Friday

Taking a few days off…

10 out of 10 based on 6 ratings

66 comments to Friday

  • #
    Tonyb

    I wonder if Oz and the UK will rein back on the assaults of free speech now that Trump is back?

    https://reclaimthenet.org/australia-hate-speech-laws-tightening-nsw-free-speech-debate

    Regrettably they are likely to double down.

    Personally I think the word “Hate’ as in hate speech is much overused.

    I don’t hate anyone. I may dislike them, disapprove of them, disagree with their way of life but that is an awful long way from “Hate” yet governments seem unable to see this difference in scale.

    wanting to criminalise people just for their not approving of another person or group of people seems an alarming state of affairs

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  • #
    Tonyb

    I would pay good money to see a debate between Donald Trump and pipsqueak Ed Miliband on the subject of net zero

    https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2025/01/23/net-zero-is-unstoppable-says-ed-miliband/

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    • #

      And in Australia, between Trump and Blackout Bowen (Chris Bowen).

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    • #
      TdeF

      I would love to see any debate between two real scientists. I have never seen such a thing. Governments collectively or individually do not control Climates.

      The whole political climate fantasy is based on the incredibly simple and wrong idea that CO2 builds up in the air because of fossil fuel. Who proved that?

      In fact the exchange of highly soluble CO2 in and out of the ocean on this 74% water planet is immense and fast. The oceans breathe on a massive scale, dwarfing human activity.

      CO2 is 98% in the water and lasts about 10 years in the air in a massive world wide exchange old as time. But it is remarkably constant so it is in equilibrium.

      Despite this massive activity CO2 levels are changing a tiny 0.4% a year, increasing only 50% in 250 years. CO2 is quite constant within 1% from pole to pole despite human activity being in a very narrow band. But within 1% CO2 over Australia is the same as the North Pole and China.

      Total world fossil fuel CO2 production each year just reached 1% of atmospheric CO2 despite, an increase in fossil fuels use of 3500% since 1900.

      Humans do not and cannot control CO2 levels. This was proven by NASA that tree cover of the planet has gone up dramatically. Which alone busts tree farms and carbon credits. So sequestering trillions of tons of CO2 has not changed CO2 or stopped or slowed the steady growth in CO2. Likewise,burning old trees or fossil fuels has no effect. CO2 is in massive equilibrium and any deviation in consumption or production of CO2 has zero effect.

      Net Zero is Political Science, not science. Currently costing $1,800,000,000,000 a year and having no impact on CO2.

      Yes, I would love a science debate. From first principles. First prove that humans can change CO2 levels. Tiny fossil fuel CO2 emissions are irrelevant to total CO2.

      Then and only then move onto additional CO2 causes warming, then warming is bad and why.

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      • #
        TdeF

        All living things are made from CO2 and H2O almost entirely. All living things burn. All breathe in oxygen and breathe out CO2. Hydrated CO2 from photosynthesis, known as carbohydrate, powers all life.

        And now politicians have decided to tax breathing. No surprise there.

        Just don’t call it science.

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        • #
          TdeF

          The Carbon Dioxide disaster was invented by Al Gore and James Hansen in 1988. The US funded UN/WMO formed the IPCC immediately.

          Now the US, the world’s biggest economy, has cancelled it. China, Russia, India ignore CO2. Most countries do.

          Why is Australia continuing in true Don Quixote windmills style? Even Peter Dutton says he will declare a CO2 target. Why? It’s over.

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          • #
            ColA

            TedF, I understand that a lot of the climate scare was started with The Club of Rome when they published a 1972 book titled ‘The Limits to Growth’

            It sold twelve million copies in 37 languages. Whilst the book did not predict what precisely would happen, it stated that if the world’s consumption patterns and population growth continued at the same high rates of the time, the earth would strike its limits within a century. The message was that this outcome was not inevitable. People could change their policies – and the sooner the better.

            https://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/rome/

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      • #
        Dave in the States

        Four years ago the lock downs world wide, including a big dent into China’s co2 output, had no impact what-so-ever.

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    • #
      Murray Shaw

      Tony, what is Ed Millibands idea of “net zero”.?

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    • #
      Chad

      I am with TdeF on this,..
      Whilst Trump has huge influence and is a believer in real science, he is not the man to indulge in a scientific debate with Bowen or Milliband.
      Trump shoots from the hip if cornered, and the last thing you want is a high profile leader making a scientific slip up in a key debate.
      That is a task for a scientist with good debating skills, someone like Monkton maybe ?

