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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Ed Milibands energy plans derided by Tony Blair
https://www.express.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/2017395/ed-milibands-mad-green-prosperity
40
More of taxpayers’ money to be wasted – more quickly?!
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/uk-presents-plans-subsidy-reform-speed-up-green-energy-projects-2025-02-21/
“UK presents plans for subsidy reform to speed up green energy projects”
Summary –
“UK government wants to speed up green energy build-out;
Proposes changes to flagship support scheme;
Plans include extending contract length, relaxing criteria.”
Given the UK is already passing £12,000 Million a year of bill- and tax-payers’ money to Big Wind and Big Solar (& even Quite Big Biomass)
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2025/02/21/renewable-subsidies-set-to-top-12-billion-in-2024/#more-85831
for utterly unnecessary, even treasonous, reasons, this article is more than a little worrying.
“”Our bold new reforms will give developers the certainty they need to build clean energy in the UK, supporting our mission to become a clean energy superpower and bring down bills for good,” Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said.”
Paraphrase – “I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help you” . . .
Auto
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”Our bold new reforms will give developers the certainty they need to build clean energy in the UK, supporting our mission to become a clean energy superpower and bring down bills for good,” Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said.”
Could have straight from the mouths of onr of our idiot energy ministets in Oz. They all seem to have the same script writer.
Reforms =more money
Certainty = assured regular supply of more money
Build clean energy = pointless use of more money
Clean energy superpower = meaningless buzzphrase used to justify more money
Cheaper power = a delusion after adding cost and complexity
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Between Milliband and Reeves, UK sure got a ‘dream team’ there.
30
Look a bit further than those two into the Cabinet – it get’s even better: https://uk.yahoo.com/news/business-secretary-investigated-over-claims-133914746.html
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The sovereign risks of these projects is mounting.
Look at how rapidly the patriot movements of Jordon Peterson (ARC), Nigel Farage and others across Europe are advancing in the wake of the Trump landslide win. The current UK government has a limited use-by date. There is mounting community concern over cost of living and job prospects. Why should future governments in the UK honour the contracts for Climate grifters given that it is abundantly clear the weather dependent generation is hugely expensive.
It is easy to make substantial savings in the cost of electricity simply by turning off the subsidies. I would expect any political Party that campaigned on the promise to stop the theft from consumers through their energy bills would romp to victory.
We have had maybe 100 years of dire climate predictions and about 60 years of climate modelling to hone those predictions. None of the dire outcomes has eventuated. There its no acceleration in sea level rise. Aberdeen sea level is trending up at 0.78mm/yr and has been for the 160 year period of the record:
https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_station.shtml?id=170-011
Climate change has never stopped there is no acceleration. in sea level rise. 20,000 years ago, sea level was rising 40mm/yr and thousands of years. The current climate change is relatively benign. The next big step will be fall in sea level that will reach around 10mm/yr but centuries from now.
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He was obviously a brave man
https://www.yahoo.com/news/worlds-first-openly-gay-imam-122615285.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9nYXRlc29mdmllbm5hLm5ldC8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGgKav_3bHgAI6Fn-lZiP_oSuFXAmQfo_LWdNB0yVMgkCmjkbaFgRZlGA40SqurI8ZWWWTfT8LzwXCwNYrVxX6RPb1jafN84x_xQEKHSm1IKo1C21CPpXeIADZjhPqu-6PBH_19pxHei1O3yBGpDfxxHWB9RN6mFnCrFnMeF_Y5-
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It’s much nicer if one prunes the referrer fluff off links.
ie the “?” and everything after it
eg:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/worlds-first-openly-gay-imam-122615285.html
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Academics still reluctant to express non woke or right wing views
https://dailysceptic.org/2025/02/20/conservative-academics-are-still-self-censoring-says-new-report/
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Massive Green Battery Plant Catches On Fire Again Weeks After Major Toxic Blaze
Daily Caller News Foundation
Nick Pope
A massive California battery facility that caught fire and spewed toxic smoke in January caught on fire again Tuesday night, according to multiple reports.
Smoke was reported at the Vistra Battery Facility in Monterey County around 6:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday night, prompting local officials to urge residents to close doors and windows out of an abundance of caution for possible air quality issues, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. The same facility was the site of a massive blaze in January that kicked a large plume of black smoke over the surrounding area. Residents reported health problems in the immediate aftermath of the January fire.
…
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/02/20/massive-green-battery-plant-catches-on-fire-again-weeks-after-major-toxic-blaze/
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It’s for the planet
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…. ‘Assault, and Battery’.
