Sunday

And the Southern Hemisphere steals the sun …

 

8.9 out of 10 based on 36 ratings

192 comments to Sunday

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      David Maddison

      Nothing that a large handout of cash won’t fix, I’m sure…

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        Peter C

        What the Treckers lack is a few Owen guns and some digger spirit.
        The Chokos did not get across the Kokoda trail without resistance.

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        • #
          Kalm Keith

          Is this topic a bit close to home?
          🙂

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            PeterPetrum

            Great KK. And. recent survey found that only 27% of 18-55yo would stay and fight if we were in risk of being invaded , never mind going to another country to protect ours!

            What have we become!

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              Paul Siebert

              PeterPetrum, #1.1.1.2.1,
              ____What exactly would we be defending Peter? Holes in the ground?
              They’re not ours; so we were given to understand back in 1975.

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              Bruce

              Amusingly enough, WHEN it comes to a shooting war, “escape” will be well nigh impossible by air or sea, and as always on this big island, by land.

              The downside to that is that, in the “run-up”, we will be “holding a nest of vipers to our breast” as the say in the classics.

              Isn’t modern “education” a wondrous thing?

              Such a situation will START with the rapid closing of escape routes and means, well before the bombs and bullets are let loose..

              One of the interesting tactics of the nazi “Blitzkrieg” operations was to panic the enemy civilian population and close roads, railways and waterways with them fleeing hither and yon, to thus impede timely and organized counter-attacks.

              Their cousins, the soviets did EXACTLY the same thing back at them later in the war. No “harm minimization” even considered. The same caper has been recycled in just about every “conflict” since, because it WORKS.

              Actual war is NOT a game of Tiddly-Winks, to be entered into lightly. And WHEN it comes, failure to act accordingly, will bring ignominious defeat.

              Another couple of “classics”:

              “You may not be interested in War, but WAR is very much interested in YOU.

              “Once is Happenstance,
              Twice is Coincidence,
              Thrice is Enemy Action”.

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            Ted1

            The chocolate Soldier till now has been at least one good song in a musical.

            But one of my mother’s brothers was there. Mum told me that he heard a click and looked to see a Jap in the tree above him, and shot him. The click would have been the Jap’s rifle failing to fire.

            Another brother was in Changi. a third at Darwin. While a cousin of my father won a MC at Kokoda I think. I can’t even remember the name he fought under. They gave him an anglo name because his surname was German.

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          Gob

          Not to be confused with the chokos described in https://www.yates.com.au/how-to-grow/choko/

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            Bruce

            The term “Chocco” refers to “Chocolate Soldiers”; a calculated insult meaning soldiers that melt in the “heat”. Remember that he Moscow-owned trade unions in Australia during WW2 referred to the Army types as “ten-bob a day murderers” at least until Operation Barbarossa, at which point, new “orders” changed the game a bit.

            It was interesting being an Oz Army reservist in the 70s and 80s. The stock barbs from early WW2 were dusted off for our ‘entertainment” Those of us still playing after the gutting of the system in the 1970s were not doing so because we “needed a job”, but to DO A JOB”. A VERY large proportion had parents and other relatives who had survived the Second Great Unpleasantness,so they had a few clues. Even more so, those who had WW1 survivors in their families.

            PEACE is a historical aberration. There is always some bastard who reckons their way is better, or they need your resources more than yo do, or that their political model / society is ‘better”. Or all of the above and more. There is NO absolute right to “peace”, sweetness and light, rainbows , etc

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              Philip

              I was shocked to find out recently, that Australian unions, making armaments, went on strike during ww2! Apparently, some American and Australia soldiers had to be restrained from physically attacking the strikers.

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  • #

    Always impressed by how slow the BoM can be to fix faults, or at least remove obviously wrong data.
    Take a look at the “5cm” soil temperature at Hay N.S.W.
    http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDN65176.shtml

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      David Maddison

      It’s all part of DEI. Failure is impossible. Make them all brain surgeons and rocket scientists. Well, at least they’ll be able to “identify” as such.

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      Broadie

      You don’t do that in New South Wales and then move to a remote location in Queensland.

      The NSW man involved in a shootout that left six people dead in Queensland had been a principal at Walgett Community College Primary School in the state’s north-west until the middle of last year, and had once been held in high regard by teachers and elders for his efforts to improve the school.

      Nathaniel Train left Walgett in August last year after suffering a massive heart attack at the school and being revived by staff, and people who knew him said his mental health deteriorated significantly after his departure. He had been missing since October.

      After he left, Train became frustrated at the way the school was being run and its failure to implement his changes. He complained to the NSW Ombudsman, One Nation MP Mark Latham and local MPs.

      [snip]

      There is an element of danger in attempting to and being successful at fixing the education system.
      You could become disenchanted.

      Another senior member of the community said elders had “total faith in him” as executive principal of the primary school. “He was wonderful. He was making some really important changes. We were supportive of him and trusted his intelligence. We hoped he would come back.”

      However, after he left, Train became frustrated at the school’s failure to continue implementing his reforms. He complained to the NSW Ombudsman and sent frequent, furious emails – often many within short periods – to senior NSW Education Department chiefs.

      [snip].

      10

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    tonyb

    “I don’t want to know” a walk with people who just don’t want to engage with the real world, whether politics or climate change

    https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/a-walk-with-the-dont-want-to-knows/

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      tonyb
      Yes. Many like that.
      But, perhaps, the new Labour (Socialist) Government may work a young miracle, and shake them.out of their (probably deserved) comfort.

      Whether enough are shaken, sufficiently, remains to be seen.
      But some folk I meet are aware of some of the problems with the climate scam …

      Perhaps …

      Auto

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        KP

        Many, Auto? I reckon nearly everyone! Most are taken in completely by the propaganda and as she says, will die happy believing the world was as they thought.

        Most of the rest have some feelings of unease about politics and politicians, recognise that there are big dangerous things below the waves beneath them, but still don’t want to have to give up the advantages of their lifestyle as a slave to tackle the real world on their own.

        There are very few who think about what is behind the events that shape the world, and even fewer within that group who can find out the reasons why. This is the troublesome group that the Govt will silence with their anti-realinformation bill.

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          el+gordo

          The Realinformation Bill won’t stifle free speech, even blatant propaganda, if its accompanied by a sharp critique in the same space.

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      Bushkid

      The “don’t want to knows” are dangerous and damned annoying.

      Plenty of them do know there’s something really stinky going on, but they just hope it won’t bother them in any nasty way. One I know even said straight out “Ignorance is bliss”! She knows full well that there’s nasty stuff happening and more going to happen, but doesn’t want to look at it in case it upsets her nice little life.

      Newsflash: It’s going to upset your life, whether you want it to or not. These folk are not going to leave anyone alone.