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  • #
    MeAgain

    https://michaelwest.com.au/ageing-coal-clunkers-posing-power-outage-risk/ – “Baringa Partners’ Peter Sherry said his firm’s analysis of the coal power fleet suggests most of the nation’s generation will be replaced by renewables and firming technologies like storage within the next 10 years, given the advanced age of the fleet.”

    That would be this Baringa I guess: https://www.baringa.com/en/ – Tier 2 consultants

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    • #

      At the first link it says:

      …energy expert Greg Bourne says increases the chance of unplanned outages.

      “Clapped-out coal clunkers are making it harder to keep the lights on,” Mr Bourne said.

      How can an “energy expert” use non-technical language like that? That is emotive language, devoid of any actual analysis.

      Only a politician or Lamestream Media “journalist” would be moved by such emotive language, not anyone who had a clue about science or engineering.

      And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the sort of “analysis” that Australian decision makers follow and is responsible for the destruction of Australia’s energy supply and economy.

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      • #
        Greg in NZ

        For those of us mature enough to remember Ted Nugent’s song, White Line Fever, the phrase ‘Clapped-out Clunkers’ fits well as an alternative chant, though in this case it refers to the tribe called Politicians who are well-past their use by date. Besides, Dutton rhymes with Mutton.

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      • #
        Ronin

        “energy expert Greg Bourne says increases the chance of unplanned outages.

        “Clapped-out coal clunkers are making it harder to keep the lights on,” Mr Bourne said.”

        Marvellous technical description that, but what he’s struggling to say is, as coalfired power ages and is not maintained to the previous high standards, it will become harder to control the swings and upsets caused by erratic and unreliable weather dependent wind & solar power generators.

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    • #
      Asp

      Baringa Partners analysis, drawing our attention to the fact that Australia’s power station fleet is aging, is spot on, except that the reason for this is that we have not built a new power station since who knows when (Callide C in 2001, Tarong North in 2002?), and have failed to competently maintain some of the existing ones (eg Callide B).
      A quick visit to the Baringa website suggests that this may be one of the more woke outfits around, with little information as to the management structure and ownership, but overflowing with allusions to their ‘people first’ policies. There is no useful background information on Adrian Bettridge, who is slated as Baringa’s ‘Managing Partner’.

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      • #
        MeAgain

        The Peter mentioned balances his love of sport with family commitments – around all the climate change of course!

        Outside of work, Peter’s first love is golf. He plays as much as he can (despite the occasional la niña flooding in Sydney), balancing with family life.

        A browse of the site has me thinking more woke-adjacent greed than pure demented woke.

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  • #
    MeAgain

    https://michaelwest.com.au/dutton-shuts-down-nationals-call-for-gender-debate/

    More information is expected to be published by the US government in coming months, according to University of Sydney health ethics associate professor Morgan Carpenter.

    “It’s plausible,” he told AAP.

    “There’s still quite a bit that we don’t know.”

    Australian passports can contain the “X” gender marker for those who are non-binary, intersex, gender-fluid or otherwise non-conforming.

    In some countries such as the United Arab Emirates, those travelling with an “X” marker are barred from entry or transit.

    It is not clear whether the US will implement similar rules.

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  • #
    MeAgain

    Anyone else wonder how in their lifetime the water into the house became metered while telecommunications became unmetered?

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    • #

      Was was water ever unmmetered in Australia?

      There is usually a “service to property” charge and a usage charge. Both charges have varied to either encourage or discourage consumption.

      But I think it was a stroke of genius taking an almost-free item like water, putting it in a bottle, giving it a fancy name like “Acqua Minerale San Benedetto” or “Adelholzener Alpenquellen” and then charging a lot of money for it as “bottled water”.

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  • #

    Australia’s “renewable energy superpower” South Australia is transitioning to grid scale diesel, just like in Third World countries.

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/renewable-energy-economy/emergency-diesel-backstop-approved-as-south-australia-grid-struggles-to-coexist-with-renewables/news-story/3e48e8b9cceea8250fd515f98bd63d69

    Emergency diesel backstop approved as South Australia grid struggles to coexist with renewables

    A rule change will see two diesel generators used to prop up the South Australia grid as the state struggles to reconcile renewables with ensuring grid security.

    Colin Packham

    January 23, 2025

    South Australia could draw on emergency diesel supplies this summer after the country’s energy regulator approved a last-ditch request to use two French-owned power generators to back up a grid that is increasingly struggling to coexist with record renewable penetration.

    SEE LINK FOR REST (PAYWALLED)

    Can someone please tell me what effect the self-destruction of the Australian economy is having on CO2 level, especially as the world’s largest producer China does nothing and the second largest producer is now out of Paris?

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    • #
      John F. Hultquist

      David, slow down. 🤠
      China dies nothing and the second largest producer in now put of Paris?