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See a garbage truck’s CNG cylinders explode after lithium-ion battery fire
Firefighters saw flames shooting five feet into the air out the back of the truck, and they prepared to put the fire out using hoses and water. Four minutes after their arrival on scene, however, the garbage truck exploded in rather spectacular fashion, injuring several firefighters and police officers, damaging several homes in the vicinity, and scattering debris through the neighborhood.
Fire officials now believe that the whole incident began when a resident improperly disposed of a lithium-ion battery by placing it in a recycling bin.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/02/see-a-garbage-trucks-cng-cylinders-explode-after-lithium-ion-battery-fire/
Totally discharge batteries before disposal..
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CNG powered vehicles should be totally outlawed … everywhere.
Electric vehicles have their share of problems but CNG is an utter menace when you see the damage it can cause.
That won’t help. The battery has an internal management chip which will refuse to discharge the last 15% or there abouts. They don’t like being 100% discharged and it blocks attempts to do so. No lithium battery packs should ever go into the garbage … they can only go to special battery pickup locations.
Disposal is one of the main problems with these things but at least we now have some places to take them.
https://www.bunnings.com.au/diy-advice/home-improvement/sustainability-recycling/where-and-how-to-recycle-batteries
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Once again, attempts to be ‘green’ end in a lot of pollution and explosions and drama.
In Australia, the moment a garbage truck driver sees a fire, they dump the trucks contents on the road or a concrete pad if one is available nearby.
I wait until I have a least two batteries , then tape them together and run tape around the contacts, then dispose of them at the supermarket.
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‘Donald Trump secures historic first person of color to head FBI: an agency with checkered history in the persecution of people of color’
Link:
http/LOLaheadlineyouwillneverseeinmsm/nOt.EvA
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It’s not a link, even after correcting to https://
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No but it’s a hint. It’s an idea. Perhaps see it as an invitation to create that website. A creative person with a switched-on imagination could make something quite humorous.
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Hoot for Honk! +1
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For Honk? He already is a hoot!
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The Left are extremely racist against coloured people of a conservative disposition.
Look how they described Larry Elder when he ran for Governor of Commiefornia.
And look how they treat all black or coloured conservatives in general such as calling them “Uncle Toms”.
In fact, that motivated Larry Elder to make a film by that name:
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt9708358/
https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2021/09/larry-elder-uncle-tom-challenge-black-conservative-david-deavel.html
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They also have disdain for conservative women.
30
They really, really hate Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas.
20
I got subjected to a MSM cry fest today. Not by choice, mind you, but it was educational. They were besides themselves directing their spite at Republicans in Congress for not working to stop Trump. For decades spineless politicians with Rs behind their names have voted with the D’s effectively empowering the left’s radical agenda.
They expected more of the same. They expected like in 2017 that Trump would get not be able to to get his appointments confirmed, and that a combination of congressional/bureaucratic stonewalling, and litigation, would bog down the new administration, while the Swamp Vipers would inject the venom.
Something we never thought would happen is happening. We are seeing the death of the Uniparty.
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I must admit that I occasionally partake in watching the deluded morons exploding. And it is by choice. It is delicious to see how they behave at just the thought of Trump or Musk.
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“Starmer ‘will not challenge Trump on Ukraine comments’
PM ‘will not chase every comment, every statement’ in order to maintain good relations with US administration”
It’s quite amazing this has to be said out loud.
But Starmer and Millband seem to be driven by the same idiocy as Albanese and Bowen. They used to say this of one Victorian Premier, foot in mouth disease. He only opened his mouth to change feet.
And all insist that we will save the planet by buying more Chinese windmills and solar panels and transmission lines and destroying industry, farming and the environment. Even Tony Blair has called out the Green insanity as patently untrue.
So how did Starmer get his status as a barrister when he clearly cannot talk and chew gum at the same time?
And for Milliband and Bowen, how did such science ignorant people, worse, graduates in economics, get direct charge of science and the weather? There was a time that actual scientists and engineers advised ministers. Green energy? Wind power is Puff the magic dragon.
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Starmer was recently described as a ‘pound shop Tony Blair’
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Amazingly Trump is up against the Mexican government in trying to deal with Mexican drug cartels. The President of Mexico is going to change the Constitution to provide legal protection for their home grown drug businesses now declared as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.
