whatever It Takes” …… “Each Way Albo”
40
The MSM never remembers, thinks or questions so they can say whatever they like and the media will just nod and fawn
60
Sambar yes indeed as AI puts it:
Yes, prior to March 2026, Ampol’s higher-sulphur fuel from its Brisbane (Lytton) refinery was not supplied to the domestic market and was instead exported.
Australia updated its fuel standards in late 2025, lowering the maximum sulphur content in petrol from 150 parts per million (ppm) to 10 ppm to align with international standards. Ampol had not yet completed upgrades to its Lytton refinery to meet this new standard, meaning the fuel it produced there exceeded the domestic limit and could not be legally sold in Australia. As a result, this higher-sulphur fuel was exported to markets with less stringent requirements.
So as I raised in Thursday’s thread how will the more modern european cars with analytic converters cope with higher sulphur?
Then just for all the environmentalists out there has the high sulphur Australian exports of climate endangering petrol (albeit over “there” not in our backyard) been factored in to our contribution to the zero co2 move? Surely if a person goes into a gun shop and says I want to buy a gun so I can go down the road and kill a shopkeeper and the gun shop owner sells it to him then an accomplice to murder charge would be forthcoming?
10
Doesn’t sulphur add pollution to the atmosphere which actually cools the Earth. It did back in 1970 when they began banning sulphides from factories during the ‘cooling’, according to Earthwatch.
50
Interesting new paper on sea temperatures. “IPCC’s Earth Energy Imbalance Assessment is Based on Physically Invalid Argo-Float-Based Estimates of Global Ocean Heat Content”. https://scienceofclimatechange.org/wp-content/uploads/SCC-Vol.6.1-04_-Cohler-et_al.pdf. To reference Mike above, fiddling the books to get the result you want rather than the inconvenient result you actually get.
50
Great paper.
I guessed “to fiddle” meaning to muck around, was derived from the playing of the fiddle and thence became “crooked”. So, I had a look at the real etymology of fiddle. I imagined some great insight into the nature of music, but it looks like it comes from fiðer meaning four. So perhaps a four stringed instrument … or even a smaller version of another four stringed instrument.
20
Other suggestions around the origin of “fiddling” the books are:
* Originates from the 16th-century slang definition of “fiddling” as idling, wasting time, or cheating; or
* Derives from earlier, similar phrases indicating petty tampering or “fiddle-faddling,” which meant acting in a dishonest or untrustworthy manner; or
* On your four theme, fiddling of things like pick-pocket is typically done with the fingers. Light fingers.
20
Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology says fiddle (the instrument) comes from Latin vitula which also led to French viole. So a common root with violin.
It doesn’t offer anything for the “fiddling the books” sense.
10
The ARGO data is consistent with what the sun has been doing this century.
Most of the ocean heat anomaly is in the region of the Ferrel cells, which has a net negative radiation balance so the increasing heat uptake in these regions is due to more precipitation resulting in depressing the thermocline.
https://i0.wp.com/wattsupwiththat.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/image-91.png?quality=75&ssl=1
The problem for the climate botherers is not so much the measurement accuracy of ocean heat but the fact that the uptake in the Southern Hemisphere is decelerating while the uptake in the NH is accelerating.
Also, the radiation calibration to the ocean heat uptake from 2005 to 2015 is now rapidly separating from the net radiation uptake.
The paper may well become an excuse to dispute the ARGO data because it is not going up as fast as the net radiation data. The ARGO data has been accepted as the gold standard proof of global warming so was used as the basis for calibrating the radiation instruments. But ocean heat is not going up as fast as the net radiation has been since it was calibrated. And the SH is slowing down with the prospect of actually going negative in a couple of decades (as I predict from solar data). If ocean heat content anomaly in the SH goes negative it exposes the whole Global Warming™ scam with the botherers gold standard. Not only is the heat missing in the SH, more is being lost.
Without USA funding, the UNIPCC AR7 is already on a rocky road. I am beginning to doubt if it will ever get done. Climate modellers mostly know they produce garbage so do not have great heart in proding more carp that will be derided. And you have to wonder how they still get government money to produce the carp.
70
ARGO data used to calibrate radiation instruments?
Really?
00
If you read the linked paper at #3 it is stated there.
The calibration was done for AR6 using the ARGO data from 2005 to 2015. Since 2015, the net radiation is rising faster Than the OHC so something does not add up.
00
I’m happy to take your word for it. It just struck me as odd to calibrate radiation using temperature data.
20
I assume that 70 years ago not many scientists were afflicted by Global Warming but maybe some started to accumulate the raw solar input data outside the Earth atmosphere.
Something like a wide range energy sensor on the high orbit satellites permanently focused on sun…?
11
I would like to see someone design a car that was intended to be easy (and possible) to service for the home mechanic and would have features like an open source ECU etc.. and be designed for longevity.
It would be like a pre-2000’s car but with modern safety and driver aid features.
And no reporting “back to base”.
There are open source car concepts but none that have been commercialised. There are already open source ECUs for older cars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_car#%3A%7E%3Atext%3DOpen-source_cars_include%3A%2Cmeans_to_transport_the_produce.?wprov=sfla1
Here is a US video about the difficulties of even changing oil on modern cars and also how modern recommended “extended service intervals” diminish engine life.
https://youtu.be/lIztcPtgD8U
70
My understanding of the British car maker, The Standard car company, was the car it produced could be serviced and repaired at home using “standard” parts available at the local hardware supplier. Equally the Massey Ferguson tractors built at the same factory were designed with standard parts so all repairs could be done on farm. Owned a couple of Massey’s over the years , all older models and still running at 60 years old and all repairable with a visit to the local tractor supply shop. Know people with ultra modern hi tech machines that do work well but breakdowns often take a long time to get a serviceman out to look at them and spare parts costs are generally significant.
