22 novels and counting…. I like Barney.
Open Thread – Weekend 8 Oct 2022
- Open Thread – Mon 25 Nov 2024
- The more you gets the less you eats
- Open Thread – Weekend 23 Nov 2024
- Open Thread – Thurs 21 Nov 2024
- Open Thread – Mon 18 Nov 2024
Has someone been baiting the cats? Many years ago in Richmond, I think it was, a new Mayor from the…
If there wasn’t a Great Game no one would be playing!
I don’t suppose it’s appropriate to mention a Patrol fits a 44 in the back – and it has room…
Arky:”Other than that, you seem to have a firm grasp on how we got here today, but you could brush…
A very good piece in today’s Oz by Chris Mitchell about sinister corporate activism and “ESG”…
“Journalists duped by corporate activism
CHRIS MITCHELL
Too many in business journalism only see black and white on coal, just as the Greens have only been able to see gas as a negative despite a clear understanding when they signed a deal with Labor PM Julia Gillard in 2010.
Media reporting of corporate activism in Australia needs to be balanced by clear-eyed business journalism that recognises the financial interests of shareholders and superannuation investors.
Uncritical reporting of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) commitments by business has created a climate in which the social policies of companies and superannuation funds often receive inordinate publicity, but ESG decisions that reduce profitability and therefore dividends and superannuation returns receive little journalistic attention.
Divestment of thermal coal assets is a case in point. Journalists and shareholder activists should be demanding to know why some boards have unloaded coal investments when many listed coal stocks are at record highs, the coal price is almost five times what it was a decade ago, and total global coal-fired power generation has never been higher.
Sky News Australia host and News Corp columnist Andrew Bolt last Monday revealed a letter sent by super fund HESTA, which represents 950,000 workers mainly in the health sector. HESTA, with $68bn under management, is chaired by former Labor attorney-general Nicola Roxon. On Sky News, Bolt read from a letter sent by HESTA to the largest 300 companies on the Australian Stock Exchange.
The letter, Bolt said, warned companies HESTA would be investing in businesses taking action on global warming and fighting for gender equality, for those appointing more female directors and those addressing the gender pay gap, and against social inequality. It was looking at companies that rely less on casual workers, offer flexible work practices and help stop the loss of nature. Bolt argued this was a left wing agenda that spoke nothing about support for free speech or “divestment from the Chinese dictatorship”.
HESTA should ‘get back to doing what they have to’ amid climate push
Nationals Senator Matt Canavan says health super fund HESTA’s recent letter to ASX 300 companies demanding… they take action on climate change is a pattern of behaviour being seen “across the corporate sector”. “Where the corporate state, if you like, is trying to become the entire state,”
All true and, of course, no one wants to support companies with terrible working conditions or bad human rights records. But this column reckons most people relying on their superannuation and sharemarket investments to live want one thing above all: good returns.
Once finance journalists used to write about directors’ fiduciary duties in an effort to ensure companies maximised shareholder returns. Indeed, the rationale underpinning most business journalism was the interests of shareholders.
Yet neither here nor in the US does the letter of the corporations law require directors to maximise profit and return to shareholders. This column believes readers would reward business journalism that campaigned to change that.
Not that all the other legal requirements placed on company directors are not important, but for most investors in listed companies and superannuation, return on investment is key.
The Wall Street Journal stands apart from much of the business press by openly questioning the effectiveness of corporate ESG, which the paper has criticised as little more than a branding exercise and greenwashing — trying to gain credibility for policies sensitive to the environment even though such claims can prove misleading at best.
Andrew Bolt has described company edicts such as the one from HESTA about investing in firms taking action on climate change as ‘left wing agenda’.
Andy Kessler, on July 10, looked at some of the largest ESG investment funds in the US and concluded: “For BlackRock, ESG and sustainable investing don’t seem to be about responsible or socially just investing, they are simply a lucrative business model. So yes, you’re paying someone five to 15 times as much (as other fund management fees) to adjust some weightings and perform worse.”
New York-based BlackRock is the world’s largest investment manager. Kessler also pointed to investigations of “greenwashing” and potential false ESG claims at Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs.
On September 12, the WSJ published a piece from former BlackRock executive Terrence R. Keeley under the headline: “ESG Does Neither Much Good nor Very Well.”
“In 2021 alone, (ESG investment) grew by $US8bn a day. Bloomberg projects more than one third of all globally managed assets could carry explicit ESG labels by 2025. Yet … there is astonishingly little evidence of its tangible benefit.”
An investment of $US10,000 in a global ESG fund in 2017 would today return $US13,500, compared with $US15,250 in the broader market, he wrote. “Did the foregone $1750 somehow do $1750 worth of good for mankind? Apparently not.” And were unit holders informed of their shortfall?
Keeley quoted a study from researchers at the universities of Utah, Miami and Hong Kong, finding “there is no evidence that socially responsible investment funds improve corporate behaviour”.
Keeley added: “ESG and anti-sin (gambling and tobacco) investing have failed for the same reason: Divestiture is an ineffective tool for generating excess returns and changing societal outcomes.”
Which brings us back to coal investments.
The Guardian Australia and ABC have often had plenty of criticism for Australia’s biggest coal miner, Glencore, and its former chief executive Ivan Glasenberg. Yet Glencore’s profits on coal have soared and Glasenberg is self-evidently correct when he says divestment does not close mines, but simply ensures different owners. There is no benefit to the planet.
Brad Thompson in The Australian Financial Review last year quoted Glasenberg making another self-evidently true point about decisions by Australia’s largest miner, BHP, to divest coal assets. “Disposing of fossil fuel assets and making them someone else’s issue … won’t reduce absolute emissions,” Glasenberg said.
Yet, like many environment writers, too many in business journalism can only see black and white on coal — just as the Greens have only been able to see gas as a negative despite a clear understanding when they signed a deal with former Labor PM Julia Gillard in 2010 that implied that gas was to be the transition fuel to renewables until mid-century.
The industrialised West may be moving away from fossil fuels, even if more coal is being burned in China, India and much of Asia and South America. But even in Europe, the US and Australia, the transition will take time and coal will be an essential fuel to maintain grid reliability for at least 15 years; gas, for even longer.
Media campaigns against companies that own coal and pretend there is no global demand for fossil fuels are ignorant. As corporate adviser Patrick Gibbons wrote in the AFR on July 19: “The energy shortages in Europe began last year with a wind drought, but have been dramatically compounded by Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine.
“The energy shortfall has exposed the underlying trade-offs between the constituent parts of E, S and G. The need for energy security … has thrown into question long-held trends, including the planned closure of ageing coal and nuclear plants.”
Activist journalists don’t want to hear it but they have a duty to report what is really happening.
In the world of rich, teal independent parliamentarians, their voters and corporate executives, seeming good is more important that doing good. Companies in fact do good by creating jobs and prosperity. Superannuation does good by improving living standards in retirement. It might not sound thrilling to young workers forced to pay 10.5 per cent of their salaries in compulsory super, but it will when they retire.
Journalists’ loyalty here should be to their readers and the facts.
for the toxic trolls : no consequences
for everybody else: little or no motivation to participate
“Journalists’ loyalty here should be to their readers and the facts.”
Once upon a time.
rabz:
My arse after 2 bottles of red and a pineapple pizza, makes more bloody sense the the Old Thief.
Bruce O’Newk
Told to me by an old aboriginal bloke at Pine Creek in the Territory that a bucket of termite nest and a bucket of sand put in a mixer and made to a slurry was perfect for a house floor. Apparently the saliva resets when it dries out.
He was a well known bullshit artist so not sure about it…
The Covid emergency is over.
The Monkeypox emergency didn’t fly.
Nor did the Polio emergency. It was ignored.
So what next can we try before the mid-terms? Ah I know, how about…
Ebola Is Back: US To Screen Passengers From Uganda (9 Oct)
This stuff would be funny if it wasn’t so serious. And I mean that other disease: leftism pestis.
Lisa Wilkinson is at this very moment spinning the Which Personality To Use When Giving Evidence wheel. Categories include, but are not limited to:
Giggly Poppet
Newsreader
Shit Op-Ed TV Commentator
Serious Author and Champion of Chick Rights
Peter’s Wife
Peter’s Researcher
Elderly Starlet
Twitter Crosses Red-Line, Censors Florida Surgeon General’s Recommendation
On Saturday, Florida’s Surgeon General, Joseph Ladapo, made waves by becoming the first major health official in the country to recommend against males 18-39 getting the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. That came after an extensive, multi-year study showed an 84 percent rise in cardiac-related deaths among the age group. That backed up prior studies which had also pointed to an increased risk of heart issues.
Ladapo’s job is to make those determinations and give his recommendations to the general public. That would be the same general public that chose to elect Ron DeSantis, who appointed the surgeon general, as governor of Florida.
Unfortunately, Twitter has long shown it is a ward of the politicized CDC and quickly moved to censor Ladapo’s announcement. As far as I can tell, it was an unprecedented move to silence a duly-appointed health official of a major state.
Think about how Orwellian and perhaps dangerous Twitter’s move was. They chose, supposedly of their own volition (but likely with a wink and nod from the Biden administration), to directly interfere in the public health decision of a US state. Again, a massive social media company decided it should have the power to override and ignore the recommendation of a duly-elected administration, dictating to the public instead.