I cannot imagine this will help negotiations over tariffs given so many US companies have moved manufacturing to Mexico. Clearly drug cartels have a direct line into government in a world where Mexico is often rated as the world’s most violent country apart from areas actually at war.
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Senator Gerrard Rennick posted this on Farcebook.
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So Dutton is now also an expert on Ukraine. Perhaps he could talk about other members of the Ukraine government and his actual experience in trade or foreign relations with Ukraine, the largest country in Europe? Other than Zelensky elected in 2019 and the figurehead and President for the last five years and apparently for life. Certainly as long as the war continues.
The war in Ukraine under Zelensky will soon pass the length of WWII, certainly the three and a half years the US was at war and the 5 1/2 years the UK and Australia were at war. The war itself has been raging for twenty years, even eleven years since the Crimea returned to being Russian after being gifted to Ukraine without explanation in 1956.
I despair with Dutton as with Morrison and Turnbull. Chasing the Green and Teal voters instead of making a principled stand against the Green/Labor/Communist policies of this government. Anti Israel and now anti American.
Dithering and quibbling seems to be official policy. And now making a principled stand against our only protector, the US even while Chinese war vessels conduct live fire exercises just 150km from Sydney. Whose side are we on? China?
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Crimea voted to in 1991 to join a independent Ukraine and this status was confirmed with Russia itself with the Budaprst agreement of 1994
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Kruschev ordered it. Elections? In Russia in 1956? Purely academic. Go there. See if you can find someone who supports or speaks Ukranian.
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Who said anything about any elections in 1956?
We are talking about 1991 and 1994
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You mean free and fair elections I presume. Really?
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The 1994 referendum in Crimea once again confirmed the people wanted more autonomy and thus did not want to be ruled over from Kyiv.
It was not independence … but it was a step in that direction.
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A minor detail – Putin himself confirmed it.
And of course he “owns his Word: yesterday gave it, today – took it back”
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Here is the Budapest agreement where the borders were agreed with Russia and the UK and the US agreed to use necessary means to protect it
https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-what-is-the-budapest-memorandum-and-why-has-russias-invasion-torn-it-up-178184
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Re: EU and ME situations difference.
Just before 8/10/23 Israel was close to civil war, at least what the media told us. Bibi was hanging to his chair by skin of his teeth.
Then, the greatest failure of his life happened but today he again has a chance to be re-elected.
He (& Israel) pooled out thanks to their own efforts, while the greatest backer was at times helping, other times – hindering…
Europe today is getting closer (according to media ) to falling apart. Will they remain united beyond Christmas ?
Their formal and real friend practically declared the war on them. Thankfully, unlike ME there are no hostages, no totally destroyed cities…
A common factor in two scenes of war:
Trump and Bibi both believe they could tame a crocodile.
In Australia this idea is not yet popular, thanks.
Bibi escaped, miraculously, wounded but alive.
Will Trump ?
30
Try researching the actual Budapest agreement.
All parties promised to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of the signatories.
The USA already violated political independence when Nuland and co. got involved in the coup at Maidan.
Worse than that, they were supporting extremist para-military groups such as Azov Brigade, and they had US and NATO guys in there training and equipping soldiers.
Another promise made was to “refrain from economic coercion designed to subordinate to their own interest the exercise by Ukraine, the Republic of Belarus and Kazakhstan of the rights inherent in its sovereignty and thus to secure advantages of any kind.”
Well the EU clearly used economic coercion … Sheesh that’s pretty much the whole purpose of the EU.
The Western powers were first to violate that agreement … they were supposed to keep their hands out of it and allow Ukrainians to stay neutral. That what lack of political interference and economic coercion means, don’t you know?
31
Long and detailed history, containing plenty of references and more than enough to prove the USA, and probably UK had violated their Budapest agreement at least by 2013 if not earlier.
https://www.conservapedia.com/Maidan_coup
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Crimea’s referendum in January 1991 was on a question of independence from the USSR … it absolutely was NOT an agreement to join independent Ukraine that’s total BS.
Indeed, it would have been impossible for the Crimean people to have voted to join an independent Ukraine … since Ukraine only achieved independence in August 1991, which was 7 months after the Ukraine referendum.
The Crimean parliament (not by vote of the people) declared Crimea to be part of Ukraine in September. There’s a detailed history recorded here.
https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20230521204858/https://www.refworld.org/docid/469f38ec2.html
More recently, two separate referendums in Crimea have indicated the people don’t want to be ruled by Kyiv anymore. They speak Russian … they don’t want to be forced to speak Ukrainian and most of them are loyal to Moscow and have been busy fighting on the side of Moscow.