90
Most of the pre-Worlds War 2 cars and trucks were easy to service at home, my very first car was a 1952 Austin A40 sedan that was about 15 years old when I purchased it and as a new driver (public roads) I did all my own servicing and repairs. And with other second-hand cars following. One of the easiest was a Volkswagen “Beetle” sedan that I modified with suspension stabilisers – HD shock absorbers, HD sway bar on front and a reverse spring rear independent suspension stabiliser that had straps around the sub-axle housings. As a result the dreaded rear engine cornering risks at speed were reduced markedly.
Around that time a Volkswagen performed a much better Redex Trial section from Mittagong to the caves, an old gravel coach road, and made better time that a couple of Morris Mini Minor competitors.
40
Sambar,
“Standard” didn’t always mean plain, vanilla. Think of a Roman legion’s “standard bearer” who carried the mark of honour for the team. I think its fall came when it was chosen to describe the lower octane petrol. It’s a bit like “acme” used to mean the absolute high point, but is now tied to a coyote’s failed schemes against a road runner.
30
My father’s very first car was a 1937 ‘Flying Standard’ he bought in about 1955. We children sat in the back and I complained about the draught coming through a rust hole. Being my dry-humoured father he just told me to put my foot over the gap! The old car also grew a toadstool over one armrest. It coped with steep hills in deepest Devon and multiple journeys to Gloucestershire to see my grandmother and maiden aunt.
60
My now former mother-in-law told me about her days before marriage and her boyfriend later husband had a Standard and had fitted slide bolt door restraints as the passenger door lock was faulty. As the car was driven around a corner, thankfully at low speed the door opened and she rolled out, but apart from come cuts and bruising was otherwise unharmed.
20
Another Standard and doors story.
A couple of blokes were hitching and drew a Vanguard utility. The job of the centre seat passenger when under way was to hold both doors shut.
Not a Standard but a more modern door story. I had to replace a door lock assembly for our older Mitsubishi truck for a roadworthy. Readily available and not outrageously priced.
One son was up in the NT and his comment was
“Should have brought it up here Dad. I saw one the other day that had just passed – with hobble straps holding the doors”
30
HR Holden 1967 an example, I inherited one from a family member who owned it from new and mostly carried out the servicing himself, and in retirement towed a caravan and kept it clan and shiny.
Unfortunately after I had it moved to QLD after I retired inspection revealed corrosion fixable but expensive to do, even the quarter window on the passenger side front door was corroded between the inner chromed frame and the sealing rubber. Underneath many corroded areas.
I sold it to an enthusiast who had several restored GMH Holdens
40
A member of our local car club sold his restored EH Holden last week. $48k. The market still seems to be there.
50
Bugga, traded mine in on a Chrysler Charger about 1973 or 4. Also managed to trade this in on something less appreciating.
20
I had a Chrysler Valiant Regal sedan company car 1970 late or early 1980 and it was an excellent country travel car that took me to many mining sites and by road speed restrictions in force today illegal speeds. It has Bridgestone after market radial tyres which improved the dynamics considerably compared to original cross ply tyres.
10
The one before, the HD, had blinkers on the headlights, absolute rust buckets.
10
IIRC in the disparaging of the time –
HD = Holden’s Disaster, HR = Hurried Rectification
Those early Holdens had the rear leaf springs isolated from the rear axle in rubber bushes. Which used to fail with bush driving and let the axle slide back along the spring. Our emergency kits contained spare bushes and the gear to replace them.
10
Electric vehicles have many attributes and a couple of serious issues.
One of the attributes is low maintenance. They actually need few moving parts for motion and no sliding parts. Certainly no need to change engine oil.
EVs are probably a good battery and integrated solar panels away from being convenient city cars.
The Donut labs battery has been independently tested for storage and discharge. No life cycle testing yet but obviously that takes time.
The Donut battery is now achieving the storage density that I forecast back in 1973 would be needed to make BEVs viable. Back then, I determined a useful car would be 90% battery, which is an obvious contradiction.
10
The 400 Wh /kg claimed by Donut Labs, has yet to be verified.
10
It has been independently verified.
00
“It would be like a pre-2000’s car but with modern safety and driver aid features.”
2000 would be the area you need, cars were ‘modern’ in terms of suspension and handling, noise and vibration, computer-controlled reliable engines, and rust-free bodies.
Since then nothing has improved, they have got bigger, heavier and more distraction have been added. I wouldn’t want a car with any driver aids, if you need aids to drive you shouldn’t be on the road. My ’83 Corolla does everything a car needs to do and it still doesn’t need power steering.
90
My 2010 car has only one thing that beeps, that’s to alert you that a passenger hasn’t buckled up.
40
I get a few more beeps than that, exiting without the transmission in “P”, a door not shut or the fob inside the car spring to mind but I doubt that is exhaustive.
Renting a car next week and NOT getting a Tesla, just another Camry, to see how much they have changed in 15 years. I’ll let you know.