It’s a good point Cassie.
I think some super funds offer green/so called ethical investment options to members, but it should never be without members’ knowledge or consent.
Truly the stuff of nightmares. I couldn’t even watch it to the end so I doubt I could survive living it. It makes you understand how revolution come. There must be an ignition point.
Apparently Twitter has put it back up again.
At the ABC an hour ago
Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses Ukraine of Crimea-Russia bridge blast
Like everything else with the climate emergency we’ll probably just have to wait until superannuation savings etc all goes completely pear shaped.
BON – Yep – “Twitter Removes, Then Reinstates Florida Surgeon General’s Covid Vaccine Warning Tweet”
https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/florida-surgeon-general-recommends-against-mrna-covid-19-vaccines-males-aged-18-39
Say what!!?
Humphrey B Bear:
No standing?
but not the abortion curette?
On Saturday morning, I posted:
Nanagui ran last.
It turns out that, as the gates opened, the filly’s saddle shifted, meaning she was lucky to finish at all.
Assistant trainer Katherine Coleman, of Peter Moody Racing, says she’s relieved the horse suffered no injury.
That’s the back story.
Ive seen Dr Ladapo interviewed, he is very impressive.
Considering her well established lack of judgement, a push-up and plenty of jangly stuff
is on the menu.
Fin review, paywalled
Germany under fire over $306b energy crisis rescue plan
After Poland, Greece drops a massive $500 billion bombshell on Germany
German regional vote tests public mood amid energy woes
Germans in the coastal state of Lower Saxony vote in a closely watched regional election Sunday, seen as a key test for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats amid an acute energy crisis.
Cohenite:
But here in Australia if the bat eared hunchback gets back in your theory may need tinkering. Even if there is no opposition with that political marmoset, Guy, deserving no consideration, if the conservative minors, PHON, LDP, do not increase their vote, then that latent quality you see in the punters may be just a dream.
Did you see any of the footage from the marches in Melbourne over the weekend? True, they’re not as large as the biggest of last year during the lockdowns.
But from the numbers there would seem to be enough engaged people that I’m holding my position on Australians’ anger on rights and equality.
(While the reason for the marching is not da voice, the covid control of the people has really opened their eyes. They’re now a very dissatisfied group. Offering up a new way to remove more rights from them won’t cut it.)
Lol. I’m watching an old Benny Hill episode and there’s a “safe space” warning about the offensive content.
Good luck with that
lower Saxony vote for red green coalition
Investigation: In 2018, the US Deep State funded Daszak to create Covid-19 for Moderna’s Vaccine Platform
Google Is a Disgrace
Google Targets 2-Time Pulitzer-Prize-Winning Cartoonist, Calls Our Poll ‘Dangerous,’ And More
I & I Editorial Board – October 7, 2022
Political cartoonist Michael Ramirez has won two Pulitzer Prizes – an achievement only a handful of others in his category have achieved – as well as countless other awards for his unmatched mastery of his craft. His cartoons, syndicated by Creators, run in publications around the world.
Yet, to Google’s content police, Ramirez’s cartoons are “shocking content” and it is restricting ads on a page where a catalog of them appears.
How do we know this? Because it’s against our site that Google has taken this action.
Google’s AdSense network – which is used by some 3.5 million websites to generate revenue – defines “shocking content” as content that:
. contains gruesome, graphic, or disgusting accounts or imagery.
. depicts acts of violence.
. contains a significant amount of or prominently features obscene or profane language.
We appealed this ruling with Google and were denied. No explanation was offered, of course. And there’s no possible way to know what would constitute a “fix” that would satisfy Google.
See for yourself here. Ramirez’s cartoons can be provocative. They can be hilarious. They can be deadly serious. But they are works of art. There’s a reason we label him “World’s Greatest Cartoonist.”
This isn’t the only content Google is attacking. Every day we get alerts from Google AdSense of “policy violations” by one of our editorials or op-eds. Some are even more idiotic than the label they’re slapping on Ramirez cartoons.
. An I&I/TIPP poll asked registered voters if they were worried about President Joe Biden’s mental health. Google labeled our report on the poll’s findings as “dangerous and derogatory.” How, exactly, are we supposed to “fix” this to Google’s satisfaction? Change the poll results? It’s worth pointing out that our polling partner, TIPP, is a highly respected firm that has had the most accurate forecasts for every presidential election since 2000.
West has now set a course on total terrorist warfare
Also George Washington led an army of trannies to victory over the British.
Woke Broadway Revival of Classic ‘1776’ Musical Casts Transgender, ‘Non-Binary’ Actors: ‘Trans People Have Always Existed — They Existed in 1776’ (9 Oct)
Sure to bring in thousands of eager concertgoers.
rosiesays:
October 10, 2022 at 8:32 am
Fin review, paywalled
Germany under fire over $306b energy crisis rescue plan
Berlin | A defiant Chancellor Olaf Scholz will this week forge ahead with a $306 billion plan to shield German residents and companies from high energy prices, despite a fierce backlash from European Union partners who accuse him of “destroying” the bloc’s internal market.
Germany, reliant on Russian gas for energy, has been particularly hard hit by Moscow’s decision to halt gas in retaliation for Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine. Mr Scholz has defended his plan – mainly new government borrowings of €200 billion ($306 billion) – to protect Germany’s economy from soaring energy bills as fair and proportionate.
But diplomats accuse Germany of taking a go-it-alone approach and worry that Berlin’s debt-financed spending spree will worsen inflation, exacerbate the rich-poor divide in Europe and unfairly advantage German companies in a way that clashes with the spirit of the EU’s common market – an almost sacred part of the EU structure.
Never a friend of Germany, Poland’s right-wing Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, lashed out at the “German egoism” driving the plans, including a proposed one-off gas price brake.
“The richest country, the most powerful EU country, is trying to use this crisis to gain a competitive advantage for their businesses on the single market,” Mr Morawiecki said on Friday in Prague where EU leaders were meeting.
Even nations normally supportive of Germany in EU deliberations have been dismayed at the size of the three-year stimulus plan. A cautious Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Kari?s said, “because the German economy is so large, this assistance could be potentially a little bit distorting”.
The price cap is the centrepiece of a package of support measures, which Mr Scholz has described as a “Doppelwumms” (double oomph) and includes a one-off €300 payment for pensioners and an electricity price brake funded by an energy windfall tax.
“What Germany is doing is right,” Mr Scholz said after the Prague meeting. “It is exactly what we have to do now to relieve the burden on our citizens. We have always paid attention to our financial stability, and rightly so, so that we can act in crises.”
A special commission of experts is expected to deliver a report to Mr Scholz possibly as early as this week, setting out how the proposed gas price brake would work.
This is likely to involve prices capped for an essential volume of energy use. Higher demand will be priced at market rates, with the government’s Economic Stabilisation Fund, established during the pandemic, to be stocked up with €200 billion in new loans.
German national debt stood at 70 per cent last year, up from 58.9 per cent in 2019, according to the EU’s statistics office Eurostat, with surging inflation now jacking up interest payments on new borrowings.
“It is becoming increasingly expensive for Germany to take out loans,” said DZ Bank analyst Rene Albrecht, noting that Berlin is facing about €30 billion in interest payments next year, compared with last year’s payments of just €4 billion.
Throughout the EU, Germany has not helped its case by resisting a push to launch a similar gas cap across the bloc, in a coordinated effort to alleviate sky-high energy prices ahead of winter.
With a handful of other member states, Germany is concerned that such a move, supported by more than a dozen EU countries, could lead to an EU-wide mutualised debt fund. It also believes an EU cap could disrupt world energy markets.
Concerns about Germany’s go-it-alone plans have added to strains on European unity unleashed by the energy crisis.
French President Emmanuel Macron last week cast doubt on a Berlin move to complete a previously abandoned pipeline so that Algerian natural gas can be pumped to Germany via Spain and France, saying Europe should focus more on alternative energy and nuclear power.
At home, the scale of Mr Scholz’s package has opened up a new fault line in his fractious three-party coalition. There are major concerns over whether the nation can afford to reactivate next year, as planned, the so-called debt brake, which was suspended three years ago due to the sharp rise in debt resulting from the pandemic.
Seen by Germany’s political establishment as a shining example of the nation’s commitment to fiscal discipline, the debt brake was enshrined in the nation’s constitution in 2009 to limit new government debt.
German state premiers have also been haggling over how to carve up financing the planned largesse.
“We’re not at a fish market here,” Mr Scholz reportedly told premiers at a tense meeting last week to try to hammer out a consensus on their contribution to the costs of what is Germany’s third relief plan since Russia’s war started in February.
mRNA Flu Shot Moves Forward As Pfizer Launches Late-Stage Trial, Builds On Covid Vaccine Success
The Spike Protein Isn’t Benign, New Study Finds
google is evil
Other than the Bernie Finn organised anti abortion rally, March for the Babies, which is held annually (2021 and 2022 excepted) to commemorate the passing of the world’s worst abortion legislation on 10 October 2008 what protests were there in Melbourne on the weekend?
March for the Babies is well known for attracting proabort abusers every year, this year was no exception, though violence against the pro life people seems to have been lessened.
