Open Thread – Tues 27 Sept 2022


Haywain Triptych, Hieronymus Bosch, 1500

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Zatara
Zatara
September 29, 2022 1:24 am

P says:
September 28, 2022 at 4:42 pm

Managing Expectations, Hurricane Ian 11pm Update – Now it is Time to Hunker Down

That’s an excellent article P. I was in Tampa on business but got out by road about 12 hours ago as the leading bands of the storm were hitting.

Yes things are pretty sporty in south and central Florida right now. The storm is hovering between a class 4-5 with current sustained winds @ 155mph and storm surge estimated at 18 feet.

This has been a very strong and very uncharacteristic hurricane with the eastern (rising) bands extending for hundreds of miles out to sea and up the US east coast but relatively little to the west or downward side of the rotation. The eye rode up the west coast of Florida just offshore over the last 20 or so hours so it really beat up a strip from Key West all the way up to Fort Meyers, where the eye is passing offshore as I type this.

Damage is reported as quite high already with some coastal islands submerged up to 10 feet by the storm surge but no word yet on human casualties.

Histrionics aside, this one may well be one of the worst to ever hit the US.

Zatara
Zatara
September 29, 2022 1:27 am

Hurricane Ian radar

(Zoom out a bit to see it all as this thing is huge)

Jannie
Jannie
September 29, 2022 2:09 am

Rap, or hip Hop music, began developing in the black ghettoes of Detroit and New York way back in the 1970s, popularised by street parties that benefited from sophisticated equipment lifted from music stores during periodic race riots. It was originally thought to be the voice of the marginalised and powerless, it was fundamentally anti establishment, anti police, violent, and celebrated drug culture and criminality in genres such strands as gangsta rap in the 1980s. Its values were often mysoginsitic and homophobic, and though there were a smattering of white rappers, it was hostile to white American culture.

Ironically it was a Detroit white rapper, Eminem, who thrust rap music into the mainstream. He got a record deal, and with his Slim Shady LP in 1999, which went multi platinum, he became the most commercially successful rapper in history. He went on to sell 220 million records. He stayed within the “Anti Establishment” theme, railing against George Bush and White America, but much of his work was focused on his own personal demons and struggles with drugs and tortured personal relationships. Though he received an endorsement from Donald Trump in the early 2000s, by 2016 he had become vocally anti Trump and supported Hilary Clinton in the election that year. By 2020 he had become the Superstar darling of the Hollywood set, performing his song Lose Yourself at the Academy Awards in support of Joe Biden. He was unmoved by the fact that up to half of his fans were working class and marginalised white youth, who supported Trump. He announced he did not want them anymore, and he literally told them to fuck off. So many did, but he was losing his street cred anyway.

Eminem did not seem to notice that White American values he claimed to oppose were no longer the underpinning of The Establishment, and that the Democrats could no longer claim to support the working people and the strugglers in the suburbs such as Eight Mile in Detroit. The fact that Eminem himself had become a shill for the Establishment he claimed to oppose was not lost on many young Rappers, mainly white, but not only white. It was one of the outcomes of the reorientation of Left and Right, that he was not intellectually equipped to understand.

Tom MacDonald is one of the many new rappers who understood this, that in the current era to be “Anti Establishment” is to oppose the Woke corporate culture of Hollywood, the MSM, BLM, Me Too, The Music Industry, Disney and Big Tech. To be “Anti Establishment” is to support traditional values of Equality and Justice for all, to sing for God, for Country, for Family. His song “Dear Slim” is a parody of Eminem’s song “Stan”, and uses that songs backbeat which he legally purchased. He acknowledges his artistic debt to Eminem, but gently points out that Eminem is a hypocrite who is now The Establishment.

Tom MacDonald’s song “America”, is a thoughtful response to Eminem’s anti white American ranting. Its worth listening to, and should bring some cheer to conservative and centrist people who despair at the direction of American politics and culture. I Link below, if you cant handle the music, just look up the lyrics.

Jannie
Jannie
September 29, 2022 2:10 am
Jannie
Jannie
September 29, 2022 2:25 am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iUg5Mxb2Oc

In God We Trust
Tom MacDonald

Tom
Tom
September 29, 2022 4:02 am
Tom
Tom
September 29, 2022 4:03 am
Tom
Tom
September 29, 2022 4:04 am
Tom
Tom
September 29, 2022 4:06 am
Tom
Tom
September 29, 2022 4:07 am
Tom
Tom
September 29, 2022 4:08 am
Tom
Tom
September 29, 2022 4:09 am
Tom
Tom
September 29, 2022 4:10 am
Tom
Tom
September 29, 2022 4:11 am
Tom
Tom
September 29, 2022 4:12 am
Tom
Tom
September 29, 2022 4:13 am
Tom
Tom
September 29, 2022 4:14 am
Tom
Tom
September 29, 2022 4:15 am
DrBeauGan
DrBeauGan
September 29, 2022 4:24 am

Thanks, Tom. Leak is a smart man.

feelthebern
feelthebern
September 29, 2022 4:48 am

Some good Russell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vZM3m_om9Y

Only scratches the surface of Washington insider trading.
Nothing open eyes of the sheep more than when you tell them it’s perfectly legal for them & their staff to insider trade.

feelthebern
feelthebern
September 29, 2022 4:49 am

Good luck Zatara.
Hope you get through it with minimal damage.
If you do get hit, I hope you get FEMA punters on the ground quick smart.

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 4:52 am

Thanks again Tom.

But Christian Adams got it slightly wrong. The Brits have right hand drive and not left.

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 4:57 am

Maybe this world is another planet’s hell.

– Aldous Huxley

Ed Case
Ed Case
September 29, 2022 5:22 am

custardsays:
September 28, 2022 at 9:11 pm

Trump effectively said at his 17/9 speech from Youngstown Ohio that there had only been 45 US President’s.

Trump actually said there had been 45 Presidents elected.
Since Tyler, Pierce, Arthur and Ford weren’t elected, that number should be 41 on Trumps reckoning.

Knuckle Dragger
Knuckle Dragger
September 29, 2022 6:16 am

Jannie at 2.09:

Ironically it was a Detroit white rapper, Eminem, who thrust rap music into the mainstream.

Possibly one of the most offensive sentences ever written in this august journal of record. It deliberately overlooks one the finest musicians of this or any age, and who composed lyrics (partially reproduced below) that formed part of the human psyche, and will live in the hearts of men until time’s end:

Alright stop, collaborate and listen
Ice is back with my brand new invention
Something grabs a hold of me tightly
Flow like a harpoon daily and nightly
Will it ever stop? Yo, I don’t know
Turn off the lights, and I’ll glow

To the extreme, I rock a mic like a vandal
Light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle

min
min
September 29, 2022 6:33 am

Love Leak’s Elbow How soon before he is drawn as the Emperor with no clothes ?

rosie
rosie
September 29, 2022 6:35 am
feelthebern
feelthebern
September 29, 2022 6:45 am

The US 10 year bond had it’s biggest one day rally since 2009 when QE kicked off.
But all we get is a measly 2% on the S&P500?
Sad.

bespoke
bespoke
September 29, 2022 6:45 am

Janniesays:

September 29, 2022 at 2:09 am

Cheers

min
min
September 29, 2022 6:45 am

Cohenite at 11.10pm Ex blue ribbon Hawthorn . I agree with Tim Smith waste of money for Libs in seats like this and Higgins and Goldstein and they should concentrate on the seats where the tradies are .

GreyRanga
GreyRanga
September 29, 2022 6:45 am

Catching up I had a great laugh, munty calling someone “melonhead”. A word of warning to those wondering, don’t ever look at a photo of the munster. Must be no mirrors in his basement.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
September 29, 2022 6:47 am

Gone potty.

Farmers Jump Off Hemp Bandwagon Amid Lack Of Profit And Underwhelming Performance (28 Sep)

The use of hemp for industrial purposes—such as grain and fiber—has been the next big thing since the passing of a farm bill legalizing production in 2018. … Four years later, seasoned farmers and venture capitalists alike are struggling with a saturated market and oversold expectations on both ends of the industry.

Due to continued market congestion in 2021, some Oregon growers were stuck with thousands of pounds of hemp crops bagged and stacked inside their barns. By July, many couldn’t sell their harvest at a break-even price.

It’s a situation that’s become all too familiar among hemp farmers: a cash crop that’s not making any cash. Moreover, southwestern U.S. growers are facing additional challenges, like severe drought conditions.

In Texas, hemp enthusiasts touted the crop as a drought-resistant, economic life preserver. Though since 2019, farmers have yet to see any returns on their investments. The president of the Texas Hemp Growers Association, Kyle Bingham, told reporters that “the interest is not there with farmers” this year. He added that growers don’t want to waste time, money, land, or anything else on hemp at the moment.

Who knew there weren’t all that many hemp-wearing hemp seed eating Greens in the US? Ah well put it in the graveyard of fads along with aloe vera and ostrich farming.

GreyRanga
GreyRanga
September 29, 2022 6:56 am

Warren Brown has an accurate cartoon of munty.

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 6:58 am

Interview: Banking Crisis Will Start in Europe

From Martin Armstrong –

Commentary from Greg Hunter:

Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong says nothing is going to get better by the end of 2022, and he is still forecasting “chaos” coming in 2023. Armstrong says the plunge in the stock market last week is all because of “extreme uncertainty.” Armstrong predicted a stock market crash two months ago and contends, “It’s not over.”

Europe is in big financial trouble with Russian natural gas turned off as a retaliation from the sanctions. Armstrong explains, “In Europe, I believe they are actually deliberately doing this, and this is Klaus Schwab’s ‘Great Reset.’ They know they have a serious problem. They lowered rates to below 0% in 2014. They just started raising interest rates. Meanwhile, you ordered all the pension funds throughout Europe to have more than 70% in government bonds. Then they took it negative. All the pension funds are insolvent. Europe is fiscal mismanagement on a grand scale. There is no way it can sustain itself, and we are looking at Europe breaking apart.”