If they ever do end up under the rule of Kyiv then Russian speakers will be severely punished so it’s all or nothing now. Forgot about compromise, they ain’t going to willingly submit to Kyiv.
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The “recent” referendums did not fulfill any of the criteria of free and fair and was held under conditions of coercion. Many had already fled when Russia invaded.
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>Whose side…China?
Apparently so, just like the previous US Administration.
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Yes.
It’s tragic.
Conservatives see Dutton as a great hope.
I just see him for what he is – slightly less bad than Green Labor and lacking moral clarity on any matter.
Supporters tell me to wait until after the election (assuming he is elected) to see his true policies. That’s not acceptable. He doesn’t need to hide them if they are based on reason, logic, science and basic human decency. The other day he wouldn’t even commit to altering the government’s definition of a woman, and of course, he is fanatically committed to Paris, even after TRUMP abandoned it.
https://www.familyfirstparty.org.au/dutton_walks_back_comments_on_gender
https://www.familyfirstparty.org.au/the_trump_non_effect_dutton_stays_in_paris_squibs_gender_question
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“Supporters tell me to wait until after the election (assuming he is elected) to see his true policies. That’s not acceptable. He doesn’t need to hide them if they are based on reason, logic, science and basic human decency. ”
In a nutshell! He’s just another lying weasel, a slimy politician with no morals, and will be absolutely no different to Albosleazy when in power.
…but people tell me democracy is a wonderful form of Govt..
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I don’t have a fakebook, would you have a link to that Rennick post David?
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Here it is.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15kNEaLbnx/
It may ask you to log on but you don’t have to and you should be able to view it without an account.
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Thank you
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…and now that Trump has given Zel the finger, Zel DEMANDS that the EU throw more money his way, and the UK is looking at conscription.
How many Zelensky lovers will reverse their stance once they’re up for conscription?
Armchair expert do-gooders won’t last long against battle hardened Russkies.
The war isn’t going away, it’s just regrouping.
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…and in breaking news, Zelensky agrees to Trump’s deal for $ billions in minerals and in return Trump will continue supplying military assistance, the originally requested $500B isn’t decided yet.
Putin won’t be happy.
The USA continues the war while pillaging Ukraine’s resources.
Politics…
/what would AI think?
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The best analogy I can think of is the Russia invaded Ukraine just like Australia invaded East Timor.
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A bit of a laugh. Modern money theory.
The power of the pound
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHxloLkMXeU
It doesn’t say how the UK running a trade deficit will pay for inward goods if those foreigners don’t want Pounds.
10
Letter I sent to my parliamentary “representative” four years ago.
To whom it may concern,
I am sick (as are others I know) of not receiving even the most basic courtesy of acknowledgement of receipt of emails.
Politicians are given ample personnel resources at substantial taxpayer expense for such obligations so lack of staff cannot be the issue.
I think xxxx simply doesn’t care. But re-election is never a certainty. If you don’t truly represent people or care about their opinions they could end up voting for someone else and very probably will.
Kind regards,
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Like they care.
They’re on the gravy train for life, even after politics…
20
A little example of the crisis of competence as it develops everywhere. Our roads authority in Victoria closed a highway that leads into the eastern half of Melbourne , for major roadworks. This highway is a major entry/exit gateway for trucks accessing the eastern half of Melbourne.
No consultation, no working with trucking companies and of course chaos ensues and large trucks including b doubles pushed onto side roads. Reportedly one person has been killed and the internet is awash with dashcam near misses.
After an uproar the road is being reopened and the work replanned and rescheduled for later in the year. They clearly had no clue what they we dealing with.
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And though road network is so lacking in any redundancy due to lack of road building over decades that just one lane closed in a major thoroughfare leads to chaos.
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You think it’s bad now, wait 20 years until the world is run by those who were homeschooled by wine mums.
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I am not convinced that the rest of the Western world is going to follow TRUMP’s lead in making government more efficient, moral, and more beneficial to working people rather than Leftist Elites / Deep State.
In fact, I think it is reacting by going in the opposite direction with even more spending of taxpayer funds and more restrictions of freedom such as on free speech.
The Left are mostly finished in America but elsewhere, they go stronger.
50
“The Left are mostly finished in America but elsewhere, they go stronger.”
So Trump boots out the latest million “refugees” back to the third world and has a million educated middle-class immigrants from Leftest countries in the West, all looking for freedom and capitalism.