Does this mean German businesses will be shielded from high energy costs and the rest of Europe can go jump?
Indolentsays:
October 10, 2022 at 8:41 am
West has now set a course on total terrorist warfare
First, I want to post a video I found on Twitter (original here) which shows what kind of explosion took place on the Crimean bridge.
From what I have read, a truck filled with explosives blew up, killing three people in a car nearby, and then the flames took over a train also crossing the bridge. That train was full of fuel. It is only thanks to the amazing speed at which the bridge crews reacted that the damage was limited to only 9 wagons and, therefore, to a much shorter segment of the rail tracks.
Looking at the video, one would imagine that the bridge is in ruins. In fact, traffic was reestablished on both rail tracks and the road in less than 24 hours (with the exception of heavy trucks). In other words, this is yet another case of “it is humiliating, but not dangerous” (?????? ?? ?? ??????).
But that is an increasingly mistaken notion: this time is also VERY dangerous.
. It is self-evident that the Kiev regime would never have had the means, technical and political, to execute such an attack without being told to do so by its masters in the West.
. Such an attack, right on the heels of the attacks on of NS1/NS2 shows beyond any doubt that West has now set a course on total terrorist warfare.
. This makes sense, since for all the so-called “victories” of the NATO forces in the Ukraine, the reality is that they reconquered a few villages and towns while Russia liberated and then incorporated entire regions.
. And Russia did that while always being at a numerical disadvantage
. And while inflicting 10:1 KIA ratios.
. In other words the West’s “redirection” towards terrorism is an admission of military, economic and political defeat.
While this is hardly a surprise, the West *always* uses terrorism against sovereign governments, this is still a very negative development for Russia.
Simply put, there are always more targets than cops/guards.
Furthermore, terrorists can always chose the time and location of their attacks.
In the meantime, it is simply shocking for me to observe the collective orgasm felt by the leaders of the West each time some horror befalls Russia. Truth be told, the fact that they hate us does not surprise me. What surprises me much more is how unapologetically hate-filled and “in your face” these cries of joy are.
And I wonder
the binary arms race between citizen and state
competing visions for a digital future.
I’m not sure if his solution is viable, but he sets out the situation we’re presently in frighteningly well, especially after seeing this.
AEMO warns reliable power is at risk
Angela Macdonald-Smith – Senior resources writer
The Australian Energy Market Operator chief will call for a “mature conversation” among governments, industry and customers to thrash out a workable version of the controversial “capacity mechanism” to spur investment in firm generation needed to keep the lights on amid an accelerating energy transition.
Industry bosses are worried that the market is running out of time to build the replacement capacity, but AEMO’s Daniel Westerman will tell The Australian Financial Review Energy & Climate Summit in Sydney on Monday that energy ministers and officials are “leaning in to this strongly”.
However, he will warn that the firmed renewable capacity required to replace coal power plants set to shut down at an accelerating rate will not be built under the existing market design.
Mr Westerman says that is why the Energy Security Board recommended a so-called capacity mechanism to drive investment in “firming” capacity such as pumped hydro to back up weather-dependent wind and solar power.
Federal and state energy ministers in August threw out the ESB’s preferred option for the market reform amid worries by several governments that the mechanism could prolong the life of coal power stations.
They took back control of the work on the market redesign from the ESB, which has worried bosses of traditional power generators because of the inevitable further delay.
Alinta Energy’s Jeff Dimery said last week he feared the energy transition was “headed for failure” amid the delays, given the quickening pace that coal power stations were closing. EnergyAustralia’s Mark Collette said on Friday he was more concerned than 12 months ago that the transition to low-carbon energy might be rocky.
Origin Energy chief executive Frank Calabria, who will appear with Mr Dimery and Mr Collette at the Summit, will call for a twin focus on keeping existing plants reliable and fast-tracking the build-out of new cleaner capacity.
Accelerate the pipeline
“It is an exciting time for the energy sector as the transition accelerates, though as we witnessed earlier this year when the NEM came under extreme pressure, it is not without its challenges, and this has crystallised the need to focus on two key areas,” Mr Calabria said.
“First, we must keep our existing energy system, which is still dominated by coal-fired power, functioning well and delivering reliable, affordable energy for customers for as long as it is needed.
“And second, we need to accelerate the building of a new low-emissions energy system, through increased renewables, new transmission to connect the largely regional energy resources to demand centres and invest in firming via storage, pumped hydro and gas peakers to underpin reliable supply.”
Mr Calabria says the significant challenge to build the necessary infrastructure should not be underestimated. It will require close co-ordination between all levels of government, regulators, market operators, financiers and communities to get the job done in time and at the lowest cost.
“Balancing the timing of these two tasks will require careful management, to ensure we do not have too much coal exiting the system before the low-emissions energy system has been built, or we risk delivering poor outcomes to customers,” Mr Calabria said.
Mr Westerman is still optimistic the policy changes will be made in time, saying he is “delighted to see energy ministers and officials leaning in to [the capacity mechanism principle] strongly”.
He will call for “simplicity” in the redesign, and to leverage proven systems that work in other markets.
Mr Westerman says he understands that any change to market design is “sensitive and carries inherent risks”.
“That’s why I believe that the design of any capacity mechanism needs a mature conversation between governments, industry and consumers,” he will say.
“Collaboration is the key to delivering a mechanism that drives the integration of more renewable energy, and ultimately more affordable energy for Australian homes and businesses.”
Developments over the past several weeks include the legislated target of net zero emissions by 2050, including a 43 per cent reduction on 2005 levels by 2030. Queensland has launched a $62 billion energy transition plan with new renewable energy targets, while Victoria has announced targets for storage and on Friday the six winning bidders in its second renewables and storage auction program.
‘Unprecedented’ build required
AGL Energy has meanwhile brought forward the closure of its 2210-megawatt Loy Yang A power station in Victoria by 10 years.
At the same time, electricity tariffs rose sharply in some states in July, and are widely expected to rise even more steeply next year following a surge in wholesale prices in the June quarter to record levels. AEMO has also brought forward warnings of potential supply gaps opening up in some states, to 2023,
Brett Redman, chief executive of NSW grid owner Transgrid, will on Monday describe the scale of the new transmission needed to support the accelerating transition as “unprecedented”, as the grid is built out to support the surge in wind and solar farms often in distant reaches of the current transmission system.
“Our job now as industry leaders is to act quickly and decisively to get the job done,” Mr Redman will tell the Summit.
“The government’s ambition is to reach our national emissions reduction target within eight years – we have far less time to deliver the critical transmission infrastructure that will connect renewables to the grid.”
Transgrid has bundled together three big new transmission projects – the South Australia-NSW interconnector, called Project EnergyConnect, Humelink and VNI West – in a move it expects to achieve economies of scale and to reduce the timeline for construction.
Mr Redman will say the move is expected to save up to $500 million from the $8 billion collective budget for the projects and shave up to two years off the timing.
However, Transgrid and others in the sector look set for a battle to secure the engineering and construction resources and skilled labour to deliver the grid projects, while local community objections also loom large as a risk to timing and costs.
Mr Westerman will point to strong interest from overseas engineering companies and capital providers to invest in Australia to support the grid build-out, but will highlight social licence from affected communities as a key challenge.
He noted that tight-knit regional communities were being asked to shoulder the burden of construction and host new transmission, while the benefit of the build-out would be shared with people hundreds of kilometres away.
He says AEMO is already engaging in a very different way on the VNI West transmission project – early and openly – to help prevent communities feeling railroaded.
Told to me by an old aboriginal bloke at Pine Creek in the Territory that a bucket of termite nest and a bucket of sand put in a mixer and made to a slurry was perfect for a house floor. Apparently the saliva resets when it dries out.
Winston, it is true. Back in settler days when all they had available were slab huts, beaten “ant bed”, was used as flooring. It was laid wet, and if it were regularly “watered”, it could withstand pretty much anything. It was even swept regularly to keep it clean.
Thanks OO
Victorian solar winner confident renewables supply can replace coal
A successful bidder in Victoria’s latest renewable energy auction that plans a 77-megawatt solar farm is optimistic that enough renewable energy will be built to replace coal-fired power stations as they are decommissioned at an accelerating rate.
The Victorian government committed to underwrite another six large-scale solar farms and several big batteries on Friday in its second big renewable energy auction.
“There’s a very healthy pipeline of renewable energy projects,” said Baifu Du, project manager at South Energy, one of the six successful bidders with its Fraser project in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.
“There is also a good pool of labour. As we are close to various power plants and power stations, there won’t be a shortage of local workers, electricians, or mechanics to help work on the project.”
The six new projects to emerge from Victoria’s second renewable auction aim to provide a combined 623 megawatts of renewable capacity and four big batteries to help meet the state’s target of 100 per cent renewable electricity for government operations by 2025.
Together, the projects will generate nearly 1460 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of renewable energy per year, enough to power 300,000 homes.
Construction on the Fraser project will begin in mid-2023 and it will bring on 77 megawatts of power when commissioned around mid-2024. It will cost more than $100 million to build.