So, could Europe suck the rest of the world down the tubes? Armstrong says, “Oh, absolutely. Europe is the problem. . . . The crisis in banking will start in Europe. . . . The debt is collapsing. They have no way to sustain themselves. The debt market over there is undermining the stability of all the banks. You have to understand that reserves are tied to government debt, and this is the perfect storm. Yes, the (U.S.) stock market will go down short term. We are not facing a 1929 event or a 90% fall here. . . . Europeans, probably by January of 2023, as this crisis in Ukraine escalates, anybody with half a brain is going to take whatever money they have and get it over here.”

So, where is smart money going to go? Armstrong says, “Stocks are like gold, it is on the same side of the table and is opposite government debt. People are not going to be buying government debt. They are going to be looking at anything in the private sector. . . . People are buying whatever they can to get off the grid.”

Armstrong says governments are borrowing and spend huge amounts of money. The Fed will keep raising interest rates to fight inflation, but Armstrong says, “Raising interest rates will only make things worse. We have supply shortages, and raising rates will not fill the gaps.”

Armstrong has never been more positive on buying gold. Why? Armstrong explains, “We are looking at a sovereign debt default. This is what’s going on. This is why Biden will spend whatever he wants because he knows he doesn’t have to pay it back. Eventually, this is what’s going to happen. This is Schwab’s agenda.”

Armstrong has predicted “2023 will be the year from Hell.” Armstrong says, “Civil unrest will only get worse” this year, and he is predicting we will have full blown war next year. Armstrong contends Democrats are desperate and will do things like granting illegal aliens citizenship so they can vote in the mid-term elections.

In closing, Armstrong says, “Something is going to spark a collapse in government again. It’s going to be something, I think, in Europe where they do something drastic because they have no other choice. . . . They need war as the excuse for the defaults of all the government debt.”

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrong-in-the-media/interview-banking-crisis-will-start-in-europe/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS

rosie
rosie
September 29, 2022 6:58 am
rosie
rosie
September 29, 2022 7:01 am

“Martin Arthur Armstrong is an American self-taught economic forecaster and convicted felon who spent 11 years in jail for cheating investors out of $700 million and hiding $15 million in assets from regulators”
Can see why he’s ‘legendary ‘

Mater
September 29, 2022 7:01 am

If the (temporary) destruction of NS1 & 2 has done anything, it’s most definitely highlighted to Europe their strategic vulnerability in terms of energy, and how exposed they are. Even if the pipelines were repaired tomorrow, and the gas turned on the day after, this lesson will not soon be forgotten, and will force a re-think of either greater self-sufficiency, or the ability to acquire energy elsewhere (or at least, it should).

I don’t know if the Russians think they have better market on which to offload their product, but the very construction of these two pipelines is an indication of the importance they probably place on the European market.

I’m not sure highlighting European vulnerability, or forcing them towards permanent alternatives, is in the Russian interest.

Just my thoughts.

feelthebern
feelthebern
September 29, 2022 7:05 am

Re the original poster of the China coup story (remember that…so long ago).

On September 23, the story broke out of Chinese-language Twitter when it was translated into English by Jennifer Zeng, an activist and self-proclaimed journalist, who has a track record of spreading rumors and misattributed videos.

As a TV host for New Tang Dynasty Television and a contributor to the Epoch Times, both of which are backed by the anti-China religious group Falun Gong, Zeng is a key player in a media network that plays an increasingly important role in conspiracies about China and also about elections in the US. She’s been careful to consistently present the coup story as a “rumor,” but she has since put out over a dozen tweets about it, continuing to drum up speculation.

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
September 29, 2022 7:07 am

The German Left pulls on their grandad’s old jackboots:

German prosecutors raid far-right AfD’s headquarters (28 Sep)

Public prosecutors seized hard drives, mailboxes and file folders while searching the party’s national headquarters in Berlin, Deutsche Welle reported.

“Since this morning, the Berlin public prosecutor’s office has been conducting a house search in the premises of the federal headquarters of Alternative for Germany, without any prior inquiry having been directed to the AfD regarding the facts to be clarified,” the party said in a statement.

So typical these days for the Left to persecute their opponents using the police and (supposed) justice system. We’re seeing it over and over in the US, Germany and Victoria.

custard
custard
September 29, 2022 7:08 am

BREAKING: President Trump has offered to step in and mediate a peace deal between Russia, Ukraine and the US following the attack on the Nordstream pipelines

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 7:10 am

Welcome to the New Age of Volatility

From Martin Armstrong –

“The world is entering a crisis in confidence. First we had the COVID manufactured crisis, that spawned the Energy Crisis, and now we are entering the Currency Crisis phase. As I have said, we have the worst possible of incompetent world leaders I have ever witnesses in my life. With all the talking heads on TV, we must understand that the best risk management is still based upon personal views and expectations. That is highly dangerous for the period into 2032, nobody is qualified to forecast the future from a personal perspective. You can only forecast what you even think is possible.

The UK Gilts have collapsed by 1% sparking the BOE to intervene. The fools on the hill may cheer, but they have never looked behind that curtain even once. Those in the central banks are trapped with old theories spouted out by the goldbugs to no avail – debt rising, printing of money = buy gold. People like Larry Summers wants higher taxes, higher interest rates, and less government spending and all those things that he and others point to as the problem in the UK that would lead to the further destruction of the world economy. Everything is says about the UK is applicable just about everywhere else. Why is the dollar rising with the same conditions? What is the difference? Could it just be the fact that they are all pushing hatred at Russians in general and itching for war using the Ukrainian people for political purposes? That equals strong dollar, capital flight to America, and the end of Europe.

The operator of NordStream 2 reported a sudden drop in pressure on Monday suggesting a possible leak reporting a drop in pressure for Nordstream 1 a few hours later. Danish armed forced reported bubbles creating a disturbance roughly 1 km in diameter in the Baltic Sea. While everyone acknowledges the probability of sabotage and many are pointing the finger at Russia promising to respond, following Swedish seismic monitoring suggests they there were explosions implying an intentional attack. The risk of climate zealots behind this event cannot be ruled out. Nobody in the mainstream press will even dare to question the validity of climate change claims so there is no hope of even causing anyone in government to rethink this scenario.

Nordstream 2 certification was canceled by Germany on February 22, 2022 to the cheers of the climate zealots and subsequently filed for bankruptcy whereas Nordstream 1 has been out of commission since the end of August due to oil leaks of the gas compression unit in Russia found during routine maintenance whose repair has been complicated by the economic sanctions. Moscow is demanding documentation to confirm the turbine is not subject to Western sanctions whereas Siemen’s CEO suggests the company is ready to return the turbine to Russia.

Cheer up – We have entered the era of Volatility. That is the byproduct of a collapse in confidence.”

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/welcome-to-the-new-age-of-volatility/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
September 29, 2022 7:15 am

(Eminem) performing his song Lose Yourself at the Academy Awards in support of Joe Biden

You have to admit though, he was right.

I have never seen a person looking as lost as Joe Biden.

rosie
rosie
September 29, 2022 7:16 am
Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 7:20 am

rosiesays:
September 29, 2022 at 7:01 am
“Martin Arthur Armstrong is an American self-taught economic forecaster and convicted felon who spent 11 years in jail for cheating investors out of $700 million and hiding $15 million in assets from regulators”
Can see why he’s ‘legendary ‘

LOL. He was never convicted as he was innocent of those charges and was eventually released. He was actually kept in jail for 11 years for alleged Civil Contempt of Court. Rough justice from the corrupt New York Courts is what it was all about. The US Feds were really after the source code for his Socrates computer software system. They never got it.

rosie
rosie
September 29, 2022 7:23 am

That’s incorrect. I read the article.
“he decided, in an agreement with the prosecutors, to plea to just one count in the indictment, conspiracy to commit fraud. The twenty-three other charges were dismissed. He did so in part, he says, because he believed that he might get credit for time served. The criminal-court judge, however, gave him the maximum sentence—five years”

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 7:23 am

One day a father was driving home when he suddenly realised that it was his daughter’s birthday and he hadn’t bought her anything.

Out of the corner of his eye he notices a shopping mall. Knowing that it was now or never, he pulls his car through three lanes of traffic, finds a parking bay and runs into the mall.

After a frantic search he finds a toy store, goes inside and attracts the attention of the shop assistant.

When asked what he’d like, he simply says: “a Barbie Doll”. The shop assistant looks at him in a condescending manner and asks “So sir, which Barbie would that be?”

The man looks surprised so the assistant continues “We have Barbie Goes To the Ball at $19.99, Barbie goes Shopping at $19.99, Barbie goes Clubbing at $19.99, Barbie Goes To The Gym at $19.99, Cyber Barbie at $19.99 and Divorced Barbie at $249.99”.

The man can’t help himself and asks “Why is Divorced Barbie $249.99 when all those other Barbies are selling for $19.99?” “Well sir, that’s quite obvious!” says the assistant “Divorced Barbie comes with Ken’s house, Ken’s car, Ken’s furniture…”

rosie
rosie
September 29, 2022 7:25 am

We really need a separate Rotten Jokes thread.

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 7:26 am

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.

– Aldous Huxley

Hmmmmmmmm. Climate Change alarmism, Virus alarmism, etc, etc, etc………………….

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 7:48 am

Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.

– Aldous Huxley

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
September 29, 2022 7:50 am

Johnny Rotten,

The hyperlink in your name takes, me at least, to the ATO website.

Is that what you intend?

Dot
Dot
September 29, 2022 7:57 am

Rap actually had white roots, predating the 1970s.

Anyway.

Will it ever stop? Yo, I don’t know
Turn off the lights, and I’ll glow

Modern white rap was a US Federal spook project all along!

incoherent rambler
incoherent rambler
September 29, 2022 8:03 am

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.

Facts are only true when I say they are.

Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.

AKA. To err is human. To really fsck up requires a computer.

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 8:05 am

Mother Lodesays:
September 29, 2022 at 7:50 am
Johnny Rotten,

The hyperlink in your name takes, me at least, to the ATO website.