Who wins here?
00
Possible, but the stupendous sums of money the US has been throwing around, including overseas, has implications for many nations including Australia. For instance, it seems that AP (Associated Press) – the largest international news agency – has been receiving lots of money from USAID, I assume in return for supporting the left wing globalist agenda. If that funding disappears, maybe their content will too … ?
Likewise all the money thrown at climate change. This too has been landing all over the world, whether to media or to AGW carpetbaggers and Chinese manufacturers of sunbeam collectors and eco-crucifixes. It has also funded climate change conferences and alarmist NGOs around the world. What will happen to those organisations? Could the AGW movement survive without those billions?
The ripples will spread far and wide. Leftist governments may struggle to enforce punitive, leftist policies on their citizens when a ‘free market’ America makes an economic resurgence and its citizens start to enjoy improvements in their quality of life (not least of which is – hopefully – their government getting out of their way and letting them tell jokes again). This WILL be noticed in the modern internet age.
20
The sheer stupidity of the concepts of “green steel” and “green aluminium” is difficult to comprehend.
They both need large amounts of inexpensive energy and this is not going to come from “green” sources.
Already steel and aluminium production in Australia has to be heavily subsidised. What’s the point?
Let’s stick to things we are good at. And these days, that’s not very much except (apart from destroying the economy which we excel at) for coffee shops which the chattering classes seem to enjoy, providing dumbed down “university” education for rich overseas students, digging up rocks and sending them overseas unprocessed, certain agricultural products, and providing lifelong welfare for some of the world’s most uneducated, violent and anti-Western people the Government is importing.
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How do we know where to dig, David ?
I’m so tired of that ignorant disdain for geoscience. It provides the core of the country’s wealth.
Along with any number of my colleagues, we’ve often wondered why we bother when this silly attitude is so widespread.
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The point I was making Ian is that beyond the use of geoscience to find minerals and the “winning of ore” we usually export minerals with minimal processing rather than refining them and making them into products, which of course is difficult or impossible without huge subsidies (e.g. steel and aluminium) due to Australia’s expensive “green” energy. And our feral unions don’t help either.
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I was quite surprised to find that we build diesel-electric locos , the big ones, 4,500 hp, in Broadmeadows in Newcastle, floored me actually.
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Someone recently said, Australia survives entirely on dirt — digging it up, or selling it as real estate.
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We’ve become a sheep station and a quarry, plus we sell overpriced coffee and real estate to each other.
11
Surely a majority of the readers here would qualify for a free “fast food” coffee with a “sandwich”
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You seem to be looking to be offended, its hard to see what you complain of in the post that triggered it. There are quite a few professions/disciplines that are vital but taken for granted.
00
I haven’t heard of the argument to stick to things we are good at for a while. It was all the rage during the era of economic rationalism. Was that during the Hawke/Keating era and the Button Plan for the destruction of Australian motor manufacturing 40 years ago.
The flaw is that if you go for cheap there will always be somebody cheaper. If you go for good there will always be somebody better. And if you are entirely rational you may as well sell up the shop and pack a tent.
The way forward is to get better at everything and to rely on self-advancement for motivation. Oh and for bonus points eliminate the dead weight of government wherever possible.
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“Oh and for bonus points eliminate the dead weight of government wherever possible.”
No! That’s the main one.. get rid of the rules and regulations that hold people back from starting or running a business. Let them hire and fire whoever they like on a daily basis, pay them what people will work for, and buy and sell as they want.
Of course to get this wildfire of economic growth you would have to do a Trump and fire most the snivel service, burning millions of pages of laws, and letting people go free to work as they want.
Well, that’s not going to happen, so back to the moribund Socialist State living on borrowed money until we can’t pay the interest…
40
Tropical cyclones will get bigger badder worser – except when they don’t.
https://tropical.atmos.colostate.edu/Realtime
We’re almost 2/3 through the Southern Hemisphere’s cyclone season and the Indian v Pacific basins are at complete odds with each other (reminiscent of ‘climate science’ itself).
The Indian Ocean has had 12 named storms, 7 cyclones and of those, 4 made it to Cat 3 (another 2 briefly reached Cat 3 but for less than a day). The ACE so far is almost 200% above a standard year.
The Pacific Ocean has had 4 named storms and no cyclones, none at all whatsoever, with ACE being a tiny 10% of standard amounts.