Auctions such as those of the Victorian government add significantly to the growing pipeline of renewable energy and storage projects. But some in the industry worry that the sheer number of workers and the quantity of new equipment needed to support the $US5 trillion investment, which the International Energy Agency estimates will be needed globally between now and 2030, will hamper Australia’s efforts.
Victoria’s first major renewable energy auctions in 2018 underwrote an initial 928 megawatts of large-scale wind and solar energy projects.
This year’s successful bidders in the auction are spread across four of Victoria’s designated Renewable Energy Zones, from the Murray River in the state’s north-west to the Gippsland in the south-east.
Around the Murray River, the projects include Sungrow Renewable Energy’s 95 megawatt Derby solar farm with a 85/100 megawatt hour battery, and stage two of the 150 megawatt Kiamal solar farm being developed by TotalEren with a 150 megawatt/300 megawatt hour battery.
In the Western Victoria and Central North areas, ESCO Pacific’s Horsham solar farm aims to produce 118 megawatts of power alongside a 50 megawatt/100 megawatt hour battery. Pacific Partnerships plans to develop its 102 megawatt Glenrowan solar farm.
Octopus Investments’ Fulham solar farm and battery (80MW and 80MW/100 MWh) will be built in the Gippsland, west of Fulham, and Frasers Solar Farm by South Energy, north of Traralgon.
Historical connection
“We are very well positioned to contribute to adding renewable energy power plants to the generation mix,” Mr Du said.
Gippsland’s Latrobe Valley receives much attention because of its historical connection to coal-fired power plants and the corresponding transmission infrastructure. Renewable projects close to these transmission lines are set to benefit from larger capacity that can direct power faster into the capital cities and customers.
State minister for energy Lily D’Ambrosio said the collective projects would support 920 direct jobs, create about 290 positions for apprentices, trainees and cadets and deliver $1.48 billion in investment.
“We’re powering every government building with cheap, clean renewable energy – boosting investment in the state by over a billion dollars and creating hundreds of jobs as we combat climate change,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.
“Victoria is the nation’s clean energy powerhouse – cutting emissions by more than any other state, tripling the amount of renewable energy and creating thousands of jobs.”
Further up the thread, on a discuss about red hair, and without any rancour, SP commented that in being a (mostly) anonymous blog he could visualise redheads in his own way.
Lizzie, last night there was much “tooing and froing” among combatants over whether commenters were nasty to you, which because the discussion became heated and abusive, DB deleted.
Maybe you could help “tone down” these blow-ups by writing less about yourself. I don’t mean about things you’ve been doing or are of interest to a wide audience.
I mean I think it’s pretty safe to assume that very few people are overly interested in an 80 year old’s breasts or how good she looks for her age or that her husband still desires her.
By all means go and tell Hairy how thrilling that is for you, but please leave us out of it because this place isn’t your private diary.
One sane CEO among the lot and I hope his view prevails until the others can change their minds when they see the European debacle during the coming winter.
JC at 11:56 – game, set and match.
Thank you linesmen. Thank you ball boys. This accords with my memory of events for what it’s worth. Same time tomorrow?
How California’s Bullet Train Went Off the Rails
America’s first experiment with high-speed rail has become a multi-billion-dollar nightmare. Political compromises created a project so expensive that almost no one knows how it can be built as originally envisioned.
LOS ANGELES — Building the nation’s first bullet train, which would connect Los Angeles and San Francisco, was always going to be a formidable technical challenge, pushing through the steep mountains and treacherous seismic faults of Southern California with a series of long tunnels and towering viaducts.
But the design for the nation’s most ambitious infrastructure project was never based on the easiest or most direct route. Instead, the train’s path out of Los Angeles was diverted across a second mountain range to the rapidly growing suburbs of the Mojave Desert — a route whose most salient advantage appeared to be that it ran through the district of a powerful Los Angeles county supervisor.
The dogleg through the desert was only one of several times over the years when the project fell victim to political forces that have added billions of dollars in costs and called into question whether the project can ever be finished.
Now, as the nation embarks on a historic, $1 trillion infrastructure building spree, the tortured effort to build the country’s first high-speed rail system is a case study in how ambitious public works projects can become perilously encumbered by political compromise, unrealistic cost estimates, flawed engineering and a determination to persist on projects that have become, like the crippled financial institutions of 2008, too big to fail.
Boo frickin’ hoo.
Wah, wah, wah … I need my safe space.
I guess you’ll just have to keep soldering on, champ.
But they’ve inadvertently acknowledged that the child in the womb is a human being.
No more masks on planes, no more COVID shit at all, like it never happened.
Well done Health experts and government.
You’re a bunch of fucking idiots.
Priceless story! As Billy Connolly says “These are the things you must do!”
There’s actually been a few pointing out the obvious problems contronting the 2030 agenda.
Politicians, from Chris Bowen down to the likes of Ms. D’Ambrosio, who’ve never built anything in their lives, remain insouciant.
rickw:
Question about CADCAM stuff.
Does the item being machined need to be reduced to a line of code or are there other ways to input the commands?
Or can I take multiple pictures of a complex shape and get the machine to recreate it?
The 2-hour, 40-minute Dream
Although it comes more than a half century after Asia and Europe were running successful high-speed rail systems, the bullet train project when it was first proposed in the 1980s was new to America, larger than any single transportation project before it and more costly than even the nation’s biggest state could finance in one step.
The state was warned repeatedly that its plans were too complex. SNCF, the French national railroad, was among bullet train operators from Europe and Japan that came to California in the early 2000s with hopes of getting a contract to help develop the system.
The company’s recommendations for a direct route out of Los Angeles and a focus on moving people between Los Angeles and San Francisco were cast aside, said Dan McNamara, a career project manager for SNCF.?
The company? ?pulled out in 2011.
“There were so many things that went wrong,” Mr. McNamara said. “SNCF was very angry. They told the state they were leaving for North Africa, which was less politically dysfunctional. They went to Morocco and helped them build a rail system.”
Morocco’s bullet train started service in 2018.
The misdirection and dissembling is so amateurish too. That’s the sad part as he takes people for being idiots.
ha ! I read that earlier. It sets out nicely the case for ‘separation of money and state’ and the role of cryptocurrency – for a 58 year old conservative luddite like myself to see the value of crypto (censorship free, non inflatable, non cancellable money) would, I suggest, indicate that others here should consider it. (spoiler alert – I bought my first BTC, for cash, in a pub, 6 years ago).
The tldr version
There should be an option to export the file in a format the machine can understand and work with. You load that file into the machine, press the start button and away it goes.
How and Why Vladimir Putin Survives
For most Russians, however, the early 1990s was a time of despair, uncertainty and hardship. During that period, real power laid entirely in the hands of local oligarchs. As noted by Orlando Figes, a British historian best known for his outstanding books on Russian history, those oligarchs “behaved as if they were the government”, demanding posts from the then-president Boris Yeltsin, who was barely able to carry out his job due to heart attacks and heavy drinking. “The state was in danger of breaking into fiefdoms controlled by the oligarchs”, Figes says.[2]
By the end of the 1990s the Russians were desperately hoping for someone who could save their nation, someone who would be healthy, patriotic and … sober. It is in this context that a former intelligence officer was manoeuvred into power in the mid-1990s. Vladimir Putin had just returned from Germany to his hometown of St. Petersburg. In due course, he became the city’s deputy mayor, and, in 1996, he moved to Moscow. On 9 August 1999, he was appointed first deputy prime minister and later that year Yeltsin resigned. Then Putin became Russia’s acting president.[3]
Putin was a candidate in that year’s presidential election. He campaigned with the promise of a “dictatorship of the rule of law”, thus appealing to everyone tired of the lawlessness of the past decade.[4] As a result, Putin duly won in the first round of that election with 53 per cent of the vote.[5] Ordinary Russians, desperate for an end to their misery, believed they had found in their new president an energetic politician who could lead the nation towards a brighter future. Indeed, the early 2000s were marked by a remarkable recovery of the Russian economy, which allowed ordinary Russians to enjoy unprecedented levels of comfort and security.[6]
From the beginning of his second term as president, Putin set about making it patently clear that the years of oligarchical hegemony were over. The oligarchs were faced with a rather simple choice: accept that they could no longer dictate politics or pick a fight with the government and lose.[7] As a result, some of those oligarchs left Russia but the richest and most powerful, oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky, stayed to back opposition candidates. He had ambitious plans to sell his shares in the oil and gas company Yukos (he had bought those shares during the notorious “loans for shares” auctions in the mid-1990s) to the U.S. oil giant company Exxon. In 2003, Khodorkovsky was sentenced to prison after been charged with extensive fraud and tax evasion, not least as a warning to all those oligarchs, some of them who were divested of their companies.[8]
The 2004 presidential election in Russia was held on March 14 and Putin won in a landslide with more than 71 per cent of the popular vote. In 2008, as the Russian Constitution did not allow a third consecutive term, Putin’s prime minister, Dmitry Medveded, was elected as the new president for a four-year term. When his term was nearing its end, he endorsed Putin’s presidential candidature again, in 2012.