Is that what you intend?

Gosh !!!!! That computer hacking of Optus has now gone nearly everywhere………………

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
September 29, 2022 8:09 am

Nothing like a big serving of Faultynomics for brekkie.

bespoke
bespoke
September 29, 2022 8:09 am

Janniesays:
September 29, 2022 at 2:10 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV7oI_Z68Pk&list=PLaNERP9P9BovSUp3Zi-CX_JjKx-3357hG&index=19

America by Tom Macdonald

Don’t like rap but watched both. Tucker Carlson is also reaching out to that demographic rather then just doing talk fest.

Roger
Roger
September 29, 2022 8:09 am

The AFR calls Optus’s Kelly Bayer Rosmarin a “part-time CEO.”

Previously they thought her work life balance was exemplary.

No doubt she’s stepped up her hours recently.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
September 29, 2022 8:10 am

………………………………………………… Lol!

132andBush
132andBush
September 29, 2022 8:11 am

Modern white rap was a US Federal spook project all along!

About the only thing I’ve read this morning that makes sense.

Roger
Roger
September 29, 2022 8:15 am

I’m beginning to think it’s plausible that Ukrainian special forces blew up Nord Stream.

They’ve got form when it comes to sabotaging Russian infrastructure.

Wally Dali
Wally Dali
September 29, 2022 8:18 am

…and they’ve got an infinite supply of new gear, Roger

rickw
rickw
September 29, 2022 8:19 am

Why are more people dying in Australia? Many questions remain

A whole lot of commentary and they didn’t offer any analysis on age distribution of the excess deaths. A pretty obvious aspect to any analysis being assiduously ignored.

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 8:20 am

“The Death of Germany, and Europe”

From Bayou Renaissance Man –

“At this point in history, to destroy the possibility of re-opening Nord Stream 1 (NS1), and opening NS2, all but assures massive famines and detailed destruction of European economy that normally only will be seen in war.

Nothing short of nuclear war will destroy a nation more completely, more intergenerationally, than turning off the energy followed by famine. Famines burn through the souls of nations. Just read five random books on famine.

Germany’s deal with the devil was a deal with themselves. Accepting the cheap Russian gas like cocaine straight to the bloodstream. To be sure, there were extreme benefits to manufacturing using cheaper, easier energy. Such as in the automotive industry.

You may notice some leaders now blame Russian for addicting Germany, as if Russia were a drug dealer and the pipelines are Russian needles into the arms of German children. But in fact Russia also wanted to sell gas to earn money. And Russia did NOT want to shut NS1, and frequently encouraged Germany to open NS2.

But the United States warned Germany many times — including Trump’s clear warnings — about Russian dependency. The Germans laughed at Trump. Video of The Laughing will go down in history.

It strongly appears United States has destroyed NS1 and NS2. Facts remain uncertain but Biden and his crew of thugs made clear on multiple occasions that something would happen at least to NS2. If only so much effort were applied to interrupting the fentanyl crossing America’s southern border and stopping the invasion that Americans will be forced to stop themselves.

Biden likewise made an open threat against Americans that he is willing to use F-15s on Americans. You likely have seen the not-subtle video.

Germany will freeze this winter. The hunger games will begin in 2023. By winter 2023-24, Germans and others will be freezing and very hungry, and possibly already into actual famine. And by winter 2024-25, profound famine almost certainly will ravage at least parts of Europe. Long flash to bang, but that bang is coming.

Germans and their multi-kulti invaders will devour the Black Forest and roast long-pig over their cuckoo clocks.

Keep eyes on Norwegian flows. An interruption of Norwegian flows would be another chest shot for Europe.

After the attacks on NS1 and NS2, all infrastructure is on the table. EMP strikes in space could lead to quick famine across North America. Undersea cables.

USA is extremely vulnerable. Rail strikes alone could contribute to near-term famine in United States.”

https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2022/09/the-death-of-germany-and-europe.html

Dot
Dot
September 29, 2022 8:20 am

132andBush says:
September 29, 2022 at 8:11 am
Modern white rap was a US Federal spook project all along!
About the only thing I’ve read this morning that makes sense.

My heart goes out to you. If that’s the case we actually do live in the worst timeline.

Mater
September 29, 2022 8:21 am

Just to clarify my earlier comment.
Clearly the Europeans have always been aware of their vulnerability to the possibility of Russia turning off the gas.

They’ve just been made acutely aware that they are incredibly vulnerable to any idiot with a wet suit, and a bag of fertiliser*.

The pipelines (and Russian gas) look less appealing as a long term arrangement.

*Yes, incredibly simplified for the sake of clarity.

rosie
rosie
September 29, 2022 8:21 am

A predictor in love with a predictor, who’d have thunk?

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
September 29, 2022 8:22 am

Rotten at 8:20.
Ha ha, nice one.
The jokes are improving.

rosie
rosie
September 29, 2022 8:24 am

The Europeans, the Poms and we need to stop paying everyone the top dollar wholesale gas price, what a stupid stupid system.

Boambee John
Boambee John
September 29, 2022 8:33 am

GreyRangasays:
September 29, 2022 at 6:45 am
Catching up I had a great laugh, munty calling someone “melonhead”. A word of warning to those wondering, don’t ever look at a photo of the munster. Must be no mirrors in his basement.

Just m0nty-fa showing contempt for a woman elected politician who has the temerity to have different opinions to m0nty-fa’s.

Nothing misogynistic about m0nty-fa.

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 8:33 am

A company of soldiers were route-stepping through a valley, when a Marine appeared up on top of a nearby hill and said: “You Army guys fight like girls!”

The Army captain said: “First Squad, get up there and teach that Marine a lesson”.

Ten soldiers go charging up the hill and disappear over the top. Sounds of fighting are heard, then the Marine appears, straightens his tie, and yells down to the soldiers “Come on now, don’t any of you pussies know how to fight?”

So the captain orders the rest of First Platoon up the hill. Forty soldiers charge up and drop out of sight on the other side.

Again, serious sounds of fighting, and then the Marine appears again, brushes some dust off his uniform, and proceeds to insult the soldiers.

So the captain says: “Okay, Second and Third Platoons, go get that SOB!”

Just then, a ragged soldier appears at the top of the hill and yells “Go back, Captain, it’s a trap! There are TWO of them”.

bespoke
bespoke
September 29, 2022 8:34 am

*Yes, incredibly simplified for the sake of clarity.

Cheers.

Roger
Roger
September 29, 2022 8:34 am

Ukraine is calling it a Russian attack on the EU, and while anything is possible, that makes little sense from a Russian point of view. But the thought of a Russian attack would stiffen European resolve heading in to winter.

Pace some views expressed here yesterday, I don’t think the Americans would be so reckless, if only because they’re determined to keep this a proxy war rather than have it escalate beyond Ukraine’s borders.

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 8:35 am

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad.

– Aldous Huxley

Eyrie
Eyrie
September 29, 2022 8:35 am

Definite non zero probability that the pipelines were blown up by Greenies. Depth was within well equipped recreational diver capability, a few blokes on a fishing boat or yacht and a few shaped charges and there you go.
OTOH the US or a group inside it acting alone (Victoria Nuland, anyone?) could have done it. A few former SEALS, perhaps?
The Kearsage is a red herring, a maskirovka. I bet they have a watertight alibi for the ship and its movements if anybody looks hard.

Dot
Dot
September 29, 2022 8:37 am

Does anyone remember the plot from Red Storm Rising?

At least the start of it all.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
September 29, 2022 8:38 am

The pipelines?
Optus did it.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 8:43 am

Showed this to my wife who had only read on Mainstream media – re Giorgia and Fascist Mussolini

Giorgia Meloni: Defending God, Country and Family

Giorgia Meloni is now the Prime Minister of Italy. She is a Christian, a populist who believes in God, her country and the family. She is not a Nazi, but an Italian patriot. Her words say it all.

Transcript

Please answer me these questions. This is about what we are doing here today. Why is the family an enemy? Why is the family so frightening?

There is a single answer to all these questions. Because it defines us. Because it is our identify. Because everything that defines us is now an enemy for those who would like us to no longer have an identity and to simply be perfect consumer slaves. And so they attack national identity, they attack religious identity, they attack gender identity, they attack family identity.

I can’t define myself as Italian, Christian, woman, mother. No. I must be citizen x, gender x, parent 1, parent 2. I must be a number. Because when I am only a number, when I no longer have an identity or roots, then I will be the prefect slave at the mercy of financial speculators. The perfect consumer.

That’s the reason why . . . That’s why we inspire so much fear. That’s why this event inspires so much fear. Because we do not want to be numbers. We will defend the value of the human being. Every single human being. Because each of us has a unique genetic code that is unrepeatable. And like it or not, that is sacred. We will defend it. We will defend God, country and family. Those things that disgust people so much. We will do it to defend our freedom because we will never be slaves and simple consumers at the mercy of financial speculators. That is our mission. That is why I came here today.

Chesterson wrote, more than a century ago . . . let’s see if I can find it . . . “Fires will be kindled to testify that two and two make four. Swords will be drawn to prove that leaves are green in summer.” That time has arrived. We are ready.

Thank you.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
September 29, 2022 8:43 am

Dunno how well A.F. Branco #2 will play in people’s minds.

The word (and principle) of democracy of something sacred among the non-Left. The cartoon creates the impression that democracy is a bad thing and the less familiar, and therefore less beloved, formula “Constitutional Representative Republic” is better (when it would sound faintly alien).

I doubt anyone has rallied the hearts of the American people with those words.

Problem is that ‘Democracy’ is a great catchall word when squaring off against dictatorships. So it is the word that has been imbued with feelings of freedom, of justice, even ‘hearth and home’.

And even the formulation “Constitutional Representative Republic” glosses over the key democratic component of how this representation is achieved. While the word ‘Republic’ should do this we have heard the word republic used for very undemocratic states.

Don’t get me wrong. I know exactly what Branco is saying and it is absolutely right.