      50

    • #
      MeAgain

      NSW should have a gander at what’s going on next door sometime… (eg #4 above)

      I often wonder how many South Australian’s know that they are marked as the ‘Defence State’ (or target)…. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_SA

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    • #
      Jack01

      This is what irks me, especially when people say “Australia must do it’s part”. We have already gone beyond that, made no difference to global CO2 and our grid is collapsing. Yet people will still go along with this fantasy, it’s brainwashing of the highest order.

      I wonder which engineers were the architects of the idea to make the electricity grid which must be stable, depend on the weather, which is inherently unstable.

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  • #
    MeAgain

    https://www.themandarin.com.au/285025-more-driverless-trains-prepped-for-nsw-amid-ongoing-union-disputes/ Industrial disputes, maintenance backlogs and Sydney’s reliably unpredictable and disruptive seasonal weather shocks for millions returning to work might ordinarily be a reason for a state minister for transport to feel a little anxious. Unless there is something very good around the corner.
    ….
    a pop-up carboard train, now that makes up for it all.

    50

  • #

    As was reported on this pages a couple of days ago the “leader” of Australia’s fake conservative Liberal Party, reaffirmed his fanatical commitment to the Paris Accords even after President TRUMP abandoned them.

    What is the point in continuing with this insanity?

    Here Dutton emphatically affirms his commitment to Paris insanity.

    The guy just doesn’t have a clue! Leaders lead and don’t care what others think.

    https://youtu.be/CpHihBWwlaw

    Here is an excellent commentary by Andrew Bolt plus interview with Matt Canavan about TRUMP exiting the Paris Accords and its implications for Australia.

    I can’t find a link on YouTube.

    https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Co6qmozHX/

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  • #
    MeAgain

    It likely runs deeper than this during “normal science” too. Undoubtedly, “normal science” and supporting orthodoxy regarding pandemic policies was financially rewarding for many. Conversely, the brave few who expressed heteredox views or simply raised questions have had their careers and livelihoods dismantled by the State and its propaganda arm through the legacy media.

    What breaks this cycle of “normal science” and the censorship of heterodoxy is the emergence of “anomalies” and the inability of the Paradigm to explain them. Anomalies like “vaccine” injuries, “breakthrough infections”, continued “COVID-19 deaths”, worse outcomes for the “fully vaccinated”, better outcomes for the “unvaccinated”, pharmacovigilance safety signals and unabated national and global excess mortality in highly COVID-19 “vaccinated” countries. The emerging DNA contamination scandal and the risks it poses to human health is yet another anomaly challenging the Paradigm even today. If these anomalies continue to accumulate and they will drive a shift in thinking about the “vaccines” and the pandemic response in Australia (and globally).

    https://unbekoming.substack.com/p/unmasking-the-paradigm-reflections

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  • #

    TRUMP rules that only the Stars and Stripes and certain official military flags to be flown, no rainbow or BLM flags on State Department facilities.

    https://nypost.com/2025/01/22/us-news/trump-admin-outlaws-pride-blm-flags-at-state-department-stars-and-stripes-only-report/

    Contrast that with Australia where you have two native flags, plus frequently rainbow flags on local, state and federal government buildings. You might even find a national flag but the communist leader of the Greens won’t stand in front of it.

    At least “leader” of the fake conservative Libs only wants the Australian national and presumably state flags.

    50

  • #

    Elon Musk posted a joke or X.

    https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1882438576870470114

    Me: How many radical leftists does it take to screw in a light bulb?

    Radical leftists: That’s not funny 😡

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  • #

    Is anyone interested in a Melbournistan Jo Novian meet up?

    The last one was 6th December 2019.

    30

  • #
    Penguinite

    In energy debacle, our biggest power failure is Chris Bowen he has ceded far too much to the green fringe. Prices are higher, renewables growth has collapsed and energy security risks are rising. He must resign. Chris Bowen says he remains hopeful that global warming can be limited to close to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels despite the world’s largest economy pulling out of the Paris agreement.
    The problem is, however, the Alternative Government are Nett Zero better than Labor. Don’t expect to see or feel any beneficial improvements under Peter Dutton

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  • #
    Penguinite

    The Australian Classification Board wants to litigate the worthiness of books, films and television in the light of evolving community standards. It may not be outright censorship, but it’s certainly bastardisation of a kind and very “1984ish”

    Don’t censor the past if you want a robust culture

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  • #
    • #

      The ADF is struggling with recruitment partly due to DEI policies which make it close to impossible for white heterosexual pro-Australian males to be promoted.

      TRUMP is reverting to a merit-based military (and other government agecies) and recruitment should pick up dramatically.