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    tonyb

    Another well researched study showing that covid has caused many deaths, including those from heart problems

    https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/urgent-a-stunning-new-paper-suggests

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    tonyb

    Brussels Mayor supports ethnic cola as it doesn’t support genocid*

    https://brusselssignal.eu/2024/09/brussels-mayor-prefers-salaam-cola-which-doesnt-support-genocide/

    With elections coming up and a very large ethnic population its clear whose votes he want to secure.

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  • #
    RicDre

    Tech Giant Secures Deal To Bring Back Reactor At Infamous Nuclear Power Plant

    From the DAILY CALLER

    Owen Klinsky
    Contributor

    A shuttered nuclear power plant with a checkered past will partially be coming back online after Microsoft obtained a deal to purchase energy from one of the plant’s reactors, according to a Friday press release.

    The 20-year power purchase agreement, which the tech giant secured with Constellation Energy, would bring back the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania — the site of a 1979 meltdown that resulted in a large-scale evacuation of nearby pregnant women and school-age children. The project aims to provide power for Microsoft data centers as tech companies push to expand electricity production to support their artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud storage needs, the release says.

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/09/21/tech-giant-secures-deal-to-bring-back-reactor-at-infamous-nuclear-power-plant/

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      Greg in NZ

      With AI [sic] bots performing most functions, providing plebs endless leisure time, surely a mandate will be passed whereby (for their own wellbeing) citizens must peddle stationary bicycles to assist generating energy (electrickery) for the ever-growing, ever-consuming data centres & surveillance cities… for the sake of the planet & the children. Forward!

      /stupid

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      David Maddison

      Indeed.

      These woke corporations that push “renewables” in all their propaganda are discovering that they can’t run data centres on solar and wind plantations and Unicorn flatulence.

      In fact, Amazon recently acquired a nuclear powered data centre that consumes a staggering 960MW.

      https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/aws-acquires-talens-nuclear-data-center-campus-in-pennsylvania/

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      Bruce

      Back in those grim days after the Three Mile Island “panic”, there was a song about it; “We Almost Lost Detroit”. by Gil Scott Herron. It featured on a double album (remember those?), subtly titled; “No Nukes”. In these “modern Times”, the less “charitable” out there may be thinking that “losing” Detroit doesn’t seem like such a bad idea..

      Lots of late 1970’s “hipster” musicians appeared, some are even still alive today; stinking rich and still telling the peasants what they should think and do..

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      Mike Jonas

      AI and data centres will get reliable power. Humans will not.

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        Philip

        AI and data centres will get reliable power. Humans will not.

        I agree Mike.

        And people are quite prepared to accept such a reality too. I’ve seen quite a few comments about, how nuclear supplies industry and solar provides domestic in their ideal world.

        People are starting to accept the idea of batteries on houses as a viable way forward too. It saddens me a bit but that is what I’m noticing.

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    Ireneusz Palmowski

    La Niña is already operating in northwestern Australia.
    https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/analysis/ocean/nino34.png

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      Sambar

      After the BoM had predicted a hotter than average and drier than average summer, the latest prediction in News.com is for a wetter and cooler than average summer. I suppose that if you put em bother together then divide by 2 we will possibly have an average summer.
      Is that even a thing these days?

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        el+gordo

        Over a season the temps often pan out to be average.

        BoM is forecasting a La Nina summer, cooler and wetter.

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        Vladimir

        IMHO.
        Still have not got an answer – why Max & Min temperature records are discussed at all ?
        What practical purpose it serves besides proving that sensors (transmitters, A/D converters…) becoming faster ?
        Wind speed is a totally different issue of course.
        For all technical needs, like building design, agriculture planning, etc,.. it would be better to have an average reading over set standard period, to be worked out by scientists and engineers. Old style glass thermometers had a natural averaging factor which also varied from type to type but no one was that hysterical about 0.1 – 0.2 degree last century.

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          el+gordo

          ‘ … why Max & Min temperature records are discussed at all ?’

          Its so they can work out whether the climate is changing, averages give the boffins the opportunity over a 30 year period to see if Australia is warming or cooling.

          We are highly critical of current data collection, leans to the warm side.

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      el+gordo

      BoM has La Nina on ‘Watch’, however some punters are saying the north western cloud band is rare for this time of year. Hinting at some other influence.

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        GlenM

        The 2nd rain event for parts of Kimberley and Top End. Unusual but definitely not unprecedented unlike the rain in Central Europa recently *cough*. Haven’t looked at sea anomalies to the NW of Australia lately but there must be some disturbance, most likely a trough.

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          el+gordo

          Not unprecedented but rare, like in South Africa at the moment.

          ‘An unusual snow and ice storm forced the closing of South Africa’s N3 highway at Van Reenen’s Pass, which connects Gauteng to KwaZulu-Natal, the nation’s two most populous provinces.

          ‘Blizzard conditions, including black ice and poor visibility, prompted disaster management teams to respond on Saturday.’ (Bloomberg)

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      el+gordo

      ‘The heaviest September rain in half a century has fallen over the Pilbara region of Western Australia overnight, with heavy rain still to come for a majority of Australia’s desert areas.’ (Weatherzone)

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  • #
    Skepticynic

    Japan Warns ‘Self-Amplifying mRNA Vaccines’ Will ‘Trigger Worldwide Disaster

    Leading experts in Japan have just put out an emergency global warning as the nation is about to roll out dangerous new “self-amplifying” Covid mRNA “vaccines” for public use.

    A group of scientists and a top Japanese lawmaker have just held a press conference to raise the alarm over the new “vaccines,” warning they will “trigger a worldwide disaster.”

    This new Covid sa-mRNA vaccine targeting was developed by Arcturus Therapeutics in partnership with Melbourne, Australia-based CSL.

    However, the approval of the experimental vaccines has been met with a widespread backlash from Japanese scientists and medical experts, who have already been sounding the alarm about the “traditional” mRNA injections.

    Citing a study published in Cell, scientists looked at how something similar to the replicon mRNA vaccine worked when put into cells.

    They found that the vaccine parts kept increasing inside the cells.

    Experts are warning that these self-replicating mRNA vaccines continue to replicate in an out-of-control manner throughout the cells and more of the body.

    Professor Dr. Seiji Kojima of Nagoya University also raised concerns about the new injections.

    “Compared to those who are unvaccinated, the mortality rate is five times higher if you get vaccinated twice,” Prof. Kojima warned.

    “The purpose of receiving vaccination is indeed to reduce the mortality rate, but ironically, the rate was five times higher after receiving the vaccine.”

    Professor Murakami of Tokyo Science University also expressed similar concerns.

    Link to article

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    • #
      Scissor

      Safe and effective.

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      KP

      ” in partnership with Melbourne, Australia-based CSL.”