In the simplistic version of democracy it is mob rule. In Australia, NSW and VIC would be running the whole country. The other states would just have to lump it. The framers of our constitution were far smarter men than we have today, who spend their careers playing something like Twister where the media spinner says “Lesbian Muslim Macramists” and the idiot politician must try to move his left hand to that spot without losing contact with “Black Transgender Spelunkers” or “Environmental Socialists for Mandatory Uniform Wind Turbine Speeds” (some locations the turbines spin more that others!)

Or the old illustration: In a pure democracy 75% of people could vote to murder the other 25%. Isn’t that democratic.

I suspect people are so used to the word democracy as being the embodiment of all that is good that they don’t realise that there must be a pragmatism in democracy. How would you manage democracy in a modern nation without representation, for example. How would you manage debate? How would you hold blocs of voters to account when they game the process for their own ends (selling their votes to outside interests)? We have a means to do this with representatives, the problem we have now is that it is pursued unevenly, but it is not a problem baked into the solution.

Hmmm…quite a longer piece than I was originally intending. Perhaps all Branco need do is come up with a way to label the ‘Mob Rule’ democracy to distinguish it from the ideal. “Simplistic Democracy”? “Sheep Democracy”? “Schoolyard Democracy”?

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 8:46 am

The West needs leadership: Biden has failed the test

BY LIZ PEEK, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR – 09/28/22 8:00 AM ET

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL

Surprising on The Hill!

feelthebern
feelthebern
September 29, 2022 8:46 am

I feel a bit sorry for this Izzy kid in NZ.
Her parents are minted & trying to brand her as the next Greta.
Fun fact, when the parents were renovating one of their multiple properties, a helicopter was used to transport some of the marble for the kitchen due to access problems on the site.
Imagine the carbon footprint of doing that.

feelthebern
feelthebern
September 29, 2022 8:47 am

Does anyone remember the plot from Red Storm Rising

I thought it was Tom Clancy’s best work.
Very bleak reading.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
September 29, 2022 8:54 am

All the stuff Biden is sending to the Ukes, despite his dictatorial bellicosity toward Ultra-MAGAs (or whatever), he is depleting his stockpiles while the deplorables are consolidating theirs.

He might not even have many F-15’s to send to farms and take out a father giving his son a ride on his tractor.

bespoke
bespoke
September 29, 2022 8:55 am

feelthebernsays:

September 29, 2022 at 8:46 am

I feel a bit sorry for this Izzy kid in NZ

That is why I’m against using kids for politics even when I’m simpatico.

It’s cowardly.

Barking Toad
Barking Toad
September 29, 2022 8:59 am

Does anyone remember the plot from Red Storm Rising?

From memory it started because of the failure of grain crops in Russia/Ukraine.

Remember seeing the book in Vinnies a few weeks ago – might go and pick it up for $2.

Clancy’s best.

Top Ender
Top Ender
September 29, 2022 9:00 am

There was a class set in the library of Red Storm Rising at the RAN College in the 1990s…very much loved book to teach the young naval officers their craft.

duncanm
duncanm
September 29, 2022 9:02 am

California bill AB2098 – ‘unprofessional conduct’ by a doctor is now whatever the State says it is.

Crossie
Crossie
September 29, 2022 9:02 am

Mater says:
September 29, 2022 at 8:21 am
Just to clarify my earlier comment.
Clearly the Europeans have always been aware of their vulnerability to the possibility of Russia turning off the gas.

They’ve just been made acutely aware that they are incredibly vulnerable to any idiot with a wet suit, and a bag of fertiliser*.

If they were aware how come there is no plan B? Furthermore, if they were aware of their vulnerability and still did nothing to prepare then they are as culpable for the current crisis as whoever blew up the pipes.

Is this situation going to start as a conspiracy theory and eventually turn out to be just as people were speculating?

Indolent
Indolent
September 29, 2022 9:04 am

Hard to argue.

Forget the Blame Game — Nord Stream Sabotage Is About the Great Reset and NOTHING Else

Everyone is abuzz with talk of who did what, and asking “Was it sabotage?”

But the simple answer to that is “yes, of course it was.”

No matter the exact specific details of the situation, the Nordstream explosion was definitely an act of sabotage.

The same sabotage we’ve been seeing for two years.

The sabotage of our entire way of life, by people who would profit both monetarily and politically from a sea-change in the way our society is structured.

Jorge
Jorge
September 29, 2022 9:05 am

Absolute Lunacy.

And it’s false to claim private shareholders are driving this.

AGL announces it will close Loy Yang A power station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley up to 10 years sooner than planned

Director of the Victorian Energy Policy Centre, Bruce Mountain, said the closure of Loy Yang A would put almost 600 staff out of work.

“I think those in favour of the transition to clean resources will be celebrating, but I think some of the staff who work at the power station and who don’t have the option to transition will be concerned about the implications for them,” he said.

Mr Mountain said private shareholders were driving the company towards transitioning from coal-fired power to renewable energy.

“Things have reached a tipping point now, not just here in Victoria but in all states — they’ve all reached a tipping point where private shareholders are now saying we just have to get out [of coal], shareholders demand it, we need to get on with the transition.”

Mater
September 29, 2022 9:05 am

The pipelines?
Arky did it.

Roger
Roger
September 29, 2022 9:07 am

Dunno how well A.F. Branco #2 will play in people’s minds.

As you no doubt know, ML, it’s an old debate in the US going back to their constitutional conventions.

Branco is presenting it against the contemporary backdrop, when the very anti-constitutional radicalism the founding fathers feared that democracy might unleash, if not checked by counter-balancing institutions and legal measures, is being exploited by the Democrats for their own purposes.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 9:07 am

ANALYSIS: Nord Stream Pipelines Sabotaged, and Only One Country Benefits

By Jim Hoft – Published September 28,

Means, Motive, and Opportunity

That leaves the United States. So what are its motives?

First, the US became the number one exporter of liquified natural gas to Europe once Russia cut off the flow. German dependence on US LNG is a carrot to keep German in the sanction alliance. With winter approaching and German unrest on the rise, the State Department would have been concerned the Germans would go wobbly, reduce sanctions, cut off arms to Ukraine, and beg Putin for energy. The loss of the Nord Stream pipelines eliminates that path to renewed gas imports to Germany.

Second, the Biden family has long been tangled up in natural gas and Ukraine. Hunter Biden was on the board of Ukraine’s largest natural gas company—a position that provided Ukrainian oligarchs with access to Joe Biden. Hunter, who has no experience in energy, made millions from the deal, and Ukraine got a bought-and-paid-for President of the United States.

Third, the Democrat Biden needs to stanch the popularity bleeding that threatens to kill Democrat control of Congress come November.

So, only the United States has a compelling reason to destroy Europe’s energy lifeline from Russia. Only the United States has both the means and the motive.

But what about opportunity?

Operation BALTOPS 22: June 2022

In other words, the Navy had the opportunity to plant explosives on the pipes in June for remote detonation at the time of the President’s choosing.

And the world’s largest amphibious ship, the USS Kearsarge, was recently in the area:

And only the United States had this opportunity.

Also in June, as Operation BALTOPS 22 was underway, the CIA, allegedly, warned Germany that sabotage to the pipelines was imminent:

What’s more, Biden and other administration officials have signaled a willingness to use the pipelines as a means of war. Joe Biden threatened to end Nord Stream if Russia invaded.

That Leaves One

Only the United States had all three elements of a crime: means, motive, and opportunity.

But possessing all three elements of a crime does not make one guilty. In addition to means, motive, and opportunity, the guilty party must also have the moral degeneracy to perpetrate the crime.

So we must ask: does this United States administration have the impulse control to resist using its massive military capabilities? Or is the administration full of people who would shoot someone over mere irritation?

To answer that, think about the FBI storming the home of a pro-life minister, robbing safe deposit boxes after lying to a judge to obtain a warrant, raiding the home of the current president’s primary opponent in the next election, or threatening pro-life pregnancy counselors in Minnesota

Is the United States capable of committing a high crime on the Baltic Sea?

Of course it is.

The United States under Joe Biden has no moral compass. It is a rudderless and deranged vessel sailing toward base pleasure using power and violence as its only justification for actions.

While we don’t know for sure whether the United States blew up the pipeline, we do know for sure the United States has the means, motive, opportunity, and moral deficit necessary to drive the world to the edge of armageddon in pursuit of power for its elites.

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 9:07 am

To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.

– Aldous Huxley

feelthebern
feelthebern
September 29, 2022 9:10 am

AGL announces it will close Loy Yang A power station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley up to 10 years sooner than planned

Good to see the brown poison ending.
Pity about the punters needing power though.

Boambee John
Boambee John
September 29, 2022 9:10 am

Jorge

Mr Mountain said private shareholders were driving the company towards transitioning from coal-fired power to renewable energy.

“Things have reached a tipping point now, not just here in Victoria but in all states — they’ve all reached a tipping point where private shareholders are now saying we just have to get out [of coal], shareholders demand it, we need to get on with the transition.”

This smells more like institutional shareholders – Big Super, and that bunch of banks and other big institutional investors who have seen subsidy harvesting as more profitable than actually producing a necessary product.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
September 29, 2022 9:11 am

Urgent! Less than [2] days left to save the Daily Exposé!
Tension builds!
Will they survive to grift another day?

JC
JC
September 29, 2022 9:12 am

Wow, someone’s still smarting around.

Indolent
Indolent
September 29, 2022 9:15 am
lotocoti
lotocoti
September 29, 2022 9:17 am

Can something be too perfect?
Yes it can.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 9:19 am

The African American 13% strike again

HORROR: Recent Temple University Graduate Gunned Down in Democrat-Run Philadelphia (VIDEO)

Surveillance video released on Tuesday shows the moment a 23-year-old graduate of Temple University gunned down and murdered in Democrat-run Philadelphia.

According to police, the murder suspect had been circling the neighborhood on foot for one hour before he randomly shot and killed Everett Beauregard.