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  • #

    Those who think a Dutton Liberal Party (fake conservative) is the answer to Australia’s energy crisis, just how long do you think his six nuclear reactors will take to build in massively over-regulated Australia + lawfare and by how much will they reduce electricity prices and when?

    Note that Dutton still believes in building more “laughables” which will still requite subsidies.

    Australia doesn’t have much time left. Further economic collapse is inevitable.

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    • #
      Graeme No.3

      There is a slight possibility that when the Liberal Party gets power in Canberra that they will “suddenly find” that Labor has been lying, and the new Government will have to do something else instead of its election promises. You will hear about it from the screams on the ABC etc.

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    • #
      Mike Jonas

      Google has ordered five SMRs that will be installed and running next week*. Australia should be able to get some up and running within a decade. Price is not an issue after supply collapses.

      *Maybe a bit longer.

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      • #

        There should be a lesson there for Australian Leftists, but there won’t be, that even fully woke organisations like Goolag understand that you can’t run a company (or anything) on wind, solar and Unicorn flatulence.

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    • #
      Ronin

      My own opinion is that both the nuclear subs and nuclear power are not for us.
      I was hoping that Trump would cancel the sub agreement once the defence chiefs told him they need all the subs they can build for themselves.

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  • #
    ColA

    Hope all is well Jo, enjoy a hard earned break! 🙂

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  • #

    Who, if anyone, do you predict will be next to leave the Paris Accords?

    I predict Milei of Argentina.

    https://www.ft.com/content/4957bc54-5b7b-496d-8c98-ba42ff508e85

    Javier Milei’s government is weighing up a proposal for Argentina to leave the Paris agreement, days after Donald Trump announced the US would exit the world’s key accord on climate change. 

    While a final decision has yet to be made, two people familiar with the discussions said Argentina was likely to follow in the US’s footsteps, a move that would make it just the second country to quit the agreement signed by almost 200 nations.

    Senior officials are studying an internal memo recommending an exit, said people briefed on the situation, after the country withdrew negotiators from last year’s COP29 climate summit and said it was re-evaluating its international commitments on the environment.

    SEE LINK FOR REST

    I predict that Australia will never leave. Both the PM and Dutton are True Believers.

    The Stupid Country will hang on until it’s the last member and economic destruction is complete.

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    • #
      Dave in the States

      Many, will probably just continue to pay lip service to it. Meanwhile, Once Great Britain (can I borrow that term?) and a few others will foolishly continue to take it seriously, until the people say enough is enough, or until their economies collapse.

      20

  • #
    Bruce

    “Hate”?

    I see more utter contempt for the would-be “betters.

    See also Rudyard Kipling:

    https://www.europeanamericansunited.org/school1/Fiction/kipling/awakened.htm

    ALL of the contemptible “official” behaviour is PREMEDITATED , crafted to PROVOKE a “response” and it will be ramped up until a response emerges.

    Bear in mind, if a “natural response” is NOT forthcoming, one will be manufactured, to “justify the “counter-response”.

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  • #

    Couple opening wedding presents ….. Oh! What a lovely cutlery set. (Someone call the police!)

    Family sitting at the table for dinner, young child asks ….. Mum, where’s the cutlery?

    Mother responds ….. From now on we eat responsibly, with our fingers.

    But Mum, didn’t you always tell me not to eat with my fingers.

    Things have changed dear, now that the Government spy is at every dinner table.

    It’s just so hard not to be cynical, eh!

    Tony.

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  • #
    another ian

    FWIW – from another blog

    “Trump just signed an EO releasing the JFK and MLK files. ”

    Gets mentioned in an internet search e.g

    “Trump declassifies JFK, RFK, Martin Luther King Jr assassination files”

    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/trump-declassifies-jfk-rfk-martin-luther-king-jr-assassination-files/ar-AA1xKxGw

    – On MSM sites but not showing on Hot Air, Gateway Pundit etc as yet

    NOW up at TGP

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/breaking-trump-signs-executive-order-declassify-jfk-mlk/

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  • #

    Whatever happened to Kony 2012? The Leftoids soon forgot about that one…

    Joseph Kony is still alive and his Lord’s Resistance Army is still operating.

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  • #

    My uncle says the architects got rid of the front porches because they didn’t look well. But my uncle says that was merely rationalizing it; the real reason, hidden underneath, might be they didn’t want people sitting like that, doing nothing, rocking, talking; that was the wrong kind of social life. People talked too much. And they had time to think. So they ran off with the porches. And the gardens, too. Not many gardens any more to sit around in. And look at the furniture. No rocking chairs any more. They’re too comfortable. Get people up and running around.

    ~Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

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