In reality, however, Putin’s approval rating among his people has remained well above 71 per cent since the beginning of the war and Western economic sanctions, according to the Levada Analytical Center (Levada-Center).[18] His public approval rating rose to 83 per cent in September, one of the highest levels of his presidency.[19] High global energy prices have helped him follow through on his pledge to reduce poverty and inequality despite the sanctions.[20] According to Alexander Hill, professor of military history at the University of Calgary:
Augusto Zimmermann is Professor and Head of Law at Sheridan Institute of Higher Education in Perth. He is also President of the Western Australian Legal Theory Association (WALTA) and Editor-in-Chief of the Western Australian Jurist law journal. From 2012 to 2017, he served as a Law Reform Commissioner in Western Australia.
Given the minimal electoral impact of the HUGE marches in Canberra and elsewhere, I seriously doubt the ability of our electoral system to reflect the will of the people – no one who drove 6,8,10 or 12 hours to Canberra (and there were hundreds of thousands) was going to vote labor or liberal at the last election.
My abiding memory of the Latrobe Valley is cold, wet and overcast.
I have zero confidence in Andrews getting beaten in November.
Not unless there is a largely silent, not giving away our voting intentions mob of people with long memories.
Other than via the electoral system, how can the will of the people be reflected?
America’s 13% strike again
Hooters Restaurant in Plano, Texas Attacked by Mob of ‘Youths’ and Children–Over a Candy Bar? (Video)
From the Comments
More proof that you can take some people out of the jungle but you can’t take the jungle out of some people.
Hard to think they are not there for that reason. Both are truly hopeless – but that could be said of anyone in Chairman Dan’s Cabinet. Mushrooms.
Anchor What:
No. Just one term of me as King of the US.
Buy shares in helicopter companies – *wink*.
(NADT)
bwhahahahahahahah BWHWHWHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH
What it proves is that liberal social policies don’t work.
“The black family, which had survived centuries of slavery and discrimination, began rapidly disintegrating in the liberal welfare state that subsidized unwed pregnancy and changed welfare from an emergency rescue to a way of life.”
Thomas Sowell
That is a long-range aerial photo which does not show the underside at all. Of course there was scorching on the upperside, it was a big explosion. Try harder, db.
Thanks Captain Nitpick. Line, carriage way, whatever.
And in a month they will blow it up again!
Anyone care to speculate on what the cross examination of Brittany Higgins will turn up today?
On the heels of the Daily Mail article last week crowing about UKR hunting down ‘collaborators’ like pigs:
The Australian Energy Market Operator chief will call for a “mature conversation” among governments, industry and customers to thrash out a workable version of the controversial “capacity mechanism” to spur investment in firm generation needed to keep the lights on amid an accelerating energy transition.
I see that mature conversation already working…
Federal and state energy ministers in August threw out the ESB’s preferred option for the market reform amid worries by several governments that the mechanism could prolong the life of coal power stations.
China Using Machine Guns to Enforce Airport Lockdown; New Measures Restrict Chip Exports to China
China in Focus – NTD
00:56 New Measures Restrict Chip Exports to China
02:06 Huawei to Relaunch 5G Phone Amid U.S. Sanctions
02:59 Biden Visits NN IBM Plant, Touts Chips Act
05:00 Apple Suppliers Add U.S. Production Sites
06:27 Apple Shifts Airpods Production from China: Nikkei
07:34 U.S. Election Tech Company CEO Arrested for Storing Election Workers’ Data in China
10:15 U.N. Rejects Debate on China’s Rights Abuses
12:30 China’s Xinjiang Hit with Another Lockdown
13:55 China Using Machine Guns to Enforce Airport Lockdown
“The black family, which had survived centuries of slavery and discrimination, began rapidly disintegrating in the liberal welfare state that subsidized unwed pregnancy and changed welfare from an emergency rescue to a way of life.”
Thomas Sowell
Interesting the largest pools of dysfunction (generational poverty etc) are concentrated in pockets of people the government has “helped’ for the longest time.
No group can survive the government assisting it for generations without deep damage.
Think it will be looking at media strategy when you are raped.
Don’t expect any maturity from governments while their energy ministers are advised by 20 something ideologues who probably vote Green.
The most ‘uniparty’ article of the decade.
Any lingering doubts you had that the left wing of the Libs is any different to the left of the labour party can safely be dispelled.
Worth a RTWT for a Grima Wormtongue experience to remember.
Its a big club, ordinary Australians aren’t in it.
https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.smh.com.au%2Fpolitics%2Ffederal%2Fmr-smith-s-not-going-to-washington-but-this-labor-leader-should-be-20221007-p5bnyx.html
Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong should put aside carping about political appointees and select for Washington the person who is likely to have the most influence. That is the ultimate test of an ambassador: who can get the best access and wield the most influence with the host government to advance Australia’s interests?
One name that keeps cropping up in speculation is Kristina Keneally. Although American by birth – an irrelevant consideration – there is no reason why she should be in the mix. Yet in the Byzantine world of Labor factional politics, Keneally continues to enjoy much institutional power through the patronage of the NSW Right. Albanese and Wong should put any such idea out of their minds.
Our most important ally, which has just paid Australia the great compliment of appointing as its ambassador to Canberra one of America’s most admired public figures, would rightly feel that the relationship was being disrespected if we reciprocated by using our most important diplomatic post as a parachute for a failed carpetbagger. It would be egregious if Smith had been shoved aside to make way for Keneally.
There is another prominent Labor figure who does meet the dual tests of stature and experience. That is Kevin Rudd. I have no idea if he is interested in the job. But if he were available and willing, he would be a very smart choice.
…..
In doing so, Peter Dutton would need to move beyond the hyper-partisanship which in 2016 saw him play a leading role in the Turnbull government’s refusal to support Rudd’s bid to become the secretary-general of the United Nations.
I always sensed that Turnbull felt uncomfortable with that decision – taken against the strong contrary view of his Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, as well as others among his supporters including Christopher Pyne and myself. But those were the days when Malcolm was convinced that the best way to keep the right wing of the Liberal Party off his back was to give them whatever they wanted; Rudd’s UN candidacy fell victim to his policy of appeasement (as in the end did Turnbull’s prime ministership)
Excellent observation, Mole. Spot on.
Inflation causing higher prices at the local bakery, explaining all of the price changes for his ingredients.
A local bakery must have felt the necessity to explain to customers why they were raising prices by posting about how much their costs had gone up since January 2021 (when Joe Biden came in). The Wall Street Silver account that has posted a lot of interesting things about inflation posted the bakery’s whiteboard explanation and it’s pretty jarring when you look at just how much it has increased.
As many pointed out, these prices are not just up 8.3 percent — the last inflation number announced, in some cases, they’re paying more than double what they were paying before Biden came in. If you look at it, and you realize that inflation is continuing to rise, you know that this is not a sustainable situation when costs go up this much.
The photo I posted Sun morning shows no damage or scorching to the underside, the photo you’re referring to above clearly shows scorching on the upperside, which even without the earlier photo, indicates the explosion was likely above. The other indicator is that an explosion from below the downed road carriage way would not have set the fuel cars ablaze because the rail carriage way would have been shielded by the centre road carriage way.
Good Mourning.
So, as the increased deaths are found in the Australian bureau of statistics and has been thoroughly put out there by Rowan Dean while his two jabbed mates sat beside him…….telling us it’s a 747 plane crash worth of deaths every week above the norm, will the denialists still claim it’s only radical right wing sites claiming this.
It’s crap from the Expose says one of the worst denialists here.
Really.
Wrong again…as per usual.
We fight a government helped…no , ……aided and abetted by those in denial who won’t acknowledge the truth, no matter what.
The government know what they have done to you, so they aren’t acknowledging it.
The media know what is happening but the same people paying off the pollies are paying off the global media networks.
Most doctors and nurses are noe quite insane and so heavily invested in believing the lie they are doubling down….the truth of what they have done is too much for them to contemplate.
The covid boogie monster is still out there…..but only in their minds.
How could they be so unwise, so unworldly, so gullible….after all they studied medicine which makes them an expert on all matters!
And to top it off, the millions that they’ve killed, maybe billions……don’t want to believe they willingly, and for the worst of reasons, submitted and got their death shot.
So as Rowan Dean stated…a 747 full of passengers is crashing every week in Australia at least, over and above normal deaths and no one wants to know.
But here’s the kicker.
If it really was just brought about by lockdowns and missed diagnosis, you’d all be jumping up and down, baying for blood…..millions would be up in arms.
But they’re not.
Denialism.
Go to your deaths quietly.
One death is a story.
Millions dead is a statistic.
The Bill Gates cabal is prepping for NUCLEAR war with these bunkers | Redacted with Clayton Morris
There’re any number of SF novels of guys escaping the projects to make good.
And there are any number of SF dystopian novels of vast underclasses on welfare.
The crazy years are here.
Case in point the hell holes known as remote communities.
The legacy of Whitlam and “Nugget” Coombs, who remain gods in the left-liberal pantheon.
Also can you imagine Resident Hiden trying to follow one of Kevini Rudds word salads?
Poor bastard would push the button just to ensure he wasnt subjected to it again.
Elder abuse.
Nothing new here. No revelation, no left-field, unexpected issue.
It’s an engineering and finance problem that has been visible and clearly defined these past 15 years. All brought undone by special interests – Green druids, renewables carpetbaggers, and flabby politicians.
And talking of flabby politicians:
People should be worried for a good reason: what happens when political plop plop replaces planning.