The two men did not exchange any words before the suspect turned and fired shots into his back.

From the Comments

– They won’t do a thing about it. After all, it’s not like a white man killed a black man.

– Racist black Democrats are the greatest terrorist threat to America

– It could probably be classified as suicide if you are white and live near blacks…

– gang initiation??? go out and kill a White dude.

– I mean the obvious motive is walk around until a White guy passes then be a ? and shoot him from behind.
Probably a initiation into card carrying blm membership

– You can’t fix stupid and angry.

lotocoti
lotocoti
September 29, 2022 9:21 am

At your front a target will appear.
Watch and shoot.

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 9:22 am

OldOzziesays:
September 29, 2022 at 9:07 am
ANALYSIS: Nord Stream Pipelines Sabotaged, and Only One Country Benefits

By Jim Hoft – Published September 28,

Means, Motive, and Opportunity

That leaves the United States. So what are its motives?

First, the US became the number one exporter of liquified natural gas to Europe once Russia cut off the flow. German dependence on US LNG is a carrot to keep German in the sanction alliance. With winter approaching and German unrest on the rise, the State Department would have been concerned the Germans would go wobbly, reduce sanctions, cut off arms to Ukraine, and beg Putin for energy. The loss of the Nord Stream pipelines eliminates that path to renewed gas imports to Germany.

Looks like those Algerian Gas Pipelines from Algeria to Spain now become even more important.

feelthebern
feelthebern
September 29, 2022 9:29 am

Jayne Jagot joins the High Court

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has named Federal Court judge Jayne Jagot to the High Court of Australia, in an appointment which secures a female majority on the court for the first time.

Justice Jagot replaces retiring Justice Patrick Keane, in the Albanese government’s first appointment since the May federal election.

Justice Jagot will join the court on October 17, becoming the 56th person and the seventh woman appointed to the nation’s highest court.

A graduate of Sydney University Law School, she has served on the ACT Supreme Court, the Copyright Tribunal of Australia, the NSW Land and Environment Court and was a partner at Mallesons Stephen Jaques, now known as King & Wood Mallesons.

“Justice Jagot is regarded as outstanding lawyer and an eminent judge,” Mr Dreyfus and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/jayne-jagot-joins-the-high-court-20220929-p5blv9

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
September 29, 2022 9:31 am

if not checked by counter-balancing institutions and legal measures, is being exploited by the Democrats for their own purposes.

I had never thought about it before but it neatly corresponds to (or explains) why one party is called Democrats and the other called Republican.

The “75%” example I gave even corresponds, notionally, with the slavery in the Southern states – I would expect more people supported slavery than opposed. (I would also expect there were people opposed to slavery who were not slaves themselves, and a great deal of people who were indifferent with it seeming to have little to do with their day to day struggle.

Once upon a time I expect kids learned civics at school and so knew that America was not a simple democracy – and why – but a ‘republic’ form of democracy where they democracy their representatives into office and democracy them out on their arses if they misbehave.

Sadly I think this important but subtle distinction is no longer taught so they think there is no principle which can validly oppose the mob rule the Democrats have descended into.

That is why I thought the cartoon might make people nervous to see the word ‘democracy’ used to connote something bad.

feelthebern
feelthebern
September 29, 2022 9:35 am

Re the Optus CEO being on other boards.
Having executive staff holding external board positions (ex the NFP racket) rarely works out.
If you are an exec being given 7 figures by shareholders, guess what, your life belongs to them.
If you don’t think like that, no worries, you’ll be found out & replaced soon enough.

Roger
Roger
September 29, 2022 9:39 am

Even the ABC is sceptical…

‘Queensland’s clean energy and hydro power plan faces cost and delivery obstacles, experts warn’

feelthebern
feelthebern
September 29, 2022 9:41 am

After having the biggest rally since 2009, the US 10 year bond is selling off.
25bps rally.
Now a 6bps sell off.
FMD this is causing carnage for those in the wrong side of it.

H B Bear
H B Bear
September 29, 2022 9:41 am

The AFR calls Optus’s Kelly Bayer Rosmarin a “part-time CEO“

I expect Joe Aston wouldn’t be so complimentary.

lotocoti
lotocoti
September 29, 2022 9:42 am

Nord Stream Pipelines Sabotaged, and Only One Country Benefits

He might’ve been a bit too quick to dismiss the old enemy.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 9:44 am

Donald Trump Jr.
@DonaldJTrumpJr
Are you paying attention yet?

biden designated trump voters extremists, tim ryan said to “kill” the MAGA movement, mazie hirono endorsed “call to arms” on abortion.

since then, a republican teenager murdered, FBI sent SWAT teams to arrest a christian, and an elderly woman was shot in the back spreading pro-life causes.

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 9:50 am

The most valuable of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it has to be done, whether you like it or not.

– Aldous Huxley

flyingduk
flyingduk
September 29, 2022 9:50 am

Regarding the sabotage of Nordstream – 2 interesting observations from Jo Nova:

1) The UK is also critically dependent on undersea delivery of gas – 1/3 of their national supply comes from Norway.

2) German authorities are saying that the damaged pipelines will be rendered unusable if salt-water has entered the pipes. Corrosion will make them unrepairable.

This is really big shit.

duncanm
duncanm
September 29, 2022 9:51 am

The AFR calls Optus’s Kelly Bayer Rosmarin a “part-time CEO“

ouch.

But hey, we can’t fault Bayer Rosmarin for taking governance at Optus seriously since taking the top job.

She’s filled several important oversight roles, including appointing Ash Barty as the telco’s Chief Inspiration Officer (no joke) in August this year, and Daniel Ricciardo as Optus Chief Optimism Officer in September 2020 (you read that correctly).

Thanks to these C-suite officers, customers whose private details are being sold on the internet are now sufficiently inspired to take up government offers of free renewed passports, while Telstra shareholders are more optimistic than they have been in years.

P
P
September 29, 2022 9:52 am

Feast day of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael Thursday 29/09/22

Saint Michael: Meet the Angel

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 9:52 am

The Duchess of Decline

Meghan Markle obsesses us because she is a symbol of our willful degeneration.

How did we get here? Why does Meghan Markle affect everyone so? Why can’t I log on without seeing her face?

Some answers are straightforward. She’s relatively good-looking, for one, and she operates at the precise nexus of palace intrigue and celebrity gossip. She’s also explicitly political, in the sense that she’s all too eager to demonstrate fealty to the gods of woke in every elaborate flourish. She’s familiar.

Many of us have a Meghan Markle in the family, or have at least encountered one in the wild.

It’s a type who is basically willing to ruin someone else’s reputation to enhance their own. This particular kind of person has been especially empowered by the advent of cancel culture and a political environment which perceives victimhood as currency. It may be the jealous sister-in-law, or the abusive spouse, who despite being constantly caught up in her own elaborate web of lies, finds a certain legitimacy in performative victimhood. Amber Heard. Jada Smith. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. We all know her! Feigned injury is the narcissist’s fog of war: the thing that prevents the world from perceiving her true viciousness.

One story illustrates the example clearly.

That wedding was entirely funded by the British taxpayer, whom she also trashed in the Oprah interview, and in several others since, as deeply racist.

Little indications of the truth will occasionally peek through the facade. British people in general don’t use plantation slurs to refer to black people. That unspeakable word is entirely an Americanism.

Meghan Markle isn’t just the in-law from hell.

She hates what the firm represents, but she still wants to keep the honorific titles. She wears the monarchy as a profitable skinsuit while hollowing out its dignity. Worst of all, she reminds us of the fact that the demise of all these beautiful features of Christendom, and of Western civilization itself, came by invitation.

Roger
Roger
September 29, 2022 9:54 am

That is why I thought the cartoon might make people nervous to see the word ‘democracy’ used to connote something bad.

If nothing else, he’s making people think.

Lex is Rex, not the mob, nor the government (thus the Bill of Rights).

‘Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.’

Benjamin Franklin

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 9:57 am

duncanmsays:
September 29, 2022 at 9:51 am
The AFR calls Optus’s Kelly Bayer Rosmarin a “part-time CEO“

ouch.

But hey, we can’t fault Bayer Rosmarin for taking governance at Optus seriously since taking the top job.

She’s filled several important oversight roles, including appointing Ash Barty as the telco’s Chief Inspiration Officer (no joke) in August this year, and Daniel Ricciardo as Optus Chief Optimism Officer in September 2020 (you read that correctly).

Thanks to these C-suite officers, customers whose private details are being sold on the internet are now sufficiently inspired to take up government offers of free renewed passports, while Telstra shareholders are more optimistic than they have been in years.

You Forgot

Just months after she quit as NSW premier during a corruption investigation, Gladys Berejiklian has been appointed to an executive role at telecommunications giant Optus.

Ms Berejiklian will take on the newly created role of managing director, enterprise, business and institutional.

Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin said Ms Berejiklian was a proven leader who demonstrated strength, discipline and composure during her time as premier.

Ms Rosmarin said she believed Ms Berejiklian would be a “game changer” in her new role.

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 10:06 am

Ms Rosmarin said she believed Ms Berejiklian would be a “game changer” in her new role.

Yes and the Game has well and truly changed – For the worse if you are an Optus Customer.

rosie
rosie
September 29, 2022 10:08 am

The Cat has ‘liberty quotes’ already.
Why does the open forum have to be spammed with them?

Mater
September 29, 2022 10:08 am

Wow, someone’s still smarting around.

Wow, the lack of self awareness is astounding.
From someone who’s been stomping around for weeks implying that Arky doxxed him in the guise of a sock, without the slightest skerrick of evidence. Yet, whinged and moaned like a 14 year old girl to have upticks removed because they might be ‘manipulated’ and potentially didn’t represent the ‘truth and integrity’ that is apparently the foundation of the Cat.

FMD

Bruce of Newcastle
Bruce of Newcastle
September 29, 2022 10:09 am

Ms Rosmarin said she believed Ms Berejiklian would be a “game changer” in her new role.