10
On Ford Rangers and Mazda BT50’s, if you let the engine oil drain for more than ten minutes, the oil pump will lose prime, resulting in damage if the engine is run or driven, there is a procedure to reprime the pump externally.
30
That’s bizarre.
50
It’s a feature of the vane type pump used, an idea pinched from Renault, the pump self regulates by back pressure so as to use less fuel to pump lube oil around the engine.
30
It sure is bizarre, never heard of it ever happening until these models.
40
The Australian GMH Holden Commodore late 1980s smaller models, and the last of them was fitted with a Nissan straight six OHC fuel injected engine (old B-Series British Motor Corporation, Nissan Japan purchased the designs and production equipment from them including A-series smaller capacity engines) however, not well publicised but dealers were aware that unless the front end was raised when filling the radiator and engine coolant the coolant did not reach minimum recommended level.
When I paid for a short motor to replace my son’s Commodore engine that overheated I was told that many of those engines home serviced suffered a similar engine overheating failure. When I complained to GMH about lack of reference in the Handbook they sent back an obviously from legal adviser reply that politely told me to visit a taxidermist
50
I thought the BMC “B” series was an 1800cc , 4 cylinder. And their 6 cyl was the 2.9ltr “C” series ? ( not an over head Cam )
A series being the 4 cyl of 850- 1275 cc as fitted to Moris Minors & the minis.
The 2.0 ltr , 6 cyl, OHC, fitted to the VL commodors was a Nissan RB 20 of their own design.
10
I can’t see any modern males (under 40) getting any advantage of a car that can be easily repaired or worked on in your driveway.
There’s a good reason why car manuals from 50 years ago described how to set valve clearances whereas in 2020’s the manual says ‘do not drink the battery contents’.
80
I have been advised that today the best theft deterrent feature is manual transmission.
60
Maybe 20 yrs ago my V6 Accord was stolen but found abandoned not far away. At the time electric seat adjustments weren’t common. I believe it was a young girl found the keys so couldn’t reach the pedals, couldn’t adjust the seat. B!tch tossed the key fob.
20
FWIW – for the covid files
“Vaccine zealots respond to funding threat with another dose of nonsense”
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/the-drugs-dont-work-and-big-pharma-knows-it/
30
Safe and effective. The words which will forever damn everybody who ever uttered that slogan.
30
FWIW – More for the covid files and others
Today’s Coffee and Covid newsletter
“Special edition: FDA quietly unveils a surprising new AI-based adverse event system that will change everything. Nobody’s covering it.”
“Good morning, C&C, it’s Thursday! Today brings a massive MAHA development, something that we’ve pined for, and it is finally underway. Everything is about to change for the better — and Phase One just went live. A C&C special edition: the FDA’s brand-new adverse event reporting system. It’s time for disclosure.”
“VAERS is finally getting a long-overdue replacement — and what’s already live is just the foundation for what’s coming next. Big Pharma should be terrified. Yesterday, Fox quietly ran an explosive story. They daintily headlined it, “FDA launches new AI-powered system to track drug and vaccine side effects nationwide.” ”
More at
https://open.substack.com/pub/coffeeandcovid/p/upgraded-thursday-march-12-2026-c?
10
Like the new hospital patient admission form that was introduced here – from 4 pages to 24 that got less patient information. Died in a staff rebellion.
IIRC Jerry Pournelle used to ponder if the lack of evidence of productivity improvement from the introduction of personal computers in business was because that made everyone with one a new forms designer.
10
The world can only hope that this is different to the so called AI systems currently available to the public.
Q: How does that vaccine look?
A: It’s safe and effective
Q: No it’s not. Millions have been harmed and it makes people more likely to contract the disease.
A: Thankyou for pointing that out. I was wrong. It is neither safe nor effective.
Q: How did you get it so wrong?
A: It’s the way I was programmed and trained.
41
Atlassian? I see Mike C-B is laying off staff as pie-in-the-sky collides with financial reality.
20
Maybe he will be more businessy and less preachy for a while. Whatever happens he has creamed enough out of it to maintain his luxury beliefs.
Funny how little you hear about the co founder of Atlassian (now moved on). Seems a bit less show pony than some.
20
Post from FDA on X: https://x.com/US_FDA/status/2031765884172112182
20
Too late now but I will ask anyway.
I was convinced by wheel people that 6-year old tyres need replacement, even if actual mileage is low.
Having been bitten into accepting that a 10 year old iPad must be thrown out, well – I feel safer with new wheels .
But do they really designed to start falling apart after 5 years?
30
IIRC a chemical that used to help with tyre life has been banned and you are seeing the result.
I don’t remember what it was
00
Antioxidant and antiozonant:
N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine
Kills certain salmon species (supposedly).
20
I’ve heard of a 10 year suggested replacement. Oxygen is a “potent oxidizing agent” and degrades most things including tires (tyres). Also, some suggest using N2 because there is inside degradation. There is a code on the sidewall that will tell you the age.
20
I would only replace if there are visible cracks. But make your own decision.
40
Yes, when they are degrading you can see small cracks all around the sidewall. That still doesn’t mean they are dangerous, old-car enthusiasts like myself have driven on tyres 30years old without problems. Retreads no, but steel-belted radials from the 1970s were quite solid in construction, back in the days before China.