Combined (as per above link) the numbers are only just slightly above previous years – nothing outrageous, nothing scary, nothing to affect the ridiculous Doomsday Clock. Yet in the peak of high summer, on my birthday no less, CLIMATE™️ caused a decent dusting of snow to fall along the length of our Southern Alps – the very same mountains experts claim are melting and boiling and falling into the ocean (as mountains occasionally do).
Maybe the Coral Sea will kick into gear next week as a few lows are starting to form… there’s still two months to go… maybe we’ll have an Indian Summer linger on, which would be pleasant as ‘summer’ so far has been, meh, average.
60
Oops, try these:
https://tropical.atmos.colostate.edu/Realtime/index.php?loc=southpacific
https://tropical.atmos.colostate.edu/Realtime/index.php?loc=southernhemisphere
40
Thanks for the links Greg. The recent “huge” WA cyclone, after alarmist predictions of 320kmh winds, fizzled out when crossing the coast with only 130kmh winds causing little damage, apart from some trees toppling over in the rain-soaked ground.
20
Northern Australia is looking more like the Amazon with the ITCZ extending well down into the continent. That means the monsoonal low is extending across north to central Australia and keeps the atmospheric moist. The persistent hot, dry conditions over the continent of past summers is trending down. It is a serendipitous cycle of more rain begetting more growth begetting more transpiration begetting more rain.
This year has been drier then last but nothing like 5 or 6 years ago. In 2019 on this day, there was only a small region over NW Australia that had atmospheric moisture above 30mm. This year about 70% of the continent has more than 30mm of water above it.
Amazon has very few cyclones and Australia is trending that way.
https://nespclimate.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/A4_4pp_brochure_NESP_ESCC_Tropical_Cyclones_FINAL_Nov11_2019_WEB.pdf
Their models do not show them why but if you understand how convective potential forms then you know that land with high atmospheric moisture will form monsoon before the neighbouring oceans.
I was a little surprised the Zelia did a a hard turn toward the coast rather than tracking further south along the coast until it was feeding off drier air. But there was a enough warm dry air over the Pilbara to draw it in.
20
“The overall number of tropical cyclones recorded in the Australian region has decreased significantly in recent decades. The physical mechanisms behind this decrease are currently unknown, but are likely to be due to a combination of both natural variability and the changing climate.”
Apologies Mr. Will.
I follow the Climate issue from a cultural and political POV as I have dilettante understanding of the science.
Does that stop me … no.
I find the above quoted statement coma inducing.
Although it is certainly good, but not unexpected, to see the hysterical predictions of alarmists fail.
IMHO, one of the preeminent accomplishments of ‘Science’ in my life time, is hiring a good press agent.
And a successful carnival barker level sales force.
“Yes gentleman for only a few millions of dollars of grant money, this lady will almost take all her clothes off, pony up and we’ll let you in the tent, and if you don’t buy these tickets to see the almost naked lady we will ALL die.”
“There was a Big Bang … wait, no there wasn’t … we’ll be needing another few billions for another space telescope, and a bigger collider … trust us, we are on the cusp.”
And voila …
” …. but are likely to be due to a combination of both natural variability and the changing climate.”
Natural variability and changing climate?
Really?
Who knew?
I shall wait patiently to be informed as to the ‘natural’ non-human number of cyclones, floods, droughts and snow, so that I don’t need to offer my last dollars (under government and social elitist coercion), to see the naked lady.
Then I’ll have more time to worry about my cholesterol level and current status of coronavirus evolution which is totally zoonotic and not anthropogenic.
And I’m left to pin all my hopes on the other carnival barker … the Orange MAGA guy.
At this rate, we are never going to develop Warp Drive, attract the attention of the Vulcans, and be invited to join the Federation of Enlightened Planets.
Perhaps there is a Zefram Cochrane getting drunk somewhere, because the current system rejects those capable of original thought.
00
FWIW
“MedCram Covers LED vs Incandescent Health Issues
Posted on 21 February 2025 by E.M.Smith
Incandescent Bulbs are Health Helping, LEDs harm health – says The Doctor”
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2025/02/21/medcram-covers-led-vs-incandescent-health-issues/
30
ARE ELECTRIC AIRLINERS FEASIBLE?
With electric cars (EVs) now on the road, the question of electric air travel is raised occasionally.
Let’s look at what would be required to make the equivalent of the Airbus A380:
• The maximum take-off weight for the A380 is 569 tonnes.
• The maximum fuel load is 320,000 litres (jet-fuel) which weighs 278 tonnes.
• The specific energy of jet-fuel is 11.9 kW per kg.