Gladys does seem to have reverse Midas Touch.
Hope she doesn’t move to head office in Singapore.
The island may sink.

H B Bear
H B Bear
September 29, 2022 10:11 am

Teh Paywallian doesn’t appreciate Daryl McGuire Optus jokes.

Indolent
Indolent
September 29, 2022 10:12 am
Roger
Roger
September 29, 2022 10:12 am

She’s filled several important oversight roles, including appointing Ash Barty as the telco’s Chief Inspiration Officer (no joke) in August this year, and Daniel Ricciardo as Optus Chief Optimism Officer in September 2020 (you read that correctly).

Presumably these are also part-time roles.

Does anyone in Optus’s senior management work full-time?

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 10:22 am

BALTOPS 22 Multinational Exercise Kicks Off In The Baltic Sea

Fourteen NATO allies, two NATO partner nations, over 45 ships, more than 75 aircraft, and approximately 7,000 personnel kick off Baltic Operations (BALTOPS 22) from Stockholm on 05 June 2022.

Ships participating in exercise BALTOPS22 prepare to depart Stockholm, June 5, 2022. BALTOPS 22 is the premier maritime-focused exercise in the Baltic Region. The exercise, led by U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, and executed by Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO, provides a unique training opportunity to strengthen combined response capabilities critical to preserving freedom of navigation and security in the Baltic Sea. (US Navy photo)

This premier maritime-focused annual exercise in the Baltic Region takes place June 5-17 and provides a unique training opportunity to strengthen combined response capabilities critical to preserving freedom of navigation and security in the Baltic Sea. This is the 51st iteration of the exercise series that began in 1972.

Participating nations include Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries will exercise a myriad of capabilities demonstrating the inherent flexibility of maritime forces. Exercise scenarios include amphibious operations, gunnery, anti-submarine, air defense, mine clearance operations, explosive ordnance disposal, unmanned underwater vehicles, and medical response.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
September 29, 2022 10:25 am

Matersays:

September 29, 2022 at 9:05 am

The pipelines?
Arky did it.

How would he do that?
I honestly don’t think he would be capable of that, do you?

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
September 29, 2022 10:26 am

Does anyone in Optus’s senior management work full-time?

They’re banking hours this week.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
September 29, 2022 10:27 am

I’m not sure highlighting European vulnerability, or forcing them towards permanent alternatives, is in the Russian interest.

Nonetheless that’s exactly what Russia has done over the past year. The ‘reliable gas on our terms’ fairies started to leave the bottom of the German garden in late 2021, followed by the deliberate theatre of shutting down NS1.

Whatever the end result in Ukraine, the European energy market is unlikely* to be going back to strategic dependence on Russian gas.

* Although not impossible, given the crushing stupidity currently fashionable in European government.

bespoke
bespoke
September 29, 2022 10:27 am

Many of us have a Meghan Markle in the family

Not me, purged such a creature long ago.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 10:28 am

Joe and Hunter’s Fang Fang Problem

It was worse than we thought. It turns out that Hunter Biden’s drug enslavement, sex addiction, and penchant for Russkie hookers didn’t stop there. It was probably worse than his hinky “big guy” business deals, diamond “gifts,” and unearned Ukrainian paydays. There was a Chinese spy involved. Just like Democrat Eric Swalwell’s Fang Fang.

Hold on, I’ve got to catch my breath.

Be honest: You thought it would be that Putin inserted, so to speak, hookers who would double back and sting the first son. But those chickens haven’t come home to roost — at least as far as we know. Over to you, FBI.

No. It turns out that the sex slave son of the president, just like his Dad-showering sister, lived for the next conquest that could not satisfy the kinkiest porn fantasies. So, kinky Hunter had a Chinese honey-on-the-side “secretary” who was the wide-open gateway to “billions” of largesse.

And, according to Fox News, she was a spy.

Meet JiaQi Bao.

Surprise, surprise.

The Chinese-American “secretary” looks like a Kardashian. Hunter ate it up. So why are we just now appreciating the importance of a story about Hunter bedding a Chinese spy that broke more than a year ago in the London Daily Mail? Well, now we have an FBI whistleblower who confirms it.

Fox News’s Jesse Watters reports that Republican Congressman James Comer confirms that yet another Hunter Biden “national security nightmare” is tied to what appears to be a Chinese honey pot cum secretary, JiaQi Bao.

Roger
Roger
September 29, 2022 10:29 am

How would he do that?
I honestly don’t think he would be capable of that, do you?

Klaus Schwab, however…means, motive, opportunity.

JC
JC
September 29, 2022 10:32 am

Mater

Relax, I wasn’t talking about you champ.

Jeez, you’re a hissy fitter.

Take those childish outbursts to the duelling thread unless you too think you own the blog too.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 10:34 am

Quick Question – Do we have this problem in Australia?

Opioids @ Work: Hidden Scourge Sapping the Economy

By James Varney, RealClearInvestigations
September 28, 2022

That toll on labor, haunting America’s working present and future probably for years — if not decades — to come, is largely invisible and underreported because it is difficult to measure, according to physicians, counselors, economists, workers and public officials. But its staying power is suggested by other lasting national challenges, including the porous southern border — a major conduit for smuggled, Chinese-made fentanyl — and economic and social traumas set in motion by the coronavirus pandemic.

Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, which law enforcement has tracked from labs in China along trafficking routes through Mexico on the southern border, are now driving the overdose epidemic. The CDC attributed 69,000 overdose deaths to synthetic opioids in 2020, 82% of the nation’s total that year. Heroin overdoses, meanwhile, went up 7% in 2020 to 13,000, according to CDC figures.

That means synthetic opioids and heroin dwarf cocaine and methamphetamines, although totals for both of those have been rising for a decade and often cause overdose deaths in combination with opioids. The National Institutes of Health shows fewer than 5,000 people killed by cocaine alone and fewer than 10,000 by what it dubs “psychostimulants,” which includes methamphetamines, in 2020.

Less precisely, economists since at least 2017 have pegged at over $1 trillion the epidemic’s annual dollar cost in terms of deaths, law enforcement and “lost productivity.”

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
September 29, 2022 10:34 am

Rogersays:

September 29, 2022 at 10:29 am

How would he do that?
I honestly don’t think he would be capable of that, do you?

Klaus Schwab, however…means, motive, opportunity.

Bwah ha ha ha.
The pipeline thing is fertile ground for conspiracy nuts.

“It is highly probable that [insert name of favourite villain here] nobbled the pipelines. And the reasons are that [insert long list of fantastic interconnected conspiracies].”

bespoke
bespoke
September 29, 2022 10:38 am

It’s only idle speculation, Sancho.
Feeling left out?

JC
JC
September 29, 2022 10:41 am

Mater

Why did you think I posted that comment about you?

I didn’t even read your comment.

Dover

I think mater’s childish outburst needs to be carried over the duel shed as it’s wrecking this one. Unless he owns the site. 🙂

GreyRanga
GreyRanga
September 29, 2022 10:41 am

Dover can you please rename the Duelling Thread the Childish Thread. It is pitiful.

GreyRanga
GreyRanga
September 29, 2022 10:46 am

Thancho, Arky has very long arms.

Old School Conservative
Old School Conservative
September 29, 2022 10:47 am

feelthebern says:
September 29, 2022 at 8:46 am
I feel a bit sorry for this Izzy kid in NZ.

And therein lies the rub.
She was weaponised by her parents, and now Conservatives have a difficult choice – attack a girl and suffer conscience pangs; or pass on the opportunity to score points against the wokerati.
Perhaps a Trumpian 3rd option could be launched – slam the parents for both the Fiji trip and for weaponising their daughter.

bespoke
bespoke
September 29, 2022 10:49 am

3rd option.
This!

JC
JC
September 29, 2022 10:54 am

Ranga, personally, I really would be surprised if Leadership blew up the pipe. Frankly, I’d be shocked.

H B Bear
H B Bear
September 29, 2022 10:56 am

She was weaponised by her parents, and now Conservatives have a difficult choice – attack a girl and suffer conscience pangs; or pass on the opportunity to score points against the wokerati.

My conscience is fine taking on weaponised kids. They aren’t necessarily the problem – more a symptom.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 11:00 am

Page 110 – Chapter 6

Restoring Grid Function After a Major Disruption

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Enhancing the Resilience of the Nation’s Electricity System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24836.

INTRODUCTION

This chapter discusses the post-event system restoration and the learning phases of the resilience model laid out in Figure 1.2. The committee first introduces a general model for electricity system restoration after a large-area, long-duration outage and then discusses restoration for several classes of disruptions based on the type of damage caused. This organization is based on the recognition that restoration activities proceed differently based on different types of outages—following some events, utility operators will have no situational awareness to guide their deployments; whereas other events may leave monitoring systems intact but overwhelm stockpiled resources. The chapter includes recommendations for improving the restoration process and for improving post-incident investigation to better learn from each experience to improve future performance.

Plus

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

A black start is the process of restoring an electric power station or a part of an electric grid to operation without relying on the external electric power transmission network to recover from a total or partial shutdown

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
September 29, 2022 11:02 am

She was weaponised by her parents, and now Conservatives have a difficult choice – attack a girl and suffer conscience pangs

Given she wants to destroy the livelihoods and living standards of millions, my conscience is clear.

feelthebern
feelthebern
September 29, 2022 11:04 am

She should be ridiculed.
But one can feel sorry for her while ridiculing her.
Another child of a drawbridge capitalist.

Roger
Roger
September 29, 2022 11:09 am

Given she wants to destroy the livelihoods and living standards of millions, my conscience is clear.

We have one of those up here.

We call her the Premier.

rickw
rickw
September 29, 2022 11:13 am

VIC Firearm License Holders:

Suggest you check your license expiry date. LRD are not reliably mailing out renewal notices, they are however reliably mailing out expiry notices (as one would expect in this shithole.)

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
September 29, 2022 11:19 am

Rogersays:

September 29, 2022 at 11:09 am

Given she wants to destroy the livelihoods and living standards of millions, my conscience is clear.