      Once they have the replicon-blocking antidote they won’t even tell us they are about to release it. Its easier to jab the Socialist pyramid with the antidote as far down as you want people to survive, then stick the replicon into a few hundred people in hospital. Sit back and just see what the results are as it spreads, then back to the lab to refine the product and try again.

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  • #
    RicDre

    Equinor abandons ‘blue’ hydrogen plans

    From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

    By Paul Homewood

    Norwegian energy giant Equinor has scrapped plans to produce so-called blue hydrogen, citing high costs and insufficient demand.

    The move will raise concerns over Equinor’s plans in the UK, where it is heavily involved in a number of hydrogen projects.

    It had pledged to generate low-carbon hydrogen from natural gas, known as blue hydrogen, in combination with carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Norway. The hydrogen produced would then be exported to hydrogen-ready power plants in Germany.

    The project would have included building the world’s first offshore hydrogen pipeline.

    The problem for Equinor’s German project was that it could not find enough customers to buy the hydrogen it proposed to produce.

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/09/21/equinor-abandons-blue-hydrogen-plans/

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      David Maddison

      Since Australia adopts the failed ideas of others this will motivate the Government even more to mandate hydrogen.

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        Yarpos

        No doubt Bowen has us on track to become a hydrogen superpower. It’s all very exciting.

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        • #
          TdeF

          Where entrepreneur Albanese has sunk a billion of our dollars into a non existent Quantum computer. The new Medici. Unqualified would be businessmen with our money and no accountability.

          Their 35% CO2 tax is just a great idea. And no one talks about it. Imagine what that is doing just to airfares. Soon Qantas will not be viable. The question is how to get overseas airlines to pay the massive 35% fuel tax. To stop Global Warming.

          It also applies to all shipping within Australia. Food, fuel, goods, mining,.. 35% CO2 tax. The Safeguard Mechanism. Tens of billions of dollars to stop Global Warming, to be spent on growing trees apparently.

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      RickWill

      The move will raise concerns over Equinor’s plans in the UK, where it is heavily involved in a number of hydrogen projects.

      Why? Obviously Norwegiens lack the resolved to rob from consumers. There is no issue with that in the UK. UK consumers are being robbed from all directions by their sanctimonious betters in government. Only Denmark and Germany have higher electricity price than UK.

      There is a benefit to the sanctioned theft in the UK. The population cannot afford to eat as much. Severe obesity in males in the UK is levelling off around 3.5% of adult males. It I 3 times higher in the UK. The consumer theft in Australia is already turning the obesity trend in Australia.

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    David Maddison

    IGNORE THE LEFT

    You will eat the steaks, refuse insects.
    You will drive your petrol/gas guzzler.
    You will heat or cool your home.
    You will use cash.
    You will travel at your leisure.
    You will disobey the globalists.

    390

  • #
    RicDre

    Good News:

    Irish Government Drops Draconian Hate Speech Legislation After Backlash

    by Kurt Zindulka21
    Sep 202452 3:54

    The Irish government has abandoned plans to implement controversial new hate speech laws following widespread backlash from free speech advocates.

    Justice Minister Helen McEntee confirmed on Saturday that Dublin will drop new hate speech provisions in the proposed Criminal Justice Bill, admitting that the “incitement to hatred” section of the legislation did “not have a consensus,” the Irish Times reports.

    Critics of the speech restrictions have noted that the government failed to actually define what constitutes “hate” and therefore the law would have given broad powers to the state to crush dissent. The scope of the draconian powers would have even included jailing people for up to two years for merely “possessing material likely to incite violence or hatred against persons on account of their protected characteristics.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2024/09/21/massive-victory-irish-government-drops-draconian-hate-speech-legislation-after-backlash/

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    David Maddison

    Someone I know is job hunting and they said that for many, if not all Victorian Government public service jobs, vaccination with covid experimental “vaccines” is mandatory.

    It certainly applies to all healthcare workers.

    https://www.health.vic.gov.au/immunisation/vaccination-for-healthcare-workers

    But why “vaccinate” with something that doesn’t actually prevent you giving or receiving the disease and is harmful in many cases?

    There is an incredible amount of Government misinformation and disinformation about covid. Some Government lies and mis/disinformation are covered in my submission against Australia’s proposed censorship legislation, currently before the Senate.

    This is my submission about the censorship bill.

    https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/acma2023-31735-david-s-maddison.pdf

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      Tel

      It’s not about the vax … they simply want to ensure they hire obedient people who never think for themselves and don’t have a single original idea.

      I notice that the government is astutely ignoring all of the submissions from their so called “public consultation” … in other words, they were never interested in your opinion and they fully intend to barge ahead no matter what. The whole point of the legislation is to rid themselves of your opinion.

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      • #
        KP

        ” in other words, they were never interested in your opinion”

        Oh yes they are, those public consultations give them a great list of troublemakers they mark for future action!

        “and they fully intend to barge ahead no matter what.”

        Yep, very rarely do their desires get delayed, as in Ireland. They just label other opinions ‘populist’ or ‘racist’ or nimbys’ and set one part of the public fighting another.

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      John Michelmore

      David, Well done with your submission.

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        David Maddison

        Thanks John.

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          John Michelmore

          My real concern is whether the powers that be take any notice of our submissions, or are they just a mechanism whereby we think we have had our say and they make little difference to the course of legislation.

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            Muzza

            It is a bit like voting – we vote for someone hoping that their expressed policies will be implemented after election, only to find they do as they please instead.

            30

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      Sambar

      Does having the vax require proof or is it like aboriginally, just tick a box?

      100

    • #
      OldOzzie

      ‘Read the bill’: Communications Minister Michelle Rowland hits back at critics of bill targeting social media misinformation

      Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has hit back at criticism of the Albanese government’s proposed online misinformation laws, pointing out the Coalition has also committed to tackle miss and disinformation and they “can’t have it both ways”.

      Patrick Hannaford Sky News Digital Reporter

      The bill is based on an earlier draft proposal that was abandoned last November, with the government claiming the revised legislation had been changed to “carefully balance” combatting “seriously harmful misinformation and disinformation” with the need for “freedom of expression”.

      But the revised proposal has already come under intense criticism, with shadow communications minister David Coleman eviscerating the legislation in comments that all but confirmed the opposition would oppose the bill.

      Like the previous draft bill, the government’s proposal would empower the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to impose massive fines – up to five per cent of global revenue – on social media platforms that fail to adequately crack down on misinformation and disinformation on their platforms.

      ACMA will also be given new powers to approve enforceable industry codes for dealing with misinformation and disinformation, or make standards itself, if it deems platforms have failed to address the issue through self-regulation.

      “This is a matter that goes to the conduct of the platforms and their systems and processes,” Minister Rowland said.