• The specific energy of Lithium-ion battery is 0.243 kWh per kg.
• That’s a specific energy ratio of 49:1. A battery of equivalent energy storage is 49 times heavier.
• So, to build a battery with the same stored energy as the jet-fuel it would weigh 49 times 278 tonnes.
• That makes it 13,622 tonnes of battery.
• But the maximum take-off weight for the A380 is only 569 tonnes.
• The structure of the aircraft would not survive such a heavy load even just standing on the tarmac.
Until a battery technology is developed to match the energy density of jet-fuel there is no chance of an electric airliner.
Despite the enthusiasm of many activists, the prospect of an electric airliner anytime soon is nonsense.
140
Batteries can work for light Cessna sized aircraft if you only need an hours training or sightseeing, but the tech doesn’t scale up well.
50
All the photos I’ve seen of “battery-powered aircraft” are careful not to show that in realty, there is only the pilot, with the rest of the space filled with heavy batteries. And nobody mentions that the flights can only be very short.
Also I noticed that an air taxi design changed from four lift rotors to two swivelling rotors plus a short stubby wing, no doubt because the designers realised that their previous design wouldn’t work.
40
if a lithium-ion battery could be ignited, the hot gasses would be more than enough thrust to power a rocket motor…. 🙂
….just a matter of sorting the ignition timing and how to turn the motor off if necesarry
60
LOL
00
Even if the energy density was sufficient, it can not being converted into thrust efficiently. It is all about thrust to weight ratio, thrust to drag ratio, lift vs drag, lift vs gravity, and speed required to provide lift, dynamics. There’s nothing like a jet engine burning Jet A.
The very idea of battery powered aircraft is so silly it beggars belief.
And all because of a religious superstition involving co2.
Not to mention regressing 100 years in terms of safety and reliability.
There is nothing like being to a location in 45 minutes what would take 16 hours using ground transportation. (probably 3 days via EV.)
30
CLIMATE REALISM BY PAUL BURGESS
https://www.youtube.com/@ClimateRealism
Paul is a sensationally effective communicator on climate and energy issues. This very long video is a remarkable production, a whole course on the false ideas that drive the net zero crusade and the ways that it fails.
Take it up a section at a time.
The first few minutes are spellbinding, a beautiful introduction to the gas of life and then a cut to the sinister machinations of the World Economic Forum, like the rise to Marxist-Leninism, it starts with a gigantic lie.
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How perfect an example of psyops/brainwashing is the case of feminism? After being the standard bearer for women for a century, they turn on a dime to back men, and go berserk on anyone opposing them. Or is it just like feminists and Islam –‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’?
30
Here is the rational counter view from the other side. They do score some points that bare thinking about. Maybe Doge does need to do better! Is it just Elon’s power grab in order to save humanity from AI, by getting a colony on Mars? Someone hasn’t thought that through – if humans can get to Mars, I reckon AI would get there much easier. 13 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqnyXuou0Mo&t=68s
00
Apparently the EPA has made its recommendation on the endangerment finding but it has not been released to the public.
10
If Elon is the king of cyberspace and tech, the “e” world, that sort of makes him a God.
DOGE backwards is eGOD
Coincidence?
/grin
20
I prefer my great uncle’s expression of amazement –
“Eh! Gawd!”
11
I’m enjoying Musk’s involvement through DOGE, but I still see him as a loose cannon. I fear that he will embarrass Trump at some point.
00
“he will embarrass Trump ”
Is that possible?? Trump is pretty thick skinned, he can ride out anything.
10
Hebrew ‘El’ = god,
as in El Shaddai or Elohim or Elijah or Daniel.
Egyptian ‘On’ = sun,
or the temple/city of the sun worshippers.
Not that I think El/on is a sun god… in as much as ‘Solomon’ is an invented word meaning ‘sun sun sun’ in 3 different languages… it’s like magic.
20
Hooray, rare earth deal to end hostilities..
‘Zelensky told a nightly video address on Friday that teams of American and Ukrainian negotiators are working on a draft agreement, signaling an imminent deal.
‘This is an agreement that can strengthen our relations, and the key is to work out the details to ensure its effectiveness,’ he said. ‘I look forward to the outcome – a just result.’ (UK Mail)
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Why are “Turkish barbers”, who never seem to have any customers, popping up all over Once Great Britain?
https://youtu.be/rRKma6uK9D4
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I asked that very question when in my home town recently. A relative gave a three word answer – ‘Money laundering – drugs’.