50
I ‘m and old car enthusiast and I would never do that in terms of a regular drive. I had a car with a 30+ year old spare and the tyre service said “ah, just leave it , Its out of the sun in the boot, it’ll be fine” I didn’t but thought their attitude was interesting. Maybe they thought they were saving and old bloke some money.
20
I’m intrigued. Why? Will it blow up or something? I can see an argument for replacement if it is deficient in some new useful function but even then, why toss it out?
e.g. I have an old ipad used now primarily as a music server and it still functions fine for other tasks, though it is noticeably slower than a newer device.
21
Nothing will happen, but newer software may require more modern devices to run, which is just marketing and manufacturing at work…
10
ie no one told him to throw it out.
00
A local tire dealer in WA implied that it is illegal for a licensed dealer to mount a tire on a passenger vehicle that is more than ten years old.
00
There are no laws in Oz requiring tyre replacecents but the rule of thumb is 10 years as rubber deteriorates whether used or not.
00
Without checking I suspect that two of my tyres on the road are past their use by and the others, including the unused spare would be over 5 years, but they never get hot so I don’t care. If I were to drive to Cairns, I would prolly replace the two oldest.
Counterintuitively, increase pressure to 38/40 psi. That will reduce flexing and heat.
BTW would the spare which has not been subjected to heat cycles or the sun, age the same?
10
80
What happened to the notion that the so called AI has no memory between sessions?
But to your main point, you are right. The so called AI fakes everything. It doesn’t know anything. It fakes sincerity. And when given the latitude can be positively harmful.
See the Claude vending machine fiasco for a harmless but alarming example.
30
“The so called AI fakes everything. It doesn’t know anything. It fakes sincerity. ”
Replaces all politicians in a day! Could even have public, internal arguments between different ‘sides’ of politics!
50
Dunno about replacing the pollies because the computers will need some meat based life form to actuate in the real world.
But I reckon a few gazillion political advisors will hopefully be for the high jump.
00
AI has adopted human ways.
‘Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort experienced when holding two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes simultaneously, or when behavior conflicts with beliefs. Proposed by Leon Festinger, this theory suggests people are motivated to reduce this tension by changing behaviors, justifying actions, or ignoring conflicting information.’ (wiki)
21
David,
not certain if you read all that much, but I have a list of favourite authors, and I love my crime fiction, and far and away the best of them is the Scottish author Val McDermid.
I like reading Michael Connelly, mainly for his Bosch Series, and now that Harry has got so old, and almost retired, he’s introduced a new Detective, Renee Ballard.
I’m not particularly keen on his Mickey Haller novels, and he’s the Lincoln Lawyer, as I prefer the Detective procedurals.
However, in his most recent novel, The Proving Ground, it deals with AI, and how a vulnerable young mind was coerced into killing by AI, so Haller has sued the designers of that particular (fictional) AI.
It was really quite interesting really, and I sorta wondered how long it might take before something similar happened, and it might seem that the author might be just ‘ahead of the curve’ in this case.
It actually was a good read in fact, mainly because of that aspect of ….. ‘how soon might this actually happen?’ And what you have written here is EXACTLY what did happen in the novel.
Tony.
30
I have just had an example of IA i.e. Intelligence Artificial.
I tried to order something from Amazon (USA) and my card was blocked. I eventually gave up and cancelled the order.
Switched to Amazon (Aust) and got some of the order (one DVD speedily delivered).
Apparently the bank thought I was being scammed because I hadn’t ordered anything from them recently (about 2 months?) the lass at the bank thought so.
Had to get a new bankcard. This now removes PayPal from my account. Apparently because it is an American based firm and this was VERBOTEN.
So running on cash until the new card arrives (Bank closes over WE). All this over $65, yet the Government sends money overseas like water, with nothing in return.
21
Computer says no.
With your money like water issue, remember that all of this computerization is implemented by government and big business as a means of control over the population. Nobody in power ever suggested that it will do anything to limit the behaviour of government and big business.
10
FWIW
Another wild card in the Iran deck
“Will the Iran conflict draw in other nations? It’s beginning to look likely…”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2026/03/will-iran-conflict-draw-in-other.html
00
That whole region is full of people who have been fighting each other since sticks and stones were state of the art weaponry.
I’m fond of saying that this too shall pass. But it won’t. At least not until every tin pot tribe has its own Dubai to amuse themselves.
31
Quote of the day:
Alireza Tangsiri, Commander of the Iranian IRGC Navy:
“We guarantee the security of any oil tanker, under any flag, that can convince an American destroyer to escort it through the Strait of Hormuz.”
30
World War Trump… are we there yet?
47
Not yet CVC, but keep at it. We all know Orange Man Bad and that this time we’ll get him for sure.
Otherwise, we’ll just keep living in a never-ending Road Runner v Coyote cartoon. And we all know it sucks being the coyote.
Alternatively, he is the second coming of our Lord and Saviour. He just hasn’t let on yet.
33
Alternatively, he is the second coming
Some might argue for the anti-Christ?
00
Could be ozfred in which case followers of several versions of a middle-east religion which must not be named are heading for happy days. They just don’t know it yet.
Or he may simply be a space alien in charge of fine tuning a few things. His speech patterns are kinda off-beat after all.
10
Another Government funding scam in the US, this one in Los Angeles involving hospices.
Video at link.
40
If this keeps going the way it seems to be going there are going to be a whole lot of bad guys finding new ways to avoid the need to make an honest living.
That is if anybody is ever prosecuted.