      However, the Coalition are not the only ones to have taken aim at the government’s revised misinformation proposal, with free speech advocates slamming the bill as a “chilling assault” on freedom of speech that could capture “any difference of opinion”.

      The revised bill sets out to limit the scope of what would be captured to content that is “verifiable as false, misleading or deceptive” and “reasonably likely to cause or contribute to serious harm,” but according to the Free Speech Union of Australia this definition is “as clear as mud”.

      “Despite the outpouring of public concern last time around, the Government has still failed to address the key issues with it,” Free Speech Union of Australia Co-Director Dr Reuben Kirkham said.

      An analysis of the bill by the Institute of Public Affairs also claims the new definition of “serious harm” has actually been broadened and could now potentially capture “any difference of opinion”.

      From the 44 Comments so far!

      – How about the government’s power reduction of $275? That is disinformation first class!!

      – Liebor lie & can NEVER be trusted.

      – I thought we lived in Australia, a democratic country. Not under communism like China, Russia etc.

      – Should be renamed Goodbye Freedoms Bill.

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        David of Cooyal in Oz

        “Read the bill” says the minister to the opposition. I wonder if she’s said that to her cohorts in the government?

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    David Maddison

    Remember, as Australia descends further into a dictatorship, it is on the agenda to link your social media posts to you digital person number or other forms of ID.

    https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/australia-considers-social-media/

    This was first proposed by the Liberal faction of the Uniparty in 2021. The e Safety Commissar who oversees censorship is also an invention of that faction. Indeed, the current mis/disinformation censorship legislation currently before the Senate is also from them but now being pushed by their comrades in the Labor faction of the Uniparty.

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      another ian

      Bumped from Saturday #35.4.1

      ““As a last note, Russia has published its official list of Western countries deemed to be imposing destructive neoliberal ideologies from which Russia will accept emigres or ideological refugees and asylum seekers into their new expedited residency program:”

      Oz makes the list”

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      KP

      Ah, I see it is all to curb our “errant behaviour”.. Now, which SciFi dystopia used that sort of language?? More importantly, what sort of person is behind this legislation when they think like that!

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    • #
      wal1957

      About 70% of the population will still vote for the uniparty.
      Insanity.

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        el+gordo

        Our elected representatives form into groups to ensure stability, there are factions and parties form.

        The uniparty concept is unreal, the majors are striving for the most votes to become government, its our Westminster system.

        In other democratic countries like Germany there is no uniparty, government is nobbled together after the election.

        The Senate (this unelected swill) gives the people some confidence that our system is working and our voices heard.

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        Hanrahan

        The corollary is that voting as part of the 30% and expecting change is insanity. You are with the greens and teals. You can tell a man by the company he keeps.

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        • #
          wal1957

          how about this…
          The corollary is that voting for the liberals or labor and expecting change is insanity.

          If the 70% remain loyal to the two majors nothing will change.

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    David Maddison

    One of the most misquoted ideas about Australia is the idea that it is “the lucky country”. If it ever was, it certainly is no longer the case and Donald Horne, from whom the quote comes never meant that.

    He wrote in 1964:

    Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck. It lives on other people’s ideas, and, although its ordinary people are adaptable, most of its leaders (in all fields) so lack curiosity about the events that surround them that they are often taken by surprise.

    He clarified in 1976:

    When I invented the phrase in 1964 to describe Australia, I said: ‘Australia is a lucky country run by second rate people who share its luck.’ I didn’t mean that it had a lot of material resources … I had in mind the idea of Australia as a [British] derived society whose prosperity in the great age of manufacturing came from the luck of its historical origins … In the lucky style we have never ‘earned’ our democracy. We simply went along with some British habits.

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      Scissor

      I’d settle for second rate leaders. Ours are third rate and corrupt to boot.

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      Yarpos

      I’d counter that the use of these words is not about forever referencing Donald Horn. I would happily say that Australia is indeed a lucky country in many ways and we are privileged to live here. Best of all, if we dont like it, we are free to leave.

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      • #
        KP

        “Best of all, if we dont like it, we are free to leave.”.. unless there is the bi-annual pandemic on..

        The Lucky Country describes a country where you are lucky to survive the day without getting bitten/stung/slashed/generally killed by a large assortment of deadly spiders, snakes, ants, wasps, and crocodiles!

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          Graeme No.3

          KP:
          You missed out Greens (some of which are disguised as Teals), Public Servants, and sharks (some of which are disguised as politicians).

          40

      • #
        MeAgain

        Except when there is a public health emergency. Then you require permission of the government to leave. Or whatever emergency. When you try to leave, you are also surprised at how most other countries don’t want you.

        50

        • #
          yarpos

          Oh good grief , lets try and think about the last couple hundred years and what we can do, not obsess about a couple of years and what couldnt be done then, which is in fact in the past and doesn’t limit you today.

          Other country options really depend more on your personal situation. If you are a potential drain then many wont want you , if you are self sufficient many do.

          10

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            Muzza

            Those ‘couple of years’ was merely a test run in authoritarian control. The next one is just around the corner………..

            40

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      el+gordo

      I was a student of Donald Horne and he gave me the impression that we are lucky because of our natural resources, but our politicians leave a lot to be desired. His background was in journalism and was a staunch supporter of the left.

      40

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    David Maddison

    Australia is not the only country with censorship problems. Australia adopts the worst policies of others so may be looking to developing country Brazil for inspiration.

    This is from a Rebel News newsletter.

    Brazil is South America’s largest country with more than 200 million people. Until the 1980s it was a military dictatorship. But as of late, the people of Brazil have once again been confronted with an incredibly hostile government threatening their freedom of speech.

    Their president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, often referred to as “Lula”, is an ally of Iran, China and Cuba. And he’s been importing their censorship policies into the country with the help of a crusading judge named Alexandre de Moraes, who has been censoring Lula’s political opponents in secret trials.

    But he’s also been censoring the people of Brazil, too, by banning Elon Musk’s entire social media app, X, and free speech platform, Rumble, both of which we rely on to report the other side of the story.

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    Skepticynic

    The Jewish Sponsors of Palestinian Activism

    https://m.jpost.com/opinion/article-817020

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      TdeF

      Very rich chickens support KFC!

      Gays/Transvestites for Palestine!

      Ditto with the New York Times which is the most anti semitic major paper in America. And historically run by the Jewish Sulzberger family. It is amazing that most Jews oppose Israel and Trump.

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    David Maddison

    This is a worry and it looks like it might become another case of “get woke, go broke”.

    I have hundreds, probably thousands, of books and keep them in 38 Ikea Billy book cases.

    I just discovered that Ikea is changing the design and materials of these book cases to “save the planet”. This means the new book cases will not match my old ones as I buy more.

    I just purchased another which is of the old design so the new changes haven’t taken effect yet, at least not in Australia.

    https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/lifestyle/a40091982/ikea-billy-bookcase-relaunch/

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      Yarpos

      Changing Billy bookcases?! I’m outraged!