Put anyone there with no economic choice, private property or autonomy and the result would be just the same.
I saw the Federal election results in May.
If that’s any guide, PHON, LDP, et al, may as well go home now.
Inflation.
Partly but I suspect it’s all down to energy costs and chokes through the production chain.
Supply not demand.
Yes, I was only feigning failing memory to see what would drop out of the trees. I think all old Cats remember the Mk50 plagiarism debacle. And apparently we are now meant to bow down in awe because Admiral Cuttenpaste has sewn some gold braid on his sleeve.
Piss off.
Don’t you dare question the Australian electoral system.
How could it possibly be corrupted….I mean most vote on paper!!!!!
We are going down because not only are Australians mostly godless, they are fucking dense.
They trust government.
You’ll hear them say “you’ve got to do the right thing” and they look to government to tell them what that is.
The trust their institutions and can and have been imprisoned on their island nation and fed bullshit about the outside world.
They thought that situation was acceptable and reasonable.
F.M.D.
As I have always said.
The fight will be had in the USA.
Lehrmann trial live updates: Brittany Higgins unavailable to give evidence as case enters second week
Gastro?
Meme; dedicated to Jonny Rotten………………
https://substack.com/redirect/f1c69291-2539-4c6e-bf18-47758e588f37?r=ho9bj
dover0beachsays:
October 10, 2022 at 10:18 am
That is a long-range aerial photo which does not show the underside at all. Of course there was scorching on the upperside, it was a big explosion. Try harder, db.
The photo I posted Sun morning shows no damage or scorching to the underside, the photo you’re referring to above clearly shows scorching on the upperside, which even without the earlier photo, indicates the explosion was likely above. The other indicator is that an explosion from below the downed road carriage way would not have set the fuel cars ablaze because the rail carriage way would have been shielded by the centre road carriage way.
It seems that, as well as being ta top flight strategist, land warfare tactician and intelligence analyst, m0nty-fa is also an experienced photo interpreter.
Stick to fantasy football, m0nty-fa. You are out of your depth.
It borders on a crime against humanity under international law, as defined by the UN:
‘….inhumane acts…intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.’
I wrote “borders on” because the element of intentionality wasn’t there.
Instead, our authorities are inflicting good intentions on these people.
There’re any number of SF novels of guys escaping the projects to make good.
And there are any number of SF dystopian novels of vast underclasses on welfare.
Books are for nerds.
No one ever learned anything good from a book
Sun Tzu
Meme;
https://substack.com/redirect/29ca787b-d84f-487f-bb58-bef4f4040273?r=ho9bj
No group can survive the government assisting it for generations without deep damage.
I don’t think any civilisation can survive a surfeit of government.
Are we running out of resources? NO
Are we running out of available energy? NO.
Was there a dangerous disease pandemic? NO.
Are we running out of human resources defined as people free to better their circumstances? YES
Nearly all the current problems in the world are caused by governments.
Indolentsays:
October 10, 2022 at 8:58 amr
If you’ve got time, read up on what McGowan’s new Emergency Management Amendment
(Temporary COVID-19 Provisions) Bill 2022
https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/bills.nsf/C86644743AE3BBF4482588C3002BA797/$File/Bill%2B84-1.002.pdf
especially 77M on the bill on page 13:
Power to use and control property and related powers.
Well, we are still waiting for Fat Cloive’s actual video evidence of an AEC officer pinching ballots.
The Lardball has gone very quiet on that front.
And there are any number of SF dystopian novels of vast underclasses on welfare.
I got a chuckle out of “The Expanse” where Earth has 30 billion people, most in poverty, on welfare and our UN high up with the potty mouth, Avasarala, has no idea that it is her ilk that caused it.
‘In the ’60s the government declared a war on poverty…and poverty won.’
Ronald Reagan
Britnah unavailable.
Busily seeking out mental elf expert to keep her away from truthiness.
The most ‘uniparty’ article of the decade.
Then there was Abbott making Snot Despoiler UN Ambassador for Women. Unforced error.
Speaking of calling a poof a poof or a shirt lifter a shirt lifter……………………………..
By Cory Bernardi – 10 Oct 2022 – View online ?
Hi David,
What I am about to tell you is sickening.
Don’t worry, I’ll spare you much of the graphic detail but you need to know just how dark some of those involved in the diversity and acceptance movement are.
Their ranks contain the likes of Australian philosopher and ethicist Peter Singer.
He was awarded Australia’s highest honour – The Order of the Companion of Australia, the AC, back in 2012
Among his many special talents is being able to justify the ethics of infanticide – that’s the killing of children. And no, I’m not talking about abortion, infanticide is the killing of babies that have already been born.
Singer argues that newborns lack the essential characteristics of personhood; “rationality, autonomy, and self-consciousness” and therefore “killing a newborn baby is never equivalent to killing a person, that is, a being who wants to go on living”
Singer also argues that it isn’t right for us to practice speciesism, that is putting humans above other animals.
He even goes as far as to rationalise having sexual experiences with animals in not an “offence to our status and dignity as humans”.
That’s what he wrote in contribution to the book Heavy Petting.
Strangely, it doesn’t appear on his Wikipedia profile. I wonder why?
If you’d like to read some of his comments on this subject you can do so HERE
But Singer is positively normal compared with another author.
Rüdiger Lautmann, is a German sociologist and gay rights advocate who wrote the book Die Lust Am Kind, which translates to The Pleasure of the Child
Released in 1994, many who have read it claim it is a sympathetic portrayal of paedophiles and asserts that children are capable of sexual autonomy.
It includes such gems as:
“For me, it is is very clear that there do exist relationships that do not require any intervention…The children cling to their lovers, and can leave them any moment if they choose.”
He has also said:
“The desire for a child is an independent and differentiated sexual form. Pedophilia is therefore a sexual orientation like any other and no longer a perversion.”
Ok, so why am I raising the writings of some apologist for sickos?
Well he’s just been put on the board of a new “diversity living space” in Germany that will feature two day care centres with a focus on educating the children about homosexuality, transexuality, and intersexuality.
What sort of decision is that?
I’ve written previously about the employment discrimination handed out to a man in Australia for having mainstream religious beliefs and yet the rainbow lobby are putting paedophile sympathisers on the board of day care centres.
Sure, I know example is in Germany but do you really think it’s the only place it’s happening?
In the UK, a board member of troubled trans charity Mermaids had to resing after pushing similar pro-paedo sentiment and claiming its a sexual orientation.
Now where have we heard that argument before?
There’s also a bunch of nutty professors who want to replace the term paedophile with ‘minor attracted person’ or MAP.
Apparently the term paedophile it’s demeaning to the child molesters.
But it doesn’t stop there.
We’ve seen so many examples of what I consider to be perverted activities in schools where queer teachers encourage very young children to talk about their sexuality and hide these conversations from parents.
In America, there are hard core pornographic books available to children in school libraries that are deemed too offensive to be read in a public school board meeting.
Too revolting for the miserable leftist adults but perfectly fine for the teenage mind.
Here we’ve got our own advocates pushing ‘the gender fairy’ book onto 4 year olds and our highest award winners destigmatizing a vile sexual taboo,
Around the world we have male rapists being placed in female prisons, blokes parading around naked in female change rooms because they claim to be women, kids placed on puberty blockers and having irreversible surgical procedures.
Apparently these kids can make the decision to change gender and butcher their bodies even though they can’t be trusted to drive, drink, join the army or vote.
Heck, some of them are so young they can’t even tie their own shoelaces but strangely are happy to declare themselves transgender to their queer teachers.
There is no other conclusion I can reach other than our world is gripped by a great delusional sickness.
It’s known by many names but the end result is always the same.
Normalise the vile and the revolting, destroy innocent lives and poison young minds in an attempt to make the outcasts in our society feel better about themselves.
Until tomorrow.
Cory
P.S – To get today’s news you need to know, click here to go to the Confidential Report
Thought for the Day
“If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do matters very much.”
Jackie Kennedy
Taking time out to spend more time with her Roses chocolates?
If the wave of discontent that’s just hit NZ reaches our shores the political landscape this time next year will be quite different. Given that the Liberals are likely too feckless to capitalise on that (witness Dutton’s comments on CPAC), minor parties on the centre right could yet see a resurgence.
Hey Struth, more bad news for the “takers”.
Yesterday, Florida’s Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, MD, Ph.D. issued a concerning tweet declaring the release of a state-sponsored analysis of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines he believes the public should be aware exists. In this analysis, the state claims that the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines increase the risk of cardiac-related death among men aged 18 to 39 by 84%, and in a message defiant to the federal government, declared, “FL will not be silent on the truth.”
https://www.trialsitenews.com/a/florida-surgeon-general-guidance-males-18-39-should-avoid-covid-19-mrna-vaccines-based-on-self-controlled-case-series-study-0100db16
No. Only that it gets mentioned a lot. It cannot be seen at that dead link provided last night.
Not that that matters.
No. Not much would be expected of you.
Though when sneering at the contribution to Australia of another, it wouldn’t hurt to point out if you’ve ever been a net benefit to society.
Any chance can we make the Cat a Cory Bernardi free zone?