30
Is there any government funded function in the US that isn’t a fraudulent house of cards?
Is it any different here?
20
Regards relaxing fuel quality standards, obviously we have been lied to.. again, for years we have heard that changes must be made to lessen emissions due to lax fuel standards, but now we find that someone else has been using lower spec fuel than we currently use.
50
Yes like “carbon” (sic) it’s OK for Australia to export it, just not use it ourselves.
There is actually nothing wrong with the fuel, it just fails to meet the standard introduced by Australia Dec 15, 2025 requiring less than 10ppm sulphur, which seems ridiculously low and expensive to implement, for no obvious benefit, except as part of the Left’s war against non-Elite motorists.
120
Same sort of nonsense they pull in California. May be self correcting now with refineries driven out and worldwide pressure just to produce with doing custom lots for “special” customers.
10
Looks like a dose of their own petard coming up for California.
With their refineries closing they have been importing fuel from China.
Which has just banned petroleum exports.
But that will allow California a “righteous feather preen” – they will no longer be burning the Russian oil that China has been using in the fuel exported to California
10
Much like the 20,000 tons of peat bog burnt every year by nostalgic Irishmen. Peat Bogs in Ireland cannot be burnt as that emits the devil gas CO2.
So those tons of burnt peat bog that is burnt are imported from countries in the EU, so they are not counted for emissions.
30
I understand that the two of four most recent oil refineries left and still operating would not be commercially viable without exporting Australian oil based fuels to countries several that do not have strict emission laws as Australia does. And do produce about 20% of our standards fuel needs. Put together from only two refineries and fuel crisis would not be a concern I suspect?
Looking harder at fuel supply and recommended 90 days supply reserve international standard, without going over the from 1980s fuel and internal combustion engine manufacturing, oil refineries, hight costs of transition based on UN climate politics, our problem relates to the left side of politics including Coalition centre left infiltrators and influencers that started after 1990 and first appeared in disguise during the Howard Government period 1996-2007.
Moving forward, after the Rudd Gillard Rudd Labor terms 2007-2013 in 2014/14 PM Abbott from the centre/centre right Liberals tried in Parliament to repeal the Labor RET and transition legislation but was blocked in the Senate, the Senate did agree to abolish Labor’s carbon tax 10% on electricity bills and hidden in service to property charge renewable energy surcharge 10%.
By late 2015 to 2018 the Turnbull (founder of the centre left infiltrators group) Government was in favour of the RET transition and vested interests private sector. A levy/tax on emissions was legislated and first targeted coal fired power stations and gas power plants. That legislation remains open ended and could be extended to any or all emissions sources.
Late 2018 a challenge by Dutton resulted in PM Morrison being chosen instead by the Liberal MPs. In 2019 PM Morrison travelled by invitation from President Trump to Washington
where a White House State Dinner was arranged in honour of the close allied nation Australia, Prime Minister and Mrs Morrison. Later a weekend private discussion was held I think at
Mar-A-Lago where AUKUS was decided and for Australia to have unlimited access to US oil. And order worth $94 million was placed (Energy Minister Angus Taylor) and storage in the US organised with a plan to build new and more capacity storage in Australia, and option to continue to buy US oil thereafter.
In very recent times National Party/LNP QLD first and then Liberal Party have dumped net zero emissions policy. PM Morrison at Glasgow COP 2021 refused, contrary to the popular media and other claim, an aspirational goal to achieve net zero based on new technology for Australia like nuclear power stations/plants, and without damaging the economy which follows the Howard after Kyoto Conference emissions target signed Australia terms and conditions applied.
10
Dennis, if the Liberals were serious, which they’re not, they would immediately commit to exiting the Paris Accords like TRUMP unashamedly did. But they won’t. They are sitting on the fence as usual.
They have to wind everything back to how it was before Howard committed us to this madness.
50
David Paris Agreement is already redundant and few if any signatory nations are following emissions targets, and developing nations haven’t even bothered to try.
First Term as President Trump did pull USA out of the Paris Agreement but that was several years ago and in 2021 when President Biden was in office and at Glasgow Climate Conference net zero emissions replaced Paris Emissions targets.
As I have reported here before, PM Morrison (Energy Minister Angus Taylor now Liberal Leader) at the Glasgow COP was urged to sign a net zero agreement by Biden and UK PM Johnson but declined, instead said Australia would have an aspirational goal toward net zero subject to new technology availability (example nuclear power stations/plants as per later Dutton Plan) and without damaging the economy, the latter being Howard Government Kyoto COP position first of all.
And more recently first the National Party and now the Liberal Party no longer support net zero, aspirational goal.
20
FWIW – behind the “steak and lobster” squeal
“AND NOW YOU KNOW… THE REST OF THE STORY:”
“Cracked it: I knew something was off about the fake outrage over the steak and lobster, because those are standard meals the troops get weekly at the DFAC.
I did a little digging. It seems the two vendors who had a monopoly on DOD food supply lost their contracts: VAL-PRO, INC. (located in California) and CHICO PRODUCE, INC. (also based in California). The new vendor setup is now open to multiple vendors (see the last picture).”
https://x.com/Alladdin1983/status/2031918566363349014
“Monopoly vendors lose their monopolies (to the taxpayer’s benefit), go squealing to the press, and the press is happy to play along.”