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      Strop

      Is there a particular theme in your collection / library?

      If you’re passing through the Castlemaine area, have a stop in at Book Heaven at Campbells Creek. Secondhand dealer with permanent “50% off” road signs to attract the passing tourists.

      Not much of a Web site. But has basic info such as hours, address, phone if you’re on the lookout for a particular book.
      https://book-heaven.edan.io/

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        Skepticynic

        >Book Heaven at Campbells Creek

        My stomping ground.
        This shop is owned by the guy who ran the Whole Earth Bookshop at the top of Bourke Street so many years ago. A lifelong bibliophile.

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        Graeme4

        It’s interesting that many small country bookshops in the U.S. have their books listed on Amazon. I’ve acquired some old Australian historical books from these sources. It’s a pity that Australian country bookshops don’t offer the same service.

        40

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    Skepticynic

    Problems with the environmental persistence of PFAS

    Estimated scale of costs to remove PFAS from the environment at current emission rates

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969724007861

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    Penguinite

    https://www.zerohedge.com/weather/msm-journos-inadvertently-reveal-shocking-truth-about-global-warming

    Since 1993 Al Gore has issued the same catastrophic press release “we only have 10 years to save the planet” every 10 years! The most recent edition was 2022 In fact global temperatures are cooling!

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    another ian

    FWIW

    “Three Mile Island nuclear plant to restart for Microsoft”

    https://archive.is/4uVKz#selection-1427.0-1427.56

    Instapundit lead in to the story

    “WELL, OKAY; BUT I HOPE IT’S NOT RUNNING ON WINDOWS ME”

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    OldOzzie

    ‘I’ve never seen this class of people’: mortgage burden approaching 1990s pain

    MACKENZIE SCOTT

    Homeowners are feeling similar mortgage repayment pressure to baby boomers who paid 17.5 per cent interest in 1990, as housing ­affordability slumps to the worst levels on record.

    Housing research group PropTrack’s annual Housing Affordability Index reveals the worst conditions for homebuyers on record as continued property price increases and decade-high interest rates remain stubborn.

    The analysis found that a ­median-income household earning $112,000 annually could afford only 14 per cent of all the homes sold last financial year, the smallest share since records began in the 1994-95 financial year.

    Just three years ago, the same household could have comfortably purchased 43 per cent of houses or units.

    Property prices rose 6.6 per cent nationally over the year to June, the equivalent of a $50,000 increase. The average first-home buyer household now must set aside a fifth of their income for 5.6 years to save a standard 20 per cent deposit for the median home.

    PropTrack economist Angus Moore said despite interest rates being well below the 17 per cent paid by baby boomers in 1989 and 1990, the amount of debt today’s home loan generation is taking on means the repayment burden is ­almost comparable.

    “Debt burdens relative to income are a lot higher today than they used to be, so you don’t need as high mortgage rates before mortgage repayments become similarly burdensome,” he said.

    “So, we’re on par with the last period of challenging affordability in 2008 and mortgage repayments today are only a little bit below what they were in the late 1980s and early ’90s as a share of income.”

    Low-income households are effectively locked out of the market, able to buy three in 100 homes.

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      OldOzzie

      PropTrack report shows housing affordability at record low with median-income households able to afford just 14 per cent of houses

      A new report has painted a bleak picture for Australians wanting to own a home with housing affordability at a record low.

      Gemma Crotty Sky News Digital Reporter

      https://www.proptrack.com.au/insights-hub/proptrack-home-price-index-august-2024/

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        Earl

        Here in my little pocket of Brizvegas the B&D approach to home purchase continues. Two properties within a 4-street radius of home recently B (for bought) were immediately D’d (for demolished). One of the cleared sections still has the real estate sign/sold tag out front, the demolition was so fast.

        According to AI demolition costs associated with clearing a Brisbane house are put at $10k-$15k with average 3 bedroom around $17k ($40-$65 per square metre). If asbestos involved, then add further $2k-$20k and finally town planning and council permits could add further $6k-$8k.

        Safe to say majority of first home buyers purchase to live in and progressively renovate. Equally majority of individual investors buy to immediately rent out and get return. The B&D mob surely aren’t corporations – other recent B&Ds in area have resulted in 1 new house or split section 2 houses ie no apartment complex – so who are they?.

        Clearly well-heeled individuals given purchase cost/demolition cost/building cost who aren’t in a hurry (need) to move in anytime soon and not concerned at any ripple effect of their quite legitimate actions.

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          KP

          “Clearly well-heeled individuals given purchase cost/demolition cost/building cost who aren’t in a hurry (need) to move in anytime soon and not concerned at any ripple effect of their quite legitimate actions.”

          It is a side-effect of Council regulations, often some are quite amusing. People will buy a property, cut down the trees and then apply to do something that needs a DA, as once the DA is in there may be environmental concerns that would block the development if there were trees there.

          Other than that, just the time and money in getting an expensive environmental report done, making sure there are no ancient burial places or just waiting for a DA approval means nothing happens fast. The threat of new Council regulations also means it is safer to have an empty section now rather than have some old shack considered a historic place in the future.

          Overall I’d say the fact young people can’t afford homes says more about the long-term effect of Govt politics than anything else. We used to have one person in a marriage working and that bought up a family… what has changed? We are not short of land for building on, we have most things in society being cheaper due to better factories overseas, we have more jobs than ever… the only things that have changed are Govt regulations and costs. Maybe the Reserve Bank was not a good idea..

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            Earl

            Indeed the place we had when we first moved was close to a very sizeable block but with a bit of a slope and covered in trees. There were 3 or 4 donkeys on it which made walking to the bus or during the weekend quite unique when they started braying. Around 2000/01 the trees suddenly went as did the donkeys and a mass of units went in. Found out later from a neighbor that having the donkeys apparently gave it “rural” status and rates were lower. Cheers.

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          Tel

          Sometimes rebuilding is cheaper than trying to renovate … especially if you have a family and need a workable house to live in.

          For example, if the wiring is old, quite likely none of it will pass inspection … therefore to bring the house up to code requires all of the wiring to be replaced. Same problem can happen with the bathroom because modern standards demand certain airflow and rapid drying to avoid mould … older houses, especially where various extensions have been done … can have one of these perpetually damp bathrooms but you can’t move it around to a better position.

          Then there’s asbestos … yes it costs extra for removal but you try renovating around asbestos in place … the tradies take one look and wave goodbye, they won’t even drill a hole because if they do then all their insurance and OH&S instantly becomes void.

          Then there’s paperwork … council wants the easiest job possible and they approve exactly the cookie-cutter plan … but don’t give them anything complicated. Besides that, with old houses you just know at least some part of the existing house probably never got the full paperwork … if it was done 30 years ago. Then they are just as likely to force you to demolish that.