That’s why I will continue to advocate for staffers over the age of 50.
Let’s see how Heronna handles this.
Like the rest of Australia. LOL
Britneeee hammering the shots over the weekend?
Monday mornings are tough.
Roger says:
October 10, 2022 at 10:55 am
Any chance can we make the Cat a Cory Bernardi free zone?
No worries I will keep him to myself from now on, always happy to bow to my elders.
“Brittany Higgins will not appear as a witness for the next few days because she is not available as the high-profile rape trial involving her former colleague Bruce Lehrmann resumes.”
How can she be not available? This is ridiculous.
Sorry I should have said “happy to bow to my intellectual superiors”.
This dewy-eyed soft-left worldview by cossetted middle-class rookies with zero life experience is not restricted to politics.
(e.g. Try the staffers in almost any industry association, especially the IR advisors)
It just does more damage there, as we’re all directly affected by policy/legislation & their bosses (the MPs) aren’t capable of straightening them out.
Anxiety attack? Bwahahaha…
That’s on the cards.
This is someone who was taken by surprise & befuddled when the cops wanted “just facts” without any added spin & fluff.
Lehrmann trial live updates: Brittany Higgins unavailable to give evidence as case enters second week
The case was supposed to start at 10 but Brittany Higgins is unavailable.
In the meantime, the legal teams are sorting out which witnesses they can put on the stand.
Gastro?
There is a level of connivance which may be causing more than bum runs in the poor dear.
LOL.
It’s an open thread and all that, but anyone who really wants to know his thoughts can subscribe wherever it is he hangs out now.
After what he did to Australian Conservatives I just don’t think he should be promoted here.
But that’s up to dover, really.
I didn’t see the first one to which you refer. As for the second, the CCTV footage clearly showed a fireball that engulfed both sides of the bridge, so where the scorch marks were are immaterial as the scorching was on both sides.
We’re all amateur sleuths on this one, I’d rather defer to the domain experts. And no one start talking about the melting point of railway sleepers…
I don’t have a lot of time for Cory but when he says something sensible it is worth posting.
Femme fatales swoon. It’s a species ability.
Sal at 11.14 am:
How can she be not available? This is ridiculous.
Did I not read ‘for the next few days’. It seems Brit really wants this debacle dragged out for the next 6 weeks. Pretty disgusting, when you think about. She received a good drubbing on Friday and has now, it appears, staged a very public wobbly.
Unless you had been hitting the Minister’s bar fridge pretty hard I’m not sure Brittany would scrape in as a femme fatale.
Unless you had been hitting the Minister’s bar fridge pretty hard I’m not sure Brittany would scrape in as a femme fatale.
As Frank Harris said he never saw an ugly woman until he was 40 and even than only if he was sober.
Early days, but her publisher must be nervous.
I hope britnee feelz ok soooooon. Poor petal. Over the weekend I heard her say “I didn’t think they’d ask any real questions”
The Oz reports:
The court was due to hear from Ms Higgins for her third day of cross-examination but Crown prosecutor Shane Drumgold advised she was unavailable to appear.
My knowledge of publishing is matched by my knowledge of swahili verb declensions.
Do publishers, when confronted with credible information that an authoress may actually be an unreliable source, then send “concern letters” (or whatever) firmly stating that they require comfort an advance is capable of being refunded?
One of Australia’s most prestigious universities has been praised for a crackdown on students ‘rorting the system’ by falsely claiming they are Indigenous or Torres Strait Islander.
The University of Sydney has drafted a new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Status Policy which means undergraduates can no longer simply sign a statutory declaration to prove they have a First Nations background.
Instead, the university may force students to supply a ‘letter of identity’ from a local Aboriginal Land Council and complete the Commonwealth Government’s three-part identity test.
Radio 2GB host Ben Fordham praised the university for introducing the measures and called on others to follow suit.
‘Other organisations should introduce stronger checks too, because what we’re seeing is wrong and it’s fraudulent,’ he said.
Full article – Daily Mail
Crossiesays:
October 10, 2022 at 10:56 am
Roger says:
October 10, 2022 at 10:11 am
The Australian Energy Market Operator chief will call for a “mature conversation” among governments…
Don’t expect any maturity from governments while their energy ministers are advised by 20 something ideologues who probably vote Green.
That’s why I will continue to advocate for staffers over the age of 50.
Someone (johanna??) made the point yesterday that it is the young and family-free who are able to tolerate the lifestyle. However, there have been many attempts made to introduce a more “family-friendly” workplace in Parliament, all of which seem to have failed.
Perhaps the (young) beneficiaries of the current workplace see more benefits in keeping it that way?
More important are the results that come from that workplace. To put it gently, those results are unimpressive. The correct solution might lie in actual change. Much of what happens in a panic to “serve” the policy makers (far too many of whom seem to be policy takers, receiving too much “help” from the bureaucracy) could be done at a more measured pace. Not everything is an emergency.
Putting a lower age limit on “advisors”(What is the bureaucracy for if not to provide “honest and impartial advice”? How can a twenty-something straight out of university provide mature advice?) would be a good start.
H B Bearsays:
October 10, 2022 at 11:00 am
Monday mornings are tough.
I’m beginning to see how the problem arose. Perhaps Mizz Higgins was not really suitable for the hectic life of a ministerial staffer?
Yep.
Epic failure.
m0nty-fa
I didn’t see the first one to which you refer. As for the second, the CCTV footage clearly showed a fireball that engulfed both sides of the bridge, so where the scorch marks were are immaterial as the scorching was on both sides.
We’re all amateur sleuths on this one, I’d rather defer to the domain experts. And no one start talking about the melting point of railway sleepers…
Perhaps this might be the beginning of wisdom? Explain, using examples, how an explosion in or very close to the water level (frogmen, remember) would have scorched across the full width of the road span. Think carefully before answering.
Then explain how the blast also reached across (around?) to set fire to the train.
Struthsays:
October 10, 2022 at 10:32 am
Not even if you were pissed, no knickers and called yourself Britnee.
Not available? I wasn’t aware a witness could take a few days off in the middle of a cross-examination.
All depends what’s in the contract, but the publisher is taking a risk on the advance. As long as the writer delivers what they were contracted to do, the advance is theirs to keep, even if the book doesn’t sell enough for the publisher to recoup the advance through sales. If the author of autobiographical material has substantially misled the publisher as to the veracity of their story, the latter could sue. That has happened overseas; not sure about here.
Sneakers Metronet train line via the Airport opens today. Project commenced under Emperor Barnett. Cost $1.9bn, projected passengers 20,000 pax in first year.
I have my doubts but they do get the numbers on the Mandurah line which was the last major rail line opening. Trains are great for us wheelchair people but don’t go close to covering costs.
m0nty-fa
PS, look more closely, that fireball seemed to be centered on a truck which was not visible on the span afterwards. Where did it go? Over the side, or off in all directions in small pieces?
I’ll be there as soon as I shave, shower and get dressed. I may be some time.
It happens. Organising witnesses is like herding cats, including dropping writs on those that may need encouragement.
I never went to bed with an ugly woman! But I woke up with a few.
I specifically referred to it in the comment you responded to, monty. How about reading slowly before replying next time. But, again, there is no scorching on both sides. The photo on Sunday clearly indicates no scorching or damage to the underside of both road carriages. I have no idea why you or anyone else is promoting the boat/ frogmen story because there is simply no evidence for it at the moment, as well as there being evidence to the contrary.
Why are there no ugly women in the pub at midnight?
Alcohol! turning ugly women into beauty queens for centuries.
Tweep’s ‘hobby’ of finding sofas and other objects that Jill Biden’s dresses are ‘MADE from’ results in spectacularly HILARIOUS thread
Nobody has ever accused First Lady Jill Biden of having the best taste when it comes to how she dresses.
Sorry, DOCTOR Jill Biden.
Either the woman needs to fire the stylist who keeps dressing her like a piece of furniture from an old Sears catalog OR she needs to actually hire one because WOOF. Time and time again people have shown photos of Jill in her latest bizarre dress and compared them to old sofas and curtains … but Twitter user Rondalee Iowa has made a ‘hobby’ of it and wow, the thread she put together is spectacular and hilarious.
Making it spectacularly hilarious.
Take a look:
Poor old Frank Elly. Not much love in Teh Paywallian media diary comments.
Salt has feelings too.
The magnificent Lake Eyre Basin is threatened by 831 oil and gas wells – and more are planned. Is that what Australians really want? (via Phys.org, 4 Oct)
Who might you ask is the person who loves bleak salt pans so effusively?
UNSW? Bulldozer pls, then salt the earth.
The answer to his question is yes, yes they do.
No doubt a medical certificate was produced.
Guessing Whybrow had some more anomalies to explore.
Incidentally someone has linked the original mk50 saga post, where it now sits on Trove, on the dueling thread, where it belongs.
An attack of the “oh fuck, what have I got myself into” ‘s ?
Chuckle….Her Honour actually said the prosecution “needed time to herd their witnessess” as she was explaining to the jury what was happening this morning in Ms. Higgins’s absence.