Via https://instapundit.com/782138/#disqus_thread
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FWIW
“Civilisational Erasure: Images of Great Britons to be Removed From Nation’s Money”
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2026/03/11/civilisational-erasure-images-of-great-britons-to-be-removed-from-nations-money/
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For something completely different.
‘Australia should use electricity from coal, gas and uranium, not renewables, to power artificial intelligence and advanced robotics, and wield its vast land resources to attract data centre investment, opposition industry spokesman Andrew Hastie says.’ (AFR)
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I thought that OZ already had all the ai services it needed.
Why does he not simply argue that Oz should have cheap electricity?
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Hastie is value adding, within his portfolio as shadow industry spokesman.
The idea is to attract overseas data centres, its a positive spin away from renewables.
02
It seems that Pen & Mike people accepted a Data Centre as similar to a Smelter or a Refinery in terms of kW (GWh/y ?)
Considering that soon neither of latter two plants will be left here maybe they should check kW rating of Desal installations. I have seen some largish pumps there…
On a serious side: every literate person knows In The Beginning Was The Word . Another generation or two and minimum need to sustain life will be a 100 printed words rather 100 kcal per hour.
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Desalination is known euphemistically as liquid electricity! Because of the immense amounts of electrical power required to run them.
Oh, and Vladimir, thanks for thinking of me as a mensch. (I had to actually look it up)
Tony.
10
Aluminium as well
20
I had a thought about the Oz social media ban yesterday.
How about they use facial recognition only, but with a mandatory requirement of no makeup.
You have to sign in every time with no makeup on!
That’d end it for girls anyway.
I’m cruel, I know. 😆
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And some lads.
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JCII, please answer the questions I asked you yesterday on this matter.
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Iran: the escalation trap
The sequence unfolds in three stages.
Stage 1: Tactical Success, Strategic Failure
The war began with a coordinated U.S.–Israeli strike on Iranian leadership and military targets. The opening campaign destroyed facilities and killed senior officials. In purely military terms, the operation appeared successful.
But the political objective—rapid regime collapse or capitulation—did not occur. The Iranian state remained intact, and the government quickly reasserted control.
This gap between battlefield success and political outcome is the first step of the Escalation Trap.
Stage 2: Escalation
When early success fails to produce the expected political result, leaders often double down. Because the stronger side possesses overwhelming military power, decision-makers assume they hold escalation dominance—the ability to climb the escalation ladder faster and higher than the opponent.
Doubling down becomes an obsession.
· More strikes.
· Broader targets.
· More days of bombing.
https://escalationtrap.substack.com/p/four-strategic-patterns-now-visible
An excellent article and analysis, unlike most all MSM garbage.
Exactly what’s happening and why it won’t end soon.
Better stock up.
Looks like a number of oil refining countries like S. Korea are declaring Force Majeure and considering halting exports to protect their own countries supply.
NZ – you’re in trouble! Worse than us, for now.
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Sorry to disappoint you JCII.
Doubling down wins, if not at first, then the second time around. What’s that – quadrupled ?
Stalin won WW2 and Americans have beaten VietKong – have you visited Danang lately?
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Not so sure Vlad, Vietnam is a Communist country still, after the Yanks did an Afghanistan Retreat 50 years ago.
Lets see how they get out of the mess they’ve created in Iran, do they double down again with boots on the ground before getting beaten out, or declare ‘job done’ and go destroy some other country instead?
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Vietnam has a Communist Government but “capitalism” is encouraged
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“Vietnam has a Communist Government but “capitalism” is encouraged”
Yes, and the difference between them and us is that we get a lot of distraction and pretend emotions from our parasites, while they just get the job done.
I’m sure there is no more welfare in Vietnam than here, and their land ownership is similar. Here all land is owned by the First People and we have Land Use Rights that can be bought and sold, pretending to own it. There all land is owned by the State and citizens have the Land Use Rights like we do.
Communism without Capitalism is always an absolute disaster, North Korea being a great example!
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I agree of course KP, and noting CCP support capitalism (we say free enterprise, free markets) but restricted to favoured party members only and wealth creation for China’s benefit first and foremost.
CCP even permit comrades to move to democratic countries like Australia, USA, Canada as long as they remain loyal reporters.
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China and Vietnam should take steps to become democratic so that the people can enjoy freedom of expression.
00
I have no idea what you’re on about.😎
Stalin won WW2? Helped yes, but won it? After cosying up to Hitler early on too to start WW2 by invading Poland.
USA won in Vietnam? An utter disaster that the USA seriously got wrong.
Da Nang? What about it? Nice spot, affordable, modern, on par with Thailand.
00
You said “double down”, Stalin (Marshal G. Zhukov) said “we’ll overwhelm them with bodies” – when the first attack wave failed, send another, then another…
3 million prisoners, out of 5 million Red Army, were taken by Germans in the first few months of war, but new 15 million mobilised by 1942.
Of course I was not serious that he won the WW2, but the above method in the end stopped and then turned back German onslaught at Russian theatre.
About VietNam: Da Nang you described – is that what grandfather Ho dreamt of when he started Viet Minh. Certainly you do not think so.
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This is not a new war it’s the climax of a 47 year one. If you believe there was a safer option please tell us.
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It is forgotten and many false stories following like that NO WMD (weapons of mass destruction) in Iraq discovered. That is correct but what was discovered were;
* Iraq using WMD gases against Iran and Turkish Kurds earlier.
* Saddam Hussein using implied threat ion WMD if the Operation Desert Storm US and other military entered into Iraq, noting they chased Iraq military out of Kuwait that they had invaded.