40
Yep, they’re appearing in the country towns a day inland from Sydney.
A different set of people in them to the Turkish takeaways.
10
I was going to say, probably selling something else.
00
I went to A Turkish barber in Turkey once. He set my ears on fire. It was intetesting.
00
Pro EV article in the ABC today, where else? About an all electric ferry.
This is no ordinary ferry. What’s inside could transform shipping
Over the centuries ferries have evolved from using paddles to steam engines, to burning diesel and gas. Can the humble ferry go all electric?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-22/building-the-worlds-largest-electric-ferry/104894884
280 tonne of batteries, no thanks, thankfully not destined for use in AU. “It’s not just one big battery powering this ship, it’s more than 5,000 battery modules stacked together, weighing a total of 280 tonnes and delivering 43 megawatt hours.”
“As the world moves away from fossil fuels…” tell that to the USA.
60
43 megawatt hours? What does that translate to in terms of range, with a strong headwind and big swell?
Wait. Silly me. No doubt the electric ferries will be suspended when the weather isn’t cooperating and people who point out that the old diesel ships would still be running will have their social credit score reduced.
Our brave new world, folks!
20
And the name of the good ship lollipop? Lemme guess: TTTB?
The Ticking Time Bomb… made in Tasmania too.
20
There is a monster battery project in Queenslandistan comprising of 550 20ft shipping containers (equivalent) of batteries.
00
A recent battery article claimed that it could power 200,000 homes with 206 MW output. That’s about 1kW/ residence, but the Australian average residence daily consumption is 15kWh.
They were working on a two-hour storage, but I note the Bremer battery is using four hours.
No cost details? And claiming 25 years!
10
There’s a big one going in at Pub Lane in Greenbank.
https://www.csenergy.com.au/
00
President Milei presents Elon Musk with a chainsaw.
https://youtu.be/dLl1NCZ0j8E
10
FWIW
Worth remembering –
“BELMONT CLUB: The Arrival of Kash Patel. “What Rudi Dutschke failed to realize when he advocated the ‘long march through the institutions’ (German: der lange Marsch durch die Institutionen) was that the parasites would kill the institutions themselves.”
https://instapundit.com/704111/#disqus_thread
10
FWIW
“Here’s When Every Continent’s Population Will Peak This Century”
“Note: All figures are estimates.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/heres-when-every-continents-population-will-peak-century
00
FWIW –
“Blockbuster Yale Study: Millions Of Long COVID Patients Might Actually Be Vaccine Injured”
https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/blockbuster-yale-study-millions-long-covid-patients-might-have-been-misdiagnosed-and-are
ZH lead in – “NIH has poured $1.6 billion into Long COVID research, but little or nothing to study vaccine harms.”
20
And
“BOMBSHELL Study: COVID Shots Cripple Immune System — Possibly Permanently”
https://pjmedia.com/benbartee/2025/02/22/bombshell-study-covid-mrna-shots-cripple-immune-system-possibly-permanently-n4937227
20
https://sanityunleashed.substack.com/p/our-worst-fears-are-coming-true
If I imagine that the major part of the mortality had been caused by a variety of policy decisions I had made, the number one thing I’d want is for people to occupy themselves obsessing over the origin of the virus rather than the cause of the deaths.
Imagine that I was heavily involved in the “pandemic preparedness industry” – an industry siphoning billions out of the pockets of taxpayers into my chosen commercial interests. I wouldn’t be bothered about the origin story. Lab or natural – I can make a fortune either way.
20
Is the dash for occasional wind power risking UK energy security?
https://www.politico.eu/article/minister-met-chinese-turbine-company-amid-security-concerns/
“Britain’s investment minister met with China’s biggest offshore wind company last year, amid security fears about the role of Chinese firms in U.K. and European energy projects.”
Poppy Gustafsson is the Minister in question. She was a co-founder, with the late Mike Lynch, of Darktrace, a significant cyber-security outfit. It is to be hoped she know what she is doing – not a common characteristic of politicians in the UK in recent years, I fear.
And I wonder how up-to-speed she is on power engineering, Russian underwater capabilities, and wind droughts.
But hope springs eternal!
Auto
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Well, after reading Rob Campbell & Simplicious I get the feeling Trump will cosy up to Putin to stop the Ukranian war and to make Russia America’s ally in their war against China.
https://robcampbell.substack.com/p/ukraine-weekly-update-120
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/reports-of-ukraine-funding-freeze
00