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    another ian

    FWIW

    “Y2Kyoto: Our Fevered Planet”

    “Via @zerohedge – A funny thing happened as the WaPo tried to map out half a billion years of global temperatures and the “disaster of global warming””

    https://x.com/zerohedge/status/1837129533947867555

    Via https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2024/09/20/y2kyoto-our-fevered-planet-2/

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    another ian

    FWIW – Big Pharma trials

    “Follow The Science”

    “Follow the money: Clinical trial ‘guinea pigs’ say they’re incentivized to lie”

    “Private companies in Canada are recruiting thousands of often economically desperate test subjects each year, using incentives that some experts say are both exploitative and push participants to lie.”

    https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2024/09/21/follow-the-science-12/

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    YYY Guy

    Every time you turn around there’s anew bureaucracy –

    Monday 9 September 2024
    First Nations Arts is proud to welcome the appointments announced today by the Honourable Tony Burke, MP, Minister for the Arts, to the inaugural First Nations Board. Read more here.
    Thursday 4 July 2024
    New legislation passed by Parliament today establishes First Nations Arts, recognising the crucial place of First Nations stories at the centre of Australia’s arts and culture.

    Some board members –
    Proud

    Prouder

    Prouderer

    Even more proud

    Even more prouderer

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      Sambar

      All mixed race “proudies”. All taking full advantage of what at least one of those races has provided. ( possibly the melanin deprived one)

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    YYY Guy

    All part of a giant bureaucracy, proving that arts doesn’t make a quid – Creative Australia
    Now, sit down, take your blood pressure pills and have a scroll for the grants
    I’m trying to pick a favourite but there are so many to choose from –

    Vulcana Womens Circus Inc Community Arts and Cultural Development $400,000 Queensland GRIFFITH

    Diversity Arts Australia (DARTS) $1,680,000 New South Wales PARRAMATTA

    Womens Circus Limited $300,000 Victoria MARIBYRNONG

    Maybe it’s just me but without these grants unemployment would be at 50%.

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      KP

      Arts are just like sports and business, Govt have no right to poke their nose in and pick winners! It always leads to a distortion of the natural market and costs the taxpayers dearly.

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    OldOzzie

    This Is the Most Deliciously Devious Part About Israel’s Exploding Pager Attacks

    Victoria Taft

    As a spy thriller fan, I love reading about the clever gadgets the good guys use to vanquish the bad guys, which is why I’ve been fascinated by the story of Hezbollah’s deadly exploding pagers.

    How did Israel pull this off? Was it really Israel who did this? This attack is even more exacting than the exploding bed at the Iranian “safe” house.

    Now we’re learning more details of the attacks, and they’re as impressive as they are diabolical.

    Three thousand beepers exploded this week, killing a bunch of Hezbollah terrorists and some innocents. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon lost an eye in the attack.

    After that attack, Hezbollah began using walkie-talkies, and they exploded.

    When the terrorists decided to meet in person in Lebanon Friday, someone bombed the meeting.

    This was the reported breakdown of the casualties.

    Dr. Eli David@DrEliDavid

    🚨 Breaking: According to a leaked document from Hezbollah intelligence, 879 died in pager explosions, out of which 291 senior commanders. 509 were blinded, and 1735 “injured in their reproductive organs”, out of which 906 “total damage” and 613 “permanent function damage” 👇

    I guess some of the guys who lived won’t have the balls to reproduce and taint humanity’s gene pool anymore.

    When you start feeling sorry for these guys, just remember what their Hamas buddies did to families, babies, and women on October 7, and then you’ll snap right out of it.

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    OldOzzie

    The Week in Pictures: Paging All Cats!

    Just when you thought it looked like the Week of Cat Memes was going easily to the top of the box office charts for a second week, along comes Operation Grim Beeper to knock it out of the top spot instantly.

    OGB surely has to rank in the top five schadenfreude moments of all time. One thing we know about radical Isl@mic culture is that they hate being humiliated more than being defeated or even killed. (I like the Sexy Goat/Bomb/Trigger)

    I’ll bet they’re really mad now! But not to worry—we aren’t done with cat memes just yet. In fact, maybe we can find a way to combine them.

    And oh yeah—I almost forgot: Someone tried to shoot Trump this week. Again.

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    OldOzzie

    ‘Massive Victory’ — Irish Government Drops Draconian Hate Speech Legislation After Backlash

    The Irish government has abandoned plans to implement controversial new hate speech laws following widespread backlash from free speech advocates.

    Justice Minister Helen McEntee confirmed on Saturday that Dublin will drop new hate speech provisions in the proposed Criminal Justice Bill, admitting that the “incitement to hatred” section of the legislation did “not have a consensus,” the Irish Times reports.

    Critics of the speech restrictions have noted that the government failed to actually define what constitutes “hate” and therefore the law would have given broad powers to the state to crush dissent. The scope of the draconian powers would have even included jailing people for up to two years for merely “possessing material likely to incite violence or hatred against persons on account of their protected characteristics.”

    Those convicted for “incitement to violence or hatred against persons on account of their protected characteristics” would have faced up to five years in prison.

    Proponents of implementing fresh hate speech restrictions have argued that it is necessary for the “common good“, with many citing growing tensions and outbursts of violence against the government’s mass migration agenda, which has radically changed the demographics of Ireland and has put significant strains on public resources.

    The decision to scrap the hate speech provision has been hailed as a victory for liberty throughout the West in general. American professor Michael Shellenberger described the turn of events as a “massive Free Speech Victory,” adding: “This is wonderful news that gives us momentum to beat back totalitarianism worldwide!”

    The populist Irish Freedom Party said in a statement: “The Govt has strangled anti-free speech legislation after the Irish Freedom Party has helped lead the campaign against the draconian measure since 2019.

    It’s good to get a result, but we need to get rid of all those politicos who want to restrict our freedoms. Vote them out.”

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    John Connor II

    Scientists discover a ‘third state’ beyond life and death – in breakthrough that could ‘redefine legal death’

    According to the researchers, the third state is where the cells of a dead organism continue to function after the organism’s death.

    Amazingly, after the organism’s demise, its cells are gaining new capabilities that they did not possess in life, the biologists say.

    If more experiments with the cells from dead animals – including humans – show they can enter the third state, they could ‘redefine legal death’.

    ‘Certain cells – when provided with nutrients, oxygen, bioelectricity or biochemical cues – have the capacity to transform into multicellular organisms with new functions after death.’

    The team conducted a review of recent studies that investigated the remarkable capability of cells to exist in new forms after an organism has died.

    In 2021, researchers in the US found that skin cells from dead frogs were able to adapt to a petri dish in a lab, spontaneously reorganizing into multicellular organisms called ‘xenobots’.