We have one of those up here.

We call her the Premier.

You’re from Queensssland?
Eeewwww.

Lysander
Lysander
September 29, 2022 11:23 am

Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, which law enforcement has tracked from labs in China along trafficking routes through Mexico on the southern border, are now driving the overdose epidemic. The CDC attributed 69,000 overdose deaths to synthetic opioids in 2020, 82% of the nation’s total that year. Heroin overdoses, meanwhile, went up 7% in 2020 to 13,000, according to CDC figures.

In the spirit of Libertarianism, we should just legalise these and have heroine, cocaine and fentanyl available next to your hi-lo long life milk in Walmart.

/sarc.

rickw
rickw
September 29, 2022 11:26 am

Ms Rosmarin said she believed Ms Berejiklian would be a “game changer” in her new role.

A whole lot of useless people have worked their way into industry and government, now they’re intent on giving each other jobs.

Roger
Roger
September 29, 2022 11:27 am

The sultan will have direct talks with Putin Thursday. Wonder what he is up to.

Perhaps he’ll ask for Crimea to be returned to the Tatars.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
September 29, 2022 11:28 am

And therein lies the rub.
She was weaponised by her parents, and now Conservatives have a difficult choice – attack a girl and suffer conscience pangs;

How about if they took it up with the parents, and portrayed the girl as being used by her parents.

That is what is really happening.

They don’t even have to say anything mean.

Mother Lode
Mother Lode
September 29, 2022 11:37 am

Regarding the Nordstream pipes – I think we have to ask just exactly what Tony Abbott’s role has been in this.

incoherent rambler
incoherent rambler
September 29, 2022 11:43 am

Suggest you check your license expiry date. LRD are not reliably mailing out renewal notices, they are however reliably mailing out expiry notices (as one would expect in this shithole.)

I’m halfway through the renewal process.
It’s worse than you think.

Speedbox
September 29, 2022 11:44 am

flyingduk says:
September 29, 2022 at 9:50 am
Regarding the sabotage of Nordstream – 2 interesting observations from Jo Nova:
1) The UK is also critically dependent on undersea delivery of gas – 1/3 of their national supply comes from Norway.
2) German authorities are saying that the damaged pipelines will be rendered unusable if salt-water has entered the pipes. Corrosion will make them unrepairable.

I imagine that was the point. Uncontrolled seawater entry will require a substantial number (all?) of the sections be replaced. Some sections might be repairable but each section has an internal coating that allows gas to move more freely. That coating will be buggered if in contact with seawater for any significant time (meaning it’s probably already too late). Undersea pipes are hydro pressure tested but that is obviously different to uncontrolled sea water ingress. Note that each pipe section weighs 24 tonnes with steel and concrete walls 15cm thick.

I’m not an engineer but would expect gas supplies via Nordstream 1 or 2 are probably off the table until 2024.

rickw
rickw
September 29, 2022 12:01 pm

I’m halfway through the renewal process.
It’s worse than you think.

They’re also only answering phone calls three days a week. COVID I guess…..

rickw
rickw
September 29, 2022 12:03 pm

German authorities are saying that the damaged pipelines will be rendered unusable if salt-water has entered the pipes. Corrosion will make them unrepairable.

It almost like they don’t want them back on line……

(This sounds like BS to me, sure you might get reduced life due to internal corrosion, but unusable??!!)

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
September 29, 2022 12:03 pm

The ENERGY SECURITY BOARD Health of the National Electricity Market report is out today.

It’s a car crash and we’re doomed.

But at least the Albanese Government won’t be able to pretend they weren’t warned, while they sit shocked, listening to hub caps rolling down the road and the clicking of hot metal.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
September 29, 2022 12:06 pm

Mother Lodesays:

September 29, 2022 at 11:37 am

Regarding the Nordstream pipes – I think we have to ask just exactly what Tony Abbott’s role has been in this.

Yes!!!!
The Shirtfronter!
Who else could it be?

Razey
Razey
September 29, 2022 12:09 pm

rickwsays:
September 29, 2022 at 12:03 pm
German authorities are saying that the damaged pipelines will be rendered unusable if salt-water has entered the pipes. Corrosion will make them unrepairable.

It almost like they don’t want them back on line……

(This sounds like BS to me, sure you might get reduced life due to internal corrosion, but unusable??!!)

As you know, engineers allow for a certain corrosion rate and factor that into the pipe design. Unless this rate is higher than calculated or allowed for, then it’s BS.

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
September 29, 2022 12:09 pm

This sounds like BS to me, sure you might get reduced life due to internal corrosion, but unusable??!!

Sounds like that to me too.

The line pipe used on both has a substantial internal polyurethane coating and was filled with seawater for pressure testing during construction.

feelthebern
feelthebern
September 29, 2022 12:10 pm

The ABS chooses this month to start releasing a new data set on inflation.
Well done team !

Dr Faustus
Dr Faustus
September 29, 2022 12:13 pm

Dr. Faustus, maybe you could do a guest post on it?

dover: I’m on the road at the moment, I’ll try later in the day.

JC
JC
September 29, 2022 12:14 pm

Bern

Are they going to also run the old one in parallel at least for a while?

Razey
Razey
September 29, 2022 12:14 pm

Dr Faustussays:
September 29, 2022 at 12:03 pm
The ENERGY SECURITY BOARD Health of the National Electricity Market report is out today.

It’s a car crash and we’re doomed.

But at least the Albanese Government won’t be able to pretend they weren’t warned, while they sit shocked, listening to hub caps rolling down the road and the clicking of hot metal.

Gas shortfalls could exacerbate reliability challenges
New sources of flexible generation must replace coal to meet demand in daily peak periods and when
renewable output is low. Without significant increases in non-thermal storage and demand response,
gas will likely power flexible generation in the medium term. The Step Change scenario forecasts a
continued role for gas in the longer term with up to 10GW gas powered generation capacity by 2050.
AEMO in its Gas Statement of Opportunities (March 2022) and the ACCC in its gas inquiry interim
report (July 2022) have both forecast risks of supply shortfalls in 2023.

We anticipate medium term gas shortfalls as southern gas reserves deplete. Assuming production
from existing, committed and expected projects, AEMO forecasts domestic shortfalls from 2029 of
varying materiality depending on the range of weather and demand. The ACCC also forecast a possible
shortfall from as early as 2023 in its July 2022 report.

feelthebern
feelthebern
September 29, 2022 12:15 pm

Dunno JC.
Monthly data is enough but who knows.

GreyRanga
GreyRanga
September 29, 2022 12:22 pm

rickw I think you are being a bit generous with plod and the renewal process. I don’t know but my take is they don’t send out renewal notices so the license expires making the owner dispose of the gun. Soon as the license expires plod will be round, you have an unlicensed gun. Up in court, no more guns for you.

Cassie of Sydney
September 29, 2022 12:28 pm

“She was weaponised by her parents, and now Conservatives have a difficult choice – attack a girl and suffer conscience pangs”

What difficult choice? I think it’s time for those on the right to find some backbone, her parents need to be called out for using a minor as a political tool. Totalitarian regimes have a long, long history of using children to spruik sinister agendas, the Soviet Pavel Morozov comes to mind.

I remember a young girl named Samantha Smith who, back in the 1980s, became a celebrity “peace activist”. She was simply a tool for the anti-nuclear movement (she tragically died in a place crash).

I’m not going to be lectured to by a dopey sixteen year old. I have no conscience about attacking a sixteen year old. After all, the progressive left want to give sixteen year old’s the vote. This young girl should be told, in no uncertain terms, that her opinion doesn’t count.

Once upon a time the right had backbone, either we find it, start using it again or we give up.

rickw
rickw
September 29, 2022 12:28 pm

rickw I think you are being a bit generous with plod and the renewal process. I don’t know but my take is they don’t send out renewal notices so the license expires making the owner dispose of the gun.

Their website says they mail out a renewal package 12 weeks in advance of expiry date. That’s also the way it’s worked every other time.

If they said that they didn’t issue renewal notices and that it was your responsibility, then I would have been watching it.

flyingduk
flyingduk
September 29, 2022 12:29 pm

My conscience is fine taking on weaponised kids. They aren’t necessarily the problem – more a symptom.

The Taliban were not above using children to deliver explosives via vests – the solution was to shoot them at a safe distance nevertheless.

Sadly, there are no ‘civilians’ or ‘non combatants’ in war – it was ever thus.

rickw
rickw
September 29, 2022 12:31 pm

Vikstapo license renewal, first tab down says posted out 12 weeks in advance:

https://www.police.vic.gov.au/renew-your-licence

rosie
rosie
September 29, 2022 12:37 pm

How about not transitioning?
To renewable energy, that is.

rosie
rosie
September 29, 2022 12:41 pm

Izzy knew when she was interviewed she and her family were climate hypocrites and it would be easy for the world to know.
She could have opted to shut up.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 12:50 pm

Winning: B-52 Replacement

September 25, 2022: The U.S. Air Force believes it finally has a replacement for the B-52 bomber; the B-21. There are currently 76 B-52H aircraft still in service and they are expected to serve into the 2050s because the BUFF (Big, Ugly Fat Fellow) just works. The B-21 is described as cheaper and more capable than the similar B-2. As a stealth aircraft it still has the expensive and time-consuming maintenance issues associated with its stealth B-21 development began in 2014 and it cost over $200 billion to develop. By 2022 one B-21 prototype was built and is being prepared for its first flight in 2023. Seven more B-21s are under construction and it is expected to enter service in 2027. The air force wants to buy at least a hundred B-21s but that will depend on how well the first B-21s perform. That particularly includes maintenance of its stealth coating costing much less than the B-2’s. Excessive costs and poor performance are what caused the B-2 to have its production reduced from a hundred to only 21 aircraft. One of these was lost in an accident, leaving only 20 operational. The B-2 entered service in 1997 and production ceased three years later. The aircraft that crashed was valued at $1.4 billion. The 170-ton B-2 has four engines and a crew of two. It can carry up to 23 tons of bombs although the usual bomb load is 18 tons or less. TheB-2 usually carries guided bombs or missiles. Max speed is subsonic (about 1,000 kilometers an hour) while cruising speed is 900 kilometers an h0ur, Max range is 11,000 kilometers, or 19,000 kilometers if there is one in-air refueling. Because of crew fatigue, the 22 hours needed for a 19,000-kilometer mission is the longest the aircraft flies in one sortie. Crews found there was room behind their seats for a foldable cot that allowed them to get some sleep during a long flight.