Dover
But, again, there is no scorching on both sides.
m0nty-fa seems to be engaged in the leftist tactic of corrupting the language. “Sides” would not usually be used to refer to top and bottom. IIRC, the photo was from off to the side of the bridge, and it was not possible to see if the inside edge of the bridge was scorched or not, but across the full upper deck of the road bridge was heavily scorched. Perhaps there are new explosives that curve around obstacles, otherwise it is hard to think of a way that the full width of the roadway would have been scorched by an explosion under the bridge deck.
What insanity leads us to rush off the climate cataclysm closing coal cliff while continuing to export millions of tonnes to other countries for their energy production?
Australia, land of suicide states.
Easy for the judge to laugh. It would be years since they had to organise the bozos but I have no doubt that they remember.
I like the floral dresses and the sofas.
I have a lot of sympathy for Bruce Lehrmann.
Thank you Roger;
The tumblers in my head hadn’t quite clicked into place to arrive at this one.
If the content of the manuscript is inconsistent with her testimony under oath on Thursday/Friday, the publisher may be not best pleased.
A disgruntled publisher may then turn a jaundiced eye upon the “scout” who brought the story to them.
In such circumstance a certain high profile republican pirate may find the publisher isn’t quite as accommodating toward him as in the past.
I wonder if Bolt will address this week the extrajudicial killing of so-called ‘collaborators’ I mentioned upthread?
Interesting that Higgins was asked to resign the code of conduct.
What insanity leads us to rush off the climate cataclysm closing coal cliff while continuing to export millions of tonnes to other countries for their energy production?
Australia, land of suicide states.
Agreed. The fat, peroxided bitch we have in Queensland will shut down coal power which by my reckoning is less than 10% of the coal exported from Queensland.
Roger, my experience with advances is that you get a third up front, another slice when you’ve delivered a specified portion of the book and the remainder upon completion.
That’s not an iron-tight rule, and different literary agents will cut different deals on behalf of their authors, but that’s generally how it works.
And on the subject of agents, what was the cut for the Pirate — her ‘agent’ no less, as described in court — for negotiating the $325,000. At, say, 15% (some agents take 20%) he pocketed around $50k?
And this is where it could really interesting, given his dreadful wife was promoting a lie that enriched them both and might further fatten their bank accounts via a slice of movie rights etc and, quite possibly, a taste of further sales in the unlikely event that her book sold well enough to cover its advance.
I do hope his agent contract is entered into evidence. It will make fascinating reading.
It’s a risk unlocking the Minister’s Desk game achievement.
I miss Tailgunner.
Sounds more and more like one of those web weaving stories.
Insanity? Don’t given them an out!
In QLD’s case it’s pure, unblemished hypocrisy born of political expediency on the one hand – the inner city elites must be placated or they’ll vote Green) and the government’s fiscal necessities on the other (QLD would be broke without coal royalties).
Part of the problem – but yes, he’s been screwed. Not the first. One of my mates had the cops round after a big night at a nightclub. His parents ensured it all went away.
Thanks, areff!
Yes, would love to know what Mr. Wilkinson negotiated, which would reveal how eager the publisher was for the deal, for which there was no doubt a lot of competition.
Predictably, Brih-nee slaps down the mental health card.
Being held to account will do that.
areff – yes, the Pirate’s wife cross examination will be fascinating.
Stinkies are getting stinky with the proles.
‘Where’s the Police?’ – Public Drag Climate Activists Blocking Traffic Out of Road Themselves (9 Oct)
‘Move before I pull my gun out’: DC drivers irate after climate protesters block rush hour traffic (8 Oct)
On the other hand doom pixie is feeling unloved.
Greta Thunberg: “We Might Still have Time to Turn Things Around” (10 Oct)
Go away lady.
Mike gets off work and is heading to his car.
On the way he encounters a homeless guy, who asks him if he can spare some money so he can buy dinner. Mike takes out his wallet and then pauses.
“How do I know you’re not just going to go buy beer with this?” he asks. The homeless guy replies “Oh, I gave up drinking 20 years ago, haven’t had a sip since”. Mike then says “You know, you should spend the money on fishing equipment, that way it could supply you food more than once”.
The homeless guy says “I haven’t fished for a long time. I don’t have the time for it, I spend all my time trying to survive day to day”. Mike says “What about spending it on hunting equipment? That would also supply you with food more than once”.
The homeless guy replies “Oh, I gave up hunting several years ago too”. Mike replies “You know what? Instead of giving you money I’m going to take you to my home. You can take a nice hot shower and then eat a delicious home cooked meal that my wife prepared”.
The homeless guy is shocked and pleased.
“That would be fantastic, thank you so much! Wait… don’t you think your wife might be really upset if you bring some random homeless guy into your home?” Mike says “Don’t you worry about that. It’s much more important that she sees what happens to a man after he gives up drinking, fishing, and hunting!”
The magnificent Lake Eyre Basin is threatened by 831 oil and gas wells – and more are planned. Is that what Australians really want? (via Phys.org, 4 Oct)
The heart-shaped Lake Eyre Basin covers about one-sixth of Australia. It contains one of the few remaining pristine river systems in the world.
lets do maths….
Australias size.
7.592 million km²
divide to get 1/6th =
1.2653 million km²
number of deadly, deadly oil/ gas wells.
831
divide 1,265,300 km² by 831 =
1,522.6233 km² between wells.
These wells are the deadly, deadly redcoats of today, able to overthrow an entire continent with their elite special forces muskets of DOOOOOOM!
Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.
– George Burns
Going rate for “being recognized as Aboriginal” amongst the Kimberly tribes was three cartons of VB.
Yes.
And it leaves no doubt as to Mk50’s plagiarism.
Even the blog owner confirmed it and the only debate swirled around what to do about it.
My understanding is that Mk50 put forward a “dog ate my homework” excuse about the attribution of sources somehow getting lost in the mail.
I believe the accepted order is:
1) Soap box
2) Ballot box
3) Ammo box
Eyrie
Agreed. The fat, peroxided bitch we have in Queensland will shut down coal power which by my reckoning is less than 10% of the coal exported from Queensland.
Consider the possibility that she has already signed contracts to export the coal previously used to fuel Queensland generators.
Ethnicity, gender, pronouns …. reap what you have sown, lefties…
Roger
In QLD’s case it’s pure, unblemished hypocrisy born of political expediency on the one hand – the inner city elites must be placated or they’ll vote Green) and the government’s fiscal necessities on the other (QLD would be broke without coal royalties).
See my response to Eyrie at 1253.
IMHO they should just put bunting around them, then do nothing for a few weeks, just like the potholes OM the Western highway. Come to think, it would work for those who sit down on roads and chain themselves to bulldozers too.
actually no, I was paraphrasing something Jordan Petersen said in this video: –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tac9CHFVpVk
somebody posted the link here the other day and it proved worthwhile watching this video to the end
perhaps you didn’t see it, sancho?
the whole thing was very interesting and some especially relevant bits at around the 22 minute mark
Dubai Airport: 90% don’t have masks, of the 10% that do, 5% are not wearing the mask on their face.
You have to seriously wonder if the pirates wife’s sub-judice grandstanding at the Logies was a desperate attempt to get the whole thing tanked before trial. Although, you can never rule out vacuous narcissism with those two…
Eyrie:
…and all of them would be solved by less government.
Greta Thunberg: “We Might Still have Time to Turn Things Around” (10 Oct)
I’ve seen one report that indicated that this stupid bitch’s grandfather was also an apocalypse grifter. This is a family business!
Cost $1.9bn, projected passengers 20,000 pax in first year.
Remember the days when government shit ideas used to only cost millions?
As I’ve explained here more than once, that ain’t gonna happen.
Best to advocate for something achievable. Sorry, but that’s the way it is, and not just in Australia.
Big Nambas:
It’s fine, BN. He’s got some interesting stuff to say and the reason he’s being hammered by Mr Burns is because there’s a lot of truth in it. No wonder they want to shut him up.
Blackouts are achievable. Then, after that, tumbrils are achievable.
I do hope pollies read history. Sometimes I doubt they read anything other than Penthouse.
Dover,
I reckon the stupid gluesticks in Melbourne were treated a lot more gently than the morons at Uffizi in Florence.
Sigh…
Salvatore:
I suspect they’re considered to be little more than fresh meat by their employers…
Had to look him up.
Seems Thunberg’s great-grandfather (b. 1859) was a scientist who postulated that the rise in earth’s temperatures following the Dalton Minimum was caused by a rise in pollution (“carbonic acid”, CO2 + H2O = H2CO3) as a result of the Industrial Revolution, whereas it was simply solar activity returning to more or less normal levels.
Now there’s a cautionary tale!
Oh, the recently feted in Congress Azov Battalion are the perpretators.
Ukrainian forces have destroyed almost all bridges and mined the roads along the border with Belarus, Anatoly Lappo, chairman of the State Border Committee of Belarus, said on Sunday. Minsk has accused Kiev of planning imminent strikes on its territory.
https://www.rt.com/russia/564362-ukraine-blows-bridges-belarus/amp/
Call it performance art, a bit like Annie Sprinkle.
Winston
I suspect they’re considered to be little more than fresh meat by their employers…
And probably by some at least of their co-workers.
Seen numerous similar reports from both sides.
Including today of both Russian and Ukrainian atrocities.
They don’t go much for the Geneva Convention in them parts.