* UN Weapons Inspectors were given permission to enter Iraq but given a hard time as they sought to travel for inspections.
* What was discovered – import documents of chemicals, laboratories that had been used to produce WMD gases, artillery shells storage of the type designed for loading WMD, chemists the locals called Chemical Ali and Doctor Death and other evidence.
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Don’t forget those 100s of Iranian bases scattered around the world. Quite the dominating presence. Something had to be done.
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Is there a meaningful difference between a base and a sleeper terror cell?
20
So…the end is the end then?
Muslims unite, one and all, happy days and no hijabs ahead.
Woo hoo!
Lucky them.
00
There is some positive news coming out of the Iran war.
Ukraine is going to supply 11 countries with drones at a handsome price. Engineers will go along to assist the locals in setting up.
01
Australian small drone designers and manufacturers supply Ukraine and one technology is swarming drones (like Bees) each loaded with a grenade dimension bomb.
Ukraine has been assisting Australian manufacturers to improve their products and advice on what else is desirable to fight enemy forces.
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What is a “fair” profit on leading edge technology, learned with real blood not sweat?
10
For years they have had to pass the hat around to survive and its good to see them paying it back.
In the old USSR it was Ukraine which became the hub of arms manufacture, they have the cards to continue.
00
Damn, after Scamdemic and Biden, cost of living and shutdown business destruction, I was kinda hoping Trump could bring about some economic improvement, and just a few weeks ago I began to to notice some price reduction on my basic food items.
Then a new Mideast war.
Damn.
The positive hope vibe only lasted a week.
But on the bright side, crushing the working middle class will likely produce some good carbon reduction.
No driving, no buying, less eating.
(And Jacinda Ardern’s new Australian beach front property will not be threatened by SLR.)
However, I will not be able to reduce my whiteness.
But I guess I’ll still have my privilege to hold on to.
I’m a man, so I can at least now dream of bearing children.
40
Damn this cost of living crisis, I have had to start making my own lemonade. Costs about 0.18 cents a litre. Something must have gone wrong with the process cause it keeps turning up at 18% alcohol. I’ll try some more batches and keep my fingers crossed the same mistake occurs again!
40
Don’t neighbourhood children have lemonade stands outside family homes?
lol
20
At 18% alcohol, they’d sell out real fast! 😁
Must have fermented in the sun, officer!
20
For years I was throwing away my miserable kumquat fruit but lately …
Friends and neighbours roll their eyes up and ask to fill their glasses again, just a little, only for the smell of it…
My secret recipe is to make it blindfolded – at times getting closer to 40 degrees than to 18.
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Mrs H was famous for her kumquat jam, best marmalade, but what you make sounds like jungle juice.
20
A tour of the ISS
https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_tbsogh04Qf1z23obp.mp4
Some people have houses that look like that. 😎
10
If the Romans had only used three horses instead of two all our roads would be wider, all our train tunnels wider, then our rockets would be bigger in diameter and the ISS would be more spacious!
I assume they give all the new astronauts the first day off just to watch the view..
11
You learn something every day!
The ISS could have been organised and spacious if the ancient Romans had their sh#t together!
Reparations! 😆
20
Matt Canavan blew it.
On his first speech as leader of the Nationals he criticised Pauline Hanson, leader of our only significant conservative party.
Very, very, bad move and bad news.
91
Labor will love it! More infighting as the Right destroys any chance of getting new voters. So, the Nationals will destroy themselves and One Nation take their voters, and continue to grow.
What a clown, a typical politician!
“by targeting its lack of substance and penchant for sowing division.”
Winston Peters made a very successful life-long career in politics in NZ by using exactly those tactics. The Winston First Party had very few voters but he kept a grip on the balance of power and made sure the two main parties were always off balance.
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Yes KP, and the winner will be in 2028, wait for it, Albanese Labor Party
20
Pauline Hanson first and foremost, other ON people as well, and now Barnaby Joyce have been and continue to ridicule National and Liberal side on the same centre/centre right side of politics. It’s ridiculous both ways.
One Nation has that little yapping dog at big dog, attitude.
Thirty something years of what ON success other than a moment in QLD like a skyrocket in state politics and then back down to Earth?
Right now a minor party more comparable to the Greens, and only ONE MP House of Representatives plus a few Senators including Senator Hanson.
I am not opposed to One Nation or the founder but it irritates me when they go on the attack and then complain when it is answered and with sharp rebuke
22
So does every mainstream party have to rise from nothing, to government, overnight?
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More 3rd world manufacturing: turning an aluminium wheel into a wok
https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_tbsnhtgBQQ1zwrq1v.mp4
OH&S would turn cartwheels in the west.
10
Iran War and Australian invention now welcomed.
I remember when prototypes were first developed and effectiveness demonstrated during the Labor Hawke Government terms that began 1983, demonstration from RAAF F-111 swing wing fighter-bomber jet aircraft considered to be cutting edge of that Generation and proved to still be when pensioned off as new technology including stealth was introduced on later generation aircraft.
The demonstration I remember was at a bombing target restricted access area and the target a steel clad shed, as PM Hawke and other VIPs stood watching and searching the sky for the F-111 the shed exploded, no F-111 in sight or by sound.
RAAF explained that the system was accurate within one metre and could be guided, for example only, a window in the PM’s offices.