The B-21 is smaller than the B-2 but has superior stealth capabilities and a similar bomb-load. The primary justification for the B-21 is that it is hopefully more affordable than the B-2 with much superior defensive and offensive electronics.

The ultimate tribute to the B-52 came in 2019 when the air force decided to retire its B-1B bombers, which were built in the 1980s, before the B-52Hs, which were built in the 1960s. It’s all about cost and effectiveness.

The B-52s are to serve until the 2040s or even 2052, which will be a century after the first flight of the B-52.

Another reason for the longevity of the B-52 has been its reliability and relatively low maintenance cost. The B-52H has a better reliability record than much more recent aircraft and much smaller aircraft. For example, the U.S. Air Force mission capable or “readiness rate” (percentage of available aircraft able to do their job) varies by type and technology. Age has less to do with it than you might think. Since 2015, when the B-52H rate was 72 percent compared to 47 percent for the B-1B heavy bomber and 71 percent for the F-15E fighter bomber, the B-52 has maintained its edge in reliability.

Meanwhile, the BUFF abides. If the B-21 does not turn out as capable or affordable as expected the BUFF is still there to fill in, as it has done for nearly a century.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 1:05 pm

Pelosi Drafts Articles Of Impeachment Against New Prime Minister Of Italy

“I can’t understand a strong, independent woman who puts family over government,” Pelosi said in a brief statement. “The government should be your family. I want everyone to look at me as their mother!”

Pelosi admitted, however, that impeachment, if it passes, would mostly be symbolic. “America doesn’t have much say over how Italy governs itself. But I have been in talks with the CIA to see how much meddling we can get away with.”

JC
JC
September 29, 2022 1:08 pm

I know it was a sarc, Lysander.

In the spirit of Libertarianism, we should just legalise these and have heroine, cocaine and fentanyl available next to your hi-lo long life milk in Walmart.

/sarc.

….. and it’s not directed to you. It just reminded me, that’s all. Over the past couple of months some people here have been advocating mindless prohibition against illicit drugs.

Can someone , anyone provide decent proof anywhere in the world , any town or city where demand for drugs has been stopped? One example and I’m done.

The world has spent trillions on trying to control the drug trade and we’ve ended up with massive institutions like intel agencies becoming enormous and now being used against political opponents. I won’t go on about all the other messes the war on drugs has caused.

One single example that demand for drugs being eliminated will do. Anyone?

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 1:15 pm

Corporate Media Panic Over Fentanyl Overdoses But Won’t Talk About The Border Crisis Causing Them

Everyone wants to talk about the ‘hidden epidemic’ of fentanyl overdoses but no one wants to talk about the border crisis that’s causing it.

It’s not lost on anybody including the corporate media that fentanyl, the synthetic opioid making its rounds in U.S. cities, is increasingly threatening the lives of Americans. Severely lacking from the media coverage of record-high fentanyl overdoses, however, is honesty about what exactly is causing streams of the dangerous substance to enter the U.S. unnoticed: President Joe Biden’s unsecured border.

The Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that the Drug Enforcement Administration “seized more than 10.2 million fentanyl pills and approximately 980 pounds of fentanyl powder during the period of May 23 through Sept. 8, 2022.”

“That is enough to kill 36 million Americans,” Attorney General Merrick Garland explained at a press conference.

Health departments all around the country have declared the rapid rise in fentanyl deaths a public health crisis.

Dr. Brian Hurley, the medical director of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Control division of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, warned fentanyl is now the culprit of the “worst overdose epidemic in United States history.”

Press coverage of this latest opioid crisis development has largely focused on how Americans are losing their children, brothers, sisters, and friends to rainbow-colored pills that resemble candy.

It is no secret that drug cartels are the primary means by which the illicit and fatal pills are making their way into Americans’ hands. Even the DEA admits that the rise in fentanyl deaths in the U.S. is directly linked to cartel activity at the nation’s southern border.

The corporate media, DOJ, and DEA fail to admit, however, that it’s under Biden’s lax border policies that drug activity has only increased.

Old bloke
Old bloke
September 29, 2022 1:19 pm

Mater says:
September 29, 2022 at 8:21 am

Just to clarify my earlier comment.
Clearly the Europeans have always been aware of their vulnerability to the possibility of Russia turning off the gas.

In a similar vein, I wonder if the average New South Welshmen, Victorian and South Australian are aware of their vulnerability to the possibility of Queensland shutting down their coal generators.

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
September 29, 2022 1:20 pm

One single example that demand for drugs being eliminated will do. Anyone?

Banning the over the counter sale of pseudoephedrine?

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 1:23 pm

Durham Prosecutes FBI Informants, While Protecting Their Handlers

By Paul Sperry, RealClearInvestigations – September 29, 2022

In recent court filings, Durham has portrayed the G-men as naive recipients of bad information tricked into opening improper investigations targeting Donald Trump and obtaining invalid warrants to spy on one of his advisers.

But as the cases against the informants have gone to trial, defense lawyers have revealed evidence that cut against that narrative. FBI investigators look less like guileless victims and more like willing partners in the fraudulent schemes Durham brought to light.

Reputed to be a tough, intrepid prosecutor, Durham surprisingly has even made excuses for the misconduct of investigators, providing them a ready-made defense against any possible future prosecution, according to legal experts.

“Durham was supposed to clean up the FBI cesspool, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to be doing that,” said Paul Kamenar, counsel to the National Legal and Policy Center, a Washington watchdog group. “He started with a bang and is ending with a whimper.”

On Oct. 19, 2020, then-Attorney General Bill Barr tapped Durham “to investigate whether any federal official, employee, or any other person or entity violated the law in connection with the intelligence, counter-intelligence, or law-enforcement activities directed at the 2016 presidential campaigns, individuals associated with those campaigns, and individuals associated with the administration of President Donald J. Trump, including but not limited to Crossfire Hurricane and the investigation of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III.”

So far, Durham has focused on the “any other person” part of his mandate. Federal officials and employees appear to be getting a pass.

Long, but Comprehensive read

m0nty
m0nty
September 29, 2022 1:25 pm

Coolio brown bread.

I hope he found a paradise with no gangstas.

OldOzzie
OldOzzie
September 29, 2022 1:30 pm

Here’s California Flooring It to the ‘Clean’ Energy Future … With Its Transmission Slipping Badly

Do electric cars pollute? They do if state power grids stay mostly “dirty” by failing to solve renewable-energy transmission problems. California is a prime case in point.

By Steve Miller, RealClearInvestigations – August 25, 2022

California’s precariously out-of-date hybrid power grid can’t handle the state’s growing amounts of solar and wind energy coming online, with system managers already forcing repeated cutbacks in renewables and a continued reliance on conventional energy to keep the grid stable, according to state data.

The shortcomings of the transmission grid, which energy consultants in this bellwether state have warned about for years, raise the prospect that marquee products of the growing battery economy such as electric vehicles – “emission free” on the road – will be recharged mainly from traditional electricity-generating power plants: energy from fossil fuels, some of it from out of state.

Writ large, the transmission problem threatens the zero-carbon future envisioned by green advocates nationwide. “We’re headed toward duplicate systems whose only benefit is to permit the occasional use of ‘clean power,’” said Grant Ellis, an independent electrical engineering consultant in Texas.

California, along with the rest of the desert Southwest, is adding solar and wind installations at a rapid pace. The state is projected to add four gigawatts of utility-scale solar energy this year alone, enough to power 2.8 million homes. The question is whether that’s going to be enough.

So-called “curtailments” of renewable power have become much more frequent for the state’s blackout-prone power grid because the state hasn’t constructed enough transmission lines, transformers, poles, and other infrastructure to keep up. The amount of renewable energy curtailed in California tripled between 2018 and 2021, according to operator statistics.

Barry
Barry
September 29, 2022 1:38 pm

Dr Faustus says:
September 29, 2022 at 12:03 pm

The ENERGY SECURITY BOARD Health of the National Electricity Market report is out today.

It’s a car crash and we’re doomed.

But at least the Albanese Government won’t be able to pretend they weren’t warned, while they sit shocked, listening to hub caps rolling down the road and the clicking of hot metal.

Reliable, low emissions, affordable.

Pick any two.

bespoke
bespoke
September 29, 2022 1:40 pm

Once upon a time the right had backbone

LOL! When?

Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer
September 29, 2022 1:40 pm

Coolio brown bread.

Quadruple vaxxed.

Probably.

Johnny Rotten
September 29, 2022 1:41 pm

A man comes home from work to find a big ‘ole gorilla in a tree in his front yard.

Realising he’s going need some help with this, he Google’s “gorilla removal services” and soon finds Dave And Rosco’s Full Time Gorilla Removal.

He calls them up.

Dave says he and Rosco will rush right over. They arrive in a truck with a large cage on the back.

Dave introduces himself and his dog, Rosco, to the home owner while setting a pair of handcuffs and a shotgun on the open tailgate.

He says “I’m gonna need a little help from ya, sir. I’m gonna climb up in the tree with the gorilla and attempt to shake him down. When he falls, Rosco is gonna bite and hold down on the gorilla’s most private of parts. When that happens, he’s gonna reach down to try to get Rosco off of him. Now that’s when you slam the cuffs on him and I’ll take him from there”.

The man says “Okay… but what’s the shotgun for?” Dave says “In the event that the gorilla shakes me out the tree… you shoot Rosco”.

1 4 5 6 7 8 12
  1. Is that the line being pushed by the DNC/MSM talking points? Very inventive, but hardly credible.

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