    These organisms showed behaviours beyond their original biological roles – by using their cilia – small, hair-like structures – to move through surroundings.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13855093/Scientists-discover-state-life-death.html

    They’re called zombies.

    Maybe a soecial post on the 4th state? 😉

    30

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    another ian

    FWIW

    “Amid Brazil’s battle to muzzle Musk’s X, Elon eyes tech triumph in free-speech wars”

    https://nypost.com/2024/09/19/opinion/censors-won-in-brazil-but-free-speech-may-triumph-via-tech/

    Via Instapundit

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      KP

      “Under Article 19 of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom . . . to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.””

      Pretty well explains everything about the UN and individual Govt’s attitude towards it- All the fancy words are talked the UN General Assembly, all the high moral ideas of free speech… and then completely ignored outside the UN building in New York! Alongside that is the pathetic stance of the UN itself, crucifying us for going outside in Covid times but not doing anything at all about enforcing Article 19.

      I’ll print that and give it to the ‘Agents’ when they come, lets see if it makes any difference.

      Certainly a new definition of tyrannies, I never expected to live in one!

      30

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    OldOzzie

    MSM Journos Inadvertently Reveal Shocking Truth About Global Warming

    In recent years, particularly around mid-July (the peak of the Northern Hemisphere summer), there has been a noticeable surge in headlines featuring the “hottest day” ever on record in corporate media outlets – which is of course pushed by climate alarmist journalists citing questionable studies.

    This timing coincides with hot weather, so naturally, it’s quite convincing to persuade readers that the world’s oceans are boiling and planet Earth will ignite into a fireball unless drastic actions are taken – such as more climate taxes, ‘carbon credits,’ banning cow f@rts, prohibiting new petrol-powered vehicle sales by X date, and pushing spending bills to procure more solar panels from China, to save the planet.

    The problem is that corporate media only focuses on recent history – and not “in context” (as they love to say). Context is particularly important when it comes to climate change – as their narrative collapses when looking at a long enough timeline.

    To wit… a funny thing happened when the Washington Post tried to map out half a billion years of global temperatures and the “disaster of global warming” …

    WaPo journalists cited a new study about Earth’s global surface temperatures over the last 485 million years. In 2023, Earth’s average temperature reached 58.96 F (14.98 C), well below the average 96.8 degrees F (36 degrees Celsius) the study showed around 100 million years ago.

    The trend shows Earth’s temperatures have been sliding for 50 million years.

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      OldOzzie

      Elections Matter to U.N. Climate Negotiations

      No matter how big China’s economy becomes and how outsized Russia’s influence on geopolitics has grown, the United States is still the straw that stirs the drink on climate policy.

      An article published in the Japan Times about uncertainty concerning the outcome of the U.S. elections has brought the pre-conference negotiations and planning that usually take place in the runup to the U.N.’s annual climate extravaganza, the U.N. Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change, to a virtual standstill. COP 29, to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, is less than two months away, but despite the overall theme of “climate finance” having long been agreed to, normal discussions of topics and the framework language for the finance agreement has stalled.

      Negotiations have gotten bogged down, in large part because the payor countries are uncertain what the United States will do if Donald Trump is reelected president.

      The United Nations and most developing countries have argued over the years that the United States, as the biggest source of historical carbon dioxide emissions, should pay the most for climate reparations, mitigation, and adaptation.

      It hasn’t worked out that way under any administration so far, and Trump was the most recalcitrant on this point.

      Trump continues to refer to climate change as a “hoax,” on the grounds that China and other economic and geopolitical adversaries and competitors are using the issue as a backdoor means of diminishing the United States, harming its economy, and reducing its influence globally.

      In keeping with that belief, Trump cut climate funding and programs, reprioritized policies to advance America’s interests over those of the “global community” concerned about climate change, implemented policies to unleash American energy dominance, and withdrew the country from the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

      If Trump is reelected president, COP 29 negotiators fear, probably rightly, that he will undercut the Biden administration’s commitments to emission reductions while decreasing America’s existing funding for various UN climate slush funds.

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      OldOzzie

      MIT Professor Emeritus and world renown Meteorologist and Climate Scientist has said it all:

      What historians will definitely wonder about in future centuries is how deeply flawed logic, obscured by shrewd and unrelenting propaganda, actually enabled a coalition of powerful special interests to convince nearly everyone in the world that CO2 from human industry was a dangerous, planet-destroying toxin.

      It will be remembered as the greatest mass delusion in the history of the world – that CO2, the life of plants, was considered for a time to be a deadly poison.

      Richard Lindzen

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        OldOzzie

        More Lindzen quotes about Climate Change are here:

        TOP 17 QUOTES BY RICHARD LINDZEN | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)

        Here are some!

        – Future generations will wonder in bemused amazement that the early 21st century’s developed world went into hysterical panic over a globally averaged temperature increase of a few tenths of a degree, and, on the basis of gross exaggerations of highly uncertain computer projections combined into implausible chains of inference, proceeded to contemplate a roll-back of the industrial age.

        – Controlling carbon is a bureaucrat’s dream. If you control carbon, you control life.

        – Scientists who dissent from the alarmism have seen their grant funds disappear, their work derided, and themselves libeled as industry stooges, scientific hacks or worse. Consequently, lies about climate change gain credence even when they fly in the face of the science that supposedly is their basis.

        – The influence of mankind on climate is trivially true and numerically insignificant.

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        RickWill

        Lindzen is a climate botherer who actually believes CO2 warms the surface. He deserves no credibility.

        01

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      Honk R Smith

      I think the real question is whether modernized technological human culture, that maintains historical memory, can survive the self destructive political structure that has produced ‘Climate Change’ and ‘Pandemic’.

      Both have the potential to cascade into extinction level events.

      Technological humanity itself, as a threat to nature*, is the underlying original unforgiveable sin of the CAGW mass (organized, centralized, professionally propagandistically produced) hysteria.

      The direct line from Global Warming to Pandemic lockdowns and mandates is easily drawn by detached observation.

      *(It is not rhetorical accident that we are bombarded … and not just in the US … with the trope “Donald Trump is a threat to Democracy” … another easily drawn direct historical line.)

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    John Connor II

    I bit the bullet and finally bought a new laptop.
    I’ve had a Toshiba P870 since 2012, and it was high end and with rave reviews back then.
    Fully optioned with 4 USB 3 ports and could burn blurays. Unheard of.
    Bought a Rapoo 7800P 5GHz cordless mouse, still going perfectly too. A brilliant mouse, possibly the best I’ve seen, but sadly discontinued.
    The laptop’s still going flawlessly today, without being repaired in all that time, but I did replace the HDD 5 years ago as it was showing signs of failure.

    12 years going strong for any product, especially today, is amazing.