And now read;
https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/the-cutting-edge-australian-weapons-turning-the-tide-in-the-middle-east-war/news-story/087c5a056d7d0938f357f2967b0fa8bd
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Ah, just as the Russians developed 4years back. Cheap surplus bombs with fold-out wings and a targeting system. More accurate than artillery now.
10
The guided, standoff iron bombs are “approximate” weapons only but with 1,000 lbs of explosive the target is still destroyed but with high collateral damage.
00
Good days, weren’t they !
I remember sitting in stunning black velvet night at Townsville Strand when all of a sudden the stars disappeared and thunderous sound fell on us like like suffocating huge blanket together with the ropes…
And black clad soldiers sliding by them down to the ground…
The local colleague explained – Blackhawk training…
Oh, Rudyard ! Where were you at that that moment?
00
Townsville’s blackest night was when two black hawks collided at High Range during night exercises. Fifteen SAS troopers and three pilots died
00
Will Oz declare a fuel emergency next week , and have some sort of work from home type lockdown?
Godzone will- punching above our weight again. LOL.
20
Australia warned of food shortages ‘within weeks’ as fuel reserves run low, Albanese govt refuses to rule out supply running dry
https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/australia-warned-of-food-shortages-within-weeks-as-fuel-reserves-run-low-albanese-govt-refuses-to-rule-out-supply-running-dry/news-story/e4411484db190be6362e3a7adc7dc528
You’re about to see how good those you voted in are in the real world.
If only we had more solar panels..
30
https://imgbox.com/qYbdN8If
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Jackson Browne
Running on Empty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuwLU2z2Cx0&list=RDMuwLU2z2Cx0&start_radio=1
00
I didn’t vote for them.
00
The Australian people are about to find out how effective the Left’s anti-energy policies are.
Enjoy!
10
FWIW
“Reliable Solar Has Larger Land Footprint Than Previously Thought”
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), the regional transmission authority and market-clearing wholesaler in which Cerro Gordo County falls, recently updated its power rating system to reflect the reliability of all generating sources across its system during periods where the system is most likely to experience loss of load hours. Under its new Direct Loss of Load rating system, MISO concludes that by 2030 during the summer peak expected reliable solar power across its territory would amount to approximately 4 percent of the needed power, falling to just 2 percent by 2043, less than halfway through the expected operational life of a new power facility brought online. Over the course of the year, the numbers are even worse, with MISO estimating solar facilities will provide just 2.25 percent of accredited power, and less than 1 percent in 2043, far less than the 50 percent MISO estimated under its prior rating system.
By comparison, MISO anticipates natural gas facilities during the same periods, summer peak and annual, will produce 89 percent of accredited power during the summer in 2030, falling to 88 percent by 2043, and 82 percent on average across the entire year in 2030, falling to 81 percent in 2043. Natural gas is simply much more, massively more, reliable than solar power during peak demand periods, keeping in mind that solar falls off entirely at night and produces much less power than rated when it is cloudy, raining, or snowing.
With MISO’s new accreditation system in mind, to provide comparable power to a proposed 500 MW natural gas alternative would require many more acres than proponents of the River City Energy Project solar facility estimate.”
More at
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/03/08/climate-change-weekly-573-reliable-solar-has-larger-land-footprint-than-previously-thought/
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The Australian Government has had decades to prepare for forthcoming fuel shortages and hence supply chain interruptions but has done nothing either for exploration for local oil sources or storage of imported oil. In fact oil exploration is banned in many places and even if permitted the red and green tape and land rights claims make the effort barely worthwhile.
The people will soon find our you cannot run a country on wind and solar, no matter how fanatical the commitment may be and how many EVs wokesters purchase.
10
Putting my business management head back on for a moment (reluctantly – flashbacks and all that), even an average manager would perform rudimentary ‘contingency planning, and that would prioritise risks with the highest potential impact, not just those most likely to happen but with minimal material effect.
It is glaringly obvious, on that basis, that fuel/energy supply would be right at the top. It is vital for pretty much everything we do, from blowing leaves off the driveway to keeping a critically-ill person alive during an operation or powering the fire engines during a bushfire. Why, even the ships, aircraft and tanks we might rely on in a war uses that ‘fuel’ stuff.
In a business context, ignoring or underestimating a risk of that magnitude would be a sacking offence, even in the boardroom. In government, it seems … yeah, nah.
I’m pretty confident that if we we had a Liberal PM at the moment he/she would be heading out of the door by now. Just another example of how leftist parties make the rules but they don’t live by them.
10
Had a toasty for lunch, made in the microwave, two and a half minutes in a new [for me] maker. The result was good but not crispy.
https://www.kmart.com.au/product/microwave-toastie-maker-green-43379026/
00
You need an air fryer to get the “crispy”.
00
FWIW – for an evening conspiratorial
“Secretary Bessent Announces “Narrowly Tailored, Short Term Sanction Relief” for Russia
March 13, 2026 | Sundance | 3 Comments”
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/03/13/secretary-bessent-announces-narrowly-tailored-short-term-sanction-relief-for-russia/#more-281480
00
FWIW
“Big cuts to CSIRO Aussie Science Jobs, but Climate Research is Protected?”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/03/09/big-cuts-to-csiro-aussie-science-jobs-but-climate-research-is-protected/
‘
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Something to think about:-
https://tragedyandhope21.substack.com/p/a-war-for-profit-collapse-and-hegemony
00