    I opted for an LG Gram 17 WUXGA as I got it for just over $2k instead of $3.5k at JB.
    I seriously looked at the HP Omen 17 RTX4090 for $3.5k down from $6.5k on the HP store on eBay (for anyone interested) but decided fan noise would annoy me too much with my sensitive hearing.

    I hope this is half as good as the Toshiba.
    Now comes the fun of reinstalling 200 or so applications and configuring everything how I want it.
    Shouldn’t take more than 3 months…

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      OldOzzie

      Just reminded me I need to pull out my Microsoft XP Netbook and use the replaceable CD Drive to burn some music

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      Kim

      I buy a mid spec Asus or similar and install Ubuntu Linux with the MATE desktop. I heavily use my laptops. My Dell laptop lasted 4 years. The Asus’ are lasting about 2 years. I budget about $1,500 ($1,200 to $1,800).

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      KP

      So, who does it send copies of all your correspondence to?

      10

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      RickWill

      Now comes the fun of reinstalling 200 or so applications and configuring everything how I want it.
      Shouldn’t take more than 3 months…

      So true. There is a huge overhead in changing to a new device. Often upgrades are misnamed. They certainly make life tougher for a while.

      The Office 2010 I have cost USD10. It was almost a corporate giveaway from Microsoft to large US corporations because no one was upgrading after the financial crisis. I am still using it. But the laptop it is loaded on is a few years younger. I have found the limit with Excel on it. Any Excel file over 100Mb has trouble on the Lenovo laptop running Office 2010.

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    OldOzzie

    Trump Assassins: Off-the-Books Assets?

    By Grant Baker

    Prior to their respective assassination attempts targeting Trump, Ryan Routh and Thomas Crooks had extraordinary proximity to U.S. Intelligence, demonstrated foreknowledge of Trump’s schedule and security, and acquired skills that intelligence agencies have a history of sharing with assets.

    Routh and Crooks had forehand knowledge of security, other federal intelligence

    Routh and Crooks were previously known to federal officials

    Routh and Crooks recruited by Intelligence?

    Given Routh’s Ukrainian activities and money troubles, he would have been an easy recruit as an informant for U.S. Intelligence. Intelligence assets such as informants rarely face justice for illegal activities ancillary to their order, which explains Routh’s cavalier behavior overseas. Is there anyone else who could admit to human-trafficking to the NYT and be reported so many times, with nothing being done about it? How likely is it that a man with no combat experience or resources slipped through security to nearly assassinate Trump?

    There is evidence that Crooks may have been an off-the-books asset as well.

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    John Connor II

    Sunday funny

    Modernising an old excuse…

    The dog ate my homework, then an illegal immigrant ate my dog.

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      KP

      “Countries should treat the activities of Russian state broadcaster RT as they do covert intelligence operations, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday as he unveiled new sanctions aimed at alleged Russian overseas influence campaigns.”

      In other words… “Stop doing what we have always done!”

      No-one in South Africa had any time for the American ‘volunteers’, their youth programs or their cultural enrichment media companies, they knew they were rotten with spies and activists.

      “Russia was also conducting operations aimed at destabilising the government of Argentina and escalating tensions with Argentina’s neighbours, it said.”

      ..and the Yanks hate it when someone else comes to play in their playground! They have been making sure they get the Govts they want in South America for 50years, hence all those coups and a continent that is kept poor.

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        el+gordo

        The US has a long history of setting up puppet governments, like the domino effect and don’t forget Chile. American adventurism has been pathetic.

        We marched in the street to stop the Alliance going into Iraq and after the dust settled no biological weapons were found in a desert caravan.

        The interwebs have changed everything, which is why the West is concerned that totalitarian dictatorships might undermine democracies. This is a fallacy.

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    Skepticynic

    This is the more sophisticated approach.
    Reminding medicos of, “the importance of remaining up to date with current literature”, instead of ignorantly and negligently warning the public to stay up to date with injections.

    mRNA vaccines no longer recommended.
    Florida Surgeon General lodges safety concerns.

    The Florida Department of Health (Department) is reminding health care providers of the importance of remaining up to date with current literature related to COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, and the importance of providing patients with informed consent.

    Safety and Efficacy Concerns
    Providers and patients should be aware of outstanding mRNA COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy concerns:

    The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines present a risk of subclinical and clinical myocarditis and other cardiovascular conditions among otherwise healthy individuals.

    The mRNA COVID-19 vaccine may be associated with an increased risk of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).

    The mRNA COVID-19 vaccine may be associated with an increased risk of autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis.

    Throughout the pandemic, studies across geographic regions found that the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are associated with negative effectiveness after four to six months. As efficacy waned, studies showed that COVID-19 vaccinated individuals developed an increased risk for infection.

    Elevated levels of mRNA and spike protein from the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine persist among some individuals for an indefinite period, which may carry health risks.

    Potential DNA integration from the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines pose unique and elevated risk to human health and to the integrity of the human genome, including the risk that DNA integrated into sperm or egg gametes could be passed onto offspring of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine recipients.

    There is unknown risk of potential adverse impacts with each additional dose of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine; currently individuals may have received five to seven doses (and counting) of this vaccine over a 3-year period.

    https://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2024/09/20210912-UpdatedGuidanceCOVID-19.html

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      Ross

      Out of six states and a couple of territories you would think Australia might have had a chance to reproduce one Ron de Santis or Dr Lapado (Florida Surgeon General ) during the COVID bollocks. Nope, not one. Perrottet (Treasurer who became NSW premier) criticised lockdowns at one stage, but in office he soon went to water as well, opting to hide behind his CHO, Chant.

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    When Whitney Webb gets on the case, no one comes out looking good! Peter Theil and Musk are snuggling up to Trump, both massively tied to intelligence and military. The right wouldn’t buy covid passports, but are now crying out for digital ID to fight border problems, and for voter ID. THEY just look for a different button. Webb doesn’t let up for 57 mins

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyuOd3iLJp8&t=81s

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    Kim

    Europe Forces Global & US Companies Into ESG Rules. Will Impact Everyone. (video)

    What happens if a customer or employee doesn’t want to answer any wokie questions?

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    Simon Thompson M.B. B.S.

    Only a few hours till the Equinox- thanks for noticing Jo!

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    another ian

    FWIW

    “Exclusive — Ric Grenell Details Upcoming Trump Event Exposing Chinese Threat to American Agriculture”

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/09/21/exclusive-ric-grenell-details-upcoming-trump-event-exposing-chinese-threat-to-american-agriculture/

    10

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    another ian

    FWIW

    “Academic Echo Chambers and the Myth of Behavioral Spillover in Climate Action”

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/09/21/academic-echo-chambers-and-the-myth-of-behavioral-spillover-in-climate-action/

    Reads like a “How of Not To”

    10